Leon County School Board Meeting Briefs: October 25, 2022

Below are the news briefs from the Leon County School Board meeting that took place on October 25, 2022.
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The first portion of the meeting consisted of numerous principals and school officials paying tribute to Board Member Georgia “Joy” Bowen’s 24 years as a board member as she enters retirement.
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Superintendent Rocky Hanna announced Terri Martin, current Assistant Principal at Oak Ridge Elementary School, will take over for Beth Jackson as principal at Hawks Rise Elementary School as Jackson enters into a leave of absence.

Jackson is the widow of former Fort Braden Principal and Leon County Commissioner Jimbo Jackson, who passed away earlier this year.
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The board approved a number of agenda items in bloc format. Some of the notable items that were approved are included as bullet points.

• Approved the 2022-23 UniSIG Supplemental Teacher and Administrators Allocation Grant which provides “supplemental funds to recruit and retain Highly Effective and Effective state VAM teachers and administrators who are teaching and impacting the most fragile students at Title I, ‘D’ or ‘F’ schools in Florida.” The document containing the information for Title I schools and effective teachers can be viewed here.
• Approved General Fund Budget Amendment #1. The amendment increased estimated revenues by nearly $2.2 million and “increases appropriations by the same amount.” The line-by-line amendment can be viewed here.
• Approved demolishing and removing three portables from Kate Sullivan Elementary. The official document can be viewed here.
• Approved $1 million in construction and repairs at Killearn Lakes Elementary. The contract was awarded to RAM Construction & Development, LLC. The short form agreement can be viewed here and the continuing contract can be viewed here.
• Approval of a “New Sign Wall at the entrance to the Chiles High School Football Stands funded by Chiles High Principal’s discretionary funds.” The official document can be viewed here.
• Approved the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds Budget Amendment #1 that totals over $800,000. The line-by-line amendment can be viewed here.
  

The board approved Agenda Item 19.01 which amends a job description for a position at the school district level, specifically the title of “Coordinator, Recruitment/Retention” in the Human Resources Department.

Only Board Member Alva Swafford Striplin voted against the change to the position title. She opposed it on two fronts: (1) Striplin stated that she feels the board is being disregarded by the Superintendent when it comes to approving new positions in the district including two recently approved divisional director positions, and (2) she stated that it’s not the right move for the district given that the position will have a salary of $60,000 per year when teachers have a salary of a lesser amount.

Superintendent Hanna responded saying he is very open to having conversations regarding hiring, but he stated this is the first time he has heard an opinion from the any member of the board indicating they would like more input regarding various types of hires at the district level.

The job description can be viewed here.
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Approval of a “real property conveyance” of the Fort Braden Community Center to Leon County. The agreement can be viewed here.
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Approval of 2022-2023 Compensation Proposal between Leon County Schools and The Leon County Teacher’s Association (LCTA) Bargaining Unit that raises starting teacher salary to $47,000 annually.
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The full school board meeting can be viewed here.