School board asks staff to postpone changes to magnet application schedule, approves contract with interim Superintendent

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At today’s Special School Board meeting, the board again postponed a vote on amendments to their school choice policy and approved a contract that will pay $22,275 per month to incoming Superintendent Dr. Kamela Patton.

Amendments to the school choice policy

During a second attempt at a second reading for amendments to the district’s school choice policy, Member Sarah Rockwell made a motion to approve the policy for discussion, and Member Leanetta McNealy seconded the motion.

Among other changes, the amendments would move the schedule for school choice applications and selections earlier in the school year to compete with private and charter school application dates. McNealy said she had heard from school personnel that the shadowing dates proposed by staff under the amended policy would disrupt band rehearsals for December performances. She said she was told that the meetings to set the new schedule did not include teachers, and she thought staff should include a teacher representative from each of the schools when holding meetings on changes like this. 

Rockwell shared that concern, saying that shadowing has typically been in January, but the dates were moved to December this year to accommodate a tighter application timeline for magnet programs. She suggested moving the application window back two weeks this year and another two weeks next year to match private and charter school application windows, “so that we aren’t being disruptive to classrooms.” Rockwell also had some concerns with the text in the amended policy and said she had mentioned the same changes at the last meeting.

Member Kay Abbitt agreed with Rockwell’s concerns and changes. Member Tina Certain also proposed some changes, but she was on Zoom and could not be heard on the video stream of the meeting.

Middle school band directors say the shadowing dates are in critical rehearsal weeks

During public comment on the motion, Howard Bishop Middle School Band Director Amy Beres said that it’s nearly impossible to prepare for a concert with 10-15 different students absent each day during the shadowing week: “That’s an entire week of instruction that’s completely wasted because you’re going to have to go back and re-teach all of those things again.” She was also concerned about her ability to “display the very best of the best” of her program when “most of those kids aren’t even on campus when the younger ones are shadowing because they’re out shadowing themselves.” Beres said she just found out the shadowing dates and could have planned differently if she’d known them months ago. She said she supported moving up the application window because the kids who are leaving for private and charter schools are “the kids that are usually in our programs,” but she would have liked to have the dates sooner. 

Oak View Middle School Band Director Lori Pirzer agreed, saying most of her concerts are in the week of December 9, which is one of the shadowing weeks. She added, “We’ll have about two weeks where we won’t have kids present and we’re trying to put together a performance.” She said the charter schools don’t have the arts programs that public schools have, “so we want to make sure that these things are staying intact and that we’re putting our best foot forward for the kids who are looking at our programs.” She said the band directors would be more than happy to meet over the summer to “come up with real solutions on how we can make our process earlier… If we were all consulted as a team, we could come up with some real solutions that could help both aspects of it.” She said she’d had to cancel a performance for the school’s magnet open house because the band will need the time to prepare for their winter concert.

Westwood Middle School Band Director David Dixson agreed that “missing a lot of kids out of class for rehearsals will impact our performance… We take a lot of pride in what we present to our public and to our parents.” He said there were “a lot of people that were left out of the loop when those dates were discussed – even the music supervisor, if I’m hearing correctly… My takeaway today is that when these decisions are being made, try to include people that would get the message out to those of us in the field so that we at least have an idea of what’s going on.”

Vote fails

The motion to approve the amended policy failed, 0-5. 

Rockwell: “This is a pattern where we don’t pause and take the time to really plan out the implementation, to do things correctly.”

In further discussion, staff members said the open house dates were set on September 23, and school administrators had time to talk to their school teams and provide feedback on open house and shadowing dates; district staff relied on administrators to communicate with school personnel. Chair Diyonne McGraw said, “[A lack of] communication is why we’re here.”

Rockwell agreed, “It’s a pattern of communication issues. We definitely have problems in the district that we want to solve, and there’s an urgency to solve them, but if we do not take the time to get input from critical stakeholders – in this case, our fine and performing arts and magnet teachers – … we end up creating a new problem… This is a pattern where we don’t pause and take the time to really plan out the implementation, to do things correctly.” She said the policy should have been amended in the spring or summer to give ample time to change the application timeline. She said the Primary Years IB program at Williams Elementary was also rushed through without board input, “and as a result, we lost a lot of students to a private school… So we’re in a very similar situation, but this time, it is before the board for a vote, and that’s why I voted no – because we have got to stop this pattern of pushing through ideas, no matter how good they are.”

Staff Attorney Will Spillias said they would need to start the rule-making process over from the beginning if they didn’t approve the amended policy on second reading by December 17. Rockwell said there was no point in bringing the policy back in December when “the whole change is to move the window from December to November… My colleagues and I, who voted no, all agree that this was rushed. So why are we going to rush to bring it back?”

Abbitt said they should use the current policy for this year’s magnet application process and work on a new policy for next year. She also supported moving the shadowing dates to January, adding, “I know it’s separate and it’s not a board thing, it’s an operational thing, but I’m just asking that.”

Contract for incoming interim Superintendent

After the board accepted the evaluations of Board Attorney David Delaney with no discussion, they took up the contract for interim Superintendent Kamela Patton. 

The final contract covers the period from November 18, 2024, to June 30, 2025, but may be terminated “by mutual agreement between The Board and The Superintendent.”

The contract will pay a base monthly salary of $19,500 (equivalent to a $234,000 annual base salary), along with $2,000/month for temporary living expenses, $600/month as a car allowance, and a $175/month cell phone/technology allowance, for a total of $22,275 per month.

Upon separation from the district, Patton will receive 100% of accrued sick/personal leave and vacation days, which she will accrue at the same rate as 12-month administrative employees of the School Board; there is no provision for any other payment at the end of the contract. She will also be provided with a laptop and a copier/printer.

The contract does not provide disability insurance.

McGraw said Patton had agreed to the changes requested by the board in the previous meeting, but she was not able to start in person until November 21, due to previous commitments. She said Patton planned to work virtually November 18-20, “and on Dr. Patton’s insistence, she will not be paid until she starts fully on board in person.”

The contract was approved unanimously. 

After welcoming Dr. Patton to Alachua County, McGraw said she’d seen Facebook posts about “$269,000 – not true, not true. There is a $40.29 difference from what she will be paid, as far as our budget.” $22,275 over 12 months would be $267,300. Outgoing Superintendent Shane Andrew’s original contract paid a base salary of $15,833 per month ($190,000 annually), along with a special qualification salary of $166 per month, a car allowance of $800, a board-provided cell phone, life insurance, and another $1,583 per month paid to his 403(b) account. He was eligible for a raise on July 1, 2024, based on his evaluations, but the evaluations were not discussed until October 15, when the board voted to terminate him. 

McGraw: “Dr. Patton is the person we need during this transition”

In a release sent out by Alachua County Public Schools, McGraw said, “With her experience and expertise, Dr. Patton is the person we need during this transition, someone who will help keep this district moving in the right direction. She’ll be able to put systems in place to ensure our achievement gap continues to close. She’s also strong with finances, which will be very important this year.”

Dr. Patton says she is excited to join Alachua County Public Schools as the interim Superintendent and is dedicated to enhancing student achievement and supporting educators. “I’m very enthusiastic about collaborating with the community to build on the district’s strong foundation,” she said. “I’m looking forward to making a positive impact and guiding Alachua County Public Schools during this important transition.”