The recognition of the superintendent’s achievements comes amid turbulent times.
By Rhatia Murphy
Host: Responding to declining student enrollment and budgets, the Sarasota school district cut 100-plus teaching positions this year. But the superintendent also oversaw a popular makeover of the system to avoid school closings. On this background, the School Board granted Terry Connor this week a big raise and bonus. Rhatia Murphy reports.
Rhatia Murphy: Sarasota County school leaders gave Superintendent Terry Connor a strong report card Tuesday night—and finalized a nearly $1.6 billion budget for the school year.
The School Board held two back-to-back meetings: a final budget hearing shortly after 5:00 p.m, followed by its regular meeting at 6:00 p.m.
The headline from the regular meeting was Connor’s annual evaluation.
Liz Barker, Karen Rose, Bridget Ziegler, Robyn Marinelli and Tom Edwards
All five board members placed the superintendent in one of the district’s two highest performance categories. Board members Robyn Marinelli, Karen Rose and Bridget Ziegler rated Connor “Distinguished.” Tom Edwards and Liz Barker rated him “Accomplished.”
The individual scores ranged from 37 to 45, with an average of about 40.6.
In his self-assessment, Connor pointed to several academic benchmarks. Sarasota County Schools received an “A” rating from the state for the twenty-third consecutive year. He also cited a 32-point increase in the district’s accountability score.
According to Connor’s report, every traditional district-managed school received either an “A” or “B” rating, and 35 Sarasota County schools earned an “A” in 2026.
Those numbers helped form the basis for the board’s positive evaluations.
The item was presented as an annual review—not as a vote on a new contract or an extension of Connor’s employment. No separate board vote was requested.
Terry Connor
Connor has led the district since 2023, and his tenure has included enrollment decline, sharp political divisions on the board, and a much-acclaimed makeover of the system that expands school-choice options. It also includes—most recently—the cutting of more than 100 teaching jobs.
Still, Tuesday’s evaluation showed broad agreement among the five members when it came to his job performance.
Board member: This “A” took 27 years. 27 years of school grades before Emma E. Booker earned its first “A.”
RM: The other major action Tuesday concerned money. During its final budget hearing, the board adopted a spending package totaling approximately $1.568 billion. The board also finalized a combined property-tax rate of 5.929 mills. One mill represents $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
The district’s rate is divided into four parts. The state-required local effort accounts for 2.681 mills. The district’s discretionary operating rate is 0.748 mills. Another 1.5 mills will support capital expenses—including buildings, technology and major maintenance.
The final one mill comes from the voter-approved local referendum, which supports district programs and employee compensation.
The total millage rate is about 3.6% below the state’s calculated rollback rate. The required local-effort portion is more than 6.5% below its rollback rate.
The rollback rate is the tax rate that would generate approximately the same property-tax revenue as the previous year after accounting for new construction.
That does not necessarily mean every homeowner’s bill will decrease. Individual tax bills can still change depending on a home’s assessed value, exemptions and other taxing authorities. But it does mean the school district’s adopted rate is below the rate calculated to bring in the same amount from existing property.
Taken together, Tuesday’s meetings produced two clear messages. Financially, the district now has its final spending plan and property-tax rates in place. Administratively, Terry Connor enters another year with uniformly positive evaluations from the current school board, even if the individual members differed over whether his performance should be called “Accomplished” or “Distinguished.”
For WSLR News, I’m Rhatia Murphy.
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