Deal’s case stems from former Superintendent Todd Bowden’s recommendation to fire her in 2018. Deal has fought the case for more than two years, despite not having the support of the Sarasota Classified/Teachers Association and declining to testify in her own defense during a lengthy administrative hearing last year.
The case has been drawn out by both appeals and leaves of absence. She has been working in the district’s facilities department since the fall of 2019 as the case played out.
Deal had already been disciplined several times during her tenure at Sarasota High when she allegedly got into a shouting match with a student in 2018, prompting Bowden’s recommendation for termination.
Sarasota County student test scores sink as COVID-19 slide sets in
With testing season right around the corner, teachers have their work cut out for them as they try to prepare students for the all-important state assessments.
On Tuesday, the Sarasota County School Board will review diagnostic testing data that shows significantly more students are struggling this year than in previous years. And although some had hoped for a reprieve from the state tests, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued an emergency order on Monday that expands the window for testing but affirms that it indeed will take place.
According to the School Board’s agenda:
Sarasota School Board picks new attorney
The Sarasota County School Board has selected a legal team from the local firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick to serve as the new legal counsel for the district, as longtime board attorney Art Hardy retires.
Attorney Dan DeLeo will lead the team, although Patrick Duggan, the former in-house counsel for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, will handle more of the day-to-day work.
The board approved Shumaker in a 3-2 vote Tuesday, with board members Shirley Brown, Tom Edwards and Jane Goodwin voting in favor. They cited Shumaker’s local presence, the firm’s long ties to the district and DeLeo’s involvement in helping promote the district’s property tax referendum every four years.