Archimedean Acad., Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Miami-Dade Cnty.
| Decision Date | 16 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | s. 3D20-1913,3D20-1854 |
| Citation | 338 So.3d 1032 |
| Parties | ARCHIMEDEAN ACADEMY, INC., etc., et al., Appellants, v. The SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
William Petros Law and William L. Petros, Coral Gables, and Brett J. Novick, for appellant Archimedean Academy, Inc.; Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine, P.L., and Alan J. Kluger and Lisa J. Jerles, for appellant City of Aventura.
Greenberg Traurig, P.A., and Jay A. Yagoda, Francisco O. Sanchez, and Bethany J.M. Pandher, Miami, for appellee.
Before SCALES, HENDON, and MILLER, JJ.
The City of Aventura ("Aventura" or "City") and Archimedean Academy, Inc. ("Archimedean") appeal from a final order granting summary judgment in favor of the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida ("School Board"). We reverse and remand with instructions.
Archimedean operates three charter schools in Miami-Dade County. Aventura operates two charter schools as a branch of the City, and they are the only public schools within the City's boundaries. At issue is whether the School Board must share with the County's charter schools those funds generated from a 2018 voter-approved referendum. Both Archimedean and the City sought declaratory and injunctive relief requiring the School Board to proportionally share the referendum funds. The School Board's interpretation of the Florida statutes governing the funding of public schools would deny any sharing of the 2018 referendum funds with charter schools. The trial court granted the School Board's motion for summary judgment, and the City and Archimedean appeal.
On July 18, 2018, the School Board approved a referendum ("Referendum") to be placed on the November 6, 2018 ballot pursuant to the "additional millage" levy authorized by the 2018 version of section 1011.71(9), Florida Statutes, to generate revenue for "school operational purposes." Subsection (9) authorizes a school district to levy "additional millage for school operational purposes" if approved by referendum, but it does not reference charter schools. Id. The Referendum asked Miami-Dade voters to approve an ad valorem tax levy of 0.75 mills for "operational funds," over a four-year period beginning July 1, 2019, for two purposes: (1) "to improve compensation for high quality teachers and instructional personnel," and (2) "to increase school safety and security personnel."
As it appeared on the 2018 ballot, the Referendum provided:
The voters approved the referendum on November 6, 2018, and the referendum went into effect on July 1, 2019. Charter schools were not mentioned in the Referendum language.
In 2019, the Legislature amended section 1011.71(9) to add the following language, shown in bold, adding a new definition for the phrase "school operational purposes," as used in that provision, to expressly include "charter schools sponsored by a school district," as follows:
(9) In addition to the maximum millage levied under this section and the General Appropriations Act, a school district may levy, by local referendum or in a general election, additional millage for school operational purposes up to an amount that, when combined with nonvoted millage levied under this section, does not exceed the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Any such levy shall be for a maximum of 4 years and shall be counted as part of the 10-mill limit established in s. 9(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution. For the purpose of distributing taxes collected pursuant to this subsection, the term "school operational purposes" includes charter schools sponsored by a school district. Millage elections conducted under the authority granted pursuant to this section are subject to s. 1011.73. Funds generated by such additional millage do not become a part of the calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program total potential funds in 2001-2002 or any subsequent year and must not be incorporated in the calculation of any hold-harmless or other component of the Florida Education Finance Program formula in any year.... Funds levied under this subsection shall be shared with charter schools based on each charter school's proportionate share of the district's total unweighted full-time equivalent student enrollment and used in a manner consistent with the purposes of the levy. The referendum must contain an explanation of the distribution methodology consistent with the requirements of this subsection .
§ 1011.71(9), Fla. Stat. (2019) (emphasis added). Archimedean and the City separately sought declaratory and injunctive relief requiring the School Board to proportionally share Referendum funds. Archimedean, the City, and the School Board filed a joint motion to consolidate the two cases, and the trial court did so. Upon considering all the parties’ separate motions and oral arguments for summary judgment, the circuit court granted the School Board's motion. The City and Archimedean appealed and this Court consolidated both cases for the purpose of travelling together. We review de novo the trial court's order granting summary judgment. Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000).
The School Board argues that the 2018 Referendum's omission of a reference to charter schools indicates that revenues generated from the ad valorem tax levy do not have to be shared with charter schools. We disagree.
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