Pasco officials seek funding and state approval to extend turnaround work at Cox Elementary; propose MGT partnership

Pasco County School District officials told the school board they will ask the board for funds to support either a district‑managed TOP‑1 extension or a TOP‑2 option for Cox Elementary School as the district seeks state approval.

District deputy superintendent Monica Iles presented the district’s current school‑grade designations and data, saying nine Pasco schools are currently overseen by the state and that three — Pasco Elementary, Gulf Middle and Cox Elementary — are designated Tier 2 under the state turnaround framework. Iles said Cox Elementary’s overall school grade is 39 percent, two percentage points below the state’s “C” threshold.

The request matters because Tier‑2 schools must submit a TOP‑2 plan to the state by Jan. 31 if the district does not win an extension; TOP‑2 options prescribed by state guidance include school closure and reassignment, conversion to a charter, or working with an external operator under contract. District officials said the state deferred Cox’s extension request to a hearing at the State Board of Education the next day and gave the district an opportunity to…