BPS Superintendent Mark Mullins: Nearly 5,000 Teachers Have Return to Campuses This Week

BPS: will be ready to open our doors and our hearts to our kids on August 24

Nearly 5,000 teachers are returning to their campuses this week to begin preparing for a new, yet very different, school year.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Mullins issued his biweekly update, which keeps the Space Coast community informed of the important decisions and actions impacting our schools and our district.

Reopening Preparations Continue: Nearly 5,000 teachers have returned to their campuses this week to begin preparing for a new, yet very different, school year.

We will be ready to open our doors and our hearts to our kids on August 24, but continue to ask for grace and flexibility as we stand up the most complex processes and procedures in the history of our organization and do so with the health and safety of some 9,000 employees and 70,000 students top of mind.

If you are a BPS parent/guardian and have not yet registered your child for the 2020-21 school year, please make this a priority this week. Our schools are working on making important staffing decisions that rely on enrollment.

The Office of Government & Community Relations has released a number of helpful informational materials to assist families as they prepare for the upcoming school year.

Please visit our COVID-19 resource page at: www.brevardschools.org/COVID-19 to view student “day in the life” videos and read our Health & Safety Plan.

We have also updated the district Reopening Plan to reflect changes to our face coverings policy and new information pertaining to COVID-19 response procedures.

Sales Surtax Update: This past week, I had the pleasure of speaking before the Cocoa Rotary and Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce to share our reopening plans and provide an update on the half-cent sales surtax which will sunset on December 31, 2020.

The school board will meet this Tuesday (8/11) to review the plan of work for the sales surtax renewal which will be on the November 3rd ballot.

Since its inception in 2014, the district has received nearly $200 million in surtax revenue that has gone to funding critical infrastructure repairs, technology upgrades, and security enhancements.

Despite this level of effort and investment, the sales surtax program only addressed approximately 25% of facility renewal needs identified in 2014.

Renewing the half-cent surtax is essential to address the next phase of critical infrastructure repairs that includes roofs, electrical and plumbing; as well as enhance outdated classrooms and providing safe and securing learning environments for our students.

If you would like to help educate and inform our community on the impact of the half-cent sales surtax renewal, please contact Sara Almond to arrange for an in-person or virtual speaking engagement with either myself of another BPS representative.

Congratulations to our 2020 Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year: It is my sincere pleasure to announce that Chris Reed, principal at Endeavour Elementary, has been selected as Brevard Public Schools’ 2020 Principal of the Year, and Rockledge High’s Terry Kulaga has been named Assistant Principal of the Year.

Both of these outstanding educators have left an indelible mark on the thousands of students whose lives they’ve touched through their leadership and commitment.

We are truly grateful for their stewardship and service and wish them the greatest success as they advance to state-level competition.

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