The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m. by Chair Choate. Mr. Tatem read the district vision statement, asked the audience to stand for the invocation by Wyatt Broxson of Suncoast Baptist Church and to remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chair Choate.
Agenda - Ms. Spray asked for Item 20 of the Consent Items be pulled for discussion.
Public Comments –
LE thanked the Board for including charter schools in the sales tax revenue. She told a story about her cousin who at 20 completed his high school requirements at a charter school, Bradenton Bay High School and Middle School. She pointed out specific characteristics of each of the board members for which she is grateful.
CF spoke about the need at Rowlette Academy to get more clarity on the amounts of the charter schools’ share of sales tax revenue over the next few years so that they can address capital and maintenance needs. He said they need information to budget for larger projects and to pay their bills.
SZ described the lessons from the last two months’ conversations about charter schools and the sales tax revenue sharing. He said the slow phase-in diminishes and delays equity. He wants the full share in 2025-26 because it is difficult to plan.
MM introduced himself as Palmetto Charter’s Board Chair. He said he just learned about the ½ cent sales tax issue this year. He said he appreciated the board listening and setting a direction inclusive of charter schools.
Reports and Presentations – SDMC FAST Progress Monitoring 3 (PM3) Assessment Results
Derek Jensen, Deputy Superintendent for Instruction, and Keven McCarthy, Director of Assessment and Research provided data from the FAST Progress Monitoring 3 (PM3) assessment. [Slide Presentation can be viewed here]
They showed where parents can go through the Focus Parent Portal to look at their child’s results. Parents can access a student’s FAST ELA Reading, FAST Mathematics, FAST ELA Reading Retake, and B.E.S.T. EOC results in the FLDOE’s Family Portal using the link in the Focus Parent Portal. Parents can see their student’s scores, where they fall on a continuum of achievement levels, a breakdown of different reporting categories as well as resources to help their own student, based on that student’s results.
Before viewing the PM3 results, they pointed out considerations to be factored in, including the seven net days of lost instruction due to hurricanes, a change in the district’s philosophy about assessing accelerated students, and that this is “raw” PM3 data. The data will be “cleaned” before the official results are known that will be used for school and district grades. An example of “cleaning” the data, is removing results of students only here for half the year. Final data will be available in July with district and school grades to follow.
Comparisons were presented for each assessment: district including charters compared to state results; district and charters broken down compared to state results. In almost every case improvement or maintaining was demonstrated.
Mr. Choate said he likes to see how last year’s third graders did on their fourth-grade tests and that the district has done “something right with early learning stuff” thanks to the millage. Ms. Spray questioned whether schools doing well needed a literacy coach so that poorer performing schools could have two. She was reminded that Title I schools can have two literacy coaches with one paid with Title I funds and one paid with district funds and it is important to get even better performance in schools that are doing well. Mr. Kennedy said he appreciated all the information given at the workshop about the mechanics of the testing. Ms. Felton said she would like to see PM1 results compared to PM3 results. Ms. Spray asked to see PM1 to PM3 data by school. Ms. Felton asked if there were fewer high school students needing concordant scores to meet graduation requirements than in the past. Mr. McCarthy indicated the current assessment does not require three sections of exams over three days and said they are getting better results.
The initial analysis indicates this year’s results may top last year’s results which were the highest ever for the district. When Mr. Kennedy asked if there is a chance the district will score an “A,” Mr. Jensen responded the district is closer to closing the gap due to positive momentum and building an infrastructure for success.
Consent Items – Twenty-seven items were approved 5-0.
New Business (Discussion Items Pulled from Consent)
Approval to Purchase Legal Services, SDMC No. 26-0050-TG, Estimated in the Amount of $395,000 Annually (General Fund). Approved 5-0 following a discussion led by Ms. Spray.
Ms. Spray asked the district’s attorney Mr. Pendley how much is spent year to year to year and why there are so many firms, are there more cases? She asked why has it gone from three firms to nine firms in three years? Mr. Pendley responded that one of the firms was for administrative hearings, one for a garnishment case, another for property matters, and one for airport hangar negotiations for MTC. He indicated the district largely uses the same law firms but added other firms that specialize in an area of need. When Ms. Spray suggested hiring a district litigator would be cheaper, Mr. Pendley indicated one person would not have the variety of expertise to handle all of the different kinds of cases.
New Business (Non-Consent Items)
The public was requested to review the Code of Student Conduct in preparation for the July 29 public hearing. [Follow the link here]
The public was requested to review the Student Progression Plan in preparation for the July 29 public hearing. [Follow this link here]
Authorization to Amend Charter Schools Contracts to Share a Portion of the Sales Surtax with qualified Charter Schools Beginning in 2025-2026 Fiscal Year. Approved 5-0 after a lengthy discussion.
Ms. Felton and Mr. Kennedy indicated the plan to share sales tax revenue with charter schools was workshopped and they had spoken to multiple charter school representatives. Mr. Kennedy recommended the plan be changed to move to 100% of the charter school share to the 2026-2027 school year since the debt obligation would need to be paid before distributing shares to charter schools. The current plan calls for 50% in 2025-2026; 80% in 2025-2027; and 100% the following two years. Mr. Tatem asked for clarification from Ms. Sellars in regard to proportioning the sales tax revenue for charter schools over the next four years after paying debt obligations. Ms. Sellars indicated that the debt services must be paid before money is available for any project based on the bond covenant. She indicated if the plan was accelerated, then the district might need to go to another COPS.
Mr. Kennedy advocated for more to the charter schools sooner and reminded that 20% of Manatee’s students go to charter schools. Ms. Felton countered that 80% attend district run schools and that this School Board is 100% responsible to these schools, reminding them that each charter school has their own governing board. She said she did not want to rush into making a change in the plan without careful consideration of all the things that are happening at the legislative level that have never happened before, such as proposing to get rid of property taxes.
Ms. Spray indicated the payment of debt obligations to be satisfied before determining the amount to go to charter schools had not been discussed. Ms. Sellars indicated that this is the current requirement for the 1.5 millage and the sales tax revenue.
The discussion then turned to whether to only approve the part of the plan for 2025-2026 or approve the whole plan as is with the intention of looking at the implications of accelerating payment and possibly adjust later. Mr. Kennedy said the current plan isn’t aggressive enough. Mr. Choate indicated the board needs to do right by the staff and their planning but he’s on board for looking at it again to see what it would look like to accelerate the payments. Ms. Felton concurred to keep the plan for now and not pull it apart here at this meeting. Mr. Choate indicated the implications of changes would be on a future workshop agenda.
[See the PROCEDURES FOR SALES TAX REVENUE SHARE here]
NEW BUSINESS (NO SUPERINTENDENT RECOMMENDATION)
Approval of Carr Riggs & Ingram (CRI) Human Resources Compliance Report. Approved 5-0
Discussion Regarding the Superintendent Search Process and Forthcoming Interviews.
Dr. Bill Vogel updated the Board on the current status of the Superintendent Search. He indicated that the first application has been received by FSBA and as soon as it is processed it will be posted on the district website along with feedback capabilities for the public.
In preparation for constructing the interview guide for the July 18 full board interview with each candidate he asked each board member to pick one of the five areas of work. The FSBA will develop questions and seek input from the board members. Members selected the areas as follows: Personal Leadership – Mr. Tatem; Instructional Leadership and Excellence – Ms. Felton; Business Finance and Operations – Ms. Spray; Board, Staff and Community Relations – Mr. Choate; Performance Accountability – Mr. Kennedy. While each finalist is being interviewed in public the other finalists will be on the School and Community Tour. Each interview will be 90 minutes.
Mr. Vogel provided a handout of best practices for district staff regarding the Superintendent Search and Mr. Chapman has shared this with the district leadership team.
Mr. Vogel indicated Mary Glass of the Manatee Education Foundation has agreed to sponsor meals for the finalists on July 18 and 19. They will be served continental breakfast and lunches in the café and a light dinner before the Meet and Greet on the July 18 at MTC prior to the event to be held there.
At the Meet and Greet on July 18, each finalist will give a five-minute talk about why they would like to come to Manatee County. After this, each will be in a separate room to meet participants. Mr. Choate and Mr. Vogel are working on making hotel reservations for the finalists and the FSBA team. Mr. Vogel is working with Mr. Jensen and Mr. Edwards on the School and Community Tour.
Mr. Vogel indicated the July 19 one-on-one interviews between each board member and each finalist will be one hour long. Board briefings will occur on that day as well. He reviewed the process for narrowing the full applicant pool to the finalists and then the finalists to the final selection. Using a tally form, each Board member will rank order their choices and FSBA will facilitate their discussion to arrive at consensus.
Mr. Kennedy inquired if the one on one could be taped or videoed. Mr. Dye said he didn’t think there was a legal issue, Mr. Kennedy said he wanted the public to have the opportunity to hear what he was asking. Ms. Spray said she preferred closed door for questions. Ms. Felton said it was speed dating and agreed with Ms. Spray that she wants to make sure she would be compatible with the finalist as a workmate and to gauge how “we function together.”
Dr. Vogel will be back at next board meeting on July 22 and move the process forward. He asked to be contacted if there are any questions.
[Follow this link to see the applications as they are posted: Superintendent Search Applicants | School District of Manatee County
Updates
Instruction: Deputy Superintendent Jensen expressed excitement that the Soar In 4 lab is complete with a July official grand opening planned by Dr. Halpern. Teachers have been involved in professional development: Dual Language program; ESE Best Practices workshop; and teams of ESE teachers of self-contained classrooms planning lessons together around what K-5 curriculum looks like. He congratulated the 700 graduates at MTC participating in morning and afternoon ceremonies. Summer Career Education was conducted where students shadowed MTC students. A seventh grade HOSA student from Nolan Middle School placed 3rd in the world competition.
Operations: Deputy Superintendent Ranaldi said Human Resources conducted an operations job fair this afternoon with 89 attending and offers made for custodians, food service, IT, and candidates for transportation. HR has processed 100 hires so far this summer. Food Services have delivered over 75,000 meals at 66 sites so far this summer and are sponsoring a Kids Wellness Fair at Lincoln Park with meals included on July 24 from 11-2:15. Transportation Department has 12 drivers enrolled in CDL classes, with tutoring offered throughout the process. The leadership team in transportation went to a state meeting where the district won one of two awards for Vehicle Maintenance. He reminded everyone that the rezoning maps are on the district website and feedback is accepted through August 15.
By the end of this week the public can enter an address and see what school they would attend. [Link to rezoning information is here]
Legal – Mr. Dye reminded everyone that there is no such designation as an Interim Superintendent. Mr. Chapman is Superintendent. Between the workshop and this meeting, he received a letter from the Tax Collector claiming a commission on the millage. He said he has looked at statute and didn’t see any support for Tax Collector’s point. He said the statute only allows for a commission on non-voted millage imposed by the Board of County Commission. He will send a legal response with the district’s position and Mr. Choate will meet with Tax Collector on Friday. Mr. Tatem asked what the process would be if Tax Collector does not agree with our position. Mr. Dye said it would be a local civil suit within the local circuit court.
Superintendents’ Remarks – Mr. Chapman said the final board work has been completed for assigning school leadership and removing “interim” tags to leadership positions in time for the July 1 district leadership conference. He thanked the Board for agreeing to a July 15 workshop on collective bargaining.
Board Remarks
Mr. Kennedy thanked Mr. Chapman, Ms. Cox and the leadership team for getting everything ready for tonight’s meeting. He said they had good debate tonight and hopes we don’t take this collegiality for granted – “even in disagreement we appreciate each other’s opinions.”
Mr. Tatem’s safety tip was if you go out west where it is cooler and dryer, remember the elevation is higher so but be careful as the country is drier and 40% less oxygen at the high elevations. He went to MTC graduation and said it was good. He said there is a need to talk to students to encourage them to go and look at all the options. He then asked if the schedule could be moved around so that people like Dr. Vogel don’t have to sit here for hours waiting for their turn.
Ms. Felton said she could go with him to recruit for MTC since she has a child attending there as well as a neighbor. She said the FSBA conference was excellent and she is now on the Advisory Committee, the Legislative Committee and the Schol Safety ad hoc committee. She’s also an alternate director for District 23. She said she is enjoying being part of the bigger picture and advocating for the district. She thanked everyone who called their legislators and advocated to keep the AP/IB funds. She said, “They asked us to stop calling so you know how effective those from this district were.” She enjoyed her visit to the Palmetto Boys and Girls Club.
Ms. Spray agreed with Mr. Kennedy that this is a solid board. She welcomed the new Director of Communications and recognized retirees. She thanked Mr. McCarthy for the data presentation, expressing how she, too, likes to dig into the data.
Mr. Choate said it’s been a long day and productive day and got the budget done. He thanked the staff for the work they do to get ready for the meeting. He suggested they enjoy the break and 4th of July. There will be a July 15 Shade Meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Anyone wishing to follow the Superintendent Search on the district website must find it under the “District” on the next to top blue banner, then three clicks later, going to Superintendent, then Superintendent Search to find the helpful information. Why isn’t this a direct link on the front page?
Appropriate and insightful questions and comments by Board Members indicate they are gaining a deeper understanding of Progress Monitoring.
We question whether Ms. Spray should have worked with Mr. Pendley prior to the meeting to understand cost for the outside attorneys rather than needing to pull it as an agenda item. This unnecessarily prolonged the meeting.
We appreciate that the Board recognizes how clearly and professionally both Mr. Jensen and Mr. McCarthy continue to make excellent presentations to bring clarity to the complicated Progress Monitoring system.
We observed that Mr. Kennedy’s suggestion to rewrite the proposed procedure for sharing sales tax revenue with charter schools during the meeting was frustrating to his fellow board members. We appreciated Mr. Choate’s effort to rein in the discussion; however, the discussion seemed to go on far longer than necessary. We support the Board Members’ decision to not change a financial item without the benefit of more studied consideration.
As you review HR reports, be reminded that removing an interim tag is a promotion and should be reflected in the report.
We appreciate Mr. Tatem’s attention to safety and encourage him to make his recommendations relevant to the majority of families who spend their summers in the area. Perhaps he should suggest enrolling in swimming lessons or hydrating because of the heat.
Ms. Felton was observed to be a strong advocate when she appealed to the board to consider their responsibility for 80% of the students enrolled in district run schools
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