SUPERINTENDENT

Board members have spent the last week discussing their options internally and are expected to have a more detailed look at some of the candidates on Tuesday.

In its policy handbook, the hiring of a superintendent is described as “the most important and fundamental responsibility of the Duval County School Board.”

Duval County School Board members are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing controversy at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and determine who should be held accountable.

There are 735 buses in the district, but only 662 drivers between the two contractors, STA and Durham.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A newly formed group is calling on Duval County Public Schools to require masks in buildings, postpone the school year until after the Republican National Convention and many other changes to the district’s reopening plan. The congregation of parents and stakeholders from around the Duval County School District formed the Duval Schools Pandemic Solutions Team on Friday and brought a litany of concerns to the school board during its special meeting Tuesday morning. On Tuesday, the School Board agreed to spend more than $4 million through the district’s COVID-19 fund to purchase and install 120,000 desk partitions. RELATED: Duval school board approves plan to buy desk barriers for studentsThe congregation believes every grade level, including middle and high school, should have the full-time option to keep learning virtually. Additionally, the group believes middle and high school students should also have an option to be at school full-time, saying that school is a safe haven for many students in troubled homes.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A large part of Duval County Public Schools strategy to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 when the district reopens school buildings this fall involves strict adherence to social distancing guidelines. The first couple of weeks, transportation is going to be a challenge, Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said to the School Board in Tuesdays reopening workshop. According to the district, approximately 49,000 Duval County students utilize the bus system to get to and from school, making social distancing during normal bus routes virtually impossible. Face coverings will be required for students on school buses where social distancing is not possible, the districts website said in a Tuesday reopening update. Changes to transportation routes are routinely published by the district on the page linked here.