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It was a cliffhanger, but when the Doral Community
Council finally put the issue of zoning approval for the Doral Academy
to a vote at 11 PM on July 18, all five members gave their go-ahead,
albeit with some strict conditions.
At that moment, several hundred anxious parents and
their sleepy-headed children, mostly prospective students at the new
charter school themselves, broke into a standing ovation.
A favorable vote was by no means a foregone
conclusion, despite the Doral community's obvious need for more
schools and the apparent quality of the program being readied for the
academy. The academy has entered into a symbiotic linkage with Carlos
Albizu University for the provision of mental health counselors and,
eventually, student teachers.
The new charter school, which is to encompass pre-K3
through eighth grade, would, in effect, become the university's
laboratory school. And there is local precedent for such a
partnership--it would be very similar to the relationship West
Laboratory Elementary School in Coral Gables has maintained for many
years with the University of Miami.
Three thorny issues in particular were aired during
the evening, each related to the fact that the school will rent space
from the university, the ground floor of its east wing to be exact,
fronting on NW 97 Avenue.
First, the entire complex is smack in the flight path
of one of Miami International Airport's runways, with low-flying, loud
planes passing directly overhead. In fact, the county planning and
zoning department received a memo that very afternoon from the
aviation department opposing the use of the site for a school.
But Doral Academy's attorney, Juan Mayol, of Greenberg
Traurig, pointedly reminded the council that it had given zoning
approval for the Ryder Charter School last year, despite an identical
objection.
Secondly, for the safety of its pupils, the school
would need to be cordoned off from the university, with a separate
vehicle entrance for drop-off and pick-up of the children. The school
is sufficiently set-back from NW 97 Avenue, but the road is already
busy and about to become a lot busier, as it gets extended southward
with a new interchange planned at the Dolphin Expressway.
Furthermore, the nearest cross street, NW 25 Street,
presents even greater traffic volumes and hazards. Council members
Mary Swofford and Carolyn Caserta wondered about the dangers posed to
and by the string of school-related vehicles coming and going each
morning and afternoon.
A traffic survey the school had authorized made some
benign projections about the school's impact on overall traffic flow
in the vicinity, but it didn't directly address their safety-related
concerns.
Thirdly, the university, when it initially obtained
its zoning approvals, had been given permission to use part of its
site, including the floor above that being proposed for the academy
and a warehouse space around back, for commercial purposes.
The original logic was that renting out the space,
which was surplus to the university's medium-range needs, would help
it carry its mortgage. But would commercial use be compatible with the
presence of a school?
No, was the clear opinion of council member Max
Salvador, who insisted that the university relinquish the right to
commercial use of any of its space.
At that, the university's vice president, Teresa
Albizu-Rodriguez went into a huddle with her staff. She agreed; he
nodded.
By then it was almost 11 PM, the witching hour for the
council, and the public hadn't even been heard from.
Several attendees made a move in the direction of the
microphone, but most were deterred by the commotion from parents who
didn't want the council to hold over a vote until its next meeting, in
late September, which would kill the chance of the school's opening
for the fall term.
Not to be discouraged, however, were Morgan Levy,
president, and Jesse Jones, vice president, of the West Dade
Federation of Homeowner Associations (WDFHA), who took the opportunity
to speak.
Although Jones had met repeatedly with the school's management to
refine many aspects of school practices, he remained opposed to its
projected student/teacher ratio of 25:1. He wanted 20:1, suggesting
that the higher ratio would perhaps optimize space utilization but not
academic quality.
Levy supported Jones, recalling how the WDFHA had won
changes in the original plans for John I. Smith Elementary School, to
its ultimate benefit.
Doral Academy president Fernando Zulueta took strong
exception to Jones' view, arguing that the proposed student/teacher
ratio was part of an optimal educational profile for the school, and
had been arrived at carefully. Besides, it equaled that of Ryder
Charter School's ratio and bettered any public school around. None of
the council members voiced any objection to 25:1.
At last, Community Council Member Jose "Pepe"
Cancio motioned for a vote of approval with a host of restrictions,
particularly to forbid commercial use of any space on the university
campus, and to require adequate traffic management.
Salvador seconded the motion, and chairman Jerry Howie
and the council staff hurriedly went back and forth with Mayol over
the specifics of the restrictions.
At last came the moment of truth, time to vote.
Because of the aviation department's opposition, the zoning petition
would not pass unless at least four of the council's five members gave
their approval. Cancio gave an enthusiastic yes and Salvador, his
concerns having been addressed, went along too. Howie paused, and then
gave his nod. Swofford quietly agreed, and as she did so, the audience
started buzzing with excitement. Caserta expressed lingering concerns
about traffic safety, but voted for approval.
The room exploded with a whoop of delight from parents
and a round of hugs and high-fives among school and university
administrators.
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