COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – A zoning dispute has turned into a fight about school choice.
After battling with the city, a South Florida family is looking to the courts for clarification, as it’s not so much a “he said, she said” but instead an interpretation of the law.
Andy Cody and Michelle Patton have taught their kids, their kids’ friends and family, but the city of Coconut Creek insists what they actually had was an illegal school.
“I want to be recognized as a homeschool,” said Patton. “I want to be able to homeschool my kids. I want to be able to offer the beautiful farm life we have here to other families.”
Patton said she started homeschooling her kids at their ranch in Coconut Creek, and soon friends and family wanted in.
She says it became a homeschool co-op, with around 17 students and their parents involved as outdoor activities were mixed with textbook education.
The city didn’t see it that way and filed to cut the power at Redstone Ranch, citing school safety concerns such as no sprinklers or fire alarms.
“There’s a ton of different hoops at the state level that I have jumped through to make sure I am providing my kids with a well-rounded education, as well as my friends’ kids, and that really is all that we have right now is friends and family at our homeschool co-op,” said Paton.
“I think that there’s a big gray area on what constitutes a school versus a home school program,” added Cody.
It’s all about which code to follow. The family says they even receive state-approved funding specifically for homeschooling, but city officials say concerns with Redstone Ranch began long before this debate.
A host of code violations such as building structures without permits and a barn fire allegedly killed a horse last year.
The owners argue they can build as an agricultural business, but city commissioners say it’s not so cut and dry.
“The primary issue is real simple,” said Coconut Creek Commissioner Josh Rydell. “It’s not about what’s going on there or how they’re operating legally, it’s about health safety and welfare. A lot of times they’re not actually following Coconut Creek building code.”
It becomes a really complex legal issue. The ranch owners have filed seeking clarification from the courts about their school and their agricultural business.
The city of Coconut Creek is considering a lawsuit to get the violations and growth to stop if mediation doesn’t work.
Read the lawsuit and additional filings below: