Menu

Polk School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

7 h 16 min · 2 videos

Click any moment below to jump the video to that second. Video length 4 h 32 min.

Playing part 2 · 4 h 32 min of 2. Back to part 1

What happened

What happened at this meeting

Part 1 · 2 h 43 min

Polk school board rejects Kelly Services substitute teaching contract on 3⁠-⁠4 vote 1:34:14

  • The board approved a contract with Carr Riggs and Ingram for internal audit services on a 5 to 2 vote. 1:21:11
  • The board voted 3 to 4 on a proposed substitute teaching services contract with Kelly Services Incorporated, and the motion failed. 1:21:38
  • Before that vote, board members discussed the scoring rubric and the makeup of the three-person evaluation committee. 1:22:11
  • After the substitute teaching vote, the board's attorney said policy allows the board to reject bids and request new ones, and the chair said the consensus was to take the item up at a future work session. 1:40:16
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 10:52
    • The meeting opened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. 10:52
    • The superintendent said there were 6 amendments to the agenda, including moving the construction contracts item to the action agenda and adding a request to advertise a public hearing on the student progression plan. 17:20
  2. New administrators 19:14
    • Several of the new administrators thanked the board for the opportunity to serve. 19:44
  3. Special recognitions 24:20
    • A community liaison presented a Bucs Best Crew recognition with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including a recorded message announcing August and September 2026 winners. 24:29
    • A district staff member recognized 6 magnet schools that achieved national certification and said only 40 schools across the country achieved national certification this year. 30:05
    • The superintendent announced the district Assistant Principal of the Year and Principal of the Year after regional finalists were recognized. 37:32
  4. Public comment process and minutes 50:11
    • The chair said there were no speakers on items on the agenda. ~50:11
    • The board considered 6 sets of minutes from work sessions and meetings held in September and October 2026. 51:48
  5. Consent agenda 57:18
    • The chair called for a motion to accept the October 27th 2026 consent agenda as printed. 57:18
    • The consent agenda was approved unanimously. 58:03
  6. School improvement plans and boundary committee appointment 58:40
    • The board considered approval of school improvement plans and an appointment to the Attendance Boundary Committee. 58:40
    • A board member said the appointee was that board member's nomination and had worked for the district since 1989. ~59:52
    • Both the school improvement plans and the appointment were approved unanimously. 59:22
  7. Construction contracts and change orders 1:01:33
    • A board member asked about the timing of a change order tied to furniture, fixtures and equipment and asked what change orders number 1 and number 3 represented. ~1:02:05
    • The construction services director said the money comes out of the contract and is held until purchasing is ready, and said the staff member would research the other change orders and email the board. 1:03:48
    • The construction services contracts and contract changes under $250,000 were approved unanimously. 1:01:33
  8. Internal audit services contract 1:06:25
    • The board's attorney said no contract was voted on at the September 8th meeting and that the motion then was to move forward with the contract. 1:10:53
    • The chair said the chair was voting in favor because it was too much to put onto one individual to do the work of 3. 1:20:17
    • The contract with Carr Riggs and Ingram passed on a 5 to 2 vote. 1:21:11
  9. Substitute teaching services contract 1:21:38
    • A board member said that board member would not vote in favor, citing the timing of Phase 1 rubric data and markup rates of 36% for the current vendor. ~1:22:00
    • Another board member cited an anticipated almost $24 million contract and said that board member could not be in support, while a third board member said, "I am supporting this." 1:27:12
    • The chair raised a concern about an evaluation committee member who had written a letter of recommendation for the company and said the chair was a no vote. 1:32:11
  10. College readiness grant acceptance 1:34:15
    • A board member said the Gear Up grant was almost a $10 million grant and a 6-year grant. ~1:34:42
    • Another board member said the infrastructure could improve equity in dual enrollment among high schools. ~1:35:57
    • The Gear Up grant project was approved unanimously. 1:38:11
  11. Next steps on substitute teaching services 1:38:11
    • The board's attorney said Policy 6320 allows the board to reject bids and request new bids. 1:40:16
    • The superintendent suggested the board workshop policies first and said nothing in policy speaks to the construct of RFP evaluation committees. 1:41:57
    • The chair said the consensus was to bring the item back at a future work session. 1:51:33
  12. Superintendent's report 1:55:14
    • The superintendent said the next work session would be November 17th at 12:30 PM, with the board meeting at 5 PM, and said there was a request to move the meeting to a location with more space. 1:55:14
  13. Public hearings on policy updates 1:58:23
    • The board's attorney requested authority to advertise a public hearing on December 8th for policy updates presented at the October 27th work session. 1:58:35
    • The attorney also requested authority to advertise a public hearing on December 8th, 2026 for the student progression plan. 2:01:48
    • Both requests were approved unanimously. 2:01:45
  14. Board member reports 2:02:19
    • A board member asked the public to serve as Take Stock mentors and said the requirement is only twice a month. 2:09:16
    • The superintendent clarified that starting in January the workshop-only day would start at 9:00 and could extend as long as 3:00 PM. 2:11:33
    • The chair said the chair is substitute teaching one day per month at district schools this school year. 2:12:28
  15. Public comment on non-agenda items 2:14:28
    • Other speakers asked the board to consider options other than closing a middle school and raised drivers passing stopped school buses. 2:16:13
    • Several speakers at public comment raised exceptional student education staffing, caseloads and workload. 2:19:41
    • A speaker at public comment said 46 schools in Polk County do not have a certified media specialist. 2:23:27
    • The meeting was adjourned. ~2:42:27

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Part 2 · 4 h 32 min

Polk school board reviews student progression plan changes and $9.1 million Gear Up grant 6:55

  • The board reviewed proposed changes to the student progression plan, which a district staff member said produced a 114-page executive summary of changes. 6:55
  • A presenter described a Gear Up grant valued at $9.1 million over 6 different years, and other presenters discussed a proposed Impact Suite platform for IEPs and 504s and a recommended switch to Civics Plus for board agendas. 49:49
  • Staff also presented 28 proposed policy revisions and an SAP update. 3:02:49
  • During agenda review, board members reached consensus to leave item L10 on the consent agenda, with any map changes brought back in November. 4:18:15
Item by item (9)
  1. Opening and governance statement 5:00
    • The work session for October 27th, 2026 was called to order, and the governance team's Who Are We statement was read. 5:00
  2. Student progression plan update 6:55
    • A district staff member said the changes were divided into substantive, legislative, correction and update sections, and the proposal would remove the school year from the plan and set a consistent process for graduation assessment waivers. 8:08
    • The staff member said Val or Sal eligibility would require 2 full school years at the school and that ties would now be permitted. 15:31
    • After a request to keep a paragraph on page 14 about parent disagreements, a speaker said the paragraph would be amended and re-entered before approval. 46:21
  3. Gear Up grant overview 48:21
    • A presenter said the grant is valued at $9.1 million over 6 years, requires a 100% match, and the district was approved for a 70% waiver of that match. 50:30
    • The presenter said the grant serves a cohort of students from 7th grade to 12th grade and funds positions including a director, a curriculum specialist, 2 itinerant STEM teachers, project coordinators and a technician. 51:14
    • Asked whether hires would know the positions end with the grant, the presenter said the budget analysis states the positions finish when the grant concludes. 56:09
  4. Utility easement request 1:16:18
    • A real estate staff member presented an easement at Bethune Academy in Haines City for 2 10-by-10 underground utility pull boxes totaling 200 square feet, with no anticipated impacts to school operations. 1:16:49
    • Asked why the item was pulled in April, a staff member said comments on the easement language had to be carried over after personnel changes at the utility. 1:17:23
  5. Special education monitoring platform 1:32:09
    • A district official said the district struggles with the quality of IEPs and 504s and with monitoring required services and accommodations. 1:32:18
    • A presenter said staff reviewed several platforms and believes Impact Suite meets the district's needs, and a district official said funding would come from IDEA with no direct impact to the general budget. 1:34:32
    • One speaker cited an annual cost of $579,000 with a $50,000 one-time implementation fee, and a staff member said year 1 would be paid for by IDEA. 2:06:55
  6. Board agenda management platform 2:32:11
    • A staff member described problems with the current agenda platform and recommended switching to Civics Plus, noting the current contract ends April 30th and the change would take 16 weeks. 2:40:50
    • A speaker asked that Neola be a topic at an upcoming work session. 3:00:49
  7. Proposed policy revisions 3:02:30
    • A staff member presented 28 policies and said any ready to go would come to the December 8th public hearing. 3:02:49
    • The staff member said a provision allowing head coaches to support students with personal funds was not ready for a vote, and a district official said the provision raises concerns about financial liability and tracking. 3:08:34
    • A district official said Neola makes recommendations but authority over policy lies with the board. 3:43:28
  8. Business software system update 3:48:30
    • A presenter said the next phase has a go-live date of July 5th and that the board would receive a $6.4 million extension on the 17th. 3:54:51
    • The presenter said Concur would meet the district's needs at a $300,000 cost per year and that other options were being reviewed. 4:03:05
    • A district official said the mileage and travel procedure would be brought back on the 17th for discussion. 4:09:11
  9. Review of evening meeting agenda 4:14:19
    • Asked whether item L10 needed to be pulled to the action agenda, a board member said no, as long as a map revision was brought back in November. 4:18:15
    • Questions were raised about furniture, fixtures and equipment amounts in item L9. 4:19:28
    • On item U4, some board members said they would not support it and another said the item would be supported. ~4:23:45
    • A speaker said the board had consensus, L9 was pulled and added to the action agenda, and the work session was adjourned. 4:19:22

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

What was said

What board members said, in order

I just want to make sure we're not hiring people for a role and not telling them upfront this role is with the grant. It ends in 2032.Sara Beth (Reynolds) Wyatt · Board member56:57
Just reflecting on our recent discussion around dual enrollment during our board retreat. This is a key area for me. I want to bring equity across the board with our high schools.William Allen · Board member1:36:00
I think it offers a level of transparency with ESE services that I don't think we've ever had before in Polk County, um, specifically for, for our families and our parents to be able to see what's going on in real time.Sara Beth (Reynolds) Wyatt · Board member2:03:49
There is a very different level of AI that is used in some of our systems for improving processes that is not scraping and creating student data and using it throughout the globe.Sara Beth (Reynolds) Wyatt · Board member2:05:03
Are we holding the teacher accountable for they have a student with a 40% in their class, but the student was only there 40% of the time?Sara Beth (Reynolds) Wyatt · Board member3:22:32
Who spoke

Who spoke

William AllenBoard memberFirst speaks at 1:36:00
Sara Beth (Reynolds) WyattBoard member

Video: posted by the district as “School Board Meeting | October 27, 2026”