##VIDEO ID:vQZtVn9astI## good good afternoon ladies and gentlemen I'll Now call the regular school board meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and this Sinclair please call the RO District 1 Barbara mcquinn here District 2 Alexandria AA here District three Ken bro District Four Erica Whitfield here District Five Frank barbier District Six Mara Andrews District Seven Ed also joining us is superintendent Michael bur General Council Sean Bernard Inspector General Teresa Michael board clerk Tony Sinclair and student County president Isabella marisola senior staff members will join us periodically as directed by the superintendent tonight the national anthem will be per performed by the Carver Community Middle School soaring Melodies chorus with select Mighty Eagles band members would everyone please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr Barbieri followed by the national anthem allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to The Republic stand one nation under God indivisible andice for all can you see by the early light what so proud We at the Twilight last and bright stars through the the part we so G streaming and The Rock the r through the night that our flag still there or the of the of the viewers and listeners can access the meeting today by either watching on com pcast channels 234 and 235 Erse channel 99 or by using the YouTube link on our web page at pom Beach schools.org in the event that the link is interrupted for technical reasons please switch over to the TV channels all board meetings are recorded in their entirety and posted on the district website within 24 hours we also offer a listening only option which the public can access by calling 561 357 5900 or to free at 1866 930 7015 the meeting ID is 1 561 880 11124 pound board members we have four sets of meaning of minutes on the agenda today for approval going to have a motion to approve motion by Mr Barbieri second by Mr Ferguson any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously I have an item to add for good cause I am adding P2 P2 Personnel addendum good cause exists for adding this item so that employees can begin in their new positions as soon as possible Mr superintendent do you have any items to withdraw no Madam chair board members do you have anything to pull from the consent agenda seeing none I'll take a motion to approve the agenda motion by Mrs Andrew second by miss aella any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously any disclosures and abstentions okay seeing none that will bring us now to superintendent comments thank you uh well last night was a proud night for the school district Palm Beach County we had our annual Showcase of schools out at the fairgrounds where uh we highlighted and our schools were there in great number highlighting the various Choice programs we offer where we really truly offer programs for everything and and everybody that uh all career potential career paths are covered and I know many of our board members are out there so supporting our schools and it was just a nice evening uh you're seeing some pictures here uh the schools you know set up their booth and welcome parents and students to get more information about the programs being offered and we're going into that window where the application window will open up actually on Monday November 4th and for more information families can find that on my PB Choice app.com the deadline if you're applying for Performing Art School that requires an audition is December 6th and the deadline for all other school choice programs is Friday January 31st first I'd also like to just point out that on November 5th we have a very important question on the ballot to provide a or to continue to have a half penny sales search tax for our school Capital needs this is really important for the ongoing work we do to keep our school safe and Harden those campuses as well as make sure our students have the latest technology and onetoone computer devices and the latest equipment needed for Career Technical education and then of course major maintenance items um like roofs air conditioning you know uh school buses all that good stuff so I want to just make sure voters are aware of this important question on the ballot and people are already voting early voting started Monday and of course people will have their mailin ballots and I do want to point out we've picked up some really uh important endorsements uh both the local newspapers the Sun Sentinel to Palm Beach Post have endorsed the half penny for schools as well as our local business chamber the Chamber of the Palm Beaches The Economic Council and the League of Women Voters and and uh I also want to point out that this evening marks the last regular monthly school board meeting for three of our Schoolboard members and on behalf of the entire School District our students and staff I want to thank you for your combined 28 years of service on the board we have been very fortunate to have your stable steadfast and thoughtful leadership this school board has always put our students first and your leadership at the top sets the tone for all of Team Palm Beach I also want to thank you for give me the opportunity to serve as superintendent it's been my absolute honor and pleasure to work with you and I value our friendships uh with that said I've got a brief video we'd like to share the absolute best part of this job is interacting with students and they you know fill your cup and inspire you every single time that you see them I was raised by an educator you know we moved moved to Florida from Puerto Rico to pursue a higher and better educational future for me it's also about being able to be an example for so many students in our community that I felt needed a voice and needed a reflection of themselves on our school board one of the things I'm the most proud of is the creation of the students superintendent Advisory Board to provide students a direct voice to our superintendent and our team on what's working for them and what's not in their educational experience expence another thing I'm extremely proud of is the continued expansion of our dual language programs and working closely with our Latinos in Action friends we are going to Pilot the first two Elementary School Latinos in Action chapters in Palm Beach county in two schools in district 2 there is nothing more fundamental to what we enjoy in this country than public education in my opinion public education is about access it's about enrichment it's about an equalizer for people to want an opportunity to be able to pursue it I went to Palm Springs Elementary Palm Springs middle and graduated from Donna Leonard High School being able to see that when I walk into those buildings there's been progress in so many ways it's a very heartwarming experience to know that as the first Latina elected the community can feel they have someone they can speak to when they call our offices is for me to be able to be that representative is just I can't ever say enough words of thank you to the community for the opportunity there are people who say Barbara how could you possibly miss being on the school board I am going to miss it and I really believe this is my last formal opportunity to be part of the school district a part that I really will miss are sitting with my colleagues on the board my biggest accomplishment that I feel so happy about one of the teachers that I had worked with at Palm wi Gardens High School said you need to bring back North Tech which is north technical education center and I said where did it go and she said they're not serving in our high school students anymore I had no idea took 5 years but it's in the capital plan most people know that I did not come from a traditional family were there not a public education system and frankly counselors and teachers who cared about me I don't know where I would be today so public education literally saved me and my five brothers and sisters who all managed to be functioning adults in spite of not good childhoods because of the safe place that is our public school I want people to know that I did my very best to do what I felt was right for our kids and of course that means for our teachers and all of our employees feel really good about the future of our country because of our public education system particularly here in palmach County I think the most rewarding part of my 74 years is serving on the school board for the last 16 it's been an amazing experience and I'm really going to miss it a lot I think the being with the kids and being able to help kids and the teachers and principles of my district I've come very close to many of them I'm going to miss the friendships that I built and they all tell me stop by stop by and I said yeah when I first time I stop by and and they say Frank's here going to say Frank who I saw a little boy was kneeling down in front of some books his name was Sam and uh Sam was looking at a book and uh kneel on the floor I saidh do you have a book like that at home and he said no I said would you like to take that home and he said said yeah will you buy this for me and I said sure I'll buy it for you and then he goes well there's a whole series of them here and he he points to like 10 and uh so I bought the whole set from that time on Sam and I had become close friends and he said can you will you be my grandpa I think that was one of the proudest moments seeing Sam graduat um but um you know there's been lots of those situations where you know where I was able to help somebody you can have all the money in the world you can have businesses you can have houses you can have cars all of that stuff could be gone in an instant but a gift of an education is something that you have forever I mean it's just nobody can take that away from you I'd like them to remember me as as a good guy it was always there for them and and for the kids and uh you know and that's it I just you know um I helped a lot of them and you know they helped me everyone yes yes thank you board member IA board Vice chair mcquinn and board member Barbie ER thank you for all of your dedicated service and we'll have another surprise in a few minutes okay thank you that's going to bring us to board comments Miss aella thank you madam chair well Mr superintendent thank you so much for the nice tribute and the video that was really special and to our director of comms and his team thank thank you for putting that together for us that was a beautiful job um I was saving my last comments for my final meeting which was UN UNC untraditional for me to use business meetings on special meeting time for but I was expecting that timeline so I'm going to come back to you all then but um it's been a very heartwarming day an emotional day it was great to be with our staff in the building so thank you for the opportunity to be with them today this afternoon um and I'll have more to say soon and I want to thank my mother who's with us in the audience um and my fiance who's somewhere in the building I think on the way here but um what I will say today is it's been a privilege to serve in this capacity I have been very fortunate to have a group of colleagues that has Shar shared my values on some of the most important things we've had to face during this time in public education but the two people who have seen everything that the last four years have entailed are the two people that I mentioned and I want to thank them publicly acknowledge them for their patience and lending me in this role to the public Through The Good the Bad and the Ugly because no one can do it alone and I would not have been able to be here without their support so that's what I'll say for tonight and I'll have more detailed eloquent comments next meeting around thank you thank you Mrs Whitfield thank you so much uh first of all I'm so glad I'm not leaving tonight um it's very sad and happy time and I just want to congratulate the three of you um for an amazing uh career here at the school district um and the the impact that you all have made is going to be um remembered for a long time so I'm very proud of the work and being proud to be able to sit by you this whole time um especially Mr Barbary um honestly what you did during covid uh was uh incredible and I think you know your memory will go on a long time um about the way you were able to get us through that time it was very difficult and um so I think we'll remember that um forever um so thank you guys so much um I did have some actual comments about what's going on in my district a couple of things that have happened so I really want to um just say those briefly if I can I had a couple of big events that have happened um recently that I just want to recognize the first is at um we had a I had a conversation with carroad center and Guatemala Maya Center and we talked a lot about um the difficulty of communicating with some of our families in the lakew worth area about um what's going on in the school district the services that we provide and so with their help um Lakeworth high school and um many departments here in um the in our um School District we put together a parent information night you can see a few pictures here up on the screen um from that night um again it was at lakew worth high school so you can see the principal there and um Mr oats who did so much work for us we really appreciate him as the AP on the left hand side there um we had uh adult education choice and career options came um five departments so I'm like dropping them out of my head right now but it was an incredible opportunity Transportation was really important um to have there with us and so we had this night we had the Latinos in Action kids I I'm obsessed with them they were wonderful they were so helpful they came um also restoration Bridge gave us a bunch of food to hand out to the families and the families walked out with boxes and boxes of food so you can see them here collecting some of the food um and just a really good opportunity to share with families and really get them in and get them some information about things that can help with their with their children so those are some pictures from that the other thing I'll just say briefly with the rest of my time um uh we had an ethical governance day at pooki high school that went very very well I loved it um thank you Marsha for allowing me to bring this into your District this is not the picture of that I'll get to that in a second um but it was a wonderful opportunity for our um uh for our uh leaders in the community go out and speak to the children at pooki high school and I just want to say a huge um thank you to principal dinard and his whole staff for allowing us to come in it was a wonderful day the people just loved getting to know the children they had wonderful questions U it was a it was um a little less than a month ago and uh these students were just um it was just so great to have that connection we had a lot of great people come in from the community to speak to them and so maybe I'll bring pictures another time and then the last thing um this picture that's up here this is actually uh just such a proud moment this is lakew worth the city of lak worth our um lakew worth schools their grades this past year everyone in the city is a see your better which is incredible it's so such a big deal so the city Commission in lak worth decided to recognize all of our principles so we have every one of our lak worth principles there uh with a proclamation from the city of Lakeworth so huge thank you to the mayor and all of the Commissioners there for taking time out of their their busy meeting to recognize our principles and the hard work that they do for the students of lakew worth so this is all of lakew worth Beach and all of the Lakeworth Beach Commissioners um and I just it was a great moment to thank them and I just wanted to appreciate their recognition of our hardworking principles and staff in lorth um they I really am so privileged to be able to be uh working with you all thank you thank you Mr barbui thank you madam chair um good evening everyone and thank you for joining us tonight both here in the audience and those watching from home my wife frid's here tonight um this is the the second meeting she's ever attended the first meeting was November 6 2008 where she watched me get sworn in and this is the meeting she's been hoping for for the longest time is the last time that I'll be here although we do have one more meeting on November 6th um she's always been there for me but several times she said I'm coming to one of those meetings and I'm going to stand up and tell with those people what I think and I said uh you know I'd hate to tell one of the officers that here to remove my wife from The Boardroom so so I said why don't you just stay home and scream at the television set so she took my word for that and did it um as I sit here before you near the end of my term um I'm filled with a mix of emotions uh after 16 incredible years this journey has been an essential part of my life uh and I want to share what this District means to me with all all of you uh first a heartfelt thank you to superintendent Burke I often wish we had brought you on board sooner Mr Burke your exceptional leadership has transformed our District's culture and elevated our reputation both Statewide and nationally and it's been a true honor to work alongside you looking out at this audience um um hoping that there's students out there watching know that you are the heart of this District the you know you are the heart of this District you you are the future of our community your dreams passions and hard work Inspire us every single day whether you're in the classroom or out on the field every effort you make shapes your future and the future of our community my grandchildren currently attend our schools and seeing them thrive in this environment reminds me of the incredible potential within each of you students this District isn't just a place of learning it's a community where lifelong friendships are formed and dreams are nurtured you students are building the foundations of your lives right here and I urge you to embrace every opportunity as many of you know our graduates received diploma was bearing the signatures of the superintendent and the board chair as board chair when my grandson Brandon graduated I had the privilege of personally signing his diploma a cherish memory that encapsulates the personal connections we Foster here in the Palm Beach County School District it's a reminder that education is not just about academic academics it's about the relationships that we form while we're here to my fellow board members I you know in my 74 years of life I've I've served as a police officer and attorney and a board member but my time in this dist has been the most rewarding I'm profoundly grateful to each of you for being part of my journey uh I'm especially grateful to you board members for your partnership and trusting me to lead the board for so many years it has been an honor honor to work alongside each of you passionate dedicated individuals together we've made meaningful changes and I will carry these memories in the spirit of our work with me forever as I step away from my role know that my heart will always be tied into this community I believe in each of you students teachers staff and parents you are the lifeblood of this district and the future is bright because of your dedication and passion thank you for the privilege of serving it's been an honor serving the people of this District you're an incredible Community thank you thank you Mr Barbary Mrs Andrews and thank you and to my three colleagues you know it's bittersweet tonight Mr bober I came and I found you here you've been always so helpful uh to me uh Mrs mcquinn we worked in the district together for so many years and just serving here and Miss I you know you have just been a sparkle the youngest board member coming on board and making it happen here and letting us know your talents and being out into the community uh representing heck and the Hispanic Community but representing all children and not afraid to speak out on behalf of the best education for all children so it's bittersweet for me tonight just to talk about anything else other than to let you know that I'm going to miss you I love you all so much there's no one that can replace you but guess what you will always belong to the school district of Palm Beach County and this school board so I commend you and I know that you have some great things ahead planned for you have fun and think about us because we'll be thinking about you I want to say that since I saw you last uh we had the devastating hurricane Milton uh and the tornadoes and I just want to take a few minutes to thank this uh school district of Palm Beach County because uh my Western communities Wellington loah hatchee uh the acreage avanir all of those areas in the west the tornadoes did so much Devastation to our community right around October the 9th I want to thank the superintendent who worked with the County Emergency Operation Center almost 24/7 to make sure that we were safe the schools uh that were open to shelters I mean it's a part of us we are the community in uh in a crisis in an emergency we opened up five schools as shelters 28 schools offered grab and go meals uh School food service department you recognized people were hungry they needed help and you were there I want uh say thank you to all of the School District staff and volunteers who worked on the recovery efforts uh after Hurricane Milton to help get our schools open so that we could get back to normal and to help families with the meals it's so nice to see the community working together to support each other in difficult times it takes all of us being together to bring us back to normaly it's going to take a while for some of the families to get back to where they were but they can be assured that the school district of Palm Beach County will be there to help them all the way and on last night it was wonderful being out at the Showcase of schools 125 elementary middle and high schools were there with the choice program uh Dr Johnson all the principles I saw you I waved at you and I saw all of the exciting parents looking to make sure that they were knowledgeable knowledgeable about all of the programs that we offer here in the school district of Palm Beach County it's always uh a blessed to be out at the Showcase of schools I know about the choice programs in our schools but when I see the children marketing their school because they're so great it means so much for them to talk to other children that might be interested in being in their schools and lastly uh it was a great week last week for me serving as the chair of the Council of great City Schools uh to be in Dallas Texas and we had a wonderful uh contingency of uh pompage County School District uh administrators uh leaders presenting to all of those big urban districts letting them know how great we are in Palm Beach County School District and we have so much to offer so I thank uh superintendent Burke for leading the charge and Palm Beach County School District you're doing great things at a national level at a state level as well as right here on the local level right here in Palm Beach County thank you thank you Mr Ferguson thank you madam chair I'll try to move quickly so on October 14th I had a chance to attend the counselor's breakfast at which superintendent Burke recognized our our guidance counsel for all the great things that that they do also on that day I had a chance to go to a sustainability Symposium at Manatee Lagoon in Rivier Beach uh to address that group as well there's a photo that you can see um and also later that day I went back down to Boon to the people's Forum uh that was hand that was hosted at St John's Baptist Church regarding a few persons that are running for public office so that was a pretty busy day um as as board me board member Andrew said I also had the chance to attend the Council of great City Schools to watch her do what she does at a national stage I'm happy of the large delegation that we have from Palm Beach County that came to support her as well superintendent Burke I really would like to see more of our directors travel outside of Palm Beach County because there's so much more that we can gain I think as a district by collaborating and and conversing with persons from across this country um but having said all that we're doing a pretty good job as is but there's always more that we can do and honestly that we should do our project uplift will be this Saturday uh the address is up there on this on the screen 1301 North Dixie Highway also there's an event later that day at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church which is located at 718 Third Street in West Palm Beach they're going to be uh giv doing screenings for cervical cancer colon cancer prostate cancer and also mammogram so that's definitely something particularly in the black community that we don't have enough of in terms of screening and proactive measurement so I would encourage anyone uh who feels like they may need to have a screening to please join me at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church the event starts at 10: a.m. and runs into the afternoon hours um also if you haven't already voted as you can see I took the time I took the plunge and I voted today uh was really easy less than 10 minutes uh early voting ends on November 3rd uh and of course the actual election day is on November 5th for those of you who plan to vote by mail I would encourage you to go ahead and get that ballot in sooner than later um and if you choose not to send that ballot in before say Friday it would be my strong advice for you to actually take it directly to the supervisor of elections to make sure that your vote is counted last but not least I want to recognize my three colleagues who are going to be moving on I'm sad to see you all go but I'll start with the youngest and move to Frank because the next youngest will be the next see I'm smart next will be Miss mcquinn so board member Ayala I I've said this to you many times I have lost nothing from acknowledging your wit your preparation your forthrightness and your commitment to your to your issues obviously you know I respect that um you're going to be a huge loss to this school board but I respect your choice to move on to a different phase but understand that you definitely have made an indelible mark on Palm Beach County School District and not that it really matters on me so again I I really appreciate you and I respect you and I wish you nothing but the best in all your future endeavors board member mcquinn I've known you as of course you know no longer than anybody up on this de you were the bell of the ball when I first met you back in high school and you still are I appreciate your diplomatic uh temperament uh that you've exhibited over these two years every now and then I think you might have misheard what I was saying and then you had to let me know hey wait a minute I'm from Palm Beach County too but we but it was never anything that couldn't be cleared up in very short fashion you are also true blue I'm going to miss you I really wish you weren't going but I respect and understand your reasons for moving on uh to the the next chapter um and I'll do my best to work with whoever comes out of district one moving forward as far as that goes last but not least my good friend Frank barbier I would I don't think it's a reach for me to say that uh moving when I when I was a seeking this when I was seeking this seat I think you were very helpful in that regard in terms of just listening to what my vision was for public education in district 7 and I think you did do what often times we don't do as board members in terms of saying you know what I'll introduce you to a few people and then that that cannot be passed can I please get a little more time I'm sorry fine this is a little I'm sorry I'll wrap up so I'll speak to you Frank I've told you over these two years I really do enjoy being with you I do consider you an actual friend not just somebody that I know on the board but even as even though you're my friend I just want you to know there's a debt to be paid last year my school Atlantic High School lost to west bokeh in the playoffs and I've been waiting for the right moment to go to an Atlantic High School game it's Edward keeps calling me and emailing me board member you have to come I'm coming on Friday November 1st to West boka I hope that you are there and when we beat you by at least two touchdowns I am going to sign this shirt and give it to you in love and I want you to wear it with pride and I thank you for the Indulgence Madam chair all right thank you Mr Ferguson Vice chair mcquinn I like Miss hayala am going to save my in her words eloquent we know no I'm never eloquent I'm going to save my eloquent remarks for the November 6th school board meeting but I'm just going to chime in again because It embarrasses him and his face will turn red we have the most amazing superintendent we really do and um I I will use again miss Ayala's words his leadership has really helped us sparkle we are a diamond throughout the country because of really his leadership and putting together from his uh from his position an incredible leadership team the reception today and I told Mr Burke yesterday I said you know I really don't like these things and he said well please come and he never appeals like that he's always whatever you want to do I never dreamed that so many members of this building's staff and my own North Region um staff would come to tell us goodbye and to thank us for our service on the board it really it meant so much to me to see faces I've worked with you in schools I've seen you at football games and it was so great to see all those faces again another time and when I come back on November 6 I am going to share with you an amazing photo that um a member of our Multicultural Department gave me today it was a photo of in 1995 when I gave him his high school diploma so it was a very very special day and thank you superintendent Burke for um threatening me if I did not come today because you know he didn't threaten me but um he appealed and so it was a great day and thank you so much for your leadership and um you did not get to see in the video because our incredible Communications Department actually made me look good not rambling like I am prone to do but I did thank my colleagues who are leaving uh Miss aala I think it's so incredible that you were forceful and you made sure that we all heard your vision about the superintendent student Excuse me yes superintendent student advisory Council ssac what it a a beautiful piece that has now um that our superintendent took to heart and I think it's really made a difference in how we are more student centered in what we do thank you for that and then I had great praise for Mr barier for being so accommodating to me when eight years ago I was a new school board member and letting me wave and yell down the the D to make sure that that he saw me and gave me my opportunity to talk I recognized you for your amazing leadership during the pandemic it really what you did was I don't think anyone in the nation could hold a candle to how you led us and and kept decorum and so thank you for that and the rest of you I am going to miss you very much I think you all have my personal cells because we all know I don't like school district phones so please stay in touch and I will be watching the board meetings to keep make sure that everybody's doing exactly what they're supposed to do from my point of view thank you very much thank you so downside of being the chair is I'm number seven so rather than repeat everything I'm going to start off by saying that ditto on Mr Burke um Mrs Andrews you always steal all my comments I was going to talk about hurricane Milton and the Showcase of schools but I do want to take a moment out to tell you how very proud I was was of Mrs Andrews when I saw her deliver the keynote speech at the Council of great City Schools she was fabulous she made us look so good we were so proud of her we had many of the school board members there as well as staff and I have to tell you your leadership just shined on I was just so proud to be there and to be able to applaud you and so now I just want to make a few comments about our departing board members I feel like it's family that's moving away but here's a reminder for all of you we don't have to worry about Sunshine Law we can all talk to each other at least we can speak to the three of you so you'll have a greater impact because I know you're going to call us out when we do something wrong and we can turn to you for advice and I will say that each and every one of you have made me a a better leader I have learned so much from you I'm going to start off with the board member who has had the longest term on the board um know many of you know that I used to be on the other side of the deis I started back in the days of Monica uorn and I was a regular poor Dr Johnson had to see me at every meeting speaking on behalf of students with disabilities and I took a brief Hiatus right when Mr barbier was elected but I got to see him in action when I watched and I saw him at that Cobra meeting when he tore apart the school district's budget and I said I've got to be like him I have got to take that s next step I knew I was going to run at some point for Schoolboard and you inspired me and I watched you and you made me a better leader and I thank you for all that you did taking us through the tumultuous days but also your wisdom your ability to go over the contracts I will miss you but I'm not going to leave you alone I am sorry Rita but I will be calling him because now we can speak um I'll move on to Vice chair mcquinn who has brought so much institutional knowledge to this board having started off in this District spending so many years here your compassion shines through in every word you say that you ramble no that's your heart you just care so much for the students for the employees and I am going to miss that compassion that charm I know that you knew me before I knew you because you were afraid of me going into the area office when I was an advocate I didn't know I had such a bad name back then I thought I was a pretty nice person but I I am happy that we've had the chance to forge this relationship and to Mel the first Latina on our board who has paved the way who came in I the value of having someone who recently graduated from our schools who saw things through a different lens who was able to come in and advocate for her community so eloquently and I just to watch you grow into that leadership position I can't wait to see what the future holds for you because I know that this is that you are going places and I will definitely be turning to you for advice because you have done so much to touch the children this in this District yes the student advisory you know this year I had two students that called me that wanted to go on the advisory so you may have had a short term with us but you've left an indelible Mark and so with that I just want to let you know that we're going to now go down on the floor from the school board the superintendent and the school district we have a little gift of remembrance for all of you so we're all going to head down I will tell you that after we give you your remembrances we'll stay down on the floor and move right into the presentations with M NAA nolm from the communications and engagement Department who will be joining us for the board recognitions wow I was GNA say Mr that was not g to fit you I it actually does a large no it doesn't now you app I'll okay all right uh good evening chair bril Vice chair mcquinn board members superintendent Burke staff and community members and this evening we have two recognitions on the agenda uh we begin with the recognition for Angelica Mahia a student at John I Leonard high school she was named as part of the 20th cohort of Bezos Scholars for 2024 Bezos Scholars is a year-long leadership development program where participants work with their communities to design and Implement a community change project the program provides support to Scholars helping them produce real world projects intended to create positive change Scholars are chosen based on their intellectual care curiosity and commitment to education demonstrated leadership and Community engagement as well as their Readiness and capacity to engage in the program Angelica organized a program that provides free menstrual products for her school Community uh she also conducted voter education and registration drives to inform students about the importance of voting Angelica is now part of a diverse and accomplished cohort community of students who engage in more than 45 hours of virtual leadership skill building sessions and earn 1 000 in funding to launch their projects students also receive free personalized College advising and have access to Unique opportunities offered through the scholar Alum Network upon program completion congratulations to Angelica Mahia for being named a bezel Scholars for 2024 let's give her a round of applause and we also want to acknowledge Dr Jesus armis the principal at John high for his attendance this evening in support of one of his students to thank you so much for that wonderful presentation I just wanted to take a moment to tell you a little bit more and brag on anel a little bit more because she is a student that I have known since she was a sophomore I think is when we met through the Latinos in Action Program at Johnny Leonard and this accomplishment I really want to State the significance of it this is a program where one she is one of 12 students in the United States to be selected in for this cohort she is one of 17 in the world because five students come from the continent of Africa and she was selected alongside Miss gaspa who unfortunately cannot be here with us this evening she is an educator at Johnny Leonard and the sponsor for the organization Latino's in action at the school and she is somebody who when I say above and beyond it doesn't cut it what she gives to these students her heart the professionalism the concern the care and for me to connect with Hela in this way to see her be civically involved to see her want to register students to vote to see her be you know fighting for things that she cares about at this age I know that you're going places and I want to thank you for being a student that puts not only my alma mater are soon to be alma mater when you're going to be a graduating senior here Johnny Leonard High School Green Acres Florida Palm Beach County you have put us on a global map she spent a week in Aspen Colorado with some of the brightest Minds in the country and in the world so I want to thank you for recognizing us and I want to reiterate that this right here is a first generation Latina with parents from Mexico and Honduras and our educator who was her sponsor is from Guatemala we have Excellence right here in our backyard every single day and I could not be prouder to know you to see you spread your wings and fly and spread that Lancer magic all over the world and I am so excited for you and I congratulate you on this wonderful amazing accomplishment and I wanted the opportunity for your family to come and take a photo with us as well thank you got and lastly this evening we are recognizing three of our employees who each received awards from the educational media Association for 2024 Michelle martello is the media specialist at Diamond View Elementary School she received the outstanding Elementary media service award she is in her 13th year with the district and says that the best part of her job is helping students discover the magic of books and seeing them get excited about reading she also loves working with teachers and organizing events that bring the whole school together to celebrate literacy Sally smer is the media specialist at pla School of the Arts she received the outstanding secondary media service award Miss smer has worked for the district for 29 years for her the best part of her job is getting to know the students from the time they enter kindergarten watching their personalities emerge as they grow up and seeing their potential for the future and Kristen King is the principal at Jerry Thomas Elementary School and she received the outstanding principal award she has been with the district for 22 years she says the best part of her job is the opportunity she is given to have a positive impact on students the morning greeting is one of her favorite times of the day and she loves guiding her school staff who work tirelessly to help students reach their maximum potential these Awards go to Media Specialists and principles who promote Innovative practices that positively impact the media programs in Palm Beach County Schools media Specialists are nominated by their principles and principles are nominated by media Specialists each of these winners Awards is a testament to the respect they have earned for the exceptional work they do each day congratulations to Michelle martello on receiving the outstanding Elementary media service award Sally smer for receiving the outstanding secondary media service award and Kristen King for receiving the outstanding principal award let's give them all a round of applause Madame board chair Madame Vice chair board members superintendent staff and members of the community this concludes the recognitions for October thank you everyone for your attention this evening at every regular meeting we take a moment out to remember our employees who have left us who have passed away tonight we're going to be remembering Erica McFarland she was a teacher of secondary math 9 to gr grade n to 12 at Atlantic High School passed away on August 7th 2024 like to ask everybody for a moment of silence thank you so that's now going to bring us to our Student Government report miss marisola good evening superintendent Burke chairwoman BR Vice chairwoman mcquinn members of the board and esteemed members of the general public at our most recent meeting I had the privilege of updating you all about the first County meeting of the year I am pleased to report that the meeting proved to be highly productive featuring valuable insights and actable items that will pave the way for future collaboration in our community since then I've met with the school Food Service team the old County president fisel and no kid hungry to discuss the specifics of the Palm Beach hunger initiative this initiative is geared towards improving food security for our students and we are committed to making a tangible impact in this area as as part of our plan we are going to have help from a few members from student government to volunteer at the food service office their involvement will be crucial in ensuring that posters and flyers will promoting the initiative are effectively distributed across all schools we want every student to be aware of the resources available to them in the important role they play in this initiative furthermore fisel and I are actively looking into opportunities to visit local schools and engage directly with their SGA members we believe that face-to-face discussions will help to inspire and motivate students to take part in our efforts that to combate combat hunger in our community by informing them about the significance of this initiative we can Empower our youth to become advocates for change within their own schools and neighborhoods in addition to spreading awareness we hope to foster a sense of community among the students as they come together to make a difference these initiatives are not just about providing food they are about building a supportive environment where every child feels cared and valued for in conclusion I am truly excited about the possibilities that the Palm Beach hunger initiative holds for our community together we can work to ensure that no child in our area goes hunger hungry thank you all for your continued support and dedication to this vital cause your commitment to the well-being of our students is what drives our success and I look forward to the meaningful changes we will be achieving thank you thank you Miss marisola that's going to bring us to our committee reports academic advisory committee is Laura Felman here I don't see her okay the audit committee report is attached the construction oversight Review Committee report is attached we don't have a report at this meeting from the district diversity and Equity committee General councel do you have a report for us no report thank you um Inspector General I don't have a report but I do have a couple of words I'd like to say to the outgoing board members uh almost I did the math almost a quarter century ago I was working in my Inspector General field and I just started as an investigator and I had my first in custody death case and as you can imagine that was a hard case to handle and it got some attention from the media and a grand jury was convened and one of the times when I was working with the state attorney on preparing for the grand jury and on the investigation I received a phone call from our general council's office in Tallahassee asking me what I was going to tell the grand jury well needs to say the state attorney was not happy with that phone call she overheard it and kind of lost her mind she demanded the Inspector General come down and meet with her so the Inspector General flew down from Tallahassee and she assured the state attorney that I would stay and finish the investigation that everything would remain confidential and factual and when we left that meeting and I was driving her to the airport I asked her I said I saidou know that that was horrible and she goes oh it's nothing compared to what I've been dealing with in Tallahassee I said I've been getting inquiries wanting to know if you were the leak um if you what you were telling the grand jury and what you were reporting on and I looked at her and I said how in the world do you handle that how do you walk that tight rope and she told me she goes there's two things you've got to keep in mind if you ever want to be an IG number one be prepared to walk number two work for ethical people that have the conviction behind those ethics and the strength to stand by that I got to say that not too many IGS have the luck or the the the the the good working environment that I have here with this board because nobody here has ever tried to accuse me of the leak or blamed me for the the reports and it is a privilege to work with people in government who stand by what they say too many government entities one transparency they want to say they have ethics but not too many of them want to have an IG that's internal that's only focused on this school district I have nothing outside to keep me busy or occupied or divert my attention and to takes a lot of courage to have somebody right here looking at everybody all the time and and you all should be commended for that and I appreciate that you all make a sometimes unpleasant job that much easier and in return we have challenge coins for each of the three board members that I'll give to you afterwards but thank you for making a rough job that much better thank you Miss Michael that's going to bring us to our elected officials and delegates reports I'll first call James Gillis president CEO of the Education Foundation Mr though there you are thank you madam chair I'm just looking for my clock where's our our countdown clock they don't have his clock there we go okay good evening Madam chair Mr superintendent members of the school board uh let me Jump Right In as you're all very well aware tomorrow night will be our annual go teach grants award ceremony uh tomorrow evening your Education Foundation will award 86 go te grants totaling $190,000 both of these are the highest level of Grants we've ever awarded uh that ceremony will start at six o'clock reception at 5: at the Boon Beach cultural center and it's a real chance to honor our teachers what's important about the goate teach this year is these goate teach winners will be coming to our new facility more on that in a minute here um and they'll be conducting seminars for the rest of the teachers we're going to take our best and most effective teachers who have these incredible grants and we're going to ask them I can't be out of time already we're going to ask them to replicate to teach other teach teachers how to do what they're doing all of this will be taking place in the new center speaking of which we brought 36 young people from the Atlantic High School construction Academy last week to the center where they spent the day with Proctor construction they had the chance to tour the building actually do some work there was incredible engagement and question and answer between the Proctor construction team and these young students from Atlantic high school learning about the career opportunities in the world of construction ladies and gentlemen the day was magical to see these young people perk up when the Proctor team shared with them as they talked about tilt wall construction boom crane operators make in excess of $200,000 a year and four of these Atlantic high school kids shot straight up in their chairs and said I'm sorry could you repeat that these kids were engaged and those are the types of activities that are going to take place in that building speaking of which I I am very pleased I I did send an email out to our board so I followed proper protocol to let them know first literally ladies and gentlemen 5 hours ago the city of Lakeworth Beach Grand us a temporary certif certificate of occupancy uh proor construction is 28 days ahead of schedule and a million dollars under budget uh and we are actually ready to start moving into this new facility the facility is going to be spectacular but let us never forget the building is nothing more than a tool it's a tool to help us carry out our mission Madame chair you've been part of this mission for 12 years as a member of our foundation board as Miss Whitfield you are now it's doing programs like we did with those Atlantic high school kids in that career acad Academy it's doing things like taking our go teach Grant recipients and replicating their Innovation their entrepreneurial Spirit their creativity and making sure that the best and brightest Among Us are able to be spread throughout the district this is the work of your foundation in my last minute here I want to address the three of you who are now moving on to other endeavors miss aala miss mcquinn and certainly Mr barbier almost 60 years ago exactly it was actually September 20th 1964 a campy little Sci-Fi show debuted on CBS a show called Star Trek part of its enduring popularity is that the three main characters were always out front and center and no matter what the universe threw at them monsters aliens craziness the three of them as long as they weren't wearing red shirts and if you know Star Trek you know what I'm talking about they always came back for more but the enduring popularity of that show was the vision that Jee Roddenberry had of a future where we could be better miss aala miss mcquinn and Mr barbier the three of you have stood front and center it was alluded to earlier during the horrific pandemic the three of you stood front and center and took every shot that Palm Beach County could throw at you and you stood up again and again and again and you kept coming back for more and your enduring Legacy is not just going to be that you kept coming back the Legacy that the three of you leave is your vision that we could be better your vision that Palm Beach County could be be better and you had the courage the intelligence the integrity and the personal commitment to make us better from the Education Foundation thank you for your service God give you the rest you deserve have a great night thank you Erica hen vice president of Junior Achievement of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast is she here okay Gordon loffer CTA president I don't see him here okay Sylvia Hall PTA PTSA president come right up so good evening members of the board I I would like to to start with our PTA Mission so you know it's a way to Center us and to remember why we're here um our mission is um to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and Empowering Families and communities to advocate for all children one of the things I would like to highlight today is uh one of our most um enduring programs Reflections this National PTA program is an Arts recognition and achievement program for students established in um in 1969 and the reason for that was because the funding for the art programs were are being cut although nothing has really changed but the thing is it this program provides opportunities for recognition and access to Arts with which boots a student confidence and success in the Arts and in life uh the theme for this year I mean every year over 300,000 students in prek through grade through through grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student selected theme this year theme is accepting imperfections and the students should submit their completed works of art in one of all the or any different U categories you know dance choreography Film Production literature music composition photography and visual arts and it's open to all the students if a student attends a school that does not support the national PT of affections programs they might Jo they might join any local unit or this Sunshine State PTA and submit an entry and a selection of entries will then be Advanced to the nearest County Council for judging will be to will be to panach County PDA uh the other thing I would like to mention is um like as um was is in mentioned the early voting has started and I would like to talk about Amendment one the partisan School Board elections Amendment for the PTA position is a no vote um in 1998 voters wisely chose to make Florida school board races nonpartisan that's ensuring that our education system focuses on serving all families and students regardless of political affiliation we advocate for all for the whole child and all families and educational policy should reflect the diverse needs of all students rather than the that be driven by formal or informal partisan agendas this is why we urge uh people and voters to vote no on that an amendment one um again I would like to we are supporting the half penny referendum um and the last thing I would like to fin I would like to to say that we are planning we are doing a presentation a parenting with pride on October 29th and let me let me go back here and this uh so families in our County can learn more about our local and estate Stateway resources review the pan Beach County School District lgbtq plus support guide and join a community with other affirment and upseting families equality Florida is is going to be presenting this workshop and I would like to finish and I have like with h James wal Balwin uh um quote that that I really really means a lot to me the children are always ours every single one of them all over the world all over the globe and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this I'm sorry the time is up thank you Mabel Melton vice president of the Hispanic education Coalition are you here I don't see you okay so that's going to move us now to our agenda item speakers on behalf of the entire School Board I'd like to welcome any public speakers who are joining us today please address the school board as a collective body and do not address individual board members or staff members directly or policy provides that we do not respond to or engage with our speakers however we do make note of your issues and follow up with District administration regarding them as a reminder agenda speakers comments must relate to the subject subject matter of the agenda item which the speaker has requested to address additionally all non-agenda speakers comments must relate to educationally relevant topics or the operations of the school district pursuant to Schoolboard policy speakers whose comments do not relate to the topic that the speaker indicated or are not otherwise educationally relevant as required for non-agenda topics or whose comments disrupt or interfere with the order of the meeting may be subject to removal from the the meeting or having the microphone turned off and forfeiting the right to speak at the remainder of today's meeting you will have 3 minutes to address the board in accordance with Schoolboard policy the microphone will be turned off when the time limit has been reached when you speak please state your name for the record we also request that you provide your address School District number or city of residence thank you for joining us today I'm going to call you up two at a time so that you know who the next person is we'll start with Max fenning and followed by Kate Mah so please come up to the microphone in whatever order you wish good evening superintendent Burke and school board members my name is Kate Mah and I'm here tonight to speak in support of the Proclamation for lgbtq History Month by sharing my story both my husband and I are Palm Beach County School District employees we have three children who attend Palm Beach County schools now more than ever lgbtq students need the support of the adults in the room my family has always felt supported in meaningful Ways by the teachers staff and administrators at both of the Palm Beach County schools that my kids attend however there are some policies that need updating to which the school the schools have no control over but you do I want to share my experience as the parent of a trans kid attempt to update their gender on my child school records School Board policy requires an amended birth certificate or a court order to change the gender in sis when my kid was in ninth grade I waited seven months to get a response from the state of Florida on my application to amend my child's gender on their birth certificate the response was no the school district needs to be aware that in the beginning of 2023 the State of Florida stopped allowing transgender students or transgender people both adults and minors to amend the sex on their birth certificate because of that trans students cannot change their gender on school records under the current District policy when my child was in the 10th grade I began the furpa complaint process my child has a passport and a driver's license with their correct name and gender their legal and valid identification is recognized by the government of the United States the State of Florida and Palm Beach County but not by Palm Beach District Schools I spoke at a district furpa hearing and presented evidence to show that my child's school records were misleading inaccurate and a violation of their privacy again we were denied now that my child was in 11th grade we decided to pursue the only other option you allow a court order do you understand what that means the documents that are required to be submitted to the court allow my child's private medical information to be public record and all without a guarantee that the order will even be granted I am frustrated that the school district recognizes either a birth certificate or passport as a primary identification document for registration but does not recognize the same to correct their demographic information in sis a trans student who is new to the district could use their passport to register and their correct identity would be listed in sis but my kid who is lived here all their life nope you want to support the trans kids in your schools then change the inequality of your rules to allow a passport as a primary identification document and not only for registration purposes but also to update records tonight I'm here to support the proclamation for lgbtq history month but I want to encourage you to do more than vote Yes on these written words put yourself in my shoes and fight for the students as if they were your own change the unfair policies you control give the LGBT TQ students the support they need thank you Max fenning are you here okay Avon gordine go ahead sir good evening everyone thank you all for hearing me out my name is Avan gordin I'm the resident of the city of Boon Beach and I graduated from Atlantic Community High School as well as my younger sister is a student at Boon Beach High School I'm also the Outreach director for prism a youth Le nonprofit working to expand lgbtq inclusive education today I'm here in support of proclamation for lgbtq plus History Month I am here uh to elaborate on the importance of this item and how grateful I am for it throughout my academic career I have excelled as a student despite that despite that success my time in school and further education left me with a little knowledge of myself and my role in society it left my relationships with others lacking and had gotten me to the point where my I saw my parents as strangers I dealt with anxiety and depression and struggled with my ident my idea of self because I didn't have the words to describe my own identity growing up in a Caribbean household the idea of lgbtq was non-existent to me it wasn't until 2017 where I started diving into and acknowledging the queer parts of myself I started working on my relationship with self and others and it was because of external resources such as compass lgbtq center and Lakeworth Beach where I learned the words to accurately identify myself today I'm a proud bisexual leader in our community and I'm even more proud to say that I've deepened my relationship with my parents we are closer than ever before proclaiming October as lgbtq history month is one step toward allowing students to feel valued and seen while I am grateful for my experiences I I can only imagine that what it would be what it would have been if this acknowledgement or Proclamation were present during my time in high school valuing the identities and historical contributions that lgbtq people have provided to to the United States and our very own Palm Beach County benefits all students by showing that everyone can make a positive impact on society it is a way of remaining steadfast in supporting and affirming all students all families and Educators it is the mission of Palm Beach County School District to educate affirm and Inspire each student this Proclamation does so thank you thank you Donald Pearson good evening uh board members is Don Pearson uh West Palm Beach Palm Beach Central High School uh I'm here to talk about what I talk about um a lot of times but you're going to vote tonight on individuals to U have them fired or terminated and the information you have is what you're going to be based on but I've always said to you make sure that you have not a a story the whole story so I just am let you know that you have a tough job to do um I know it's a celebration to three of you that are leaving it's real nice but now you're going to do a vote on something based on a report I just say I would hope now and in the future because you're going to do what you're going to do just make sure you have the whole story because you affect lives it's not any different than losing a house it's not any different than losing everything when you lose your job and you lose your uh way to support your family so I'm just asking you to do that thank you thank you board members that'll bring us to the consent agenda I'll take a motion to approve the agenda motion by Mrs Andrew second by Mrs Whitfield any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously we don't have any unfinished business so that's going to bring us now to new business Mr superintendent C3 I recommend the board Proclaim October 2024 as bullying prevention and awareness month motion by Mrs Andrew second by miss aella any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously see I'm for I recommend the board Proclaim October 2024 as disability history and awareness month motion by Mrs Whitfield second by Miss aella I'm going to read that Proclamation tonight whereas the education of all handicapp children ACT public law 94142 of 1975 the individuals with Disabilities Act Ida of 1997 and the Americans with Disabilities Act the Ada of 1990 were signed into law to promote access to schools and communities for individuals with disabilities and whereas these pieces of legislation caused schools communities and workplaces to become more inclusive and welcoming for individuals with disabilities and whereas in 2008 the Florida legislature designated the first two weeks in in October as disability history and awareness weeks which reminds us to see people as individuals first and whereas National disability employment awareness month is held each October to celebrate the many contributions of individuals with disabilities to our workplaces and economy and whereas all individuals including individuals with disabilities require access to communities and employment opportunities and whereas individuals with disabilities are individuals first and and foremost with unique strengths and abilities and whereas there should not be any barriers to participation for individuals with disabilities in order to unlock their vast possibilities so that they can achieve their greatest potential for happy and productive lives within their communities and whereas the school board of Palm Beach County Prides itself on being student centered our schools and Community are committed to providing programs that are inclusive and Equitable to meet the diverse needs of all students while we we educate affirm and Inspire now therefore be it resolved that the superintendent and School Board of Palm Beach County do hereby Proclaim October 2 October 2024 as disability history and awareness month and urges all Personnel in students to participate in disability history and awareness activities in order to celebrate the contributions of individuals with disabilities done this 23rd day of October 2024 in West Palm Beach Florida any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously Mr superintendent co5 I recommend the board Proclaim October 2024 is lgbtq plus History Month motion by Mrs Andrews second by miss aella any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously see six I recommend the board Proclaim October 24 2024 as lights on after school day motion by Mr Barbieri second by Mi Mrs Whitfield any discussion all in favor all oppose motion carries unanimously C M7 I recommend the board proclaimed November 4th through November 8th 2024 is Holocaust Education week motion by Mrs Andrew second by Mrs Whitfield I am going to read that Proclamation whereas the the Florida Department of Education has designated the second week of November as Holocaust Education week to a time to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and to reinforce our commitment to respect and dignity for all individuals and whereas the Holocaust represents one of the darkest chapters in human history marked by the state sponsored persecution and extermination of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators from 1933 to 1945 this tragic event also targeted Roma individuals with disabilities polls and millions of others including homosexuals Jehovah's Witnesses Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents who suffered horrific oppression and loss of life and whereas the history of the Holocaust compels us to reflect on our moral obligations as individuals communities and governments reminding us of the profound responsibilities we share in preventing hatred and Injustice and whereas the school district of Palm Beach County commits to remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust and standing Vigilant against all forms of hatred persecution and tyranny and whereas we must rededicate ourselves to the principles of individual freedom and Justice in our society and whereas November 9th 2024 marks the 86th anniversary of Crystal KN the night of broken glass during which hundreds of synagogues were destroyed businesses and homes were vandalized and countless Jews faced violence arrest and deportation to concentration camps this tragic event foreshadowed the Sy the systemic mass murders of the Holocaust and where whereas the legacy of the Nazi regime regime serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of unchecked hatred and bigotry and the importance of collective remembrance and education and whereas this week serves to honor the victims recognize the resilience of survivors and commend the courage of those who rescued and liberated survivors now therefore be it resolved that the superintendent and School Board of Palm Beach County hereby proclaimed November 4th to nov nomber 8th 2024 as Holocaust Education week we pledge to promote human dignity and to confront hate in all its forms ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated done this 23rd day of October 2024 in West Palm Beach Florida any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously C8 I recommend the board Proclaim no November 11th through November 15th 2024 as National School psychology week motion by Mrs Whitfield second by Mr Barbary any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously P2 I recommend the board approve the Personnel add denum as amended motion by Mr Barbary second by Mrs Andrews any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously that brings us now to our non-agenda topic speakers I'll call your names again twice two at a time we'll start with Carl Muhammad followed by Curtis sherad Carl muhammd um I want to say I wanted to address it being the longest African American volunteer in the history of Palm Beach County and when I see the different board members that are leaving I remember before anyone of you up there came into this room and how important it is for us to educate our children and most of the time when I come every time when I come it's always disheartening not to hear our children mention in your conversation I know it might not be purposely but for whatever reason it is we're not being mentioned and uh we just had a meeting inside of the community wearing that we were introduced to the same people that we've been meeting from the school district but we didn't have anyone involved from the community and I'm asking you um superintendent and chairperson after we get the new people installed I'm hoping that we could come you could come to Riviera Beach because we you're invited by the mayor uh trck McCoy our City Commissioner um uh Doug Lawson our mayor and everybody we need to have a real conversation as it relates to the idea of trying to enforce the Florida statute 13.4 to which is the most important thing to the African-American Community for those of us who have an understanding about what is actually going on with our children and I believe sincerely that the whole world of Academia suffer because you understand that we have a multitude of complex problems inside of our community that many of your uh employees don't have the skill set evidently to to address because we can't seem to get a conversation with any of them and it should be kind of simple just like we asking for the LGBT and everybody else look like the Florida statue one 3.42 and it's supposed to engulf all subject matters and all grade levels and it looked like that should be the most important thing because we understand that the African-American Community have been underserved and when I say that if I'm in error every time I come to this mic I would love to get publicly someone that can challenge from your system to give us some kind of clarity as it relates to what you're actually doing to benefit our children we don't know every time I come I ask you to share with us what you're doing and your um employees doesn't seem to have that kind of skill set so I'm going ask again if at the end of the next election S at the when we install these three people that we need to have a meeting where we could understand what's going on from our Comm community and what's going on from the school board and it should be something happy and enjoyable because it should be promoting and doing what the mission say statement says and that's educating every child thank you for the time and please consider us thank you Mr sherro yes excuse me uh first of all can you state your full name I'm sorry my name is Curtis El sherad member of the Coalition for black student achievement uh speaking on the subject of black fact not fiction fact many Jewish descendants are alive today because HBCU gave them a place to stay and a job during the Holocaust there were shiploads who were turned around but many of them stayed because they came and taught at HBC you that's one of the reason why if you look up Albert Einstein you'll see plenty of times where he spoke at HBCU and he said quote racism is a white problem okay now as for Judaism and apoide and Jim Crow they are one part and parcel of the same all right there's a reason why South Africa was one of the first to condemn what was happening in Gala cuz they know it when they see it okay uh the bottom line is that at some point in time it has to stop it has to stop it cannot continue cannot continue to kill thousands and thousands of people and say you're doing it for a protection I do not ear own a AK-47 you know why I don't own one because my daddy who was the 82 Airborne long range Recon Ranger who testif fired the M16s okay said that you don't want one of these things because you have I have no doubt that if you get home invaded you will kill the person that you're shooting at but it might go in through him and out the window into the to the uh center block wall of your neighbor's house and kill his child okay so the fact that you're hunting down Hamas has no bearing on the fact that you're killing civilians in the process ESS you remember um the date of the invasion of Gaza I remember the date with a 2-year-old in the West Bank died from a bullet wound from a IDF Soldier okay all right because they were shooting at Hamas you cannot justify that murder mass murder by saying you're hunting down a terrorist you just can't do it and at some at some Point Zionism and Zion state is going to fail because of it thank you thank you Jill Coleman and novel Northern hi I'm Jill Coleman I'm a mom of an eight and nine-year-old and I live in Palm Beach Gardens and I'm back here again this month to urge you to please get all phones out of all schools in palmm Beach County because our district has over 190,000 students the impact of the entire County going phone free for the entire day would have a profound impact on the well-being health and educational outcomes of all of our students so I urge you to do this as quickly as possible I emailed the board today a 25-page implementation guide for administrators for their schools as well as a one pager for parents who may be cons istent to the idea to help you along the way we've been gathering this from schools around the country and from what we are hearing schools that have implemented this when they've had parents who were resistant at first which a good number usually are by the end of the school year everybody's on board why this is so important students receive 230 notifications a day that's about one every five minutes and the mere presence of a smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity this is exactly the opposite of what we want to do in schools and teens and pre-teens everywhere are struggling with social media addiction and this starts and ends with access to a smartphone teens spend nearly 5 hours a day on social media alone and the US Surgeon General says that more than three hours a day doubles the risk of poor mental outcome when kids have smartphones at school they don't have the opportunity to be bored forcing our students to sit in boredom use their imaginations and talks with their talk with their friends all help establish important brain connectivity and soft skills that they will use for their entire lifetime and when kids are allowed Smartphones at school they are accessing inappropriate material like pornography onethird of all teens have watched pornography at school this is horrendous and for these reasons and many more I encourage the school board to implement a complete bell-to-bell or better yet bust to bus ban of phones in the County teachers are tired of being the the phone police and we can't leave it just up to them to enforce this is why schools are most successful when they use the Yonder pouches and another option is to use a uh school locker that is maintained by staff consequences must be strict if a phone is found on the students's person for this policy to be effective in addition to phones you need to include airpods earbuds and smart watches with medical exceptions please implement this policy as soon as possible my friend and I are gathering as many parents we can in Palm Beach County to urge them to get their kids off devices get them off social media take pledges um to to delay delay delay and to put in more free play for our kids thank you novel Northern if you're here you're next and Donald Pearson Mr Pearson come right up well hello again Don Pearson Palm Beach Central High School uh this is kind of timely I wanted to talk about safety um when I called um this morning during my planning second hour uh to get on U to speak uh we had a a code read accidentally and it worked everybody did what they're supposed to do but here's a safety issue and I've spoken to you about it before but with the defibrillators my badge will get me into I can scan to get into many rooms but there's some I can't won't let me get in the gym used to let me get into the library I'm sorry the uh Auditorium but it won't now now I know the principles have the autonomy to click a button and say what you're allowed to go into imagine I'm out there and we have a code red and I just happen to be out with students and we're near the auditorium I can't even get in there and I brought it up to EBC and what we were told back is well it's a security issue I'm a teacher I'm vetted every one of you you know my credentials we should be allowed to get in if we're really truly talking about safety so I wanted to just make that um mention that uh because it's important uh now the other thing is in as uh what a hostile environment might be um I know that uh 43 years in this County um I guess you got to be resilient sometimes and I know I am outspoken I try to speak up and say what should be said and I can do that because I have a professional contract since 2011 I guarantee you those teachers on annual contracts they don't say much because they're afraid of being non-renewed so what happens when I say stuff uh I might be one of those teachers that is targeted so is this hostile I don't know it's not even um Halloween how many times should you be observed I've been observed eight times I'm resilient I can take that and I understand why I'm my 43rd year now I'm a floater I can do that too I tell them hey as long as you're paying me this is my job if you tell me to float I'll float but what's starting to happen and I'm starting to see is the more I speak for other people the bigger the Target and I'm just letting you know because I talk to you all the time about there's a lot of stuff that you don't see your APS and some of your principles doing and I'm not I don't talk and make things up everything I am saying to you I can back up and I'm just saying and again be aware get the whole story and those are the two issues I wanted to talk about thank you very much thank you board members that's brought us to the end of our agenda I'll take a motion to adjourn motion by Mr Barbary second by Mrs Whitfield any discussion all in favor all opposed motion carries unanimously drive safely everybody