School Board Workshop

Hernando School District School Board Workshop Minutes - Final 2:00 PM District Office-Board Room 919 N. Broad Street Brooksville, FL 34601 Tuesday, January 27, 2026 CALL TO ORDER Board Chair Kayce Hawkins Vice Chair Shannon Rodriguez Board Member Michelle Bonczek Board Member Susan Duval Board Member Mark Johnson Present: The workshop was called to order at 2:01 P.M. Also present were Robert Meyers, School Board Attorney, and Ray Pinder, Superintendent. PRESENTATIONS 1. Review and Tentative Approval of Neola Policy - 8451 Head Lice (Pediculosis).26-3507 Attachments: po8451 Head Lice (Pediculosis) Modified 12-15-25 Budget Sheet Sept 2021 Revised NO Financial Impact ACC Barbara Kidder, Assistant Superintendent of Business and support Operations, and Jill Kolasa, Director of Student Services, came forward to present this item. Mrs. Bonzcek suggested removing a sentence or state that the student will be kept in the clinic until they can be picked up. Mrs. Hawkins and Mrs. Rodriguez agreed. Mr. Johnson suggested that siblings at any school should be checked for infestation. Mrs. Rodriguez expressed her concerns with the students riding the bus if they have lice. After more discussion, students with nits or lice will remain in the clinic until they can be pick up and under no circumstances shall they be allowed to ride the bus. Parent notification will be sent if it is in the classroom. 2. Presentation of the Hernando County School District (HCSD) Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) Program 26-3562 Attachments: VPK Board Presentation Budget Sheet Sept 2021 Revised NO Financial Impact ACC - Copy 01-27-26 Workshop VPK 26-3562 - REVISED 01-27-26 Workshop 26-3562 Presented by Gina Michalicka, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning; Kelly Downey, Supervisor of Literacy, Intervention and Elementary Academic Programs; and Connie Jeppeson, Early Learning Specialist, came forward to present this item. Page 1 of 2

School Board Workshop Minutes - Final January 27, 2026 Discussion took place on why there is no VPK at Explorer K8. Staff will look into space at EK8 for future VPK. Staff is currently collecting data on how many current VPK students will be enrolled in kindergarten. Once that information is collected, they will bring back the statistics. More discussion took place on making our schools equal; marketing VPK; and adding VPK funding to next year's legislative platform. GENERAL COUNSEL Robert Meyers explained that there is a bill working its way through legislation that would be detrimental to school districts. The bill would increase sovereign immunity caps. Currently if someone sues the school district, the cap is $200k per person and $300k per incident and the proposal is to increase the cap to $500k per person and $1 million per incident. In 2031, the caps will go up to $600k per person and $1.2 million per incident. His recommendation is to lobby against it. ADDENDUM ITEMS GOOD OF THE ORDER/BOARD DISCUSSION School Board Comments ADJOURNMENT The workshop adjourned at 2:58 P.M. _______________________________ _______________________________ Superintendent Board Chair Mission Statement The Hernando County School District Collaborates with students, parents and other community stakeholders to effectively prepare all students for a successful transition into a diverse and changing world . Page 2 of 2