Bay County School Board approves personnel moves, construction GMP, grants and contracts in March 11 meeting

The Bay County School Board on Tuesday, March 11, approved a series of personnel actions, job-description updates, purchasing contracts and grant agreements during a meeting at the Nelson Building.

The board voted unanimously on motions covering new and revised job descriptions, three suspensions without pay, appointments to two senior district posts, a guaranteed-maximum-price (GMP) construction contract for a safe room and classroom addition at Dean Bozeman School, a multi-million-dollar term sheet from Triumph Gulf Coast, and a cultural-exchange teacher-sourcing contract (TPG). The board also approved smaller facilities and technology purchases the district says are needed for summer work and ongoing renovations.

Why it matters: The package combines near-term personnel and facilities decisions with multi-year economic-development investments. The Bozeman GMP and the Triumph Gulf Coast award are the largest-dollar items the board approved; both will shape capital work and CTE (career and technical education) programming the district says are intended to align student training with local employer demand.

Votes at a glance (selected items) - Career and Technical Education Academic Coach (job description) — Approved. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. The board held a public hearing; staff described the position as a school-facing coordinator to support grant execution, work with counselors and connect teachers to the local workforce. (Transcript topic start: public hearing on job descriptions; see provenance.)

- Human Resources Compliance Administrator (job description) — Approved. Motion by Mister Chester; second by Mister Register. Roll call: unanimous yes. Staff said the role will assist with investigations and documentation related to discrimination/harassment and compliance with district, state and federal requirements; Title IX investigations will continue to be handled as described in the meeting. (Transcript topic start: HR compliance admin; see provenance.)

- Advertising revised job description: change assistant administrator/AA title to “Dean” (advertise for 30 days) — Approved to advertise. Motion by Miss Leonard; second by Mister Moore. Roll call: unanimous yes. Board discussion led staff to adjust language to read “perform other duties as assigned by the principal or assistant principal” and to broaden language to “improve student attendance, discipline and academics” before advertising. (Transcript topic start: job-description classification review; see provenance.)

- Appointments (administrative hires) - Linda Pitts — approved as executive director, Beacon Learning Center. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Crystal Bullock — approved as director of communications. Motion by Mister Chester; second by Mister Register. Roll call: unanimous yes.

- Employee suspensions without pay (personnel actions) - Courtney Allender, instructional paraprofessional at Cedar Grove Elementary — approved suspension without pay. Motion by Mister Register; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Deborah Groves, instructional paraprofessional at Dean Bozeman School — approved suspension without pay. Motion by Mister Chester; second by Mister Register. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Elijah Gibbs, teacher at Cedar Grove Elementary — approved suspension without pay. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. (Superintendent presented each suspension and noted that suspension-without-pay is a board-level action; more details were not read into the record beyond the superintendent’s recommendations.)

- Construction/construction-related contracts and purchases - Dean Bozeman Safe Room classroom addition — approved guaranteed maximum price (GMP) with Florida and Son (contractor) of $14,455,364. Motion by Mister Register; second by Mister Chester. Roll call: unanimous yes. Staff said federal FEMA funds and LCI loan proceeds will help reimburse roughly half of the cost and described the building as a tilt‑wall structure rated for heavy wind loads; the project was described as years in planning. (Transcript topic start: Bozeman Safe Room GMP; see provenance.) - DSX access door additions at Tommy Smith (13 doors) — approved. Motion by Miss Leonard; second by Mister Chester. Roll call: unanimous yes. Staff explained the work ties into the campus renovation and the district’s long-term move to electronic access control. - Aluminum walkway at Lynn Haven Elementary (La Haben) — approved, $49,076.90. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Classroom furniture for Hutchinson (Hutchinson Beach Elementary) — approved (approx. $126,868.60 for six classrooms as presented). Motion by Mister Chester; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Gym floor sanding and refinishing work across several sites — approved. Motion by Mister Chester; second by Mister Moore. Roll call: unanimous yes.

- Technology - Chromebooks for Bay High (phase 2) — approved, $70,400. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Miss Leonard. Roll call: unanimous yes. - Advanced Placement (AP), ACE and IB exam purchases — approved. Motion by Mister Chester; second by Mister Register. Roll call: unanimous yes.

- Contracts and grants - TPG cultural-exchange teacher contract (J‑1 cultural exchange, district to interview Florida‑eligible candidates) — approved. Motion by Mister Moore; second by Mister Chester. Roll call: unanimous yes. Staff said teachers presented through the program are vetted, must meet Florida certification eligibility and are subject to district interviews; the board discussed contract fees and an opt‑out/renewal structure. (Transcript topic start: TPG presentation; see provenance.) - Triumph Gulf Coast term sheet — approved (term sheet amount stated in the meeting: $8,075,000). Motion by Miss Leonard; second by Mister Moore. Roll call: unanimous yes. Staff framed this as a multi-year workforce/CTE investment focused on AI, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and health sciences; the district said the Triumph award will be paired with district in‑kind match dollars that staff estimate will be attainable. Board members discussed clawback language and implementation logistics. (Transcript topic start: Triumph term sheet discussion; see provenance.)

What the board did not do: The board removed three items from the printed agenda (staffing formula, a charter renewal item and a policy advertisement) and deferred them to a later meeting; the board also approved the revised agenda before moving to action items.

Context and next steps: Several motions require administrative execution (advertising and hiring for positions, contract finalization, FEMA reimbursement tracking, and execution of grant-term agreements). For construction projects and grant-funded work, staff noted the projects will proceed through procurement, and federal/state reimbursement processes remain in place. Several personnel items (suspensions) were handled in open session as the superintendent recommended suspension without pay; the board voted to approve those suspensions.

Board members present and voting were listed in roll calls as Mister Moore, Miss Leonard, Mister Chester, Mister Register and Mister Moss; Tricia (board clerk) administered roll calls during the meeting. Staff presenters who spoke during the motions included Superintendent McQueen and department leads for facilities, human resources and career/technical education.