Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lee County superintendent: enrollment opens Jan. 20; vacancies down to 21, graduation rate at 89.8%
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Carlin told the board that enrollment for 2026–27 opens Jan. 20, teacher vacancies are down to 21 (from 575 the prior summer), quarter-2 retention is about 98%, and the district's four‑year graduation rate rose to 89.8%. Board members discussed coach pay and staffing ideas.
Superintendent Dr. Carlin told the Lee County School Board on Jan. 13 that enrollment for the 2026–27 school year opens Jan. 20 and runs through Feb. 27, and urged families to prepare required documents at leeschools.net.
Carlin said quarter‑2 teacher retention is around "98 percent" and the district currently has 21 teacher vacancies, down from 575 heading into the prior summer. "We are not giving up. We are gonna get that number to 0," he said. He also reported bus on‑time arrival rates have improved and that the district's four‑year cohort graduation rate rose to 89.8 percent this year, an increase of four percentage points from the prior year.
Board member Langford Fleming urged the board to address coach pay and retention as part of next year's budget discussions, noting several head‑coach vacancies and the year‑round workload coaches often shoulder. "We've really got to start to have hard conversations about what we are paying our coaches," she said, noting seven head football coach vacancies in the district.
Langford Fleming also proposed exploring flexible or part‑time teaching arrangements to attract educators who want partial schedules; Dr. Carlin said human resources staff would follow up. The board did not take a formal vote on coach pay or staffing changes at the meeting.
