Sarasota School Board picks new attorney
The Sarasota County School Board has selected a legal team from the local firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick to serve as the new legal counsel for the district, as longtime board attorney Art Hardy retires.
Attorney Dan DeLeo will lead the team, although Patrick Duggan, the former in-house counsel for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, will handle more of the day-to-day work.
The board approved Shumaker in a 3-2 vote Tuesday, with board members Shirley Brown, Tom Edwards and Jane Goodwin voting in favor. They cited Shumaker’s local presence, the firm’s long ties to the district and DeLeo’s involvement in helping promote the district’s property tax referendum every four years.
For roughly three decades, Hardy has been a crucial behind-the-scenes adviser helping orchestrate the School District’s property tax referendum and reminding School Board members that fighting in Facebook comment sections can be a violation of Florida’s Sunshine Laws.
Now, with Hardy’s retirement looming, the Sarasota County School Board is tasked with replacing the man who has outlasted 10 superintendents and 21 School Board members.
Hardy is not weighing in on who should replace him, but he has some advice for surviving the countless legal frays and dueling personalities that populate school board offices. When there wasn’t a clear legal answer, which often there wasn’t, I would try to give the School Board the pros and cons,” Hardy said. “And try to remember that they are the ones making the decision, not me. I m giving the advice.”
School districts on the Suncoast continuing emergency paid COVID leave for employees, to a degree Schools on the Suncoast saw a slight decrease in graduates. Statistics show an overall upward trend since 2014. (Source: wwsb) By Daniela Hurtado | January 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM EST - Updated January 13 at 7:30 PM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) -Local school districts have had to figure out backup plans after the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act requiring them to cover COVID leave for employees exposed to the virus has now come to an end.
Despite the federal government no longer making it a requirement both school districts on the Suncoast have kept some form of emergency paid COVID leave. Sarasota County School District and Manatee County School District have different plans. Sarasota schools agreed months ago employees would have 20 COVID leave days to use if needed. District representatives say these days are for employees exposed to the virus or who have contracted the
A need for substitute teachers at Sarasota schools The state gave SCSD $7.8 million to increase teacher pay and starting salary. (Source: wwsb) By ABC7 Staff | January 10, 2021 at 5:02 PM EST - Updated January 10 at 5:02 PM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) -As the vaccine rolls out teachers associations across the Suncoast hope essential workers are next and that substitute teachers are included.
They say there’s a need for substitute teachers and this weekend the school district in Sarasota County asking registered substitutes to get on board for this week to fill spots this week. In an email to ABC7 on Sunday, the school districts’ human resources department said the district added an incentive for substitutes based on how frequently they help out.
Suncoast teachers association express discontent for Governorâs decision on priority for vaccine
Teachers not given priority for COVID-19 vaccine By ABC7 Staff | January 5, 2021 at 10:25 PM EST - Updated January 6 at 11:48 AM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) -The debate on who gets the vaccine and when continues. There is no timeline yet on when teachers and school staff will have their shot at a shot across the Suncoast and state.
Itâs leaving a lot of them frustrated especially after the governor announced this week that they should not expect to be prioritized for the vaccination, at least not for now.
âItâs extremely demoralizing and disappointing,â said President of the Manatee County Education Association, Pat Barber. âPut 65 and older ahead of the essential workers so teachers are now being forced back with full classrooms of students who have been we donât know where over the Christmas break.â