Posted on October 11th, 2022 by
Thomas E Kennedy
FSBA BOD comes to Crystal River
This past week Crystal River for three days was home base for the Florida School Board Association’s Board of Directors Leadership Development Training and Board of Director meeting. It is the tradition that the President of FSBA county is where this annual FSBA event is held to both support and showcase the President’s County and school district. It was such an honor and privilege to have FSBA Executive Board, BOD, Committee Leaders, Legislative Committee Representatives, and FSBA staff here in Citrus County.
On the first day following executive and standing committee meetings, the Citrus County Education Foundation hosted the FSBA delegation for dinner showcasing our Marine Science Station. During the evening some CCEF’s partners shared about our Citrus County education community and programs as they toured our MSS. It was a very memorable time and the FSBA delegation went away expressing interest in implement some of what CCEF and MSS shared. I cannot thank enough CCEF for this event, Executive Director Shaunda Burdette and CCEF Board member Amy Barbieri along with their amazing team who have spent weeks planning and were onsite in the days leading up to the event for making the night possible. Also, a special thanks to Marine Science Station Supervisor and our resident marine biologist Capt. Earnie Olsen, Capt. Josh O’Leary and the amazing MSS team!
During the days we had several different training sessions and legislative reviews. One of my favorites was we put together a panelist group on Building Positive Relationships with Legislators. On the panel were Florida House of Representative Blaise Ingoglia, Legislative Aide for Florida House of Representative Ralph Massullo, Adele Hembree, FSBA Director of Advocacy & Legislative Services, Dr. Danielle Thomas, and me. It was a great conversation and I so appreciate Rep. Ingoglia, Adele, and Dr. Thomas, for taking the time to have an honest and fun conversation.
The last day ended with me chairing my first full FSBA Board of Directors meeting. We had several items to accomplish on the agenda including an unanticipated election of a new FSBA Treasurer/Executive Board Member. I truly appreciate all the leaders on the FSBA Board of Directors. They may not always agree with one another on every item or issue, but they work to respect each other and come to collaborative decisions that is student-centered.
The entire event was understandably shadowed by the devastation caused by hurricane Ian. Several colleagues from around the state were not able to attend due to the hurricane’s impact on their communities and homes. During the event, some FSBA Board of directors brought donations that were then brought back to the hurricane-impacted areas. We continue to pray for all those affected by hurricane Ian.
Lastly, I am so grateful for the great community of Citrus County that I live and represent. I cannot thank all of you enough in Citrus that worked to make this a success. I want to also thank the FSBA leadership and staff for all you did to make this successful.
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Yesterday afternoon I participated in a School Advisory Council meeting at Lecanto Primary School. It was another excellent meeting of parents, students, community members, staff and administrators meeting and working in partnership for the school’s improvement. The meeting was Chaired well by parent Kim Jackson. The school administrator was there to assist and support the SAC and its leaders. The district SAC representative, Jen Greco was in attendance and contributed to aspects of the meeting especially those that pertained to her area of expertise. Parents, staff, and students all participated throughout the meeting. Principal Lofton, Vice-Principal Chandler, and Title 1 teacher Ms. Hayes all gave vital and important presentations that were well received, and then important and collaborative conversation followed. During the meeting Principal, Lofton shared the important role each SAC member has in helping make decisions and share information to help advance the school. Before the meeting was over some of the parents shared out about how grateful there were to have their students in Citrus County and LPS. One spoke about how they recently moved to Citrus County and how much they appreciated the collaborative partnership they have with the school in educating their students.
