Santa Rosa School Board revises 2024–25 calendar after snow days; approves personnel, projects and other routine items

The Santa Rosa County School board on Feb. 4 voted unanimously to revise the 2024–25 academic calendar to recover five days of instruction lost to weather events and approved a series of administrative actions including a termination of employment, approvals for construction plans and surplus declarations.

The board adopted calendar changes intended to preserve graduations and spring break while making up instructional minutes for most students by converting two secondary early-release exam days into full instructional days and keeping the final day of the year as a half day. Assistant Superintendent Mr. Thorpe told the board the district must meet a state requirement of 300 minutes of instruction per day; secondary (grades 6–12) schedules provide 313 minutes and elementary schedules 324 minutes, and the revisions aim to “put a little bit of time in the bank” to meet the requirement.

Why it matters: Board members said seniors were the primary concern because schedule shifts and missed days threaten senior exam time. The district asked the Florida Commissioner of Education for a waiver on Jan. 28 and had sent a reminder; no response had been received by the meeting.

Board actions and votes - Approve minutes of the Jan. 16 board meeting — motion carried (mover: Mrs. Huey; seconder: Mr. Elliott). - Advertise the public hearing for the 2025–26 school choice plan — motion carried unanimously. - Approve DAG Architects and project updates, including TR Jackson bid date set for Feb. 18 — informational items accepted. - Approve McKim & Creed plans for athletic services and safety rehabilitation (phase 1 and 2) with an estimated construction cost of approximately $553,000 — motion carried unanimously. - Declare listed assets surplus for disposal — motion carried unanimously. - Approve spot survey (listed as Spot Survey 6.2 under Center 9001 for the Dillon Center lease/purchase work) — motion carried unanimously. - Approve direct purchase orders listed on the agenda — motion carried unanimously. - Termination of employment — Case No. Four-two42025; recommended termination effective Jan. 17, 2025 — motion carried. - Approve February 2025 out-of-field and ESOL out-of-field reports — motion carried. - Approve alternative placement recommendations from the disciplinary committee — motion carried unanimously. - Approve proposed calendar revisions to recover instructional time — motion carried unanimously. - Change next board meeting date from March 6 to March 11, 2025, 5:30 p.m., at Woodlawn Beach Middle School — motion carried.

Notable clarifications and constraints - Mr. Thorpe said the district built flexibility into the calendar (including a March 24 planning day) but that those planning days count as early-release teacher planning days under the master contract and therefore do not fully replace student instructional time. He emphasized the district’s intent to avoid using spring break, pushing graduation dates, or adding days to the end of the year. - For Milton High School specifically, senior exam dates were moved earlier (19–21 May), with May 22 kept as graduation day and May 20–21 used for graduation practice and optional senior makeup/walk events. Mr. Thorpe said the district expects a modest threshold of senior attendance to validate those days (discussion referenced estimates between 15–20 percent but no statutory threshold was specified in the transcript). - The district requested a waiver from the Commissioner of Education on Jan. 28 to forgive missed instructional days; as of Feb. 4 no decision had been returned.

Meeting context and next steps - Board members said they preferred to keep graduations and spring break unchanged. Mr. Thorpe said the administration will continue to refine schedules and return if the state grants forgiveness; otherwise the adopted calendar changes will remain in effect.

Ending note: The board held the vote to adopt the calendar revisions and numerous routine administrative approvals without recorded dissents; several items were presented as informational or routine and were advanced unanimously.