Military academy opens in
new location after death of student, parents say
By Jamie Malernee, Akilah Johnson and Marlene
Naanes
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted August 17 2006
 A
military school is operating out of an undisclosed location after
being kicked out of a Lauderhill church for not having the proper
permits, school parents said Wednesday.
Back to Basics Military Academy has been under scrutiny since one of
its students died during a camping trip Saturday. Despite the death,
parents support the school.
Lynne Miller said she is continuing to send her 12-year-old daughter
to the Christian school because it is the only place the
sixth-grader has flourished.
"We have tried other schools. [Our children] were being suspended.
They were being ignored, they were being chastised," said a tearful
Miller, whose daughter has behavioral problems and attention deficit
disorder. "Since she's been at this school, she hasn't been on any
medication. She's a happy kid."
Neither Miller, an associate professor of education at Florida
International University, nor Rebecca Chaparro, a Sunrise mother who
said her 13- and 14-year-old boys are also attending the academy,
would disclose where the school is now. Miller said most of its 32
students are attending at a "safe" place with teachers and drill
sergeants.
The school has 15 days to let the state know that it relocated and
60 days to submit paperwork, including inspections, said Department
of Education spokeswoman Cathy Schroeder. In the interim, she said,
the school can stay open.
But not in Lauderhill, where the school had been for a year.
If the school moved elsewhere in the city, it would still need to
apply for and receive licensing and permits to operate legally, said
Lauderhill spokeswoman Leslie Tropepe. She said the city would send
another notice of violation if it were anywhere in Lauderhill.
"When [the supervisor of code enforcement] spoke with the owners of
the academy, they assured us they were planning to leave," Tropepe
said.
Most cities have similar permitting and zoning requirements.
The state also has rules that affect the school.
State records show 24 students are using state scholarship money for
disabled children to attend the private military academy. Florida
law requires schools accepting money from the John M. McKay
Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program to meet local
building and safety codes, but the program does not require schools
to submit documentation.
That doesn't make sense to Chaparro, who assumed the state checked
out schools more thoroughly. The state gave her sons about $11,000
in scholarships to attend the academy.
The school earned $86,760 in the past school year for 14 students
under the taxpayer-funded program.
"How could the state issue money to a school that's not legit?"
Chaparro asked. "If that's the case, I can start my own school."
Department of Education officials could not say Wednesday what
action, if any, would be taken against Back to Basics for not
meeting city codes.
Parents such as Chaparro were willing to overlook the code
violations Wednesday. She said her sons have attended the school for
only a few days, and already she sees the school's Christian outlook
positively influencing their behavior.
"This is spiritual warfare," Chaparro said.
Miller said school principal Lynda Browne plans to obtain proper
permits.
The academy rented space from the Living Word Fellowship Church,
5770 W. Oakland Park Blvd., which is not affiliated with the school. |
