[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6375116,"mediaKeyId","2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c","parentId",2142412,"title","Levy County board narrows 2025 legislative platform to roofing, school safety and mental health; seeks larger roofing appropriation","audioSeconds",5262,"startMs",62000,"endMs",5324000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c&start=62&end=5324","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c/thumbnail_62000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6375116/Florida/Levy-County-board-narrows-2025-legislative-platform-to-roofing-school-safety-and-mental-health-seeks-larger-roofing-appropriation","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375116-ea3f97f4ec55e896fc8fffecc3352cf0/orig.mp4?Expires=1775229636&Signature=ZTtE6wtG2arqvCddngKoCHOoCOT0klCccYo~gUs7TJbmb4WxP5dA5WjO6Q2vxGb5E24w8~hPpLfEEGp3kzTCW5wY8tMyo5YNVGNY4bx0Lf5h1kcpa7z2sJaC2cNfxCTZc3-CaBIoMzx5Ohv4w6Ul9~abk~f3fxtLVc5zFKMvRWTjWyWm7-lVxiT~kxrffnUTRQ5GJfMxgwNd1cnRECCpMqZlOlcsB3dOSdyurSmeEL~Au3cgLp8tef7DWQlo7g9SnDtsisvXkk93QD~z1Tt2HSxOo8GsJa7cWnqzKvl3KTKesJFsED0~CdncPHZgeZH~b2NETP8TugWXPGISenCqMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Levy County School Board, FL","date","2025-01-21T21:52:57Z","article","Levy County School Board members agreed at a Jan. 7 workshop to make school roofing repairs, school safety and student mental health the district’s top legislative priorities and to pursue state funding for immediate roofing repairs.

The board was told consultants from the law firm GrayRobinson had secured sponsorship from two local legislators for a member-funded appropriation for roofing repairs. “They both said yes to sponsoring these appropriations for the roofing projects for 750,000,” consultant Kim McDougall told the board. McDougall and Jessica Love advised the board on strategy for the upcoming session.

Why it matters: Board members described leaking roofs as an immediate safety and operational risk — including roof leaks in facilities that serve students with special needs — and said capital maintenance shortages limit schools’ ability to deliver programs. Board members and staff pressed for a request that would cover more work than the initial $750,000 figure. After discussion the board reached consensus to ask GrayRobinson to inquire about raising the request to $975,000; that increase is pending counsel confirmation and the approval of the legislators who had agreed to sponsor the appropriation.

Consultants cautioned the board to be realistic about state budget constraints. “We’re losing all the federal dollars in the state budget. So it’s gonna be a very, very tight budget year,” McDougall said, urging the district to pair its member project request with clear one-page case statements that describe need and priorities.

Several board members described the local maintenance shortfall as chronic. “We have to come up with a way to maintain these buildings, and we don’t have the tax base,” said Board Member Cameron Asbell, pointing to older roofs and storm damage across the district.

The board also gave staff and the consultants direction to prepare one-page summaries for its top issues and to schedule delegation meetings in Tallahassee. The group discussed travel windows during committee weeks and settled on the week of Feb. 18–19 as the tentative date for district visits and legislator meetings.

The board’s action on the roofing appropriation was consensus-based direction; no formal roll-call vote was recorded at the workshop.

Ending: District staff and GrayRobinson will refine the appropriation request amount and the district’s one-page “case studies” for legislators, then return to the board before final submission.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board Workshop 1/14/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Levy County School Board members agreed at a Jan. 7 workshop to make roofing repairs, school safety and student mental health the district’s top legislative priorities and to pursue state funding for roofing repairs.","taxTitle","Levy, School Districts, Florida","taxId",67946,"location","Florida","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6375107,"Levy board flags mental-health staffing, counselor certification and required-instruction mandates as legislative issues",700,790000,1490000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c&start=790&end=1490","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c/thumbnail_790000.jpg","/articles/6375107/Florida/Levy-board-flags-mental-health-staffing-counselor-certification-and-required-instruction-mandates-as-legislative-issues","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375107-72ae66d854fe30908f93642b4e6cfbad/orig.mp4?Expires=1775229636&Signature=E5IHDS7ajrkfPAhurpYeAvzBmmLQnm88OgQe72XLzSqU9zz2pfof5GC-tActSY7-NZ-fwXvhRmfbFJkZpS8SXKq~e4Uv4ivqiXFLoVM4q6dAwEJbzbgOi~mK65c-sr7oRYdHzKMiDuxGcaZud35FFtSFxw9tiCPfgP~-5E8v~2J2fuqWX5MtSl4VFDzsW-mxtK5MojQ6Wwk1T1mdkOAO2Ni0ncq77di2EIi1frxSxGDRWa2vl3lWLPl0VlfNfjLqkXt9iCn8srIlr5IN0uZbQYn3hRUPcVA52QD1J57Dfrsvb7gz4Tv0gV8NjJafO8Cj8iXm6HC44sXnxyHfuDpJcA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Board members at a Jan. 7 workshop described student mental health and mandated required instruction as top operational problems they want addressed at the state level.

Board Member Mrs. Clemenzi told the group the counseling workload is acute: “Our guidance counselor to student in in our biggest high school is 600 to 1,” she said, adding that the shortage affects teacher recruitment and classroom safety. Several board members said the district is successfully using its mental-health allocation to hire school-based clinicians but that hiring licensed providers in a rural market is difficult.

Consultant Kim McDougall advised the board to examine the legislative proviso language that governs the mental-health allocation and to consider whether the district needs flexibility in how those funds may be used. “Your CFO should look at the proviso. What are the limitations of how you can spend your mental health allocation? Do you need additional flexibility with how you spend that?” McDougall said.

Board members and staff also raised certification requirements for school counselors and social workers. McDougall and others suggested that the district examine whether state rules that categorize counselors and social workers as instructional staff create hiring and compensation barriers and whether legislative deregulation could remove those constraints or allow different credentialing pathways.

Separately, staff described how required instruction mandates — for example, statewide health curricula and mandatory CPR instruction in specific grades — are being added on top of core subjects and, when not embedded in existing classes, can pull students out of core instruction. “When the required instruction is embedded into some of those core classes, it’s a lot easier to deliver. However, there’s a lot that is not, and cannot be embedded, like, some of the health education in grades 6 through, 12, mandatory CPR in 9 through, through, 9 and 11 are some examples,” district staff said.

Why it matters: Board members framed both itemized funding flexibility and deregulatory language as ways to help rural districts recruit and retain counselors, social workers and other student-support staff without forcing those roles into narrow instructional classifications that raise certification and compensation hurdles.

Ending: The board asked two members to draft a one-page legislative summary on required instruction and to include counselor-certification and mental-health-funding flexibility language in its one-page materials for delegation meetings.","Board members told consultants that counselor-to-student ratios, limits on who counts as instructional staff, and mandated required instruction (including school CPR and health topics) are creating operational strain. Consultants advised reviewing provisos and exploring deregulation language on staff roles and funding flexibility.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6375111,"Board discussion: PECO, capital outlay paybacks and charter-school funding shift squeeze Levy County capital budgets",165,2245000,2410000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c&start=2245&end=2410","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2142412-56eeb4695acef955509064c9d620bc6c/thumbnail_2245000.jpg","/articles/6375111/Florida/Board-discussion-PECO-capital-outlay-paybacks-and-charter-school-funding-shift-squeeze-Levy-County-capital-budgets","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375111-0ce682eb19ad81b6e17072bf213576f6/orig.mp4?Expires=1775229636&Signature=FhKfcHoS0TSc0AprxJ68ngQrTUHCjCi2jXw5fCUcvdvKup9RoAwULfF5Rd7SJ0AlT0mtv2pAWC~-YeKv0ujNT0hoX~8Ku1NkNP6Kw7Y37F8lrtHC-R~CkGxXitKfq4-fyNKkBe3LaP7hHbD6q8vgqSz4LPRk15TunFNkxB11wXCkOlY9PYOxK49BcuzfhBZtCJt5YkqQowTK6j7ICnVQCS34thdUFojBr6uNZkMyjWHcIxVzebSMjDpffd3~TXM8MJW23K2lzefF5~9XEsJTk3Pk0WZq9K41PFZ1kChhaPWQDYb1yyXXNBYYb6VjsyYlvCd-RTr~jxSgNrCpwVGO-Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","District staff outlined at the Jan. 7 workshop how state capital-outlay funding and recent statutory changes affect Levy County’s ability to finance school maintenance and replacement.

District staff said shifts in state policy and practice have moved more Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) dollars toward charter schools and other choice providers, reducing the effective PECO amount available to some traditional districts. “PECO has been given to Charter's and shifted over to Charter's. The weight of that PECO dollar is continuing to decline,” district staff said during the workshop.

The staff presentation noted a multi-year capital-payback schedule for the district’s recent construction projects and cited a $2.2 million final payback planned for next year. Staff told the board the district typically receives roughly $4.5 million in capital outlay but that available funds have been constrained by debt-service obligations and payback schedules; staff said annual debt service currently runs about $700,000.

Board members connected PECO and capital-outlay pressure to smaller, concrete impacts such as bus replacements and deferred maintenance. Staff said some bond-call refunding proceeds can be used for bus purchases but that statutory language limits the permitted uses of specific capital revenue streams.

Why it matters: Board members said the combination of charter-related PECO shifts and the district’s recent building investments has left Levy with little local capital flexibility in the near term. Several members urged the board to ask the Legislature to limit future transfers of local capital to charter providers or to provide transition language that would protect smaller, rural districts from losing capital outlay more quickly than they can recover.

Ending: Staff will include the capital-outlay and PECO concerns in the district’s one-page packets for legislators and will provide line-item examples of how the district currently spends capital outlay and debt-service dollars so the delegation can see the local impact.","District staff told the board that PECO allocations have shifted toward charter schools over recent years and that Levy’s multi-year capital payback schedule constrains immediate maintenance spending; members discussed impacts on buses, debt service and local capital availability.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Levy County board narrows 2025 legislative platform to roofing, school safety and mental health; seeks larger roofing appropriation

Levy board flags mental-health staffing, counselor certification and required-instruction mandates as legislative issues

Board discussion: PECO, capital outlay paybacks and charter-school funding shift squeeze Levy County capital budgets