In a move to manage its own alternative learning programs for the first time, Marion County school officials unveiled a new plan for the upcoming school year on Thursday that will relocate students from two institutions that previously managed the programs for decades to either the Marion Technical Institute or six other sites, depending on the student’s base school location and needs.
During a special work session on Thursday, August 1, members of the Marion County School Board and representatives from Marion County Public Schools discussed the district’s alternative learning plan for the 2024-2025 school year.
According to district staff, representatives began negotiations with New Leaf Center of Ocala and Silver River Mentoring and Instruction (SRMI) for the management of the district’s alternative learning programs in April. The sides were unable to reach an agreement before the contract expired.
In addition to addressing students with behavioral problems, alternative learning programs may encompass a variety of specialized teaching, including Exceptional Student Education, speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral therapy, among others.
The district’s new plan calls for the expansion of the current alternative learning program at MTI. The school will receive all expelled students from grades 7 through 12 and would also have a portable to house one of two new Positive Alternative to School Suspension (PASS) sites for students in fifth grade or younger. The other PASS site for elementary school students will be at Hammett Bowen Elementary School.
In addition to the PASS sites at MTI and Hammett Bowen, the district will operate at least six secondary PASS sites that will house students in a manner dependent on their infraction and proximity to their base school.
The six locations throughout the district that have PASS-certified staff are Dunnellon High School, Howard Middle School, West Port High School, Lake Weir High School, Forest High School, and North Marion High School.
The alternative learning program expansion at MTI will come with the need for additional personnel, with the cost estimated at around $800,000, according to district staff. Those additions will include seven new teachers, one additional student resource officer, an assistant principal of curriculum, and another student services manager.
According to district staff, with the additional personnel, MTI will have a total of 34 employees: 17 certified teachers, three support facilitators, two SROs, three student service managers, two school counselors, a behavior specialist, a behavior technician, a principal, and four paraprofessionals.
Staff says the new program will allow the district to provide specific interventions and support and track students, helping them get back on track to graduate on time.
During the meeting, MTI Principal Ronald Jones said his school has established a “culture” of learning that he believes will “help all students be successful” and “fulfill their dream.”
“When students are leaving MTI, they should go back to their base school better than when they came to us,” said Jones.
As the discussion continued, board members expressed several concerns regarding the implementation of the new program, including how it would impact schools trying to accommodate their own students and why it was being implemented so close to the start of the school year.
Despite district staff specifying that principals were ready for the changes, school board member Lori Conrad, who automatically won another term for her seat when her opponent did not qualify, said she had heard otherwise from principals.
“I’m just going to be very honest, that is not the message that I’m hearing,” said Conrad in reference to staff saying principals understood the new changes.
“There is a lot of concern about the burden that it’s going to place on the school as a whole, not just the staff, but the other students. Some of it is even location, like where the locations of their PASS is on campus and how they keep that separate,” said Conrad. She went on to suggest that the timing of the change was unfortunate.
“A week before students show up on campus, we have some very specific needs that need to be met and I just don’t think that those conversations have been explored completely.”
Board member Sarah James shared similar sentiments, going as far to say that she did not remember getting any additional information about the negotiations with New Leaf and SRMI beyond this past February. James, who represents District 5, said the board received no updates until an email “from the community” triggered a response from staff.
“I wish we would have backward planned into this publicly a little bit better, so that we could all be on the same page,” said James. She went on to suggest that more advanced notice would have allowed “the human beings that show up to work at SRMI and New Leaf,” a better opportunity to “find another place for work.”
“It really bothers me, I would have loved for them to have more awareness and opportunity,” said James. She said the district’s jobs are posted and encouraged some of the former employees in attendance to “apply for them.”
When comments were opened to the public, Dave Pritchard, who is the president of the board of SRMI, expressed disbelief and dismay at the county’s actions. Pritchard said that SRMI was blindsided by the move, suggesting the organization would certainly have helped had it been told of the district’s plans in advance.
“Had in February the district said, ‘We want to do it ourselves, will you sit with us and help us figure out how to do it ourselves,’ we would have been there, no doubt,” said Pritchard.
He indicated that SRMI was told the district was going to contract with the group for one more year and now, the organization is “out two or three hundred thousand dollars.”
“We had to sign the lease, we’re not going to leave our employees hanging out there. We had employees scheduled to come to work today,” said Pritchard, who says he spent 30 years speaking to groups like the Marion County School Board.
Pritchard said he was “bothered” by the fact that the school district had received “6 million dollars from students” who flowed through New Leaf and SRMI, but that it had only passed through “4.1 million” dollars.
“That kind of bothers me. I know this is over, but that bothers me and I felt I needed to say that,” said Pritchard. He elaborated that the lack of communication from the district after decades of working together was hard to stomach.
“I wish that the administration had been more transparent on their ultimate goal and came to us in April and said, ‘We’re hearing from our board members, we want to take this over, effective next year.’ Our response, I guarantee you our board response [would have been]: ‘How can we help you? How can we help you do that?” said Pritchard.
As his time to speak drew to a close, he offered one last plea to the county.
“If you see another need out there, for a charter school, that fits into your program for special type needs, call us up. We’re there,” said Pritchard. “We’ll help get that going and we’ve got capital money to put into it. We’ve got a building. I know it’s too late now, maybe, maybe not, but in your plan, if there’s that need, you let us know. Because we’re not going anywhere.”
Daniel Slayton, who has been associated with SRMI for nearly two decades, shared similar sentiments to Pritchard. He said it was “really upsetting” that the district was making this change so close to the school year.
“Come August 12, there might not be everything that these students need to get started based on this transition,” said Slayton. “And that’s just a little disappointing from the public standpoint.”
