Highlands County school board approves elimination of two curriculum specialist positions and 2% cut to senior admin pay

The Highlands County School Board, meeting in a special session to consider district-office budgets and job descriptions, approved elimination of two content-area specialist job descriptions and a 2% reduction to deputy and assistant superintendent salaries.

Superintendent Dr. Longshore opened the meeting with a data-driven presentation and staffing overview, noting the district employs about 1,166 school-based staff and 450 district staff. She said recent funding updates—including an additional roughly $500,000 from the fourth FEFP calculation, about $1.5 million in a fully funded PICO capital outlay award earmarked for roofs and air-conditioning projects, a Medicaid rate change worth roughly $40,000 this year, and $158,000 in declining-enrollment funding—together could improve the district’s general position. “That would put our new fund balance sitting at 4.5%,” Dr. Longshore said, arguing the board should consider pausing some proposed cuts while an outside operational-efficiency study is completed.

Board members disagreed on timing. Some trustees urged delaying reductions now that the fund balance projection had improved; others said immediate action was necessary to address ongoing insurance-related losses and looming deficits. The board debated whether the meeting should be a discussion-only workshop or an official meeting able to take votes; the chair proceeded with the agenda.

On agenda item 2B, the board considered awarding a contract to MGT Impact Solutions LLC to conduct a staffing and compensation review but no board member moved the item, so it did not advance to a vote.

The board then took up two job-description eliminations. On agenda item 2C the board approved eliminating the content-area specialist position for math and science curriculum, effective July 1, 2026. During public comment on that item, Gene Federico, president of the Highlands County Education Association, warned the board that removing those specialists shortly before the end of their contracts could create operational problems for schools: “Who’s going to take over their duties? … I’m afraid that we’ve gotten so locked into we have to cut numbers that we’re not really looking at how we do it.” The board recorded roll-call votes in favor by Mr. Whitten, Dr. Durrence, Mrs. Howton and Mr. Martin.

On agenda item 2D the board approved eliminating the content-area specialist position for reading and social studies curriculum, also effective July 1, 2026. Board discussion noted assistant superintendents and principals would assume some duties, but several members reiterated concerns about curriculum continuity at schools. The minutes recorded recorded affirmative roll-call votes by multiple members.

Finally, on agenda item 2E the board approved a 2% reduction on the salary schedule for deputy and assistant superintendent positions, effective July 1, 2026. Trustees cited persistent insurance costs and warnings that the district could face additional deficits without changes. A board member read an emailed teacher comment that said, in part, “Teacher morale is at an all-time low…Teaching has become unsustainable with today’s economy,” underscoring concerns about staff retention and morale as cuts proceed. The roll-call vote on the salary reduction recorded yes votes from Mrs. Howton, Mr. Martin, Mr. Whitten and Dr. Durrence.

Votes at a glance:
• Contract award to MGT Impact Solutions LLC (agenda item 2B): no motion; no vote taken.
• Eliminate job description: content-area specialist, math & science (2C) — approved; recorded yes votes: Mr. Whitten; Dr. Durrence; Mrs. Howton; Mr. Martin.
• Eliminate job description: content-area specialist, reading & social studies (2D) — approved; recorded yes votes: (recorded by roll call during the meeting).
• Reduce salary schedule by 2% for deputy and assistant superintendents (2E) — approved; recorded yes votes: Mrs. Howton; Mr. Martin; Mr. Whitten; Dr. Durrence.

What’s next: Dr. Longshore recommended an operational-efficiency study to identify further potential savings and suggested pausing additional cuts until that outside review is done; several board members asked for follow-up workshops or special meetings to examine district-office options in more depth. The board chair closed the special meeting after final remarks about timing, next steps and staff workload.

Reporting notes: quotes and vote tallies are drawn from the meeting transcript. Several speaker name spellings and short forms varied in the transcript; this article uses consistent spellings where a speaker self-identified.