16341: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Charter school serving Haitians can't open due to build (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Charter school serving Haitians can't open due to building problems



By Karla D. Shores
Education Writer

August 5, 2003

A charter elementary school that mainly serves poor Haitian children will
not open for the fall because the school has not had an appropriate
certificate of occupancy for the past three years, a Broward County zoning
official said Monday.

Less than three weeks before the first day of school on Aug. 25, as many as
500 students planning to attend Charter School Institute Training Center
Annex, at 5420 N. State Road 7, will have to scramble to return to their
neighborhood schools.

County officials learned two weeks ago that school founder Joseph Valbrun
did not have proper permits and licensing to operate a school at the site in
unincorporated Broward County. No one could answer why Valbrun has been
allowed to operate the school for the past three years or why the errors
apparently were just discovered.

The worst of Valbrun's problems may have started when Broward County Public
Schools Safety Director Jerry Graziose recently learned Valbrun did not
apply for building permits to complete renovations, Graziose said.

"There are variances that would have to be approved first, prior to the
school opening, and at this time those documents have not been submitted or
scheduled," said Stan Morris, assistant director of the county's zoning code
services division. Valbrun "has to go through a formal process of submitting
paperwork to get before the board of adjustment to approve it. And our next
meeting is Oct. 2."

Valbrun, who runs a smaller charter school under the same name in Hallandale
Beach, conducted a meeting at the school Monday morning but did not appear
to be shaken by the news.

"As far as I'm concerned, the school will open," Valbrun said. "The school
has been open for three years. What is the problem now?"

What further complicates Valbrun's situation is the charter school soon will
become part of the city of North Lauderdale, which cannot make decisions on
the school until annexation kicks in on Sept. 15, the city's community
development manager, Michael Debock, said.

Morris said Valbrun has the proper licensing to continue operating a
day-care center and church at the site, which he has owned for more than 25
years. Graziose said he is waiting to learn whether Valbrun's Hallandale
school, at 520 NW Fifth St., has the proper certificate of occupancy as
well.

School and county officials say they aren't surprised, because Valbrun has
struggled to manage his schools.

"I can't help it that it took three years, but it appears that our concerns
have been validated, because we were always wondering how he could use this
as a school," said Graziose. "This seems to be his normal way of operation,
and it's finally caught up with him."

The closing won't be a setback just for parents and students.

As many as 45 traditional public schools would be obligated to absorb the
237 students listed in their zones, according to the district's enrollment
list for last year -- an extra burden for schools reworking their enrollment
to conform to the new class-size amendment mandates. The school had
projected up to 500 pupils this year.

Broward schools charter liaison Betsy Donate said she feels torn in a
situation where a charter school must close. Despite the school's struggling
administrative and academic history -- the school got an F for its first
grade in the state's A-Plus plan -- Charter School Institute Training Center
served a special and vulnerable population of at-risk children, she said.

"At the same time, we have to make sure the facility in which they receive
the education is as safe as any other charter school or traditional school
in the county," said Donate. "Ultimately it's our job to serve the needs of
the youngsters."

Education Writer Bill Hirschman contributed to this report. Karla D. Shores
can be reached at kshores@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4552.
Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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