*Updated to reflect vote breakdown and comments from the ACPS public information officer.
NEWBERRY, FL (352today.com) – Parents and teachers gathered in Newberry Wednesday anxiously waiting to learn the outcome of votes on whether to convert three Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) in the city into charter schools.
The tallying of ballots started at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 17, at the Mentholee Norfleet Municipal Building under the watchful eye of Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton.
Parents and teachers cast ballots April 5-12 to decide whether Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle, and Newberry High Schools would be converted.
The counting process lasted all day. Around 11:30 a.m., Barton read the result for Newberry Elementary, announcing it failed. The district also posted on Facebook saying the vote failed.
Roughly two hours later, ACPS shared in a Facebook post conversion for Oak View Middle School also did not pass.
The completed vote count for the conversion of Newberry High School into a charter school also resulted in a no.
Though the district says the votes failed, there is some question regarding one of the votes.
The Breakdown
Newberry Elementary
Parents:
- 149 yes for the charter school conversion
- 125 no for the charter school conversion
Teachers:
- 22 yes for the charter school conversion
- 21 no for the charter school conversion
Oak View Middle School
Parents:
- 143 yes for the charter school conversion
- 244 no for the charter school conversion
Teachers:
- 9 yes the charter school conversion
- 40 no the charter school conversion
Newberry High School
Parents:
- 114 yes for the charter school conversion
- 149 no for the charter school conversion
Teachers:
- 17 yes for the charter school conversion
- 12 no for the charter school conversion
While there are more votes in favor of the conversion for the elementary school, it wasn’t enough to meet the established requirement of a majority (50%+1) of parents and teachers.
ACPS Public Information Officer Jackie Johnson says there were multiple improperly submitted ballots including one teacher ballot that made the difference in the elementary school’s outcome.
Johnson added that supporters of the conversion want the ballots recounted and says the group indicated they plan to take the matter to the state for further review.
“As for what happens next, that’s up to the Yes Newberry group. As far as we’re concerned, the voting and the tally are done,” stated Johnson.
The group supporting the conversion shared on its Facebook page, “We are not prepared to concede the final outcome of the Elementary School and are evaluating the appropriate options for ensuring the election was conducted with integrity, that all teacher intentions were properly accounted for and that parents and teachers can have confidence in the final results.”
352today has reached out to the Yes Newberry group and is awaiting further response. When we have more information, we’ll update this story.