INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – The Indian River County School Board unanimously supported staff recommendation to deny two charter schools’ applications. Neither proposed school is expected to appeal.

A representative from one of the proposed charters, the Gwen Cherry Learning Center, said that they plan to resubmit next year. The other charter, Vero Beach Academy, was not in the audience to address the denial.

School Superintendent Dr. Harry La Cava told the board he learned Tuesday that the potential sale of the property to a developer who had planned to lease the site to the charter had fallen through. Read more about Vero Beach Academy.

Attorney Marvin Seidman told the School Board that he could not fault the findings of the district committee that recommended denying Feed the Lambs Enrichment Program’s charter application.

“The application may have had some weaknesses,” Seidman said.

He told the School Board that he would like to see the district put into place a process for staff and applicants to review the applications and give applicants the opportunity to address the deficiencies.

Instead of appealing the district’s denial, Seidman said the group plans to resubmit next year.

“We hope to be back next year,” he told the board.

Seidman said that the process did help to point out the problems with the application, its details and its editing, including the absence in the budget for assistant principals, which should have been included.

“I think we would be remiss to approve an application that is not up to the standards of the statutes and does not justify why this particular type of school is needed,” School Board member Claudia Jimenez said.

The Gwen Cherry Learning Center would have been a K-12 school with students starting in grades K, 4 and 7 the first year and advancing to the next grade the following year.