LAND O’ LAKES – School board members took turns Nov. 5 praising Kurt Browning for 12 years of leadership at Pasco County Schools.
Browning was first elected as superintendent of schools in November 2012 and reelected in 2016 and 2020. He decided in 2022 not to seek a fourth term. Former Florida Sen. John Legg was elected superintendent on Nov. 5.
Nov. 18 will be Browning’s last day.
District 1 school board member Al Hernandez told Browning that he had shown “unwavering dedication and profound commitment” while serving as superintendent.
Hernandez, who was elected in 2022, also told Browning that all the things he had accomplished over the last 12 years should be celebrated.
“He has stood as a beacon of resilience and vision,” Hernandez said. “We’ve come a long way in this last 12 years.”
District 3 representative Cynthia Armstrong said Browning was going to be missed.
“We have been innovative and we have become a standout district, leading the way for many other districts in the state,” Armstrong said.
District 2 representative Colleen Beaudoin spoke positively about both Browning and vice chairwoman Allison Crumbley, whose 14-year tenure on the board will end Nov. 19. Jessica Wright defeated Crumbley to claim the District 4 seat in the nonpartisan school board election in August.
“I know how deeply you both care about our community and the countless hours you’ve spent advocating for championing public education locally and in Tallahassee,” Beaudoin said.
Things that were added to the district during their tenure included the Cambridge, STEM and STEAM programs. After thanking the board members for their remarks, Browning looked back at some of the things that had been achieved over the past 12 years.
One of those was saving families millions of dollars in tuition charges because of opportunities in the district.
Browning said he never thought when he graduated from Pasco High School nearly 49 years ago that he would one day be superintendent of Pasco County Schools.
Browning added that he hadn’t considered running for a third term in 2020. However, Browning changed his mind because he loved the job, the district’s staff and what had been accomplished during his tenure.
He credited the school board and the district’s staff with helping to make those things possible.
“The superintendent is powerless without a great school board and just as importantly the superintendent is powerless without an incredible team that supports that superintendent,” Browning said. “After 12 years you really become a family and it’s hard to divorce yourself from people that you’ve worked with day in and day out.”
Makeup days picked for hurricanes Helene and Milton
Pasco County Schools will make up for instructional time lost to hurricanes Helene and Milton by operating on Jan. 29, Feb. 26, March 26 and April 30.
Assistant Superintendent Kevin Shibley told the school board Nov. 5 the four days would allow the district to meet the state minimum for instructional time. Those days would not interrupt other upcoming vacations and holidays.
The school board voted 4-1 on the plan. District 2 representative Colleen Beaudoin cast the dissenting vote because she thought more makeup days were needed. The district canceled two days ahead of Helene and seven days before and after Milton. She favored Feb. 14 and April 21 as additional makeup days.
“I’m just having a hard time coming to terms with losing so much time,” Beaudoin said.
Other members were concerned about the number of days students had lost. However, they settled on the four dates after Assistant Superintendent Cortney Gantt told them too many employees wouldn’t be available on Feb. 14 and April 21.
“We believe we will have so many staff absences that it will become, for lack of a better term, babysitting,” Gantt said.
A similar situation could be avoided in the future, Shibley said, if the administration planned to place three-day weekends into the spring semester. Those could be converted into four-day weekends if makeup days were not needed, Sibley said.
