BOARD MEMBERS lachua County: Public Schools District Office 520 East University Avenue Gainesvile, Floida 32607-5408 ‘Tina Certain Rober P. Hyatt Leanetta MeNealy, P.O. Gunnar F, Paulson, D. Ditre 2 Sast-Vacant vn. [Link] SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS (352) 955-7300 Carte Simon, PhD An ‘A-rated’ District Uission Statement: We ae commited tothe success of every student! August 2 Dear Chair Grady and Vice Chair Gibson, This letter is in response to the State Board of Education Order. The Alachua County Public School District maintains our prior positions shared in both our response letter to Commissioner Corcoran on August 10, 2021 and in our response to the State Board of Education Emergency meeting on August 17, 2021, We argue that we are in compliance with the Emergency Rules 64DER21-12, 6AER21-01, and 6AER21-02. Per section 6 and 7 of the order, each board member has an annual compensation of $40,287. ‘The four ‘members identified in the order collectively receive $161,148 annually. ‘The monthly withholdi threatened by the state is $13,429. The School Distr of funds from student services or teacher pay +t of Alachua County will not permit the reduction Our schools need to be open to provide instructional hours. Due to the highly contagious nature of this virus, there is a high risk that more students and staff will have to be sent home due to illness or exposure. Like you, we are obligated to provide a safe and secure public education to all students. Universally masking is the most effective strategy we currently have, besides vaccination, to meet this obligation. We currently have 273 positive student cases and 63 positive adult cases. This number is growing every day. We are using masks as a protective device to reduce transmission of the virus. ‘The parents of Alachua County have placed their trust in us to care for their children; protecting each other with universal masking will help us keep our students in the classroom and out of the hospital. Regards, 2 Carlee Simon, Ph.D. Superintendent Alachua County Publ