- February 12, 2025
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The Florida Department of Education released the 2016 school grades for districts and schools recently, with Volusia County maintaining a B district grade but several Ormond Beach schools dropping.
Volusia County officials say lower grades were caused by a new formula used to calculate learning gains. There were no similar tests in 2014-2015 to use for comparison.
“If school districts across the state see a decrease in school grades, it will likely be because of the new and complicated learning gains structure, which is confusing and should be further revised,” said Superintendent Tom Russell in a press release.
Russell said the grade received for 2016 should be considered as a new baseline.
The grades for Ormond Beach schools were (2015 grade in parentheses): Tomoka Elementary: B (A); Pine Trail: A (A); Ormond Beach Elementary School: B (A); Pathways Elementary School: B (A); Mainland High School: C (B); Ormond Beach Middle School: B (A); Osceola Elementary School: B (B); Seabreeze High School: B (A); and David C. Hinson Sr. Middle School: A (A).
The school grades can be found on the FDOE website, fldoe.org. Click on “accountability” and then “school grades.” You can then download the grades in Excel format. The title says “Preliminary School Grades” because schools have 30 days to appeal. The preliminary grades have always become the final grades in the past, according to Eric Holland, assistant director.
Schools received and “I” for Incomplete if they tested less than 95% of the students, a rule that is new for this year. Holland said schools have 30 days to appeal to have the grade released.
In other school news, the School Board has offered contracts to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which includes bus operators and cafeteria employees; and Volusia Educational Support Association, which includes clerical personnel.
For both unions, the board approved a 2.5% raise with a health insurance subsidy of $500 per month for individual coverage.
The board’s decision will take effect whether or not the unions accept the offers, according to spokeswoman Nancy Wait, because impasse has been declared in the negotiations.
Both unions earlier rejected offers of a 6.5% raise in a two-year deal. Union representatives said that the $500 cap on the health insurance subsidy would take away the benefits of the raise. If an employee were to choose a plan with more than $500 premium, then they would have to pay the difference.
The School Board and Volusia Teachers Organization still do not have a contract for the 2015-2016 year. The School Board made an offer at an impasse hearing, but the union filed an unfair labor practice lawsuit.
