Somerset Academy, Inc., a Miami based charger school group which proposed a new charter elementary school to serve up to 1,250 Indian River County students withdrew is application Monday afternoon.  Somerset’s application was to be considered by the Indian River County School Board at its meeting this evening.

The school districts Charter School Review Committee has raised concerns about Somerset’s application to establish a kindergarten through eighth grade school, which Somerset has proposed to open in 2014.

Describing Somerset’s application as “generic in scope and nature,” the review committee report noted a lack of familiarity with the school district, the local community and the student population.

Dr Fran Adams, Superintendent of Indian River County Schools, said she anticipates Somerset Academy will resubmit a revised application, though she gave not indication which that might happen.  Representatives of Somerset Academy were unavailable for comment today.

Somerset Academy’s plant was to built at Pointe West on land set aside by the developers for a school.  Originally, the developers and the school district had discussed building a new Osceola Magnet School campus at Pointe West, but with the downturn and the economy plans for a new $20 million school were put on hold.

Founded in 1997, Somerset now operates 37 charters schools in Florida, Nevada and Texas.  Within the state, it operates 28 schools in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties and five additional schools from Key West to Jacksonville, including a college predatory academy in St. Lucie County.