The first high school in Lakeland will open in August 2022 to 9th graders, as voted unanimously by the Lakeland School Board (LSB) tonight (12.9.19) at City Hall.
After much deliberation, the vote was unanimous among the five LSB members to select the recommendation by Superintendent Dr. Ted Horrell and his staff:
“Open Lakeland Prep in August of 2022 with 9th grade only (current 6th graders). That grade would move up one grade each year and would be the first graduating class from Lakeland Prep in May 2026.”
Link to agenda: https://lakelandk12.org/res/web/12.09.19%20BM/12.09.19%20Business%20Meeting%20Agenda.pdf
Link to Livestream: https://livestream.com/lakeland/events/8924503
Currently high school students in Lakeland attend Arlington High School (AHS) through an interlocal between the two cities. Lakeland operates Lakeland Elementary (LES) for K-4 and Lakeland Middle Preparatory School LMPS) for grades 5-8.
Clark Province, principal with Watkins Uiberall, PLLC,
presented the Fiscal Year 18-19 audit report and told Board members there were no issues, the Lakeland School System (LSS) has a lot of liquid assets and LSS holds a strong net position.
And for the chance of snow in the morning, Dr. Horrell said he would be up at 3 a.m., driving the streets of Lakeland to determine safety for the school buses. He said he believes the chance of snow has diminished, but nonetheless, he will be very diligent in checking weather conditions for school on Tuesday.
Historically for the Board, Member Jeremy Burnett
attended the meeting electronically. Chair Kevin Floyd said that was the first electronic participation in the history of LSB. Attorney for the School Board, Eric Plumley, said policy allows the electronic attendance twice a year by meeting three guidelines: The member must be seen by the chair (on the computer screen), there must be a quorum and the member has to give five days’ notice of the request.
High school discussion
Dr. Horrell began the conversation about the high school construction by reviewing some of the slides he presented last week at the LSB work session.
Link to slides: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wVXKnW2ctx1rhDmf9
He said he and his staff focused on different scenarios to open the school. “We drilled down into every option possible,” he said.
He noted the ultimate compliment for any school system is for parents to say they have good experiences at the System’s schools. “It’s the reason we want to open a high school. We can do it better than anyone else. That’s part of my job: to do the best job possible.”
In his analysis of three possible options for the high school, he said there were challenges for each of the three.
- LMPS does not have the specialty facilities to bring the 10th graders along with 9th graders in 2022.
- Moving 5th graders out of LMPS does not solve where to have band practice.
- What about sports? There is no option to sports teams to facilities in the City of Lakeland.
- There is no space for portables because construction will take all the space on the LMPS campus. And portables are not cost-effective he said.
- Holding 3rd graders at LES as 5th graders is not a good option because there is not a lot of classroom wiggle room at LES.
- The biggest problem bringing 10th graders from AHS to Lakeland Prep is the intent process. “There is no way to know how many of those kids would come back (to Lakeland Prep),” said Dr. Horrell. He commented there was some of that when LMPS opened in August 2017 but it’s much easier to program for middle school than high school students.
He said he is concerned that quality will be impacted if more grades than 9th opens the first year at the high school.
Each of the Board members took turns explaining their conversations with Lakeland residents over the school opening and why they all reached a decision to open with only the 9th grade the first year.
Board member Burnett said he had email from a number of constituents and he spent a lot of time looking at Dr. Horrell’s slides. He said the specialty space was almost logistically near impossible. And as Board Member Deborah Thomas mentioned last week, licensure would be an issue to get quality faculty in a short period. “I support Dr. Horrell’s recommendation.”
Next, Board Member Michelle Childs
explained she has an 8th grade daughter who will be impacted by the decision. “I always hoped she would be a part of this high school,” she said. Mrs. Childs received eight emails and talked face-to-face with others in the community. As a Board member, she said, we have to consider all children. Parents don’t deserve surprises, she said. “I ask for your continued support.”
Vice Chair Laura Harrison
said she too has an 8th grader who is working on her four-year high school plan from AHS. This includes preparation for standardized college testing and building a resume for post-high school. And even if the System has no growth for the next two years, the System is at program-capacity. She said you can’t eliminate special programs like APEX or pre-school to locate classroom space. (LSS grew by 100 students this school year.) She said she was concerned academically and educationally for students.
Mrs. Thomas
said she asked a lot of questions and for an audit of LES classrooms. What she learned was there are 3 ½ extra classrooms available. And the third grade band is the fastest growing at LES. “I was a traveling teacher and it’s not fun to have no place to plant yourself.” She also said she taught in portables which she didn’t believe was the best learning environment. She said she has talked to groups of parents and friends who would like to keep all the students in Lakeland. But, she said, we can’t make the situation untenable for administrators and teachers. To Dr. Horrell she said she appreciated all the time he took to analyze the school situation.
As the last commenter, Chair Floyd
said his analysis was essentially the same as the others. “We want to educate our kids,” he said. Bringing back 9th and 10th graders won’t work, he said. The Lakeland School System, he said, makes intentional, thoughtful and forward-thinking decisions. As a parent of a student at AHS, he said he has been pleased and happy, although he knows some parents have not had those experiences. “We started this conversation (to build a high school) in 2014. We tried to make it happen. I’m glad it’s finally here. I appreciate all the hard work to get here.”
One public speaker
Lakeland resident Jeff Roman
addressed the Board, thanking them for getting a high school in Lakeland. He noted any decision made on the high school will make some people upset. The best course of action, he said, was to make a decision and get it done.
Audit and financial reports
Dr. Horrell said financial summaries for September, October and November have been posted to the LSS website.
Jessie Rosales, LSS financial director, said everything is trending and there are no concerns.
Vice Chair Harrison asked about cafeteria funds. Mrs. Rosales said because of requirements, the fund balance must be spent down. Some cafeteria equipment at LES will be replaced, she said. Dr. Horrell said the staff was told if the cafeteria started “making money,” there would be an opportunity to increase staffing. So one part-time position at each school will be changed to fulltime.
Mr. Province said there were no findings in the audit. He talked of “unmodified opinion” and Chair Floyd asked him to explain. Mr. Province said the approach is to get an idea of the design: Who touches the money, who withdraws the money. He said invoices are pulled to validate expenses. “It’s not 100% testing,” he said. “It’s sampling.” Mrs. Childs asked if there were any red flags and Mr. Province said no. Matt Shorter, senior audit associate with Watkins Uiberall, praised Mrs. Rosales and her help with the audit.
Review of superintendent
Mr. Plumley
was asked to review the evaluation of Dr. Horrell. He said the review is done by both Board members and teachers. Of the review, Mr. Plumley said Dr. Horrell is doing a good job and the review is good. On a scale of 1-6, with 6 being the highest, Dr. Horrell’s average score was 5.82 which is between” exceeds expectations” to “greatly exceeds expectations.” Last year his average score was 5.5, said Mr. Plumley.
Dr. Horrell said it is a pleasure to serve the school system and the board. “This Board has done its own due diligence on this issue. That’s why I enjoy working with the Lakeland School System.”
Chair Floyd said it is unique to Lakeland that teachers take part in the superintendent evaluation.
… Photos by Jim Willis, Lakeland Currents
