##VIDEO ID:bh6Kt91IAqM## e e e e e e sorry about that I'm kind of new um we would like to have a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance so if you would like to stand we are going to do so I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Miss Falls would you call the RO please Dr morard Mrs Roberts yes ma'am Mrs Powers here Mrs Russell here Mrs Pritchett here I would like to go a little bit of out of order we have Dr Anita Caswell here she's going to introduce our musical selection for this afternoon Dr Caswell thank you so I it's my pleasure to be here but I have a musical tonight so I'm a little nervous so I'm going to get through this and then I'm going to leave um you know you can't say no to the school board so uh I'm here to talk about men's day that we have every year we had our annual Men's Day day uh November the 20th held at Jensen Beach High School um men's day was started um in 2015 2016 by uh former choir directors here Mr John Willis who was at Hidden Oaks Middle School and Mr Shane Thomas who was at Martin County and they had the idea of bringing voice choirs together from all of the schools at that time we we only had men's choirs at Martin County High School Jensen Beach and South Fork and then I happened to have one at my school and Mr Willis had one at his school so our first Venture was at the church uh Northshore church out on US1 we had a total of 70 boys so that was 2015 2016 16 which brings us up to 2024 2025 this year we had 165 young men come together from the high schools and now all the middle schools have men's choirs that first Venture allowed everybody to come together and develop men's choirs which helps recruit and keep our boys in choir when they leave middle school and they go to high school and it is a beautiful sound and I can always say that Mrs Roberts is always there to support us and we thank you for that so this video that you guys are about to look at is the result of our Venture from this year started with guest conductors and then Mr James Paul was our clinician for like four years and now we've gone to being being able to invite clinicians from around the world that work with our boys so thank you you for allowing us and please when we um select our date for next year we hope you guys will come and say it's it's great to see that many young men up on stage so thank you [Music] you [Music] [Music] to [Music] [Music] NE [Music] [Music] for thank you for coming and have a wonderful evening we appreciate it hey can I have an a motion to approve the agenda with the fight with the following items addended items added 7.05 items updated 3.01 3.02 9.01 10.01 15.10 18.02 items removed 19.03 and pulled and moved to action 10.01 calendar so moved second all those in favor I I all those opposed five to nothing okay so can I have a motion to approve the items of consent I move approval of the consent agenda with the exception of 10.01 that was moved to action okay thank you all those in favor I I I opposed osed five to nothing all right move on here so we are going to move to board member discussion no okay that was quick recognitions uh Dr Miller uh will present spam yes good evening Madam chair members of the board Mr superintendent it's my pleasure to present a group who really needs no introduction to this board for sure we have some representatives from spam who are here this evening they would like to give you a little update as to what's been happening and they even have a little invitation of something upcoming to kick us off is the team captain Zack Dean afternoon distinguished board superintendent Michael main um we have some slides to share with you today about um what we've done in the past couple months and what we're going to be doing in the next few months all right first of all my name is Zach Dean I'm the student president of spam robotics your neighbors I'm a junior at South Fork High School and the IB Program currently um yep so this is just what we're doing um August 17th we had a BattleBots event which is really close to home for me because it's something I've picked up along with this with this program um so instead of playing games with your robots you fight other robots to the death it's very exciting and it was very good for outreach this event I'm not sure how much we made off of it but there was easily over a 100 people and we gained I believe three mentors and two students from this uh we had I think four or five active students participate in this BattleBots event and it helped us glow uh grow closer to each other like a bonding experiment all right now I'm going to introduce Isabella our student vice president hello I'm Isabella student vice president I'm a senior at Jensen Beach High School um on October 20th we hosted a first Lego League scrimmage where we had 15 teams that local from Mar County par participate and raise money for spam um this event was hosted at our facility and is run by mentors and students from spam on um December 14th we also hosted a competition at Anderson Middle School where we had 17 local teams participate in this competition and it was also run by students and mentors from spam it's a great competition to see all the kids that put in work over the first semester of school see how they do in competition um and it also helps fund raise money for spam now I will introduce Kora our social media lead hi I'm kaora I go to Martin County High School um we recently did the steu Stewart Air Show um we are we had a booth that was both run by students and mentors we demoed our robot and we also made a paper air machine paper airplane machine um that we showcased um we also participated in the stem scavenger hunt um and this event also raised money for us as well we also participated in the Martin County Christmas parade um we made our flow ourselves and we had both high school and middle school students walk in the parade with us it was a super fun activity and I really um now I will introduce Nicholas who is our business lead hello school board members uh I am Nicholas deg graia I go to Martin County High School this is my third year on the sper robotics team and I am our Student Business lead so over thanks the Thanksgiving week we've provided a summer camp to the youth in our area where we taught them valuable stem skills um and we used robots uh called Spike Bots um made out of Legos to help like teach them the specifics of engineering and over that two-day period of our summer camp we had 12 students and we it helped fund our team greatly and uh it helped us Inspire the next generation of Engineers along with um helping our team um we had a mix of mentors and students who were involved in volunteering to help teach this um the youth in our area and that's how what we did for the Thanksgiving so a member of our team actually reached out to Congressman Brian Mast he provided him with a sponsorship form and told us told him about our team um it was really great talking to him we heard and it was an honor to be able to tell him about our organization back again so the robot that we showed off at the air show and at our events um is last year's robot every year we have a new game and a new robot to build in six weeks uh the new game comes out January 4th and we are going we have a public event at um Park January 4th at Clark they're having a breakfast and then the kickoff which is which is like right before we introduce our team a little bit and then we have the game announcement right after the right after the game announcement happens we get to brainstorming we get to prototyping we get to building that's an very exciting and nerve-wracking part oh everyone is welcome by the way I will see you all there thank you so much thank you thank you for having us we all we have a gift to show our appreciation for all your support thank you Stacy would you like to say anything you're welcome too never miss a chance um as you can see I mean they are amazing young people and we cover all the high schools um and plus our homeschoolers and private schools uh we are looking at around 42 to 48 kids right now in our team which is fantastic uh we are hoping to get more so that's always good uh we are also starting our first Lego our first Tech Challenge Middle School team and they are actually competing right now so um keep you know keep thinking about us these kids are we're pushing them and pushing them uh we actually um had um Murray middle and um and Anderson Middle um actually came and and demonstrated this past weekend and it was wonderful I do I want to get them in all the um middle schools so you know keep pushing Us in into the schools and we would love to to keep getting that and getting those kids excited for first Lego League because that's where these kids are coming from and um we've actually noticed that we have had a sharp decline in our student population of our students because we have not carried that through in our elementary and middle school so uh we would love to to have that conversation start again and definitely get them back in the Middle School um because I need more students like this these wonderful kids so thank you very much you guys are wonderful and we really appreciate everything you do for us and come visit us we're next door thank you so much you have a nice Merry Christmas thank you of course Merry Christmas so Mr Moore can you update us on how that's working for arranging the field trips for robotics thank you so we have had several meetings with um Stacy and her team and so we have outlined a proposal that we'll be sharing with superintendent Maine when we come back I spoke to Chief disazo about it earlier today actually um we've outlined a program plan that will provide opportunities for our students to come here and do field experiences very similar to how we do with the Environmental Studies Center um auto rotation we've worked on a scope and sequence of curriculum and we have a program plan outline that we're going to present to superintendent and then uh bring give you an update and so were we expecting that in the spring or we were planning for next year okay thank you okay we're going to go to information only reports student representative Jamie Paulson thank you madam chair starting off with Jensen Beach High School the Falcon Spanish Honor Society sent $510 and 34 decorated stockings to children in Honduras Bolivia and Chile through the Christmas stocking project with children's impact Network Jensen Beast High School National Honor Society members wrote 350 thank you and holiday give holiday cards for service members to send send overseas as well as to local assisted living facilities the City of PSL invited American Sign Language Honor Society to teach American Sign Language at their International Festival during their Thanksgiving break the Falcons were proud to represent Jensen Beach High School and Martin County Schools positively as a result the coming library has asked students at jbhs to partner with them to teach teens and adults about basic American Sign Language next Martin County High School congratulations to the following debate students who brought home trophies in the November Regional tournament Nina  in first Mason R Nicolo C Anton W in second place Miranda Luben in third place Sarah decowski and Kaden harthog in fourth place Angelique V in fifth place and Macy Trail in sixth place congratulations to our Deca District qualifiers qualifiers kayen M Judy M Caleb Santiago Hutch Hughes Morgan Williams Jackson Wyatt Canon Griffin Jake van vet mallerie B Samantha K Brendan stemel and Paul stemel Deca districts will be held on January 17th at Kaiser University in West Palm Beach due to the phenomenal success of the NHS Adopt a Family each Christmas the executive staff under the leadership of Ella cther president voted to support three families as year one of which is a tiger family gifts will be wrapped by NHS members with personal notes being written to each family member the Martin County swim and dive team brought 16 swimmers to FHSAA class 3A States last month including girls meline busum Sarah decowski Lauren feny Madison feny Savannah Hill dianira Melendez Julia Murphy doriel and padon and CLA Richard boy swimmers include Roman Watson Danielle Romero Braden Fior Lincoln salar Santiago PCO Manuel Gonzalez Ethan spur and Jackson White the girls 200 medal consisting of Julia Murphy Marin busam dianira Melendez and Sarah decowski took seventh overall best buddies participated in the annual Christmas parade in downtown Stewart on December 6th building another amazing float for the second year in a row over 30 members of the organization attended and walked with the float contributing greatly to the holiday spirit the mountain Martin County High School Coral program would like to invite the community to their Winter concert on Thursday December 19th the concert will take place at 700 p.m. in Martin County High School auditorium Auditorium and next is South Fork High School South Fork High School drama students earn Superior ratings at the district 15 thesbian Festival on December 7th Michael Jones earned Superior solo Musical and Superior marketing Holly beers and emyy wiox Superior duet acting Mara bran Superior solo Musical and Sabrina Zen brano Superior solo Musical and Natalia kabalo Superior solo Musical musical the Key Club at Southfork High School celebrated its 30th birthday recently the Club hosted a For the Love of reading literacy event where members collected books and needed supplies for reena's House of blessings Key Club members also helped the Kiwanis Club with their Saturday with with Santa event and created over 75 holiday cards and letters for senior citizens which will be delivered along with a special performance by the Bulldog B and choir at the sheriden Assisted Living Center art club members at Southfork have been volunteering with the Salvation Army during its B ring campaign embracing the spirit of the season and bringing Joy to the community Mrs Kyle Goran has been nominated as a national life group life changer of the Year Mrs Gordon is esteemed member of the Bulldog campus where she teaches math coaches cost country and volunteers with the national on society and the renowned Bulldog closet she's EXT extremely involved and Martin County is blessed to have her Bron Singh has been chosen at the 2025 Martin County sunshine State scholar representative the Sunshine State scholar program allows each School District throughout Florida to select its top 11th grade student in science technology engineering arts and Mathematics stem based on established criteria these Scholars along with their parents convene to receive recognition for their achievements they also have opportunities to meet with representatives from Florida's colleges and universities learn about STEM related programs of study and internships and experience why Florida is the best state to learn and pursue an exciting career John John Smith has been a Dell scholarship semi-finalist John has been an avid elected student for four years demonstrating dedication perseverance and hard work thank you thank you Jamie okay moving on to our district update uh Jennifer disazo and Derek low or just Derek low good evening members of the board Madame chair pritet superintendent Michael main my name is Derrick low I'm the coordinator of public information and community relations with the Martin County School District and it's once again and always my pleasure to bring you this month's District update uh starting off we're very excited to share some progress on expanding professional learning opportunities to support the skills and growth of our operational and asme staff uh one of the many trainings that they have recently attended was for Microsoft Excel uh which were consisted of tailored learning sessions provided by digital learning Specialists that have equipped data entry and registrar staff to manage and analyze data with greater accuracy and efficiency our elll PA professionals have also participated in uh training and collaboration with Federal programs this training that you see pictured here highlights the partnership between PA professionals and general education teachers while introducing strategies to support students using the W framework our prevention and intervention Specialists have participated in enhanced training and partnership principles and it's enabling Specialists to better collaborate with teachers counselors and staff uh to support at risk students in our district and I believe last but not least our plant operators have been participating in some professional development staff attended the Florida school plant Management Association conference earning certification uh certifications to expand their expertise and ensure excellence in Facilities Management the overwhelmingly positive feedback reflects the value of these initiatives for both professional development and daily operations and moving forward we are absolutely committed to recognizing staff contributions and continuing to enhance these opportunities to support their success the Florida High School Athletic Association recently announced its fall academic team champions for the 2024 season each Martin County High School earned a top five finish in at least one sport with all three football teams in the county earning a top 10 finish in the state the Martin County High School football team claimed the top spot in their clask and South Fork High School's football team took the second spot additionally 15 and Martin County School District teams were named among the state's top 10 academic performers in their respective classes the FHSAA academic Champion team program celebrates Excellence both in competition and in the classroom this prestigious program recognizes teams across all FHSAA sanctioned and recognized Sports awarding the title of academic team champion in each classification the eligible a sports team must achieve minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale these averages are then evaluated against uh other schools in the state with similar enrollment sizes highlighting outstanding uh outstanding academic achievement alongside athletic commitment recently both WPTV and WPBF 25 News both featured an incredible story of compassion and Community Spirit at Murray Middle School School parents and community members came together to support Israel Cruz who is a beloved custodian and his wife who works in the district's maintenance department after Hurricane Milton unfortunately left their family with a damaged home and three total vehicles through their kindness and determination uh families at Murray Middle School raised funds to gift uh Israel and his wife a car proving the power of unity in Martin County let's watch the moment this heartwarming story was captured and celebrate our community going all in Martin new at 6 this week marks two months since that deadly tornado outbreak from Hurricane Milton devastated parts of our area from the Palm Beaches to the Treasure Coast Murray Middle School in Port solo saw extensive damage as did nearby homes and businesses the school's custodian was among those dealing with the destruction after his family's home and cars were damaged in the storm our Angela Rosier shows us how his community came together to give him a special gift I iag I told you I told you I was going to make it happen Israel Crews couldn't believe it but it happened in fact when he was told he needed to attend a school meeting his wife says he didn't know what was going on he he was in trouble I think trouble yeah he he I've been thinking all day what nor Murray middle school custodian was presented with a new car Tuesday afternoon when Martin County School District officials found out he lost his vehicles and his house was damaged from tornado spawn by Hurricane Milton PTA member Chrissy Rous and her husband Kevin got to work we went about he texted a neighbor who just he was like do you want to do a God thing and he was like yep I'm in tell me how much what you need where and I texted a bunch of friends and people just started answering back sending money and we were able to make it happen they partner with the scent church and Wallace Nissan to launch a fundraiser they raised $9,700 when you somebody tells you they're going to get you a car they're kind of like whatever maybe but I think it was awesome to see it come to fruition and with the help of so many other people big smiles school officials say they wanted to help because Cruz has become a beloved figure in the school Cruz and his family are thankful it means a lot to us I'm so thankful for for all yeah for for this for I mean for everything they've been doing a lot actually they went home I'm eating food yeah they've been so nice to us Angela Rosier WPBF 25 News and tonight's last slide for the district update uh we wanted to give an update on our specialty Pathways program and let the residents of Martin County know that the possibilities are endless when you decide to enroll your children in the Martin County School District uh especially through one of our specialty pathway programs families can apply through school choice to one of our unique programs designed to engage Inspire and prepare students for bright future the district has designated uh the following schools as specialty Pathways for the upcoming school year beginning in 2025 at the elementary level we have Bessie Creek Elementary that has been uh designated as a Cambridge International School Jensen Beach Elementary uh which is now known as the center for environmental stewardship Pinewood Elementary is going to be our Communications Academy and seawind elementary school is going to be the district's Leadership Academy at the middle school level Dr Dr David L Anderson Middle School is now the premedical academy in the district Hidden Oaks is our Cambridge preas Academy Indian toown middle is our hospitality and tourism Academy Murray middle is going to be our agricultural Academy and Stuart Middle engineering and Entrepreneurship Academy of course at the high school level students can apply for any signature program whether it be AP IB or Ace Roc programs or any of the high school Career and Technical uh education programs ories at any of our three high schools applications are now open in the parent focus portal uh Martin County residents only need to apply if they wish for their child to attend that a school that they're not currently zoned for and that concludes this month's District update until I guess next month next year rather uh you can find us wherever you scroll we're on all social media channels uh and on our website as well martinschools.org thank you Derek hey we will now move on to our superintendent update thank you madam chair um this last couple weeks I had the honor of attending the 79th annual fsba fads joint conference in Tampa alongside all of our distinguished board members the conference underscored the board and I uh continuous efforts to to push ourselves to learn grow collaborate and innovate as we strive to meet the needs of our students families and staff this year's theme was Game Changers highlighting the critical role of teamwork Innovation and leadership as we navigate the challenges and opportunities in education um and I cannot um I know other superintendant cannot say this but it brings me uh No Greater Joy and honor than to thank all of our board members for being in attendance um not everybody can say that some board members are not able to make it uh but I want the community to know that our board was dedicated and every single board member was in attendance at least one of the days if not all of the days and I greatly appreciate that partnership together thank you I'm also proud to announce that our district has been selected as this this recipient excuse me of coga's 2024 circle of Excellence award a prestigious state level honor recognizing the district's dedication to educational excellence and Leadership is a national network focused on advancing educational outcomes and Awards this honor to school districts annually that organize themselves and exemplify around the following empowering communities to help Learners and achieve their full potential driving Innovation and growth to create new opportunities for our students and promoting Excellence equity and integrity throughout the entire educational organization we are incredibly honored to receive this award and I just want to take a moment to thank all of our staff our families who were a part of this and we will be accepting this award uh later on in January at their Orlando conference I'm also thrilled to share an exciting new communication initiative this is a long time coming I think anybody that you'd ask at the district office would tell you that I've been eagerly awaiting since the day I became superintendent for our studio to open so that we can start podcasting and reaching the community and uh at large in a whole new way and we were able to kick that off this past weekend where our first podcast was released on Sunday evening the podcast will serve as a platform for the district to connect directly with our community um in a fresh and new engaging way each episode is going to feature special guests including staff members students Community Partners and leaders to discuss upcoming District init initiatives celebrate the many successes that are happening throughout the district and share any important updates that may be coming down the pike the goal of the all-in Martin podcast is to keep our families employees and stakeholders all informed while showcasing the incredible work happening across our schools and the Departments uh whether you're driving into new programs sharing student achievements or providing insights into future plans the podcast is designed to highlight the power of collaboration and our shared commitment to Student Success we're excited to invite everyone to tune in stay informed and be part of the convers ation uh the first episode did air and we will be on Spotify YouTube and hopefully expanding our streaming Platforms in the near future and last but certainly not least would' like to wish everybody a very merry Christmas and a happy holiday together we've achieved so much in a short period of time going through to December uh that will not stop in January when we return um the sign that was just installed in my office all gas no breaks is exactly that all gas no breaks and the momentum will continue in Jan January when we return so I wish all of our staff family and students a very happy holiday get rest and be safe uh when you return uh to us we will be ready to roll and uh I just wish that uh thank you all for being a part of the district family and your role in helping to make Martin County a wonderful place to learn grow and work thank you he um I'm looking at these information only reports bear with me is there is is there there's an asteris next to Lana baros is are you presenting just no okay go ahead um so I noticed Dr laws on the assessment update you indicated that um schools and District leadership are going to be reviewing the data from progress monitoring 2 so will we get a deeper report on that at some point or okay thank you and and then I also wanted to thank Carter for the um report that he gave us 1508 for the ARP funds closeout data I see that out of our 31.5 N9 million doar that the portion that was left on that we left and sent back that was from just us not counting Charter Schools was $ 34,848 the charter schools including Charter Schools it was $18,000 um because the charters had more that they didn't spend but I think that's commendable that we were able to spend that much money it's like a tenth of a percent is what the number is that we actually sent back and I also think it's important for the Community to know that the Martin County School District different from most other districts in the State of Florida the board took ownership of how that money was distributed and had oversight over that to be sure that it was going in the direction that was identified and because our main things are policy and budget that we did um step up and do that and I know that didn't happen in all the other districts around the state but I am um joyful that we were able to do that so thank you than you okay now we're going to go to 10.01 proposed 2025 26 school calendar oh 16.01 go to that first okay I think we have to vote on it or anything okay we will go to um board member information share committee appointments anyone want to start I just would like to ask a question just kind of how we ended up here Madam chair I think is it you that decided the list or I'm just I'm new here so I just wanted to kind of find out how everybody got into their particular slots sure well everyone submitted what they were looking to be a part of and then I did have the final say on um what was submitted and I came up with this hoping to give everybody mostly what they asked for you have something specific well and it Now's the Time to say if you do and we can talk about it and work through it you want something there yeah there was there was there was two items that I had requested that I was just curious about and well what what happened was we had in several CA tell me what the items are and I'll I'll give you um you know um I just I submitted for the Children's Services Council and I just was curious that why didn't get that and then the other one was the H City Chamber it looks like we have me and Mrs Powers there and um as many of you know I'm on the board of the Stuart Martin chamber I'm their vice president and I wondered if that X could be moved down so we had the Me and Mrs pritchet for Stuart Martin County and Mrs powers for Palm City sure that was not um meant to give it to you it was noted that um Mrs Powers is with at the Palm City that X can certainly be moved okay okay and the Children's Services Council we had several people asked to be on that Council and I had to uh make a decision based upon who asked and that that's the decision that I made right anyone else no but if you want I mean I think now is the time if you whoever got it you can we can talk about the appointments right absolutely yeah sure we can talk about the appointments if you'd like to I'm fine I just wanted to know more about the process more than so that for next year I'm new this is my second meeting okay and I just wanted to kind of understand the process so that if I have some interest in uh some of those different things for the future uh I'm fine with it for this year with that with that move in the chambers um but I'm just kind of preparing for for the future and how I might be able to get involved on certain committees and certain places so because there there isn't much really that's said and we can't talk to each other it was just basically we apply and then there's this list so I'm trying to bridge the gap of how we get from the list to the final list and kind of what the thinking was so I could understand for the future but I'm fine with with everything that's uh that we've done there okay well and I know like it's been done like that for a long time and I I don't necessarily think that it has to be done like that every year I know the county does it a little bit differently so if we want to look at a new process moving forward Ward I think that that's an appropriate thing for us to talk about if we want to go through them all that's what the county does they kind of go through them and then they decide as a group who's going on what committees sure um so but if there's something if there's something I have that you want I'm I'm willing to trade if there's something that really interests you that you know I I think I'm I would be open to that so if you you know just let me know yeah and just let me know so I can let Diane know but also um I'm certainly as you know if the board if the board's pleasure we can put an upcoming agenda item to discuss all the Committees and and kind of talk it out that way sure we could do a workshop yeah just because rather than just you know checking off a box doesn't really show like what interest you have if if you're like I love being a part of this and I want I I think that should be conveyed versus just like I'm checking boxes and maybe I'm checking it out of reluctancy because I've done it for years maybe I'm checking it because I really love it and I think more discussion might clear the waters that people know like where they're truly interested in so that they can get where where they're passionate about that makes sense okay so we we'll do that at an upcoming Workshop Diane all right go ahead so I have a question about the chamber appointment so the representatives to the ch Chambers which what did we change there's Mara is going to be the Palm City representative and Brian is GNA um be with me for the steuart Martin chamber and so when we say representative I only did the Palm City Chamber because they had asked me to be an ex officio on their board I still attend most all of the chambers um at some point not not every time but I try to make my rounds around each one so you know I'm not on the board of the Indian Town chamber but I am listed so there's not any real I just go I know Jen goes sometimes to Indian town as well I think everybody kind of goes when you when there's something going on yes does does Indian town have an ex officio position for they don't not okay and I just want to thank Mrs powers for uh being on the Palm City Chamber board it's a unique situation because that's my district but because I'm on the board of directors of the Stewart Martin chamber I can't serve on both so with me being out of play rather than have having them have uh no representative uh Mrs Powers has stepped up to to fill that seat and I appreciate that in my district all right so Diane I'm going to give you this thank you everyone and if you do make changes could you just let me know through Diane so I know what the changes were right if we talked about if someone looks at this after today and maybe wants to make a switch just let us know that's all okay all right so now we can move to uh 10.01 at 5:00 we will break for um public comment so um Dr Mari Ari you um wanted this item to be discussed so please go ahead thank you madam chair um so we talked about the school calendar last time and I know we've discussed this in the past and there's a couple of points I wanted to make about the upcoming calendar going forward for one for the last two veterans days I believe we've had those days off in the district is that correct for the last two years not this past year but before and it was actually longer than two years okay so um and I know that it sounds like the board wants that day off which which I'm fine with but I just wanted to bring up a few points um number one I feel like the district really celebrated veterans in a great way with that day in school and I just wanted to make that point and thank the district and the staff as uh a lot of veterans were in school there um this year Veterans Day falls on a Tuesday so you've got Veterans Day on a Tuesday you've got the weekend before and then you've got that Monday so I'm just a little concerned that there may be people thinking I have Tuesday off I have the weekend off do do I call out and have a 4-day weekend there and number three by having that day off for Veterans Day um we're giving a five day start week to the students so basically we're going back on now August 11th and one of the things we we had this school calendar committee meet and make recommendations to the board and that was one of the things that they stressed was that they wanted to have a shorter week instead of the full five days um and with that full five days students are starting on August 11th teachers are going back on Friday August 1st with an optional day on July 31st so I just didn't know how well that would be received so I thought I'd bring that up for discussion the other uh possibility to be changed here is I know it came up about the Super Bowl and having the day off after the Super Bowl and the point was made that if we go on Veterans Day then we should have that day um but the thing is Super Bowl is a big day 123 million people watch the Super Bowl maybe people don't realize it but it's a very popular event especially for families that is a late night on a Sunday night so it just feel like if we are going to take that Veterans Day and give that day off maybe we could listen to the calendar committee on the Super Bowl and basically give that February 9th day off instead of the 23rd because there's going to be a lot of people not in school on February 9th the 16th Monday is uh President's Day which is off and then they'd have the 23rd off that'd be three Mondays in a row where kids are probably not going to school so if we want to stick to where we're at on the Veterans Day which it sounded like that's where the board was maybe they would consider moving that uh that day off on the 23rd that professional learning day back to the 9th so that we could at least honor the calendar Committee in that way um since we're going to do a change with the other one thank you no um I I I do think that and I appreciate you noticing that um often when we give a Tuesday or Thursday off um people take a 4day weekend and we have that multiple times I mean we've got that happening um I think for rashash shaana in September we have it in October for Yam kapor um so yeah and we've struggled with that in the past even giving the early release days and making the early release days because there's usually a problem when you do an early release day on a Friday that people think well it's early release I might as well not come in so that has been something that's um and you look at other District's calendars and they they kind of it's like they just go to school they don't have that but I mean yeah I can appreciate your your noticing that that's a Tuesday um that's all I have so I know there's a there's a lot of intricacies of when things can happen like you have to have the same number of days in the first semester or how the balance works and then um I think this solution was the easiest solution and I I do also appreciate the what was put into Veterans Day not just this past school year but in years past even when we've had the day off um and I think we've gotten reassurance from the superintendent that that will continue to happen in preparation and I am absolutely fine looking at other um opportunity you know other scenarios um I mean we have because as as a parent I I think we're going to have the same issue coming back after Memorial day that week after Memorial Day um that is people are going to throw their hands up and say I'm no way we're starting our summer vacation so I think we have those scenarios throughout the calendar and the same with Thanksgiving I don't know how we got to you know having the whole week of Thanksgiving off and then we are going to have after Memorial Day and I know that that's going to be um a very light week um after that may may 27th or 8th whatever the date is and then coming back on that Tuesday um it's but I'm happy to like sit down and work through and how we can manipulate it and what um what some different scenarios are yeah and and I met with Dr Miller uh this morning and she was very helpful by the way thank you Dr Miller and we ran through a lot of different scenarios and there's only so much you can do with the with the calendar honestly there's there's State Statute days that that there's uh certain holidays religious holidays that have to be observed there's this year is just kind of an odd year where there's not a ton of wiggle room it's basically your Veteran's Day or go back a day later so and I know I could hear from the board at the last meeting that that was kind of the way they wanted to go so um my thought was okay go to give them that day off move them that professional learning day to February 9th this way you're listening to the calendar committee that worked so hard on that um and go that route so um with with that I would uh Mo move to approve 10.01 with that change of of February 23rd being uh in school and February 9th being a professional learning day but we're saying that now you want the teachers to come back do you think that the next the day you're saying February 9th is a professional learning day which I guess could be an optional day for teachers is that optional or is it a mandatory day that day is actually a professional learning day it's the teacher work days that are optional so if they choose to work the optional teacher work day which is the preschool day then they can take off a different work day not the professional learning day would we offer extended day that day I'll defer to Mr labarbara about extended day I know he's been working very hard on make providing coverage I would say yes we would definitely offer it like we would the other days so every professional learning day and every um day that teachers are in but students are out we're offering extended day correct and we're also working on another scenario too for preschool as well so I have a motion on the floor do I have a second motion fails for lack of a second I move approval of the calendar as presented all those in favor I I I all those opposed opposed Dr moriori oppose he thank you so we will begin public comment a few minutes early citizen input is vital to the Improvement of our district most times your remarks may be listened to without comment from the board or superintendent this does not mean they are heard with any less intensity or concern where appropriate the superintendent and staff will investigate your comments and report back to you and the board with an answer we thank you for taking the time and having the concern to make our district better your presentation to the board should not exceed 3 minutes letters or statements from others not present can be given to our clerk who will be sure that each School Board member and the superintendent receive a copy to keep our records straight and authentic our policy does not permit you to read the statements of others into the record first up we have Christina fiori followed by Megan mccristal good evening superintendent Maine and school board members I'm grateful that it seems that the pool at Martin County high school will be open soon and there's a willingness to fix the pool but when will this happen I read the report from Harvard jolly and in the report according to the pool professional there were no conditions observed that would prevent the pool's use so why are the kids not swimming in the pool yet I know that the report also mentions some electrical issues that were discovered during an assessment done by a local electrical contractor at the request of a concerned party who was the local contractor and where is the report from that assessment I do have an email from the school district on August 26th prior to the shutdown of the pool acknowledging that the school district had had an electrician review issues at the pool this email states that there were no issues with the electrical panel and that a surge protector was needed to prevent issues with the chemical feeder system which was scheduled to be installed there was no mention in this email of any danger to anyone's swimming in the pool so it was unclear why the pool was then shut down when it was Harvard jol's assessment states that the new surge protector was indeed installed prior to their assessment on September 13th why was the pool not opened at that time why did the kids go for an entire High School swim season not swimming in their pool the last time the pool closure was up for discussion was six years ago just before we voted on the half since sales tax it was suggested to wait and see how the vote would go before deciding anything longterm for the pool why wasn't the longevity of the pool worked in back then are we going to have to go through this again in 5 to seven years being that I'm someone who always votes yes is in giving the school district more money when asked the quarter Cent sales tax sounds fair to me at first when I really start to think about it I wonder why we would single out the pool when the half cent sales tax was presented it was known and well advertised that two elementary schools needed to be replaced it was not well advert I all of the projects that would also be paid for with that tax if I had been asked to vote only to spend $35 million on a new gym I might have said no I had never seen the existing gym did not know why it needed to be replaced I also have no personal interest in that project same goes for a golf course revitalization for over $2 million when these things were buried in with the two elementary schools and many other capital projects that I was told were necessary I trusted the school board that there was a need and I voted yes at the time I was not part of the pool community and would have had the same thought process had it been included then in the last 6 years over a billion dollars has been spent on capital projects in this District we were not asked to vote on a single one of those projects individually what is the motivation behind the pool being the only project that would be singled out like that now especially after a congressman has offered help with the pool please recognize how special it is to have this pool on the school campus and get it back open and keep it open for the kids to use thank you thank you Megan mccristal followed by dick Landrum good evening Mr Maine and school board members my name is mean mistal and I'm a teacher at Murray Middle School I'd like to thank you for the positive Administration changes we made we love the discipline Mr Beasley and Mrs Roth have brought to our campus also thank you for finding it in the budget to pay for ISS at the middle school levels it was much needed why I'm here tonight is is it always amazes me but I guess it shouldn't surprise me that so many teachers are IR rate when they don't get a raise they think they deserve we know our pay we know what our pay will be when we sign up for the job we can see the breakdown of our entire career so thank you for the 3.1% raise this year I would just like to say that Kelly Coleman and the Union do not speak for all of the teachers in fact they don't even speak for the 60% state legislated required membership participation amount I'd like to thank you for not holding up the teachers race while the union president holds up negotiations for his teacher on assignment request the narrative that the district is at fault for holding up the rise or negotiations is simply false I have filed the paperwork against their supposed 60% last May and I will file again when they don't have 60% by the cut off date again this may the fact that the union tried to hold up negotiations from August when the 3.1% raise was proposed till just recently for the wording of his teacher on assignment to benefit only himself shows how out of touch they are while our teachers while their teachers suffer from record inflation the union the union dues are too high and they have shown time and time again that are only interested in representing the 20 plus year teachers in our district our teachers deserve better representation than our current Union hopefully perk and Justice will kick in soon but until then thank you for not caving into a union who does not represent all of us and told us not to vote for you guys thank you thank you dick Landrum uh good afternoon I'm here to talk about the coach dip Wells Training Center pool the community pool I've been a strong advocate for public education and feel that it should be the heart and soul of a Democratic Republic but lately I've been so disappointed with a school district and board going through yet another Save the Pool campaign because the District board doesn't want to maintain the pool has made me think that you are as incapable of something as simple as maintaining a pool you can't be very good at all the intricacies of run running a whole school district the district's charge when the pool was built by the public was that the district could use the pool as long as they maintain it nothing else the pool was built as a community pool its primary use was for the public not for one high school swim season each year the day-to-day operations of the pool were always a responsibility of the pool manager who is also the head coach of the Martin County High School swim team and the head coach of the age group teams except for eliminating Community programs the district has completely hand has been completely hands off of the operations through all the head coaches from 1975 until they started making their own arbitrary rules this year the district has eliminated most of the community programs with their overreach most of the programs were eliminated 17 years ago and the district has used its unauthorized policies to keep the pool at a minimal use level I have written multiple emails to the district board members with no direct response from the superintendent nor any of the board members so on the next page that you're you're going to get a copy of this and the next page there are questions not answered I am asking that all the questions all the questions again and under the Freedom of Information Act I'm asking for a direct response from each of you to answer the questions based on District records and from your understanding of why the district thinks that is it is under their purview to make make their decisions regarding the pool lately the the board complains that the community thinks they're not transparent let's have a vocabulary view transparent easily seen through recognized detected manifest obvious open Frank candid not answering questions from the public doesn't match up with any of these definitions if you want to be transparent answer the questions on page two of the document I'm sending you these include things like mismanagement of funds I'm not telling us why you're doing certain things when we ask over and over again and I want to ask one more question into that have the bids been let out yet on the current project the way that this has transpired in the lack of response from the district and Boards a disgrace we charge a District board with our children's education and you were setting a terrible example thank you thank you is there anyone else that wants to make a public comment sorry about that um we will now be moving to um action only items there is no school board travel um can I have a motion to accept accept 1802 request authorization to utilize Palm Beach County School District musical instruments and accessories no moved all those in favor I five unanimous okay 18.03 requisitions to be approved for purchase orders over $100,000 may I have a motion move second all those in favor I unanimous thank you 1804 Stuart Middle School Phase 2 replacement building project ffe proposal approval Mark CEST may I have a motion to approve move to approve 18.04 second all those in favor I unanimous 1805 items for January 9th legislative delegation meeting myself um we've been invited to attend does anyone have anything that they want to bring to that [Music] meeting I think just our approved um legislative agenda okay and then also um the superintendent and I had a uh conversation with our advocacy person and um talking we would really like to make sure that we get together any expenses that we have associated with hurricane or tornadoes really and make sure that we've recovered every single dollar that we possibly can because I look at the instruments and that's made me think of Murray middle like want to make sure that is there's going to be some dollars available this legislative session for Hurricane Relief and so we want to make sure that we recover everything that we've um expended related to that so can I have a motion to approve 18 M Roberts has yeah so um I'm looking at the wording on the full day VPK Miss Powers do you think that's needs to be Wordsmith at all sorry it says support legislation aimed at permitting districts to provide full day VPK Andor other wraparound Services as well as the reduction of regulations for Associated license of District Personnel so I would say that um districts already have the authority to offer full day VPK um it's just not funded full day so um but I thought we changed it to just giving School Districts The flexibility to offer those wraparound services for upk right and limit you know and have an clarify because I think it's I think that they can but to clarify that we can have VPK students on our campuses outside of the VPK day for ex for like extended day yeah so I'm thinking it's not the licensure of District Personnel I'm thinking it has to do with the licensing of the well if we based on the theory now for for VPK if we were to offer after school um extended day for VPK students the extended day program would have to be licensed by DCF and our employees would have to have those um DCF licensing requirements 45 hours of training there's like licensing requirements that they would have to have that they current don't have to have so how would you fix adjust that statement I would wait this is just form it's the second page that says ignite together at the bottom oh here we go so I wouldn't even call it full day VPK because as much as we would like to be funded for full day VPK I think it's unreasonable to ask for full day VPK I mean we've essentially were told and have been kind of told pre fsba that that is not not going to happen and we were told at fsba that that is not going to happen I mean I guess we could keep asking asking for it um but it doesn't I wouldn't say support legislation aimed at permitting to I mean if we want to keep the ask for the financial Fe to have a full day VPK program a full school day VPK program not like 8:00 am to 5:00 P PM when parents can pick up it would be like a school day VPK um so I would say um if we want to keep that it's I don't think I think it should be a full school day VPK if we're going to keep it um what hours is that it's like a would be like a typical Elementary School um coming in and leaving at what the elementary school does that would just be the school day um I don't think I I honestly don't think it will be something that will be approved um from a fiscal standpoint but then I would also say um we we can we can offer an extend extended hours for VPK we get we get reimbursed for 540 hours for every child that attends VPK we there is nothing that prevents the school district from extending that and we have I know some districts extend it for ESC students do we extend we do do we do extended VPK for ESC um I know in Indian River County they do so I mean there's nothing that prevents us from doing that within the school day it's really the other piece of it that I'm most concerned about is I would like to have VPK on our school campuses and then be able to offer rapper around extended day services so that because a lot of families don't participate because they have they can't drop their child off at 8 in the morning and then pick them up at 11: they're at work so that's kind of my so um would you support changing that to from full day bpk to dis the title being District provided Early Learning change the title to that and then change the narrative to say support legislation for districts to provide full school day VPK and or other wound Services as well as the streamlining of regulations for Associated licensure is that I would like the school district to be exempt from the DCF requirements I think we're exempt from that in every other level um I don't know why they wouldn't be as well as exemption I mean quite honestly I we can go ahead and get our people licens we can do that now yeah um so if it says support legislation for districts to provide full day full school day VPK Andor other wraparound services as well as the the exemption from DCF DCF licenser well and I think you could say as well as the exemption of regulations associated with um care exemption from DCF licensure and child care regulations yeah that work I mean if everything everybody's okay with that those are just my personal opinions like who created this form where did that form come from like who wrote that form with all the legislative [Music] priorities that we're looking at I mean who wrote it though we didn't write it from the workshop from before I was in office okay I mean basically this is a legislative delegation meeting these are General topics we're going to be discussing I want to get just caught up in word smithing too many things here so oh I don't want to give them something that isn't clear as to what we're asking for what we're what our what our ask is you know what I mean I mean I don't want them to get when when we walk away after they've heard 40 people I don't and they look back at this and this is the page that they have to look at I don't want them to get confused as to what they heard or seen I'm just saying in the in the grand scheme of things when we go to Tallahassee you know changing out one word is probably not going to make much of a difference I think we're just kind of have straws here but anyway let's bring it home and which version do you guys like well I don't support what we're asking for in that bullet okay so um and that's why I'm asking where it where did it come from so that was the workshop and someone wrote this up and now we're saying we don't we did not agree to full day to ask for full day bpk for funding full day vbk that is a priority for um fsba they still have it on their agenda I think for full day funding not anything else it's strictly a a budget ask is isn't gonna happen not GNA happen I would rather give have the ability of the district to offer either a the current VP program and then offer the wraparound services to start because those families a lot of the families that we're really trying to recruit if we're able to do that on our campus they will come to our VPK and then if we provide the after care services they'll stay on our campuses and we can from even if we don't even do a school day it's from 11: a.m. till the parent Picks Them Up or they're either not going to go to VPK or they're going to um they could go you know they can go somewhere else too um if there's room it just opens up more slots for um VPK in Martin County I just and for our school district intendent did you want to say something I I just wanted to say the the most important piece is the DCF licensure so that we can provide those Services as a the wraparound services uh as an educa as an inst you know organization so that that would be the biggest most important piece that we're asking for to uh Dr Mori AR's Point once the board comes up with language it's submitted to Greg black and Greg black proofs it and then sends us language back I think that one just was a misunderstanding of what specifically we were we were asking for thank you so can I get a motion for the updated language that we've discussed on yeah and I I'm thinking now to just make it District provided Early Learning support legislation for exemption from DCF licensure and ear and child care regulations for VPK VPK students VPK students make that motion for us I'll second that motion that you made Mr Roberts did you make that motion yes I mve to CH to change bullet number two to District provided Early Learning in the language to say support legislation for exemption from DCF licensure and child care regulations for bpk district provided bpk students District bpk students I have a motion from Miss Roberts a second from Mrs Powers all those in favor I I I unanimous right we're going to go on to uh 19 first review of Schoolboard policy um before I begin is there anyone who would like to make a public comment on any of these uh policies see none we'll go to 1901 1 01 District organization can I have a motion to approve second second I have a motion by Miss Russell a second by Miss Powers all those in favor I opposed okay so moved 19.02 development of administrative procedures do I have a motion to approve 19 02 so moved I have a motion by Miss power uh Miss Roberts a second by Miss Powers all those in favor I unanimous 1903 employment contracts do I have a motion to approve it's that one was oh I apologize moving right along 19.04 working days this policy is a is a recension may I have a motion to approve I move to approve 19 second all those in favor I I unanimous we have 1905 standards of ethical conduct may I have a motion to approve 19.05 who Moved second I have a motion by Miss Powers a second by Miss Russell all those in favor I motion carries 19 .06 also 12 10.01 32 10.01 42101 self-reporting of criminal charges and traffic citations this is a recension may have a motion to approve 19.06.13 7 1244 3244 professional leave this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.07 motion to approve 19.07 I have a motion to approve by Miss Russell and a second by Miss Roberts all those in favor I motion carries 19.08 principal meeting this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.08 move to approve second have a motion by Dr Mari Ari and a second by Miss Powers all those in favor I I motion carries 19.09 benefits for nine represented staff this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.09 motion to approve 19 second I have a motion by Miss Russell a second by Dr mariar all those in favor I I motion carries 19.10 lesson plans this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.10 second I have a motion by Miss Roberts a second by Dr Mari Ari all those in favor I I motion carries 19 19.11 articulation and access to Florida college system institutions may I have a motion to approve 19.1 moved I have a motion by Miss Powers a second by Miss Russell all those in favor I I motion carries 19.12 requirements for extracurricular participation this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.12 second I have a motion by Miss Russell a second by Miss Powers all those in favor I motion carries 19.13 school supply sale this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.13 move to approve 1913 second have a motion by Dr mariar a second by Miss Powers all those in favor I I motion carries 19 14 co-curricular responsibilities this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.4 so moved second I have a motion by Miss Powers a second by Dr Mari Ari all those in favor I motion carries 19.15 faculty meetings this is also a recension may I have a motion to approve 19.15 moved second I have a motion by Miss Powers a second by Miss Russell all those in favor I I motion carries so now we have open to the board we go in order or how do we do this no you go however we're good we'll start down there okay uh I just want to extend our thoughts and prayers to the Madison Wisconsin Community for the uh deadly shooting there uh this week and uh it just a unspeakable tragedy and uh it's uh just with a heavy heart that our thoughts are with them I also want to thank our security Mr franela and our security department for keeping us safe uh they do a great job I want to salute uh our three high schools have really done some incredible efforts here Martin County high schools na Honor Society adopted three families um for the holidays and uh they're assisting 13 children so uh kudos to them and then as uh Miss Paulson mentioned uh Jensen Beach High School writing letters overseas and South Fork High School doing bell ringing and helping with reena's House of blessings uh I think our high schools have done a phenomenal job stepping up in this holiday season in my uh it's my first month here on the job so uh I want want to salute our staff for their incredible responsiveness I've had so many different emails coming in from different people and uh I can always forward it and count on our staff uh to be responsive and have great ideas so I want to thank them for helping my me get my feet wet here this first month uh to our superintendent uh it's been a pleasure working with you this first month and I appreciate all your help uh answering all my questions and concerns and uh look forward to working with you even more and finally Miss falls down the end thank you for straightening out my calendar and for this is great having you here can you do the rest of my life too or just just the school board you're wonderful I just want to thank you for getting everything in order for me you're amazing and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone thank you so you know Brian she will send all of your stuff to your other calendars too she does she does an amazing job just tell her where you need it y um just enjoying all the shows and performances and things around the district and thank all the students for sharing their talents and the faculty and staff for helping um get those things up on a stage and Performing for us and for the community really appreciate that and wish everybody a Merry Christmas thank you I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a happy holidays and I hope you take this time to really enjoy your families and rejuvenate so that we can hit the ground run in January one um thank you so yes I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year um I I Echo um that I hope you all have um time to spend some well-deserved time to not do anything and not think about the school district and enjoy your families and um a happy Hanukkah and or whatever however you celebrate the holidays I hope that it's filled with lots of joy and that we are refreshed and ready to go on um January 6 um also I would like to add possibly to either the workshop or a um or the next board meeting an update on the pool because I think that there's a lot of misinformation out there I know from um a liability standpoint that it's not as simple as you know some one one element of the plan being corrected because unfortunately and I did speak to our insurer because I'm like okay can can we do this and it's like well once once we have the plan and we know that there are things that have to be fixed if something were to happen we we are we would be liable for that so I just want the public to know that it is we're not St Walling but it is about public safety and um hopefully we can get those things corrected and get the pool open um as soon as we possibly can so just maybe an update from our facility staff and our um risk management staff to to talk about the ins and outs of that so that we the public is made aware that's it do I go first or you m you well no you it doesn't matter superintend thank you madam chair I will piggy back off of Mrs Powers because I did have um some notes Here in transparency full transparency for the pool I do want the community to completely understand that the decision to close the pool was not the board's decision the decision to close the pool was my decision I'm charged with protecting the assets and liability of the district and so in doing that after review of the report uh I made the determination to keep the pool closed until our risk management team had the opportunity to work with our facilities and maintenance departments to make sure that all Corrections have been made uh to both there and the inspector who will be inspecting the pools um liking uh I what the board has committed to fully and we appreciate is the commitment to fund the pool and all of the corrections that need to to happen so that we are providing a facility that is safe and uh updated and clean and ready to go for the upcoming swim season my commitment and obligation is to our students the board's commitment is to our students and my commitment along with the board's commitment is that the pool will be opened as quickly as possible um for the new swim season if we can open it sooner uh after inspection and after everything has been properly mediated uh we will certainly do so uh it is not the school board that has closed the pool they have voted to fund the pool and the fixes for the community and have directed staff to move forward in doing so which we are and Mrs powers and the board absolutely we would have no problem in providing an update at the next Workshop because that'll give us more information in January I know Mr seus has been working incredibly hard uh with our purchasing department to expedite that process uh but the commitment is to have it open and ready for swim season thank you thank you superintendent I'd like to congratulate Joshua oato who was the uh School related employee of the year we went to a really nice celebration last night and it was really poignant because Jeff Raymond was his teacher so he got to present him with the award and I just thought that was really kind of special um so congratulations to him I want to wish all the staff and all the administration a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year enjoy the time with your family and we'll see you in January thank you and with that we're adjourned e