Fort Myers, FL - Opinion: Gateway Will Lose Charter School Tax Fight

As the one and only true leader in this community, today, I did what the Supervisors should have done before attending last night's meeting. I went out and asked a few of my legal eagle friends for a little sidebar. I like to have a team of lawyers at the ready just in case I say, or write, something someone may find offensive which may lead to my sudden need for legal help (not to mention a good divorce attorney for the wife). Anyway, my point is, I gave a few lawyerly types the same information the Supervisors had and asked them for a little free advice, on the QT, of course, under a veil of secrecy. Here is the input received from members of the Gazette family legal community.

"It appears that the statute now prevents CDDs from imposing special assessments on Charter Schools. Prior to the 2007 change in the law, Charter Schools were not exempt from CDD assessments. Remington Community Development Dist. v Education Foundation of Osceola, 941 So. 2d 15, 16 (Fla 5th DCA 2006). However, it appears the 2007 amendment to the Charter School Statute changed that policy and the charter schools are now exempt from "assessments for special benefits." Just from a brief search on Westlaw it also appears to be a case of first impression testing the new language providing the exemption in under Fla. Stat. s. 1002.33(18)(d).

First impression cases are often expensive.
It appears the Gazette legal community believes at first blush anyway that the CDD will lose or at face an uphill battle to collect the assessment given the nature of the language in the statute.