Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Columbia County Schools is rolling out Columbia Online, a new full- and part-time virtual school for grades 6–12 that will add a physical location, in-person tutoring, weekly live lessons for state-tested courses and expanded staffing to keep students enrolled in the district.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
After a presentation from Miss Cox explaining that Columbia Online will offer full‑time and part‑time online options to retain students, the board voted to approve establishing the district's Columbia Online program by voice vote.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Miss Tatum presented the Safe Schools quarterly report: DOE completed four visits with no compliance issues; Baker Act incidents fell from 23 to 19 (18 unique students); threat assessments dropped from 58 to 43; 172 mental‑health referrals were reported; the district received a $100,000 hardening grant.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Teacher Mickey Garrett asked the board to explain the rationale for new 9 a.m. meetings to staff; the board approved personnel and consent agenda items and heard a retirement tribute from Keith Hatcher after 40 years of service.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
The Columbia County School Board opened with an invocation and a VPK-led pledge by Summers Elementary, then approved the agenda (with addendum), personnel items and the consent agenda by voice votes; several board members praised Summers Elementary and recognized Mister Cooper.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
At its meeting, the Columbia County School Board heard that district staff will issue a three-week RFQ for architectural services for the Columbia High School rebuild, with interviews in early February and an expected architect approval at the board's late-February meeting; a board member also said state graduation rates rose about two percentage points.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Ms. Penner told the Columbia County School Board the district faces tighter finances—the budget lists about $84.6 million in revenues against roughly $86.3 million in appropriations—citing a $330,000 draw on fund balance, scholarship reconciliations and a 170‑student enrollment decline as key pressures.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Columbia County School District staff described a USDA- and No Kid Hungry–funded "breakfast cards" pilot at three schools that staff say has driven reported participation gains, and outlined menu, dining-room and food-safety initiatives serving more than 11,000 meals a day.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
The board moved, seconded and approved personnel items and the consent agenda (including addendum items) by voice vote; no recorded opposition was announced during the meeting.
Florida / School Districts / Columbia
Gilbane told the Columbia County School Board that reconstruction work on two district schools is complete and reported a final project cost of $29,225,939. The contractor presented a $372,000 savings check to the district and said owner-directed purchasing produced about $474,000 in savings.