Acad. for Positive Learning, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Palm Beach Cnty.
Decision Date | 24 February 2021 |
Docket Number | No. 4D19-2816,4D19-2816 |
Parties | ACADEMY FOR POSITIVE LEARNING, INC., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Palm Beach Maritime Museum, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, d/b/a Palm Beach Maritime Academy, Marleny Olivo, an individual, and Pedro Olivo, an individual, Appellants, v. SCHOOL BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida and G-Star School of the Arts, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Appellees. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Shawn A. Arnold and Braxton A. Padgett of The Arnold Law Firm, LLC, Jacksonville, for appellants.
Jon L. Mills of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Miami, and Stuart A. Singer and Sabria A. McElroy of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee, School Board of Palm Beach County.
ON APPELLANTS’ MOTION FOR REHEARING EN BANC AND CERTIFICATION OF QUESTION OF GREAT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
After this court's 2-1 affirmance opinion issued April 22, 2020, appellants challenged the majority opinion by filing a motion for rehearing en banc and certification of question of great public importance under Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.330 and 9.331, based on the following arguments, in pertinent part:
For the reasons argued above, we grant appellants’ motion for rehearing en banc, withdraw this court's 2-1 affirmance opinion issued April 22, 2020, and substitute the following reversal opinion in its place. We also grant appellants’ motion for certification of question of great public importance, although we certify a different question than that which appellants have requested, as shown at the end of the following opinion.
OpinionDuring the November 2018 election, the School Board of Palm Beach County, Florida placed a referendum on the ballot asking county voters to approve an ad valorem levy for the operational needs of only non-charter district schools. We conclude the 2018 referendum's exclusion of charter schools violated section 1002.33(17), Florida Statutes (2018), providing "[s]tudents enrolled in a charter school, regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in a basic program or a special program, the same as students enrolled in other public schools in the school district." (emphasis added).
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the circuit court's final judgment (and its incorporated "Orders on Pending Motions for Summary Judgment") and find that the 2018 referendum violated Florida law, as explained below. We remand for the circuit court to enter an order denying the school board's motion for summary judgment and granting appellants’ motions for summary judgment, and to determine the proper remedy to which appellants are entitled under their complaint.
The 2018 referendum appeared on the ballot as follows:
Palm Beach County voters approved the 2018 referendum, which went into effect on July 1, 2019.
After County voters approved the referendum, but before the referendum went into effect, two Palm Beach County charter schools and the parents of a student attending one of those charter schools (collectively, "appellants") filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the school board. The complaint requested the circuit court to: (1) enter a declaratory judgment requiring the school board to share the 2018 referendum revenues with charter schools on a pro rata basis; and (2) enjoin the school board from denying charter schools their proportionate share of the 2018 referendum revenues. In the alternative, the complaint requested the circuit court to declare the 2018 referendum to be illegal and void. Appellants asserted the 2018 referendum's exclusion of charter schools violated section 1002.33(17), Florida Statutes (2018), providing that "[s]tudents enrolled in a charter school, regardless of the sponsorship, shall be funded as if they are in a basic program or a special program, the same as students enrolled in other public schools in the school district." (emphasis added).
Appellants and the school board filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The parties agreed no factual issues existed and the case involved only statutory construction. However, despite having initially pled an alternative request for relief asking the circuit court to declare the 2018 referendum to be illegal and void, appellants’ motion for summary judgment primarily sought the entry of a declaratory judgment requiring the school board to share the 2018 referendum revenues with charter schools on a pro rata basis and enjoining the school board from denying charter schools their proportionate share of the 2018 referendum revenues. As the circuit court later observed, "Neither side wants to lose the money, rather the parties simply disagree about who gets the money."
Following a hearing, the circuit court issued an order granting the school board's motion for summary judgment and denying appellants’ motions. The circuit court found the 2018 referendum did not violate Florida law. The circuit court later entered a final judgment in the school board's favor, prompting this appeal.
We conclude the 2018 referendum's exclusion of charter schools violated Florida law, as explained below.
The method by which students enrolled in charter schools are funded, and the sources from which such funding is derived, are provided in Section 1002.33(17), Florida Statutes (2018), titled "Charter schools." That section provides, in pertinent part:
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Dean Wish, LLC v. Lee Cnty.
...[the court's] conclusion that the statute has a plain and discernible meaning"), and Acad. for Positive Learning, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Palm Beach Cnty. , 315 So. 3d 675, 684 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021) (en banc) (refusing to determine the effects of a recent amendment and "simply interpret[ing] the ......
-
Archimedean Acad., Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Miami-Dade Cnty.
...personnel," and (2) "to increase school safety and security personnel."As it appeared on the 2018 ballot, the Referendum provided:SCHOOL BOARD REFERENDUMReferendum to Approve Ad Valorem Levy for Teachers, Instructional Personnel, School Safety and SecurityShall the School Board of Miami-Dad......