Gilchrist County School District, Florida
From Sunshine Review
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Contents |
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Florida school district websites
[edit] The good
- School board members are listed with contact information.[1] Meeting information and minutes are posted.[2]
- Provides links to parents about testing information.[3]
- Administrative officials listed with contact information.[4]
- Student progression plans and SPAR reports are available.[5]
- Budget presentation available, full budget is not online.[6]
[edit] The bad
- Does not provide information on meeting agendas, taxes, contracts, audits, background checks, and how to make public record requests.
[edit] School board
The school board controls school property, establishes, organizes, and operates the schools of the district, including: establishing schools, adopting enrollment plans, providing for school elimination and consolidation, cooperating with school boards of adjoining districts in maintaining schools, maintaining the school year schedule and other more specific duties as outlined in the Florida statute. [7]
It operates, controls and supervises the district's public schools as well as determines the rate of school district taxes, with the option of two or more school districts operating and financing educational programs together.
The superintendent at Gilchrist County School District in 2009 was Don Thomas. [8]
| Member | District | Term expires |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Haley, Chair | District 1 | 2010 |
| Robert Clemons, Vice Chair | District 2 | 2012 |
| Robert Rankin | District 3 | 2010 |
| Julie Thomas | District 4 | 2012 |
| Michelle Charter | District 5 | 2010 |
Sheree Lancaster is the board's attorney.
[edit] Teacher contracts
The salaries of 178 of the district's teachers will be paid out over the next two years with close to $9.1 million dollars. It is interesting to note that much of that funding will come in form of federal stimulus money that has not yet been received. [9]
Additionally, 158 further employees will be paid using $13 million in anticipated funds generated from a mill increase of $1 dollar for every thousand dollars of property tax payed within the district. [10]
In the 2006-07 school year Gilchrist County School District had a total of 178 classroom teachers and 2,888 students. The student/teacher ratio was 16.2.[11]
[edit] School budget
Gilchrist County is dealing with a financial crisis, but hasn't released any official budget information.[12]
- Outright, direct funding of school services that have lost efficiency, which include loss of revenue from property tax reductions, transportation, fuel and utility costs, periodic re-fingerprinting of employees and volunteers, and state mandates.
- More funding for professional development, which includes comprehensive training for staff and volunteers, specific grants for leadership development, and resources to encourage student performance in all areas.
- Expansion of availability of basic education, including funding reading initiatives at required levels and instituting universal pre-kindergarten programs (but not at the expense of K-12).
- Infrastructure and capital outlay improvement, including funding school districts under the Special Facility Construction Account Program, create long-term revenue sources and allocation formulas and include small school districts in high growth, high effort capital outlay funds.[13]
In the 2006-07 school year the Wakulla County School District had approximately $24,821,000 in total revenue and $24,085,000 in total expenditures. The district, however, receives the majority of it's revenue, nearly 68%, from the state. Approximately 21% of total revenue is local and 10% is comprised of federal funds. The district spends 56% of its budget on instructional material and only 10% on student and staff support. The district spent a total of $1,148,000 on construction projects.[14]
[edit] Academic performance
Of the 4 schools in Volusia County 2 schools received an "A" three years in a row for 2006-2009, according to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) test results.[15]
[edit] 2006-2009
Below is a chart of the school's grade based on the student's performance of the statewide test called the FCAT.[15]
| School | Level | Grade: 2006-07 | Grade: 2007-08 | Grade: 2008-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Elementary School | Elementary | A | A | B |
| Bell High School | Combination | A | A | A |
| Trenton Elementary School | Elementary | A | A | A |
| Trenton High School | Combination | A | B | A |
[edit] Unions
No information appears to be available on the unions in the Wakulla County School District. The statewide teachers union is the Florida Education Association.[16]
[edit] Lobbying
- Main article: Florida taxpayer-funded lobbying
The school district pays membership dues to the Florida School Boards Association, a taxpayer-funded lobbying association.[17]
[edit] Lobbying priorities
The school published a list of legislative priorities addressing school funding, class size, teacher recruitment, home schooling and local control.[18]
[edit] School choice
- See also: Florida school choice
There appear to be no charter schools in the Gilchrist County School District, however Florida does have an open enrollment policy. The state of Florida has two enrollment policies: intradistrict and interdistrict policies. In other words, students can transfer to other schools within and outside of the district.[19]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ School Board
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ Parent Page
- ↑ Administration
- ↑ Documents
- ↑ Budget Presentation
- ↑ School board powers and duties, Florida statute
- ↑ Gilchrist County School District,"School Board," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ School District Leans on Temporary Funds
- ↑ School District Leans on Temporary Funds
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics,"Gilchrist County School District Details," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ Gilchrist County School District,"2009 budget presentation"
- ↑ The North East Florida Educational Consortium,"2009 Legislative Initiatives"
- ↑ National Center of Education Statistics,"Gilchrist School District Fiscal Details," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Florida School Accountability Reports
- ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Florida," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ Florida School Boards Association members list
- ↑ Gilchrist County School District, Legislative Priorities
- ↑ Education Commission of the States,"Open Enrollment: 50-State Report," retrieved August 21, 2009
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