Hendry County Schools report historic academic gain; superintendent outlines budget, safety and new high school timeline

Mike Swindle, superintendent of Hendry County Schools, told the Hendry County Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 26 that the district earned a B classification for the first time and outlined a $236 million budget that includes phased funding for a new LaBelle High School.

The superintendent said the district scored 60 points under the state grading system — a gain that moved the district from a historical “C” classification into a “B.” He also told the board Hendry County Schools enroll about 7,311 students, employ roughly 1,000 people and expect a budget that reflects about $30 million in high-school construction costs.

The district’s new standing matters because state school grades are a shorthand for local academic performance and influence how parents and businesses evaluate a community’s schools, Swindle said.

Swindle described several components he credited for the growth: focused use of student-level data, deliberate lesson planning, an emphasis on in-class instruction rather than disciplinary interventions, expansion of career and technical education (including welding, plumbing, HVAC and electrical programs in LaBelle) and higher pay to recruit and retain teachers. At the July school board meeting he said the district approved a 4% average raise for teachers and set starting teacher pay at $52,000.

“Never before have we had this academic performance in Hendry County Schools,” Swindle said. He added that the district recorded one of the largest year-over-year academic point gains in Florida and that three secondary schools and three elementary schools earned A or B grades this school year.

Swindle also said the district had reduced office discipline referrals while increasing academic outcomes: “When you focus and you get the students challenged and you teach them, they don’t have time to get in trouble,” he told the board.

On safety, Swindle said the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office places a deputy or school resource officer (SRO) on every campus while the district also uses paid and contracted guardians at secondary campuses and shared guardianship arrangements at elementary sites. He said the district continues training and drills to respond to critical incidents.

Swindle reported a federal action the district took as evidence of progress: he said the U.S. Department of Justice recently released the district from a desegregation monitoring order tied to discipline and equity issues that dated to earlier decades. “We have shown that students of color have all the same equal opportunities everyone else has,” he told the board.

On facilities, Swindle said engineering and permitting for the new LaBelle High School are in final stages, with a hoped-for October groundbreaking and an estimated opening for the 2027 school year. He said the district expects to phase the project and that the current high school site would be reconfigured into a middle school and athletic fields.

The superintendent also said the district is piloting careful, classroom-level uses of artificial intelligence as an instructional tool and emphasized third-grade reading as a continued priority.

The presentation was informational; the board took no formal vote on the report. Commissioners thanked district staff and leaders for the academic gains and asked to be invited to the LaBelle High School groundbreaking when it is scheduled.

Ending: Board members and district leaders said they will continue to monitor school budget details, construction timelines and safety staffing as the district moves toward construction and next school-year planning.