PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Pinellas County School Board meetson Tuesday, and each year, the district reviews policies to make sure they align with state legislation and district standards.
Board members are expected to set a public hearing to amend certain policies regardingcontroversial issues, instructional materials like textbooks, the use of multimedia and field trips.
The updates to these policies better align with state requirements.
Those include adopting policies for parents to object to the use of specific materials, standards used to determine the appropriateness of material, the review process, and creating review committees.
During the public hearing, the school board will also discuss changes to its field trip policy. It’s adding a new section to its policy about room-sharing on overnight trips.
The policy and associated field trip form specify that the room-sharing is assigned by biological sex at birth unless parents of minor students otherwise provide consent in writing.
School leaders will also consider an agreement with the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association to raise salaries for all instructional staff by 4.25%.
The agreement also increases teacher starting salaries to $50,568.
ABC Action News spoke to PCTA about this issue previously. They said raising salaries is just the beginning of being able to retain and recruit educators.
“We hear heartbreaking stories of our professionals choosing between food and shelter, having to really cut back on some of the activities, some of the time that they get to spend with their own children in order to maintain second and third jobs,” said Lindsey Blankenbaker, Executive Director of PCTA and PEPSA.
The school district will also consider paying $100% of the increase in healthcare costs for all employees, totaling about $5.5 million.
“We didn’t get into this work for the money. However, we have to be able to support our own families,” Blankenbaker said.
The meeting starts at 10 a.m.
