the Schoolboard work session begins in 2 minutes please take your seats again the Schoolboard work session begins in 2 minutes the Schoolboard work session begins in 1 minute please take your seats again the school board work session begins in 1 minute e [Music] good rainy Thursday morning everyone I now call the March 28th 2024 meeting of administrative briefing and work session of the Maring County School Board to order at 9:00 a.m. please silence your electronic devices to avoid disturbing others mirroring and modeling how our students begin each day I ask that you please pause with us for a moment of silence thank you and I'll Now read our board commitment statement we are the Marian County School District leadership team when we come together to work we are efficient effective and productive our three most important characteristics are dedicated transparent and individually responsible to work well together we must demonstrate respect confront reality and be accountable we will always put students first and we will leave a legacy of success I'll now move on to our Schoolboard attorney to explain the rules for this public Workshop good morning attorney Powers thank you madam chair this meeting is a public meeting as defined in Florida's sunshine law the board is dedicated to full transparency in all of its meetings and work in compliance with Sunshine Law the board has adopted uniform meeting procedures including the right for citizens to participate the board will allow public comment regarding any work session item listed on today's work session agenda at the appropriate time speakers must fill out a request form located in the lobby and hand it to the board clerk after the board and superintendent have completed their discussion on a particular agenda item the board clerk will call speakers names in the order received each speaker will have three minutes as required by Sunshine Law the board must maintain orderly conduct and proper decorum throughout this meeting speakers May criticize subject matter and decisions in a respectful manner but not people finally speakers must be very careful not to violate the Privacy rights of others especially students or their family members by mentioning their names or other identifying information thank you for your attention to these important rules thank you attorney Powers good morning Miss Martinez uh please provide the proof of publication for today's meeting good morning Madam chair the notice for the March 28th 2024 work session was published in the Ocala Gazette on March 15 2024 proof of publication has been attached to board ducks on to proof of publication thank you and we will now begin the work session with the superintendent's administrative briefing good morning Dr gullet long time no see good morning Madam chair members of the board great to see you all again I think it's been a few hours we've had a busy week uh just have one item for my briefing this morning as a followup to our joint meeting yesterday with the the County Commission uh there was a reference to technical working group meeting dates and as you may recall the superintendent's responsible for setting those and I wanted to let you know and confirm that the email was sent out by member of my team David hurlee who is AR liaison on March the 8th uh to save the date of September 13th 2024 and November 6th 2024 um the email was sent again on March 8th to all members of the technical working group with many of those members including Commissioners who did respond in confirmation they received that so just wanted to provide clarification to that thank you Dr gullet I appreciate that okay and so if I may move on then to the first agenda item yes and before we kick it off I was just noticing that um our first presentation is about 36 slides and it's in-depth so just for everyone's planning purposes I I I think we'll take a break uh briefly between that uh presentation before we move into the central office staffing plan does that sound good okay all right thank you all right let's roll okay very good and I'm pleased to actually have Miss Cook here this morning who is going to introduce the annual Investments performance review and and the guest with us today thank you thank you good morning good morning chair thrower board members and superintendent Dr gullet um I would like to introduce Scott Sweeten senior managing consultant of pfm asset managers and he is pre here to present our um investment performance review for you good morning good morning I think the uh last time I spoke here we lost power in this building so hopefully it doesn't repeat [Laughter] itself pleasure to be here hopefully it'll be a different takeaway today I am Scott sweeten senior managing consultant with pfm Asset Management uh I'm going to give you a calendar year review and uh just for your time sake I'm actually not going to cover every slide so that's some good news I'll keep it roughly within probably 10 minutes uh any questions that you have I'll be more than happy to address those for you I'm going to actually skip through the first portion because I can actually cover that once we get to the December time frame here we are so it would be slide 12 if that's on your screens as well okay so taking a look at the portfolio as of December 31st 2023 the core portfolio uh total market value 26,900 4 4,534 the portfolio effective duration 1.76 years you can see that your benchmark effective duration was 1.75 years so pretty much right in line with where the Benchmark is currently residing uh from a strategy standpoint we're probably going to maintain that as we move forward we may incrementally start to move the duration out a bit as the FED starts to cut rates as we start to see the yield curve uh normalize at some point and also just taking a look at your yield at Cost that's actually what the portfolio is yielding as of December 31st that was 3.84% I took a look just for an update uh for reference for you all uh the yield at cost at the end of February of 2024 it's actually up to a little bit over 4% 4.03 so you can see that the uh portfolio and the yields that we are reinvesting that or investing uh new money into obviously that's starting to pay uh dividends for the portfolio uh yield at Market 4.26 that's basically just a general indicator on where the market was at that particular uh time and place so uh other than that very high rated portfolio double a rated if we look at the upper right quadrant that's the sector allocation breakdown you can see that you're very well Diversified uh roughly half of the portfolio is in us treasuries with the uh volatility in 2023 uh treasuries uh certainly were a good place for a large portion of the portfolio usually there's a flight to Quality which means money does flow into treasuries at that point um asset back Securities corporates so again you can see you're very well Diversified and in the lower right quadrant that's just a a different visual of your duration distribution and again you can see the uh majority of the portfolio is very liquid now from a compliance standpoint sector allocation analytics the great port of the bar indicates the maximum levels permitted by your investment policy the blue shaded region would be where you were allocated as of December 31st so just a quick takeaway we have a very healthy buffer between where you're allocated and the limits of your investment policy so you're in great shape from a compliance standpoint uh the other compliance slide would be Max maturity analytics and again the gray portion of the bar would indicate the maximum maturity for each of those sectors within the fixed income space the blue shaded region would essentially be the average maturity for each of those positions that you would have there so again from a compliance standpoint great shape across the board the next two slides really just a a great bird's eye view of the overall Holdings of the portfolio you can see on the left slide the security type and in the middle portion you can see what percentage that each of those comprise of the overall portfolio and then ratings from S&P Moody and Fitch so just a great overall reference for the Holdings in the portfolio as of that date now the slide that you're probably most concerned about if we look at performance uh just in the fourth quarter you can see the portfolio had a positive Return of 2.64% the Benchmark was at a 2.49 so we had a healthy outperformance Over The Benchmark if we take a look at the last 12 months which as a calendar year review you can see the portfolio had a positive Return of 4.9% the Benchmark was at a 4.27% so again very healthy outperformance Over The Benchmark and if we look a little bit further out three years five years and over the last 10 years we've had healthy outperformance Over The Benchmark so um from a a strategy standpoint and performance we're doing very well the one thing that I'll point out if you look right below the bar chart where basically it's labeled as market value basis earnings you can see the interest earned that was just in the fourth quarter and change in market value so the total dollar return just in the fourth quarter uh almost 700,000 so uh pretty significant with the volatility that we we did experience any questions on the portfolio other than that I'll kind of give a broad overview on the market the economy and what we anticipate going forward thank you I just have a quick comment um it's really interesting how the the the durations are are so short and a lot of investment and government paper it's the safest place to be and the returns are pretty darn good it's just an interesting time in in the markets right we can thank the inverted yield curve for that right now [Laughter] absolutely that's all thanks thank you so just taking a look at the uh the current market themes uh just give a broad overview uh the economy in general very strong across the board no matter what indicators that we're currently monitoring inflation is cooling off regardless of the economic indicator that we are tracking uh tomorrow will actually be a pretty significant day the personal consumption expenditure number comes out in the morning it's kind of ironic that uh the market will be closed but so we'll probably have to wait until till Monday to see what the reaction to that is uh but for the most part uh you're going to hear the term sticky inflation or stubborn inflation and that's primarily the Consumer Price Index it's continuing to hover around 3% for about the last three months so until that actually breaks below that 3% barrier you'll probably continue to hear that uh label the personal consumption expenditure number the last reading we had on that was 2.8% that's actually pretty significant because that is the main indicator that the FED monitors and uh historically they would like to see that at 2% so we are trending in the right direction slowly but surely uh labor market continues to be very strong uh the most recent job numbers uh we did see the unemployment rate tick up to 3.9% uh which the has been very transparent that they're comfortable allowing that to get to the low 4% to Mid 4% range so uh we're still well within their comfort zone there uh the Federal Reserve that's basically where the volatility began in December uh the FED pivoted at that time which basically means uh they came out they were very transparent that they were going to change their strategy in 2024 they did did release their updated Dot Plot and that was actually showing that there were going to be three rate Cuts totaling 75 basis points for the calendar year the market at that time was much more aggressive they were pricing in at least six rate cuts which that has changed quite a bit since then but uh again the fed and chairman Powell have stated even most recently they do still anticipate to cut rates this calendar year by 75 basis points so the you will see the short end of the curve uh pretty much move lock and step with the FED funds rate uh being cut and outside of that I'll basically give you an idea with uh treasuries and the volatility that we looked at just in November and December uh this is basically just a chart of the 2-year treasury yield that's fairly uh volatile when it comes to economic indicators and commentary from the Federal Reserve uh just looking at three specific dates you can see November 14th the CPI came in uh cooler than expected which is a positive it came in lower than expectations you can see the 2-year treasury actually dropped 20 basis points on that specific day and then the last week of November that's when the FED came out and basically uh explain that their strategy was going to be changing in the calendar year 2024 you can see it dropped another 41 basis points that week and then December 13th that's when the FED actually came out with their updated Dot Plot and you can see that dropped another 30 basis points yields have recovered quite a bit since then uh as I'll show you when we get to the yield curve again just taking a look at Consumer Price Index gives you a good visual on inflation if we look at May of 2022 you can see that we actually peaked out well above 9% and then we've had a slow and steady uh decline which certainly is a positive and currently we're hovering the most recent reading in February was 3.2% so again we just continue to Trend within that 3.1 3.2% range uh GDP again just another indication of how strong the economy is you can see in the third quarter we actually had a reading well above expectations that was 4.9% a bit of a anomaly from a historical standpoint uh in the fourth quarter we've had two estimates so far but uh the expectation is actually for 2.6% and the most recent reading that we had there is 3.3 so again for the calendar year 2023 GDP was above 3% so a very strong year for the economy uh this particular slide would be well it it was the most recent Dot Plot as of December 31st but the FED has released their most recent updated Dot Plot but each of those dots would represent a member of the Federal Reserve where they anticipate the FED funds rate to be and you can see that we as we get further out on the curve the timeline 2025 2026 you can see that essentially most of the members of the FED anticipate as to be in that 2% range which is the target level for them uh basically just taking a look at the inverted yield curve uh this has now been the longest period of time that we have actually been uh experiencing an inverted yield curve it's been great for the shortterm funds as as you mentioned uh but you can see the light blue dotted line that was actually as of the end of the third quarter of 2023 and the dark blue line below that was actually the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 so you can see the differential there um if we look at the 2-year uh as of December 31st we were showing 4.25% that's actually rebounded quite a bit it's actually up to 4.62% as of this morning if we look at the 10year uh uh as of December 31st it was 3.88 and the tenure right now is a little bit over 4.22 so uh yields have come back quite a bit and from a visual aspect once the FED does start to cut rates you're going to see the short end of the curve that 12 Monon in under time frame you're going to start to see that drop uh rather significantly as we move forward and that's also why we're from a strategy standpoint we're looking a little bit further out on the curve now uh to be proactive rather than reactive and some more positive news just in the fourth quarter if we take a look at the left portion this would be the 1 to threeyear index which would be your benchmark you can see regardless of the sector in the fixed income space we had positive returns across the board and then over the last 12 months to the right part of the slide uh much more attractive returns as well so um in summary 2023 was uh even though we had quite a bit of volatility we were able to na navigate and put up some strong returns and I believe those would be the prepared remarks I have I'll be happy to answer any questions or address any concerns if you have any thank you that was a great synopsis of 36 slides tried not to make it painful so yeah really interesting and informative um any questions comments from the board um thank you thank you for the presentation this morning um apparently um we're in good shape and strong strong um position within the district so um I appreciate that you presentation and the time that you did it in so it's it's our pleasure thank you thank you anyone else sure I I too just wanted to say thank you I we are well Diversified but in the right places and so that that's what matters the most and that we're seeing the growth where we to see it and we're not taking the losses where losses are occurring so um just continued grateful for the partnership that we have had through the years because I know this this isn't just like an overnight relationship that we've built with your uh company so uh thank you for for continuing to ensure that we are in a great financial position with our investments and trust me it's much more enjoyable for me to give the presentation with positive numbers sure rather than the negative numbers that we were looking well we're economy wise we are in a a good financial position right now it's just kind of the way markets are obviously if if things they're it's continuing to be volatile we'll just have to wait and see what happens it is it is ironic that numbers are coming out tomorrow whenever markets are closed and so we'll see how Market responds to that but um overall just continue to be grateful for the work that you're doing I I know this isn't the same as like private sector investment and so that's where sometimes people get confused that the things that we are unable to invest in from legal standpoint and you know what uh with government funding and so forth but um what we are able to do you have done a fine job with ensuring that we're in a good position so thank you yes uh board member James uh I just wanted to say thank you this is I don't speak this language at all this is my my husband's side of the house in my house so um I appreciate having experts put us in the right position um and it all looks wonderful so thank you thank you and I'll just did you have something no just thank you again we appreciate the work and the time that you put into doing moving us forward absolutely we're very appreciative of your continued trust in us so it's been a pleasure yes it's it's a great relationship and to be blessed with an award-winning finance department for over 20 years and also uh the relationship that we have with you uh you know other districts um have gotten themselves into trouble financially and and I would never want to be falsely accused of of mismanagement of any kind of funds so actually your presentation today is is very well timed it is confirmation that we're very much on on the right track and doing all we can do to uh protect are we taxpayers money so thanks again appreciate it thank you all good we're good I think that's it okay public com thank you very much yes unless there's any public comment all right hearing none all right board what's your pleasure should we roll into the okay go it ready to move on yes okay wonderful shorter than expected right so I am pleased to have Miss wanisha Morant um um who oversees our human resources department as executive director and board just as a reminder this will be about the central office staffing plan because it's all we the district we're all the district um and also as a reminder that with the conclusion of those eser dollars uh the focus that I um asked and and tasked the team with was protecting the schools with the positions so you will see those adjustments at central office but we we invested and kept um as many positions as we could at the schools that was our priority and we have a reduction of positions in central office to do that thank you thank you Dr gullet good morning Miss Morant good morning thank you and good morning Dr gullet and good morning chair Thor thrower board members as Dr gullet mentioned I'll be sharing the proposed 20242 central office staffing plan as a note I did email board members last night an updated Staffing plan that included page numbers for ease of our conversation this morning the addition of the page numbers was the only change to the Staffing plan that was updated to board dos last week um in addition um I there's going to be an addition of an instructional position in ESC which was mistakenly omitted from the posted um update of the Staffing plan this position will serve as the gifted Lead Teacher and will be included on the Staffing plan presented to the board for approval at the April board meeting the high take that off the highlevel proposed changes to the central office staffing plan include changing the name of communications and Community engagement Department to governmental and community relations and the student assessment Department to assessment accountability and research these title changes align more closely to the work of the respective departments there are five administrative positions that have been removed there are also several non-administrative positions that have been removed and or downgraded last year during this work session board members asked Dr gullet along with the team to review secretary position positions and the allocation of secretaries to directors within the district beginning with the 2425 school year as secretary positions become vacant an internal review will be done to determine how directors can share secretaries you will notice the first example of this with the public relations and professional leadership and learning departments who will share one secretary beginning January I'm sorry July 1st you will also notice that there are seever several positions listed as vacant unfunded these are positions that will be initially unfunded for the 2425 school year however if the need arises during the year the position will then be funded and posted lastly as a result of various construction projects in the very near future a construction inspector position is being added for the 2425 school year the proposed PL plan represents an overall decrease of 28 positions this is made up of five administrative positions .5 from the superintendent area 18.5 from curriculum and instruction and four from operations uh that is all I have Dr gullet I'll turn it back over to you thank you m Mar great summary um board we're open for questions anything you have thank you thank you Dr gullet who would like to lead us off go ahead I just have a quick remark so um I know that we all got briefed on this individually and so I just want to applaud the work of the team to recognize that this priority from this board member was to protect the positions at schools what I knew was that we had infused resources to our school sites and those resources along with a lot of other work has shown in the dat to be working across the district schools are improving we're a b district and so as we entered into this conversation um it was very important to me that we were able to preserve those resources on the campuses because what I see in the data source supports that those resources are supporting student achievement and I know that it takes an entire district and every single piece of the puzzles uh intercal to to getting us where we need to be but being a former school-based employee myself I find the most value in what we're doing on our campuses and so I am grateful for being able to maintain every single Sesser funded position that we had at schools and I applaud the team's work for prioritizing that and I do believe that we're going to continue to fine-tune this this plan over the next couple of years as we let the dust settle from having the Infuse of so much money and we will make sure that we meet every Department's needs um but I think this is a great starting place to get us to protect School Staffing plans and do what's needed to be done at the district so I don't really have any questions or comments I just want to say thank you for your tireless work because I know that there was many a late night and many hours put into this so thank you thank you board member James um sure I'll go ahead Vice chair um thank you also I want to say thank you to the team um I really can't say it any better than Dr James just shared um thankful for the work that you all have done keeping our positions um uh firming up our schools you know staff-wise and so I'm very thankful for that I do have a a question that I just want to have a little discussion on really um to relieve some tension that might be out there um at our schools and so thank you also Miss Jones has spoken with me this week and Miss Brant thank you to for you to you too um as we're losing a program specialist in the gifted Department correct that's correct um can you just share with us how that work is going to continue um so that staff members know they're still going to be supported in that area and to answer that I will need to defer to Miss Williams Jones absolutely that's her area here she comes she's ready for me that's right that's right she's ready for me good morning Miss Williams Jones good morning good morning good morning superintendent gullet chair thrower and board members um to be very transparent um this has been a real work in progress to ensure that the supports remain to our students across areas um but as we look at gifted services and supports the support to teachers this support for our students with curriculum um providing enrichment opportunity those supports will not change in looking at how the supports were provided and the person who will be providing those supports the change is in the position from program specialist to Lead Teacher for gifted and so we will be looking to uh move forward that position so that those supports can continue um it has been very clear in my short tenure here that enhancement and growth of gifted services and supports as a priority area uh for the board and when we look at the Strategic plan which focuses on Student Success um appropriately identifying students for supports through gifted education as well as providing appropriate enrichment opportunities for those students who are academically talented but may not qualify for the gifted program um are still a critical area when we look at gifted itself we know that gifted occurs and about 3% of the population when we're looking at statistics only and so I think in enhancing the um goal one of the Strategic plan we're really looking to expand those opportunities to include those students who may be underrepresented uh in the gifted area and so all of that work will still continue and we will still have direct support at the school level with the gifted Le teacher as well as support at the gifted level at the district level through the ESC uh administrative staff that remains in place thank you and and I know that as you stated that 3% and that sounds like a small number but as we all know when you talk about um gifted and ese there's a lot of paperwork that goes with that and there's a lot of laws and management that we we are required to stay up to date so I just want to ensure that um whatever training and updates you know we provide for our program Specialists that this lead teacher has that same opportunity there's just it's a small population but there's a lot of responsibility and I'm bringing I really am bringing this up because there are areas not in public schools um but in other schools in Marian County that are really struggling with this particular piece because they don't have someone in that position and so I want to ensure that our 3% of gifted students we have and also we've adopted a universal gifted screener so we look for our numbers to increase that we're just able to meet the needs um of our students at each school we will definitely be able to do that because that will be the primary focus of the gifted Lead Teacher uh when we look at the responsibilities that are necessary to support in the area of gifting education uh the reality is is that it did not need a more administrative position to be able to do that and so in looking at the goal overall of where fiscally we could be more responsive this still allows us to provide the same level of service and support to our gifted students and our gifted programs thank you very much Mrs Jones I appreciate you thank you thank you Vice chair um board member Campbell thank you uh and I appreciate the conversations we've had thus far on this because I have lots of questions having two gifted children myself and a high achiever that's not classified as gifted and I was a gifted student myself so this is a passion uh for me to ensure that um my number is about 5% actually of our student body I'm seeing 2200 some odd students I believe that either are currently gifted or found eligible in our waiting lists and um so while we say 3% I I think it's actually a little closer to at least at least four and a half um percent right now currently um based on the numbers that I've seen you're correct it's actually 4.4% for the district so when I referenced 3% I was really looking at statistically you look at IQs of 130 or higher that's about 3% of the population but it has been the work of the board to expand opportunities for students who are not don't necessarily pass the eye test for gifted to be included with things like the gifted screener so you are correct that is why we do reflect a larger number than that 3% that is included in the students in Marian County that are receiving gifted services and supports understood so I guess my question first of all I'm I'm online right now looking for the job description for a Lead Teacher because I'm sure I'm I'm curious to know where that falls on the salary schedule as well as what that job responsibility actually looks like maybe it's there maybe I'm looking under the wrong title but I'm curious to know what that looks like because obviously if we are replacing a program specialist and we know what that looks like and I have questions about all the program Specialists having one job description because they all do very very different things Miss Morant knows I'm I'm y'all know I'm a job description stickler when it comes to that so I am curious to know what that looks like as far as the current duties and responsibilities that our program specialist has had I'll give an example uh we have professional development that's currently occurring under this program specialist that is uh ensuring that our gifted teachers have that support from professional development and all the Myriad of things that they are are teaching in addition to uh helping potential teachers receive gifted certifications that kind of thing so I'm assuming that's just going to be taken off that plate alog together from the Lead Teacher because that would not be a responsibility of the Lead Teacher that's kind of a question so miss Morant can join me as when we look at and this is my understanding and she is the HR expert when we look at instructional positions there is an instructional job description I don't know that there are specifications among that I think there is some confusion perhaps um and when we look at our program Specialists and the responsibilities that they have um because typically that is instructional support along whatever that continum may be so for the gifted program specialist it has been providing supports with EPs and uh professional learning to uh support teachers with gifted endorsement and things of that nature moving that to an instructional position doesn't necessarily um mean that we need to remove any of those responsibilities because we can um determine the best fit of the job responsibilities for the person in in that position under the instructional umbrella so uh it's not like it has moved from an administrative position to now an instructional position because I understand that technically program Specialists are not instructional but when you look at the qualifications for program Specialists it doesn't require certain levels of AD leadership or Advanced degree so the person in those roles often are consistent with our instructional stat with Advanced degrees so I think it's really looking specifically at what we need this person to do and those are things that we will be ironing out through HR and other conversations before that position is actually posted and filled so we can anticipate a new job description for a gifted Lead Teacher I will defer to miss Morant for that because it's something we currently don't have so I mean that when we this board has approved previous new positions in a district Staffing plan it's because we currently don't have a job description for said position so this does sound like especially since it's not even in black and white right now and I know that the oversight occurred and you you uh spelled that out verbally but uh as we look to a new position called A Gifted Lead Teacher can we anticipate having a new job description for the said person if if so miss I'm Sorry Miss Williams Jones answered the question perfectly right now for instructional position positions they're under that instructional um umbrella if it is warranted that this needs to be a completely separate position then like we did last year once the actual Staffing plan is approved for the position if it is approved then we would work towards with the union with HR with the ESC department and crafting an appropriate job description if that's what is is needed but I think Miss Williams Jones and it's similar to what we shared last year was able to to spell out the responsibilities of that position okay so that was not an answer of yes so I I'll just take that as it's still a work in progress and at this point this board hasn't necessarily approved that to occur which is okay that's fine so because again we don't have it in black and white so whenever the time comes for us to vote on it then then we will um I I think I have additional questions on the current position has been used to fill some voids because we don't have the number of gifted endorsed teachers in the district that we potentially do need with nearly 5% of our student population needing these services so uh will this gifted Lead Teacher be based in one school and one school alone or will this gifted Lead Teacher actually have the ability to be moving around when the need occurs so the gifted Lead Teacher will be part of the district team uh an exceptional student education and we will be able to utilize that person to fill in and and support schools as needed so some of that support may be direct classroom support and services to students some of that support will be helping Uh current teachers to build and establish classrooms um it will continue to be um working with uh leadership and exceptional Ed and Psychological Services to conduct a gifted screening so it really will still allow us to continue the supports that we have been providing thus far okay so I think you answered my next question uh which was going to be will this position remain under exceptional student education because my understanding was there was at least a conversation within the last 12 to 18 months that the position actually would be moved to the senior executive director of acceleration Innovation and elementary educa elementary curriculum because so much of what gifted is while it is an exceptionality and it is an ese classified so much of what those students are needing is acceleration Andor Innovation So based on what you just said the position will remain in ese though that was different than what we were I think considering in the previous time so to my knowledge the position is not being moved now is that a conversation that may be up for discussion at a later date um that's definitely possible but my plan moving forward does have the gifted Lee teacher as part of the exceptional student education uh uh department and plan and my goal is to support that moving forward okay and the gifted lead teachers responsibility at least one of them will be the gifted screener that is implemented throughout schools across the district absolutely okay um I I think that will conclude my question specific to that right now but I reserve the right to potentially ask additional questions I I will say and this is just a blank statement in general before we move on from here the unfortunate and this is individual board members U position the unfortunate situation of what we've received here with this 133-page document is we don't have it broken down by department so it is it while we have it broken down by these are all the directors and these are all the the these are all the secretaries and it's difficult for me as an individual board member to say this department includes these categories these people and I'm also missing and I know you did say it verbally but at the end the actual plus minus of and I know we are this is a deduction I understand that but similar to a deductive change order that we see from facilities actually seeing a dollar amount associated with said deduction that individual board member that would have been incredibly helpful for me to say okay not only are we you know reclassifying changing these positions we have the reduction in what used to be Esser we already knew that was happening but the um introduction of these new positions into the DSF this reduction out of the DSF and what that looks like not only from a position standpoint total but also from a financial standpoint those are two things that personally I see missing in this particular document but I'm don't know that we could have those before we approve those or if I'm the only board member that would like to see it that way um but those two things specifically with not being able to see by department is making it challenging just like the question I just asked asked I I potentially would have been able to to have that question answered differently and and asked it directly as to why the position might not be an acceleration Innovation Elementary curriculum when um it's staying in ese so those are just blanket I'm sure I'll have additional questions thank you thank you board member Campbell um Vice chair Conan Dr goet did you have something to share um yes thank you for the questions and comments as far board I I think it's important to just say again a reminder the board establishes the what superintendent establishes the how and we are committed to the Strategic plan I personally wrote in the Universal screening I have personal and professional experience throughout my career in life with gifted education it is a passion of mine and a commitment of mine as a superintendent I think we have a very capable director um in front of us with both School experience and state experience and I have full confidence that how this work happens it will get done done for our students thank you thank you Dr gullet okay I do I do have one more question and really it's just a clarifying question for me so I can better understand what the responsibilities will be um so procedurally will this person um have to be at every Staffing you know throughout the district like who who will moderate or run the meetings when a new student is assigned to gifted so the gifted teacher can actually host the um EP meeting with the parent in order to sign uh to get them enrolled in into the program but that is part of a larger Staffing typically so you will have um either the Lead Teacher or an ESC specialist supporting the uh completion of the paperwork and but the gifted teacher for that unit um probably in conjunction with the uh the Lead Teacher will have created the goals um for the EP and then the parent has the ability to give consent for services in the program so it's typically a combination of folks who are involved in the eligibility process and players can change depending on the school but the gifted Lead Teacher will obviously facilitate getting to that point but they may not have to be involved in every single meeting because we have a lot lot of meetings um to look at gifted eligibility and we have meetings for students who are eligible and ineligible and so just to give you some some short-term numbers as we have completed um the screenings uh and assessments from last spring there were uh 100 students um that have been evaluated recently uh for eligibility into the gifted program and so when we look at 100 evaluations that means 100 meetings uh and looking at eligibility from those 100 um we have about 42 of those students that will be moving on for services in the program but again that still generates 100 meetings so we have to have a system where schools are empowered to conduct some of those meetings and where necessary there's additional District support for those meetings okay thank you so I don't think that current it's being done that way correct so the a program specialist has been there to initiate and run the meeting is my understanding and so moving forward I just and I'm just sharing with you I have a lot of friends who are gifted endorsed and they're teaching gifted and the meetings are run with someone else is leading the meeting so it provides um a moment for me to pause and make sure that as we look at um this restructuring a little bit that we are also providing um the amount of training and support for our teachers if they are going to be in charge of leading these meetings as they come forward because as my as I understand that's not currently what's happening and so again for a point of clarification it's not the program specialist role that allows them to assist in any of the activities that they have been engaging in it is the expectation of the supports that are needed in our gifted programs so a change of the title does not change the work and we will ensure that the person in the role has the appropriate qualifications one of those is going to be gifted endorsement um to be able to support the work that needs to be done and making sure that our gifted programs are not um impacted negatively in any way by the change but it is not because there is a program specialist in the role it is because there have been a set of identified tasks for how gifted programs are supported and we will continue to do that and and I understand that and I appreciate you explaining that to me I just as um let's see as it sounds that the structure of the meetings is still going to change some because and so what I want to ensure is that we have the proper training for now our teachers as their role may change because they're obviously already at all of these meetings and they probably could run the meeting in an emergency situation today but that hasn't been the ask from us before and so I just think it's important if it was me and I going into a meeting and my role has changed that we are providing that kind of support for our instructional staff for our gifted teachers as well so I didn't know do we have training um planned for that group of set that set of teachers so we will have um additional training throughout because I think part of what we also want to see with cross trainining for our gifted teachers is the ability for them to collaborate more with our Genet teachers so we can expand on those opportunities for excellence and um educational advancement and rigor for our students who are in Jed but we know could use that so that is um another area of training and expansion but also we have ESC Specialists that are assigned to every school and our ESC Specialists are experts in handling various paperwork that is required for all of our programs under the exceptional student education umbrella so there are a number of ways that we have folks who can push in to support to ensure that our meetings are handled appropriately and depending on the volume we've just kicked off the screenings for this fall and as you know it is every elementary school as opposed to the 10 that were piloted last year it is going to be all hands on deck because we are going to identify a lot of students who are going to move forward for the assessment process and then require a meeting whether that to say yes to gifted services or to say you have a really right child but they quite meet the criteria and so that is going to require that we look at the structure of how we have our meetings and there will be more information um provided to schools to support how we can be efficient in making sure that we do that in a timely manner thank you I appreciate that and just to be transparent um you know just a few years back being in the classroom and um with the support we have it was very tight timeline and and get through this process um in the timeline that's required and so I just again want to ensure that we have what we need in place to support our our teachers and our staff members so they can get this job that's growing and I'm excited that it's growing um as we identify more and more students but just we that we have the supports in place to to do the work so thank you very much I'm sorry didn't mean to ask you a million questions at just at the school level I I just it's really important to me that we're providing um the training and the support to get our students the um additional services that they need so thank you very much you're very welcome thank you Vice chair board member James just as a I'm not gonna ask you any questions just as a point of clarification as she said every site has an ESC specialist assigned to it that supports in eligibility meetings and annual reviews and every other meeting that exists for ESC in addition I personally participated in a meeting where the gift teacher led the meeting there was no e there was no it was the it was the Gifted teacher and the counselor so what I know is that supports have certainly been applied in certain places and then you get incredibly comfortable with those supports being applied and it becomes the way of work and that's wonderful um if it's necessary but what I know is that there is a an amazing capability for for this to shift if needed I saw it witnessed it with my own eyes and it's absolutely possible so and furthermore none of this is attached to program specialist and or instructional we're talking about a a position that's going to continue to support the department as needed and meet our teachers and our students where they are to make sure that they have everything they need but this is this is absolutely occurring right now today there are eligibility meetings being held with gifted lead teachers leading the meetings that is happening every single single day or a lot of days in throughout the district and there are ESC Specialists on campuses to support and facilitating those meetings if necessary so um I I guess I just felt compelled to explain that I have lived that experience so it is absolutely happening you thank you board member James bless your coming and and thank you Dr James for that I appreciate it but and even though it may be happening on some campuses it's not happening on all campuses and so I'm concerned that we have support for all campuses um I do have another quick question so at Jones and madis Madison Street and 8 street they have an ESC specialist yes every school in the district has every single one sometimes and I I just clarify because sometimes every school is stated and there's a few that are not included um because their population can be different so thank you for that clarification I appreciate it you're welcome thank you V comrade board member Campbell sure thank you and not ignoring you oh sorry did you did you want to jump in here okay I'm sorry um so as you say we have ESC Specialists on every campus and ESC Specialists are intended to also be gifted endorsed is that accurate No so the role of the ESC specialist is to manage any of the paperwork that is required under idea and then gifted programs to ensure that we are in compliance with getting consents holding eligibility meetings and completing the plans that are required for the various programs okay so but if they are not trained and gifted and or gifted endorsed as we know gifted isn't funded through idea so just ensuring that the we're talking apples to apples here that the people who actually are sitting in these meetings and who potentially are on each campus are actually able to support the students that have the need of gifted services that that's I'm just curious about that so when you look at the eligibility meeting the players that are at the table are not necessarily the same players who are going to provide services and supports the role of the ESC specialist in the meeting would be to ensure that we are in compliance with delivering parents their rights that we have an EP that the teacher will present and provide to the parents and ensuring that all documentation is completed so that the student is accurately staffed into the program that is the role that would be the same role that the program Specialist or the gifted Lead Teacher would have in that meeting if they are supporting the eligibility process so there are a couple of different processes that are at play it does not require that someone be gifted endorsed in order to support the actual eligibility meeting because that is more about compliance than service okay uh and I'm going to go back to the professional development question that I asked previously and in part some similar to some of what Vice chair Conrad has already alluded to So based on the numbers of students again that we have that are impacted and the numbers of actual gifted endorsed teachers that we have in our schools while Dr James expressed that we have gifted endorsed teachers that are sitting in on those meetings it it appears that we are certainly lacking the numbers of gifted endorsed teachers specifically at middle and high school and as a parent again of students that and acceleration programs in high school I have not seen necessarily that gifted idea of how their education is being delivered and or how their services are needed so I just wanted to express a question in the professional development and the numbers of gifted endorsed teachers and what the goal of the district is to have gift more gifted endorsed teachers as well as how we see this new Lead Teacher supporting all teachers in what gifted instruction looks like so those are a lot of questions and so to be honest with you the gifted model um that the district has in place um right now um does not delineate a lot for secondary and the reality is that when you have IB programs and you have Cambridge programs and you have AP opportunities and you have dual enrollment opportunities the number of students who choose to be purely in gifted classes at the secondary level changes because there are other opportunities to them which provide greater benefit such as college credit and those things outside of a high school to prepare for their post-secondary outcomes so if restructuring to look at offering more Pur purely gifted um classes in middle and high school is a request of the board than I think that would require that we look at the data um and and do some needs assessments to determine how we would expand in that way because honestly at secondary there is competition for those students who may be identified as gifted because the options are so great when we look at training and training is a passion of mine across um any of the programs of exceptional student education because I think that in order to give our students our best we have to make sure that we're continually providing that support for our teachers so as we look at this summer I had shared with many of you when we met that there is an opportunity for two days of training uh under the ESC umbrella this summer the training dates will be June 18th and 19th and when we look at those training opportunities they will be for students uh for teachers who are in under the gened um outside of the house as well as our ESC teachers as well as our par professionals and so gifted enhancements and opportunities I'm working closely with Fiddlers and they provide a lot of the gifted endorsement courses that our teachers are available um to take so they will be partnering with me um as well as other state discretionary project as well as some outside entities to provide two full days of training and supports in the es Arena and I believe that um there will be opportunities for our gifted teachers to participate and have opportunities for professional learning during that time as well okay thank you um you're welcome just one clarification there and this is just an individual parental perspective and while I understand and what we're talking about right now may appear that we are delving into the how this will be delivered it is this board's responsibility not only to ensure that we are financially responsible and we do know that there are dollars that come associated with gifted students because they're classified as gifted we do know that that occurs as well as it is this board's responsibility to approve any new job descriptions if there is one to come in addition to us approving this District Staffing plan so while this kind of may seem like we're in the Weeds on the how I think all of it is pertinent conversation but the last last thing that I'll State again from a parental perspective um is at the high school level that just because we have acceleration opportunities for students and they might be participating in those IB AP Ace curriculum just stating that is enough doesn't say we're actually catering to the gifted mind because just because they're in acceleration may not mean they're actually receiving everything that they fully need because their giftedness may not be in whatever they're forced to take because of those said curriculums so again I believe further professional development for all Educators to understand the difference in a gifted mind versus just a high achieving learner would be incredibly impactful and that's what this board member would love to see in the future and I hope that I did not state that because those opportunities were available that gifted was not necessary I believe my intention was to state that because those opportunities are available there is a lot of competition and that many students choose those Pathways so I just want to provide clarification that no absolutely that is what you said there is competition there but I do believe there would be a benefit to even those instructors in those Advanced curriculum courses to understand that their gifted students are going to adapt and approach those classes differently than their High Achievers and I think there is a bit of discrepancy frankly in The District in how those those Educators potentially are impacting education for those high schoolers and those Advanced programs thank you thank you um very spirited discussion it's it's great conversation and I think it illustrates uh the challenges of serving um Splinter groups of of students you know uh we have a population of students that are just out of this world you know um in terms of of unique capabilities and in my years I've seen that across the whole spectrum of functioning level and it reminds me of the um painting Dr gullet that you shared yesterday at the Joint meeting I know exactly who that student is I know that student's story and to have that opportunity from a fantastic art teacher to be able to express in that way um is everything that's great about this district and so as we continue to navigate through this um there there are a lot of questions um having been an ESC specialist myself I do know that um the gifted meetings can take on a very different tone especially if you're telling a parent no um that their child just doesn't meet criteria you want to as a as a specialist store as that gifted teacher to have some background and some preparation to be able to have those conversations challenging or celebratory um and so I feel like that's kind of what I'm hearing uh just wanting to make sure these students are incredibly well served because obviously we're here to help every student succeed and also making sure that within the changes which is never comfortable for a lot of people um that there is that feeling like okay you know I know what I'm going to be walking into here it's not going to be just speech um you know we've got this so uh yes thank you um board member Cummings thank you um Miss Jones Miss Mor thank y'all because y'all just got grilled on a staffing plan we were dealing with a staffing plan and y'all got grilled about ESC and and gifted and while I I appreciate I truly appreciate um the passion that my board members have because of their experiences because of their profession I too have experience in the ESC Department as well however we we supposed to be dealing with a staffing plan this morning and when we have dived too far into this instead of dealing with the Staffing plan we need to we need to make sure as a board and I board I'm not cond I'm not chastising anybody I'm just saying we need to make sure that we give them what they're needing to provide those services to those gifted kids or to those kids that are ES e that are have different challenges across the Spectrum so I'm I understand the questions I definitely understand everything that we're we're saying but as a board we're supposed to make sure that they have the the necessary resources to do what they're doing they they present the Staffing plan it's almost like we tried to some of the questions were seemed like they were trying to dismantle manle this or add something to it so I'm I'm kind of I'm kind of puzzled guys I'm just kind of puzzled where we are sure board M coming um I think that to clear up a little bit um first of all it's nothing new that this board uh goes deep you know we we have a lot of passion we have a lot of questions while it may seem um interrogatory if I said that right uh it's that's truly it would never be my intention and and I would expect that to be the same um from the rest of of the board um and also too it comes from and not every board member gets the same phone calls you know and emails from uh in the trenches so to speak and so when there is concern uh we do try to get those to to Dr gullet and then and also a lot of times directly to you guys so that you understand what we're being faced with because then we have to come back around and you know provide facts reassure you know um be part of of this continued uh striving you know to make things better across the board and and I know for years that there's been areas where fantastic teachers have taken on way more and they're familiar with it and that goes great so great for that school and then there's other schools where the person's just been thrown into it and that is nothing that we ever want to see happen um any of us you know we all want to be prepared so I I I believe that that is the spirit and the intent of this board that whenever there's going to be a staffing plan presented there is going to be um a lot of questions and I truly respect and admire um both of your expertise and uh how you're able to relate to us in in our passion it's it's really helpful it's it's these kinds of conversations that even though they can get awkward at certain points in the end it it it moves us forward um we are matching in in our passion and our spirit and Our intention I believe um so I just wanted to share that with you because it feels like sometimes the firing line and and um yeah and that's not certainly what we want or and I would ever want you know as as as the chair it's just deep stuff yes certainly and and thank you chair and thank you for that comment Reverend Cummings I believe we'll all remember that this same meeting last year is why we have an ESC director because this conversation was was quite heated last year and the original District Staffing plan recommended to us did not include an ESC director if we all remember that distinctly so it's not foreign for this board to have heated conversations about this very department so I'm sorry that you happen to be taking the brunt of my questions and my passion uh but I'm also not sorry for the passion so um grateful for that I do have additional questions on the Staffing plan that actually are unrelated to ese so I don't know if we're ready to move on to additional questions I said what I had to say I'm good um I just want to say thank you uh Miss Williams Jones you took time with me this week explaining things to me and really um chair thrower explained my personally um school I worked out with for many years um I've been in this District many years and so there were many calls a and um as you know sometimes it's hard to keep morale High um and for people to feel appreciated and supported and so having this conversation publicly as well as privately help School staff understand where we're headed what their responsibilities are the supports that they're going to be receiving and so I by any means did not mean to um make you uncomfortable or put you in a trying spot and I do appreciate all the time that you've spent helping us understand the position and um where we're headed so thank you thank you all right um so we're ready to move off that particular uh job title and then I think you had another question um so specifically on page seven on second okay sorry thank you again Miss Jones I appreciate that CA uh I really appreciate uh um that what you guys went through sometimes I'm just saying this to our to our to our team we are a great board but sometimes some how we ask these questions and how we demand answers it it looks like we're jumping on our staff and these are we're on we're all on the same team so I don't want you to walk away saying good God what what's going on we're all on the same team and we're all working for the same goals so I appreciate what you guys just did thank you good deal all right let's move on sure thank you page seven of this document um it appears that under our custodians that the numbers have changed but they're not in read and so I'm just curious if that was an oversight or if I'm reading the numbers incorrectly you're reading the numbers correctly it was a correction so there it really should have been 288 however we still reflected that 283 number because that what is what was on the 2324 but when we went in to actually evaluate the positions the actual number that was really there was 242 to 26 26.5 and 19.5 so there really was not a difference from year to year but we wanted to acknowledge the correction okay so there's no need for them to be in red because we're not actually changing the number correct we're just correcting the document correcting the document correct that helps me on that particular discrepancy I I have had a conversation with Dr gullet briefly and just wanted to have a a conversation specifically about grounds operations and grounds crew Landscaping that kind of and I'm I'm assuming that there hasn't been a recommendation for any additional support there uh but from this board seat I I would like for us to potentially not this year but in the future look to what the amount of acreage is that we actually are supporting we do a really good job of talking about seven plus million square feet under roof that our HVAC technicians are having to maintain but we don't talk about the acreage Andor the number of fields specifically athletic fields that a particular one employee might uh be responsible for sprinkler heads and I I've had recent conversation with athletic directors who are just struggling with weed control and and moles in their outfields of their um baseball and softball fields so I I just this gave me an ample opportunity to just take a look and say wow we only have one person doing that across the entire District and so I I think it would be helpful for us potentially not this year but since that recommendation hasn't come out of that department for that request I just would like to publicly say I think it gives us ample opportunity to look at specifically what those responsibilities are of some of those employees that are specifically maintaining the outdoor spaces on our campuses which is more than just mowing the lawn and specifically when we have those outward-facing Community involving locations like our athletic fields potentially additional attention should be paid to those and as we add an e8th High School in the next two years I would see the need for us to certainly increase a position there and or change a job description to have a specific person responsible for some of that um outward information the only other thing that I wanted to mention while we're talking District Staffing plan is um this board was very passionate I Believe last year about ensuring that we had nursing and we started hiring nursing I don't see an increase there recommended uh the district-based nurses there are still nine and then School psychologists there are 23 so those are two areas we had passionate discussion about in the past and I don't see any recommendation for increasing that and I was anticipating that we would try to get to a level that for nursing that we would certainly have more than one to three one to four schools and then School psychologists potentially more than a one to two on our schools and I didn't see that increase and I didn't know if there was conversation about that or if we're just comfortable where those numbers are okay so thank you for your comments your first one relating to the grounds keeper I will definitely um a made note and I will follow up with Miss Dobbins but I would like to say um as a team um starting with the Dr gullet and then all everyone on leadership executive cabinet the request to departments as we've stated before the primary goal or the main goal was to ensure that our schools received the staff they need and they were able to maintain the staff they need as as you said many time from the day is doing that and moving that money means things come from the district so I I know that's something you share often and so this year the focus was and the um ask to the Departments was if you are able to maintain a status quo we we really need to do that because as it's no secret with Esser going away and we had 300 plus positions that were funded out of Esser so that money is now coming from other grants but the majority of it is coming from District um from District funds and [Music] [Music] they mow they weed e they take down wasp nests you know and on top of helping with the cafeteria and everything and so that job at least I don't think it's come up since I've been on the board and so I just want to say thank you they're some of the hardest working people I've had the pleasure of working with and also a shout out to our coaches because um you know if you're coaching softball if you're coaching baseball you are you and your team that's who's getting usually getting the fields ready and taking care of the fields and so um just a lot of hard work that goes in um to supporting the programs that our sta our students are involved in and so I just I wanted to give a shout out and say thank you to our coaches and our day custodians anybody else um that's working on helping maintain our school campuses because it's a very big job thank you thank you Vice chair Conrad and heartily concur for sure um anything else from the board okay um one other really quick and it's just a procedural thing or or like potentially a a scribers error um in the on page 10 under attendant specialist Social Services the funding says homeless and I think that we were trying very diligently as a district same thing with professional leadership and learning to actually change the word homeless to mckenny vento if I'm not mistaken Dr goet if we want to make that correction on both of those there's two different areas where the word homeless is listed as the funding source and and potentially that's the only other thing I had Dr goet I don't know if you agree with that or not yes we're trying to to be um more in line with the actual funding source and the name there are some places where apparently they do call it homeless I I'm not I'm not in favor of that term I just I don't think it's it's the way that we should present the information but the team's working on that yes agree and if I also May Madam chair um to Dr Campbell's Point earlier um Miss Dobbins and I had a conversation I think was last week about pest control and other things and she's provided very detailed analysis of what that looks like so we can ensure because of the she number of properties that we have and to your point with um custodians during the day and other staff coaches helping out um she's provided analysis and we'll we'll be reviewing that as we can again money is Flowing to the schools and so we are we are really tight on the central office staff but that has been provided and we're looking at that thank you absolutely thank you Dr yes you made that clear at the beginning of this budget cycle you know as we started mve into it that it was going to be a very lean year and you know protecting the the schools was everyone's priority you know up here that's our Core Business um I'm thinking also just about this whole conversation about landscaping and I think about all of our communities and and how many landscapers there are that are getting well paid paid to do those kinds of things makes me wonder about another career pathway I don't know if there's an actual industry certification for Landscape Management I know that can go into landscape AR architect and owning a yard stop and Shameless plug yard stop you're awesome um but but you see where my mind goes and you know um I know years ago at at Hillcrest anyway that was kind of a vocational um responsibility for some of the kids you know they mowed out there and and we eat it and stuff at their ability levels and really really enjoyed it I mean if you're an outdoor Hands-On kid you like that stuff and you don't mind getting bit by a fire ant or whatever it is um so just something to think about small engine repair certification well yeah that too could say Mike Small Engine I could just go on and on having come from a farm I I do realize you know that there is a lot of potential and so who knows and the team is here that will look into that that's right out of out of passionate conversation comes IDE is to help every student succeed and the The Institute for food and agricultural Services University of Florida has a uh uh at the UF plant Science Center that's up on U 318 or 3 yeah 316 up in um North part of maring County they have an entire turf management uh facility up there they research 15 types of different Turf grasses they've got even got a nice mini golf course you can go yes yes I've tored it it's amazing yeah it's wonderful and then there's also that big Turf Farm up on I think it's 3:15 right yep it's been there forever so you have room for Partnerships there yep yep all right well very good thank you as always and is there any public comment all right seeing none Dr goet anything else you wanted to share as we wrap this up nothing additional thank you appreciate it oh we appreciate all of it and thank you so much all right so we will move on to our board comments and um concerns we'll start with Miss Martinez anything for us no Madam chair thank you thank you I just also want to thank you for already getting the fsba um uh paperwork that we're going to need um to us and I know the agenda you know may likely change as it gets closer to the time but it's such a relief to just know that we have our hotel reservations and that we all get to stay in the same Hotel while that may sound like it's easy to try to drive in from somewhere else it just isn't um so it's wonderful thank you for that uh attorney Powers uh nothing additional from legal unless the board has any specific questions I would just uh comment on today's conversations by also adding when we talked about the um the Landscaping Crews and our folks that do all that stuff around here I know from prior experience in dealing with some of our contracts and Provisions within them that it's not only School sites those folks are doing we also have a lot of property that is owned by the district that has to be maintained as well and they're taking care of those properties um in addition we have places like um I I believe Silver River is still done by our landscape folks not the county um we've got Camp kuas during certain portions of the year we have we still do significant amount of Maintenance um there's there's a lot of uh of of outlying areas that we've got to haul equipment to back and forth and do things and so um that that means that pretty much whenever the rain is raining and the sun is shining and it's not so cold the grass isn't growing they're they're very busy with those projects and during those during that other month of the year February because Florida only has two seasons summer and February um they're they're they're doing a million things so um I just uh it's amazing in in a role like this you see uh how departments work and how often things that you would never consider the uh amount that is on their plate has to get done so kudos to them absolutely absolutely thank you attorney Powers uh well while I'm glancing in that direction board member James uh nothing no further comment thank you board member Cummings no um I I take that back there is um very very excellent meeting um lot of lot of input lot of things but I want to go back to yesterday I want to uh thank you guys and I want to give kudos to our superintendent and the team that presented yesterday uh in the joint meeting I I um I was so proud of our team I was so proud of how they were able to convey um our needs to the community um sometimes people don't know what we're dealing with and they just assume that um we got it all together and and but we there are some things that put us in this position that put us in having these needs and I think uh Dr gullet and your team told our story exceptionally will so thank you for that thank you thank you board member Cummings what M Campbell sure so uh you mentioned fsba so I'm sure all the board also saw that there is an upcoming meeting the the meeting of the crown districts on May 9th and that is a free event at lacha County district office and so I know the last time we had one of those Reverend Cummings and I both had the opportunity to go I've R already rsvped it is if if board is able to attend please try to do so it was very informative and great to meet some folks that don't travel necessarily to Tampa uh but they would travel to one of those Regional meetings so I want to encourage you to to participate also I don't know that I could have said it better than Reverend Cummings did uh yesterday just super grateful for the team and the work that Dr gullet and her team put in also to this board and that we've put us in a good spot thank you chair for doing a fine job of representing us and ensuring that I'm grateful to be a part of a group that is definitely making it known what the needs of our students and our schools are to help every student succeed I don't know that it has occurred quite the way it is now and I think we're in a position right now to tell that story even more loudly than has ever been told before and just grateful to be here and be a part of that strategy that communication that's so greatly needed in our community thanks thank you b m Campbell my Conrad hi good morning um I try not to reiterate when we're all saying uh the same things but uh if you'll indulge I am going to do that this morning um yesterday's meeting I too uh was just very grateful um for the time that we had together and I walked away feeling really proud and and I'm just gonna say as being um a part of this district and part of the staff um several years ago we went through a period of time it was hard to feel proud and so walked away yesterday and just really proud Dr Gull for you and your team the leadership the work that's being done the way that it was presented um I just you know from church you just want to shout it from the mountaintops but uh I just I just really left encouraged yesterday and and I hope that our St staff and our schools um take a moment to watch all the information that was shared yesterday because sometimes we get in our classrooms we get in our schools and your view is limited you only see the challenges that you are faced each day because the job is Big I'm not trying to minimize that because I was one of those people um you know the job is big and and it it it's before you every day but there really are so many great things happening in Maran County so I just encourage everyone to take a minute um and watch I Didn't time our presentation yesterday but if you have 15 minutes or so it's definitely worth your time to know all of the great things that are going on in in Maran County and I also want to say thank you to the board I thought everybody brought good discussion good questions um everything was answered and shared professionally and positively which is just um was great so thank you all right thank you Vice chair Conrad and and I do agree it is a great time to be grateful always um especially you know this week for those of us who celebrate we have very important celebration to be looking forward to on Sunday and and and every day you know we're we're very blessed to have the opportunities that we have and to be together at at this time um to do uh what we are doing and so my gratitude extends to everyone up here and across this whole district and to their families and of course our fantastic students to continue to be safe out there be grateful um let's continue to make great things happen all right if there's nothing else for the good of the cause then we will adjourn this may be a record folks it is 10:30 a.m. oh it just went to 10:31 shoot okay 10:31 we are adjourned [Music] for