Q: Do you have an update on your motion to move the School Board offices?
A: On March 12, the School Board voted against moving out of our offices on the river by a 3 – 4 vote. I voted to move.
Q: What’s the latest update on the search for a new superintendent?
A: The application window was from March 1 – March 31. In April we will begin reviewing these applications and on April 23 beginning at 9 a.m. in the Cline Auditorium, the board will hold a special meeting to select the semi-finalists. The goal is to make a decision by the end of May.
Q: Did you attend the groundbreaking for the new building at Mandarin High School on March 13?
A: I did and it was so exciting to have this project underway. The new building will contain additional classroom space, remove the school’s portables and provide state of the art space for the medical art and culinary arts programs that are a part of the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE). The completion date is anticipated to be sometime in 2026.
Q: Are there any other items of note that the school board is considering?
A: On March 11, the school board began the conversation around further school consolidations due to decreased enrollment. There will be no impacts for District 7, but we are looking at other parts of the district, especially where student enrollment in a school is fewer than 400. Community meetings will be held in those respective districts to get public feedback. I anticipate hosting a community meeting in District 7 to discuss potential boundary changes for upcoming school years. We won’t be impacted in District 7 by school consolidations, but we likely will be impacted by boundary changes. The goal is to create more continuity of feeder patterns from elementary school through high school.
Q: Do you have any kudos to share?
A: Three Atlantic Coast High School students deserve congratulations. Georgia Wicker won first place in the pole vault and Ben Brown won first place in the Lewis James Invitations track and field meet at Raines High School. They competed against 16 girls’ track teams and 17 boys’ track teams.
Senior Rhett Printy, a member of the National Honor Society, became the all time leading goal scorer in lacrosse at Atlantic Coast. In March, he scored eight goals in one game to reach 100 goals.
Q: How can our readers contact you?
A: They can email me at HersheyL@duvalschools.org or call me at (904) 390-2375.
