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Commissioner Wants Margate to Consider Running a Charter School Like Coral Springs

by David Volz July 21, 2025

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Coral Springs Charter School {Aiden Palmer}.

The question of whether Margate should establish a charter school was raised during a recent meeting.

Commissioner Tommy Ruzzano wants the city to consider creating a school similar to Coral Springs Charter and believes the city could run a school better than Broward County Public Schools.

He is concerned about a request the city received from Broward Schools regarding the rezoning of vacant land next to Margate Elementary School, which could be used to build affordable housing for educators.

Ruzzano is dissatisfied with the direction and past performance of Broward Schools, particularly with those in Margate. He believes that students there aren’t learning as much and that a charter school might offer better educational opportunities. He would like to meet with representatives from Charter Schools USA, the company that operates Coral Springs Charter, to explore the possibility of creating a strong charter school in Margate.

“I want our parents to have options, and I want to see if we can create a partnership with a good charter school company,” said Ruzzano.

In 2014, the city of Tamarac sought to establish a charter high school, but was met with protests. The city wanted to use land at the Tamarac Sports Complex to house the Doral Academy school, which angered residents in the nearby community of Kings Point. At the time, J.P. Taravella, Boyd Anderson, and Coral Glades High Schools were all underenrolled.

Mayor Arlene Schwartz does not believe the city should get into the charter school business. As a retired professional educator who has run schools, she does not think the commission has the expertise or ability to run a school. She believes the public schools in Margate are doing well and provide solid education for the city’s students. Schwartz has said that teachers should be paid more and receive more support.

“I would be willing to consider having a charter high school because our city does not have one, and looking into a very well-respected charter school company to run it. We would have to pay our teachers as much or more than public school teachers earn,” said Schwartz.

Vice Mayor Antonio Arserio said he would be open to considering a charter school, but he would want to see a feasibility study. “I don’t have enough information, but I am keeping my options open,” he said.

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David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.