A.T. Jones Academy

TAMPA CHARTER SCHOOL LOSES $64,000 FOR ENROLLING UNDERAGE STUDENTS; March 23, 2011; Tampa Tribune (FL) 

TAMPA — Twenty-two children were removed from kindergarten this week after school district officials discovered they were too young to be enrolled in their public charter school.

Now that school, A.T. Jones Academy, stands to lose more than $64,000 in state and local funding to make up for the error.

"It was a mistake the principal made at the school," said Hillsborough County charter schools supervisor Jenna Hodgens. "The mistake was caught."

The situation came to light after principal Brenda Kearse sought help from the district for a student with behavior problems. When officials learned the student's age — 4 years old, despite a state law setting the minimum age for public school at 5 by Sept. 1 — they checked and found 21 more…

Kearse told Bay News 9 that she misinterpreted state law…

School district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the principal and the charter's board should have known better.

"Charter schools have autonomy," she said. "It is their responsibility to follow the law."

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PARENTS MUST PAY AS FREE KINDERGARTEN ENDS AT CHARTER SCHOOL; March 23, 2011; Tampa Tribune (FL) 

TAMPA - Parents of 4-year-olds attending a kindergarten class for free learned they'll need to pay $115 a week for the rest of the year because their charter school, A.T. Jones Academy, mistakenly enrolled students too young for the program…

The school is named for the Rev. Arthur T. Jones, pastor of the Bible-Based Fellowship Church, who emphasized math, science and technology skills in opening the academy this school year…

Located next to the church, [the school] used to house the Bible-Based Fellowship Christian Academy, a private school that closed in 2008 because of low enrollment…