Polk County School District, Florida

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Polk County School District is a school district in Florida.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Florida school district websites

[edit] The good

  • Budget, annual financial audit report, and lottery report are published.[1]
  • Board members listed with contact information.[2] Meeting schedule, minutes, and agendas available.[3]
  • Administrative officials listed in staff directory.[4]
  • Provides information on student academic testing and performance.[5]
  • Awarded vendor contract bids posted.[6] Union contracts available.[7]

[edit] The bad

  • Millage rates are not posted.
  • Information on background checks not provided.
  • Does not provide information on making public records requests.
Working for accountable government now


[edit] FBI investigation

In November 2008, a local newspaper reported that eight federal agents had entered the school's division offices in Bartow to question employees. In the wake of the investigation, four District employees, including an assistant superintendent, were placed on leave.

At issue in the investigation is whether building contractor M.M. Parrish Construction of Gainesville had received preferential treatment from the school district. M.M. Parish has received "tens of millions of dollars" from the district in construction funds.[8]

[edit] Public records controversy

In late 2008 STOTW Joel Chandler filed a public records request with all 67 Florida school districts for the names, addresses, phone numbers and dependents' names of school employees. The Polk County district fought the request, but lost in court. They were ordered to pay Chandler's lawyer fees of $35,000, but initially refused to do so despite an Attorney General's opinion issued in the matter that concurred with the original ruling. [9],[10]

Wes Bridges, the Polk County School District lawyer, has been charged with violations of the Florida Sunshine Law after a State Attorney's Office investigation concluded that he failed to provide public documents in a timely fashion in the Joel Chandler case. [11]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Business Services
  2. ↑ Board Members
  3. ↑ Meetings
  4. ↑ Staff Directory
  5. ↑ Testing
  6. ↑ Purchasing bids
  7. ↑ Employee Relations
  8. ↑ The Ledger, "Polk Schools Under FBI Scrutiny", November 18, 2008
  9. ↑ State Backs Public Records Request, The Ledger, November 10, 2008
  10. ↑ Florida Ledger, "Polk Schools To Pay $25,000 in Legal Dispute", January 7, 2009
  11. ↑ School Board's Lawyer Faces Charges, The Ledger, April 18, 2009
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School districts in Florida
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Special school districts

Florida School for the Deaf and Blind • Dozier/Okeechobee School District • Eckerd Youth District • Alexander D. Henderson University School • Florida State University Schools •

Florida A&M Developmental Research School • P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School
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