The League of Women Voters of Manatee County is observing the Manatee School District School Board meetings and providing feedback to board members. This report lists items of interest to the League and notes adherence, or lack of adherence, to good governance procedures and the Sunshine Law. The following are the major points from the School Board Meeting on October 11, 2022.
ITEMSOF INTEREST
Invocation. Inspiration was given by outgoing Board Member Charlie Kennedy, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Agenda. Mary Foreman asked that an item on "Information Only:“ Quarterly ESSER Report for the Period Ending June 30, 2022, be given more attention. Mr. Kennedy moved and all agreed to place that on the agenda for discussion.
Recognitionsincluded a video produced by MSTV highlighting the district’s role in sheltering citizens during Hurricane Ian, a proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15-October 15, and a proclamation for National Lunch Week on October 10-14.
Manatee School District is the only agency that provides hurricane shelters (15) which are managed and administered by school and district staff members. They served over 5000 evacuees, serving 17,300 meals, during Hurricane Ivan. In addition, 16 schools and two support centers were without power. Myakka School was without water. The district coordinated the distribution of donations to the Myakka community.
Hispanic Heritage month is set aside to recognize the contributions, history and culture of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States of America, and to the world. Started by President Lyndon Johnson as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968, President Ronald Reagan expanded the celebration to 30-days in 1988. Hispanic Heritage Month is a welcome celebration in Manatee County School District Schools as approximately 35 percent of District students are of Hispanic or Latino heritage. Debra Estes, Director of ESOL, Migrant, stated that over 19,000 Hispanic/Latino students are part of the district’s student population. She introduced 3 bilingual paraprofessionals (of 109 total) who are the Ôboots on the ground’ and often the only bilingual person on campus. She introduced two federal ESOL employees who created the Hispanic Outreach Fair program. The July fair had over 3,000 participants. The proclamation was read in both English and Spanish. In response to Mr. Golden’s question about bilingualism in Manatee County, Superintendent Saunders indicated there are 5 elementary schools with dual language programs and another to start soon.
The National School Lunch Program serves more than 30 million children every school day. President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life and the impact it has inside and outside of the classroom. The district’s schools serve 15,000 breakfasts every day and 30,000 lunches, serving 8 million lunches last year. Three school lunchroom managers, each having served over 30 years service, were introduced. School Board members received sample snack packs that meet federal guidelines. Chair Golden spoke emotionally of the ravages of hunger and thanked the cafeteria workers.
Consent AgendaTwenty-five items passed without discussion or public comment. One item of immediate import was the approval to revise the 2022-2023 Academic Calendar in light of the numbers of days schools were closed due to Hurricane Ian. The Thanksgiving Week holiday remains intact with time made up by extending half-day sessions.
Public Commentswere made by Mr. Nelson who commented on the budget and Mr. Hartman who provided encouragement to the Board.
New Business (Non-Consent Items/Superintendent Recommendation.
Approved 5-0, Hola! (LWV note: The vision of ÁHOLA! Elementary @ MSA is to create bilingual, bi-literate, and sociocultural competent learners within an Arts-infused Dual Language Program. This adds an elementary school component to the current 6-12 charter school, Manatee School for the Arts.)
Approved 5-0 the budget amendments for July and August 2022. Mrs. Foreman asked Mr. Bargeron to explain significant implications. Public comment was made by Mr. Nelson who stated he didn’t understand.
Approved 5-0 the 2022-2023 salary schedules for all employee groups reflecting the raises that had been approved previously.
Approved 5-0 a new job description and position of Technician, School Support Technology removing the requirement of a two-year degree.
Approved 4-1, with Mary Foreman dissenting, to apply, accept and expend CRSSA ESSER II lump sum allocation amendment, in the amount of $11,023,735.75. Mrs. Foreman’s concern centered around using ESSER funds for recurring expenses when the ESSER funding ends. [LWV note: The federally funded Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)Fundwas established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Manatee School District received $23 million to be used over a two-year period.] Tim Bargeron, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services, indicated that any unspent funds must be sent back to the state and that cross-departmental staff meet weekly to ensure the funds are spent appropriately and to prepare to shore up when these funds are depleted. Latrina Singleton, Director of Federal Programs, provided detailed information and answered questions.
Approved 5-0 to ratify purchase and sale amount for property from SMR Taylor Ranch, LLC, not to exceed $1,800,00.00. Mike Pendley, Executive Planner, Construction Services, described the 20+ acre parcel to be between SRs 64 and 70 off of SR 60 and will be the site of a new K-8 school in the future.
Approved 5-0 to approve a first amendment to the agreement of purchase and sale, by and among the School Board of Manatee County (the "Seller“) and Charter School Holdings, LLC (the "Purchaser“) to extend the contract 30 days to complete due diligence because of delays caused by Hurricane Ian. [LWV note: The property being sold is the original Bradenton Middle School campus located at 202 13th Avenue East and currently houses the charter school, Team Success.]
New Business (No Superintendent Recommendation)
Approved 5-0 for Chad Choate, with Mary Foreman as an alternate, to serve as board representative on the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) Advocacy Board.
Approved 5-0 to join the School Vaping Litigation Lawsuit. School Board Attorney Dye explained that currently, 12 Florida school districts have joined in this national lawsuit. There is no cost to the district; however, if damages are awarded, the district would be included. The suit is based on the nuisance being caused to schools in terms of targeting children and requiring more surveillance in schools. Comparisons were made to the tobacco litigation in the past.
As requested by Mrs. Foreman to be added to the agenda, a discussion followed providing further explanation of the use of the ESSER funds in the district. Mr. Bargeron offered to provide more detail in the future to drill down to specifics within each line. Mrs. Foreman indicated a need to start cutting back and putting more into reserves so funds are available when the ESSER money runs out.
Workshop Item Requests
October 13 workshop will be lengthened to make up for a missed date due to Ian. Topics to be addressed include security (in the shade), legislative platform, upcoming bylaws, and board policy amendments, and health insurance.
No other workshops are scheduled until after new board members are seated on November 22.
Department and Board Updates
Operations. Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Doug Wagner stated that in addition to managing and staffing 15 shelter sites with 90 cafeteria teams, the district has loaned Sarasota County the summer food service buses for the North Port area. Digitizing all school records will be completed by April 2023, with the 27thschool being done this week. Through the extraordinary efforts of Human Resources, Payroll, and IT, all personnel got their Oct 7 pay check reflecting the recent pay raise, in spite of Ian. All is on track for 100% compliance for annual training requirements for Safety and Security.
Superintendent and Board Comments centered on acknowledging the extraordinary service of school and district administrators and staff in managing and staffing the Hurricane Shelters. This includes custodial and food service personnel. The school principals led the shelters as part of their job assignments. Many years ago, Red Cross provided staffing for shelters. Law Enforcement personnel are also assigned to shelters and animal services provide support at shelters receiving pets.
Mr. Kennedy thanked everyone for a constructive, peaceful, and collaborative meeting. He acknowledged that employees manning the shelters put the need of others before themselves.
Mr. Choate voiced a parent’s gratitude for the helpful communication from the district and schools during the storm and reminded everyone that some students still may not have power. Although kids are resilient, we need to be aware.
Mrs. Foreman thanked everyone for their work during the hurricane as well as community members who assisted with campus clean ups. She was glad that the school calendar’s changes due to the storm still allow the full Thanksgiving week vacation. Human Resources’ new hire will help Mr. Wagner who has been doing two jobs.
Mrs. Messenger also expressed gratitude that the Thanksgiving week is still intact. She indicated that the she fielded far fewer complaints from evacuees using the shelters and there was more appreciation shown. She thanked everyone who made the shelters a success.She stated that she would like to pursue a recording of the Public Comments Instructions to be displayed visually, so that it can be a consistent reminder during meetings rather than read live.She asked Board members to let the Superintendent know if this is something they think should be done.
Mr. Golden referenced a recent incident of a recording of a Manatee High School teacher, calling it an aberration, and acknowledging it was handled appropriately.
GOVERNANCE/SUNSHINE
We appreciate Chair Golden’s attention to ensuring that he was heard well at this meeting.
Mrs. Messenger consistently asks for amplification from staff regarding items to be considered so that the public is fully informed. We commend this effort and encourage this to continue being a part of the expectations.
Mrs. Foreman’s concerns are shared about how the district will prepare for adjusting when the ESSER funds are depleted. The additional discussions and information were informative and helpful.
We were surprised that Chair Golden did not appear fully aware of the sheltering responsibilities, and the dual language programs.
The district’s most important function is teaching and learning. Again, there was no update on the academic side of the district’s work. Several months of meetings have been held with no curriculum and instruction updates. Board members should request regular reports comparable to reports on Operations.
The drilling down into the specifics of budgets brought to light the need for current board members to fully understand how funds are categorized and recorded; e.g. the functions and objects for each line of coding as well as how funds can and cannot be transferred within fund sources. With new board members coming on in November it is imperative to hold multiple workshops on the various facets of school finance and budgeting because it is so different from business or corporate finance.
The meeting started promptly at 10:30 and adjourned at 12:57.
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