Charter school wants to expand into a public park in Hialeah, kill two playing fields
A charter school in Hialeah is seeking to take over a chunk of a public park, replacing two multipurpose playing fields with a parking lot, a gym and classroom space, sparking complaints from some residents who argue that the move would reduce the city’s valuable park space.
City of Hialeah Educational Academy, affiliated with the giant charter-school company Academica, has been leasing a portion of Slade Park, 2590 W. 76th St., from the city since 2008.
The school, which has about 1,000 students enrolled in grades 6 through 12, is looking to expand to accommodate another 250 kids, according to a proposal it made to the city’s planning and zoning board Wednesday.
The current site has three buildings, and the school wants to add two more, a career and technical education center and a gym.
The new facilities would be built on what is now a multipurpose playing field. The proposal would also turn a second multipurpose field into a soccer pitch, three pickleball courts and parking space. That would leave just one of the park’s three fields untouched.
The park now occupies about 13 acres, and the school’s proposal would take over about four acres.
One of the school’s lobbyists, Hugo Arza, told the city’s planning and zoning board that the multipurpose playing areas, which he referred to as “softball fields” are “underutilized and lack parking.” He said the school’s proposal would improved operations and support proposed growth. According to Arza, the plan aims to separate the school and park operations, which are currently “mingled.” He also said that the gym proposed would ultimately benefit local residents as well.
A majority of the seven members of the planning and zoning board appeared opposed to the plan.
“One issue that we have here in the city has a lack of land, and now we’re coming into a public park”, said board member Eddie Santiesteban. “I can’t vote for it. I’m opposing it completely because this is taxpayers’ property.”
Jose Azze, a former Hialeah Parks and Recreation employee who worked for the city for 30 years and spoke at the board meeting, disputed the lobbyist’s claim that the park is underused, saying it has historically been one of the busiest in the city.
Carlos Alvarez, the school’s principal, disputed Azze’s comment that one of the fields, used for softball and accessible to residents during the day, is little used.
Resident Juan Santana raised concerns about potential contamination from nearby facilities, citing a 2021 Florida Department of Environmental Protection study that identified high contaminant levels in the northeastern section of the adjoining fields near a fire training tower. He said he would only support the school’s proposal if the developer agreed to excavate six feet of soil from the baseball field to remove all contaminated material.
Board member John Ulloa said the city needs to draw a line to prevent “encroachment” on the park. “We’re giving you the space, but [you are] just going to keep encroaching,” he told the school’s representatives. “If we allow you it’s going to keep happening.”
In the first phase of construction, the charter school was designed to accommodate 230 students. Two phases later it had reached a capacity of 1,000 students. If the fourth phase is approved as proposed it would allow an enrollment of 1,250 students.
Board member Julissa Henriquez asked whether the proposal could be placed on the ballot as a referendum to let voters make the decision. But Assistant City Attorney Alexander Magrisso said the Hialeah charter says a referendum is necessary only to determine if voters wish to permanently eliminate parkland. He said the school’s proposal does not involve the sale of the land.
“Ultimately, this land will always belong to the City of Hialeah,” he said. “The only reason for a referendum would be to decide whether to permanently rid yourselves of parkland.”
Board Chairman Diego Perez Jr. said he felt the school’s proposal would not bring enough benefit to the city.
“How often is the public going to get to use the gym?” he asked. “We have an under-utilized parcel of land, but it is still a green area and we have a shortage of parks.”
Even though Arza, the school’s lobbyist, spent almost an hour and a half trying to convince the audience and the board that the proposal would benefit the community, the board decided to table a decision and bring it up again for discussion at its Nov. 13 meeting.
The board itself doesn’t make a final decision on the proposal, only a recommendation in favor or against that then goes to the city council for a vote.
The lease agreement
According to the most recent lease agreement in 2023, the school pays the city an annual base rate of $550 per enrolled student, which currently adds up to $550,000, plus a usage fee of $202,605.31. If the city council were to approve the school’s expansion proposal it would mean another $137,500 for the city’s coffers.
The school’s lobbyist said that if the proposal is approved, the school itself would pay for the improvements and new construction.
This is not the first time the school proposes expanding into the park.
In September 2023, Rolando Llanes of Civica LLC, an architecture and urban design firm that designed the school’s buildings in 2008, made the same presentation to the city council. Four of the seven members voiced concerns about the plan, although two of them of them — Vivian Casáls-Muñoz and Bryan Calvo — are no longer on the council.
Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who supported the school’s expansion proposal, said at the time, “We don’t lose per se a availability of park space. In reality, we are going to reactivate that area not being used as much as they were used before.”
A previous online version of this story incorrectly said the City of Hialeah Educational Academy charter school is owned by Academica. The school, an independent non-profit entity, is affiliated with Academica, but is not owned by the company. The story has been corrected.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 at 11:05 AM.
