Duval County Public Schools Packet Summary — 2026-09-01
Meeting: Tuesday Sep 1, 2026 6:00 PM EDT September 1, 2026, Regular Board Meeting Amended on: August 25, 2026 4:27 PM School Board
Duval County Public Schools' September 1 packet includes 26 consent-agenda items and a separate discussion agenda featuring selection of a General Counsel, proposed elementary attendance-boundary changes, and five public hearings on School Board policies. Major consent items include employee contract settlements, GEAR UP partnerships, districtwide artificial-intelligence access, construction and facilities contracts, and the district's Five-Year Capital Plan.
Key Items on the Agenda
General Counsel Selection
The Board is scheduled to consider offering its new General Counsel position to the finalist receiving the highest cumulative point total from Board members' evaluations following second-round interviews. If the highest-ranked finalist does not accept, the recommendation would authorize offers in descending order of cumulative scores until the position is filled.
The packet describes this as a new position intended to provide dedicated legal counsel to the School Board on governance, responsibilities, and official actions. The listed salary range is $190,000 to $250,000.
Elementary Attendance Boundary Changes
A public hearing and vote are scheduled on proposed attendance-boundary changes affecting Englewood Elementary School, Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary School, Love Grove Elementary School, and Spring Park Elementary School. Staff recommends implementation beginning with the 2027–2028 school year.
The changes are connected to the district's Master Facility Plan, under which Love Grove and Englewood are to consolidate into two newly configured schools: Spring Park Elementary and Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary. The packet says the recommended Option 2 was selected after working-group meetings and consideration of student safety, transportation, facility use, neighborhood integrity, enrollment growth, feeder patterns, and other factors. A community meeting on the recommendation was held June 23, 2026.
Projected utilization under the proposal is 84% at Spring Park Elementary and 97% at Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary.
Student Programs and Academic Support
$150,000 Amira Reading Tutoring Renewal
The consent agenda includes a proposed agreement with Amira Learning for up to $150,000 in 2026–2027. The program would provide one-to-one AI-supported reading tutoring to as many as 2,500 students in grades 1–4 who scored below grade level on the Spring 2026 English Language Arts assessment, with priority given to students needing intensive intervention.
The agreement is structured as an outcomes-based contract, with up to 50% of the contract payment tied to achievement of student-outcome goals. The packet reports that 1,900 students at 15 schools participated during 2025–2026; 39% increased achievement-level categories and 25% reached proficiency on the year-end FAST ELA PM3 assessment. For the proposed year, the district expects at least 50% of participating students to make gains and 30% to reach proficiency.
The packet's recommendation states a service period of September 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026, an apparent date inconsistency within the packet itself.
GEAR UP Class of 2027 Partnerships
The Board is scheduled to consider five agreements supporting the GEAR UP Grant B Class of 2027 cohort. Four would provide direct student services and one would provide evaluation and data services:
- Communities in Schools of Jacksonville — up to $464,826: Case management and targeted support for approximately 560 seniors across seven GEAR UP high schools, focusing on attendance, academic barriers, graduation, and postsecondary transition.
- Florida State College at Jacksonville — up to $141,768: College tours, career exploration, cultural enrichment, college-readiness programming, summer activities, and workforce-development opportunities.
- I'm A Star Foundation — up to $216,432: Mentoring, leadership development, community service, financial literacy, FAFSA assistance, and postsecondary planning for approximately 420 seniors.
- University of North Florida — up to $278,534: College access, academic enrichment, admissions and application assistance, financial-aid guidance, campus experiences, mentoring, and postsecondary transition support.
- Xcalibur, Inc. — up to $104,725: External evaluation, data management, program monitoring, longitudinal student tracking, and federal performance reporting.
The packet identifies a $2,116,382 total 2026–2027 GEAR UP grant allocation and states that federal funds for these agreements are expected to become available effective October 1, 2026.
Employee Compensation and Workforce Items
Teacher Contract — $20.1 Million Estimated Impact
The Board is scheduled to consider contract-language changes and 2026–2027 salary schedules negotiated with Duval Teachers United for the teacher bargaining unit. The packet estimates the financial impact of the proposed salary schedules at $20,126,287.
The economic package includes funding associated with Florida's Classroom Teacher and Other Instructional Personnel Salary Increase Allocation. The packet says state legislation requires salary increases for qualifying full-time classroom and certified prekindergarten teachers with at least 10 years of full-time Florida public-school teaching experience, with such an increase not to exceed $3,000.
Paraprofessional and Office Personnel Settlements
Two additional DTU settlements are scheduled for consideration:
- Paraprofessionals: Proposed economic and noneconomic changes covering positions including regular-needs and special-needs paraprofessionals, ISSP facilitators, and child development associates. The packet states an estimated salary-schedule impact of $1,322,620, while a subsequent financial table lists $1,332,620; the packet therefore contains two different figures.
- United Office Personnel of Duval: Proposed salary and working-condition modifications for employees including secretaries, bookkeepers, administrative clerks, school security guards, human-resources support positions, truancy officers, support technicians, and payroll technicians. Estimated financial impact: $1,637,556.
AFSCME Settlement
The Board is also scheduled to consider salary and contract modifications with AFSCME Florida Council 79 covering custodians and food-service employees. AFSCME ratified the agreement on July 31, 2026.
The packet says the changes include a 2.7% wage increase for employees in eligible positions as of June 30, 2025. The estimated salary-and-benefit impact is $44,773 for fiscal year 2025–2026.
New Duval Education Foundation Executive Director
The consent agenda proposes creation of an Executive Director, Duval Education Foundation position. The packet describes the role as responsible for strategic leadership, organizational management, resource development, grants, philanthropic engagement, and community partnerships supporting the district.
This is identified as a new position, with a listed salary range of $110,000 to $165,000.
Technology and Artificial Intelligence
$100,000 SchoolAI Enterprise Access
The Board is scheduled to consider $100,000 for districtwide annual enterprise access to SchoolAI for August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027, with the potential for two additional one-year renewals at $100,000 per year.
The packet describes SchoolAI as a K–12 artificial-intelligence platform operating in a district-controlled, teacher-managed environment rather than as an unrestricted internet search tool. Teachers would be able to create AI-supported learning experiences using district-approved content, while administrators and teachers would have monitoring tools and student insights.
The proposed purchase also includes unlimited professional development and AI-literacy training for students and staff. The packet says the platform is intended to provide AI access while addressing safety, security, instructional appropriateness, data protection, and the district's responsible-AI policy.
Major Facilities and Capital Items
Venetia Elementary — New K–5 Prototype
The Board is scheduled to consider awarding STG Contracting Group a Construction Management at Risk agreement for a new K–5 prototype Venetia Elementary School No. 68, Project No. P-91760.
The initial authorization would cover:
- Up to $182,017.28 in preconstruction services.
- Up to $15,000 in reimbursable expenses.
- A $2 million early-procurement allowance for long-lead equipment.
- A combined initial amount not to exceed $2,197,017.28.
The project is funded with millage funds. The packet says a final Guaranteed Maximum Price for construction would return to the Board for approval after negotiations.
Loretto Elementary — 14-Classroom Addition
A proposed second amendment with Auld & White Contractors would authorize up to $12,385,515.55 for Phase 2 construction of a 14-classroom addition at Loretto Elementary School No. 30.
Including the original preconstruction agreement and an earlier demolition-phase amendment, the proposed action would bring the construction-management contract value to $12,917,391.41, within a current overall project budget of $20,854,007. The packet identifies sales-tax funding for the project.
Districtwide HVAC Services
The Board is scheduled to consider an amendment to the district's HVAC services contract with Thermaserve Mechanical Inc. The amendment would establish a $6 million annual not-to-exceed amount covering contracted services and emergency owner-responsible repairs outside the normal contract scope.
The packet says the expanded authority is intended to allow the district to respond more quickly to major emergency repairs involving critical heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems.
Five-Year Capital Plan
The consent agenda also includes the School District Five-Year Capital Plan for 2026/2027 through 2030/2031. Staff recommends approval to meet the annual planning requirements of Section 1013.35, Florida Statutes.
Any future amendments to the plan would be submitted to the Board for approval.
Policy and Governance
Policy 5.44 — School Boundaries, Closures and Consolidations
One of the meeting's public hearings concerns a substantial proposed revision to School Board Policy 5.44. The revision would broaden the policy beyond attendance boundaries to also govern school closures and consolidations.
Among the proposed changes, the policy would:
- Establish a School Census and Utilization Report to be published each November.
- Categorize schools as Monitor, Adjust, or Reconfigure depending on the level of review or action needed.
- Require separate Board votes on each recommendation to close, consolidate, or change a school's boundaries.
- Establish a formal community-engagement and review process.
- Require public information on feedback, risks, alternatives, and decisions.
- Add considerations including building utilization, capacity, cost, access to programs and services, travel distance, facility condition, capital investment, and academic performance.
- Establish provisions addressing grandfathering, exceptions, public hearings, delayed timelines, and transition support for affected and receiving schools.
The Board is scheduled to conduct a public hearing before considering adoption.
Three additional public hearings involve policies connected to the district's school-planning framework.
Policy 8.50 would receive limited revisions related to annual enrollment review and its reference to Policy 5.44. Policy 8.51, covering the Academic and Community Excellence planning process, and Policy 8.53, covering the Closing and Consolidation Impact Review Process, are proposed for repeal and replacement by the expanded Policy 5.44 framework.
Policy 8.59 — Naming and Renaming Schools
The Board is also scheduled to consider revisions to Policy 8.59, which governs naming and renaming schools.
The proposed revisions would broaden methods for community engagement; expressly recognize input from students, families, staff, alumni, community members, and other school-connected stakeholders; and clarify how recommendations reach the Superintendent and Board.
The revision also adds procedures for programmatic name changes when a school's academic theme, instructional model, magnet designation, or signature program changes. Under the proposal, a related program change and name adjustment could be considered concurrently at a publicly noticed Board meeting.
Other Consent Agenda Items
The consent agenda also includes:
- Human Resource Services employee transactions, with the packet stating that all affected positions have already been budgeted.
- Revised minimum qualifications for the Supervisor, School Safety Compliance position, which carries a listed salary range of $70,000 to $100,000.
- The district's 2025–2026 Florida Department of Education Office of Equal Educational Opportunity Update.
- A proposed three-day suspension without pay for one employee and a separate proposed suspension without pay pending termination for another employee, both identified in the packet as misconduct-related personnel recommendations.
- Monthly prequalification of construction contractors.
- A facilities change-order report provided for Board review and entry into the meeting minutes.
- Acceptance of a periodic report covering substantial completion and final inspection of major-maintenance and minor-capital projects under $1 million.
- The July 2026 Purchase Report, presented for information and transparency under Board Policy 7.70.
- A surplus-property retirement report authorizing identified property to be removed from district records and disposed of through authorized methods.
What to Watch at the Meeting
Several items have implications extending beyond routine consent business.
The proposed elementary boundary changes would directly shape attendance zones beginning in 2027–2028 as the district consolidates Love Grove and Englewood into newly configured schools. That decision is paired with a broader rewrite of Policy 5.44, which could establish a new districtwide framework for future boundary changes, school consolidations, closures, utilization reviews, and community engagement.
The Board is also being asked to make a consequential organizational decision through the General Counsel selection, while separately considering a new executive position for the Duval Education Foundation.
Financially, the agenda combines substantial employee-compensation commitments with capital and operational spending. The teacher salary proposal alone carries an estimated $20.1 million impact, while facilities items include a $12.39 million Loretto Elementary construction amendment, up to $2.20 million in initial Venetia Elementary construction-management and early-procurement costs, and a districtwide HVAC contract with an annual ceiling of $6 million.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials from the official Duval County Public Schools meeting packet.
