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Hernando board signals end to Equal Opportunity Schools partnership; fall surveys already collected
Summary
Board members expressed opposition to the district's work with Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) and agreed to stop using the vendor going forward; staff said fall surveys are already completed and schools have the data for next-year scheduling.
At the Jan. 28 Hernando County School Board meeting, board members and district staff discussed the district’s use of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), with multiple board members urging an end to the partnership and the board chair and members indicating consensus to stop further EOS activity.
A public commenter, Jennifer Cook, urged the board to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and said an executive order by the president had directed federal agencies to end DEI work. Her remarks prompted extended board discussion about EOS and data-sharing practices.
Board member Miss Duval and Mr. Johnson both voiced objections to EOS, saying the district should rely on teacher and counselor recommendations and merit-based indicators rather than the third-party program. "Instead of spending the money on all of this, I'd rather put that money somewhere else in our district," Duval said during board comments.
Superintendent Pinder described the district's role: "My job as the superintendent is to enforce policy, legal guidance as to what we need to do." He told the board the district had received the survey data from EOS for the fall and that the contract covered the year; he said the district would follow statute and policy while considering alternate methods to identify students for advanced coursework.
District staff member Michalica told the board the surveys "were administered to students in the fall" and that schools were using the collected survey data to schedule students next year. Several board members characterized the discussion as deeper than a single meeting and suggested a workshop if necessary, but others said the district could stop sending additional surveys and cease work with EOS going forward.
Board members and staff described the practical outcome as: the fall surveys already exist and schools will use that data for scheduling, and the board will not continue further EOS activities beyond the current year's collected data. No formal vote to terminate a contract was recorded during the meeting; the superintendent said the district will follow legal and contractual obligations while implementing the board’s direction.
