Bay District Schools board approves staff terminations, facilities contracts, tech purchases and staffing allocations

The Bay District Schools Board of Education approved a slate of personnel, procurement and program decisions at its regular meeting, including the superintendent’s recommendations to terminate or suspend three employees, awards for facilities and classroom purchases, purchase agreements for two data/AI platforms and a package of add-on teaching units for the 2025–26 school year.

Board action focused on four categories: personnel decisions the superintendent recommended after investigations; facilities and school-technology contracts (architect selection, classroom furniture and audiovisual upgrades); districtwide tech and instructional-platform purchases (an AI pilot and a data/assessment platform); and approval of add-on staffing units and curriculum adoptions for next year.

Why it matters: The personnel actions change staffing and human-resources status for individual employees; the facilities and technology purchases are funded largely from local half-cent sales-tax proceeds and grant reimbursement and will affect school security, classroom infrastructure and district data systems; the staffing allocations affect how many teachers/counselors schools can hire before the 2025–26 school year.

Personnel decisions Superintendent McQueen presented recommended personnel actions that the board approved by roll call. The board voted to: (1) terminate the employment of Elijah Gibbs, a physical education teacher, subject to the employee’s due-process rights; (2) terminate the instructional-professional employment of Britney Ward and place her on suspension without pay pending any requested hearing; and (3) place benefits specialist Mary Harper on suspension without pay. For each recommendation the superintendent said the actions were based on findings from investigations (the Ward recommendation referenced findings by the Florida Department of Children and Families). The board recorded unanimous yes votes on each item (Register, Leonard, Chester, Moore, Moss). The superintendent noted that if hearings are requested, employees remain suspended without pay during the proceedings.

Facilities, security and campus projects The board approved a set of facilities- and equipment-related contracts and procurements: - Approval to negotiate and contract with the top-ranked firm (DAG/DNG Architects as ranked by the selection committee) to serve as architect for the MKL school project (committee rank presented by facilities staff). Board members approved moving forward with the top-ranked firm; final…