Pinellas School District board meeting, Sep 22, 2026
3 h 06 min
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Pinellas school board approves teacher agreement with salary increases of up to $2,948 57:37
- Speakers at public comment on agenda items raised concerns about changes to International Baccalaureate teacher supplements. 39:49
- The board voted 6 to 0 to approve a tentative agreement with the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association that includes salary increases of $2,948 for teachers with 10 or more years of experience and $2,534 for teachers with less than 10 years. 58:55
- The superintendent said closures and consolidations must be considered for the district to maintain its financial health, and that a second round of Planning for Progress community meetings would be scheduled after a board workshop. 1:05:58
- Staff said 34 speakers signed up for general public comment, where speakers raised concerns about recommendations to close Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary School and Sexton Elementary. 1:35:08
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Item by item (9)
- Opening and agenda 4:19
- The meeting was called to order with votes reflecting the 6 board members present, followed by an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance and a performance by the Countryside High School chorus. 4:31
- During the Learning Through Lunch item, a staff member said the Food and Nutrition Services team serves approximately 70,000 meals each day and nearly 12.5 million meals throughout the school year. 11:36
- Representatives of community and professional organizations were introduced, and students presented on programs at Countryside High School. 14:52
- The board adopted the agenda as amended 6 to 0. 25:23
- National School Lunch Week proclamation 25:36
- The director of food and nutrition said the district serves more than 70,000 meals a day, totaling over 12.5 million meals annually. 26:23
- Dawn M. Peters read the proclamation recognizing October 12th through 16th, 2026 as National School Lunch Week. 28:40
- One board member said sometimes these are the only meals students get to eat in a day. 30:18
- The motion passed 6 to 0. 31:06
- Disability History and Awareness Weeks proclamation 31:06
- A presenter said the district serves over 14,000 students with disabilities in addition to students who receive accommodations through Section 504. 32:24
- Laura Hine read the proclamation recognizing the first 2 weeks of October as Disability History and Awareness Weeks. 33:36
- One board member said the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act was originally passed in 1975 and said they support advocacy by the Florida School Board Association and the National School Board Association. 35:11
- The motion passed 6 to 0. 37:51
- Public comment on agenda items 37:57
- Staff said 6 speakers signed up to address agenda items. 38:04
- A speaker said International Baccalaureate teacher pay was cut by up to 14% and the supplement had vanished from paychecks without warning. 39:49
- Speakers said the new section formula does not capture the work of International Baccalaureate teachers and asked that the supplement be preserved. 42:51
- Consent agenda 57:12
- Tentative agreement with teachers association 57:37
- A staff member said the agreement includes salary increases of $2,948 and $2,534, medical rate and plan changes effective January 1st, 2027, and raises retroactive to July 1st, 2026 that would appear in paychecks on October 2nd. 58:55
- Laura Hine said teachers in Florida are paid 50th in the country and that Florida was 24th in the country 20 years ago. 1:00:15
- One board member said the issue with the IB supplements reflected a failure in communication and a failure in implementation. 1:02:17
- The motion passed 6 to 0. 1:05:36
- Superintendent report 1:05:58
- The superintendent said the second round of Planning for Progress community meetings would be scheduled after the board's workshop discussion. 1:05:58
- The superintendent said having 45 schools below 60% capacity and 41 elementary schools in the 300s or less is not sustainable. 1:07:17
- The superintendent said new State Board of Education rules on artificial intelligence require the board to update policies by July 1st, 2027. 1:09:12
- Board member reports and requests 1:13:08
- Lisa N. Cane described feedback from a community meeting on the proposed closure of Tarpon Fundamental and asked staff to clarify at the workshop what would happen to teachers. 1:13:14
- A board member requested a comprehensive discussion of all district property and analyses of closing Woodlawn instead of Sexton and of relocating Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary to Tarpon Elementary or Sunset Hills as a K-8. 1:28:22
- Katie Blaxberg asked whether the second set of community meetings would be pushed back until after the workshop, and a staff member said that was correct. 1:32:26
- Public comment on general business 1:34:55
- Staff said 34 speakers signed up to address the board after the meeting was adjourned. 1:34:55
- Several speakers at public comment asked the board not to close Tarpon Springs Fundamental Elementary, raised concerns about teachers having to reapply for jobs and proposed alternatives involving Sunset Hills or Tarpon Elementary. 1:42:01
- Several speakers at public comment asked the board not to close Sexton Elementary and questioned the utilization data and the role of a YMCA lease interest. 2:29:12
Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.
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Video: posted by the district as “Pinellas County School Board Meeting September 22, 2026”