[CFrance]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

I view the charter schools in The Villages as "perks" for current employees similar to what I once enjoyed as a staff member of The University of California. Although I lived and worked in New Mexico at a UC operated laboratory there I could send my children to a UC school for instate tuition. If I left the job, which I did before they reached college age, I lost the benefit.

But... your kids, had they been in the university system at the time you left your job, would not have been kicked out of school. You would have had to pay out-of-state tuition, but you had a choice.

Different, too, than uprooting young kids out of their comfort system and throwing them into a new school mid-year. We're talking young kids and teenagers as opposed to college students. A much more traumatic situation. And factor in the death of a parent followed by being kicked out of school immediately... unforgivable.

[DougB]

Originally Posted by NottaVillager

You know..what does this have to do with ANYBODY who lives in TV? The charter school system was essentially a gift from the Morses to those who work in TV. They didn't have to do it. Nobody made them do it. In essence it's their club, they get to set the rules. How they run it is most certainly NOT the business of people who live in TV.

Charter schools are public schools and receive their operating money from taxes collected by state and local government. They are granted a charter from the local school district to operate. So YES, it is the business of the people in TV who pay taxes.
By the way, from what I know about TVCS, they appear to be an excellent school.

[mrfixit]

Originally Posted by DougB

Charter schools are public schools and receive their operating money from taxes collected by state and local government. They are granted a charter from the local school district to operate. So YES, it is the business of the people in TV who pay taxes.
By the way, from what I know about TVCS, they appear to be an excellent school.

I agree with the "Excellent School" thoughts.

The parents are greatly involved...and...us many of us old Villagers have been known to lend a hand now and then.

If some Villagers have never toured the Schools....please get an overview, when available.

You may be surprised at all the opportunities the students have available.

Heck, call the school and sign up for a lunch put on by the Culinary School Students.

Of course, the extra $ 1,000,000.00 + plus that Mr. Morse adds back to the
school kitty each year certainly is appreciated.

[NottaVillager]

Originally Posted by DougB

Charter schools are public schools and receive their operating money from taxes collected by state and local government. They are granted a charter from the local school district to operate. So YES, it is the business of the people in TV who pay taxes.
By the way, from what I know about TVCS, they appear to be an excellent school.

BUT..If it wasn't for the Morse family this school wouldn't even be here to begin with. AND..if Morse for some reason withdrew his support the school would wither and die on the vine like a flower without water in the hot sun. So we go back to the original thought. It's NONE of the Villager's business. It is between Morse and the people who go there.

[DougB]

I would think the only ones who it would be none of their business is those that are Not ta Villager.

[jbdlfan]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

A good education is the key to success. What I've always wondered with so many retirees in the area paying taxes to support education with no children in school why are all the schools in the area not more like the charter school?

The other schools are doing well. Look at Bushnell, Lake Pan elementary as well as South Sumter middle, these are outstanding schools. You just won't read about it in the local paper. As for what DougB mentioned, when you take out the lower level learner, or in other words, the bottom 25%, you will always outperform other schools on standardized tests. But you have to realistic and compare apples to apples. TVCS is not a private school, it is a public charter school. Although they have excellent facilities, they are no match for the "best" schools in the area. You can't compare them to schools like Lake Highland Prep or Trinity Catholic. Just as it is not a fair comparison of TVCS and say large public schools like you find in Marion County.

[Happydaz]

I have a question of how TVCS, if it is mostly publicly funded, can restrict attendance to Village employees only. Since public monies are involved you would think that they would need something like an entrance exam to select their student body, something similar to how magnet schools function in large cities.

[NottaVillager]

Originally Posted by DougB

I would think the only ones who it would be none of their business is those that are Not ta Villager.

I live here. I have to. I don't like it. I am Notta Villager because I don't buy into the "lifestyle".

[Jejuca]

Happydaz - In Florida, Charter schools send an application to the local school board for approval. The application (charter) outlines the services they will provide, the curriculum, the parent requirements, etc. The school board reviews the charter and decides whether or not to approve the school. So in the case of The Villages schools the charter must state the requirements for attending.
Charter schools are funded with our tax dollars just like public schools. If a student attends a charter school the majority of FTE money that would have gone to the school district goes to the charter school instead.
There are some exceptional charters like The Villages Charter schools and there are some really terrible charter schools.
If charter schools take federal money they must accommodate people with disabilities.
This is a very simplistic summary - the process for getting a charter school is very involved.

[Happydaz]

Thanks for the info on charter schools! It certainly is a complicated process.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by DougB

Top criteria on my list would be involved caring parents such as yourself.

Yes, this is a top criteria, and that is the main reason why the charter schools in TV are good.....it takes extra effort, time and energy to take one's kids to school out of district. We know it because we did it, taking our kids to parochial schools all the way thru.

It would have been much easier to send them to the public schools a half mile or mile away, but they would have been just a number in a sea of bodies mostly raising themselves with little or no parenting...and school administrators who had little or no authority. We chose to parent and make the extra effort and expense, and it's been well worth it.

[sharonga]

My granddaughter is in 2nd grade at the Villages Elementary School. My daughter is employed by the State of Florida on Village property. My granddaughter is eligible. My daughter refuses to put her in the charter school because she does not want to have to worry about switching her daughter should something happen to her job. I am a former employee of the NYC Department of Education. I went to the Charter school and was told at least 100 children a year are asked to leave. We did not want to take a chance. I still think the school is top notch and anyone who attends and fits the mold will have the best education the state can give.

[sharonga]

OH, what I was told was if the child is an excellent student, they will be allowed to finish the term. Term, not year. If the child is average, they have to be enrolled in another school within a week.

[TheVillageChicken]

Originally Posted by sharonga

OH, what I was told was if the child is an excellent student, they will be allowed to finish the term. Term, not year. If the child is average, they have to be enrolled in another school within a week.

What if they are an average student who can dunk a basketball?

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

I have a question of how TVCS, if it is mostly publicly funded, can restrict attendance to Village employees only. Since public monies are involved you would think that they would need something like an entrance exam to select their student body, something similar to how magnet schools function in large cities.

I am not a big fan of Charter Schools for the reason you mention that you have to basically be an employee of TV for your child to attend TVCS. Yes, I know this was orginally approved by the Local School Board but that doesnt mean that was necessarly a good decision.

Secondly, Charter Schools take much needed Public education money from underfunded school districts. Private schools are privately funded.

I do believe the posts regarding employers who wrongly pressure some employees because their children attend TVCS. I believe it is a small number but still wrong that could bring at least a labor lawsuit.