The town of White Springs is moving forward with plans to convert South Hamilton Elementary School (SHE) into a public charter school in time for the 2012-13 school year. Parents of SHE students have requested that SHE Principal Maceo Howell conduct a secret ballot vote allowing parents and teachers to determine if a majority supports the conversion to a charter school.

The Florida Department of Education (DOE) defines charter schools as tuition-free public schools of choice created through an agreement or “charter” between the school and the local school board or a state university.

Two parents of SHE students, Shauna Adams-Farries and Katrina Dye, drew up the letter to Howell and solicited signatures from about 70 SHE parents.

“I know of no parent who is against the charter,” said Adams-Farries. “We want a school in our community and this is the only option left to us, in lieu of the school board’s decision. The amazing thing is all these signatures were gathered in two hours.”

On Friday, Feb. 24, Adams-Farries presented Howell with two separate letters; one was signed by SHE parents and legal guardians, and the other was signed by Hamilton County residents, all of whom are in support of converting SHE to a public charter school.

“Mr. Howell was very cordial and professional, and thanked me for presenting the information,” said Adams-Farries.

The letter requests that Howell, as administrator of the school, conduct a secret ballot as soon as possible to give teachers and parents the opportunity to vote on whether or not they approve the charter school proposal. Additionally, it states a public meeting will be held by an independent arbitrator, agreed upon by Howell and SHE parents, to count the sealed ballots aloud in the presence of all in attendance at the public meeting.

Although not required, a second letter with the same wording, and signed by 170 Hamilton County residents, was also presented to Howell. White Springs Mayor Helen Miller said those who signed the letter were diverse community members, including people who live outside the town limits.

“We’re also getting support from residents in Jasper who feel that White Springs needs to fight for its school,” said Miller.

Copies of the letters presented to Howell were sent to Martha Butler, superintendent of schools, Damon Deas, school board chairman, the Hamilton County School Board and their attorney Jay Willingham.

Miller stated, “Our charter application will state that since SHE has an “A” team we would plan to operate with essentially the same team of teachers. Of course, if a teacher doesn’t apply for his/her position with the charter school, we’ll seek the best teachers that we can find for open positions.”

The proposed SHE Charter School will be a public school within the Hamilton County School District, Miller said, and she expects teacher pay and benefits will remain the same.

According to charter school statutes, Howell has 60 days from receipt of the letter to initiate the ballot process. Written notification will be provided to teachers and parents at least 30 days prior to conducting the ballot.

For parent voting, if the ballot process proceeds, each household will receive one ballot regardless of the number of students residing in the household. If a student has two households, the household of the enrolling parent will receive the ballot. A teacher who is also the parent of a student enrolled at SHE will be allowed to submit both a teacher ballot and a parent ballot. A majority (more than half) of parents eligible to vote must participate in the ballot process.

A minimum of one school day will be allotted for teachers to submit a ballot and a minimum of six consecutive school days will be allotted for parents to submit a ballot.

Additionally, the official ballots will be created and distributed by the school and submitted by teachers and parents in a sealed, unmarked envelope also provided by the school. Separate ballot boxes will be created for teacher and parent votes and each box will be visibly sealed, supervised during school hours, and secured when the school is closed in order to maintain confidentiality.

As soon as possible, but not more than three school days after closing the ballot, a public meeting will be held in which an independent arbitrator, selected by agreement between the school administrator and the applicant, will unseal the teacher and parent ballot boxes and count the ballots aloud in the presence of meeting attendees. The votes will be tallied by the independent arbitrator and final ballot results will be posted in a prominent location at the school site.

If a majority of teachers employed at the school and a majority of voting parents support the charter proposal, the conversion charter application must be submitted by the application deadline that follows the ballot. The ballot results may not carry over to another school year or application period. If a majority of parents and/or teachers do not support the charter proposal, the application can’t be submitted to the sponsor.

White Springs Town Manager Robert Townsend expressed his concerns at the school board meeting in Jasper on Jan. 24 where it was voted on to close SHE if Central Hamilton Elementary (CHE) does not exit intervene status at the end of the 2011-12 school year. He had told Butler that the interlocal agreement had been violated and he wished to have a meeting with all parties to the agreement to discuss it.

On Jan. 30, White Springs Town Clerk Shirley Heath e-mailed Butler’s administrative assistant, Denise Wofford, requesting a recording of the Jan. 24 meeting. Wofford responded on Feb. 7 stating it was ready for them to pick up. Wofford also wrote in her e-mail that Townsend mentioned he wanted to meet with the superintendent. She asked that he contact her so she could schedule an appointment.

Townsend had Heath respond to Wofford’s e-mail that same day stating that his request was to meet with the superintendent, the school board chairman, County Commissioner Randy Ogburn, and elected officials from Jennings, Jasper and White Springs. He also asked that the meeting be scheduled for one day the following week and to let him know when.

As of press time, Townsend said he has not received a response from Wofford or Butler to that request.

Meanwhile, Dye is organizing a fish fry fundraiser to help with any charter school expenses that may arise. The fish fry is scheduled for Saturday, March 3 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the White Springs Community Center at 12760 Roberts St. across from Munchie’s.

Adams-Farries summed it up stating, “I just want to say that we have always been a close knit community, and this process has brought us even closer. We are determined to maintain a school in our community and will work diligently to make sure that happens. As parents, we want the best for our children. As citizens of White Springs, we know the value of education as demonstrated by our support of the staff of SHE and the A grade that was a collaborative effort of the school employees, parents, the H.O.P.E. program and the students. We don’t want to see this team of individuals broken up, as our success rate has been proven time and time again.”