Over the course of the last couple months, the City of Port St. Lucie has put out the call for education organizations and firms to send their proposals for a potential vocational-technical school in the city’s jobs corridor.
Nearly 300 firms were contacted directly. Emails were sent out to thousands. But just one company responded with a proposal.
Somerset Academy Inc. – which currently operates two schools in St. Lucie County.
Somerset was the “highest-ranked firm,” said Assistant City Manager David Graham. Though it was the lone respondent, Graham said, Somerset’s presentation scored high enough to be brought before the council.
The Port St. Lucie City Council voted Monday night 4-1 to move ahead with negotiating a contract with Somerset, pinning down the size and location of the proposed school campus.
The School District – and possibly the State Department of Education – would have the final say on the school’s approval.
Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan cast the lone vote against proceeding with Somerset. She voiced concern that it was the only company to respond – which, to her, raised a red flag – and questioned the quick pace at city had operated.
“I believe that this was rushed,” Morgan said, though she had approved the timeline as presented when it came to the City Council over the summer.
Graham said the citizen-heavy evaluation and ranking committee spent some eight hours questioning Somerset representatives and reviewing its presentation.
Somerset has recommended a school that would start at grade 6 and go through 12th grade. The school would start with students in grades 6 and 7, and a new grade level would be added the following year.
According to Somerset’s proposal, the school would be a combined 100,000 square feet built in phases as the grade levels began to fill. The property would be situated on an estimated 40 acres somewhere along Interstate 95 in the Tradition Center for Commerce.
Rough cost estimates provided by Somerset show the school could cost at least $18 million, with additional expenditures to equip it for the various trades to be taught to certification.
Councilman John Carvelli, a former St. Lucie Public Schools board member, said he was told during his discussions that Somerset spent approximately 800 hours developing its response to the city. He said he estimated that probably cost the charter school company about $30,000, a price tag that would have scared off other firms.
In his 45 years in Port St. Lucie, Carvelli told the council, he’s always heard a need for a comprehensive vocational-technical school. “Someone’s got to start the ball rolling,” he said.
Other City Council members voiced support and anecdotal evidence of community support. Mayor Gregory Oravec said the responses he’s heard from the public amount to “this can’t happen fast enough.”
Morgan said her interactions with the public have been different. “I didn’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling for it,” she said.
For its part, St. Lucie Public Schools has essentially remained out of the debate, though it would have to oversee the charter school and pass funding through from the state. The school district did not provide its own response to the city’s request for qualifications, nor did it send a representative to discuss the matter at this or any other council meetings where the issue has been raised.
The St. Lucie school district provides 37 different career and tech academies consisting of 62 individual programs within existing county schools, according to Kerry Padrick, a spokeswoman from the district.
The City Council has pointed to the analysis of the Economic Development Council’s Skills Gap study as evidence of need for a vocational-tech campus. Padrick said the programs the school district currently provides align with all the areas of concern within that study.
The school district believes it is already doing the job the city wants someone else to do. According to Padrick, nearly 2,400 certifications were earned last year, of which 516 were healthcare-related. Over the last two years, industry certifications in manufacturing and trade increased by 69 percent. And, through the school district, students can earn their certifications while being dual-enrolled for post-secondary adult vocational clock hours or for college credits through Indian River State College. Such programs include HVAC – heating, ventilation and air conditioning – welding and automotive.
One of the main concerns for St. Lucie Public Schools, though, comes down to funding.
“Dollars that fund a charter vocational-technical school will be siphoned from the already lean school district budget,” Padrick told St. Lucie Voice. “Therefore, careful consideration must be given to any new school and its program of study.”
During the council meeting, Carvelli briefly mentioned the possibility that the School Board might reject Somerset’s application for the vocational-tech school. He said they should be prepared to have the state Department of Education ultimately decide the proposed charter’s fate.
The deadline for Somerset’s application to go before the School Board is Feb. 1.
The City Council anticipates a vote on the negotiated contract for land and location at the Nov. 13 council meeting. Between Nov. 13 and Feb. 1, Somerset would then finalize its proposal and present it to the School Board.
When the charter school could open for students remains to be determined.
