Learning Place Academy

LEE SCHOOL BOARD ENDS CONTRACT WITH CHARTER SCHOOL; March 8, 2011; WZVN-TV (NC)

LEE COUNTY: Lee County has 21 charter schools. They're publicly funded, but privately run. Tuesday, Lee County's School Board voted to terminate a contract with one scheduled to open this school year.

The Learning Place Academy is still listed online under Lee County's list of charter schools. But that will soon change after Tuesday's school board meeting.

The Lee County School Board voted to end its contract with the charter school…

The district claims The Learning Place Academy failed to secure a "suitable, safe facility."  Its governing board moved the school from its location 235 Joel Boulevard in Lehigh Acres 20 miles west to 940 Tarpon Street in Fort Myers.  The Tarpon Street location had previously been deemed unsafe for a school.

According to school district documents, McCullers had "observed facility concerns such as a lack of safety markings, dirty and damaged carpets, exposed electrical wiring, missing evacuation signs, and a lack of posted inspection certificates."…

The governing board for the school also never hired a principal, according the district records. And it had been granted a charter to serve up to 275 students this year, but never actually enrolled a student.

Now, reps from The Learning Place Academy have two weeks to request a hearing before they must repay the $87,000 loaned to them.

"The money that we forwarded them to teach students this year, we're now using to teach students in our schools, so we really need it back," McCullers said.

Attempts to reach the contact for The Learning Place Academy by phone and email this week were unsuccessful…