Board divided on moving HIGHLANDS Virtual School and reusing academy building
June 19, 2026 | HIGHLANDS, School Districts, Florida
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Highlands County School Board members spent substantial time hashing out the future of the district’s academy building and the location of Highlands Virtual School (HIGHLANDS), with no final decision reached.
Several board members voiced opposition to moving Highlands Virtual into the academy building for the upcoming school year, citing logistical hurdles and the perception of an ill‑timed relocation amid tight finances. One board member warned that moving the district office or virtual program now “would send a very bad message to our teachers and staff throughout the district,” while others said they did not want a central property to sit vacant.
Administrators described the operational reality of a blended virtual model: although many students learn remotely, large numbers still come on campus for testing, orientation and other in‑person functions. Staff estimated occasional on‑campus counts of 130–200 students for testing windows and emphasized the need for a secondary site if virtual programs were relocated off the main campus.
Student support services leader Melissa Blackman cautioned the board that the Academy has a higher concentration of students with special needs and remains under Office of Civil Rights (OCR) monitoring following a prior complaint. Blackman said resource and ESE allocations should be aligned with that intensity and explained that some allocation shifts in the memo were a re‑alignment rather than net increases in staff.
Board members suggested alternative uses for the SR‑27 building, including partial district office functions, vocational programming, or a public‑facing enrollment center to reduce traffic at the central campus. Several members asked staff to produce clearer cost estimates, including moving costs and any limited renovations; one estimate for required fencing cited a possible $90,000 cost.
No formal vote occurred. Staff said they would continue exploring options, seek more precise cost estimates and return recommendations to the board for action in a future workshop.
Several board members voiced opposition to moving Highlands Virtual into the academy building for the upcoming school year, citing logistical hurdles and the perception of an ill‑timed relocation amid tight finances. One board member warned that moving the district office or virtual program now “would send a very bad message to our teachers and staff throughout the district,” while others said they did not want a central property to sit vacant.
Administrators described the operational reality of a blended virtual model: although many students learn remotely, large numbers still come on campus for testing, orientation and other in‑person functions. Staff estimated occasional on‑campus counts of 130–200 students for testing windows and emphasized the need for a secondary site if virtual programs were relocated off the main campus.
Student support services leader Melissa Blackman cautioned the board that the Academy has a higher concentration of students with special needs and remains under Office of Civil Rights (OCR) monitoring following a prior complaint. Blackman said resource and ESE allocations should be aligned with that intensity and explained that some allocation shifts in the memo were a re‑alignment rather than net increases in staff.
Board members suggested alternative uses for the SR‑27 building, including partial district office functions, vocational programming, or a public‑facing enrollment center to reduce traffic at the central campus. Several members asked staff to produce clearer cost estimates, including moving costs and any limited renovations; one estimate for required fencing cited a possible $90,000 cost.
No formal vote occurred. Staff said they would continue exploring options, seek more precise cost estimates and return recommendations to the board for action in a future workshop.
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