The Oct. 6 meeting of the Monroe County school board in Key West began with a tribute and moment of silence for John Padget who died on Sept. 22.
Padget served as Monroe County Schools Superintendent and became a powerful benefactor to Take Stock in Children. He was a driving factor behind countywide student programs for technology, travel, leadership and cultural exchange.
Later in the meeting, board member John Dick related how Padgett started the Take Stock program by pedaling to the administrative building on his bicycle, handing a $75,000 check to the superintendent, and telling him to start the program.
During public comment, retired school board chairman Andy Griffiths rose to praise and roast retiring school board chair John Dick. Griffiths, first elected to the school board in 1992, served with Dick and thanked him for his 20 years of service.
He praised Dick’s “Dollars to the classroom” mantra while also recounting, with some humor, Dick’s time as a school employee. According to Griffiths, when Dick, who was a school counselor, didn’t get a raise, he decided to run for school board and then was a thorn in the side of that administration.
Kate DeLoach, a lobbyist with the Southern Group, presented an initial list of items of concern to the district school board during the legislature’s next session. The list includes a Florida statute called the School Grade Escalator. Under this statute, whenever 75% or more of schools statewide in a specific category earn an A or B, the Florida Department of Education increases the grading curve for schools. School boards across the state are against this escalator because it makes it increasingly difficult and impractical to try to keep an A rating. School ratings impact elections, property values and workforce strength.
Another item on the legislative list is the accounting for Family Empowerment Scholarships. The program makes K–12 vouchers available to all Florida residents regardless of household income. These vouchers, with an average value of $8,000, can pay for home schooling or private schooling.
School district funding from the state depends on enrolled student headcount. Operating costs do not scale down linearly when a few students are home schooled or privately schooled and not part of the headcount. Losing 20 or 30 enrolled students scattered across various grades in a district significantly reduces state funding, but the district can’t respond by closing a school or hiring fewer teachers. Registered home education students are, by law, guaranteed access to the district’s extracurricular and sports activities without additional funds. School districts want to revise the system so traditional public school operations and private vouchers are in separate appropriations.
The Bruce Hall and Reynold’s School project will provide workforce housing for the district along with new office and educational facilities while also restoring historically important buildings. Bruce Hall was built around 1911 as part of the Ruth Hargrove Methodist Seminary. U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez secured a $3 million federal appropriation. The school district’s local capital appropriations request from the Florida Legislature is $1.75 million to complete the final phase of the project.
Increasing teacher salaries and mitigating any impact from tax reform are also on the list of concerns.
Key West High School student, and newly elected Homecoming Queen, Jordan Green introduced a presentation from the Key West segment of the Monroe Association of Governing Students (MAGS). MAGS is a student advisory and leadership council across the three high schools in the district. Green and other students described a survey asking about the use of artificial intelligence and screen time they plan to conduct across the schools. One statement that caught the board’s attention was that school has become more about passing than learning.
Melissa Alsobrooks, Principal at Gerald Adams school, presented statistics showing significant achievement increases at this Key West elementary school. Gerald Adams is a Title 1 school. The school receives supplemental federal funding because a high percentage of students are from low-income families. She reported significantly improved performance on the Florida assessment tests and credited her staff and specific teaching strategies for the improvement. Alsobrooks and board member Sue Woltanski discussed the importance of science and a science fair in the curriculum.
The board approved a formal agreement with the county to make the schools available as emergency shelters. The district only has to provide someone to give physical access to a school when an emergency is declared. The county takes responsibility for the operation of shelters. According to the agreement, both school board and county employees can receive payment from FEMA for their salaries. Board member Mindy Conn thanked Superintendent Ed Tierney for putting this agreement together because of past misunderstandings and assumptions.
Board member Yvette Mira-Talbott Talbott discussed the Rex Weech Field improvement project as it reaches completion. She pointed out that it came in close to a quarter of a million dollars under budget. She praised the local cooperation of all involved in keeping costs down.
The meeting closed with the board members expressing their thanks for Dick’s service and reminiscing about their experiences.
