The highlight of Tuesday night’s School Board meeting was the swearing in of new board member Yvette Mira-Talbott, who is taking the place of retiring member Andy Griffiths in District Two. After the swearing in, Talbott thanked all of those who helped her in the election process and expressed her enthusiasm going forward. Mindy Conn was also sworn in for her third term on the board.

Following the swearing in ceremony, the board took care of organizational matters. Board members elected Conn as the new chairperson and Darren Horan as vice-chair. They made decisions on which board members would serve on various local and state boards and committees and Talbott made her selection for a member of the Audit and Finance Committee; she named Michael Rice to continue in the position.

During the meeting, board members all thanked Monroe County voters who passed both school funding referendums, renewing the ½ cent sales tax and the half mil tax to fund area schools. Board member John Dick said Monroe County had the highest percentage of support out of all the school districts in Florida, at 82% support for the half mil and 72% support for the sales tax referendum. 

During her report to the board, Superintendent Theresa Axford had plenty of good news for the board regarding grants and monetary gifts. She announced the $1 million gift from the Knight Foundation is finalized; she also announced the district had secured a $1 million grant from the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare under their “Stop the Violence” program. The Superintendent noted that Dr. Erin Williams led the grant development process.  The money will be used primarily to help fund the methods of helping English Language learners. Superintendent Axford pointed out that the number of EL students and families joining the district has ballooned and the cost of integrating them into schools is complicated.  She said the district has had to develop special resources and programs to address the challenges that have ensued. She said it would be used to provide counseling and support services for these families and support teachers as they deal with the concerns that arise.

During citizen input, a number of speakers expressed their wish that the board assist with the repairs of the hockey rink adjacent to Key West High School.   Currently, the city of Key West maintains the skating facility located on Bertha Street in Key West.   The rink is in need of extensive repairs and renovation.

The board heard a number of reports, one of which was a short learning session about early childhood education and the Head Start Program. Retiring director of the program, Marla Russell, gave a presentation about the program and introduced her replacement, Jennifer Walker. Walker, who has over 10 years of experience in the field of early childhood education, holds a Master’s Degree in Reading from Barry University and has previously held the Education Manager position at Monroe County School District’s Head Start/VPK Programs.

Harry Russell, the district’s Executive Director of Human Resources, spoke to the board about upcoming plans for the search for a new School Superintendent. The current Superintendent, Theresa Axford, plans to retire in the summer of 2025. Russell gave an overview of the timeline for the search process, which will begin soon now that the election is completed and the board is in place for the coming year.