Escambia School Board to tackle 3 big issues this week, including superintendent referendum

With a potential superintendent referendum vote on the table, a ticking clock on the Warrington Middle School charter transition and four more school library books on the chopping block — Monday marks the start of an eventful two days for the Escambia County School Board. The topics are divided into three sessions:

• A regular workshop at 1 p.m. on March 20

• A special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on March 20

• A regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on March 21

Here are three of the most significant conversations the board will have this week, when they are coming and what to know about them.

The looming potential superintendent referendum

District 1 Board Member Kevin Adams first announced he planned to bring a resolution seeking a change to an elected position in January. Since then, debate on the referendum, and Smith’s competency as a district leader, has been ongoing. Smith has maintained a consistent call for unity and has refused to resign despite one state representative’s request.

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The board will take an official vote on the referendum during Tuesday’s regular board meeting.

Escambia citizens voted to go to an appointed superintendent model in 2018. Smith, however, has only actively been in his position for two years.

Escambia County maintained its 2018-19 “B” grade for the 2021-22 school year, the only full year in which grades are available under Smith’s administration. While some individual schools had worse scores in the 2021-22 year, like Warrington Middle School, overall, the number of “D” and “F” schools in the district decreased from 29 to 11 under his tenure.

If Tuesday’s motion passes, the issue will go before the Escambia County Board of Commissioners who has the final say as to whether it is placed on the ballot.

Escambia County citizens would ideally then be able to vote on the issue about a year from now in the Presidential Preference Primary election on March 19, 2024, according to Adams’ resolution.

However, not all board members are on board.

“It’s not a wise thing to be doing. I think it’s highly political,” said District 5 Board Member Bill Slayton. “I don’t think we’re giving the superintendent, the staff, the teachers, everybody enough time to, first of all, to recover from COVID. Because that’s been the main problem with a lot of things that are not as they were before — graduation rate, attendance — and we’re just coming out of that. So, I don’t think it’s right. I have a lot of constituents that have told me the same thing.”

District 4 Board Member Patty Hightower said that if concerns do arise over Smith, correcting those issues should be the focus, not forfeiting the system.

“I am of the opinion that we need to continue with the appointed superintendent and of course, I don’t think anybody finds that surprising,” Hightower said. “If the board, or at least three of us, feels that the appointed superintendent that we have employed is not doing his or her job — it is our duty to have that conversation and to make the superintendent aware of what our issues are.”

Regardless of the resolution’s outcome, the board will still need to evaluate Smith for the 2022-23 school year in the next few months. The previous annual review of Smith in May was universally positive by board members. Not a single board member selected the lowest option of “needs improvement.”

Even Adams wrote that the superintendent had done an “excellent job of representing the district and advocating at local and state level for our public education requirements.”

Board Chair Paul Fetsko will be discussing Smith’s evaluation criteria with the board during the regular workshop beginning at 1 p.m.

Board members seek clarity on Warrington Middle's future

As the end of the school year inches closure, some board members, such as Fetsko, are looking for answers on where Warrington Middle School stands. Fetsko requested an update from Smith during Monday's workshop.

After receiving continuous D grades over the past decade, the board opted to transition the school into a charter instead of closing the school altogether.

The board approved an educational review agreement with Charter Schools USA last November. The agreement allowed the charter company to get familiar with the school's needs and community before submitting an official application.

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The official application will unveil the sought-after details of what the transformed school will be like, including the grade levels the school will cater to. If the district’s sole applicant falls through, Fetsko said the students currently zoned for Warrington Middle will then need to be dispersed across several other schools within the district.

The preliminary agreement is intended to last until June 30. Then, if the application is approved, a new agreement will begin on July 1.

Slayton echoed Fetsko’s concerns, saying that the board has little knowledge on Charter School USA’s timeline, but unfortunately are not in a position to rush them.

“It is all in Charter School’s USA’s hands. They’re the ones that have to put forth a proposal. We don’t do anything until we see that proposal, and we vote on the proposal to accept it and get them started…we’re all in a wait and see game,” Slayton said. “This is the only charter school that has given any indication that they want to take on Warrington. So, it’s not like we can say, ‘We don’t need you, we’re going to get somebody else.’ There isn’t anybody else.”

Hightower said despite the lull in action, she still thinks that the plan is on track. Even so, there is little information to go off of until the contract is in the board's hands.

“I think in that turnaround plan B, there was a reference that there would be a signed agreement by May. So, you know, here it is the end of March, so that should be coming to us soon,” she said. “I’m just waiting on the contract, that’s where the information will be.”

Is the book review process really working?

As the 100+ book evaluation continues, the school board is evaluating four different books for their place in Escambia County Public School libraries. The special meeting, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Monday, will allow for public comment on each of the four books, followed by a vote on each one from the board.

The books in question are “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrision, “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier, "The Nowhere Girls" by Amy Reed and "New Kid" by Jerry Craft. The books in question address topics such as rape, LGBTQ relationships and racism.

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All four book are being considered as self-selected library materials and are not required in the classroom. The District Materials Review Committee, comprised of media specialists, administrators, teachers, parents and community members, voted to keep all four books on the shelves, even if it is not at every grade level. The board has voted against the Committee’s recommendation on every book so far.

The citizen appeal states that despite the committee’s decision, the books are not age-appropriate and in violation of state law, leaving the vote to the school board to decide.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia School Board to vote on superintendent referendum Tuesday