Posted on December 14th, 2012 by
Thomas Kennedy
Recap of the School Board Meeting on 12/11/2012
This month, in addition to the regular school board meeting, and due to the Duke property tax crisis, we had a joint meeting with the Citrus Board of County Commissioners and the Citrus County School Board on Monday, December 10th, 2012 (see blog post for 12/10/2012) We had a workshop meeting with federal and state legislators and their representatives on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 and then our regular meeting met later that afternoon.
In the morning the school board met to discuss educational issues with elected representatives. Florida House Representative Jimmie T. Smith and his aide, Dawn Faherty, U.S. Congressman Richard Nuggent’s aide, Jeanie Macintosh, and U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s Regional Director, Digna Alvarez attended our round table workshop. This meeting took place in a large conference room rather than our board chambers to encourage more conversation and collaboration on the issues. Each person brings a personal passion for their approach to improving education for our students. I have respect for these elected representatives, my fellow board members and Superintendent Himmel, and felt there was positive conversation that is leading to improvement.
December was my month for opening exercises and I asked talented young girl, Marleigh Miller who is a third grader at Forest Ridge Elementary School to sing “God Bless the USA” & “Rockin around the Christmas Tree.”(Click here to see meeting video including Marleigh’s performance.) Marleigh is known around Citrus County for her beautiful “a capella” version of the Star Spangled Banner. She has performed at several venues including the Manatee Festival, Strawberry Festival, Dunnellon’s Boomtown Days, Annual Military Order of the Purple Heart Ceremony and the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. Marleigh was recently invited to sing the National Anthem in Tallahassee at the Capitol Building for the inaugural “Purple Heart Day” celebration. Marleigh’s Youtube.com and Godvine.com, singing “How Great Thou Art” has over one million views!
During the meeting Friends of the Citrus County Library System was recognized for their donation to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
At the meeting Amy Meek, President/CEO of United Way of Citrus County, recognized Citrus County Citrus Springs Elementary School for raising the highest overall contributions for the 2012-2013 year.
Also, during the meeting the board was presented with the updated Facility Planning Recommendation Study from MGT of America. This study provided a continuation of the long range facility planning for the Citrus County School District. It was a direct result of MGT’s previous studies and recommendations that led to the board’s plan and approval for the major improvements to be done at Crystal River Primary School and Crystal River High School. While the district has had a loss of $25 million in funding over the last several years this study will continue to aid the school board in making clear, well planned, financial capital decisions.
During the meeting the school board also approved the School Calendar for the 2013-2014 school year. To view the 2013-2014 follow this link: http://www.citruseducation.com/news/2013_14ApprovedSchoolCalendar.pdf
If you are interested in watching any of the meetings, visit: http://new.livestream.com/citrusschools/events/1733133
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