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Collier County School Board member Pat Carroll wasn’t concerned with how the board looked after Tuesday’s meeting.

She was worried that the board’s firing of Superintendent Ray Baker would have more serious implications for the district, the schools and the students.

“I think we are in serious risk of losing accreditation,” she said. “Colleges do know accredited districts. If the district loses accreditation, every school might lose accreditation and have to reapply. This could impact national scholarships and if our students are accepted to service academies.”

But Carroll needn’t worry, the district’s accreditation will still move forward — provided it makes changes that were requested.

“Our concerns with the School District are irrespective of who’s on the board or who the superintendent is,” said Mark Elgart, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), the group charged with performing the accreditation.

“It’s an unfortunate event (that Baker was fired), but it is a reality we have to deal with,” he said.

The School Board voted 3-2 Tuesday evening to fire Baker. Carroll and board member Kathleen Curatolo dissented.

The School District learned in April that it was getting closer to accreditation. District accreditation gives districts the flexibility and responsibility to identify and implement a process of continuous improvement focusing on increasing student performance. A school district can only be accredited if all of the public schools in the district have received individual accreditation.

The SACS CASI Quality Assurance Review Team, which included 10 current and retired district administrators from five states, visited the Collier County Public Schools and looked to see how well the district met the accreditation standards; how it demonstrated a systematic and continuous improvement; and how it demonstrated quality assurance.

The review team was responsible for assessing the capacity and impact of how the district met the needs and school standards; assessing the effectiveness of its method for assuring quality to students, parents, teachers and the community; and developing recommendations to help strengthen the district, Review Team Leader Lucy Hayden told the Daily News in April. Among the people interviewed were district officials, school administrators and parents.

The district demonstrated many strengths in the review, according to Hayden, including support and trust in Baker’s leadership, data-driven and informed decision-making policies; and a commitment to communicating with stakeholders.

The quality review team also found the board had some limitations, including regarding board governance. To fulfill the standard, according to SACS CASI’s policies, the district must operate under a board that, among other things, “permits the administrative team of the school to implement policies and procedures without interference.”

The School District, over the next school year, has to complete a self-evaluation of its performance; create an in-house effectiveness training program; and authorize a comprehensive external review of its policies. A team from AdvancED, which is the parent organization of SACS CASI, will return during the school year to ensure the board has completed the review. Board Chair Steve Donovan said Thursday the Collier County School Board would get the governance training it needs.

“I am going to get the training for the School Board. This is about us,” he said. “It should not affect the training we have done in the classrooms or the work we are doing in the schools. I refuse to let us lose accreditation.”

Donovan said all school boards need governance training.

“This is not about getting along,” he said. “It is about working for the betterment of the students and the district. We will meet (SACS CASI’s) requirement.”

If the district receives accreditation, it will be good for five years.