Not coming to Tuttle Royale: Village says no to plan for $30,000-a-year private school

ROYAL PALM BEACH — The Village Council has rejected an offer from a national school network that sought to open a private K-12 school with an average annual tuition of $30,000 inside Tuttle Royale.

Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto told representatives of Basis Independent Schools that the high costs of the private institution would price out most of the residents who will live in the community, now under construction at Southern Boulevard and State Road 7. The school would have been Basis' first in Florida.

"This is not about whether or not you have a quality product,” said Pinto during a council meeting on Thursday, April 18. "This is about this location and what we decided we want for it.”

“You should consider potential sites in Wellington," Pinto added, directing Basis to the village's affluent neighbor.

What's coming to Tuttle Royale? Where to eat, shop and have fun at the CityPlace of the western communities

Mayor takes issue with idea Royal Palm won't find a charter school for Tuttle Royale

The Basis Independent Schools is a network of private academic institutions in Brooklyn, New York, the Silicon Valley near San Francisco Bay and the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. The schools charge $30,000 annual tuition and feature two-teacher classes and courses led by "subject expert teachers," according to its website.

A Basis representative told council members that the school would fit in with Tuttle Royale's character, considering its high-end retail stores and restaurants and that single-family homes within the community are expected to be sold for close to $1 million. The school would have 1,500 students and could offer up to 10 half or 20 quarter scholarships to help cover the cost for village residents.

The representative argued the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the area's education market and insisted the village would struggle to attract a charter school. Pinto scolded him.

"You don't choose what goes on this site," Pinto said. "We do."

"They're going to have to work through that and deliver what we promise for our people,” he added.

Council members Jeff Hmara and Jan Rodusky sided with Pinto in the 3-2 vote. Hmara said his biggest concern was that the Basis school would be placed in the middle of a community where most families couldn’t afford to enroll their children. Apartments under construction in Tuttle Royale will rent for about $2,500 a month, or $30,000 a year.

“Your child's education would be the same cost as your housing,” Hmara said.

Rodusky said the 10 half-scholarships offered wouldn't be enough to let most Tuttle Royale students attend.

Council member Richard Valuntas said he didn’t think the private school would drastically alter the character of the community. He and Selena Samios voted to approve the zoning change.

“There's evidence that it will change,” Valuntas said. “It isn't going to change it enough.”

Tuttle Royale's developer opposed private school at Royal Palm meeting

Brian Tuttle, the developer behind Tuttle Royale, spoke against the private K-12 school at the meeting. He said the mixed-use development was designed to include a public or charter school to serve its residents, so families could walk their children to the campus.

Tuttle added its 1,600 residences will create demand for the charter. A private school would "drive a stake into the heart of the live-work-play community,” he said.

"Tuttle Royale was never designed and planned with a high-end private school, where the affluent residents from Wellington and downtown West Palm could bring their kids into each day and then leave with them," Tuttle said in a letter to the village. "It was designed for the people of Royal Palm Beach."

Village manager Ray Liggins said other developers building homes in Tuttle Royale also opposed the private school.

Pinto said the charter school was a key element for the council to agree to place the high-density residences along Southern Boulevard 10 years ago.

He said a private school would attract families from outside affluent communities that would drive into Tuttle Royale and force the 1,200 children expected to live there to drive out to public schools.

"If those students are able to stay in that community to go to school, there is no traffic impact," Pinto said. "Everything is self-contained."

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Private school rejected at Tuttle Royale complex in Royal Palm Beach