- March 10, 2025
Rezoning as part of a five-year strategic plan has been discussed at nearly every Flagler County School Board workshop over the last two months, and as the board moves closer to establishing K-8 centers districtwide, officials also have another incentive to implement that plan sooner rather than later: monetary fines.
Flagler was recently found to be noncompliant with the state’s class-size requirements and faces approximately $28,264 in fines for the 2012-2013 school year, according to Tom Tant, chief financial officers for the district.
To have the fines cut by 75%, the district must submit a letter to the Florida Department of Education by Feb. 1, highlighting the plan to remain under the size requirements, Superintendent Janet Valentine said at Tuesday’s meeting.
The maximum penalty to the district could have been approximately $113,058, Tant said.
Flagler was about 41 students over the cap out of about 12,764 students, according to the Nov. 29, 2012, notice from the Department of Education.
The School Board has drafted the letter that will be sent to Linda Champion, deputy commissioner of finance and operations for the Florida Department of Education.
In the letter, Valentine cites Flagler County being “hit hard by the economic downturn in 2006.”
“The rate of unemployment has resulted in an extremely high mobility rate for our students and families,” the letter states. “The increased mobility rate makes it very difficult to comply with class-size requirements without constantly moving students. Reassigning students during the school year tends to have a negative impact on student learning and emotional stability. That being said, we have developed a plan of action to bring us into compliance with class size for the 2013-2014 school year.”
According to the letter, the district will review and readjust the staffing formula to include supplemental allocations to meet class-size requirements.
The district will also change its school choice plan and limit opportunities when the school of choice is already at class-size limits.
Also, as technology becomes a larger part of education, school officials hope to offer more Florida Virtual School and iFlagler classes.
“We have traditionally let students self-select online courses; however, we will move toward a model that requires students be placed in online classes when traditional classes approach the class size limit,” the letter states. “We have established labs at each high school and staffed them with certified teachers to support online learning opportunities for our students who may need a more personal approach.”
School Board member Colleen Conklin on Tuesday pointed out that the district’s rezoning plan is a work in progress.
“Do you think that at the end of the letter — in big, bold underlined letters — you could write, ‘Please understand that this is a moving target, and it is only a snapshot in time whether we are compliant or not compliant.’”
The ultimate goal is to rezone five elementary schools and two middle schools into seven K-8 centers.
Valentine agreed and said she would be “happy to do that.”
The School Board unanimously approved the letter.
