Highlands County School Board adopts grouped policy revisions, approves personnel, salary changes and athletic memberships
Summary
The Highlands County School Board approved revisions to grouped policies (5a–5jj), accepted the superintendent's personnel recommendations, adopted a revised 2025–26 salary schedule, approved expulsions for academy placements, and authorized Lake Placid and Avon Park high schools to join the Sunshine State Athletic Association for football. Actions were approved as presented.
The Highlands County School Board on Jan. 29 adopted bundled revisions to multiple board policies and approved a slate of routine personnel and program items.
Board Attorney Mrs. Nash summarized the rulemaking timeline for the policy package—notice of rule development published Oct. 1; a workshop Nov. 11; a meeting Dec. 9; and notice of rulemaking on Dec. 19, 2025—before asking the board to consider adoption of revisions grouped as items 5a through 5jj. A motion to adopt the revisions was moved and seconded and the board approved the package at the meeting.
The board also approved the superintendent's personnel recommendations and accepted a revised 2025–26 salary schedule after motions and roll-call responses from board members. The board approved expulsions for academy placements following a motion to adopt those recommendations.
On athletics, the board approved Lake Placid High School and Avon Park High School joining the Sunshine State Athletic Association for football. Supporters including administrators and coaches praised the workshops and argued the membership would provide competitive opportunities for students. "We have full faith in you that it's the best decision for your schools," one board member said in support of the move.
The meeting included routine consent-agenda approvals and a motion earlier in the session to pull item 3b from tonight's agenda and to combine 5a and 5jj as a single agenda item for consideration. The motions to adopt the revised agenda and to approve the consent agenda passed.
No formal amendments to the motions were recorded in the transcript, and no votes against the listed items are recorded; the actions were approved as presented and returned to the board for public comment where required.
What happens next: The policy revisions adopted tonight take effect according to the board's procedural rules and published notices; personnel changes, the salary schedule and athletics membership will be implemented by district administration in coordination with affected schools and staff.
