Manatee County School Board sues two charter schools over tax share

The School Board of Manatee County filed a lawsuit this month that could settle a year-long dispute between the district and a charter school operator demanding a share of sales tax revenue meant to help public schools renovate and build new facilities.

At issue are millions of dollars raised through a half-cent sales tax Manatee County voters approved in 2016 for capital projects, including school renovations and construction.

Since that referendum, Florida law changed to require school districts to proportionally share such tax revenue with eligible charter schools. But the law applies only to taxes approved by voters on or after July 1, 2020 — four years after Manatee County voters approved theirs.

The school district nevertheless voluntarily offered some of the money to its 17 charter schools through a multiyear phase-in that would gradually increase their share. But Southwest Charter Foundation Inc., which operates Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy and Manatee Charter School, said it is entitled to more. It wants a full share of the revenue now.

The district disagreed. It argued the charter schools aren’t legally entitled to any of the revenue.

Its lawsuit asks a 12th Judicial Circuit judge to decide. 

Whatever the outcome, the ruling could reverberate far beyond Manatee County. Other Florida school districts are still collecting money from long-term sales tax referendums approved before the state law changed in 2020, potentially raising the same question: Are charter schools entitled to tax revenue that voters approved under an earlier law?

Daniel DeLeo, an attorney representing the school board, said the district acted after recent discussions with Southwest Charter made a legal fight appear inevitable.

“We could see the writing on the wall,” DeLeo said of an eventual courtroom clash.

The lawsuit is also the latest fight over who is entitled to money that voters approved for public schools. Manatee County previously lost more than $2.5 million from a voter-approved property tax to collection fees charged by the county tax collector — part of a broader dispute that also sparked a lawsuit in Sarasota County and ultimately prompted state lawmakers to change Florida law. Manatee County commissioners later agreed to reimburse the school district. 

A spokeswoman for the two charter schools operated by Southwest Charter Foundation declined to comment due to the pending litigation. 

School tax dispute reaches impasse 

The school board isn’t alone in asking a judge to weigh in.

Chantal Wilford, a Manatee County resident who voted for the 2016 ballot initiative and unsuccessfully ran for school board earlier this year, also joined the lawsuit as a voter and taxpayer challenging how the referendum money is used.

Wilford’s addition to the lawsuit as a plaintiff is a legal strategy DeLeo has used before. When Sarasota County Schools sued Tax Collector Mike Moran earlier this year over millions of dollars withheld from another voter-approved school tax, the district’s lawsuit also included individual voters and taxpayers as plaintiffs. That complaint argued Florida law gives taxpayers standing to challenge the alleged improper diversion of public funds.

In the Manatee County complaint, the district and Wilford argue that voters approved the tax to pay for capital projects for public schools and never authorized the money to be shared with charter schools. 

There’s a lot of money at stake. In the last three years alone, the half-cent sales tax has generated more than $158 million for the district, which it has used to build new facilities across the county. That includes a $24.8 million renovation of Palmetto High School as well as improvements to athletic fields and increased security infrastructure.

Even though state law at the time did not require the district to share proceeds with charter schools, Manatee County allowed them to apply for grants funded with the tax revenue.

It ended that program in 2023 — three years after the passage of HB 7097 that required districts to proportionally share school capital sales tax revenue with charters. Then, in 2025, the school board decided to offer Manatee County charter schools some of the revenue with a plan to increase the amount each year until 2028. 

The first year would see charters receive a 50% proportional share of the sales tax revenue, which equated to about $4.5 million last year. Each year, the district said it would increase the amount charter schools would receive until the end of fiscal year 2028, when the charters would receive 100% of their proportional share.

The voter-approved levy ends in 2032.

According to the lawsuit, 15 of the 17 Manatee County charter schools accepted the voluntary program. But not Lakewood Ranch Preparatory or Manatee Charter School.

“The Southwest Charter group is demanding full payment and not agreeing to this rollout methodology,” said Stephen Dye, the school board’s legal counsel during the school board meeting.

School Board Member Charlie Kennedy asked the only question at Tuesday’s school board meeting where the board unanimously approved filing the lawsuit. He questioned whether the money was being withheld given the ongoing dispute.

Rachel Sellers, deputy superintendent of business services, said the district still has the money in its capital plan waiting until the contracts are amended.

“We still have those held for when they sign the agreement,” Sellers said.

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter for Suncoast Searchlight. Email him at derek@suncoastsearchlight.org.