Leon County School Board Meeting Briefs: August 27, 2024

Below are the Leon County School news briefs from the August 27, 2024, meeting.

The Board voted unanimously to advertise amendments to Policy 2520 that would require the Superintendent to provide annual notice to the Department of Education of the State-adopted instructional material that will be put into use in the district.

The Board voted unanimously to advertise amendments to Policy 2522.01 that would revise the policy to specify that residents of the county who are not parents or guardians of a student may not object to more than one material per month.

The Board voted unanimously to advertise amendments to Policy 2460 that includes revisions to the time frames for resolution meetings and the removal of language referencing testing programs for ESE students.

The Board voted unanimously to approve additional language to Policy 2440 for administering the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program at the District level for students enrolled under F.S. 1002.53(3)(b) in a public-school prekindergarten program.

The Board voted unanimously to approve revisions for Policy 2371, Hope Scholarships, that removes a section referencing parent notification of withdrawal to eligible private school, statewide assessments and Term of Hope scholarship. Parents will now be notified of other possible opportunities at public schools with openings, or of eligible scholarships for private schools.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the Lewis-Whitlock, PA Professional Architectural consult services contract for Griffin Middle School Phase II. This will consist of a brand new +/- 23,000 sqft gymnasium with locker rooms, a band room, a multipurpose room, a lobby, demolition of buildings 9 and 10, a chiller plant, site electrical improvements, voice evacuation improvements in building 15, and related site improvements.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 compensation proposal between Leon County Schools and the Leon Educational Staff Professional Association (LESPA) Bargaining Unit. All employees in LESPA will receive an increase of $1.00 per hour to their hourly rate, and bereavement leave will be increased from three days to five days for all LESPA employees.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the 2024-2025 Gretchen Everhart Retention Initiative Memorandum of understanding between the Leon County School District and the Leon Educational Staff Professional Association. LESPA workers in a support capacity at Gretchen Everhart School will receive a supplement of $1.00 per hour.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the turnaround plan for Apalachee Elementary School as required by the Department of Education. The Top-1 plan required by the FLDOE will include school data analysis, identified causes of low performance, recommendations for school improvements, and the goal to improve the school’s grade to a “C” or higher.

The Board voted 4-1 to approve the Strengthening Career & Technical Education for the 21st Century Act for the fiscal year of 2024-2025. This program will develop the academic, career, and technical skills of secondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs.