Sarasota County School Board Chairwoman Shirley Brown thanked the the Superintendent Search Committee before the board accepted the committee’s list of superintendent finalists at the school board’s meeting last night. The list features eight applicants, including Executive Director of Career, Technical and Adult Education for the Sarasota County School District Todd Bowden. Although Bowden is the…
The St. Johns County superintendent selection process is moving quicker than expected, with nine out of 21 applicants advancing into the semifinalist stage. The list of potential candidates was presented before the School Board Tuesday and motioned for approval. The board also motioned to disband the citizens’ advisory committee, which was set to meet twice…
Large or small, every school board should hold an orientation for new board members because it benefits the organization, including the scope of people it serves. All boards have a unique set of dynamics and expectations. An effective new board member orientation will be carried out by key individuals using a specific structure. Regardless…
FSBA #FridayFive – 5 Things You Should Know Each week, Executive Director, Andrea Messina, compiles a top 5 list of news stories that School Board Members should know about: Website Development School To Open In Wyoming More states sue over transgender bathroom directive Florida parents crowd funding fight against third grade retention What’s good in public…
Today’s Friday Five are five reasons your membership in FSBA is valuable: 1. Full time staff on call to answer all of your questions, all of the time 2. 125+ years of experience in Florida school board issues and challenges 3. Transparency with membership, meetings, budgets, and legislative priorities 4. Transparency with bylaws and policies…
Of all the impassioned debate we’ve witnessed in this presidential campaign, there has been remarkably little said about a policy issue critical to America’s future: public education. When the candidates have talked about education, they have primarily focused on higher education, which is provided through colleges and universities. Our presidential candidates have largely been silent…
We often hear the terms “good governance” or “effective governance,” but what exactly does that mean? Nearly everyone recognizes bad governance when they see it. Bad governance is when board members operate independently of each other. We see bad governance when board members try to control the superintendent and their staff. Board members practicing bad…
A controversial proposal aimed at curtailing lawsuits against the state by the Florida School Boards Association is back for the 2016 session and is starting to move through both chambers of the Florida Legislature. House Bill 1155/Senate Bill 1426 prohibit membership groups — namely, the FSBA — from using public dollars to sue the state, a move that critics argue…
Lee County school board members will lay the groundwork for setting goals and expectations for themselves and Superintendent Greg Adkins during a two-day workshop Friday and Saturday. The first meeting, set for noon to 5 p.m. Friday, will take place at the Canal Street Support Services Annex in Fort Myers. The second, budgeted for 9…
With Florida legislative committees getting started, the state School Boards Association is putting the finishing touches on its legislative priority package for the new session. It’s focusing a lot of its attention on testing and accountability as it presents a proposal to members before formal adoption. Some of the ideas have been talked about before,…