Academically, our district earned a “B” grade three of the last
four years (2015, 2017, 2018) after receiving a “C” grade the
previous three years. We eliminated “F” schools from our school
district and the number of “D” schools was reduced from 11 in
2017 to six in 2018.
Financially, the School District of Manatee County’s Fund Balance
grew from $14.4 million in 2013-2014 to $30.2 million following
the 2017-2018 school year. That caused global financial ratings
firms – Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings – to all
significantly upgrade their ratings of the Manatee District during
the last three years.
Those academic and financial improvements raised the
confidence level of our community and they demonstrated their
generous support of public education by approving two separate
voter referendums in a span of 16 months.
The first referendum, in November 2016, approved an extension
of a half-cent sales tax for school district capital needs. Those
funds are currently helping us build three new schools that will
open in August and they are helping us fund badly needed
maintenance and repairs to existing schools.
The second referendum, passed in March 2018, approved a
one-mill increase to lengthen instructional time by 30 minutes
each day; increase pay for teachers, bus drivers, and other staff
who work directly with students; and expand career, technical,
science, and engineering programs.
Thanks to the additional mill, our teacher pay is now competitive
with surrounding counties. This past school year, the average
teacher pay increase was $6,300, and the pay for a beginning
teacher in our district rose to $44,400 – one of the highest starting
teacher salaries in the state.
In February of this year, the School Board voted to make me the
fulltime Superintendent. Although I was not originally planning to
pursue the position, it became clear to me during the intervening
seven months that the Manatee District needed stability to maintain
our forward momentum. I
am thankful for the School
Board’s confidence in me
and for the support I have
received from our employees
and community.
We have plenty of challenges.
Serious challenges we must
face head on.
We need to press on correcting
problems resulting from our
poorly implemented ERP
business software system. This
issue has been a tremendous
source of frustration for all
district employees and the
school board, but we have
scores of employees who
85
have worked unfathomable hours to help find solutions to move
us forward. That work will continue.
Rezoning to accommodate new schools and to address
overcrowding at other schools is always difficult and we have
more work to do in those areas. Providing efficient school
bus transportation, especially in light of driver shortages and
increased traffic, is another area of concern.
On the other hand, I am extremely excited about many bold
initiatives we are deeply involved in, such as the Suncoast
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. We are working closely
with tremendous community partners like The Patterson
Foundation, the United Way Suncoast, and the Early Learning
Coalition to take this important campaign to a higher level so
that all of our students will be reading on grade level by the
end of third grade.
In addition, we are bringing dynamic new academic programs
to several Title I schools that are sometimes overlooked. For
example, we are transforming Palm View Elementary in Palmetto
into a K-8 Pathways School. Started by Apple co-founder Steve
Wozniak, Pathways schools offer students focused areas of
study in areas like engineering, coding, cybersecurity, and
drone piloting.
Other Title I initiatives include working with the University
of Central Florida to transform Manatee Elementary into
a Community Partnership School; adding an Advanced
International Certificate of Education (AICE) program to
Blackburn Elementary; and perhaps turning Daughtrey
Elementary into a Dual Language Academy.
Overall, the School District of Manatee County is building on its
success and making a difference in the lives of our students.
How do I know we make a difference?
I see it in the eyes of our students every year when I shake their
hands at graduation. That’s what this job is all about.