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School board member urges Lantana to push attendance after district regains A rating
Summary
Erica Whitfield, Palm Beach County School Board member for District 4, told the council the district regained an A rating; she emphasized attendance (39% of students countywide missed 11+ days last year), highlighted CEP meal expansion and advocated for stronger local outreach to increase VPK and kindergarten readiness.
Erica Whitfield, Palm Beach County School Board member (District 4), presented the state-of-education report to the Lantana Town Council, noting the district has regained an A rating after a temporary drop. Whitfield said the recovery reflects school-by-school efforts to raise test scores and credited teachers and district interventions.
Whitfield pressed the town to help with attendance messaging: "We have really struggled since the pandemic... in Palm Beach County last year, we had 39 percent of our students missed 11 days or more in the entire county," she said, adding that the district has reinstated truancy court partnerships to address chronic absence. She also advocated for expanded Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) hours and longer school days as a bipartisan priority to help working parents and boost kindergarten readiness.
Council members praised the district and local volunteer efforts — the town library is now a satellite of a literacy coalition — and asked no further questions. Whitfield highlighted federal and private grants supporting backpack food programs and said the district will use referendum funds to support capital improvements over the next decade.
Provenance: State of Education presentation and Q&A session.
