Lincoln in limbo. Manatee School Board considers future of former charter school

More than a year has passed since the Manatee School Board took control of Lincoln Memorial Academy, a traditional middle school that converted to a charter. The campus now remains in limbo as board members plan their next steps.

Lincoln Memorial Academy, 305 17th St. E. in Palmetto, made it one year before the school board voted to terminate its charter and reclaim its property on July 23, 2019, citing problems with the school’s leadership and finances.

The action led to a series of legal challenges, including an ongoing federal lawsuit against the school district.

After the July 2019 takeover, an administrative law judge affirmed the school board’s decision about two months later. And the state’s First District Court of Appeal backed the judge’s decision after Lincoln Memorial’s former leadership filed a challenge.

The school district, having cleared those legal hurdles, is now operating Lincoln Memorial as a traditional public school once more, Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said Wednesday.

The traditional model is what motivated school leaders to pursue a charter in the first place. Under the leadership of then-Principal Eddie Hundley, the overwhelming majority of families and school employees voted for change in March 2017, supporting the move to become an autonomous, community-run school.

Lincoln Memorial Middle School officially opened as Lincoln Memorial Academy in the 2018-19 school year, offering a new model that focused on character development, career exposure and Trojan pride.

“If kids that are high performing need a special type of school, and kids prolific in the arts need a special type of school, then kids that are under-served and need more time need a special type of school,” Hundley said at the time.

When the school board voted to take control of the campus in July 2019, it signified the end of a short-lived dream. And while a majority of board members believe the takeover was needed to protect students from a poorly-run operation, some have also promised to help restore the community’s vision.

“We didn’t say anything at all about it becoming a traditional middle school, and we didn’t say anything at all about a district-managed charter school,” board member James Golden said in September 2019. “What I want to hear, very much in detail, is how we get this school returned to the community.”

‘WHAT I PROMISED IS NOT POSSIBLE’

As it turns out, re-establishing Lincoln Memorial as a standard charter school would be harder than expected. Frank Pistella, the director of district support, presented the school board with options on Wednesday morning.

If a qualified applicant were to apply, he or she could bring a new charter and unique programs back to the school. And if that applicant needed extra support, Pistella said, they could instead form a “district-managed charter school.”

The school would still have its own governing board and control over day-to-day operations. However, it could also contract with the district for needed services, such as transportation, food services or human resources.

But with no applications submitted as of Wednesday, the likelihood of Lincoln Memorial having a charter in the upcoming school year was unlikely, if not impossible.

The Bradenton Herald reported in April that Florida Prep Academies Inc. — an organization backed by New York Jets player and Manatee County native Brian Poole Jr. — had applied for a charter to run the school.

While he stopped short of naming the company on Wednesday morning, Pistella said the only applicant for Lincoln Memorial has since withdrawn.

Another company sent the district a “letter of intent” to apply for a charter but missed the Feb. 1 deadline. The company had sites in Texas and Arkansas, but not in Florida — a far cry from the local control that some envisioned.

While Lincoln Memorial could become a charter in the future, an option afforded to any traditional school, it seemed unlikely to happen before August, when the 2021-22 school year begins.

“What I promised is not possible . . . And if it’s not possible, then we need to move on to what is possible,” Golden said on Wednesday.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

It was possible, Pistella said, that Lincoln Memorial could become a magnet campus, meaning a traditional school with specialized programs.

District leaders gave the example of a medical program, even posing a name for the imaginary school: Lincoln Middle Medical Magnet School.

Doug Wagner, the deputy superintendent of operations, said the school could offer field trips, guest speakers and exposure to a variety of medical careers, whether it be nursing, coding and billing, surgical technology or another job.

“I question whether that’s the right thing to do,” board member Mary Foreman responded. “The community is very focused on Lincoln . . . I think we need to go to them and ask what they think, what they see their students needing. Not telling them, ‘Hey, there’s jobs in medical.’ They may not be interested in medical.”

“I think we need to really get the community involved in that,” she continued. “Let them interview their own principal, let them choose what focus they want in academics, choose the electives and kind of work it as a transition period.”

The board chair, Charlie Kennedy, was quick to agree. Lincoln Memorial Academy advertised career exposure, athletics and the arts, along with leadership development and municipal responsibility. The model invigorated staff and students, he said.

“The atmosphere at that school was one of great pride, having been there for a few pep rallies,” Kennedy said.

In response to Foreman’s concerns, board member Gina Messenger said Wednesday’s meeting was the start of a larger conversation that would involve students, parents and school employees.

“I think that there needs to be community buy-in,” Messenger said.

Her comment prompted Rodney Jones, former president of the Manatee NAACP, to yell out from the audience: “You’re not welcome in the community.”

AN OPEN WOUND

The takeover of Lincoln Memorial Academy left the school and its supporters with an emotional wound.

School board members believe that weak finances and leadership posed a danger to students, a statement echoed by several judges, while some residents believe the evidence was misleading, if not fraudulent.

Hundley, the school’s former principal, is now pursuing a civil rights lawsuit against the school district, the city of Palmetto and the Florida Department of Education.

Meanwhile, students and school employees are caught in the crossfire, wondering what may become of the school. Will the campus ever go back to having a charter? What will the school be called now that Lincoln Memorial Academy is no more?

The school board is likely to continue that discussion in late February or early March.

“Until this board makes a decision about what that school is going to be and how it’s going to be operated, it will continue to be in limbo,” board member Scott Hopes said.

This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.