An $1,800 donation from Monroe County to Seven Oaks Classical school is in limbo as the Monroe County Council and County Commissioners disagree on whether it’s an appropriate use of tax money.
At its meeting Thursday, the board of commissioners upheld a vote from last month against giving Seven Oaks the money. That was after the council voted unanimously in favor of making the donation earlier this week.
Commissioner Julie Thomas said Friday the board will most likely reconsider the issue next week.
"We just need some info from Council," she said.
At a meeting this week, the commissioners seemed to be unaware that the council had voted in favor of the donation. When reminded that the council did approve the donation, Thomas expressed confusion.
“I haven't received any communication from the council about a donation, so if they want to bring it, they can bring it,” she said.
Last month, the commissioners voted 2-1 against awarding that money, which would have come from the Sofia Travis grant fund. The money is for test fees for students in need and a food security program.
Thomas said she voted against the donation because Seven Oaks is a charter school that already receives state funds and because of a lawsuit the school had filed against the county government concerning masking policies in 2021.
But the commissioners did vote to award $5,400 to the Project School, another charter school in the county, due to an emergency shortage for special education services.
Council President Pro Tempore Peter Iversen said he would support the donation to Seven Oaks reluctantly.
“I'm deeply uncomfortable having public tax dollars going to a charter school,” he said. “This is a really, really awkward vote. I understand, though, that the narrative around this is not about that. The narrative around this is about making sure that kids get access to food, and that's why I'm supporting this.”
Council member Trent Deckard stressed the importance of providing food assistance.
“Food is just food, and people in this community, border to border, are people, regardless of how they get here, regardless of their situation, and regardless of how people classify them,” Deckard said. “And once we stop breaking stuff like that down, I mean, you got to close the shutters on this inhumanity.”
Following the commissioners’ decision to withhold the money, council member David Henry expressed discontent and confusion. He said it’s unclear what the next steps are. While the county council could vote again to support the donation to make its intent clearer, the commissioners have the final say on whether Seven Oaks will get the money.
Seven Oaks Headmaster Stephen Shipp did not respond to a request for comment.
