A group of Alachua County residents hopes to send a proposed charter school packing, and has formed a new political action committee to make it happen.

Parents Against Corporate Takeovers, or PACT, was created to challenge the Florida Charter Educational Foundation’s proposal to open an 1,145-student school operated by Charter Schools USA, a for-profit company.

Sue Legg, PACT chair and president of the Alachua County League of Women Voters, founded the group with Khanh-Lien Banko, Alachua County PTA president. The committee aims to educate the public about the differences between local charter schools and those managed by for-profit corporations, she said.

Charter schools will already receive a portion of the district’s capital outlay funding under recently passed House Bill 7069, and per capita financing would entitle the proposed school to additional funding from the district budget to meet student demand.

“There’s a lot of hype about ‘charters are cheaper,’ and that masks the reality of the funding and the impact on not only district- but charter-run schools.”

Supporters can sign a petition on the PACT website that asks the school board to vote against the proposal, should the nonprofit submit the final application in October. The group's application is currently in draft form.

“This is a major deal for our community,” she said. “This could change funding for everybody.”