Fort Myers Beach Mayor asks school district to give town Beach Elementary for charter school

Nov 5, 2025 By Nathan Mayberg 14 min read

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers has proposed to the Lee County school district that the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School be turned over to the town to be operated as a municipal charter school and that the school district provide the town $12 million to build a new municipal charter school. The proposal was made at the end of today’s mediation session between the town and school district at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Bonita Springs.

Allers asked the school district’s administration and school board member Bill Ribble during the mediation meeting to lease the school to the town for $1 for 100 years for the town to operate a municipal charter school out of the historic school while the town builds a new elementary school building to be used as a municipal charter school.

The mediation session, also known as a conflict assessment meeting, ran more than three hours and included a divergence of statements and positions from the school district, town and residents before the bold proposal suggested by Allers at the end of the meeting.

Before Allers made the overture, the meeting began with a statement by Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay in which he detailed how the town needed the school to reopen and how an interlocal agreement between the town and school district required the elementary school to reopen.

McKannay called on the school district to honor its commitment to the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School.

“Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is more than a building. It’s a symbol of resilience, continuity and a hope for a community that has endured the devastation of hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton. For our youngest residents, reopening the school is essential to restoring stability, supporting mental health and ensuring long-term academic and emotional recovery,” McKannay said.

McKannay said that sending Fort Myers Beach Elementary School students to Heights Elementary School was not in line with the interlocal agreement. McKannay said repairing and reopening the elementary school was not a financial burden on the school district as FEMA reimburses up to 90% of the reconstruction costs for the elementary school.

Transferring students to another school or demolishing the school campus would jeopardize FEMA funds, McKannay said.

McKannay said reopening Fort Myers Beach Elementary School promoted stability on Fort Myers Beach. Reopening the school supports local employment, attracts family and redevelopment, McKannay said. The school’s enrollment was increasing before Hurricane Milton as it expanded its curriculum with the contributions of Florida Gulf Coast University, McKannay said.

McKannay asked that the school district to discuss with the town whether the school should continue to operate as a public school or to transition into a charter school. Under the interlocal agreement, the school district could turn the school over to the town to be a charter school after 2027 if certain cost reductions at the school weren’t met.

During public comment, parents asked what kind of message the school district was sending to children about honoring contracts and commitments. They questioned how the school district had eliminated the second grade at the elementary school.

Allers opened his remarks by citing “broken promises” by the school district since Hurricane Milton closed the elementary school.

Allers noted that the school’s population had reached 72 students before Hurricane Milton, which was close to the student numbers of the school before Hurricane Ian. Since the closure of the school after Hurricane Milton, the population at the school had plummeted with classes being moved first to San Carlos Park Elementary School and then Heights Elementary beginning this past August. Now, the population for Beach Elementary classes at Heights Elementary is 41 students as of this week.

Allers, in his comments, questioned how the school district has spent federal and state aid for Fort Myers Beach Elementary School since Hurricane Ian.

Town of Fort Myers Beach Attorney Becky Vose spoke forcefully that the interlocal agreement was a “binding, enforceable contract” and that “the town relied on the agreement in good faith” with the understanding that the elementary school would be reopened.

Vose also denounced actions the school district had taken to request permission from the state to demolish the school and raze the campus. “There appears to be no practical, financial or educational benefit for the district in demolishing the structure. The building is stable,” Vose said. Demolishing the school would cause “tangible and unnecessary harm” and expose the school district to legal and financial consequences, Vose said. An attempt to demolish the school, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, would require federal, state and town approvals, she said.

Any demolition of the building would not only be a breach of the interlocal agreement, but would permanently eliminate the town’s right to operate a charter school as the interlocal agreement allows, Vose said.

The demolition request, which school district officials have been downplaying as a procedural manner, would also be an avoidable loss of value for the district and an unnecessary expenditure of the public’s funds, Vose said.

The Fort Myers Beach Elementary School “represents generations of community history,” Vose said. Vose called on the district to take demolition “off the table entirely.”

Vose asked the district’s leadership to reaffirm its shared commitment to reopen and to keep open the elementary school, as the interlocal agreement requires.

School District of Lee County Supt. Dr. Denise Carlin, in turn, said she would put off any decision on razing the elementary school campus as part of the mediation negotiations.

Carlin spoke about a meeting she had with Allers, Congressman Byron Donalds and other district officials over the summer in which a potential charter school was heavily discussed as a possible replacement for the elementary school. She said Allers had expressed support for the charter school at that time.

Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said the school district’s concerns that have been expressed about the cost of the school and its enrollment have never been discussed with the town until after Hurricane Ian damaged the school.

Atterholt said he has been to so many meetings with school district administrators with parents and community members through an ad-hoc committee. He has watched as parents took time off from work to attend meetings with administrators to work toward reopening the school as the delays continued.

Atterholt pleaded with Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin to “please help us. Help us help you,” he said.

Atterholt said he had attended a fundraiser for Carlin when she ran for the office of superintendent last year when the position was changed to an elected, political one. Atterholt said Carlin made an impassioned speech for continuing to operate and support the school. “I believed you and I still think you believe that,” he said.

Atterholt compared the town’s situation in trying to get the school back open to other struggles the town encountered after Hurricane Ian to work in getting its Post Office back open, in working with FEMA and attempts by residents to recoup losses through their insurance companies.

Now, after the latest hurricanes last year, the town is fighting to open its school again.

“Help us,” Atterholt said. “We’re on the same team.”

Fort Myers Beach Deputy Manager Dr. Traci Kohler, the former principal at Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, said Fort Myers Beach families had been “disproportionately affected” by successive hurricanes that brought about displacement and moving around to different schools.

Just as a school provides additional services to support students who need help learning to read or learning a new language, Fort Myers Beach Elementary School needs a “short-term intervention to restore stability,” Kohler said. “Schools are not just buildings,” Kohler said. “Rebuilding Fort Myers Beach Elementary is not merely a construction project. It’s an investment in humanity. It represents our collective responsibility to nurture the next generation, provide a safe and inspiring environment for learning.”

School board attorney Kathy Dupuy-Bruno, who is also the counsel for the school district, countered with what she said was the school board and school district’s position.

Dupuy-Bruno said the school district had not breached the interlocal agreement.

Dupuy-Bruno said the district had spent more than $1.7 million to stabilize the school and mitigate the site after Hurricane Ian and $6.8 million to rebuild the historic school while also demolishing several school buildings.

The attorney then said the district has spent more than $1 million on repairs to the elementary school since Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Milton, on top of more than $10 million that was spent after Hurricane Ian.

The $10 million figure cited by Dupuy-Bruno for repairs after Hurricane Ian appeared to contradict her earlier statement that approximately $8.5 million was spent by the district on the school after Hurricane Ian.

The only part of the deal the school district hasn’t completed, Dupuy-Bruno said, was the construction of a $6 million cafeteria building. Dupuy-Bruno blamed the delays on Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene last year. Those hurricanes, she argued, created delays that protected the district from being found in breach of the interlocal agreement.

“The interlocal agreement does not require the district to continuously repair, stabilize and rebuild after every storm,” Dupuy-Bruno claimed.

Dupuy-Bruno also cited cost estimates, that have been questioned by the Fort Myers Beach community, that it would cost $7 million to $10 million to repair the elementary school for reopening. Those figures were based on a South Florida consultant’s study that was requested by Carlin following an initial estimate from the district that the cost woukd be much cheaper from $1.3 million on the low end to $3.5 million for more intensive work, and up to $6 million if the school was elevated. That is before any insurance or FEMA reimbursements.

School board member Bill Ribble, the lone school board member to attend the hearing, said he supported rebuilding a new elementary school but not reopening the historic school. However, Ribble said he and school board member Armor Persons (who has also expressed supporting for building a new school) were only two votes on the school board. He said he would need a proposal from the town he could take back to the school board for support.

Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jacki Liszak said the district’s delays in reopening Fort Myers Beach Elementary School had led to real estate deals collapsing, as families seeking to purchase homes had backed out once learning the school was not functioning.

Fort Myers Beach parent John Koss, who was heavily involved in discussions in an ad-hoc committee of parents who were working with the school district in discussing the reopening of Beach Elementary School before those plans fell apart, said he believed the charter school was the best option at this point through he was disappointed with the process.

“It’s the best we can hope for at this point,” Koss said. “I think there is no chance we are going to be a traditional school.”

Koss said the school district’s leadership has given no indication to parents that they want Fort Myers Beach Elementary School to continue as a traditional public school.

“There is zero chance that’s going to happen,” Koss said. “We dealt with them for a year now.”

Koss spoke of the many meetings parents had with school district officials where parents were told that the school was not meeting even though Koss said the costs at the school had been lowered dramatically, with stiff reductions in staff.

“I feel betrayed by the district,” Koss said.

Koss said that he was disappointed that the school district’s leadership is using the hurricanes that hit the island as “an opportunity to shut our school down.”

“They don’t want anything to do with the historical building,” Koss said. The historic building, which dates to the 1940’s, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Koss said that while some in the community are apprehensive about a charter school, he believes they are becoming more popular. He said the idea is for the town to run the school as a municipal charter school, not as a for-profit charter school though he thinks the town will likely need to bring on a consultant to get the town started.

Carlin said a charter school was heavily discussed at a meeting with Allers in June, that also involved Rep. Byron Donalds. Erika Donalds, the wide of Donalds, has been involved in working with schools throughout the state in setting up charter schools.

Koss said he took his two children out of Lee County schools this summer and sent them to a charter school in Bonita Springs instead of at Heights Elementary School, where Fort Myers Beach Elementary School students began attending. One is in kindergarten and the other is in fifth grade. Koss said he was concerned about the long bus drives and didn’t want his kindergarten student to spend too much time on the bus.

Koss said he is hopeful the town could renovate the historic school in time for school classes to begin next fall. Koss suggested the town consider a K-8 school. One of the keys will be how much funds the town can received from the school.

Under a charter school model, town taxpayers would continue to fund the School District of Lee County while the town would receive state funds for the charter school. It’s unclear at this point if state funds could cover the cost of operations at the school or if the town will have to find additional funding to run it.

It’s also unclear where the school district will draw the $12 million from. The school district was supposed to set aside $6 million to construct a cafeteria building. According to the school district, Hurricane Helene caused at least $163,700 of self-insured damages, of which $28,350 was incurred for electrical repair and cleanup. Hurricane Milton resulted in $641,000 spent on stabilization and remediation. Insurance has reimbursed $414,000, with $227,000 paid directly by the district.

Allers, who has questioned the district’s spending of state and FEMA funds since Hurricane Ian, said he wasn’t sure where the school district will find the funds though he suggested it would largely be FEMA money meant for rebuilding the elementary school. He believes the town can repair the historic elementary school and build a new building for less than the amount the school district is estimating. He and town officials have questioned the school district regarding how they have used funds meant to repair and rebuild the elementary school, and whether the district was holding on to funds meant for the school.

Allers said the town could build a new, elevated school with a cafeteria at about 9,000 square feet to handle 116 students, similar to the existing elementary school.

Allers said he has spoken with builders on the island “who we could partner with.” Allers said he has been told by builders that a new school could be built at the cost the school district had applied to the state for after Hurricane Ian.

Allers said he wasn’t giving up on a public school but said “if the ultimate goal is for them to not have a public school, we still want to have a school.”

Allers noted that the interlocal agreement allowed for the school to be turned into a charter school (after 2027).

“This is a way for us to be in control of our destiny for that school,” Allers said. Allers said he expects the town will have better estimates on how much it will cost the town to run the school over the next few weeks after discussions with the school district’s administration that is expected to take place.

Carlin told the town council she would review the proposal and take it back to the school board for review.

“It’s disappointing that the school district doesn’t cherish the school that we do on this island. That’s disappointing to me because it’s bee such an amazing school,” Koss said. “To circle the wagons at this time when we are dealing with so much down here is disappointing to me.”

“Nothing is about the kids with this school district. It’s about money.”

Koss said “it’s disappointing that we can’t stay in the district because that’s the preferred scenario.”

The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council is expected to discuss the proposal for a charter school further at their next meeting on Monday, Nov. 17.

The School District of Lee County School Board will next meet Dec. 1.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com