Bay District School Board approves new dean job title, hires and multiple contracts and projects

At a meeting at the Nelson Building, the Bay District School Board approved a revised job description that creates the title "dean" to replace several assistant-administrator positions, confirmed the superintendent's recommended administrative hires, and authorized multiple contracts and capital and technology projects, according to motions and roll-call votes recorded in the meeting.

The board approved the revised dean job description — a product of a district classification and compensation review — and voted to advertise new and revised job descriptions for several maintenance and stadium positions. The board also approved the superintendent's recommendation to name Christina Bordelon director of student services and confirmed three principals: Chandra (Shockey) Payne at Saint Andrew's School, Heather Kirkpatrick at Tommie Smith Elementary and Bridget Miller at West Bay Elementary. Board votes also cleared projects at Rosenwald High School and Surfside and Hutchison Beach campuses, IT networking and security purchases, food-service preventive-maintenance contracts, and a memorandum of understanding for teacher bonuses tied to turnaround schools.

Why this matters: the changes formalize staff titles and responsibilities after a districtwide job-assessment process, place new leaders at several schools for the coming year, and commit district funds to facilities, technology and operations that affect school-year planning, staffing and budgets.

Votes at a glance: - Dean job description (advertising and final approval): Approved. Motion by Mrs. Moore; second by Mrs. Leonard. Roll call in the transcript recorded affirmative votes for Moore, Leonard, Chester, Webster and Moss. - Christina Bordelon — Director of Student Services (appointment): Approved. Motion by Mr. Moore; second by Mr. Register. Roll call recorded yes votes from Moore, Register, Leonard, and Moss. - Chandra Payne — Principal, Saint Andrew's School (appointment): Approved. Motion by Mr. Chester; second by Mr. Register. Roll call: Chester, Register, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Heather Kirkpatrick — Principal, Tommie Smith Elementary (appointment): Approved. Motion by Mrs. Leonard; second by Mr. Register. Roll call: Leonard, Register, Chester, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Bridget Miller — Principal, West Bay Elementary (appointment): Approved. Motion by Mr. Register; second by Mr. Chester. Roll call: Register, Chester, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Consent agenda (minus item 10b): Approved. Roll call recorded Register, Moore, Chester, Leonard, Moss (all yes). Item 10b (Summer programs) was pulled for discussion and later approved by motion of Mr. Chester, second Mrs. Leonard (roll call: Chester, Leonard, Moore, Register, Moss all yes). - Employee termination (recommendation to suspend without pay and proceed per due process for Marilyn Gabbard): Approved as recommended by the deputy superintendent. Motion by Mr. Register; second by Mr. Chester. Roll call: Register, Chester, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Rosenwald High School classroom wing (prototype classroom addition; budget ask cited in meeting): Approved. Motion by Mr. Chester; second by Mr. Register. Roll call: Chester, Register, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Surfside and Hutchison Beach front-entry and site improvements: Approved. Motion by Mrs. Leonard; second by Mr. Moore. Roll call: Leonard, Moore, Chester, Register, Moss (all yes). - Tommie Smith furniture and media-center package (campus renovation furnishings): Approved. Motion by Mr. Moore; second by Mr. Register. Roll call: Moore, Register, Chester, Leonard, Moss (all yes). - Property and casualty insurance renewal (property insurance premium cited as lower by about $833,000 compared with prior year): Approved. Motion by Mr. Moore; second by Mr. Chester. Roll call: Register, Chester, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Food service equipment repair and preventative-maintenance contract awards (ITB for kitchen equipment maintenance): Approved. Motion by Mr. Register; second by Mr. Moore. Roll call: Register, Moore, Chester, Leonard, Moss (all yes). - Network switch refresh (five support sites outside e-rate funding): Approved (cost cited in meeting $518,802.48). Motion and second recorded; roll call: Leonard, Register, Chester, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Assurance/consulting agreement (network engineering support): Approved (cost cited $82,500). Motion by Mr. Register; second by Mr. Chester. Roll call: Register, Chester, Leonard, Moore, Moss (all yes). - Assessment/testing-lab refresh (Dell computers for special services testing lab; cost cited $72,116): Approved. Motion by Mr. Register; second by Mr. Moore. Roll call: Register, Moore, Chester, Leonard, Moss (all yes). - Fortinet firewall support (annual renewal, cost cited $136,083.94): Approved. Motion by Mr. Moore; second by Mr. Register. Roll call: Moore, Register, Chester, Leonard, Moss (all yes). - Fortinet analyzer (three-year contract for network analysis; cost cited $156,964.98 total): Approved. Motion by Mr. Chester; second by Mrs. Leonard. Roll call: Chester, Leonard, Moore, Register, Moss (all yes). - CSNI (turnaround) schools classroom teacher bonus MOU (teacher bonuses tied to school status): Approved. Motion by Mr. Moore; second by Mrs. Leonard. Roll call: Moore, Leonard, Chester, Register, Moss (all yes). - Maintenance- and stadium-related job-description revisions (maintenance technician 1–3 approved for advertising; stadium maintenance technician approved separately for advertising): Approved for 30-day advertising and later public hearing as required. Motion by Mrs. Leonard; second by Mr. Register for maintenance tech 1–3 (roll call Leonard, Register, Chester, Moore, Moss yes). Stadium maintenance technician motion by Mr. Chester; second by Mr. Moore (roll call Chester, Moore, Leonard, Register, Moss yes).

What board members and staff said: the deputy superintendent, Josh Balcom, noted that current assistant administrators occupying equivalent duties would be transitioned automatically to the new dean title and would not need to reapply. District HR staff described the item as the result of a contracted classification and compensation review with Evergreen; the review used a job-assessment tool to align titles with duties.

Christina Bordelon, newly approved director of student services, thanked the board and district in brief remarks: "It is a true honor to be a part of the community that so deeply cares and is committed to the success and well-being of its students." Several newly named principals — Chandra (Shockey) Payne, Heather Kirkpatrick and Bridget Miller — each spoke briefly of gratitude and plans to lead their schools.

Selected clarifying details from the meeting record: - Drivers-education summer program: staff reported about 140 students per session and five teachers per site (two instructors on the driving range plus a floater); at least one instructor on the range must be DLAP-certified through the DMV. - Rosenwald classroom wing: the director described a funding request referenced in the meeting as "4.968430" (figure presented by staff during discussion); the district said the work would be paid from LCI funds (presentation language in transcript). - Property insurance: staff reported a reduction in property insurance premium of about $833,000 (roughly 16%) compared with the prior year, attributed in part to lower hurricane losses, reinsurance changes and more commercial carriers in the market. - IT purchases and services: the network-switch refresh for five non-student support sites was cited at $518,802.48; the outside network-consulting agreement at $82,500; testing-lab refresh at $72,116; firewall support at $136,083.94; and a three-year Fortinet analyzer contract at $156,964.98. - Food-service equipment: the district emphasized that kitchen equipment is district-owned and said preventive-maintenance work is funded by federal food-service funds; many walk-in freezers and specialty pieces were described as the most costly items to repair or replace.

Process and next steps: several of the revised job descriptions will be advertised for 30 days and return to the board for final action at a later meeting (the dean job description was returned for final approval after the prior advertisement). Facilities projects described for Rosenwald, Surfside and Hutchison were approved to move forward with summer work where feasible. The board moved into a brief executive session on safety and security following the public meeting items.

The meeting record shows unanimous roll-call approval on the items listed above where votes were taken; staff and board members said they expect many of the staffing and procurement items to take effect for the 2025–26 school year pending any required administrative steps or contract processing.