Highlands County School Board: votes at a glance — policy advertisements, personnel and contracts

The Highlands County School Board at its May 20 meeting approved a broad set of routine and policy items, including personnel actions, expulsions, two facilities contracts, and a revised capital project list. The board also authorized advertisement of public hearings on a large group of proposed policy revisions; those policy changes will return to the board for final adoption after public comment.

Key outcomes

- Consent agenda and personnel: The board approved the consent agenda and the superintendent's personnel recommendations by roll call vote.

- Expulsions: The board approved recommended expulsions (no public detail provided at the meeting).

- Property due diligence: The board authorized the superintendent to undertake due diligence on three lots near Avon Elementary (see separate item). The motion passed with a 4-1 roll call vote.

- Contracts: The board approved two facility contracts: - Award for miscellaneous irrigation repairs to All About Lawns (SBHC 2425-31) - Award for pest-control services for buildings (general pests, rodents, ants) (SBHC 2425-32) District staff said transportation pest control is handled separately by the transportation budget.

- Revised capital project list: The board approved changes to the 2025-26 capital projects list. Staff said the changes include athletic projects at secondary schools and a $200,000 line for property near Avon Elementary; the Highlands Virtual School was allocated $50,000 for classroom partitioning and related work to divide open spaces into separate classrooms.

- Policy advertisements: The board authorized advertisement for public hearings to consider adoption of numerous policy revisions and new policies. Those advertised items will be brought back to the board for final adoption after public comment. Examples read into the record (as spoken at the meeting) included: revisions to the conflict-of-interest policy; policies covering name-image-and-likeness (NIL); student assessment; part-time and extracurricular personnel; appointment, assignment, transfer and promotion steps; professional learning; use of employees' personal property at school; admissions policies (including voluntary admissions and athletic coaches); graduation and student assessment language; suspension and bus-riding privileges; due process; parent-student rights; internal proceedings and federal-cost-spending principles for federal funds; purchasing and contracting; procurement, construction and bidding; and policies governing artificial intelligence, school safety and emergency management, and student witness procedures. The board voted unanimously to authorize advertisement on most policy items.

Nut graf: Most actions were procedural approvals or authorizations to advertise policy changes for a public hearing; final votes on policy adoptions will happen at subsequent meetings after public notice and comment.

Several board members encouraged staff to share clarifying details about how proposed policies would be implemented before final adoption. No substantial policy text was adopted at the meeting; authorization to advertise gives the public an opportunity to comment.

Ending: The board set a May 29 workshop to discuss allocations and budget matters and will consider advertised policies at future meetings.