Disagreements continue over Palmetto Bay school expansion

Palmetto Bay council members revoked restrictions yesterday limiting how a private school can use its land in the village, but different interpretations of what the decision means indicate that this battle is not yet done, the Miami Herald reported.

A year ago, the Village Council agreed to allow Palmer Trinity Private School to expand, provided that it enrolled no more than 900 students and did not seek to expand again for another 30 years. But Feb. 11, a Miami-Dade circuit court ordered the council to remove these conditions.

But village officials said yesterday’s decision does not allow the school move forward with its expansion plans, the Herald said. Rather, Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and village attorney Eve Boutsis said the decision leaves the school back at square one, limited to 600 students.

“The process went well tonight,” Stanczyk said. “The original mandate… said to do two things: to quash those conditions and take no further action.”

Stanley Price, the attorney representing Palmer Trinity, disagreed with Stanczyk’s assessment.

“I think we have an unlimited cap,” he said. “The court will decide that.” [Miami Herald]