Hollander says Mavericks does not want to be the go-between, collecting rent from the schools, but it's tough for a landlord to "wrap his mind" around a five-year lease.
Mavericks cut out the middle man when negotiating a lease in Fort Lauderdale. Charles Barnett, Mavericks' secretary, bought a building at 424 W. Sunrise Blvd. for $2.2 million. Barnett, a lawyer in Palm Beach Gardens, purchased the building with a newly formed corporation called School Property Development LLC. The manager of the corporation is Charles Berle, who also sits on the board of the Mavericks school in Palm Springs.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky
Developer Mark Rodberg wanted Dwyane Wade's name on his restaurants and schools. To read more on the topic of Mavericks and South Florida education, click
here.
PR NEWSWIRE/Newscom
Former CEO Mark Thimmig is in a legal battle with Mavericks' other founders.
Related Content
More About
Hollander says Barnett bought the school because they couldn't strike a rental deal with the previous owner.
According to Miron, the Michigan expert on charter schools, it's common for "separate but connected companies" to own the buildings that house charter schools. "A lot of profit comes from equity accrued in the facility, or above-market leases that are paid to the company that owns the facility," Miron says.
To lease the Fort Lauderdale property, Barnett's company, School Property Development, charges Mavericks High of Central Broward rent. The cost: $350,000 a year.
In June 2010, Hollander and Rodberg reached an undisclosed settlement agreement with Wade. With the fight behind them, they focused on growing Mavericks.
Yet not every school district was eager to put faith in Mavericks. Hernando County officials turned down Mavericks' charter application three years ago, partly because of questions about Mavericks spending. And for two years, Palm Beach County school district officials refused to approve a Mavericks school, saying the charter applications didn't meet state standards.
In February, district staff once again recommended denying Mavericks' application to open the school in Palm Springs. Staffers said the school's budget projections were "not realistic," objected to the management fee not being specifically defined in the contract, worried about the Pinellas school's financial difficulties, and noted that four existing Mavericks schools "contain deficiencies in their Accounting Policies and Procedures."
"The District prepared an analysis to reflect missing personnel and other operational costs," staffers wrote to the School Board."The net result is a loss putting the charter school at risk for being in financial emergency."
If these monetary concerns were not enough, then-Superintendent Art Johnson said history had taught district officials to be strict in their evaluation of charters. "We need to make sure that we don't have people coming in here with an educational mission and then turning it into a business plan to make money," he told the board.
Biden later told New Times he met with each school board member before the vote, telling them Mavericks would be an "adjunct" to the public schools. 'We, over a period of a year, convinced everybody in Palm Beach County of of our good intentions," he says.
He also points out that every time a student graduates from Mavericks, they boost the school district's overall graduation rate. "So naturally they [the districts] love us."
Palm Beach school board members, presiding over a district where so few minority students graduate, swooned over Mavericks' pitch to help at-risk kids.
"I want to give every opportunity I can to underprivileged kids," said board member Monroe Benaim at the public meeting in February.
"I'm willing to take a risk," board member Karen Brill chimed in.
"We've got to be able to not leave anybody behind," added board member Marcia Andrews.
School Board member Chuck Shaw abstained from the vote. As a former charter school principal, he said he'd done some "volunteer work" for Mavericks and helped them with their charter application. He later emailed a statement to New Times that stated: "I was not involved in the writing, editing or creation of their charter, just gave my opinions since I believed that their focus was good."
What Shaw didn't mention at the public meeting was the money he'd received. At a 2010 campaign event, he collected $750 in campaign donations from Mavericks employees and their families — including Biden, the Hollanders, and the Rodbergs.
At the School Board meeting, a parade of Mavericks officials and supporters spoke in defense of the school. There was prominent African-American pastor Cedric Mays of the Baptist Ministers Conference of the Palm Beaches, and Atkisson, the former state representative. Of course, Biden was there too, invoking his family's political power.
"I give you my word of honor, on my family name, that this system is sustainable," he said. "This school will be sustainable."
The board approved the school 5-1, with only one member dissenting. Dr. Debra Robinson said she supports Mavericks but thought it was unfair for the board to overrule staff objections for one school, without re-evaluating all the other charter schools that had been recommended for denial this year. She even called out Biden for his influence on the vote.
Because people have big dogs that lobby for 'em, we are able to see better?"she said. "No. I see it as an exception to the rules."
Back at the August ribbon-cutting at Mavericks High in Palm Springs, Biden finishes his speech. A young woman wearing silver hoop earrings and sparkling pink Converse sneakers takes the mic. "All I want to do is get my education," she tells the crowd. She takes a deep breath and begins to sing.
