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Superintendent presents largely cost‑neutral staffing plan; highlights ELL growth, sixth‑grade move to junior highs
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Sanders presented the district’s annual staffing plan, describing a largely cost‑neutral package that shifts positions to match enrollment changes, expands English‑language supports as ELL enrollment approaches 2,000 students, and moves sixth graders to two junior high schools while funding classroom additions.
Dr. Sanders, identified in the meeting as the presenter, summarized the Clay County School District’s annual staffing plan and its financial implications, telling the board the package is intended to match staffing to student needs while remaining “very cost neutral.”
The presentation highlighted two major drivers: a planned move of sixth graders into Lake Asbury Junior High and Oakleaf (the board previously voted on the change), and a significant increase in English-language learner (ELL) enrollment. Dr. Sanders said the district’s ELL population has grown from roughly 1,100 in 2022–23 to about 1,500 in 2023–24 and is now “just below 2,000” students this year, creating the need for more ELD/ESOL staff and support.
Dr. Sanders said the staffing package uses the district’s strategic plan and staffing model to guide allocations and relies on built-in timing mechanisms (April reappointments, mid‑April job postings and the 10‑day count) to allow adjustments. He described specific moves and funding shifts: 27 teachers were moved from federal funds into the general fund after an initial waiver year; other ELL-related positions were funded through federal programs including Title I, Title III and Title IV where permissible. The superintendent also noted the district added school safety officers and mental‑health counselors where state categorical funding supported those hires.
On facilities, Dr. Sanders said it was more fiscally prudent to add 32 classrooms at Lake Asbury Junior (and similar work at Oakleaf) than to undertake larger construction elsewhere, and that parents in community meetings had largely accepted the sixth‑grade move though a few raised concerns about mixing sixth graders with older students.
Dr. Sanders and board members discussed certification and scheduling constraints at the secondary level, noting fractional allocations (for example, 0.384 teacher allocations) and the district’s practice of paying teachers to take a sixth teaching period to provide flexibility. He said district staff had been working since December to finalize the plan and that the package aims to protect reappointments and maintain stability for more than 5,000 district employees.
Board members asked for supplemental materials such as a color copy of a slide showing student movement and asked clarifying questions about ELL funding, behavior‑analyst job duties and how federal “supplement versus supplant” rules apply when funding changes are proposed. Dr. Sanders said the district sought to minimize general‑fund impact when categorical or federal funding was available.
The transcript records informational presentation and discussion; no formal vote on the staffing plan is shown in the portion provided.
