Governor Ron DeSantis recently announced the appointment of Tyler Brandeburg to the Lake County School Board.

Tyler Brandeburg is a native and lifetime resident of Lake County residing in Leesburg.  He is also the son of former school board member Rosanne Brandeburg.  He is an active candidate for the District 2 seat on the School Board in the November 2022 election.  Tyler shared, “I am extremely humbled that Governor DeSantis has chosen to appoint me to the Lake County School Board to fill the vacant seat through the General Election in November. I had the opportunity to grow up in Lake County and graduate from Lake County Public Schools. I look forward to working with the Superintendent and my fellow board members as we continue striving to deliver the highest quality of education to our students and community.”

Tyler was elected to the Lake County Water Authority District 3 seat in November of 2018 and is currently serving as Vice-Chairman.  He is a product of Leesburg High School and the University of Florida holding a bachelor of science in business administration. 

Brandeburg is a commercial insurance advisor for Brown & Brown Insurance in Leesburg.  Speaking of his background, Tyler said, “Lake County Schools afforded me every opportunity to be successful and positioned me well to chase my dreams. I attended three schools in my district that I will now represent: The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake, Carver Middle School, and Leesburg High School.” 

He reminds us how beneficial it is to have supportive and engaged parents, noting,  “Mom has always been my biggest supporter.  I was raised by two parents that showed me the value of being involved in the community and always trying to leave it better than you found it.”  Tyler is very engaged in local community affairs and leadership.  He humbly adds, “I am eager to get to work supporting my favorite community on Earth.”

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Survey participants also indicated a strong preference for using the money for refurbishing district facilities by replacing flooring, adhesive and caulking that contain asbestos; increasing school budgets for science, career technical education and the arts; and providing recruitment and retention bonuses for employees.

District leaders used the survey results, along with the projected cost of each project, to develop a proposed spending plan. A draft of the plan is posted on the district website at www.lake.k12.fl.us/ESSER3Funding . The School Board will review the draft at a workshop at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 29.

The survey was created using a list of projects that a committee of community stakeholders said could benefit from federal funds recently allocated through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER). ARP ESSER funds were provided to state educational agencies and school districts to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and to address the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on the nation’s students.

The state was asked to distribute the funds in three major installments — ESSER I, ESSER II and ESSER III. Recipients are given rules on how the money can and cannot be spent. Lake County Schools spent ESSER I funding on Chromebooks, software for classroom and distance learning, personal protective equipment, additional cleaning services, temperature scanners for schools and extra nurses, among other expenses. The district spent ESSER II funding on summer programs and preparations for the beginning of the current school year, software to keep students connected, additional instructional support, additional VPK classrooms, custodial supplies, cleaning services and more.

The stakeholder committee, which includes parents, students and district employees, met earlier this month to brainstorm the best ways to spend ESSER III funding, the largest distribution, which totals about $88 million. About $15 million will go to charter schools and about $73 million is earmarked for traditional public schools. Private schools receive funding separately.

The community was invited to prioritize the projects on the committee’s list by taking the survey, which was emailed to parents, employees and local media, and promoted on the district’s website and social media pages. About 1,900 people participated.

The survey was divided into three sections — Learning Losses, Facility Improvements and Other Expenditures — each with its own list of projects. Survey participants ranked each project on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest priority and 5 being the highest. The scores were tallied for each project.

At least 20 percent of the funding allocation is to be used to address learning losses. The community’s highest-ranking projects in this area were:

·       Expand tutoring for underperforming students (about $500,000)

·       Increase school budgets for science, CTE, arts, etc. (cost TBD)

·       Additional content intervention teachers (about $2.3 million)

The funding can also be used on facility repairs and improvements that help schools reduce the risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards. The community’s highest-ranking projects in this area were:

·       Replace flooring, adhesive and caulking containing asbestos. (about $3-5 million)

·       Replace roofing compromised by moisture. (about $5.5 million)

·       Replace carpet with mold resistant flooring. (about $2.9 million)

The funding can address activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of services in schools as well. The highest-ranking projects under New Ideas were:

·       Recruitment and retention (about $6.5 million)

Cross-job pay/incentives for existing employees to work beyond their normal hours (cost

TBD)

·    Bonuses for bus drivers and bus monitors (cost TBD)

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Kornegay has called this amendment to the district’s safety protocols “a risk-based, data-driven system that allows for a targeted rather than a sweeping approach.”

On the last school day of each week, starting tomorrow (9/10/2021), data will be compiled from the current and previous weeks’ reports of positive cases.

Any school where fewer than 3 percent of the school population tests positive will be categorized as “Green.” The district will continue to encourage students and staff at these schools to wear a mask and follow all other precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Schools where 3 to 4.99 percent of students and staff test positive will be identified as “Yellow.” Cases in these schools will be closely monitored, cleaning protocols will be increased, the use of desk shields in classrooms will be encouraged, and the district will continue to strongly encourage masks.

Schools where 5 percent or more of the school population test positive will be classified as “Red.” Students, parents and staff will be notified and informed that masks will be required when everyone returns to school on Monday. Masks are to be worn indoors and on school buses, regardless of vaccination status, unless the parent has opted out of the requirement, which can be done online by checking the appropriate box in the student’s Skyward account or by sending a note to the school.

Schools will stay “Red” until their percent of staff and students testing positive for COVID-19 drops below 5 percent and those rates are maintained for a period of 14 calendar days. The “Red” school will then move to “Yellow” or “Green.”

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She is the representative for District 4, which includes the following schools: Astatula Elementary, Lake Hills School, Mount Dora High, Mount Dora Middle, Round Lake Charter, Sorrento Elementary, Tavares Elementary, Tavares Middle, Tavares High, and Triangle Elementary.

Cunningham, who worked 36 years for the district as a teacher and administrator before retiring as principal of Carver Middle School in Leesburg, is believed to be the first African American elected to serve on the board. Published news reports show that Donald Longworth, an African American man from Eustis, was appointed to the board by Gov. Reubin Askew in 1977 to replace Laurier Beard, who had resigned. But the district has not found a record of any African American man or woman elected before or since.

“This is a historic night and we are all privileged to have had a front-row seat,” board member Marc Dodd said to Cunningham at the Tuesday night meeting. “I’m excited about the new perspectives you’ll bring. … I can’t wait to see what sorts of fresh ideas you’ll be able to bring us.”

Similarly, Kristi Burns, Ph.D., in her closing comments as outgoing board chairman told Cunningham, “I am super excited to have you join our board and I’m excited to see where your ideas and vision will lead us in the future.”

Cunningham thanked the board and said, “I am very humbled by the experience of having run for something and been elected and I’m so looking forward to being a part of this group. I think we, along with the superintendent, will be able to do some really good things for all the stakeholders here in Lake County.”

Along with officially welcoming Cunningham, the board also voted Bill Mathias as chairman and Stephanie Luke as vice-chairman. They will hold those positions for one year.

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