DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — The Walton County School district once again has maintained its high-performing status.
The district was notified this week that it had earned the designation for the seventh consecutive year for student and staff performance in 2012-13, according to Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson.
“The part I like about this is it’s not just student achievement … everybody’s jobs are rolled into this,” she said. “I’m really, really proud of these folks.
Okaloosa County also was able to recapture the designation after failing to meet all the requirements in the last few years.
The Florida Department of Education awards the designation to school districts that meet class-size restrictions, have no issues in their financial audits and have no failing schools.
“We definitely work hard, but it was pretty exciting (to receive the letter),” Okaloosa Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson said.
It’s the first time Okaloosa has received the nod after failing alternative schools plagued the district the last several years.
Okaloosa and Walton counties were two of 17 school districts in the state to be designated high-performing.
Santa Rosa County schools met only two of the three criteria, so the district lost out on the high-performing designation, Assistant Superintendent Bill Emerson said.
Once again, an error in the financial audit disqualified the district.
“It’s procedural errors, not financial errors,” said Emerson, who added that district hopes to fix all the problems and earn the designation next spring.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.