Board set for 'lab' school in Tradition

By CHARLIE REED and MARGOT SUSCA
The governing board that will guide the construction and management of a new laboratory charter school in Tradition formed Thursday.

The school, a joint effort between the St. Lucie County School District and Florida Atlantic University, is scheduled to open as a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade facility in 2008, with plans to add a small high school in the future.

A laboratory school must be anchored by a state university — in this case, FAU — and offers educators the opportunity to research, evaluate and demonstrate new teaching methods and philosophies.

"We'll be able to offer kids things they've never been able to partake of," said Deborah Hawley, chairwoman of the seven-member governing board of the nonprofit FAU-Treasure Coast University Schools Inc.

Members were chosen by the FAU board of trustees and the St. Lucie County School Board, said Hawley, a citrus grower and lifelong county resident.

With $15 million in state funds earmarked for the school in 2004, a construction contract must be signed by February or the money will revert to the state.

The new board now must decide whether the school district or FAU will finance the other $15 million needed to build the school.

"We've looked at a wide variety of options," said Glenn Thomas, who oversees FAU's other two laboratory schools in Boca Raton. "But no strategy has been finalized yet."

What has been firmed up is the land for the project.
In exchange for $2.7 million in school impact fee credits, the developer of Tradition officially deeded 33 acres of land in the master-planned community to the school district.
The donation by Core Communities will cover the educational impact fees on each home built until the $2.7 million dries up. At the current fee of $4,996, about 550 homes could go up without any money going directly to school district coffers.

Still, the deal is a windfall for the district because the land is worth about $12 million, said Shawn Reilly, vice president of marketing for Core.

"We're really putting a lot of money on the table," Reilly said. "It's good for Tradition and good for the area."

School Board Chairwoman Kathryn Hensley agreed.
"I think the exchange is fair," she said. "Would I like more? Sure. But it's fair."
A total of 18,696 homes have been planned for Tradition, according to the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council Web site. That means the community could generate more than $90 million in school impact fees — at the current rate.

Although the school will be located within the sprawling residential and commercial subdivision west of Interstate 95, it will not be limited to Tradition residents.
Enrollment must mirror the demographics of the state and will be pulled from all over the county, Hensley said.

"State law on a lab school is very clear," she said. "It cannot be an elitist school."
charlie.reed@scripps.com margot.susca@scripps.com

AT A GLANCE
Enrollment: 1,600 in grades kindergarten through eighth, opening for 2008-09 year.
• 33 acres inside Tradition.
• School could look like West Gate K-8 in St. Lucie West.
• Site eventually will host a small high school.
• Paid for in part by a $15 million line item from 2004 Legislature.