Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Operations And Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent highlights crisis response, mental‑health supports and transportation improvements
Summary
Prince described the district’s hurricane and tornado response, shelter operations, mental‑health supports for students and staff, and a turnaround in transportation operations under director Jacunty Ephraim.
Dr. John Prince, superintendent of St. Lucie Public Schools, briefed the board on this year’s crisis responses and the district’s mental‑health and operations improvements.
Prince described emergency sheltering after storms, including use of two schools as shelters and a response after an EF‑3 tornado that displaced families and required mental‑health and operational supports. He credited principals, facilities, child‑nutrition and transportation staff for rapid operational coordination during crises and said teams provided food, transportation and shelters for affected residents.
On mental health, Prince said the district has both student‑facing and employee supports and that the work is part of the district’s broader priorities; he said staff will provide additional training and professional development to support students and to make employees aware of available services. He acknowledged the district’s mental‑health work is linked to referendum funding and said he will present metrics to the board in coming months to measure progress.
Prince also praised transportation director Jeconte (Jacunty) Ephraim for transforming transportation from a frequently complained‑about department to a professional operation that communicates directly with principals and improves bus‑driver training and student conduct management. He noted that transportation had been a common complaint historically but that the department’s performance has improved under new leadership.
Prince thanked other operations staff — including facilities, food services and ITS — for improvements such as a new assessment dataset and daily meal production; he asked board members and principals to continue supporting systemwide crisis and mental‑health work. No formal board action was recorded in the transcript on these operational or mental‑health items.
