School board addresses rise in school threats, approves temporary staffing

As the Sarasota County School Board convened Sept. 17, it addressed a variety of topics, which included its response to a recent surge in school threats in the state, contracts for temporary staffing, its final millage and budget and others.

School threats addressed 

In response to a recent rise in threats to schools across the state, the school board addressed its efforts to keep students safe. The discussion came on the heels of a video statement Superintendent Terry Connor sent to families Sept. 12. 

Connor said as of July 1, the school district had received 109 alerts through FortifyFL, an app that allows people to report suspicious activity, many of which were “false or not credible.”

He said the district has made three arrests and is continuing to investigate a few other incidents, saying there could be additional arrests.

“The impetus for that video is to really send the message that we're not joking about this, and that if there is a credible threat, obviously we want to make sure that our resources are readily available to act when needed, and when we're clogging the system with false reports, it is taking time and resources away for when something really happens, and that is unacceptable," Connor said.

In the video, Connor had emphasized that any students who make such threats will be disciplined to the fullest extent of the law and the Student Code of Conduct.

Board member Bridget Ziegler weighed in.

“Unfortunately, the social media era that we live in, I think there's a lot of younger people that don't necessarily have a concept of true consequences, and this will completely devastate their lives, but it needs to be taken seriously, and I hope that message rings loud and true."

She praised the work of the district, stating, "I love that Sarasota is a leader in this space."

Board member Tom Edwards called the discussion of security only half of the problem.

"The No. 1 killer of children is guns, and I can't sit here quiet any longer and only work on half of the problem," he said. 

"Florida leads the nation by leaps and bounds when it comes to school safety, security, mental health, but it's still not enough," added Vice Chair Tim Enos. 

Enos called for vigilance and for parents to monitor their children's social media activities. Enos, a former school chief of police in the district, replied to Edwards' comment by noting the state's red flag laws, which allow the seizure of firearms. 

"I appreciate your no-nonsense approach about safety, school safety for all..." said commenter Elizabeth Bornstein to the board, calling the situation "disheartening." 

"We need our schools to be ready, and we need our resources to be available," she said. 

The board also approved a job description for the manager of safety and security technology. 

Connor said the district had deployed many security enhancements involving technology, and that this position would provide someone to support and manage their implementation. 

Temporary staffing contracts approved 

The school board approved two temporary staffing contracts.

Positive Behavior Support Corp. was contracted to fill the roles of ESE Program Specialist, board certified behavior analyst preferred, and behavior technician from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3, at an amount not to exceed $170,000.

AB Staffing was also contracted to fulfill 13 positions vacant since May 2024, until an unspecified date, including counselor, psychologist and nursing roles, for no more than $750,000.

The meeting agenda stated the positions had been  difficult to fill. 

Julie Forestier of SEE Alliance was among five speakers to comment, and requested the contracts be removed from the consent agenda for board discussion.

“Temporary solutions create a revolving door of staff and educators, disrupting the continuity and stability that our students, particularly those with exceptional needs, require," she said. 

"We know some of the reasons for these shortages: low wages relative to the cost of living here... also culture war laws and attacks, which make it stressful to teach in Florida," said Carol Lerner.

Connor said Sarasota was not immune to issues of staff shortages, calling the topic a multilayered issue and saying he wanted to assure the community that the contracts were not a permanent fix. 

"This is something, in the meantime, we don't want these positions to go unfilled while we still continue to search for a permanent position," he said. 

He also said the district is in the midst of collective bargaining with Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association and that he was “very optimistic” about the results it would bring.

Board member Robyn Marinelli said years ago, when the board supported those seeking behavior analyst certifications, it had demonstrated the difficulty of obtaining needed services.

"For a variety of reasons, some chose not to finish it, some did, and people retired, and when you have, especially, the (Board Certified Behavior Analyst), because there's not very many people that have that, private industry grabs them because they can be used in a variety of ways," she said.