e e good morning I call this meeting of the penis County School Board May 14th 2024 to order we will begin with a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Vice chair Carol cook and the national anthem performed by seminal High School's seminal singers under the direction of Maya baros please stand and remain standing until the completion of the national anthem flag the United States of America and to the it stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all oh say can you see by the's what sooud we the Twilight stripes and bright through the the RS we were so G streaming and The [Music] Rock Pro through night [Music] flag for the of the free and the of [Music] the please be seated Mrs baros good morning please introduce the second song good morning thank you for inviting us to perform for you today the students behind me are perform a portion of our performing Ensemble like you said seminal singers and we will be performing aastra by Jacob narud we hope you enjoy it [Music] to the star to the star [Music] soon when you're tired and trou you have wash away don't let heart you may be we not alone for the Stars will die to Home St forward look be [Music] the star to the star to the Stars to the Stars to the star [Music] [Music] strong [Music] [Applause] that was wonderful thank you so much and one thing I really loved is I could see directly Dr Lucas your principal and how proud and moved she was and we are all proud of you that was extremely beautiful thank you Mrs baras thank you simal singers next we're going to share a video highlighting teacher appreciation week from across pelis County Schools let's take a look [Music] it pushed my learning to a next grade level she's always supportive Miss David is loyal generous humble and she's kind and she's nice all right so one of the best things about Mis bidding is her belief in each student when we walk in she doesn't see who we are now she sees what we could be and she works on helping us achieve that version of ourselves she's taught us to like think outside the box and um go with a different solution about life he's really taught me never giving up he's inspired me to go after a lot of Ambitions that I have for myself he helped me learn to read cuz she's the best teacher she's the best teacher how is she the best teacher because she's she's sweet and she's kind sweet and kind that's so nice what is the most fun thing you do in kindergarten um play with toys and do and do learning and do learning has she taught you some neat stuff yes what has she taught you she taught me um what is how to count one up to 100 up to 100 oh my gosh in class here do you guys get to do anything that's kind of like exciting each day we we go um to the library and get check out new books and if you could say something nice to your teacher what would you say thank you tell me a story about this person that you like uh when she make funny faces she makes funny faces ah and what's like your favorite subject that you do in here uh go to centers you go to centers what do you do at centers that's fun uh do the puzzles what makes um your te fun is she funny does she tell good stories what does she do is so funny because last week on th day we supposed to get the funny he did I like it all right good job my face that's really wonderful really wonderful um you know last week there were parents and Community organizations restaurants and more across the county providing lunches and breakfast and decorating doors and schools were just a flurry with teacher appreciation with those folks I want to thank you so much but to hear directly from the students to hear them talk about their teachers and the impact that they've had is really special I also love that it started with what looked like middle and high school students parents and Community our kids their teachers still need you our schools still need you when they're in middle and high school so don't disappear after Elementary School stay involved even in middle school and high scho school please but that was wonderful thank you um introduction of professional and Community organization Representatives Isabella mascarinas good morning Madame chair members of the board Mr hendrik and staff it is my pleasure to introduce the following representatives of community and professional organizations representing the penila educational support Prof professionals Association or pespa Nelly henes president from the panila classroom Teachers Association Lee Bryant president representing coeb Dr Rick Davis from the penelas County Council of ptas Reagan Miller from the pilis Education Foundation Kate Smith representing the north pilis League of Women Voters Tanya Landry from the pilis arts for a complete education Coalition Terry remarks members of the media and attendance are from Channel 8 Trevor sahaki and Charlie Miller from ten Tampa Bay Aaron perian and San kosari today we have a presentation from the student rights and responsibility committee please welcome students Devin Schwarz Christopher Tucker and Gracie tubs from seminal high school and their principal Dr Jane Lucas also with her is assistant principal Alana Brown good morning good morning Madam chair board members superintendent Hendrick and staff my name is Devon Schwartz and I'm a proud Warhawk at semal high school throughout my four years at shs I found myself in various clubs andies some of these include Student Government National Honor Society fpla Spanish National Honor Society interact s Academy e-commerce Academy and sports academy all of these organizations have given me several opportunities one of which being in front of the group that I am addressing today along with these activities I have also found a love and appreciation for Warhawk Athletics I was honored to be selected as a county All-Star player for basketball and flag football I also hold the school record in high jump and will be competing in States for track this week despite these activities and the time commitments involved I've been able to maintain a 4.5 weighted GPA and I will be attending attending the University of Florida in the fall and have plans to pursue a degree in sports management and have intentions of eventually completing my Master's Degree at seminal high school we aspire to live our lives with purpose respect and grit that is the embodiment of the Warhawk way each student at shs has a purpose for learning exhibits respect for others and themselves while developing grit to persevere for success in life our faculty staff and students pursue this Mission together in a Relentless manner seminal High School is a five-star Blue Ribbon and golden School Award winner offering International Cambridge courses and the AP experience for the 21st century learner where every war hawk graduate can achieve an industry certification and experience an advanced placement course shs is an avid schoolwide site and through our sustainable engineering Academy and exceptional science department steam integration is campus-wide Warhawk Scholars have access to six vibrant acms that offer National and international immersive trips as well as extensive Arts athle Athletics and extracurricular ular offerings in addition shs has over 60 clubs to be the interest of every learner we are the only High School in the nation to offer a comprehensive advisory period that provides support for all Learners to ensure their optimal success shs Warhawk Scholars graduate poys for success in college career and Beyond I will now bring up Chris Tucker thank you Devin good morning my name is Christopher Tucker I am a senior at Simo High I I am attending I will be attending Florida Golf Coast University in the fall majoring in biology to One Day become a physical therapist I will also be joining the military reserves to assist in post-secondary education to serve my country I will I am the recipient of the USF Dr MLK Jr award SBC Dr M J Williams award sons of America Revolution good Citizenship Award in and the student of the month I've completed my ESP certification been accepted into 23 universities seven of which are in Florida and I am a member of the basketball team and track and field team our 4x4 team which I'm a part of made it all regionals placing third in both pcacs and in districts I am a proud member of the muo alpha Theta and science National Honor Society shs class officer Student Government athletic art and academic Academy student leaders continues to create a culture of Positive Vibes and schoolwide team spirit that is a second to none the Warhawk nation has hosted CommunityWide events from Friday Night Lights to our homecoming impr prom Spirit Week Battle of the classes and dance Golf Coast robotic competition wom and stem hidden no more International consultancy class reunion event events in our Legacy Hall of Fame inductions the moment of the momentum of shs educational ecosystem continues to build athletically our lady Warhawk volleyball team made it to District finals for the first time since 2015 the girls soccer team for the second straight year won back-to-back District championships we had a Regional Championship in swim for both the 50 and 100 free boys basketball had the best season of our school history winning back-to-back District championships also winning the first ever pcac championships in advancing to Regional in advancing the regional finals for the first time in shs history Sim oh high track and field team had a district first place shot put Champion as well as our very own Devin Schwarz who shattered the school record and won PCA seeg championship for high jump she is also going to States this week now of great honor it is now of great honor I would like to introduce Gracie chubs hi everybody thank you Chris and good morning my name is Gracie tubs and I am honored to be representing High School seminal high school today with two of my amazing classmates I'm a senior at this incredible school and I am very proud to be a Warhawk I am the senior class president which has been a great privilege to represent our class we have dedicated so much time and effort to make this a great year and the class of 2024 has truly been the best yet the school's Spirit kindness passion and drive to succeed will leave a mark on the Warhawk Nation forever I'm also in the cell Academy hip vice president NHS officer Educators Rising officer and involved in the English National Honor Society live red leader and me roaa and more I play competitive softball and I've played Varsity softball for the past four years I am the captain of the team and have been honored to have played on one of the best fast- pitch softball teams in school history my sophomore year through these past four years we had had so many incredible memories and worked so hard I also have my own nonprofit called operation military matters that I started when I was in fourth grade through this organization we have sent over 10,300 care packages to our military I have had the opportunity to work with people nationally and with the help of our community we have changed so many lives including my own this year Devon and I had the opportunity to represent our school in the srnr school board meetings where we worked side by side with other students in the amazing School Board it was truly inspiring to see the passion that everyone shared being a Warhawk and being able to represent the school these past four years has been an honor and something that I will never forget shs is on the AP honoral and was also awarded the college board AP Computer Science female diversity award this year we are a leader and me extraordinary Lighthouse team honory an alliance for the healthier Generations America's healthiest school Award winner seal high school and the center of for Education and Leadership Academy was just awarded a National Merit School of Distinction designation last month in New York City an shs cell Senor was one of only 11 students in the country to win a magnet schools of America scholarship the e-commerce program is an Academy of Distinction and has developed Innovative and Sustainable Solutions to real world problems we are excited about our newest Academy rise which offers direction to students interested in service oriented careers such as counselors social workers and psychologists our sustainable engineering Academy is an Academy of Distinction with dis distinguished honors that offers University and career Pathways in water quality Hydroponics engineering robotics drone technology and AI we are so proud to have three finalists in The Walkers Rising Stars event this year and we celebrate pelis County's teacher of the year our very own Mr madran who leads our 4A performing arts academy and our nationally recognized warhawks marching band they are headed to the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2025 from a volunteer and humanitarian standpoint our ESC department and the shs leadership team partnered with feeding Tampa Bay to eradicate food in security throughout our seminal Community with the on-site Warhawk food pantry cell Academy students mentor and tutor students at all of our neighboring El elementary and middle schools to encourage literacy connection and articulation our College and Career Center Director and school counselors continue to be a schoolastic beacon to all students as they have created a hub at the center of the school where students feel safe to explore and chart their future our CCC director and school leadership hosted a college and university fair for our Juniors and seniors with over 40 institutions of Higher Learning and attendance and they were featured on two news NW Work Media outlets for their phenomenal FASA family nights we just hosted a career and job fair with over 35 businesses on site to assist students with employment and service hours opportunities thank you for giving us the time to share some of the wonderful things happen at happening at seminal high school we appreciate our school board members and pellis County School's executive leadership team for your support and as always go warhawks thank you Mrs long I just want to say that it has been a wonderful opportunity getting to know the three of you seol is a phenomenal school I'm a Warhawk go warhawks but I want to wish the three of you all the best getting to know you has been a wonderful experience to see such great opportunities ahead for you just gives me goo Goosebumps so Dr Lucas thank you I forgot your name already I'm so sorry Brown you're doing a phenomenal job so keep it up warhawks and remember you made me a promise you're going to keep in touch and let me know how things are going thank you wonderful thank you so much um amendments to the agenda Mr Hendrick are there any amendments to the agenda there are no amendments Madam chair thank you board members any amendments thank you may I have a motion to adopt the agenda I make a motion motion by Mrs long and a second by Mrs Meyer all those in favor of adopting the agenda say I I any opposed passes 7 to zero on the special order agenda today we start with item 4.1 presentation of the Proclamation recognizing May 2024 is National speech language hearing month may I have a motion motion motion by Mrs long and a second by Mrs Edmund Mr Hendrick would you introduce this item thank you madam chair I call up Sher long our coordinator of speech language pathologist to share more about this Proclamation Mr long good morning Madame chair board members Mr Hendrick staff and community members during the month of May the American speech language hearing Association celebrates National speech language hearing month this is an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role that speech language Pathologists and audiologists have in schools panel's County Schools employ speech language Pathologists who provide services to approximately 7500 students across all grade levels these are there are also three ideologists who provide audiological services to all students and approximately 200 students who are in the de deaf and Harden hearing program in the district at this time I'd like to share a little about what speech language Pathologists and audiologists do in pelis County Schools speech language Pathologists diagnose and treat communication disorders that negatively impact a student's education such as speech sound disorders stuttering and language disorders difficulty in any of these areas May impede the progress in these foundational liter literacy skills of Reading Writing and spelling some students receive therapy to enhance the development of social pragmatic language that will help them grow social skills to improve the effess effectiveness of their communication and their interactions with others other students who have no reliable verbal communication skills may receive augmentative communication instruction giving them access to their education and a way of expressing themselves in an alternate manner our District's audiologist provide hearing evaluations for students whose families or the school team suspect that the child may have a hearing loss an undiagnosed hearing loss can cause a student to have significant difficulty learning the audiologists provide a wide variety of services they diagnose the hearing loss they provide education to the families and the school teams about the implications of hearing loss and they provide equipment for students who need amplification to access their education I as a coordinator of speech language Pathologists would like to take this opportunity to recognize and honor the invaluable contributions of speech language Pathologists and the audiologists working tirelessly in our schools empowering our students to communicate effectively so they may thrive academically I would like to thank you for taking the time to recognize them today wonderful thank you so much Mrs long um Mrs long would you like to read the proclamation yes thank you Proclamation National speech language hearing month whereas pelis County Schools encourages options for an active and healthy lifestyle and whereas in the best interest of the public audio I olcal Services should be provided by a certified audiologist and speech language Services by a certified speech language pathologist to achieve effective communication skills and whereas through a national effort community members are encouraged to join to raise awareness of the importance of speech language and hearing during the month of May 2024 and whereas the this effort will bring awareness to our schools and Community by the role by the roles of audiologist and speech language Pathologists in schools now therefore the school board of pelis County does hereby recognize the month of May 2024 as a national speech language hearing month thank you it's significant thank you so much any any parent who has a child in their schools receiving these Services know how important it is on a regular basis and as someone who stutters and received that support all growing up in school it is invaluable and I'm grateful for it I'm grateful for what you and your team do every day thank you our next two items are recognitions 4.2 and 4.3 uh the first is recognition Madam chair excuse me oh excuse me I have to take a vote on the pathology pardon the interruption but yes sir yes thank you very much so back to item 4.1 the proclamation recognizing May is National speech language hearing month all those in favor say I I any opposed passes 7 to zero thank you Mr kerski so 4.2 and 4.3 are both recognitions the first is recognition of the 2024 Florida Prepaid College scholarship recipients and then the second is recognition of the 2023 2024 school safety personnel annual award recipients we're so glad you're here I mention them both because the board's going to go down in front to be able to recognize everyone and and we'll leave it in Mr Hendrick's capable hands to introduce these items thank you madam chair as the board goes down to recognize our recipients here today I would like to call up Valerie Santos our K12 school guidance supervisor and specialist we have a partnership with Florida Prepaid scholarship who's providing scholarships to our students and I'll pass it to miss Santos to introduce a little more about that partnership and our big Winners today thank you um superintendent hendrik um Madam chairperson and board members and guests good morning yes the Florida Prepaid College Board entered Partnerships with several School D districts around the State of Florida to promote open enrollment for the Prepaid College Plan and as a part of this partnership they um provide three scholarships valued at about $8,000 each to graduate uating seniors these seniors completed the Education Foundation scholarship program application and we reviewed the applications and we selected three of the seniors unable to join us today is McKenzie Rivers she is a senior at Largo high school with a 4.0 GPA and she plans to attend St Petersburg College however with us we have chenel Williams from Lake Widow High School come on up and here is your scholarship ship congratulations she has a 4.3 4.38 GPA 4.38 GPA and she's um going to be going to SPC and then plans to transfer to the University of South [Applause] Florida and also with us today is Analise O'Brien she is from Don in high school she has a 4.42 GPA and she plans to attend the University of South Florida congratulations thank you thank you Miss Santos and congratulations to the three student winners and thank you to the Florida Prepaid scholarship fund for offering these for our students and thank you to the principes and School staff that are here to support their students today our second set of recognitions are the 2023 2024 school safety personnel award recipients and here to share those award recipients and offer some words about each one is our school's police chief chief Luke Williams thank you superintendent uh board chair and board thank you for having us here today uh it's very exciting for this is the seventh opportunity I've had to do this and it gets more difficult each time uh to just single out a few people just to uh recognize but uh with that being said I would like for uh yuritza Ramos uh from uh Jameson Elementary School please come up she's our SSO of the year and she was nominated by Prin principal Heather Peters and your husband Tito did he make it yes okay Tito's here and behind every good woman there's a good man and so thank you for being here uh so school safety officer Ramos embodies the expectations of the district when it comes to proactively working to ensure the safety of all our students and staff SSO rmo is enjoying she is enjoying the first year as an SSO and actually hasn't been a complete year she started in October with us but she's been a member of the PLS County School District for years she's held positions such as a food service assistant a clerical assistant family and Community leaon a data management technician and a school office clerk her diverse number of assignments in the district has helped her tremendously in her current role she understands the importance of being cant of her responsibilities which includes almost constantly patrolling her campus her familiarity with her school and her working relationship with the local law enforcement agency in her area was evident during this year when she noted police activity surrounding her school she's been trained to listen to her radio and not hearing any police activity she became concerned so uh she went out and actually stayed out in the uh in the playground area to uh observe what was going on in the neighborhood and as fate would have it uh a suspect ran from uh law enforcement toward the school and immediately she hopped into action and made sure that the school was placed on a closed campus and that the kids were ushered safely into the the uh the campus and into safety U she pays attention to detail uh she knows her her school backwards and forward her principal she was uh I don't know if I mentioned this but she was nominated by principal Heather Peters who is here with us uh today and this is just one instance of uh SSO Ramos's demonstrated professionalism and compassion for our campus and the students that are being taught there we are thankful to have her as an SSO uh and in her current role and her compassion for the district as students and the safety of all are Paramount in her thinking and actions and I want to personally thank you for a job well done and ask that you continue to keep up the good work congratulations next I have the honor of uh recognizing the uh school resource officers of the year and this year we have two uh officer Paul kamini and officer Brett Faulk if you all could join me up please and again I'll say behind every a good police officer there is always a support mechanism so I'd like to welcome Cheryl cinii and Diane folk uh are also in the audience so thank you all for your support of your husbands uh both Paul Kini and folk obviously work for the CL waterer police department and they are assigned at Countryside High School uh this is the uh they are actually the inaugural recipients of the Michael a Hawkins school resource officer or Deputy of the Year award special Thanks goes out to Chief uh Eric Gandy and to Sergeant K major Burnside and to assistant chief Michael wallik who are all here uh for their commitment to the pen County School District and their partnership in ensuring the safety of our students officers Comin and faul are nominated by principal Taylor Henderson officer kin became an SRO at Countryside High School in 2017 and officer Faulk joined him there in 2019 they are both highly effective mentors and role models and have built a reputation a reput ation of being unasked during the school day being highly visible and more importantly they are approachable and have built an atmosphere of trust among the students and staff their skill sets and established relationships could not have been more needed or evident when an emergency occurred on the campus which resulted in injuries to two students officers committee and fault were present and quickly attended to the injured students and took the appropriate actions to ensure other students were not hurt because of their presence established relationships and the trust they've established with the students officer commit and Faulk addressed a dangerous situation very quickly very efficiently and successfully as you are aware the SRO SRD of the Year award has been renamed the Michael a Hawkins SRO or SRO Award of the year in recognition of the 40 plus year career of retired Sergeant Michael Hawkins and his exemplary service to the generations of students of pels County whom he mentored and protected and Sergeant Hawkins retired Sergeant Hawkins is back in the back it's not often you get an award named after you but I am truly honored uh to present both officer Paul cin and officer Brett Faulk with the inaugural Michael a Hawkins s of the Year Awards off [Applause] kit conations and officer fa thank you so much sir also have uh for your uniform we have uh SRO the year pins that you can put on your uniform so congratulations to you thank you so much all right [Applause] they want all the poo [Applause] thank you right Chief says they got to get back to work so yeah we got to get them back over the country side okay last but not least uh the Jesse dorsy campus activities monel of the Year award recipient is John darv of Lakewood High School John come up John was nominated by principal Kisha Garcia and I also see Mrs Chanel Williams here uh I'll be talking about you in a minute you don't know that but I'll be talking about you in a minute okay uh so known as a mentors mentor John Derby embodies the ideal of respect coupled with accountability results in cooperation a 1980 graduate of Holland's High School a Dynamic Athlete in his own right he has not changed he has been consistent from the moment that I met him to this very day the consistency in his approach to others has helped him relate to his students and staff John has been the campus activities monitor monor at Lakewood High School for 14 years and is a mentor to generations of students and athletes alike although for years there were there was a second monitor at Lakewood John Derby is now the lone campus activity monitor and helped the discipline infractions decreased by 70% he knows his students by name and yes I said his students because when they are at school he personally Works to assist them in realizing their own individual successes and potentials he can ask a student to rest that hood and without question the hoodie being worn by student is lowered from their head to comply with school rules roves his voice is often heard over the school radio stating I'm on my way to the relief of Staff because his relationship with his students is such that he can gain cooperation when others cannot students respect him so much that the senior class president Mr Chanel Williams uh on student swap day came dressed as campus activity monitor Darby complete with a black with complete with black frame glasses and a stocking cap to emulate his clean shaven head Camp's activity monitor knows but more importantly understands his students and thus is making deposits into our students which will pay huge dividends in the future John I want to say not only you been a a personal friend but you've been a a really really good Mentor to me I really appreciate what you've done over the the years and I know that you will continue to do so thank you very much congratulations [Applause] and then closely let me just say there were over 30 other individuals who were nominated for these Awards and they will be recognized at our our end of the year and at our summer training as well but hats off to the men and women who go out daily to help protect our children and our staff thank you all very much for your [Applause] time congratulations to each of our award winners today and thank you to their principls and School staff for being here their families for supporting all of our school personnel and our board will come back up and we'll continue the meeting in just a moment congratulations to those prepaid scholarship winners that was really wonderful to see and chief Williams thank you for your presentation and your work and your department every single day we all we all gratefully appreciate it the biggest uh stamp of of confidence I can give is I confident send both of my children to our schools every single day and I appreciate you and your team for keeping them and all of our students safe item 5.1 public comments on agenda items Mrs Hal do we have any speakers on agenda items today yes Madam chair we do thank you members of the public have three separate opportunities to address the board when we gather for a business meeting the first is public comment on agenda items the second is at public hearings most of which are policies the last is after our meeting when speakers May address the general business of the district at each opportunity for public input board members are here to listen to you this is not a time for interaction but the board will take your comments into consideration before it votes on agenda items the board is committed to a standard of Civility and decorum in conducting our meetings this includes refraining from clapping or making audible noises during or after a speaker's comments we appreciate apprciate you assisting Us in maintaining a civil and constructive environment lastly please note that this meeting in all public comments will be broadcast live on the internet and the video will be publicly archived members of the public may always communicate with the board through our email address board pcsb.org or by calling the board office at 588 6300 thank you Mrs H yes Madam chair uh board members Mr hendrik the first two speakers are are Tim Conroy speaking to item 8.1 and Mark kutho speaking to item 7.31 7.32 7.33 7.34 7.36 and 8.1 my name is Tim Conroy and I'm a proud member of indivisible North pelis the school board has an opportunity today to send a loud message of support to teachers and instructional staff uh by adopting unanimously the ballot question to add a minimal tax to the general election ballot to support these teachers to give them a living wage to increase the pay of instructional staff I listened to that tape the video that honored teachers today and I had a teacher like that a public school teacher changed the course of My Life um and I know y'all had teachers like that you know who who introduced you to books and thoughts that you did not have before and I I've tried to hold on to what they have taught me and to be open-minded to engage in different viewpoints to listen so please let's value our Educators my favorite teacher once held a very difficult conference with my parents you know I was sort of off track and he did it in such a caring way I never forgot how he addressed me and my parents I called him the day of my college graduation praising and thanking him his name was Edwin Tam because Public School teachers and instructional staff focus on keeping students successful students that get off track sometimes that need extra support need an instructional uh staff to give them assistance I support fully increasing the millage on the referendum the money will help us retain and recruit talented teachers and staff people like Mr Tam and the the teachers that we heard the students speak about on that videotape and the instructional staff that are so important to make public education work elected officials in Tallahassee um have not funded um our schools properly we know that and that's why the conversations I have around the coffee table about the importance of this increase that will help teachers and instructural staff have a place to live and not have to to uh take a second and third job job is so critical and so please support this fully every one of you the sad truth is we don't have leadership that does this vote Yes on the referendum in November and um and because we have to because they won't do their jobs in Tallahassee and before you vote in August and November ask if you Mark Luth o Largo these uh seven 100 agenda items all of them say strategic priority fiscal and operation responsibility not all of them hfac and I don't have time to deal with other ones you know your agenda used to allow three minutes for each agenda item remember those days yeah it's a joke now but moving on to 8.1 well I can't vote for an increase in the tax because the money that you're getting now you're squandering look at what you did with the money at that Clearwater High School building oh and then the Largo high school and that uh Middle School on beler with those clear story Windows all wrong I mean I could go on and on and on with all the stupid buildings that waste the taxpayers money that could go to teach your salaries but when have I ever heard a teacher say give us good high performance passive solar buildings that are better learning environments for our students it's never ever happened and so what you do you continue this Mal feance and what do we have then the energy energy Department says we must push the speed up permits to expand the electric grid instead of these high performance passive solar buildings and then we have electric bills skyrocketed recently and here's why heat waves high water hurricanes now what natural disasters can devastate learning and schools are not ready oh what a future you bring yeah you squander the money and then you want more it's not right not right Earth shatters annual Heat record and his nearing threshold the next two speakers are Lee Bryant and Brendan Park good morning chair Hine members of the board superintendent Hendrick and staff my name is Lee Bryant my pronounce are he him and his and I'm president presid of the pcta I would like to take this opportunity to encourage the school board to vote in favor of the property tax referendum pelis County was the second county in the state of Florida to authorize a referendum to help pay for the uh District to recognize recruit and retain quality Educators for the first time this year's referendum would add support employees to those receiving uh retention funds and while I may be president of the teachers Association I recognize that our support employees make our work in the classroom successful it is time that we acknowledge their contributions by adding them to the referendum uh it will also provide expanded uh funding for Arts field trips early literacy initiatives and classroom technology among other expenses that are permitted on a personal note uh when I was in high school I was in band bandgeek tuba player obviously uh when I was a teacher I was also a stadium announcer for 25 years and I was always excited when the new band uniforms were purchased and instruments were upgraded especially the tubas the referendum helped pay for those when the time comes to putting boots on the ground to work for this referendum I promise you that no one no one will outwork the pcta to help pass this referendum we will do everything in our power to make sure pellis County keeps recognizing their amazing Educators and support staff thank you park Brendan Park the next speaker the next two speakers are Aunt Aila and Dr Davis [Music] good morning uh board thank you so much Madam chair superintendent and staff um I wanted to come up here uh my name is ant Aila I'm the um Community organizer with uh equality Florida and I wanted to come up here to um speak in support of this referendum uh I would like you all to support to put it on the ballot so voters can um have their voices heard um I speak in support of our Coalition Partners at um pcta and pespa um but I also speak as the partner of a um School support professional in another County but uh I understand deeply the amount of work that goes into um his role and um I also understand how Gravely undervalued they are in salaries both in in his County and this one and um that really needs to change I think this district has set an example um in other roles um for adequately um paying staff and it's time that the support professionals get that level of respect so I ask that you um vote so that voters can can make this decision um in August and um support this referendum thank thank you madam chair school board members Mr Kendrick and other District staff my name is Rick Davis I'm the president of CB and I know that most of you recognize that we have had a longstanding relationship in penel County School System I just want to go and record uh and support the local property tax referendum we always have and we will continue to do so we believe that this district is doing some amazing thing unbeknown to some but I do look at this District performance I look at other District throughout the state I look at District across this country and I probably don't thank you enough for what you're doing so today I want to make sure that you know that cooko is in full support and encourage you to also support the local property tax refer referendum thank you madam chair there are no other speakers please thank you next item on our agenda is the consent agenda may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda a motion second motion by Mrs long and a second by Mrs Peters all those in favor of approving the consent agenda say I I any opposed passes 7 to Zer item 8.1 on our non-consent recommend adoption of resolution containing ballot question necessary to add a 1 mil adorm tax for necessary operation purposes and authorize the superintendent to forward the resolution to the supervisor of elections for inclusion on the November 5 2024 General election ballot may I have a motion to approve appr uh motion by Mrs cook and a second by Mrs Edmund Mr hendrik would you please introduce this item thank you madam chair today I'm excited to bring forth the proposal for the 2024 referendum to the board on May 7th at the Schoolboard Workshop we presented to the board and to the public an updated proposal for this year's referendum continued in The Proposal is the implementation of the independent citizens referendum oversight committee ensuring the transparency and meet the will of the voters the ballot language this year has a change in the millage from 1 half mil to 1 mil consistent with surrounding counties it should be noted and we presented at the workshop that we are the only Tampa Bay County without a sales tax to support public schools and do not have impact fees to support our schools either we will continue the Recruitment and Retention of teachers as the major component of the referendum it has been for 20 years and we want it to continue to be that way support for the Arts reading and Technology programs in our schools which has been there will be continued and enhanced through this referendum and the addition of support staff salaries to the referendum is new support staff are defined as employees who are not on the administrative salary scale and include nearly all other employees in the district including bus drivers food and nutrition staff school safety officers School nurses and many many more your discussion and vote today is on a resolution to initiate the form normal process of having the ballot language which is clearly identified in item 8.1 on our agenda placed in front of the voters at the November general election as is required by law all School referenda must be approved every four years These funds are non-recurring and if the voters choose not to renew or to vote in favor we do not have any of the previous funds in 2004 when the school board initially asked voters to support the referendum Beth Rollins was one of the driving forces behind a parent group that asked the community to support the ballot initiative Miss Rollins has either listened to or attended in person every single IC Rock session the referendum oversight committee since that time spanning all 20 years of the referendum she has ensured that transparency and accountability are upheld for the citizens and voters of penel County as she has done for each of the previous presentations of the referendum and assisted last week the workshop Mrs Rollins I'll call up to the Lector to provide an overview of the referendum how it has supported our schools and the importance of the initiative here in 2024 Miss Rollins hi um my name is Beth Rollins and I am with citizens for Panela schools I wanted today uh to take us back to the reason for the original referendum our schools needed more money and we wanted School funding excuse me that we control locally as you all know pelis is a donor District in the State of Florida what that means is that our tax dollars go up to Tallahassee and they are equalized this system is necessary because it's the only way to provide a good education to students in Rural and less affluent areas that don't have a tax base large enough to support a quality school system and every child obviously needs to be educated but the result of this Equalization process is that our district does not get back as much money as we send to the state so in 2004 the voters of pelis County adopted a half Mill local property tax to provide money over and above the state funding the referendum money is locally raised and locally controlled the ballot language requires that the money be used to recruit and retain quality teachers support music art and reading programs and provide up-to-date technology it also requires an independent citizens Financial oversight committee which meets quarterly to review the books and make sure that every dime is spent according to the voters Wishes the legislature requires that the tax be reauthorized every four years and penela voters have generously done so in 2008 8 2012 2016 and 2020 as I prepared for today I thought back over the referendum's history back then I had two children at Curtis Fundamental Elementary the Strings program that I had enjoyed decades before that as a student at skyrest elementary was a thing of the past an art cart was rolled not just classroom to classroom but school to school preventing any project that took longer than an hour summer school had been eliminated in its entirety if a student needed extra instruction there was no choice but to hold them back a year teacher pay was not competitive with surrounding districts making it impossible to hire the best and the brightest and the technology in our classrooms was Antiquated it was easy to see that these conditions were not ideal to prepare our children for a productive future fast forward to today every kid has a district issued laptop that they take home students have musical instruments in their hands again and our beloved strengths program has been restored all students participate in no cost Art Museum field trips remedial reading programs offer intensive small group support and of course we have seen the benefit of being able to hire high quality quality classroom teachers we have an amazing success story to tell the district and this board have worked diligently to be good stewards of the people's trust the citizens oversight committee has met every 90 days for 20 years to keep a watchful eye on spending and report back regularly providing transparency and accountability to the taxpayers but there is also room for improvement the proposed one mill will allow us to further expand the Arts music technology and reading programs that we have rebuilt it'll allow an even greater supplement for teacher pay so we can recruit and retain the very best for our classrooms and with one mill we can bolster our support staff as well as a community we know that bus drivers in the school transportation schedule affects not just children and their parents but workplaces as well we desperately need more School nurses and every Health Care job today Demands a competitive salary hiring good classroom teachers AIDS facilitate small group instruction then that lets us focus on each student's individual needs in this day and age we should always have the resources necessary for our school security officers to create and maintain a safe learning environment one mill will allow us to address all of these issues and we cannot ignore the things that have changed outside of pelis County at the time of the original referendum as has been said the only other County in the entire state with a local option tax was Sarasota now our surrounding districts of Hillsboro Pasco Manatee Sarasota and Hernando all have both sales taxes and impact fees over and above State funding Panella schools have neither more more to the point Manatee Pasco Sarasota and Hernando all have a full one mill in place to help fund their schools operating budgets and Hillsboro's full one mill will be on the ballot this November asking voters for their support is not something that I take lightly I think they deserve transparency and accountability I believe that all tax dollars should be monitored carefully and I believe you only get voted support after you have earned their trust I think we've proven ourselves and I think that the results of the last 20 years speak quite loudly I am also in awe of the huge things that we do collectively with relatively small sacrifices to each individual today we are asking for to move from a half Mill to a full Mill and that of course is applied to taxable value let's take a moment though to remember that taxable value is not what you see on Zillow or what your neighbor sold their home for taxable value is after the save our homes and any homesteads are applied and typically taxable value is far lower than market value but back to what the proposal costs each homeowner under this new proposal would pay $100 a year for each $100,000 in taxable value to bring it home I looked up my own tax bill under this proposal my husband and I will pay $354 c a year about $25 a month less than 85 cents a day but remember that we are already happily paying $150 a year so this is not a full Mill increase speaking personally I think this money is a bargain to give our kids the art and music experiences that provide a well-rounded education I think it's a bargain for the classroom technology that they have to master if they're going to succeed in either college or the workforce I think it's a bargain to make sure that our district has bus drivers School nurses and security Personnel that our students need I think it's a bargain to provide classroom teachers aids to give every student the personalized attention they deserve and I think it's a bargain to be sure that we can hire quality teachers and keep them from being lured Away by our surrounding districts 20 years ago we needed a half Mill to build back our programs and hire the best and the brightest and make sure that our students achieve success it has worked wonders but it is time to step up our game good schools support good high property values our businesses need a well- educated Workforce and skilled labor a pool of workers encourages business expansion and relocation to our area educational successes lead to lower crime rates and reduce the strain on a social services net mostly a strong School system offers the Next Generation the gift of opportunity the opportunity to be anything that they want to be our schools are truly the foundational building blocks of our community there are Representatives here today from across section of uh organizations in support of the referendum and I would ask that those Representatives stand we have the pelis Education Foundation arts for a complete education Ace the concerned organizations for Quality education for black students CBS The League of Women Voters the penis County Council of ptas the pelis classroom Teachers Association and the pelis educational support professionals Association pespa we all stand before you today United in our request that you pass this resolution and place this one mill proposal before the voters on November 5th 2024 thank you thank you m Rollins Madam chair thank you uh Mrs cook first and for formost I think we need to thank the voters of the county for what they have done over the past 20 years um I could probably go on for the next 10 minutes talking about the opportunities that have been presented to our students as a result of the half Mill that they've already um they already have supported over the many many years also the teachers that we have been able to hire retain and have come to and choose panella's County because we pay a little bit more that is kind of slipping away last year when we were going through negotiations we had pespa and we had pcta come forward and say that our support Personnel need to be paid more they need a living wage in penel County we had citizens from the county come and say we think our CI our support Personnel deserve and need more money at that particular point in time we didn't have the resources to do it but we listened we heard that it was important to increase the um pay for our support personnel as well as our teachers and so this was a way that we could accomplish that we are not receiving a whole lot more money from Tallahassee no I won't go into to to why or whatever but what we used to get percentage wise of our income uh when I started on the board is far less than the percentage of our um expenses that we have now so I think it's important that you know that we listened we heard we did not very frivolously say well let's just make it a full Mill instead of a half Mill there was a lot of discussion with the superintendent with individual board members as well as the opportunity that we had to talk together at the um Workshop this last time so with the people that came to us and said this is important we're going to put it on the ballot hopefully each one of us will be supporting that to be able to put it on the ballot and to allow the voters to decide is this something that we want to continue for penis County our students deserve it you have seen over the years the increase not only of opportunities which I mentioned earlier but the closing of the achievement Gap we're getting closer our students are um are getting the extra attention that they need and it's an important piece to making sure that we are providing the best opportunities and the best teachers and the best experiences for our students so with that I want to say that I will support this 100% and allow the voters of pelis County to determine whether public education is important enough to them to support our children thank you Mrs Peters thank you um you know as a parent in penel county and I'm in my second year as a board member I knew it was important to support this referendum as I have as a voter since 2004 the first year that I was here and now that I've been on the board and I've learned how our budget works again to the state money that we do and and don't get the state gives us money based on categoricals I will not go into that but they tell us where the money goes we can't just move money around um I also I want to encourage everybody we have to vote on this today you guys have until November and the workshop that we just had uh last Tuesday there were amazing slides on that Workshop that Miss Rollins help helped us put together they they put all the information up there for you to view so I really strongly encourage you to go to our more recent workshop and you can listen to it and follow it along um while we have the discussion and read the slides and all the information that's available I really strongly encourage every voter to do that before they make this decision it will help everyone understand a lot better I know it did me um and uh you can email me personally uh board pcsb.org or Peters da pcsb.org I will send you the link with the timestamp so you can fast forward to uh 14 minutes and 52 seconds where that discussion starts if you don't want to listen to the whole thing and that's um agenda item 2.2 and so I think it would be really really important for people to review all of that information um I um you know the fact that this money is controlled locally and we're putting it in the hands of our voters to decide that the um to decide that you know do I vote on a budget we vote on a budget every year that's the state money this referendum is tax money it's controlled locally it's voted on locally and it stays local and that means more to me as a voter and as a board member then the the majority of the money that we get here it's it's valuable and um so I just I want to be clear that I'm not telling people how to vote but I support every opportunity to put it in front of the voters to make that decision versus having a board vote on it for you and um you know I I'm going to be supporting this uh referendum language today and um I'm proud to do that as as a board member here and um I just encourage you all to thoroughly educate yourself before you make that decision in November okay thank you thank you Mrs Kane thank you thank you so much um and thank you for the presentation I also learned a lot of uh very valuable information from that Workshop that was held but I want to say a couple of things um the first of which is since I've been on pelis County School Board this is my sixth year I've seen an incredible increase in our educational output based upon the increase of student experiences I have seen school grades improve I have seen District scores increase and I've seen an incredible amount of awards given out each and every year that seems to increase throughout the district with every passing day and I really have to say it is in large part due to how I have seen the funds from this referendum being spent and where they have been spent um it's in complete alignment with student experiences and we know as Educators we know as teachers we know as community members that those experiences leave a lasting and incredible impact on our students that lasts a lifetime and changes the direction and course of their lives some as we went to the um we went to a m night at the um Museum of Art the other day we were discussing the impact of how um students were able to attend the Museum of Art due to referendum funding it's an experience they will never forget and some may never have before or after that experience so where the money is spent truly does impact our children and impacts our community I fully support putting this on the ballot to give voters the opportunity to see how those kinds of experience expences are helping our penel County Schools to become the best and continue to be the best and I really love the addition of including our support staff this year as well because ex positive experiences in pelis County Schools extend not just to our students but to our teachers and to our staff members because that truly does infect the community of each and every school in in and of itself and in the greater County and so we know and it is very plain that it is becoming more and more expensive to live in pellis County we want to make sure people do have that living wage and if this can in any way help I as a community member hope that the the residents of pelis County will see that and um and hopefully um educate themselves on how this can help um so many of our employees throughout the district I really appreciate um Miss Rollins for um all of her hard work on the referendum and I thank you community members um today and I do believe that this language will help us push forward so thank you so much thank you Mrs long yes I just I agree with Mrs Kaine Mrs Peters and Mrs cook you know I taught 40 34 years in this County and we struggled as teachers across the state Tallahassee is not giving us any more money and I didn't realize how much of our taxpayer dollars that goes to Tallahassee very little well not very little but a lot doesn't come back to us it's helping other counties this referendum will bring teachers salaries up that's how they're going to get a raise they're not going to get it from Tallahassee they will get their raise through this referendum and support staff it is desperate they need the money they shouldn't be working three four jobs and a lot of them are single women they need to take care of their families they need to make sure their children are educated if they're working three or four jobs it's these programs that the refer referendum helps pay for that gives those kids an opportunity mom's only or dad some sometimes it's a single dad they only have so many hours in the day and that's where panal is able to give our students so much more Miss Rollins you have done an incredible job you have been such a support for the schools and you have shown your dedication and love to the children of pelis County and I support this referendum with 100% thank you thank you Mrs Edmond I would just like to acknowledge the hard work that has gone into putting the language forward from superintendent Hendrick working behind the scenes talking with stakeholders to working with Miss Rawlings who has dedicated a significant part of her life to move forward and push this um push forward with the referendum for me the addition addition of the support professionals hits home because constantly we hear and I get to see you know some of the struggles that they face daily so I am glad that the referendum language includes support professionals and again having icy Rock having the meetings and ensuring the transparency of how the funds are spent which includes the community many of the community organizations present adds value to our ability to collaborate um be transparent as well as listen to the voters as how they would like these funds to be allocated so I also support many of the comments that I've heard from my colleagues and encourage people to um review the workshop where we had more detailed dialogue and asked raised several questions as it relates to the referendum that Workshop is posted on the pelis County School Board website which includes slides in a little bit more detail than what we are discussing today so thank you very much thank you Mrs Meyer yes thank you madam chair I also just wanted to um quickly Express U my support for having this referendum go to the voters I think and I said it during our workshop and I'll say it again here um anytime we are proposing a tax increase I prefer for that to go to the voters for them to decide rather um this panel making that decision um and so I will be supporting today I will be supporting the language um for the ballot and um I support it going to uh the voters in November to decide thank you thank you I'll just share um a couple of thoughts I too agree with all of my colleagues and what you shared today thank you and Mrs cook what you said about listening and recognizing the need that's out there the number one impact on a student is their teacher and the number one think thing impacting our teachers and staff right now is affordability you know last year during our budget season I feel like we shook the trees the best we could and we were able to give a 4 and a half% increase to uh teachers and staff whereas we only had 2% increase from those State dollars and so you you shake the trees as much as you can um but then in order to provide anything else meaningful it does H it does require additional revenue and we don't take that lightly we certainly don't take asking for that lightly I do think and someone mentioned about the results if you look at the last 20 years since when Miss Rollins um you know first led a movement to bring this referendum to pelis County whether it's graduation rate uh Workforce industry certifications ac across the categories now there have been a lot of Partners in that there have been a lot of Partners and a lot of them are in this room thank you for being here certainly the work we've done with the Bridging the Gap plan the work we've done with the arts for complete education a number of organizations have helped support the growth and student outcomes that we have achieved but REM remuneration matters it does um so I think asking asking for this based on our results um I I definitely support it thank you for bringing up the presentation in the workshop um Mrs Mrs Peters that was um that that was something I was going to mention as well there's a lot of good information and you know our board has set the bar for excellence high in our strategic plan and if we're going to achieve that excellence in student outcomes then we must have the best and brightest teachers and staff period and this updated referendum um will will allow us to recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers in staff and provide those exceptional Arts programs across our schools and across ages I definitely support putting the update in front of our voters and we'll advocate for our community to continue its overwhelming support of penel County Schools Mrs cook yeah there's just one thing I I'd like to clear up one of our speakers said that um we are wasting money building buildings and that that money should be spent on teacher salaries I just want to clarify the fact that we can't there are two separate pots of money and we are allowed to spend Capital outlay money for example building the schools buying computers doing those kinds of things and then we have the operation budget that's where the salaries come from so we did hear it a lot again during negotiations and um it just came to me so I wanted to make sure that people understood that it's not that we can take money from instead of building buildings or improving or doing maintenance on those and transferring the money over that Capital outlay has to stay in capital outlay and our operating is what we're asking for with the referendum so just a moment of clarification thank you seeing no further comment we'll take a vote all those in favor of item 8.1 say I I any opposed it passes unanimously 7 to zero next item on the agenda items introduced by the superintendent Mr Hendrick thank you madam chair and uh I know we enjoyed the teacher appreciation video that we had earlier last week was a great week to celebrate our teachers and you mention schools doing so many different things I wanted to mention just a couple more the Tampa Bay rowes honoring our teachers of the year and providing Mr madrinan with a personalized Jersey last Saturday night thank the Ry for their continued support recognizing our teachers USF had a 5k uh race uh that I ran and finished all 5K uh easily I should also mention uh but we had a great time lot of teachers out there last week and thank you to USF uh and then even last night uh Irish uh 31 supporting our teachers and giving them uh they had a big vote across the county and giving five of our teachers Andrea good from boasa high school Zeta janc from bardmore elementary Amber Robinson from from Perkins Elementary Deanna Russo from seminal high school and Melissa wech of distant Academy a $1,000 check not to use in their classroom but for themselves uh it was a really nice gesture and thank them and many of our businesses for doing great things last week during Teacher Appreciation Week Mrs C mentioned the uh Night at the Museum of Fine Arts celebrating a 10-year partnership through the referendum with every sixth grade student in the county going to the Museum of Fine Arts was a wonderful event and thank all the student performers who were there uh performing in the different space across the Museum of Fine Art just impressive the student uh talent that we have last week I also want to celebrate our students who went to tassi for the Florida History Day competition pelis County School students did a fantastic job once more with 16 students advancing to Washington DC for the National History Day competition coming up in June uh students from multiple schools across the district we had over 50 students in competition total and congratulations to Amanda dougo from bokaa high school who won the Florida History Day teacher of Merit the fourth time in 5 years a teacher from pels county has won the Statewide award so congratulations and best of luck to our students coming up again I've mentioned this many times I'm going to beat the drum again for our seniors fastf completion get that filled out for financial aid we continue to have opportunities to assist families our next one uh in addition to getting help in your College and Career Center at your high school anytime a CommunityWide effort is happening on June 1st at Dixie M Holland's High School 9:00 a.m. to noon we look forward to supporting students and their families there it is hiring season and so the district has some job fairs coming up as well you can check our website for more but we have one on May 22nd another on May 23rd it includes everything from teachers to mechanics equipment operators painters food nutrition school safety and everything in between and so it's our hiring season busy time coming up for human resources and we look forward to seeing many folks out at those job fairs and of course speaking of upcoming events graduations begin for penel County High School students this Thursday at Tropicana Field boaa High School kicks us off at 7:30 a.m. they'll go all day Thursday all day Friday all day Saturday and then over to a few more next week uh at the sound and Clearwater High School on Monday night deden high school at Ruth eard Hall and several of our smaller schools doing it at their sites I know the board members will be out in their regalia ready to celebrate our students shake hands and bring their hand sanitizer and celebrate our class of 2024 and we look forward to doing that here in the next couple days and before I get to the superintendent standout today I did want to wish best of luck and well wishes to our retiring Chief Financial Officer in his last board meeting today at the Das his last day of work is tomorrow he did not want to miss a board meeting if he could get one more in 12 years as a Chief Financial Officer of the school district worked with penel County school since 1997 in accounting and budget and a great cheerleader of of our students through economic downturns through times of prosperity always with professionalism always with success and of course as the board knows with wit and humor as well Mr Smith you will be missed best wishes to you on your retirement well earned and finally the superintendent standout today is Mrs Ashley Timberlake a theater teacher at Palm Harbor University High School who's worked for penel County Schools for over a decade and recently she was recognized by a colleague from Palm Harbor Middle School who said Mrs Timberlake and her students graciously assisted our theater program at the middle school allowing her high school students to Aid in our production and using her own class time to support our program she aided the growth and the bond between our schools and helped grow the Palm Harbor community her amazing success with her students extends across the state to the Florida thespian state competition and to the strz center and places in between and we are so grateful for her professional quality theater and the extent that she goes to prepare our students to be the Broadway stars of the future thank you Mrs Timberlake and all of our teachers for the work they do each and every day thank you madam chair thank you items introduced by the school board attorney I have no report today thank you thank you items introduced by the board Mrs Meyer thank you good morning everyone in early April the reading of invisible monsters at a Hillsboro County Schoolboard meeting sparked widespread attention due to its deeply inappropriate content subsequently I discovered this book was available at two pelis County Schools after obtaining and reading the title I submitted a formal Challenge on April 12th 2024 representing not only my concerns but also those of the community to be clear this is the same action available to any parent teacher or member of the community through our board policy 210 it is essential to emphasize that this decision was made with careful consideration and in accordance with the Florida state law specifically statute 847 .001 this law outlines criteria regarding the distribution and display of materials that are considered obscene harmful to minors or otherwise inappropriate for educational settings and rather than try to sub divert the system and bypass the process we all voted on and agreed to implement I utilize this provision outlined in the policy which again is available to all members of the community to ensure the Integrity of this process only board members key District officials and select parents and school level officials were made aware of this objection because the policy dictate dictates that public notice um of formal objection should be released 7 days prior to the committing hearing all involved parties were expected Ed to refrain from public discussion to maintain the Integrity of the policy and process that my colleagues and I established in pass last fall you can imagine my surprise when I was contacted by the Press last week regarding my objection despite the lack of public notice and selection of committee members this information was prematurely leaked to the press for political reasons undermining the Integrity of this process committee members must have the opportunity to review the material before their names are made public to prevent undue influence or bias unfortunately that did not happen in this case this action is a dereliction of Duty and has the potential to cause the members of our community to lose confidence in the processes and policies that this board enacts while promoting intellectual freedom and diverse perspectives in our educational materials is crucial it is equally important that we ensure that materials are provided to our students and they're age appropriate respectful of our community values and align with our object Ed educational objectives however our district are and members of this community who raise concerns are constantly accused of cherry-picking and taking passages out of context so to my colleagues the press the community everyone here I ask them and what context are graphic descriptions of deviant sexual acts appropriate for minors in what context is it appropriate for children to read about fisting and felching I ask because that's what's in this book and I will be providing my colleagues with copies of these explicit passages and I willing to provide any of you a copy of those um Passages at well as well at your request it's imperative that stakeholders have confidence in the process and that those tasked out tasks with carrying out the process demonstrate Prudence with sensitive information I also firmly believe in fostering an environment where students have access to a wide range of literature that stimulates critical thinking empathy and cultural awareness however it is also incumbent upon us as Educators and Community leaders to exercise discernment in selecting materials that are suitable for the educational setting reflective of our mission our vision and our our District's strategic plan I look forward to sharing further facts and details at the formal objection Hearing in the coming weeks thank you thank you madam chair thank you Mrs cook as Mr Hendrick mentioned it is graduation season and I would like to um share my congratulations with all of our students that are going to be going across the stage and receiving their diplomas this this next week I also want to say be careful between now and then don't do anything silly that will prevent you from walking across the stage and and getting the recognition that you deserve in addition to that I too believe in or not we'd like to congratulate and wish our um Chief finance officer the best I'm not going to growl at you I'm not going to say anything other than you have been a tremendous resource for us what you have done for the district has been um unmatched you have been able to take a dollar and squish it and stretch it and we appreciate it um your consistency your integrity your your knowledge has allowed me to trust you in what you do and that's very very important when we're looking at a budget constantly I wish you all the best we will miss you and thank you for what you've done I'm trying not to scout today because we were going to walk out together and you're beating me to the punchline so but um we do wish you the best and thank you for everything you've done thank you um Mr Smith thank you God bless you and I still have your mobile [Laughter] number we're very very grateful um I would just share you know for those of us who are in the rhythm of the school year this is a very vibrant time um I just I want to thank my fellow board members who have been to a lot of events in the recent weeks and are going to be going to a number of graduations in the coming weeks and I just want to highlight a couple of the events that that we've had in the last week or so they're so inspiring and I would love for the community to hear a little bit about them one of them is called the turnaround breakfast it's held at Banquet Masters in Largo we celebrated one student that was nominated by their principal from 50 different schools and one of these students I want to mention to you his name is AJ Jack AOL and he goes to Richard o Jacobson Tech High School call IT Tech High um AJ had low grades and really high number of disciplinary referrals when he was in Middle School and they were worried about what his high school career would be like well now he is on track to graduate with a 3.0 and with his certified veterinary assistant certificate that's a pretty great turnaround speaking with him he plans to enroll in college while he's working as a CVA to study animal Behavioral Science inspired by that program at Tech High AJ's mother and grandmother were there um along with principal woofenden and they were grateful for the schools and the teachers partnership with AJ to make as turn around possible and again there were 50 students that were recognized in all of their stories shared it was incredible that event is sponsored by The Krauss family and has been for over 30 years they have seminol and sunrise Bowling Lanes in our community so this summer when you need to beat the heat and get some air conditioning go bowling and tell them thank you for supporting our schools for so long um I also want to highlight the honors breakfast we held at University of South Florida St Petersburg and in the student achievement awards at Oola High School more than a 100 high school students were recognized with top achievements we had 17 National Merit Scholars by my count I'm sure we'll get some updated numbers the at the end to end of the school year plus we had many other National and state um Awards and scholarship winners it was incredibly inspiring our Career Technical outstanding student awards at pelis Park High School students of all ages earning industry certifications and ready to be right out with their job opportunities um it's just an example we get to see this time of year if that strategic plan is or isn't working and we set that bar for excellence and opportunity so it is inspiring to participate while it might be also slightly exhausting but it's wonderful and in these next two weeks we have those graduations and two weeks from Tomorrow the last day of school we get into the uh cultural uh Rhythm Of Summer our next board meeting is an evening meeting our next regular scheduled board meeting is an evening meeting on June 11th um and then we're right into the budget season with the June 25th work work session on that so um this is our opportunity to say in all of the Vibrance that is current and in the coming weeks um we do see that bar for excellence being achieved and as long as we continue to provide that leadership and support then we can and we do achieve that Excellence here in penel County schools and so to all of our teachers our staff and our leadership um is this school year and we know that you will have left it all on the field and we see your hard work and we see the Excellence and the opportunity that it provides all of our students and we thank you Mrs Woodford do we have any requests I did not note any requests today okay with that and seeing no other business I adjourn this meeting and we'll move to public participation Mrs Hal do we have any speakers yes Madam chair we have eight speakers thank you please note that the views and comments of the public speakers are their own and are not endorsed nor sponsored by the school board or District we cannot ensure the accuracy of statements made but will review concerns that are raised and take appropriate action which may include clarifications or the referral of speakers to the proper staff members for assistance the board is committed to a standard of Civility and decorum in conducting our meetings this includes refraining from clapping or making audible noises during or after a speaker's comments we appreciate you in maintaining that civil and constructive environment additionally please note that although board members or superintendent Hendrick may leave the dis briefly there are speakers in the back room and we will continue to be able to hear your comments thank you thank you madam chair board members and Mr hendrik uh the first two speakers are Mark kutho and Gloria svali Mark lutho Largo well moms for stupidity you're here today um I'm going to have to deviate from uh when I'm usually here to say here's the book Wars a General SM Smedley Butler awarded two Medals of Honor you're uh constant agulation of the military is just sick sick you know I have to tell the best war story ever I don't know if I'll finish it today but you know when I got back from nam I had almost a year and a half to serve went to a post that was named for one of those Confederate Traders Ford hood and I got down there with that big farm went to the quartermaster to get everything issued and I got everything except for an Overcoat that they didn't have a My Size the quarter master sergeant said I don't worry about it doesn't get cold that cold here so after my year and a half and January and 1971 went back tur everything in well you can't you can't clear here because you're not turning in an Overcoat well yeah but you can see I don't have I did didn't get issued one yeah but you can't clear here because you you're not turning one in I went back to my battery quartermaster he wrote a letter that I had to go to my Battalion Commander he had to sign the letter saying it was okay I get issued an overcoat and he course chuckled when he saw this letter then I had to go to the Brigade commander and have him sign that letter and what what is this and then I took the letter back one in the north side of the building with that letter and they gave me the overcoat and went around went in on the south side of the building and turned in the Overcoat so I could get out of the army that's how sick the military is mind you I was a sergeant not a private sick sick sick you people are sick good afternoon anyway my name is Gloria Z valy so I'm going to propose something to you imagine a 13-year-old girl maybe your daughter has been on social media with a stranger claiming to be an a young man complimenting her and ultimately looking to take her would you know that even was happening does she have any idea that's what's going on uh education how are we going to educate the kids so that they know what's going on at there when she get they get these social media phone calls do the parents have any idea what's going on they don't I think as a school system it's part of our obligation to teach these kids have speakers in have them in clubs where they teach each other it's all out there I have a social media web um um website social media um for this uh resource I actually put it out there in the hallway and it it lists all the different social media I'm not I'm keep saying social media all the different websites for um for the trafficking it it has support it has speakers and if anybody wants I'd love to share it with you but I think it's really important to address the subject you know there's tons of other things but our children are being Predator by so many people out there that just want their blood and it starts when they're infants it doesn't start when they're 13 so please consider this as part of your agenda for the future excuse me the next two speakers are Jamaica Bowen and Tamara Perez good afternoon board members of penela County Schools my name is JIA Bowden and I am a registered Behavior Tech Technic employed by and representing byyb ABA therapy today byyb is a community based ABA company that strives to provide top quality medically necessary a Excuse Me Miss Bowen um we're going to stop the time there so you don't lose any um but the school board has a policy relating to public speaking that speakers cannot promote or advertise the commercial interests of nonprofit or for-profit outside organizations so I'm not sure where you're going with that but can you please keep that in mind as you continue um that this is not an opportunity for you to promote an outside business you're is certainly able to send an email to the superintendent or a purchasing department if you want to promote a business and seek to do business with the district okay um well my speech it was going into um expressing concerns of providing services for ABA to to those who are in the ESC program at at at Public Schools I I think that's that's a perfectly acceptable topic just keep the name of the outside organization out of it thank awesome thank you all righty as a provide I mean as as providing ABA services to children in penel County strongly believe that it is vital that the school board reconsider current restrictions placed on ABA Services these restrictions which grants P principles the authority to limit Service locations on campus and restrict service times for ABA have significant implications for the well-being and progress of students who require these Services it is CR critical to recognize that ABA therapy is a medically necessary intervention for children with ESC needs by allowing principles to restrict the availability and accessibility of ABA services to the less than what has been determined as medically necessary we are limiting the potential growth and development of these students it is also essential to consider the impact these restrictions have on the collaboration between ABA ABA providers School staff and parents by limiting the location and Times of ABA Services we are impeding seamless collaboration between all stakeholders involved in the child's support removing these restrictions will will Foster a more comprehensive and Co cohesive approach allowing for effective communication coordination and implantation of ABA strategies to promote the child's overall growth and success as a result therapy goals can be met more efficiently with long lasting effects when it is integrated into the child's daily routine and delivered consistently across a variety of settings including classroom playground cafeteria and other in other school environments in conclusion the school board of pelis County Florida should reconsider these restrictions placed on ABA Services by removing these limitations we can ensure that every child receiving ESC Services equally receives their medically necessary and beneficial ABA therapy and a comprehensive and inclusive ma manner let us prioritize the well-being and pro and progress of our students providing them with equal opportunities to reach their full potential and thrive in their educational Journey hi my name is Tamara prz and I represent the 1200 Plus members of our group project ABA rights we are a Grassroots effort advocating for for ABA and all private Therapies in our Public Schools ABA therapy is the gold standard treatment for autism and has been life-changing for my son much like a child with a physical disability that may require a wheelchair a child with an invisible disability may require ABA therapy what I have noticed is that even though all districts across the state are underfunded underst staffed and teachers underpaid we as parents are offering schools a free Lifeline that not only helps special education students but assists es teachers Educators and principles by reducing problem behaviors in the classroom children cannot access curriculum until behaviors are first addressed therefore when schools deny ABA therapy you are essentially denying our special needs children equal access to an education what I have noticed is that districts love to take the wait and see approach resulting and reinforcing negative behaviors unnecessarily disrupting the classroom creating anxiety and new self-esteem issues you know a child needs support but before you grant that child services you first want to collect data to show how poorly the student can do unsupported you are essentially taking a child that we have told you cannot swim and yet you throw them into the deep end with no life supports and to no one's surprise that child starts to drown slowly you start to throw in supports a little OT a Sprinkle of speech a pinch of ABA and not one minute more until the child is clinging for life barely treading water and hardly able to breathe the school now considers this the perfect amount of support imagine for a moment we load up a child with all the necessary supports they could possibly need we hold their hand and assist them in the shallow end of the pool where they're still confident and can touch the bottom or hold on to the wall as they make their way into the deep end we slowly start to remove those supports fading out eventually leaving a child alone in the deep end but now strong confident and independent no one knows how long it's going to take for each individual child to make their way across the pool but it's our job as the adults in the room to support and guide them on their Journey so that they can go on to be successful adults later in life we're throwing districts a lifeline and they're tossing it back we need a cultural shift that can only come from leadership at the top thank you the next two speakers are lesie Smith and Lee Bryant hi good afternoon thank you for your time today my name is lesie Smith and I am a pelis county Guardian at lium a pelis County School's educational surrogate and a professional board certified behavior analyst I have spent over 15 years working in a public school district not only as a specialed teacher but also as a district level bcba I am speaking out today on behalf of a middle school student I represent as a guardian at lium he is one of other children that have been denied ABA collaboration at school and even more concerning he was denied his right to special Transportation due to a special transfer request of the caregivers and courts to remove him from the unsupportive school his caregivers and other exceptional education families are struggling with the inconsistency of the school administration's interpretation of the district's pip policy and procedures some families are denied the collaboration and administration is picking specific times that aren't helpful or supportive of the child and actually are not in consensus of the IEP team and sometimes even the classroom teacher there are some schools that are very supportive and we celebrate those schools but it's not consistent across the district I am here in hopes that I can get assistance with reinstating my foster child's special Transportation at his new school who is supporting him as well as create awareness for the school board of the administrators inconsistency of the PIP policies and procedures and I hope to get the Schoolboard support of the importance of collaboration with ABA medical providers to ensure all exceptional ed students have the highest quality of care at no cost to the district thank you so much for your time and consideration uh good afternoon superintendent Hendrick somewhere in the back uh and staff uh chair Hine and members of the board I am still Lee Bryant uh and still president of the pcta uh we have reached that point of the Year where we are celebrating what is going on in our schools what has gone on in our schools I was lucky enough to be at the award ceremony where uh band director madrin uh was awarded teacher of the year uh tonight uh pcta is celebrating its teachers of the here uh years ago two ladies from our community Beed to the pcta cash Awards to help uh celebrate teachers outstanding in their field uh and we have chosen to over the years have a banquet ceremony in honor of those outstanding teachers tonight starting at 5:45 we will be entertaining and hosting and celebrating over 90 teachers from penel County School I would like to take this opportunity to invite anyone from the board superintendent hendrik uh to come by and uh see our teachers the ceremony starts at 5:45 the banquet at 6 o'clock uh as I have said all year and we are working towards it and I I think we are making good progress uh so to members of the community to the teachers the administrators the staff uh alone we can do so little to together we can do so much I look forward to another year of cooperation and advancing our common interests within uh within our school system thank you the next two speakers are Aunt Avila and Renee Chia hello again um thanks for the opportunity to come and address you you madam chair board superintendent and staff um ant Aila um Tampa Bay Community organizer with equality Florida I um thought I would need to also put my name in for this portion of the meeting [Music] um and I'm glad that I did because the last meeting that I spoke uh to you all at I spent my time than in you for the inclusive guidelines that have been released uh by the district um and encouraging you to adopt proliteracy policies so we can um respect every family by allowing parental um rights be heard from every parent um and and the books that their children have access access to can be um can be understood and requested and and brought into our schools um but it it is upsetting that this uh meeting uh this District or at least one of the board members has proven to be part of the anti- literacy campaign to remove books and um limit access for students um the mechanisms put in place to ensure age appropriateness and um and propriety for for educational materials and for all media um were voted on by this board and should be trusted and um these these calls for uh outright bans uh is against parental rights it it is not any parents right to limit access to a book for every student just because they don't wish for their student to read it parents should be regulating what their students consume um and that is not only their right but they're what they're called to do is good parents um but they don't have the right to regulate that for every student and every parent um so I ask the board to continue to be on the right path and be good stewards to this District to take a pro literacy um uh stand uh in your policies so that we can end these um horrible bans on on books and limiting education this is a anti- literacy campaign that this District should stand against thank you good morning it's been a while since I've been here nice to see all of you I just want to mention that I only come and address the board when I have something to address the board about just you know want to put that out there for folks who think we come here for any other purpose nor should they um today I felt it was necessary to address leadership I know we've all heard the old adage principal versus princip pal because your principal is your pal right your friend um in my opinion three of you operate from a place of principles I'm ideologically aligned to two of those three Stephanie and Don and thank you for your principled leadership today Stephanie that's what principled leadership looks like the third as I've said before is capries even though we don't always see eye to eye I respect the fact that you maintain your principles you are transparent and professional the rest of you would rather be liked than respected you want to be a how I don't respect you because of your weak leadership because if your desire to be liked it makes you open to the highest bitter or the most effective leverage your position is subject to constant change miss long I was reflecting on the first time I stood before you three years ago it was only three years ago several of you almost fell out of your chairs when I mentioned communism and when I use the term the final solution no one thinks that's shocking or crazy anymore do they look at the college campuses and all the anti-semitic rhetoric including protest signs that literally say the final solution while you have sat there denying this is happening on your watch it is advancing steadily it starts in K through 12 and flourishes in college Carol you insisted the things I brought up were not happening in pelis now we see they are happening in pelis that is what unprincipled and weak leadership breeds while you continue to deny and defend your failure you become the useful idiots Miss Kaine time to step aside and allow principled leadership your insistence to ride the middle and keep the water still is the problem Miss Heim as Edmund Burke famously said the only thing necessary for evil to Triumph in the world is that good men do nothing Mr hendrik thank you there are no other speakers Mrs Hine thank you and thank you for being here today and again thank you teachers staff leaders for leaving it all on the field it's been a great year