By: Sharon Aron Baron

The Tamarac City manager was met with hundreds of protesting seniors from Kings Point Friday at a meeting regarding the proposed charter middle and high school attracting media coverage from Channel 10 and the Sun Sentinel.

Residents let City Manager Michael Cernech know they were angry that plans for the new charter school called Doral Academy were put forward. However, Cernech insisted that it was not a “done deal” and they were only in the preliminary stages.

“There are still many hurdles to go through,” said Cernech. “Like a contract to negotiate, a lease to negotiate, a whole host of things before I can make a recommendation before the city commission can consider this.”

The meeting didn’t get any easier for Cernech as tempers flared when questions were open to the residents. Residents said that a new school was not wanted or even needed next to a senior community and would bring in more traffic to an already busy area.

At the end of the meeting, one neighborhood president told Cernach, ”You mentioned that you would have hurdles. This is your biggest hurdle.”