Another path to a Destin High School?

Would it be easier to establish a charter school in Destin than a regular high school?

“I think the opposition faced by people wanting a high school in Destin is enormous,” City Councilor Jim Bagby told The Log last month. “You’ve got the school district against it, a lot of people in the county against it (and) in a time of declining money for school systems ... You’ve got too many obstacles to having a high school.”

According to city surveys of Destin residents, a Destin High School is one of the items that consistently turns up on wish lists. Mayor Craig Barker said earlier this year that he receives an inquiry a week about the possibility of building a school.

Okaloosa County School Board officials have said it isn’t practical: There isn’t enough land; the school board doesn’t have enough money; and the high school would be too small to offer the range of courses that Choctawhatchee or Niceville High Schools do.

In February, Destin resident Charlie Saleeby said that given how Destin property taxes pay a large share of the district’s budget, that wasn’t good enough. He said that even a small high school could be good enough to be worthy of the community.

“I came from a small school, I think a lot of you came from a small school, it never hurt me,” Saleeby said. “How many kids from Destin get to play football, basketball, soccer, cheerleading? How many programs in these massive schools do they get to participate in, anyway? How many kids don’t because of the distance (to travel there)?”

After Saleeby asked the council for support, the council voted to schedule a workshop with the school board on the subject, and to have Mayor

Craig Barker send a letter to the school board in favor of a high school.

Now at least one councilor is floating the idea of a Destin charter school.

As defined by uscharterschools.org, charter schools run free of some of the regulations of the public school system and operate under a charter that spells out their goals and commitments. Florida law says the purpose of charter schools includes providing competition for other schools in the district, helping meet the demands of population growth and creating new professional opportunities for teachers.

A charter school can be created either brand-new, or by converting an existing school into a charter school. Okaloosa County charters include the Collegiate High School, which allows students to graduate with a high-school diploma and an associate’s college degree, and Emerald Coast Marine Institute, an “adventure-based” school for at-risk teens.

Bagby said creating a charter school might prove as difficult as establishing a high school, but given the resistance outside Destin to a high school, shooting for a charter might be a better move. He said that both the Collegiate High School and Seaside’s charter middle school scored very high in state rankings.

The application to open the school must show the school meets Florida’s definition of a charter school; provide a detailed curriculum plan that meets state standards; contains goals for measurably improving the students’ learning; and contain a plan for funding the school for the duration of the charter. The charter has to go into detail on the school’s mission, its curriculum and teaching methods and facilities. The school board would then review the proposal and make a decision, which could be appealed.

“It is a lengthy process with a timeline attached,” Diane Kelly, the school district’s director of curriculum said. “That is probably why we have very few charters in our area ... A lot of people are turned off to the whole process.”