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Gulf County School Board elects Wooten chair, schedules Nov. 17 workshop on proposed half-cent sales tax referendum
Summary
At its Nov. 4 organizational meeting the Gulf County School Board elected Mr. Wooten as chairman, approved officers and routine consent items, and approved advertising for a Nov. 17 public workshop to discuss placing a proposed Half-Cent Sales Tax referendum on the 2026 general election ballot.
Vice-Chairman Ruby Knox called the Gulf County School Board to order at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in Port St. Joe, and Superintendent Jim Norton presided over the organizational portion of the Nov. 4 meeting.
On a motion by Board Member Matt Terry, seconded by Board Member Equillar Gainer, the board unanimously approved Mr. Wooten to serve as chairman for the coming year. The board also unanimously re-elected Ruby Knox as vice-chairman in a motion by Terry, seconded by Gainer. The board approved its 2025–2026 meeting dates and anticipated travel expenses for board-related meetings, training and conferences.
During agenda adoption, on a motion by Terry and seconded by Chad Bailey, the board approved additions and replacements to the agenda packet and authorized advertising for a workshop to be held Nov. 17, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. EST to discuss a proposed Half-Cent Sales Tax referendum that the district is considering placing on the Nov. 2026 general election ballot. District staff and board members discussed holding public workshops to educate staff and the public on the rationale for the potential referendum; Terry asked that the board review resolution language at that workshop so the resolution could be placed on the board’s Dec. 9 agenda for action.
By unanimous vote, the board approved consent items including the Oct. 16 minutes; budget matters and payment of bills (which included a change order for the Port St. Joe baseball field project); and several personnel actions. Those personnel items included acceptance of George Thompson’s resignation effective Nov. 14, 2025; hiring Linda Joann Pitts as a bus driver in the Wewahitchka area; approval of Allie Dorsch’s request for maternity leave from Feb. 16, 2026, through June 30, 2026; stipends for teachers leading extracurricular programs (including Maggie McCoy, Kara Bremer and Jennifer Worthy); approval of substitute teacher applicants Tabitha Chapman, Eric Langston and Santana Suit; approval of fall sports supplements; the addition of one instructional coach position at Wewahitchka High School for the remainder of the 2025–2026 school year; a part-time Pre-K paraprofessional position at Wewahitchka Elementary School for 2025–2026; and approval for the WHS band to travel to Troy University for band camp Nov. 14–15, 2025, and Feb. 6–8, 2026.
Under program matters, the board unanimously approved the Small School District Council Consortium (SSDCC) resolution and invoice and accepted the 2026 insurance renewal recommendation.
Superintendent Jim Norton reminded the board and the public of the Nov. 17 workshop to discuss the proposed Half-Cent Sales Tax. Vice-Chairman Knox adjourned the meeting at 10:27 a.m.
The board did not receive public comment at this meeting. The organizational elections and the scheduled Nov. 17 workshop are the next procedural steps for the proposal; the board indicated it plans to review resolution language at the workshop with the intent to consider placing the resolution on the Dec. 9 agenda for formal action.
