Holmes 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. Meeting date/time, minutes, and agenda posted.[1]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information.[2]
- Provides links to FCAT results[3] and school accountability reports.[4]
[edit] The bad
- Does not provide information on budget, taxes, contracts, audits, how to make public record requests, and background checks.
[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. [5]
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.
Gary Galloway serves as Superintendent of Schools for Holmes County.[6]
| Member | District |
|---|---|
| Rickey Callahan, Chair | District 1 |
| Gary Scott, Vice-Chair | District 2 |
| Jason Motley | District 3 |
| Anthony Register | District 4 |
| Vernon Lewis | District 5 |
[edit] Teacher contracts
The contract for the upcoming school year is still under debate. In Summer 2009, one of the main issues that has arisen is the prospect for better pay based on teachers' experience and for retired teachers who return to teaching. The Holmes County School Board proposed offering contracts to teachers that did not reflect such experience, but Holmes County Teachers Association President Alice Hall (as well as several returning teachers) dissented from the board. Hall proposed the following two provisions to any contract:[7]
- Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, any newly hired teacher drawing a state or federal retirement and now working full time in Holmes County will be hired and remain at step 10, $38,500.
- Any retired teacher employed in Holmes County any time during the 2008-2009 school year, and are hired for the 2009-2010 school year, and maintain continuous employment will continue to be paid for their years of experience on the salary schedule for the duration of their employment.
In the winter of 2008, Holmes County school teachers received an estimated pay increase of 6.06-6.6 percent. As of then, the range of pay for bachelors degree holders was $31,500 to $48,500.[8]
[edit] School budget
Currently, the school district's budget is $33,517,000, which the school board splits into four components to organize spending practices. They are:[9]
- Instruction: $14,749,000
- Teacher Salaries: $9,639,000
- Pupils: $674,000
- Total Support Services: $9,820,000
In the 2006-07 school year the Holmes County School District had approximately $28,630,000 in total revenue and $28,496,000 in total expenditures. The district, however, receives the majority of it's revenue, nearly 62%, from the state. Approximately 29% of total revenue is local and 15% is comprised of federal funds. The district spends 57% of its budget on instructional material and only 9% on student and staff support. The district spent a total of $108,000 on construction projects.[10]
[edit] Academic performance
Of the 7 schools in Clay County 1 school, Bonifay Middle School, received an "A" three years in a row for 2006-2009, according to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) test results. Two schools, Bonifay Elementary and Bonifay Middle Schools, received "A"s in the 2008-2009 school year. However, two schools, Holmes County High and Ponce De Leon Elementary Schools, received grades lower than the 2007-2008 school year.[11]
[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.[11]
| School | Level | Grade: 2006-07 | Grade: 2007-08 | Grade: 2008-09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem High School | Combination | D | B | B |
| Bonifay Elementary School | Elementary | C | A | A |
| Bonifay Middle School | Combination | A | A | A |
| Holmes County High School | High | B | B | D |
| Ponce De Leon Elementary School | Elementary | A | B | C |
| Ponce De Leon High School | Combination | C | B | B |
| Poplar Springs High School | Combination | B | B | B |
[edit] Unions
Teachers in Holmes County operate under the Holmes County Teachers Association (HCTA), led by Alice Hall. The statewide teachers union is the Florida Education Association.[12]
- In August 2009, the Holmes County Teachers Association voiced concern about teachers' latest paychecks that allegedly did not include step raises. The school board and association are currently in negotiations but according to the latest reports the agreement would not include regular pay raises.[7] Teacher's said that they are concerned that will also include eliminated step raises based on experience.[13]
[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.[14]
[edit] School choice
- See also: Florida school choice
Holmes County has no charter schools within their jurisdiction. 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.[15]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ School Board
- ↑ District Staff
- ↑ FCAT Results
- ↑ School Grades
- ↑ School board powers and duties, Florida statute
- ↑ Holmes County School District,"Holmes School Board," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Holmes County Times Advertiser, "Teacher contracts under discussion in Holmes County", June 18, 2009
- ↑ The Florida Educational Negotiators,"Winter Report 2008," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ Holmes County School District
- ↑ National Center of Education Statistics,"Holmes School District Fiscal Details," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Florida School Accountability Reports
- ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Florida," retrieved August 21, 2009
- ↑ Holmes County Times Advertiser,"Holmes County School Board criticized on teacher pay issue," August 19, 2009
- ↑ Florida School Boards Association members list
- ↑ Education Commission of the States,"Open Enrollment: 50-State Report," retrieved August 5, 2009
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