BY AMY SHERMAN
The Miami Herald
September 8, 2006
About three weeks after a Christian military academy was booted out of its Lauderhill location for not having a city license, the school has temporarily relocated to Hallandale Beach.
But Back to Basics Military Academy doesn't have an occupational license to operate in Hallandale Beach, either.
Reginald Browne inquired with the city about getting an occupational license, but he never applied for one, Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good said. Browne is a director at the school and husband of principal Lynda Browne.
''We did not give him permission to move in there,'' Good said.
Good said Thursday that he will send city officials to Temple Messianique today to determine if it's safe for the academy to operate there.
Back to Basics officials could not be reached for comment.
But Lynne Miller, who has a daughter in the school, said Reginald Browne told her that a Hallandale Beach city employee told him the school did not need an occupational license to operate temporarily. Browne is applying for an occupational license anyway, she said. The school plans to move to Sunrise in November.
Classes resumed Tuesday, Miller said. Despite controversy, including the death of a student at an orientation before school started, families have remained loyal.
'THRILLED' TO BE BACK
''They are thrilled to be back in school,'' Miller said.
The private school notified the Florida Department of Education about the move to 520 NW Fifth St., Hallandale Beach, Friday. But school officials have not complied with an Aug. 24 order from the Florida Department of Education to provide copies of permits showing it has a city license to operate, DOE spokeswoman Cathy Schroeder said.
The school has 60 days to comply. If the school ignores the order, the state could pull vouchers. Twenty-four students -- the majority of the school -- receive the vouchers, which total about $210,000.
Back to Basics came under scrutiny after the Aug. 12 death of a 13-year-old Plantation boy who collapsed after a day of marching on a beach with students attending a school orientation at Oleta River State Park in North Miami.
NO AUTOPSY REPORT
The Medical Examiner has not yet ruled on the cause of death for Alex Cullinane but other students said the boy hadn't been drinking or eating during the four-day outdoor camp.
Reginald Browne said in a previous interview that a subcontractor, Juvenile Military Training and Leadership Corp., ran the outdoor camp. But state business records show a Juvenile Military Boot Camp with the Brownes listed as directors.
After Lauderhill shut down the school, students gathered at an undisclosed location temporarily, and then parents kept their children home for about two weeks. Students will make up the missed days, Miller said.
Joseph Valbrun, president of Temple Messianique, said he is merely letting Back to Basics use his space -- it doesn't represent an expansion of his school.
Valbrun is also the founder of Charter School Institute housed in a portable on the same site as the temple.
