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Board debate: stick with Dave Ramsey curriculum or adopt free EverFi option; trustees signal consensus to uphold prior vote
Summary
Brevard trustees debated whether to replace a board‑approved Dave Ramsey personal‑finance curriculum with a free EverFi offering the district already uses; staff said EverFi could save roughly $736,000 but had not gone through the same instructional‑materials review process for this adoption cycle.
Board members debated whether to proceed with the Dave Ramsey financial‑literacy curriculum the board approved earlier in the year or to adopt a free EverFi curriculum the district already offers as a supplemental resource.
“...the free curriculum is, viewed as being equal or better than the Ramsey,” said a board member summarizing staff conversations with curriculum staff; staff told trustees the EverFi option would save about $736,000 compared with purchasing the Dave Ramsey materials. Finance and curriculum staff told trustees the EverFi resource has been used as a supplement in classrooms for years and that, had it been included on the instructional‑materials review list earlier, staff would have recommended it.
Board members pushed back on process and stakeholder review: several trustees emphasized that the Dave Ramsey curriculum had been through the district’s review process, had been subject to a public challenge and a hearing officer’s review, and that the board had voted to approve it on Feb. 11 and again on April 22 to uphold the hearing officer’s recommendation. Those trustees said they were reluctant to reverse that decision without running the EverFi option through the formal instructional‑materials review cycle that includes community committee review.
“Free doesn't necessarily equate to better,” said a trustee who supported keeping the Ramsey curriculum, adding that Ramsey’s materials were “far more content rich” and that the district had already spent money on the hearing process. Another trustee urged deference to academic staff who said they would have chosen EverFi if it had been an option during the formal review.
Legal counsel, Mister Gibbs, told the board he would need to review the details to confirm whether an administrative or legal barrier existed to switching to EverFi; he noted the board had authorized the Ramsey purchase but staff had not yet placed the order because the item was challenged and staff later identified the EverFi option during the challenge period. Trustees discussed a possible interim approach of using EverFi for one year and reverting to another curriculum if it proved insufficient.
Superintendent Rendell said staff could follow a board direction to return to the originally approved Dave Ramsey materials, but that a formal board vote would be required to finalize any change; several trustees asked staff to follow the existing committee process if the board considered switching curriculum. At the meeting’s close a majority of trustees indicated support for honoring the prior committee process and continuing with the Dave Ramsey curriculum as approved, and the chair said staff had direction to proceed accordingly; no formal roll‑call vote was taken at the meeting.
Board members also asked staff to provide further information about curriculum modules and to provide a clearer timeline for ordering and implementing whichever curriculum the board ultimately selects.
