Hernando school board rejects You Thrive Florida charter school plan

Families hoping for new elementary seats in Brooksville and Spring Hill were left with fewer options after the Hernando County School Board rejected You Thrive Florida’s charter school plan in a pair of 3-2 votes Tuesday. Kayce Hawkins, Shannon Rodriguez and Susan Duval voted against the application after district reviewers said the proposal still had too many gaps to move forward.

The objections were specific and operational. District staff pointed to missing pieces in the application, no staffing plan beyond the first year, and a heavy reliance on Hernando County School District employees for weekly counseling and behavioral support. Reviewers also said questions remained about class size, transportation and food service staffing, issues that can determine whether a new school is ready to open or simply has a name on paper.

That final vote stood in sharp contrast to the district’s own Application Evaluation Committee, which had recommended approval by a 15-1 margin. The split underscored how sharply the board and staff differed on whether You Thrive Florida had shown it could launch the schools on time and operate them without leaning too heavily on the district.

The decision landed as a hometown issue for a Brooksville-based nonprofit with long ties to Hernando County. You Thrive Florida is headquartered at 820 Kennedy Blvd. and says it has been serving local individuals and families for years. Its Brooksville Engineering, Science & Technology Academy page says the school has served the Brooksville community for more than 13 years and describes it as an A-rated middle school focused on STEM and hands-on learning. The board had already agreed at a July 29 workshop, and later that evening in regular meeting, to assign the charter agreement for Brooksville Engineering, Science & Technology Academy to Mid Florida Community Services, Inc., doing business as You Thrive Florida.

For parents, the immediate impact is uncertainty. Jamie Young, the site administrator for Brooksville Engineering, Science & Technology Academy and You Thrive Charters, said families who wanted the Brooksville campus for the 2026-2027 school year are now in limbo, especially because more students signed up than there are seats. The Spring Hill campus was planned for a later school year, leaving that proposal farther from reality but still tied to the same unanswered questions.

The board’s denial is not necessarily the final word. Robert Myers, the board attorney, warned that You Thrive Florida still has appeal rights and that the state could overturn the decision. Under Florida Department of Education guidance, the sponsor must give written reasons within 10 calendar days and send the denial letter and supporting documentation to the applicant and the department. The applicant then has 30 calendar days to appeal to the State Board of Education.

The bigger message is clear for Hernando County. Charter schools are fully recognized as public schools, but they are independently governed and funded through enrollment, which means a sponsor can still say no when it believes a proposal is incomplete or too weak to serve students well. That raises the bar for future charter applications and leaves families watching to see whether the gap between school demand and school capacity will widen before it closes.