Lee County Community Charter Schools LLC, which operates six charter schools in Lee, has filed a lawsuit against the Gateway Services Community Development District and the Lee County Tax Collector.

The suit seeks a refund of $46,581.53 from community assessments, or non ad valorem taxes, paid on Gateway Charter Elementary and Gateway Charter High in 2007. That year, the Florida Legislature clarified that charter schools are exempt from taxes just like all public schools, and the charter schools have not paid annual assessments since then.

“We have a duty to ensure the monies we receive from the state are used for the expressed purpose under our charter agreement, i.e for educational purposes,” said Ed Pozzuoli, a Fort Lauderdale attorney representing the charters. “The children we are charged with educating deserve our best efforts to provide a quality educational program.”

The assessments were for stormwater, community development and solid waste services.

The Lee Charter Foundation, which runs six charter schools in Lee County, will state its case today to the Florida Board of Education in hopes of overturning a rejection from the Manatee County School Board. The Foundation wants to open a K-8 school for 860 students in Manatee, about a 75-minute drive north of Fort Myers. The Manatee School Board rejected the application, in part, because none of the Foundation’s five board members live in Manatee.

But, according to one school official, none live in Lee County, either. Richard Page, vice president of school development for Charter Schools USA, says the lack of a director living in the same community has not prompted any concerns from Lee parents.

“We have a strong, open process,” said Page, whose company manages charter schools, but doesn’t actually make most decisions. “All of our school board meetings are open to the public.”

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The World Health Organization in June declared swine flu an international pandemic. Perhaps that message didn’t make its way to Six Mile Charter Academy or Cape Coral Charter, where school fundraisers resulted in several staff members locking lips with Pebbles the Pig.

Proceeds will help fund a trip to Washington, D.C., for eighth-graders attending a character education program sponsored by Charter Schools USA, which manages both schools. Students and staff stuffed cash and coins into buckets of the person they’d most like to see kiss a pig, raising $1,500 at Cape Charter and $500 at Six Mile.

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Gov. Charlie Crist, fresh off stops Thursday morning in Punta Gorda and Friday afternoon in Fort Myers, will return to the City of Palms Monday afternoon. This time, he’ll be speaking to 1,300 educators at a charter school conference.

Charter Schools USA confirmed Friday that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist will be the keynote speaker at its annual summit Monday at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers. More than 1,300 principals, teachers and staff are expected at the daylong event, which is the back-to-school conference — a pep rally of sorts — for employees of Charter Schools USA. CSUSA is Florida’s largest charter school management provider with 16 schools in its system, five of which are in Lee County.

Also speaking is Dennis Bega, senior education advisor for the U.S. Department of Education.

CSUSA will present awards for educator of the year, new educator of the year, staff member of the year and corporate member of the year.