Plan for Key Biscayne high school takes a step forward

Parents gathered at the council chamber Tuesday to ask the members once again to complete the application process necessary for a high school in the village.

BY ROCIO BLANCO GARCIA. blanco-garcia@MiamiHerald.com
The Miami Herald.  Posted on Sat, Jun. 14, 2008

Responding to hundreds of e-mails from Key Biscayne parents seeking a charter high school, the Village Council agreed Tuesday to start the application process.
The unanimous approval came after consultants changed a previous recommendation and agreed there is enough time to complete the application by Aug. 1, in time to have a school for the 2009-10 school year.
However, council members expressed doubts the work could be completed by then. The consultants, EdVisions Schools, had previously advised the council not to file the application until 2009.
''It worries me that this company has doubts,'' said Councilman Enrique García. ``We need to make the right decision with the right information, and right now I feel I'm stepping on thin ice.''
But he and the other council members agreed it was worth trying.
The council created a seven-member committee of parents who will work with the consultant to draft the application, and filled it with parents who volunteered at the meeting. Some still expressed doubts about the process.
''We don't know anything about education,'' said one newly appointed committee member, Leo Brito. ``How are we going to answer the questions they will ask us?''
In the past month, city administrators and council members have received e-mails from more than 400 families expressing the need for a high school in the village and urging action.
The nearest high school, MAST Academy on Virginia Key, is a magnet school and does not have open enrollment. Key Biscayne students must either attend Coral Gables High School, or a private school such as Ransom Everglades.
The council plans to hold a special meeting at the end of July to review the application. Even if the application is approved by the state charter board, there still may not be enough time to have a high school approved and staffed in time for the 2009 school year, Vice Mayor Jorge Mendia said.
''Don't assume this is a done deal,'' Mendia said. ``We're still really far away.''

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