There may be less traffic on U.S. 1, but there are still 737 students attending summer school in Monroe County.
School board chairman John Dick pointed out during a recent interview that the district must provide school resource officers whenever students are present. At a meeting on June 10, the board approved an annual budget for officers from Key West Police and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office at $3.6 million. The state provides about $1.1 million of that amount under the Safe Schools legislation.
Dick also pointed to the success of the Coral Shores High School automotive program. The automotive teams competed in the “Top Tech Challenge” at the Universal Technical Institute in Miramar against multiple high school teams. The two-man teams from Coral Shores took home both the first and the second place awards.
Last month, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez presented the district with a symbolic check for $3 million to support the design and construction work needed to restore the historic Reynolds School. The restoration is a critical step in the district’s plan to create school district workforce housing on the Trumbo property in Key West.
“This $3 million investment is an important milestone in a project that has been years in the making,” said school board member Sue Woltanski. “I am grateful to Congressman Gimenez and his team for their partnership, and we look forward to continuing our work together to deliver workforce housing for our dedicated staff.”
At the board meeting, the district demonstrated that Great Educational Moments aren’t just academic. They took time to recognize the Key West High School Lady Conchs softball team. Led by coach Jason Garcia the team won a regional championship. The board expressed that the regional championship inspired an entire community and encouraged more women to participate in sports.
The board received a report on athletic participation from Steve Vinson, the assistant principal of Gerald Adams Elementary who also serves as the district athletic director.
Vinson reported that in the three high schools, 1,429 students participated in 75 competitive athletic programs. Of those students, 583 were female. Those numbers changed very little between the 2024-25 school year and the past year. Some students play multiple sports and are counted for each.
Weightlifting remains popular with students of both sexes. New for the upcoming year are competitive pickleball and beach volleyball. The major challenge to competitive athletics in the Keys remains the cost and time of transportation.
Dick and other board members commented on the importance of the Florida Keys Area Health Education Centers to the county’s athletic programs. The board approved a contract of $187,000 for AHEC services. This year all students who are new to high school sports must have an electrocardiogram screening. AHEC offers no-cost ECGs to all student athletes to include a full sports physical.
Woltanski said the electrocardiogram is not an image. It is an electrical test. Out of 225 students who received ECG screening, five were referred for imaging and other tests.
AHEC also provides random drug testing for the school district. In the school year just ended, 226 student athletes received random drug tests with six positives. Positive results cause suspension from athletics and referral to treatment programs.
“AHEC has clinics in many of our schools, and now they have the dental bus that goes around and in some of the places they have a dental chair,” Dick said. “They do a lot of great things for our kids and even for the staff.”
The school district is one of only two Ocean Guardian districts in the nation. The district partnered with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and United Way of Collier and the Keys to win this recognition.
There is a difference between an Ocean Guardian school and an Ocean Guardian district. There are many Ocean Guardian schools across the country and eight Keys schools are Ocean Guardian Schools. Each Ocean Guardian school can carry on a separate category of projects. K-12 students carry out hands-on environmental stewardship projects.
In order to qualify as an Ocean Guardian district, a school district follows a common category of projects. Keys schools create projects using native plants to filter rainwater before it runs into the ocean and bay. About 3,500 students engaged in these projects across 6 schools and they benefit from wide community involvement.
