BROOKSVILLE -- In a surprise ruling, the state Board of Education has denied the appeal of a Fort Lauderdale company to open a charter school for high school dropouts in Hernando County.

The unanimous vote Tuesday overturned a February ruling by the Charter School Appeal Commission that would have allowed Mavericks in Education to open the 350-student school, despite the Hernando School Board's initial denial of the application.

"State statute indicates that the State Board's decision is not subject to the Administrative Procedures Act so any further appeal is unlikely," said board attorney J. Paul Carland in an email.

Board members had said they supported Mavericks' goal of serving at-risk students and dropouts, but expressed concern over what they saw as a lack of control of public funds by the proposed school's local governing board. Under its plan, the for-profit company would have drawn 97 percent of each student's state and local funds after paying the district a 5 percent service fee, with the remainder going to the nonprofit governing board.

-- Tom Marshall, Times staff writer