Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at Toledo Blade, district reports smooth second reopening phase

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at Toledo Blade Elementary School in North Port Monday afternoon as south Sarasota County schools reopened following of closures forced by Hurricane Ian.

The governor used the reopening to recognize Florida's allocation of $200 million in state-wide school achievement funds.

The $3.8 million distribution of money to Sarasota County schools as part of the state's ongoing achievement program boosting higher performing schools, and came as the district completed its two-phase, post-hurricane reopening plan in south Sarasota County. The achievement funding differs by school and only ones that earned an "A" or increased their grade are eligible.

"I'm just glad that we're able to bring these awards here to Toledo Blade Elementary," DeSantis said. "I'm glad that Sarasota performed well again -- really has come to be expected -- and same thing with some of our other counties that got hit hard."

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Staffing was “pretty full” on the first day back for closed south county schools, district spokesman Craig Maniglia said, and the district was able to provide substitutes where needed. He likened the opening in south county to the reopening a week ago in north county, where schools saw much less damage from Hurricane Ian.

The district did not have the number for how many students were unable to attend school Monday because of the effects of the storm, Maniglia said. However, based on the proportion of students who did attend school Monday, the district said it "won't be a large number."

District leadership is keeping track of students and staff who need aid because of the storm, he said.

"There's a lot of support for our families out there and our teachers and our students," Maniglia said. "Hopefully, we're helping them find the support that they need."

When schools in north Sarasota County reopened Oct. 10, Superintendent Brennan Asplen said it was “smooth” with about 93% attendance and no staffing issues. Attendance numbers for south Sarasota County school on Monday weren’t immediately available.

Toledo Blade Elementary and several other schools closer to where Hurricane Ian made landfall suffered significantly more damage than schools in north Sarasota County. Damages included power outages, water damage from flooding, roof repairs and fallen debris.

Cranberry Elementary and Englewood Elementary were a day behind in reopening compared with the other south county schools because of "supply chain delays and other unanticipated circumstances," Asplen said in a video announcement Friday.

There was no update on whether the district would extend the school year or change the calendar because of lost instruction time, Maniglia said. In total, north Sarasota County schools missed nine school days, while south Sarasota County schools missed 13 days.

The state requires schools to operate for 180 teaching days, or at least 720 instructional hours, for kindergarten through third grade and 900 hours for higher grades. However, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. previously said there could be some flexibility with academic calendars on a case-by-case basis.

Florida's achievement funding is going to 1,400 schools "that demonstrated student growth and teaching excellence in the 2021-22 school year," a news release stated. Ninety-six schools in Florida are receiving $13 million, including 24 in Sarasota County. Toledo Blade was in line for $150,000.

Six Charlotte County schools will receive just over $600,000.

DeSantis was joined by teachers, administrators, district officials and the three recently elected DeSantis-endorsed School Board candidates Bridget Ziegler, Tim Enos and Robyn Marinelli in attendance.

Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in Sarasota County as schools reopen after Ian