Board floats cuts to assistant principals, specialists and school consolidations; special meeting set May 11 to consider job descriptions

Board members spent much of a budget workshop brainstorming specific cost-saving ideas that would change school staffing or district-office structure.

Proposals presented and costed at the workshop included removing assistant principals at schools with fewer than 500 students (estimated savings about $400,000), reducing assistant-principal contract days, eliminating or converting content-area specialist positions (estimates ranged from roughly $115,000 to $360,000 depending on the option), reducing one instructional position per school (about $1.2 million), merging elementary schools (estimated roughly $1.6 million), and combining Lake Placid Middle and High into a single 6–12 campus (estimated ~$1.25 million).

Board members and staff repeatedly described these as "brainstorming" exercises intended to surface options rather than finalize policy. Several board members said district-office cuts should be exhausted before school-level reductions; others urged transparency and community engagement before any consolidation or redistricting.

Principal Kim Riley of Avon Park Middle urged caution and described how district-office positions and content specialists translate into classroom support. "These might look like district office positions, but to a principal, these are essential service providers," Riley said, warning that cutting counselors or instructional units would reduce targeted supports and could affect student safety and retention.

Gene Federico, president of the Highlands County Education Association, reminded the board that many proposed changes to hours or pay are subject to collective bargaining and cannot be implemented unilaterally.

The board also discussed an operational-efficiency study (staff estimated a $30,000 engagement) and whether to hire outside help or request assistance from the state or peer districts. Members referenced prior outside engagements that produced large savings but disagreed on the timing and immediate value given current budget pressure.

Procedurally, the board agreed by consensus to schedule a special meeting for Monday, May 11, at 4 p.m. specifically to discuss and determine district-office job descriptions (assistant superintendents, specialists, directors/coordinators). Staff was asked to provide public notice with the required lead time. Members said that specific salary and job-description detail would be needed to evaluate the impacts before any final board action.

Next steps: the superintendent will incorporate board guidance into a revised plan and present it at upcoming budget workshops; the May 11 special meeting will focus on job descriptions and the May 20 budget workshop will include the superintendent’s revised plan.