Highlands school board debates eliminating assistant superintendents and several curriculum specialist job descriptions to cut costs

The Highlands County School Board met in a special session to consider sweeping changes to district office job descriptions as part of a plan to shore up the budget after several years of health‑insurance losses and shrinking student enrollment. Chair Ms. Howerton opened the meeting and framed two options: adopt a motion that day or direct Superintendent Dr. Brenda Longshore to return with recommendations.

The most consequential proposal on the table was offered by Ms. Howerton: remove the job descriptions and titles for the assistant superintendent of elementary programs and the assistant superintendent of secondary programs effective July 1, 2026; consolidate curriculum roles into a single director of curriculum and instruction; and eliminate several content‑area specialist job descriptions (math, science, reading/social studies) while retaining a smaller set of roles. Ms. Howerton said the district has run insurance premiums “in the negative” for about three years and that the combination of claims and declining enrollment had created a multi‑million‑dollar problem.

A separate motion later proposed eliminating most content‑area specialist job descriptions but retaining a single reading specialist position and asking the superintendent to bring a revised salary schedule for district administrators. Ms. Howerton and other board members cited rough savings estimates: two assistant superintendents at base salaries of about $94,705 each, and director base pay around $82,253, with the content‑specialist pool discussed in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Board discussion also referenced a $4.5 million set of planned expenditure reductions already identified that would move the fund balance from roughly 1.3% to about 3.7%.

Superintendent Dr. Brenda Longshore and several administrators cautioned that consolidating these instructional roles into fewer positions would place significant workload on a single person and could reduce direct support to principals and teachers. Dr. Longshore said a prior model included an assistant superintendent overseeing multiple directors and warned that one person could not both ensure compliance and provide the day‑to‑day instructional leadership schools rely on. “I do think it would be a savings,” she said of certain reorganizations, “but I don’t think it would be possible for one person to do that type of work and certainly not be able to support the schools.”

Board members raised fiscal urgency and the need to prepare for what one member called a financial “hurricane.” Mr. Wynn said the district faces roughly a $2 million insurance problem and the possible loss of 400 students next year; another board member stressed the need to build a cushion so the state will not intervene, citing nearby districts where state oversight followed low fund balances.

Multiple board members and Dr. Longshore discussed short‑term and structural actions already underway: freezing positions when vacant, seeking a state review of reporting (to capture potential dual‑enrollment funding), and working with an insurance consultant group called Fleet. Dr. Longshore said the district had invited reviewers to audit reporting and that recalculating dual‑enrollment minutes could yield "several hundred thousand dollars" pending state confirmation.

The initial, broader motion from Ms. Howerton failed to receive a second and died on the floor. The board then debated narrower alternatives; before any final vote on job‑description eliminations, members voted to allow five public speakers (five minutes each) at the meeting.

Principals and school leaders used the public comment period to urge caution. Jenny Cornell, principal at Avon Elementary, described the curriculum team’s work—professional learning “triads,” classroom coaching and continuous support—and said those specialists “do far more than provide trainings. They walk alongside us during implementation.” Laura Shirley, principal at Sebring High School, said assistant superintendents and content specialists provide critical district instructional leadership and asked that the board solicit input from principals across campuses before making cuts. Jared Wright, principal at Woodlawn Elementary, also warned against cutting “too quick, too soon.”

A local business owner and parent, Jared Eddy, urged a different approach: treat the district like a business and begin cuts at higher administrative levels to protect classroom positions.

After debate and public comment, the board did not adopt any job‑description eliminations. Instead, members asked Superintendent Dr. Longshore to return with a written plan, costings and proposed salary schedules for district administrators and indicated intent to consider the matter at a special meeting tentatively scheduled for May 26. The chair adjourned the special meeting without a final vote on the proposed eliminations.

The next procedural steps are a superintendent report to the board with concrete cost estimates and a scheduled special meeting for board deliberation; board members emphasized the need for transparency and adequate public notice before any final action.