A Sarasota High teacher, MaST director Andy Harshman, was named the county’s 2026 Teacher of the Year and is Sarasota’s nominee for Florida Teacher of the Year. High schools now begin at 7:30 a.m., elementary and K-8 schools at 8:30 a.m., and middle schools at 9:30 a.m., with limited exceptions. The school board approved a tentative 2026-27 budget in late July totaling roughly $1.3 billion, with an operating budget about 2.2 percent smaller than last year’s. —Jimmy Glover, the lone registered Democrat in the race and the only African American candidate countywide, would be the first Black member ever elected to the Sarasota County School Board. —District 5: The Retired Teacher vs. the Firebrand, and the Race’s Biggest Controversy—The south county District 5 contest has produced the campaign’s sharpest fireworks.