Updates on two notable projects in Key West and Islamorada and a new contract with the local teachers union were among the topics before the school board at an Oct. 7 meeting in Key West.
Patrick Lefere, district executive director of operations and planning, discussed the coordination with the Village of Islamorada over the Founders Park baseball field project and described changes to the plan that eliminated a multiuse building in favor of modifying an existing building at the end of the third base line.
The delivery of construction documents in March will be the next phase. After approval of those documents, a developer will provide a guaranteed maximum price. The current project estimate is about $5.6 million without the cost of modifying the existing locker room building. This is down from an estimate of $6.1 million, because the multiuse building was removed.
If the final project plans are approved by both the school district and the village, construction would start in April.
In response to questions from the board, Lefere described how the planning for the press box and concession stand behind home plate was guided by the desire to keep the existing footprint and trees.
Lefere also presented detailed images of the proposed Reynolds school renovation project. The final design documents will be available to support a request for qualification to contractors in November and construction documents will come near the end of January. The planning budget for this project, which is key to the proposed construction of housing for school staff in Key West, is $11 million.
Board chair Mindy Conn expressed a concern about the one-at-a-time project planning for three building projects in Key West. She cited a reduction in the number of students in Key West and the need to take a strategic look at all the projects underway in Key West.
Lefere discussed the need to move administrative staff in an orderly way. Board member John Dick supported Conn and observed, “All the communication is done by computer. You don’t need to walk down the hall to get somebody to sign a piece of paper.”
Schools Superintendent Ed Tierney reported that the district has 181 fewer students than last year. Of those, 118 students left the district, and there are 48 fewer students in kindergarten. There has been a drop in the number of English as a second language learners.
“The money In Florida follows the students, so we must continue to be fiscally responsible,” Tierney said.
School board member Sue Woltanski said kindergarten enrollment is down across the state. She wondered if the lower enrollment was due to the school voucher program paying for home schooling. Tierney replied that 52 students in the district claimed school vouchers and the staff is researching grade levels.
Diana Walker, president of the United Teachers of Monroe, thanked the board for the teamwork and open exchange of information during the recent contract negotiations. Later in the meeting, the board voted to approve a contract between the teachers’ union and the district. The agreement, after seven collective bargaining sessions, includes significant improvements in pay, including the highest starting teacher salary in the state of $62,700. The agreements are retroactive to July 1, 2025.
“This achievement is a testament to the professionalism, collaboration and shared commitment to our students that guided the bargaining process,” Tierney said.
In an update on the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority pipeline replacement project, Lefere reported there is a weekly meeting among the project consultants, FDOT, MCSO and the school board. Construction is getting close to Coral Shores and Plantation Key school zones. The major concern will be at the crossing of U.S. 1 and Woods Avenue in the second week of November. He anticipates changes to the PKS dismissal process and the way buses exit PKS during that time. Buses and parent pickup traffic will have to alternate.
“We’re not saying it’s going to be easy. There will be delays. But the significant portion of the delays will be within a three- to five-day period,” Lefere said.
The district’s Great Educational Moments for Students award program awards begin nearly every school board meeting. Two parents, Alex Dorisca and Marie Brevil, were recognized at the Oct. 7 school board meeting for their work in organizing, supporting and translating for parents at schools in Key West.
