The results: Will any of Newberry's schools convert to public charter?

The votes to determine the possible conversion of Newberry’s three public schools to charter schools were counted Wednesday at the Mentholee Municipal Building in Newberry. In summary, the conversion movement failed in all three cases, though it is disputing one set of results.

The city of Newberry announced a plan on Feb. 19 in collaboration with Education First for Newberry to convert its public schools — Newberry Elementary, Oak View Middle and Newberry High — to public charter schools. Since then, the group spearheading the campaign had been unable to offer many guarantees to the public. The plan had also been updated multiple times amid residents voicing their concerns and opposition to the proposed conversion.

State rules specified who could participate in the vote — teachers at the three schools and parents of students currently attending the three schools — and one vote was allowed per household. However, a teacher who is also the parent of a student was allowed to submit both a teacher and parent ballot for the household, The Sun previously reported.

In accordance with Florida Statute 1002.33, a majority of teachers employed at each school and a majority of parents voting whose children are enrolled must support the change for it to become effective.

Kim Barton, Alachua County supervisor of elections, read the rules aloud before starting the count. Because the vote was a secret ballot, Barton said, no identifying information was allowed on the envelope or ballot. Additionally, she said, a ballot would be rejected if it was postmarked after April 12 or received after the close of business day on April 16.

Barton read each individual ballot and its results aloud, stating “yes” or “no” to the public. The public count — which spanned nearly six hours — began about 8:30 a.m. and continued through 3 p.m.

Ballot issues

There were multiple issues during the counting of the ballots that left staff unable to count some votes. Some ballots were rejected due to having identifying information (the person’s name) or being placed in the wrong ballot box, among other reasons.

Many ballots were placed to the side for manual counting if, for example, there was any damage or a check mark written instead of the bubble being filled in.

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Newberry Elementary Outcome

Teachers:

• “Yes” votes: 22

• "No" votes: 21

• Teachers who didn't vote (counts as a "no" vote): 4

• Ballots accepted: 39 ballots

• Ballots rejected: 1

There were 44 teachers eligible to vote and the total number of “yes” votes needed was 50% plus 1 of that number, meaning 23 “yes” votes were needed to pass the teacher vote. This was not met due to an incorrectly placed ballot — if the ballot had been correct, and the teacher's intent to vote "yes" was clear, conversion of Newberry Elementary could have passed.

Households:

• “Yes” votes: 149

• "No" votes: 125

• Ballots accepted: 274

• Ballots rejected: 5

The total number of households eligible to vote was 520 and the total number of votes required was 50% plus 1 of that number: 261, which was met. The number of "yes" votes needed was more than half of that, so 131 (rounded from 130.5), which was also met.

Numbers previously shared by Newberry Education First, as reported by The Sun, stated that 329 households had to participate in the vote and a minimum of 165 “yes” votes were needed to pass.

An issue presented itself during the first round of counting teacher ballots when a ballot in a blue teacher envelope was opened and contained a parent ballot inside, which contained a "yes" vote. The color of envelopes for parent ballots was gold.

Staff would not release the teacher's vote count until the issue on whether to count the incorrect ballot was clarified with their attorney. After clarification, Barton and Carl Delesdernier, Alachua County deputy supervisor of elections, announced that the “yes” vote would not be counted, as the ballot was submitted incorrectly.

Joel Searby, Education First for Newberry board member and continued spokesperson of the campaign, debated the decision, stating the teacher’s intent was clearly to vote "yes" since the ballot was marked “yes” and in a blue teacher envelope. However, the county maintained that since the ballot was labeled a parent ballot (despite there being no difference in the language of the question asked on the ballot) they could not count it.

Cathy Atria explained that staff called an attorney who said, per the rules, that the ballot was improperly submitted. Even though the correct envelope was submitted into the correct ballot box, she said, since an incorrect ballot was inside the envelope, it would be considered improperly submitted and wouldn’t be counted.

Searby, in a statement to The Sun, thanked parents, teachers and community leaders who helped make the initiative possible and again expressed his disagreement with the outcome of Newberry Elementary.

"At the elementary school, with 23 teacher 'yes' votes and 17 teacher 'no' votes and the final count after [abstentions] and one disputed ballot being 22-21 in favor of Yes, we are not prepared to concede the final outcome of the Elementary School," said Searby in an email.

"We are evaluating the appropriate options for ensuring the election was conducted with integrity, that all teacher intentions were properly accounted for, and that parents and teachers can have confidence in the final results. With regards to the middle and high schools, we respect the democratic process and understand that the teachers and parents have spoken and will respect the results. To see such a wide 'yes' margin among teachers at the high school is indicative of needed change with 17 yes and only 6 no votes and 6 abstaining. We look forward to working together to advocate for all students in our great community."

Newberry Education First posted on Facebook that it is "not prepared to concede the final outcome of the Elementary School and are evaluating the appropriate options for ensuring the election was conducted with integrity, that all teacher intentions were properly accounted for and that parents and teachers can have confidence in the final results."

Jordan Marlowe, Newberry mayor, also spoke out on Facebook against the decision, claiming the supervisor of elections made a mistake and stating that the majority of both teachers and parents voted "yes" for Newberry Elementary.

Result: The vote to convert Newberry Elementary to a public charter did not pass.

Oak View Middle Outcome

Teachers:

• “Yes” votes: 9

• "No" votes: 40

• Teachers who didn't vote (counts as a "no" vote): 2

• Ballots accepted: 47

• Ballots rejected: 0

There were 49 teachers eligible to vote and the total number of “yes” votes needed was 50% plus 1 of that number: 26 (rounded from 25.5), which was not met.

Numbers previously shared by Newberry Education First, as reported by The Sun, stated that 27 teachers had to vote “yes”, and then updated that number to 25.

Households:

• “Yes” votes: 134

• "No" votes: 244

• Ballots accepted: 378

• Ballots rejected: 8

The total number of households eligible to vote was 823 and the total number of votes needed was 50% plus 1 of that number: 412, which was not met. The number of "yes" votes needed was more than half of that, so 207, which was also not met.

Numbers previously shared by Newberry Education First, as reported by The Sun, stated that 469 households had to participate in the vote and a minimum of 235 “yes” votes were needed to pass.

Result: The vote to convert Oak View to a public charter did not pass.

Newberry High Outcome

Teachers:

• “Yes” votes: 17

• "No" votes: 12

• Teachers who didn't vote (counts as a "no" vote): 6

• Ballots accepted: 23

• Ballots rejected: 0

There were 29 teachers eligible to vote and the total number of “yes” votes needed was 50% plus 1 of that number: 15 (rounded from 14.5), which was met.

Numbers previously shared by Newberry Education First, as reported by The Sun, stated that 19 teachers had to vote “yes”, and then updated that number to 16.

Households:

• “Yes” votes: 114

• "No" votes: 149

• Ballots accepted: 263

• Ballots rejected: 3

The total number of households eligible to vote was 626 and the total number of votes needed was 50% plus 1 of that number: 314, which was not met. The number of "yes" votes needed was a more than half of that, so 158, which was also not met

Numbers previously shared by Newberry Education First, as reported by The Sun, stated that 376 households had to participate in the vote and a minimum of 189 “yes” votes were needed to pass.

Result: The vote to convert Newberry High to a public charter did not pass.

"It's obvious that how much the people, the school communities, care about their schools," Jackie Johnson, Alachua County Public Schools spokesperson, said. "That much has been made very obvious over the last couple of months and, regardless of where they fell on this issue, it was obvious that they are very passionate about their schools and about their students... I'm including all the families, the teachers and the citizens in the communities, and that includes Archer as well, and that is certainly a very positive thing."

Johnson also recognized everyone involved in the process, including Barton and her team, who helped facilitate the balloting and voting.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Yes Newberry fails to convert public schools to charter