In the 17 years she’s lived in Newberry, Jessica Mrozinske Baker said people have been passionate about many community issues.
When a popular off-road motocross track was going to be moved to a new location in 2017, she recalled 150 people showing up to a City Hall meeting room meant to hold 90.
And when Newberry proposed last year to convert 1,300 acres of agriculture into a 4,500-home development, City Hall brought in a second police officer to manage the unusually large crowd at the commission meeting.
But Mrozinske Baker, a mother of two school-aged children, said no topic has been quite as contentious as the ongoing conversion of Newberry Elementary School into a charter school.
“This really has — and continues to — divide people in the community,” she said. “There are definitely people who felt that they were being treated with hostility.”
One recent incident took place at the Aug. 26 city commission meeting. Commissioner Mark Clark called out resident Brandy Oldman for allegedly posting “personal attacks” about Clark’s daughter on Facebook.
Oldman is a mother of four children, three of whom attend Newberry Elementary. She is part of the Save Our Schools (SOS) Newberry group, which is against the charter conversion. Clark’s daughter, Chelsea Leming, has two children. She was appointed the non-voting chair of the charter school’s governing board.
“You sit here and smile, little lady, so I’m going to point at you,” Clark said, addressing Oldman in the crowd. “Tell your SOS group that when you got my child involved, you got the blue-eyed devil, too.
“Listen: I leave here, I walk right out on that street to anybody? I’m a man, so whoever thinks they want something, come right on out there.”
During public comment, Oldman replied, “I’ve not dug anything up on your daughter. You brought your daughter into this when you elected her to the school board.” (Leming was automatically appointed when she was nominated by Education First for Newberry, the not-for-profit leading the charter initiative. Clark did not vote to confirm her appointment.)
Oldman shared information about Leming’s personal finances and debts, then spoke directly to Clark at the end of her public comment: “You told me to catch you outside? You don’t ever, ever treat a constituent that way … I’ll meet you right out there when it’s over.”
Reactions to the heated commission meeting
Oldman apologized for her behavior on Facebook the day after the meeting. She said she came to the meeting to talk about a stop sign needed in her neighborhood, only bringing up Leming after Clark singled her out.
“I didn’t intend to mention anything about the charter schools because it always seems to go nowhere,” Oldman said.
Clark did not respond to interview requests for this story, but his colleagues defended him.
“I’ve seen people you may agree or disagree with, who are diligently trying to serve their communities, be harassed or bullied (on social media),” said Mayor Jordan Marlowe. “It’s unfortunate. It’s not how we treat each other in Newberry.”
Commissioner Tim Marden said Oldman bringing up Leming’s finances “was a personal attack … just a very low, mean blow that that side has sort of become known for at this point. (Clark) was being a dad, and he let it get under his skin.”
“Nobody saw (what Clark said) as a threat,” Marden added. “No one got heated about it at all.”
Oldman disagreed. “I’m scared of the retaliation that they’re going to come at me with. This is not a new thing,” she said. “Even though I was scared, I felt like I had to speak up for people who can’t.”
Several residents commented on the incident at the following commission meeting on Sept. 9. Marlowe reminded the room multiple times that the decorum for public comment was to address statements to him, rather than to a particular commissioner or resident.
“I just ask everyone to use compassion and think before you speak,” he said.
“My name is ‘little lady’ — I mean, my name is Brandy,” Oldman said in her public comment, “and I’d like you to use it from now on.” She said Clark “threatened” and “verbally abused” her at the last meeting, and she expressed disappointment that no one in the room had stood up for her.
Other public comments criticized Clark for using “misogynist language” and a “white supremacist dog whistle” (“the blue-eyed devil”) when he addressed Oldman at the last meeting. Conversely, a few public comments commended Clark’s character and military service.
Neither the mayor nor the commissioners addressed public comments about the exchange between Clark and Oldman.
How the charter school votes played out
Education First announced on Feb. 19 that it would push for a vote to convert Newberry’s three public schools into charter schools. The charter schools would be overseen by a school board specific to the Newberry area instead of the School Board of Alachua County. Education First’s initiative was known as Yes Newberry.
Voting took place less than two months later, as required by state statute. While the votes to convert Oak View Middle School and Newberry High School failed, the vote for Newberry Elementary School was hotly contested due to a discrepancy in guidelines.
A Florida State Board of Education rule previously required a majority (50% plus one vote) to pass the initiative, conflicting with a state statute requiring at least 50%. This made all the difference in a vote that went 22-21 in favor of converting, out of 44 teachers.
Alachua County Public Schools maintains that the elementary vote failed, according to the rule in effect at the time of the vote. However, the state Board of Education changed the rule to align with the statute in August, four months after the vote, giving Newberry the green light to move forward with the conversion.
“I’m so proud of the parents who brought this forward,” Marlowe said, “because no matter whether you agree or disagree with the solution, I think we can all agree that our school district is in the midst of many challenges.”
He praised the parents who came forward with a solution to address those struggles.
Where the charter conversion stands now
Marden said he thought the application would be submitted to the state’s Charter School Review Commission by the end of the calendar year. This would keep the charter school on pace to launch in the 2025-2026 school year. However, Marden said he was not involved in the strategic implementation and isn’t sure of the application status.
“Education First for Newberry doesn’t exist anymore,” Marlowe said. “That was just the (nonprofit) that had to be created in order to call the vote.”
The nonprofit is still active, according to state business records, with Leming as president.
Marlowe said a separate nonprofit will be formed to submit the charter application. Its governing board was approved in June, but Marlowe didn’t know if the group had filed paperwork to register as a nonprofit. He would not say if he knew who was involved with that effort, though he said some members were in the Yes Newberry movement.
Yes Newberry’s website is no longer functional, and the email address on its Facebook page has been deactivated. Someone with access to the page wrote they would relay questions “and see if anyone is available for comment,” but did not provide any answers.
Carsen Stefanelli, the former president of Education First, said he is no longer involved, but “Leming is leading the charge on the next phase.”
Leming herself also did not respond to multiple attempts to contact her for an interview. There are no other organizations registered under her name on Sunbiz.
Divisions around the charter initiative
Both residents and public officials agree that most commission meetings are unremarkable, filled with the grunt work of running a local government. Public arguments are rare, even more so outside of meetings.
“If you go by what’s on Facebook, you would think people are fighting in the streets,” Mrozinske Baker said. “It’s not like that. But this whole charter thing did make it tense at the schools.”
Oldman said “the tensions were palpable” when she would pick up her children from school in the spring. “Nobody would converse with each other because it was so divided.”
Now, though, the air is not so thick.
“It has calmed down some this school year, because I think we’re all tired of it,” Oldman said. There’s not much room for decision-making as the charter application is being written.
“And there can be civil dialogue,” Oldman added. “I know parents and teachers that are for it, and we’re friends. I can respect your decision.”
Over a dozen other residents who commented in favor of the charter conversion on social media did not respond to questions for this story or declined an interview request. Some teachers also declined to comment due to concerns about speaking out while employed at the schools and working with the children.
Oldman believes the settling of the charter issue, whether the conversion succeeds or not, will begin the mending process for the community.
“I know we can come back together,” she said. “It’s just going to take some time. I’m tired of being awkward when I go into Hitchcock’s, and I see somebody I’ve not gotten along with.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
