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FACE Pasco charter school to close [Tampa Tribune, Fla. :: ](Tampa Tribune (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 20--ZEPHYRHILLS -- The board of directors for a Zephyrhills charter school that serves autistic students has voted to close the school at the end of this academic year, the board's chairwoman announced. The Florida Autism Center of Excellence, or FACE Pasco, which opened in August, struggled with low enrollment and financial woes, and the Orlando-based management company that helped operate the school had already announced it would withdraw its services effective June 30. "This was a difficult decision for the board to make as we had high hopes for the success of the FACE charter school in Pasco County," Brenda Connolly, the board chairwoman, said in a prepared statement. She said the decision to close was the "most optimal course of action." "This gives the families ample time to make alternate plans for next year," Connolly said. "Families also have the option to transfer their children to the FACE Hillsborough charter school in Tampa." Parents aren't ready to give up on the school just yet, though, said Angie Oliveras, whose 12-year-old son, Christian, is a fifth-grader at FACE Pasco. Oliveras said when her son learned the school was closing, he ran up to her and said he did not want to return to a traditional public school. "That's heartbreaking to me," she said. "Everybody's closing them down and saying do something else with your kids." Parents chose to move their children out of traditional public schools for a reason and don't want to send them back, she said. They hope if word spreads someone might step forward who could help provide the financial boost the school needs to remain open. "We are trying to fight for our kids," Oliveras said. "They don't have a voice, so we have to be a voice for them." The Zephyrhills school had planned for 38 students in prekindergarten through fifth-grade this year, but had only 21. Charter schools are public schools that are operated privately. They don't charge tuition because they receive state funding that is based on enrollment. [email protected] (813) 371-1853 Twitter: @RBlairTBO ___ (c)2014 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) Visit the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.) at www.tampatrib.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |