# School Board Work Session | October 27, 2026


**Body:** Polk County Public Schools
**Date:** October 26, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Education, Information Technology, Grants & Funding, Physical Infrastructure


Polk County Public Schools’ board work session on October 27, 2026, covered several funding and purchasing matters. Staff reported that the district received a six-year federal GEAR UP grant allocation of approximately $9.1 million to support college-going programs for students in grades 7–12, with partner contributions and matching support from the district, Florida Southern College, Polk State College, Mid Florida Credit Union, and Polk Vision. Board members requested baseline and annual outcome data, including subgroup results, and clarification that grant-funded positions would end with the grant unless other funding is identified. The board also reviewed a Duke Energy easement request at Bethune Academy; members raised questions about defining easement boundaries and the named grantor, but no approval vote is captured in the transcript. A high-school project item involving FF&E was pulled from the consent agenda to the action agenda for clarification; the discussion cited $10,483,434 for FF&E in the comprehensive agreement and questioned how the contract reduction affects total project cost. The transcript does not show the resulting vote.

The board received presentations on proposed Impact Suite special-education software and Civics Plus board-agenda software, with no purchasing decision recorded. Impact Suite was presented as a tool to track IEP services and automate notifications; staff said there would be no direct general-budget impact, and further information was requested ahead of possible November consideration. For Civics Plus, quoted options included approximately $28,000 for an agenda-only first year and $32,000 for a bundled first year; annual costs and possible increases were discussed, and board members requested a product demo and additional details before considering a vote. Members also discussed a proposed CRI audit-services engagement, with differing views about scope and process; its final disposition is not shown. Other work-session topics included updates to the student progression plan and district policies, and an SAP implementation update. No final procurement votes are captured in the transcript.

**Source:** Polk County Public Schools