Putnam 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 listed with contact information.[1] Meeting schedule, minutes, and agendas available.[2]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information.[3]
- Student progression plan includes information on how students are evaluated on academic performance.[4]
[edit] The bad
- Budget is not published.
- Information is not provided on taxes, contracts, audits, and background checks.
- Does not contain information on how to make public records 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. [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.
The school board is responsible for the organization of the district's public schools and determines policies of operation and improvement of the school system. [6] Board members in Putnam County are elected for four year terms. The chairperson and vice-chairperson are elected annually by the School Board. The chair presides at all School Board meetings, appoints committees, and performs any other duties prescribed by law. The vice-chair presides om tje absence of the chair, and performs the duties of the chair as required by circumstance. [7]
The School Board Members for the Putnam County School District are: [8]
| Member | District |
|---|---|
| John D. Milton | District 1 |
| Terry Wright | District 2 |
| Lisa Parsons | District 3 |
| C. L. Overturf, Jr | District 4 |
| Joann Barber | District 5 |
The Superintendent is Tom Townsend. The superintendent is responsible for administration of the entire school district and keeping the board informed of all phases of the school system. All members of school district staff are under the general supervision of the superintendent. [9]
[edit] Budget
in the 2007-08 School Year the revenue for the school district was $82,512,670 with 86% of the budget going to payroll and a $4,000,000 deficit. In 2008-09 the revenue was $82,974,219 with 85.4% going to payroll and a $5.3 million deficit for a $13 million shortfall in those two years. [10]
The school district explains these budgetary problems by pointing to a 34% increase in payroll dollars per full time student over 4 years. [10] The millage rate in the district is approximately 7.850. [11] Finally, the student population by the end of the year was 12,274.[12]
[edit] Academic Performance
Despite the 34% increase in Payroll costs, the Putnam County School District has dropped 9 positions in the Florida School District academic rankings. [10] However, it did receive a 'B' ranking in 2009 after being a 'C' district since the 2004 school year. [13]
[edit] 2007-2009
Below is a chart of the school's grade based on the student's performance of the statewide test called the FCAT.[14]
| School | Level | Grade: 2007-08 | Grade: 2008-09 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browning-Pearce Elementary School | Elementary | C | B |
| C. H. Price Middle School | Middle | B | B |
| Crescent City Junior/Senior High School | Combination | B | C |
| George C. Miller, Junior Intermediate | Elementary | C | B |
| Interlachen Elementary School | Elementary | A | A |
| Interlachen High School | High | C | D |
| James A. Long Elementary School | Elementary | B | A |
| Kelley Smith Elementary School | Elementary | A | A |
| Mellon Elementary School | Elementary | B | A |
| Melrose Elementary School | Elementary | A | A |
| Ochwilla Elementary School | Elementary | A | A |
| Palatka High School | High | C | D |
| Q. I. Roberts Middle School | Middle | A | A |
| Riverbreeze Elementary School | Elementary | C | C |
| Robert H. Jenkins, Junior Middle | Middle | B | B |
| The Children\'S Reading Center | Elementary | D | A |
| W. H. Beasley Middle School | Middle | C | C |
| William D. Moseley Elementary School | Elementary | F | A |
[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.[15]
[edit] External links
- Putnam County School District official website
- Florida Smart - Putnam County public schools
- Great Schools - Putnam County schools
[edit] References
- ↑ Board Members
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ Admin Directory
- ↑ Student Progression Plan
- ↑ School board powers and duties, Florida statute
- ↑ Putnam County School Board Policies 2.01
- ↑ Putnam County School Board Policies, Ch. 2
- ↑ Putnam County School Board Members
- ↑ Putnam County School Board Policy, 3.01
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Financial Workshop Outline, Pg. 11
- ↑ Financial Workshop Outline
- ↑ Putnam County School District Information
- ↑ Florida District Grades
- ↑ Florida School Accountability Reports
- ↑ Florida School Boards Association members list
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