The Henry County School Board voted Oct. 2 to hire an in-district principal for the Digital Academy of Florida and to approve a contract with Elevate K12 to provide online instruction for unfilled core classes, with both measures approved by voice vote.

Board action came at a special meeting called so the district could place staff and instructional resources in an online program that state officials flagged for turnaround oversight. The superintendent told the board the Digital Academy is under a turnaround status with the Florida Department of Education Bureau of School Improvement and that adding a district employee to monitor academic progress was a condition of the approved turnaround plan.

The superintendent said the in-district principal position will be a district employee but “will be funded through DAOF funds,” and described the hire as budget-neutral for Henry County Schools. The superintendent also summarized a separate request to contract with Elevate K12, saying, “If you ask me today what the biggest issue we had in Henry County Schools, I would tell you, it was the teachers that we don't have.” He told the board Elevate K12 would be used where the district cannot fill core classes, particularly ELA at Fullerton High School.

On Elevate K12, the superintendent said staff had negotiated for roughly three weeks and reduced the cost to “about what it would cost us for a teacher to be in that class.” He added the district will continue to advertise vacant teaching positions and retains the option to end the Elevate K12 arrangement if a qualified teacher is hired.

The board also granted permission to advertise proposed policy revisions the superintendent said are needed to align district policies with recent state laws and statutes.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda: approved by voice vote (motion to approve consent agenda as presented; mover: Miss Nelson; second: Reverend Brown). Exact roll-call tally not recorded in the transcript; motion carried by voice vote.

- Action 4A — Hire in-district principal for the Digital Academy of Florida (DAOF): approved (agenda item 4a; motion to approve hire, funded through DAOF funds; mover: Miss Nelson; second: Miss Busey). Vote recorded as voice vote; exact tally not specified.

- Action 4B — Contract with Elevate K12 for online instruction sections: approved (agenda item 4b; motion to enter contract with Elevate K12 to provide online sections for core classes as needed; mover: Miss Deaton; second: Miss Nelson). Vote recorded as voice vote; exact tally not specified.

- Action 4C — Permission to advertise proposed policy revisions to reflect state law: approved (agenda item 4c; motion to advertise proposed revisions). Vote recorded as voice vote; exact tally not specified.

Discussion and context

Superintendent comments and board discussion focused on the district's teacher shortages and the academic needs of students in tested subjects. The superintendent said the Digital Academy had been placed in a turnaround status by the Florida Department of Education Bureau of School Improvement and that the in-district principal would monitor academic growth and report to district leadership to inform real-time decisions.

Regarding Elevate K12, the superintendent said the district had used the vendor previously and that the experience was preferable to a strictly self-paced online course. Quoting his son's experience in a prior Elevate K12 physics class, the superintendent said the student told him it “wasn't as good as having a teacher, but it was a lot better than doing it just strictly online.” The board discussed the need to place staff in front of students while continuing recruitment for certified teachers.

Implementation notes

- The superintendent said the district expects to have an Elevate K12 instructor in place the week after fall break, subject to contract and scheduling.

- The in-district principal position will be funded from DAOF funds and, per the superintendent, will be neutral to the Henry County Schools general budget.

- The district will keep teaching positions advertised and may terminate vendor-provided instruction if a qualified teacher is hired.

Ending

Board members moved quickly through the items at the special meeting; the superintendent thanked the board for convening on short notice to address “timely things that we felt like was impactful student education.” No formal timeline for advertising or adoption of the proposed policy revisions was provided in the transcript.