Sarasota and Manatee schools face school year under new leadership amid teacher shortage

Sarasota and Manatee County students return Thursday under the leadership of new superintendents, shaped by new state laws and facing new challenges ahead of the 2023-24 school year.

Heading into the academic year, both districts continue to combat a nationwide teacher shortage that has affected their ability to get enough teachers to staff classrooms, even as the student population keeps rising in both counties. New mandates from Tallahassee have also affected what students can and cannot learn in Florida classrooms, from Black history to gender identity, while a wholesale expansion of the state's voucher program has given new discretion for parents in where they send their children to school.

Additionally, both districts have new top administrators, as Terry Connor and Jason Wysong have recently been hired as superintends for Sarasota and Manatee, respectively.

In Sarasota County Schools, Connor is the district's third superintendent in about four years. Manatee's Wysong takes over for the retired Cynthia Saunders, who had been superintendent since 2018.

Connor replaced Brennan Asplen, who had strong support from the district's teachers and administrators but was shown the door after a conservative political shake-up of the School Board in the August 2022 election. Despite his predecessor's popularity with staff, Connor has gained union and School Board support ahead of his first year as the district's leader.

Barry Dubin, the executive director of the local teacher's union, sent a message to members expressing support for the new superintendent. He said Connor had a "great deal of talent" and was well respected by unions in his past school districts.

"We have found him to be very open and friendly and extremely focused on instruction. We were frankly surprised to find a candidate as qualified as him interested in a district as dysfunctional as ours has been of late," Dubin wrote.

Karen Rose, the vice chair of the Sarasota School Board, praised Connor through the superintendent hiring process. She faced backlash from far-right activist groups for not selecting the superintendent candidate who was endorsed by former Donald Trump security advisor Michael Flynn. Instead, she lobbied for Connor because of his classroom experience and achievement growth in Hillsborough County.

"He comes with a proven track record of accomplishment, and he exemplifies that science (of education) and employing it," Rose said.

When he was sworn in on July 17, Connor said he had ambitious goals to raise the district's achievement, which had seen dips in reading scores.

"The future is bright, and I'm enthusiastic about all the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for us," Connor said in a video message. "I'm confident that we'll create a future where our students thrive and exceed all expectations."

Teacher shortage still an issue

Sarasota Schools needed to fill more teaching positions entering this year than it had to last year as the district continues to see student growth.

As of Thursday, the district needed to fill 106 certified instructional positions, with 93 of those vacancies in elementary, middle and high schools, according to its public job board. In comparison, the district had 80 instructional vacancies heading into last school year.

Sarasota Schools projects to have about 49,000 students, an increase of about 3,000 students compared to last year, according to the district's tentative budget. The district employs about 3,000 teachers.

Coming into last school year, the district also had a shortage of bus drivers. The School Board helped to remedy the shortage by increasing driver pay to $25 per hour, and it is now fully staffed for bus drivers ahead of the 2023-24 school year, a spokesperson said.

In Manatee County, the district needed to fill 36 instructional positions, down from 77 vacancies in December. It currently employs about 3,000 teachers, a district spokesperson said. Manatee expects to have about 55,000 students, an increase of about 3,000 compared to last year.

Changes from Tallahassee

Some classroom instruction could be different for Sarasota and Manatee students this year.

On July 19, the Florida Board of Education unanimously approved a new social studies standard for African American history despite criticism that the curriculum downplays Florida's role in the historic oppression of Black people. The controversial Black history standards come as Florida banned the College Board's AP African American history, calling it "inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value,” officials said in a letter and cited topics in the curriculum such as Black Lives Matter, Black feminism and reparations. Manny Diaz, the state's education commissioner, called the class "woke indoctrination masquerading as education."

The latest AP course that appeared to be nixed from Florida schools was AP Psychology. On Thursday, the Florida Department of Education instructed the state's superintendents to not offer the course unless they removed any mentions of gender and sexuality. The College Board refused to alter the course throwing parents, students and districts into turmoil.

A day later, the state's education department clarified it will allow school districts to teach the class in full, without alteration, according to a letter sent to superintendents.

"In fact, the Department believes that AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate and the course remains listed in our course catalog," Diaz Jr. wrote in a letter dated Friday.

Many high school schedules were already set in Sarasota and Manatee counties. More than 28,000 Florida students took AP Psychology last school year, according to College Board. Gender and sexual orientation have been a part of the AP Psychology curriculum for the past 30 years.

Discussion of sexual orientation in classrooms in Florida was outlawed for kindergarten through third-grade classrooms starting last school year. Under new legislation, that ban now extends to 12th-grade classes.

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: Sarasota and Manatee schools start first school year under new leaders