Academica Schools / Florida politician (ethics complaint)

ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST STATE REP. FRESEN; / An ethics complaintwas filed against a Miami lawmaker over his connection to a charter schoolscompany; April 29, 2011; Miami Herald (FL) 

A Tallahassee mother of three said she filed an ethics complaint this week against state Rep. Erik Fresen over his family’s ties to a charter school company.

Fresen, a Miami Republican, voted in a Florida House committee last week for a broad charter schools reform bill. His sister and brother-in-law work for Academica, which runs numerous charter schools in Florida…

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

QUESTIONS RAISED OVER LAWMAKER’S PUSH FOR CHARTER SCHOOL BILL; A provision tucked into a Florida House charter schools bill has prompted South Miami officials to cry foul on a state lawmaker; April 27, 2011, Miami Herald (FL)

State Rep. Erik Fresen, who sits on several education committees in the Florida House, is again raising eyebrows for his family ties to a prominent Miami-Dade charter school company.

Fresen’s sister and brother-in-law run Academica, a for-profit company that manages dozens of charter schools.

Last week, Fresen slipped language into a bill that would prohibit cities from imposing stricter zoning and building restrictions on charter schools than on traditional public schools. Charter schools are publicly funded but privately run.

The provision is aimed in part at South Miami, which recently approved charter school regulations that could directly affect Academica. The company, city Mayor Philip Stoddard said, may be looking to expand Somerset Academy at SoMi, where Fresen’s twin sons go to school. And Academica has expressed interest in building a school in Palmetto Bay.

Fresen scoffed at the idea that he put forth the provision to benefit his family. His brother-in-law, Fernando Zulueta, runs Academica with Fresen’s sister, Maggie. And Fresen is a land-use consultant for Civica, an architectural firm that has designed several Academica schools…

But while school districts must meet certain criteria to expand or build a new, traditional public school — such as hold public hearings — charter schools are often exempt. The new provision would prevent cities and counties from setting some of those rules at the municipal level, said Tucker Gibbs, a Miami land-use attorney who is fighting a proposed Academica school in Coral Gables…