Share this page on Social Media

Board Notes

School Board Notes
Action Meeting - May 12, 2026

Recognitions

The School Board recognized:

  • The Mariner High School Male Armed Platoon and the Female Dual Exhibition team for winning the 2026 JROTC Florida State Championship in their divisions.
  • Riverdale High School Junior Eric Bush for winning the FHSAA 2A State Wrestling Title in the 120lb. weight class and Fort Myers High School Senior Kael Seneca for winning the 2A State Wrestling Title in the 126lb. weight class.
  • Odyssey of the Mind State Competition winners from Cape Elementary: Nora Logan, Grant Coke, Hayleigh Quackenbush, Stella Harley, Ara Azam, and Karl Gottfried. Odyssey of the Mind State Competition winners from North Fort Myers High School: Tristan Cordell, Maya Cotherman, Raina Cotherman, Chloe Deeds, Hope Felicien, Katherin Hernandez, and Joshalyn Thompson. Both teams are eligible to compete at the World Finals at Iowa State University.
  • The 2026 Lee County and 20th Judicial Circuit High School Mock Trial Competition Champions from Fort Myers High School: Anna Boggs, Victoria Busch, Vienna Busch, Sebastian Canizares, Ava Garcia, Chiara Gillia, Kendall Loftus, Matan Marciano, Tara Shah, Austen Summy, Siena Young, and Zaara Rahman. The team finished 7th at the Florida High School Mock Trial Competition.
  • The first and second place finishers from the Lee County History Fair Competition and have qualified for the Florida History Fair. Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts: Myles Kastner and Nicole MacIver. Diplomat Middle School: Abigail Waters, Zoe Vermillion, Amiyah Wilcox, Nya Toby, Valeria Rivera Vasquez, Makayla Leconte, Malina Facey, Cooper Kohnke, Jackson Owen, Liam Boyce, Evie Gomez, Mya Carmichael, Kahlia Meek, Adrian Manuel, John Belcastro, Everett Chandler, Kian Wood, Travis Opalski, Stephanie Hommerbocker, Grace Hommerbocker, and Olivia O’Block. Lehigh Acres Middle School: Thaominh Truong, Gabriella Renaudin, Kaitlande Jacques, and Milan Romero. Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School: Camellia Varela, Phoebe Weng, Kiera Bennett, and Nayara Peres. Three Oaks Middle School: Thien Vo and Sofia Polanco. Fort Myers High School: Iyla Abbey, Lola Posset, Anika Aji, Sara Huda, Danielle Louzada, Matan Marciano, Samuel O'Brien, Lauren Gooch, Zoe Saladin Chaung, Lily Welborn, Kinley Witenko, Lyla Parker, Olivia Alexander. Sarah Buntrock, Madison Baker, Zaara Rahman, Kendall Loftus, Jack Sabo, Ibrahim Zafar, Austen Summy, and Brandon Sareh.
  • Oasis High School for registering the largest number of students to vote and winning the Lee County Supervisor of Elections Office High School Voter Registration Challenge. Bonita Springs High School finished second and Mariner High School finished third
  • Julia Memoli, Kindergarten Teacher at J. Colin English Elementary School as the 2026 APPLES New Teacher of the Year. The regional finalists for the APPLES New Teacher of the Year award are: Cora “Lexi” McQueary from Mariner Middle School in the West Region,, Katelyn DiGirolomo from Lemuel Teal Middle School in the East Region, and Kyle Tavares from Cypress Lake High School in the South Region.
  • Catherine Griffin, Peer Collaborative Teacher at Dunbar High School as the 2026 APPLES Mentor of the Year. The regional finalists for the APPLES Mentor of the Year award are Ebony Williams from Gateway High School in the East Region, Catherine Weygant from Cape Coral Technical College in the At-Large Region, Jill Tomlinson from Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School in the South Region, and Thamar Herman from Challenger Middle School in the West Region.
  • Diplomat Elementary School for earning Level 2 Marzano High Reliability Schools Certification and Three Oaks Middle School for earning Level 3Marzano High Reliability Schools Certification.
  • Middle school students who received the highest rating of Superior from the Florida Jr. Thespians Organization. Challenger Middle School: Luca Distill. Gulf Middle School: Raeden Belcher, Tyler Ernest, Ava Gonzalez, Greta Van Gaalen, Jacinda Williams, Lisy Vita, Bradley McJury, Gianna Espinal, and Isabella Christopher. North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts: Kinslie Marie Bradford, Leah Olivia, Ashley Otero Miranda, Emily Serrano Aliaga, Ella Alfaro Maldonado, Samantha Baluja,Camila Carballo, Anna Carranza Solana, Telicia Carter, Tatiana Cordell, Jacob Culbertson, Karoline Dilla, Lilliane Downing, Isla Foley, Lilly Gillis , Paityn Marquez, Alivia Mcintosh, Maycee Meeks, Francesca Mina, Sidonie Mitchell, Zoe Molina, Emily Moredo-Diaz, Izabella Pantaleon, Jane Peck, Georgina Pipitone, Reese Rainero, Tyler Reis, Ernesto Santana, Dakota Scaduto, Audrey Short, Emily Skocik, Zamara Solomon, Saydee Sorensen, Serena Worster, and Haven Wright.
  • The Class of 2026 Valedictorians: Alena Augustine from Bonita Springs High, Janelle Bombino fromCape Coral High, Catelyn Holcomb from Cypress Lake High, Nishini Fernando from Dunbar High School, Elis Rodriguez from East Lee County High, Ryder Seluk from Estero High School, Jennifer Dong from Fort Myers High, Gavin Griffith from Gateway High School, Shivan Soni from Ida S. Baker High, Genesis Zapata Vasquez from Island Coast High School, Alyssa Torres Montesino from Lehigh Senior High, Gioashanti Feneus from Mariner High, Justin Wang from North Fort Myers High, Evan Mintz from Riverdale High, Saylor Davis from South Fort Myers High.
  • The Class of 2026 Salutatorians: Mason Burks from Bonita Springs High, Mason Huffman from Cape Coral High, Gus Lessinger from Cypress Lake High, Deetya Gogineni from Dunbar High School, Grace Crowder from East Lee County High, Miles Brown from Estero High School, Tanish Madhar from Fort Myers High, Elier Cabrera from Gateway High School, Ana Suarez from Ida S. Baker High, Allison Cabrera from Island Coast High School, Darlene Tabares from Lehigh Senior High, Yenisleidy Diaz from Mariner High, Sebastian Jeanpierre from North Fort Myers High, Kesleine Mesidor from Riverdale High, and Miley San from South Fort Myers High.
  • Award winners from the Annual Florida Invention Convention. Pinewoods Elementary: Siddharth Ramdas, received a 1st place for his project titled "Zoomy-Broomy”: The Dustbuster Drone. Hadley Gilchrist, received a 1st place and Best of Fair for her project titled Porta Popper, and Magdalena Carola Gehrold, received a 3rd place for her project titled Easy Jelly. Dunbar High School: Nishini Fernando, received a 2nd place award for her project titled BabyBeatz 3.0: Development of a Sustainable and Cost-Effective Fetal Heart Monitoring Device for Settings with Resource and Economic Challenges. Fort Myers High School: Dhira Sharma, received Best Prototype award for his project titled Dextera: Revolutionizing Assistive Technology.

Consent Action Items

The School Board approved:

  • A Resolution establishing salary incentives for teachers for the 2026-2027 school year.
  • Proposed terms for a new Interlocal Agreement with The Town of Fort Myers Beach about Fort Myers Beach Elementary.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding with Space Florida to enhance and support innovative Career and Technical Education programs in aerospace and related industries at various locations.
  • The Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) Summer Bridge Program Grant to provide additional support for VPK completers that score at or below the 25th PR on the Spring FAST Assessment.
  • A Memorandums of Understanding with Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) for CyberCamp 2026 offering 70 students entering grades 6-12 in the 26-27 school year and hosted on the Florida Southwestern State College campus.
  • The Second Amendment to the Charter School Contract for Southwest Charter Foundation, Inc., d/b/a Innovation Preparatory Academy of South Fort Myers.
  • The Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, ESE Support Agreement to provide grant funding to support up to three (3) district positions to support Early Childhood students.
  • The 2026 Agreement with the Boys and Girls Club of Lee County, Inc. to operate summer programs at Caloosa Middle School and Varsity Lakes Middle School for K-12 children.
  • The 2026 Agreement with the YMCA of Southwest Florida, Inc. to operate summer programs at Three Oaks Middle School, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Lemuel Teal Middle School, and Mariner Middle School for children between the ages of 5 and 14 years old.
  • The 2026 Agreement with the City of Cape Coral, Parks and Recreation, to operate a summer program at Cape Elementary for children between the ages of 5 and 14 years old.
  • A contract with Kelly Services to provide guest teachers during the 2026-2027 school year.
  • An Employment Contract with Kevin William Pendley, Esq., to serve as Chief Staff Attorney from May 13, 2026, through June 30, 2028.
  • Funding for District-wide Law Enforcement Detail Services including, but not limited to, Board meetings, after-school activities, athletic activities, and activities/meetings where additional security may be needed or required.
  • Funding for field and parking lot lighting improvements at South Fort Myers High School and Fort Myers High School.
  • Funding for the replacement of pumps, motors, starters and connecting to water starter points, and to replace VFDS and chemical feed at The Alva School Wastewater and Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant.
  • Funding for Parking lot lighting at North Fort Myers High School and J. Colin English Elementary, walkway lighting at Spring Creek Elementary, and a light pole at Edison Park.
  • Adopted the 2026-2027 Student Progression Plan Including Secondary Course Catalog.
  • Adopted the Annual Instructional Materials Plan for school year 2026-2027, which will include the adoption of: K-5 ELA - (Benchmark), 6- 12 ELA – (ThinkCERCA), 6-12 Intensive Reading Level 1 students (HMH Read 180), Level 2 students (Perfection Learning) and 9-12 Personal Financial Literacy (McGraw Hill).
  • The Annual Fire Safety, Casualty Safety, and Sanitation Inspections for SY26.

Administrative Appointments

  • Ryan Atwood,Principal, Mariner Middle, (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Julie Powell Balan, Principal, Riverdale High School (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Mason Clark,Principal, Challenger Middle (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Franklin Scott Cook, Principal, Patriot Elementary (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Christopher Drake, Principal, North Fort Myers High (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Ronald Ashley Lamar, Principal, Success Academy (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Nicole Osterholm, Principal, Caloosa Elementary (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Kristine Sund,Principal, Cape Elementary, (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Jennifer Wilcken, Principal, River Hall Elementary (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Jill Gurgal, Interim Administrator, The Sanibel School
  • Abdel Moneim Ahmed, Assistant Director, Financial Accounting and Property Records
  • Elizabeth Feliciano, Assistant Principal, Veterans Park Academy for the Arts (Effective 07/01/26)
  • Jessica Osborn, Coordinator, Adult and Career Education
  • Janice Cook, Program Administrator, Title I

Board Policies

The School Board Adopted:

  •  Policy 6608 - Accountability and Oversight of Fundraiser and Crowdfunding Disbursements.

The School Board Revised:

  • Policy 0156 - Legal Counsel
  • Policy 1002 - Assessment of District Goals
  • Policy 1020 - Employment for Appointed Superintendent
  • Policy 1040.01 - Non-Renewal or Termination of Employment of the Appointed Superintendent
  • Policy 1060 - Incapacity of the Appointed Superintendent
  • Policy 2266 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs and Activities Relating to Students
  • Policy 2371 - Hope Scholarships
  • Policy 3120.04 - Employment of Guest Teachers, Short-Term, and Part-Time Instructional Staff
  • Policy 5121 - Controlled Open Enrollment
  • Policy 5780 - Student/Parent Rights
  • Policy 5830 - Student Fund-Raising
  • Policy 6320.02 - Small Business Enterprise
  • Policy 6605 - Crowdfunding
  • Policy 6610 - School Internal Funds
  • Policy 6825 - Evaluation of the Superintendent, School Board Attorney and Board Auditor
  • Policy 7230 - Gifts to the School District
  • Policy 8325 - Receipt of Legal Documents by District Employees
  • Policy 9211 - Booster Clubs and Other Outside Support Organizations
  • Policy 9215 - Direct-Support Organizations

Please note that this page is updated after every School Board Action Meeting. For past meeting minutes, agendas and for a complete list of actions taken at the April 14 meeting visit the District’s BoardDocs page.

Our next action meeting is at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at the Lee County Public Education Center. All meetings are live streamed and available to view at your convenience on the District’s YouTube channel.

Thank you.
The School Board of Lee County