to come forward and lead us in a uh prayer and the pledge. There is no student showcase tonight. So, thank you sir. Thank you. This uh this is also the first Thursday of May which for our nation is the na national day of prayer
and uh so all over the nation churches have been opened and in different places prayer meetings have been held in order to call out to the God of hope. That's the theme and so I'd like to pray in that way. Would you join me in prayer? Father God, we come to you and we are grateful for the hope that you give us
and hope that is a hope that will not disappoint. Your word says it's an assured hope. It's a confident hope, not a wishful one. And it is all because of your great love for us. And you demonstrated that love and that you gave us Jesus Christ who died for us even
while we were yet sinners. And he rose again from the dead. And he's alive now at your right hand. and coming again. And we are, Lord, looking forward to that when everything is made right, when every tear is dried and all the wrongs
are, Lord, they're repaired, the redeemed, and all creation, you said, is groaning for that day. And we say, even so, come Lord Jesus. Thank you for this great nation that you've given us to live in and the freedom that we enjoy and the reasons that we have this
freedom. for the military that protect us on a regular basis, for those around even locally who are in law enforcement who are risking themselves in order that we might be safe and secure. God, thank you for them. Thank you for our leaders.
God, we pray that you would continue to give us godly leaders that lead in integrity and with character and God, uphold your standard. And Father, I thank you that you have given us those and God, where there are those who are ungodly and will not uphold your
standard, I pray you remove them from this nation, from office. I pray God for our state. Thank you for the officials here who lead us. And I pray the same. And God, for this local, this community we live in, this county that God, you've given us that is so special and dear to
our hearts. And we pray your protection over it. And that God, too, you give us godly leaders. Thank you for the leaders you've given us. And even the ones who are here tonight, bless them, Lord. And Lord, thank you so much for eternal life that you've promised us if we put our
trust and faith in Jesus Christ. You said, "For by grace are we saved through faith and that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not of works lest anyone should boast." And then, Lord, I want to pray for these parents. So many here who are they're here tonight for recognitions. And Lord, there's they're
raising their children, God, to uh to be good citizens. And Lord, I pray too that their children grow up to know you, to follow you all the days of their life, and to do your will. And because Lord, there's nothing better, nothing more important than doing what you desire.
Thank you in Jesus name. Amen. Would you join me in the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. I call to order the board meeting for May 1st, 2025. Welcome citizens of Klay County. I want to take the opportunity to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend tonight's school board meeting. The meeting is our
opportunity as your elected representatives to collaborate openly and make decisions that will decide the future direction of our public schools and the education of our children here in Klay County. If you wish to address the board on an agenda item, there will be an opportunity to speak for three
minutes. Please fill out a card located at the side entry door indicating the specific item number or topic you wish to speak about and turn it in promptly to one of our officers. If you have items that you would like to uh present
to the school board or superintendent, please hand them to an officer who will distribute them accordingly. Speakers who wish to address specific agenda items will be heard following the recognition and awards portion of the meeting. Speakers wishing to address non-aggenda items
will be heard following the adoption of the consent agenda. No additional cards will be accepted once the board moves to the public comment section under presentations after the audience or from the audience. Sorry. Your participation is welcomed and appreciate
appreciated. First up, we have recognitions and awards. Uh the rec uh to recognize winners of the 2025 math field day, we have Miss April Shipley, elementary math curriculum coach and Miss
Gavinda. Good evening. My name is Goinda Poor and I am the elementary math specialist. I'm here alongside my phenomenal elementary math coach and math field day coordinator, April Shipley. Um alongside my two other math coaches, Mary Jane Edgar and Cheryl
Radcliffe. We're here to recognize some outstanding students who participated in elementary math field day. Thank you, Mr. Broski, and our school board members for allowing us to be here tonight. Thank you for our schoolboard members who joined us on our
math field day event. We also want to recognize our teachers, our staff, and our coaches and the many volunteers who served um at elementary math field day. Elementary math field day and is an event that takes place every April. Teams in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade
from each of our 28 elementary schools compete in four events. The quiz, the huddle, word problems, and the relay. We also have the mugggins tournament that takes place at math field day as well. This is run by Robin Bosinger. We're gathered here today to recognize our
first, second, and third place teams as well as our Muggin winners. So, we wanted to play along and we decided we'd like you guys to do a little bit of math with us. Who's down for some math tonight? Okay, I see some
grimaces. Just a few smiles, though. Let's take a look at a typical question that students could see in one of our events, the relay event. Okay, give me a hand up when you've got it solved. Okay, I see some of our our math coaches. They've got it.
So, we'll revisit this at the end. We'll give you a few minutes to solve it. We are going to start today by announcing our mugggins tournament winner. So, our winner for high score is actually Simone Bard from Keystone
Heights Elementary School and her coach, Mr. Cynica. They actually weren't able to join us tonight, but we're going to make sure their award gets to Keystone Heights Elementary School. There is Simone. And so our next um winner that
we would like to recognize is our Muggins Tournament overall winner, Elijah Ransom from Lakeside Elementary School. Elijah, come on [Applause] out. And Elijah's coach is Miss
Lee. Miss Lee, if you'll come on up. Thank you, [Applause] Elijah. You can go to your family. Next, we're going to recognize our fourth grade winners. We're going to start with third place, second place, and then
first place. So, our third grade or excuse me, our fourth grade, third place winner is Lake Asbury Elementary. Come on out, Lake [Applause] Asbury. Lake Asbury Elementary fourth
grade coach is Miss Serta. Miss Serta, will you come on up? Congratulations, Lake [Applause] Aspberry. Our second place winner in fourth grade is Patterson Elementary
School. Patterson, come on out. Patterson's fourth grade coach is Miss Steiner. And our first place winner Congratulations, Patterson. And our first grade winner for fourth or for our first place winner for fourth grade is
Orange Park Elementary. Come on [Applause] out. The fourth grade coach was Miss Dodie. Miss Dodie, come on up and join your team. Great job, Orange Park Elementary.
[Applause] Now we're going to move to our fifth grade teams and we'll recognize third place, second place, and then first place. So for our fifth grade teams, our third place for fifth grade,
we have Fleming Island Elementary. Fleming Island Elementary's coaches are Miss Bernard, Miss Glidden, and Miss Hail. great job, Fleming Island [Applause] Elementary. In fifth grade, we had a
two-way tie for our second place position. So, the first team that we're going to call out is Shadowon Elementary. [Applause] And Shadowan Elementary's coach is Miss
Mac Oroy. Great job, [Applause] Shadowon. Our other fifth grade second place winner was Patterson Elementary. Come on out, [Applause]
Patterson. Miss Mansy is their coach. Great [Applause] job. Our fifth grade first place winner was Orange Park Elementary.
[Applause] The Orange Park Elementary fifth grade coach is Miss White. Great job, Orange [Applause] Park. Moving on to our sixth grade
winners. In third place, we have Lake Asbury [Applause] Elementary. Lake Asbury Elementary sixth grade coaches are Miss Mia and Miss Kernney. Thank you, Lake Asbury
[Applause] Elementary. Our second place winner for sixth grade was Patterson Elementary. Come on out, Patterson. and Patterson Elementary's sixth grade coaches, Miss Cookie
Great job, [Applause] Patterson. And finally, our first place winner for sixth grade actually couldn't be here today because they all had their sixth grade field trip, but we would
like to recognize sixth grade first place winner, Orange Park Elementary. [Applause] Their coach is Mr. Harris. Um, and Dr. H. Hearnden is accepting on their behalf. Thank you, Dr. H.
Hearnden. Okay. Thank you, Orange Elementary. Planning this event begins in September and continues weeks after the event. We are so grateful for all of the helping hands that made this event come together. I would personally like to take a moment to recognize our Mathfield
Day coordinator, April Shipley. Although this is a team effort, this day would not happen without the leadership of April taking on coordinator. So, come on up, April. Okay. Okay, so let's revisit our math
problem. Uh oh. And the answer is 610. We look forward to seeing you all at Math Field Day 2026. Thank you. All right. Next up, we have recognition of the 20 204 2025
Superintendent Student Advisory Council members. Miss Kelly Watt, chief of staff All right, we'll go ahead and get started. So, uh, my name is Kelly Watt and I am chief of staff for Superintendent David Broski. and I am so
excited to be here tonight to recognize the service of uh our student superintendent student advisory council. So, I'm going to go ahead and ask them to come on in. And there's a lot. Come on. Uh come on all in. I'm gonna and Lindsay just
stand up here next to me and the rest of y'all can come on up here in a line. It's like a clown car. They just keep coming. There's a lot. And we're gonna have to squeeze tight. We may have to do a second row.
Um, we'll just do that and kind of curve around. They just keep Yeah, when you tell them to show up, they show up. That's what kind of kids these are. Keep keep getting Yep. Yep. We're gonna just kind of come on in here just a little bit
tighter. All right. So, this is a phenomenal group of students. And I'm I'm just going to start off by saying that u if you see the name Superintendent Student Advisory Council, you may wonder what that is. And so, this is an organization made up of
students who have to apply to be on the the council. and they meet regularly with the superintendent to provide a direct line of communication with the superintendent uh to share their perspectives, to share
their experiences and to use their voice to help affect change in our district. Uh many of these students have served on the council for more than one year. Raise your hand if you've been on it for more than one year. Okay? and raise your
hand if this was your first year. All right, so we always get a a great variety of um voices with us tonight. Joining us tonight is our chair of the Superintendent Student Advisory Council, Lindseay Gillis, and she's going to be here to share just a little bit about
what they have done and update the community on all their work. Lindsay Gillis, good evening. [Applause] My name is Lindseay Gillis and I am the chair of the Superintendent Student
Advisory Council as well as a senior at Fleming Island High School. Um, this is my third year on the council and I am here tonight to represent all of these lovely people and all of their ideas that we shared throughout the year. So, go ahead and get started. Okay. So, what is the Superintendent Student Advisory
Council? I know Mrs. SWAT um briefly just touched on this, but the Superintendent Student Advisory Council is a group of students and secondary schools across the county that meet every month to discuss issues that directly impact the student body. Our primary goal is to contribute ideas to
staff and the county office and the superintendent of Klay County District Schools, Mr. David Rosski, to ultimately result in higher levels of student success, safety, and after high school readiness. So, a little bit of background on our
SSAC members. Um, I get to see these people once a month and I have loved getting to know each one individually. But a big overview of the advisory council. We have students ranging from 7th to 12th grade. We have two junior high schools represented and seven high schools represented and approximately
100% of us are involved in honors courses, dual enrollment, AP, ACE, IB, one of those um higher level programs. 42% are student athletes, 30% are involved in fine arts, and 56% are involved in seven or more
extracurricular activities. So, what do our meetings look like? Our council meets once a month in this room um at Fleming Island High School. We have a conversation by guided by myself and our vice chair, Taylor White, um introducing a topic
with a representative from the county office. Um once we leave the meeting we take a part in an online discussion board over the next month and at the next meeting we put our ideas from the discussion board into practice and discuss them further. Over overall our
discussion is always solutionoriented and we are working to solve a set action item by the end of our time together. So here are some pictures of what our meetings look like. Um part of our meeting after we discuss um on the discussion board is breaking
into smaller groups so that everyone has a chance to share their ideas. Part of this process is we have a shared Google doc um that each smaller group can put their ideas on and we get back together as a large group and talk about some of the ideas on the Google doc. So I have some of those ideas with us today. So
what does SSAC do outside of our meetings? Um so in February the superintendent holds a state of the schools address that we volunteer at every year. So, um, for the people who were in attendance, these are those faces you got to see that day. Here are some pictures from that. And so, what
were the topics we chose at the beginning um, of the year? At our first meeting, we decided that our focus points for the year were going to be college and career readiness and school climate and culture. So, on college and career preparedness, these were pulled directly from the Google doc that we had
that I just um, talked about. So the uh we talked about we discussed information that would be helpful on a county college and career preparedness website for students and parents interested in learning more about after high school options. So the website would include
bright futures qualifications and requirements or an organized dropdown of the CTE cataloges, what you need to be preparing for in each grade in order to succeed in your next year and or where you need to be during each year. knowing when college applications come out and
knowing about early admissions and an emphasis on dual enrollment classes and transfer options and how to transfer. So, our second topic that we talked about was school climate and culture. So, some of the most popular ideas we discussed to improve school climate and culture were having a
schoolwide assembly with club officers from different clubs to teach others about their club, having a celebration for Esau students transitioning into a fully English-speaking environment, having culture night at the high schools to highlight and showcase the diversity in our schools, and having class murals
made by the class officers to represent each grade level each year. So, how can you or someone you know get involved in SSAC? If you or someone that you know is interested in joining the council next year, your next steps would be checking the Klay County District
School social media page or website. Um, also the app, the app that just came out. Um, applications are open to any student in Klay County District Schools, grades 7th through 12th. So, any junior high schoolers or high schoolers interested in joining are absolutely able to fill out their application. And
then applications are going to open and are due in the fall. So you can start looking for those about end of summer into August. And then applications are due probably about October. So um and then if you have any questions, feel free to email our county chief of staff, Mrs. Kelly Watt. And so to end
everything, I would like to thank our superintendent for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with us every month. I'd like to thank all of the students standing here on our advisory council for making this such a productive year. We wouldn't have any of these ideas without all of these people standing up here. So, I'll clap for
them. I wouldn't have been able to do this without my co-chair, Taylor White. Taylor. Um, he has been keeping everything organized inside and outside of our meetings, and I greatly appreciate him for that. And then I would like to give the biggest shout out to our chief of staff, Miss Kelly Watt,
for putting all of this together and caring so deeply about each and every one of us in our own personal lives as well as our academic lives. So I'll give her a round of applause. So I would like to thank all of you guys for being here this evening as well as the school board for listening to all of our ideas. It has
been so wonderful being allowed the opportunity to um represent all of these wonderful people tonight. So, thank you. [Applause] All right. Doesn't she She just does an amazing job. And And I got to say this
about Lindsay. She wants to become a teacher one day. And you can imagine we want her back here in Klay County. She's hired tonight. Tonight. Yes. I got a job. So, what we're going to do is we're going to go ahead and hand out some certificates and then we're going to
give them the um our seniors um their graduation cord. So, I'm gonna just start off by um this is going to be for So, Lindsay, you want to step on this side for Lindsy Gillis? Lindsay Gillis. All right. And now, Lindsay, I'm
gonna hold yours and we're gonna go through. Yep. All right. Danielle Aerson. All right. Isabelli Alquinn. Sophia Alvarado. Isabella Amadore, Shayla
Bivvens, Arabel Conan, Pisha Dabbi, Daniel Capa, Noah Montoro, Carson Nicholson, Molly Molly Patel, Virginia
Schaefer, Tessa Wilson, Angel Zang, Amelia Shalot, Evan Davies, Brena Finnegan, Joanie
Galagarza, Llaya Gonzalez, I don't think Glenny is here. Sophia Ja, Naomi Hiken, Tyani Maxwell, Allison Musalami, Jordan
Meyers, Hannah Owen, Ria Patel, Ava Shabudok, Sha St. Vilis, Leah Sbert, Olivia
Sllamon, Via Thatch, Chloe Tony, Ashley Zamora, and Taylor White. Round of applause. [Applause] Thank All right. And the last thing is
I'm going to ask all seniors if you can kind of move up here into the middle and get into a line. We'd like to recognize this special time for you. Each senior, and if you're a parent of a senior or you've ever been a parent of a senior, you
realize the importance of these graduation cords. And these cords recognize the deep service and contributions they have provided Klay County District Schools. They didn't have to come to this. They didn't have to spend an hour and a
half once a month and time on a discussion board. It wasn't a grade. They didn't get paid. They volunteered their time and service and for that we are deeply appreciative. Congratulations. Okay. So, we're going to do a picture. Um, can we have our
other SAC members come around here and kind of gather around these folks? Bring your um bring your certificates and you can kind of open them up if you'd like. [Music] [Applause]
All right, thank you guys. Up next, we have the recognition or um we're going to recognize the president's volunteer service award recipients. Christine How, Orange Park High language arts teacher.
I got it. Thank you so much. Okay. Okay. All right. Good evening. Um, again, my name is Christine Hal. I'm a teacher at Orange Park High School and I am a passionate volunteer in our community. I have the distinct pleasure tonight of honoring some amazing young
people in our community. This is the perfect time to give them to this award to them um as recognition because the springtime seems to be a great time to start doing volunteer work and it brings out the spirit of volunteers um working in our in our in all of us. We definitely have a lot of young
philanthropists with us here this evening. They volunteer at places like Smile Camp. They tutor students. They serve as managers for various sports all over their high schools in North Florida. They volunteer with Ronald McDonald House, Rethreaded, Relay for
Life, Wounded Warriors, the Klay County Fair, the Klay County Sheriff's Office, Orange Park Athletic Association, Klay County Teen Court. They serve as members of students working against tobacco and are on the board for Klay County SWAT. They volunteer at local hospitals. You
name it, our kids are doing it. Um, now I'm going to tell you a little bit about this award. The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was established in 2003 to recognize the valuable contributions and volunteers that are making um strides in our communities and to encourage more people
to serve. The council created by the president's volunteer service award program is a way to thank and honor Americans who by their demonstrated commitment and example inspire others to engage in volunteer service. Recognizing and honoring volunteers sets a standard for service. It encourages a sustained
commitment to civic participation and it inspires others to make service a central part of their lives. The president's volunteer service award recognizes individuals, families, and groups that have achieved a certain standard measured by the number of hours of service over a 12 year 12-month time
period or a cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime. Different levels of awards include the bronze, the silver, and the gold awards. To date, the President's Council has partnered with more than 80 leadership organizations and more than 28,000 certifying organizations to give over
1.5 million awards to the nation's deserving volunteers. Those of you here tonight will be joining this distinguished group. The first person we are honoring is John Richardson from Orange Park High School. [Applause]
Lots of loot. There you go. Okay, the next honore is Sebastian Lopez, also from Orange Park High School. [Applause] There's your award. Y'all just get a group shot at
the end. Okay. Our next honore is Danielle Aerson from Middle School Middberg High School. [Applause] You've been busy tonight. Okay, our next honore is Khloe Tony from Middberg High School.
[Applause] Okay. And our next honore is Marie Grace Mosley from CHS High School. Our next honore is Katie Tony, also from
Clay High [Applause] School. Our next honore is Alexander Blum. Had to remember how to pronounce. He always tells me it's like the plum. Like the plum. See, I got it right. I got it
right. Good job. Okay, our next honore is Khloe Crocker from Ridge View High School. And then we have Kayn Crocker from Lakeside Middle. [Applause] Okay. And our last honore cannot be here
tonight. That is Stella Carter. She is at Orange Park Elementary, but she's off doing other great things. So she's in a dance competition tomorrow and if she doesn't check in by X time today, she can't compete. So they're on their way to Orlando. So these are our honores for
this year. Please congratulate them. [Applause] [Applause] Next up, we have Mr. Chris Google from the fine arts curriculum specialist to recognize the student composition
contest winners. Good evening, school board superintendent, families, and community. Tonight, we are proud to recognize the outstanding student composers who participated in our district inaugural student composition contest. This
initiative aligns with the Florida Seal of Fine Arts, specifically the requirement for students to be recognized for the creation of an original work of art. This contest was open to students in grades 9 through 12 across Klay County. Students submitted original compositions in four
categories: large ensemble, small ensemble, electronic music, and songwriting. Each piece was carefully evaluated by professionals in the field, including some of the same experts who collaborate with our secondary programs on custom marching band shows. Students
whose work met um met the highscoring threshold have now fulfilled this important component of the seal of fine arts. Additionally, the top scoring student in each category has been named a category winner. We are thrilled to celebrate all of these students tonight
for their creativity, dedication, and mu musical artistry. Joining me to help this evening's recognition is Mr. Chad Robbins, director of bands at Oakleaf High School. Mr. Robbins is the lead coordinating teacher for this contest. In fact, Mr. Robbins originally
approached me with the idea of this contest, pointing out a clear lack of opportunity for our music students to meet this particular component of the seal. Um, and so we were excited to be able to work closely to ensure the competition met the level of rigor expected from Klay County schools while
also aligning with the seal of fine arts component. Without Mr. Robbins guidance and support, this opportunity would not have come to fruition. Students, we will call each of you up to receive your recognition for high marks on your compositions. Please remain standing up front while we then recognize the
category winners and take a group picture. Our first honore, Aaliyah Callahan, Clay High, large ensemble category. Our next Our next honore is Hayden Sears, Clay High, large ensemble category.
And next we have Leonardo Arius, Oakleaf High Large Ensemble Category. And next we have Caleb Dao, Oakleaf High Ensemble Category. And last, Amelio Magay, Oakleaf High Electronic Music Category.
And now recognizing our category winners. Students, please step forward as your name is called. First place in large ensemble category is Leonardo Aras Oakleaf High. And first place in small ensemble
category is Caleb Dao Oakley High. And first place in electronic music category, Amelio Magesh Oakleaf High. Students, please step forward and be recognized one more time and we'll take a group picture. Thank you students and congratulations.
Next up, we have the recognition of state and international science fair winners with Miss Katie Ru Ellis Ruellis, sorry, science curriculum specialist. Hi, good evening. Um, my name is Katie Railos. As um, the one of the district
science curriculum specialists, one of the most special parts of my job is um that I get the privilege of taking these qualifying students to the state and international science fairs. Um this evening I am thrilled to recognize um 14
of our students that participated in the state science fair in Lakeland, Florida last month. Um as um as a special note, out of these 14 students, seven of them are um returning science fair state science
fair participants. So they have um what I I like to think of it is that they caught the science fair bug and they have some of them have turned it into like their entire personalities. So I'm I really love that. Um so um over the course of three days at the state
science fair um we took two junior level projects and nine senior level projects. Um and we participated in several different events. When we first get there, the students have to make sure that all of their projects have passed the scientific review committee approval process. And then they um have to set up
their boards and be approved by display and safety. And then they sit through a full day of judging, which includes six hours of judging. Oftent times they see at least seven different judges that come by to their booths um or more. Um and then uh they get to go hang out with
like-minded individuals at the student mixer and um interact with their peers. and it's uh I lovingly refer to it as their nerdfest. It's amazing. Um and then we have grand awards ceremony where this we get to celebrate all of the um
award winners statewide. So um I do want to recognize some people that are not here today because they are very busy. Um but Miss Leslie Bryan is another one of our district science specialists and she um volunteers her time to come chaperon with us as well. And then uh
Miss Bethany Derusi and Mr. William Derusi um both teachers, one at Ridge View and one at Clay. And they um spend hours and hours of their time making sure their students are prepared for this event. Um and I am so thankful for their willingness to go above and beyond
every year because the the event would not be what it is without these um these amazing people. So without further ado, um I would like to introduce you to the scholars from the Clay Rotary Regional Science and Engineering Fair that participated at the state fair. Um
several of them are not here this evening for different reasons. So Sophie Orrenica from Rididgeu High School um her project was breath acetone sensing development of an IoT enabled breath analyzer for keto ketosis detection in diabetes management.
Um, Miss Gracelyn Beckham, who is here this evening. Graceland is one of those who we snagged last year and was very hesitant to even come to district science fair and this year she will actually be uh joining us at the international science fair in um Columbus, Ohio. So, Graceland's project
was an evaluation of potential advances in limb immobilization for orthopedic healing. And this was a secondyear project. Um, and she scored uh earned a fourth place recognition in her category at [Applause]
state. Yeah. Um, next we have Joshua Chun who's here this evening from Richview High School. his project, a novel study in the utilization of artificial intelligence, machine learning and convolutional neural networks in the identification of differing recyclable materials. Um his
project also won a fourth place in his category at the state fair. He um was recognized with the NASA Kennedy Space Center award and he is also one of our nominees for the International Science and Engineering Fair. Lauren Cormier, who is not here this evening, from Clay High School. Um, and
her project was the bio in bioinspired surfboard stability. Um, her project won a uh recognition award in her category, and she was also offered a $1,000 scholarship nomination at the uh Florida Gateway College. We also have Brena Finnegan and
Ria Patel from Ridge View High School. [Applause] And their project which caused me all kinds of problems in the qualification uh process um was the in vitro
antibacterial activity of mango ginger against human oral bacteria measuring zones of inhibition. Um also not here this evening James and Joseph Fryman. They are another one of my secondyear participants on their quantitative assessment of macromolecular
composition, lipids and proteins, ionic salinity, and pH variability in biochemical samples. Um, yes, from Clay High School, Austin.
[Applause] uh Austin's project ion innovation revolutionizing aerospace travel with electric to kinetic energy propulsion. His project was awarded fourth place in his category at state. Um and he was also recognized with the United States
Air Force Award, the United States Navy Science Award and he was offered a scholarship to Florida Polytenic University as well as Florida Gateway College. And he is our third nominee to the International Science and Engineering Fair. I don't believe I just saw them but um
Anthony Morjon and Alex Zen from Rididgeu High School with their project the study of acid rains retrogression towards the environment in variable composition uh facilitated by climate change and their project was awarded the Pulk regional science and engineering
fair $100 award at state. [Applause] Next, we have Calvin Pros from Orange Park Elementary with his project on um the fi is the 5-second rule [Applause]
real and his project um was awarded the Florida Association of Science Supervisors $50 award at state. [Applause] We have Cooper White from Grace Episcopal Day School and his project um
the compared growth of cayenne peppers between hydroponic and soil growing methods. [Applause] And finally, Angel Zen from Ridgeio High School
um with her project simulation of electroplating in seawater within an electrolytic cell between zinc and [Applause] copper. Congratulations scholars and
scientists. Um it was such a wonderful experience at the state fair and we are very much looking forward to Graceland, Josh and um Austin representing us at International Science Fair in Columbus, Ohio in two weeks. So, thank you very much.
[Applause] Now I'm curious. Is the 5-second rule real? No. I'm going to keep lying to my kids. Okay. Uh we're Next up, we have Superintendent Broski uh recognizing
recipients of uh the Superintendent Florida Prepaid Scholarships. Okay. I love the May board agenda. You know why? Because you just saw some great kids doing great things. Everything from the math team on through all of the fine arts and the kids that
you just saw on the superintendent's advisory council and all the students that you just witnessed in science. But it's not done. The evening's not done. Just like an infomercial. Wait, there's more. Okay? You know, the the uh the superintendent quite often has very routine things to do. It's very
routinized job. And every once in a while you get to do something that's really really cool, right? And so I I kind of celebrate that. I one of the things you get to do is I get to give out two uh college scholarships to students in our partnership with Florida Prepaid
uh and their organization. And so through a rigorous process of of uh essays that that individual students wrote, a committee was formed formed a group of students and these are our two winners here. these college scholarship right right
here. Okay. Our very first winner is David Rafolski from Fleming Island High School. Couple things about David while he walks up here. How about this? His GPA is a 4.75. [Applause] Over 400 hours of community service
right there in this in this young man. Okay, how about this? had the highest test in Florida for the ACE chemistry exam across the entire state of Florida. Does tutoring of of of students in both math and science. He's senior
class president. He embodies leadership and teamwork. Looking ahead, he's going to be a Gator. Okay. Okay. Majoring in computer science. So, in other words, we might all be working for him someday. So congratulations David Rafinsky. Give him
a give him a big round of [Applause] applause. [Applause] Our next winner is from Keystone Heights
Junior Senior High School, Arabel Conant. Arabel, come on up. You can stand there. We can embarrass you a little bit because Arabel's a a great student also and a great kid. Maintains an impressive weighted GPA of
4.475. Balancing her role. She was she's a Senate page in Tallahassee as well as a member of the of the high school basketball team, student body president for the past three years, demonstrating exceptional leadership at Keystone Heights. Her passion for debate coupled
with her strong communication skills through her speech and debate fuels an interest in policy and advocacy. So I can I can see her as a top-notch attorney. Uh I asked her what side she was going to represent. She said
what? Wants to be a prosecutor. And I said I said good choice. Okay. Without further ado, let's give a big round of applause to Airbn. [Applause]
[Applause] All right, this is the last call for comment cards. And next up, we uh there is no uh comment cards
addressing a specific agenda item. So, we're going to move on to discussion items. All right. So up next we have um an agenda item pulled C5 the proclamation number 25-17 condemning
anti-semitism hatred and discrimination. Uh can I get a motion? We have to do motion and second to discuss. Correct. Okay. Can I get a motion? I'll move approval. I have a a motion from Miss Gilhousen. Can I get a second? I'll second. Got a second from
Miss Clark. Uh any discussion? Did you want to go because you pulled it? Yeah. Yeah. I um I could go um at this Hold on. Sorry. This is a very sensitive topic. Um so I want to be
very precise when I speak. Um because I know certain individuals will take something I said and twist it. So I want to make sure that we are very clear when I when I speak. Um as a Christian I feel that
anti-semitism goes against all of our principles um of Christian faith. Um, and although we have not seen any protest here in Klay County, which has taken place nationwide, I
um I would say that it would be all right to be proactive and establish a proclamation. However, um, as your board chair, it does require my signature. So, I would just ask that um, I would like to amend it in um, a
few ways. Uh, not major ways, just a few. And so I have brought what I would like to see changed whether we decide to uh move forward in in um adopting this proclamation or if
we decide um whatever the decision it is that we decide. I would like us to consider um this proclamation as the amended version. So, I will pass this down and um I'm sorry it's late getting to you
guys. I don't know if we need to table this and pass it next month or what we need to do, but the proclamation was not um available at our workshop. So, there was no discussing this. Um this is a
very sensitive topic. Um so, I would just ask that um we would consider this and like I said, you can read it. Um, I I kind of put in red what I would like to see changed.
Um, and then if there's any further discussion I have something that I I just it's a thought. Um, we have been a highly functioning board for a couple of years now and we went through masterboard training to
learn how to be a highly effective board and I which has nothing to do with this proclamation. This has everything to do with how I feel very slighted that one school board member brought something to
us when we didn't have a chance to talk about it. I intend to vote today. Not sure how we're working this out, right? Because I haven't really had time to read it. And it was never a a a negative
thing for me, but ors function in state law as a majority vote. We have to have consensus and we vote on almost everything. We can't pass anything with
two board members. We are at our highest and our best when we function together to solve the problems of Klay County schools. and the fact that we didn't get an opportunity to actually look or read the
proclamation or have a discussion about the proclamation. We're good people. I imagine we would have had great conversation. So my I guess my biggest problem is is I actually would like to suspend all
proclamations until a time this board can get together and decide our policy and our procedures for adding proclamations. Boards were never meant to be run by a school board member. And for
me, I mean, I can tell you my husband spent 7 years making sure the Camp David Accords were successful. He came home only 20 days a year for our family. I have the highest
regard for Israel. I have the highest regard for this proclamation. And I also wanted to say that maybe everyone's not aware that the state of Florida actually in uh 2023, Governor
Ronda Santis made sure that our students would learn about the Holocaust. We have a Holocaust remembrance day. We have Holocaust lessons and in varying um abilities from kindergarten all the way
through 12th. Some districts have a Jewish Heritage Month celebration or proclamation. Some districts do different things. I just regret the fact that we never got to talk about
it. And that's what I wanted to say. Madam Chair, can I speak? Yep. Um, so in line with what you said, Miss Hansen, I don't see anything in this proclamation that is objectionable that um isn't in line with our current
practice. Um, I think it is um commendable to be proactive in our stance. Um, and I think because of that, we shouldn't have any issue voting on this um proclamation tonight. And I I do think we need um a policy for how
proclamations are brought forward and um that's something we can certainly discuss, but I don't think it would prevent us from v voting on this tonight. I think um we can take a vote and then um as we are looking at policies in our next workshop, that would be one that we could consider. Um I know I spoke with Mr. Broski
beforehand. I know um the city of Grand Co Springs recently um passed a um policy regarding proclamations for the city and that might be something we could look at for already established language um and potentially have it ready for the next workshop, but I don't
see any reason to postpone voting on this. Any further discussion? Yes. I'm I'm sorry that there's a lot of assumptions that have been made. So, if y'all will bear with me, um, I was going
to speak from the heart, but I had to make some notes this afternoon. So, I'm going to read, which I don't usually like to do, but I'm going to read. And I thought it quite coincidental that today at Alexander Compares Church where we celebrated
National Prayer Day that the one deacon started out talking about Israel, praying for Israel. As individuals, we are all molded in many ways by the events of our childhood. The year I was born, believe it or not, was the year of
Sputnik, the start of our space race to the moon and the Little Rock Nine. In 1954, with the separation, separate but equal doctrine being overturned, the superintendent of Little Rock, Arkansas, created a plan to
gradually integrate schools. Then the governor sent in the National Guard to prevent the integration. Eisenhower would follow up by sending in federal troops to escort each student at Central High School to protect them.
Last May of 24, witnessing what I saw going on at our university and college campuses across our nation, Jewish students being targeted by protesters, it drew a sharp comparison to what I witnessed growing up in the tumultuous
60s, much of the time in St. Augustine during the civil rights movement. In fact, the summer of 64 when Dr. King marched in St. Augustine. 16 rabbis would join him. All of course
arrested because St. Augustine did not want to be known as the town where Dr. King was assassinated. The anger I felt a year ago may for these acts and our places of supposed higher education was beyond
anything I can explain. So many memories came back of unjust hatred. since last May. And yes, I've been trying to get this on the agenda for quite a while. I have felt strongly
about having this proclamation on our agenda. My anger of what I saw made me want to do something. I thought that maybe if our school board had a proclamation against anti-semitism that maybe others might
follow and maybe as we did in the civil rights movement of the 60s the majority would eventually say we've had enough of this hatred. Sometimes you just can't sit on the sideline. You have to get in the game. Be bold. In fact, Roger Dley told me just
that when I first got on the school board, be bold. Some folks have said, "Why not make it against all discrimination?" As a district, we are against all discrimination. But a year ago, May, I saw only Jewish students
fearing for their lives. With this proclamation, I simply wanted to say that our district is committed to stand up against the bullying, teach about the Holocaust, and prepare our students with the truth as they head off to these colleges and
universities, empowering them to be better citizens not to succumb to these foolish acts. Twothirds of Jewish students, which is 67%, feel unsafe on college
campuses. 1,694 incidences on college campuses in 24 2024, an 87% increase from 23. In 2024,
9,354 anti-semitism incidences across the nation. That's a 5% increase from 23, but a 344% increase over the past five years. An 893% increase over the past 10 years.
And f some folks say that the Hamas le attacks on Israel October 7, 23 never happened. So when is it going to stop? Thank you. Is there any further
discussion? So, uh the only thing that I have really other than um a few words um here and there just taking out different different things. I just ask that um we add the persecution of Christ of
Christians to this as well. And um I know you've I don't know if you've had a second to read this. if you need a second to read this before we move forward on um what we need to if if we want to vote for an amended version or
if we want to keep the original. Um but I don't know if I need should I read this out for everybody? Should I or should we or can you So we just want to make sure there's a motion and a second for whatever whatever. I have a motion in a
second for the original document for discussion and I think Yeah. Right. for the Yeah. We um So I think you need a motion for this amended version. So correct. Yeah. So but I'm as um see I just want you to guys to take the time
to read it for a second and see if you guys want to amend it. If not um that's fine. We can vote on the original. Um I was just felt um convicted with my own personal uh beliefs and um as Christians
we we we stand with Israel. Um we all took uh well I shouldn't say we all some of us took um an hour or so today um on the national day of prayer to to pray for every religion every um
government entity and for Israel. And so, um, I just feel that, um, that that last sentence is is important. Madam Chair, if we So, if there's if there's an amendment, the the maker of
the motion can amend the motion. If there's a desire to amend it, then we would amend the second. So, that would be the procedural way to proceed if there is a desire to amend the motion. So if there's no motion to amend at this time. Okay. So we will
vote on the original document. Madam chair, because this is now a voting matter, we're going to have to open up to the public for public comment. Chair, I am in favor of amending it. You are in. Okay.
So because he didn't do the motion. So understood. So right now we have a motion and a second. So if the maker of the motion does not amend or withdraw, then we would need to open up for public comment. The public comment could be for all all this this voting matter. But we
would need to have a vote and then if the vote does not proceed or there's not a a passing of the policy, then we could entertain additional motions. I I we already had the time for public comment. Correct. This isn't a public hearing, right? That's where I'm getting confused. Right. I think it's just at
this point we need to vote on the current um motion. Nobody wanted to see. Okay. Well, we just want to make sure the audience was clear on that that everyone was aware. It's on the original document that was attached to the agent which is why I would ra rather stick with this
language because this is a significant change and if we're going to make a significant change I think that needs to be brought back after the so the public has time to see it well understood but we also want to make sure normally y'all's proclamation is voted on so we want to make sure if members of the public because under statute they still have to have an opportunity to speak so
there may be members of the public that were not aware of y'all's procedure so we just want to make sure that's clear that the speaking opportunity was prior to this right there's not confusion Okay. Right. And and if we want to consider this um since we're going to vote on the motion as it stands, if this
language wants to be reconsidered at a later date, it could always be added at a later date. Does that make sense? So, Mr. Albero, if you wanted to have it have it placed on the agenda at another time, you could. Does that make sense? Correct. Okay.
Okay. So since we you're not withdrawing and you're not grinding. So we're going to um at this time if there's no further discussion, we would then vote on this because it's been pulled. Okay. Is there just a a just a quick
word? Um I mean Miss Gilhousen is right. We have an additional language. It was wasn't advertised. It wasn't attached. Um, and I am comfortable with this original proclamation, especially because
Holocaust Remembrance Day observed began on Sundays, April 23rd to April 24th, 2025. So, had this been put on in the May agenda, it would have suited the purpose for recognition
um, and the I guess the purpose of the proclamation at the time. I am, like I said, I am not happy about the fact that we didn't get to talk about it because had we had talked about it, I know that this board in all their wisdom and kind heart would have had
some great conversation about this and at that time maybe had some other conversation about proclamations. I still think we're safest um when following Robert's rule is to either um adopt the original proclamation and then
maybe we can add to the June workshop discussions about how our proclamations should be brought forward. Do we want it with a a majority of the board? Can the chair and the superintendent bring one forward? But at this time because it was advertised, although I like the wording
of the second one, the one that was advertised is the original proclamation number 2517. Um, and I I also wanted to add that the wording the school district aims to create a culture of respect and understanding where all students feel
safe and valued. as a teacher for 20 years and then other things in Klay County. I'm proud to say that in during that entire time with thousands and thousands of schools over eight different schools, I had never experienced um
discrimination and anti-semitism. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I can tell you this. We are blessed with a military community with people from all parts of the world, all religions, and I'm grateful that we live in such a
place that I can say I've been here all this time and don't I mean, Mr. Broski, it's not a problem in Klay County. No, ma'am. We have a code of conduct and we handle any incident whether it's anti-semitic or not of this nature
according to that document and I believe Florida statute covers this as well. So that's my reasons for saying we keep the original one but I think there needs to be a discussion on the May 27th workshop and the discussion would be regarding a
policy for submitting yes um proclamations and maybe the types of proclamations that we may or may not want in the Klay County schools. I would also like to add that um moving forward I would like to discuss it at a
workshop before voting on on something because like I said I think that um just my own personal convictions and and by the way for the audience to know because again this is a very sensitive subject and I know there's others out there who are
um have different agendas. So, I I just want to point out um the original the wording is all the same except for one sentence. Um so, just just so we're clear um of what I wanted
to actually change. So, that being said, um we have a motion from Miss Gilhousen. We have a second from Miss Clark. If if if I could just if I could just add one one point because I think the board has indicated changing it. just to point to your board policies. Um just just to
make sure we're clear about the proclamation. So the the board policy reads that superintendent shall establish the agenda for schoolboard meetings and workshops in collaboration with board with the board chair. School board members may add items to the agenda for board action. And no such
item may be removed from the agenda without the board members consent. So the way y'all are currently set up is any board member can add any agenda item to the agenda and only that board member can can remove that. That is different from most other government entities from most other government school boards.
Most do it through consensus. That way there's a question, you know, here's a proposed agenda item. Is there consensus? That way you don't have any board member potentially adding agenda items that the the rest of the board would not be in agreement with. So this may be simply since you are going
through the Niola process and going through that we can reach out to Niola. So it's not so much only about I want to make sure we're clear. Your policy is not just about proclamations. It could be any agenda item. Any any of y'all can bring forth any agenda item and only that board member can place it or remove
it. That's just a unique to y'all's board. That's really not across the state of Florida. You don't see that. So this may be part of the policy that we can reach out to Niola and see if they we can modify that policy where it's either by consensus. There's board consensus prior to an agenda item being
being placed or you know maybe the chair or the vice chair has some some type of oversight. Um you know consensus is the most common that you see in boards and school boards. There's consensus. If a board member wants to add an agenda item about a proclamation or a a discussion
item then there will be consensus at the board meeting to do that. So that may be a simple change. That way y'all are not creating additional new policies. You're just modifying the existing policy. Does that make sense to the board? Okay. All right. So we have a motion from Miss
Gilhouse and a second from Miss Clark. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 50. All right. Next up, we have special action, human resources special action.
A Can I get a motion for approval? I'll move approval. Got a motion from Miss Gilhausen. Can I get a second? I'll second. Have a second from Miss Clark. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries.
5. Next up, we have the consent agenda. Uh we have the proclamation number 25-18 to establish May 2025 as mental health month. We have proclamation
number 25-9 to establish May 2nd-25 as um National Speech Language Hearing Month and May 18th, 2025 as National Speech Language Pathologists Appreciation Day, Professionals Day in Klay County. Madame Chair, my computer's
locked up. So what I then done then just you'll listen for my Thank you Miss Bonnie. Uh and so we are going to go to the adoption um well we had the proclamation number 25-17 to condemn
anti-semitism, hatred and discrimination which we just voted on. The adoption of the consent agenda um notes that items C27 um has been withdrawn and uh C5 was moved to the discussion agenda.
So can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? I move to approve. I have a motion from Miss Clark. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second from Miss Gilhousen. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion
carries. 5. All right. At this time, we are going to uh do presentations from the audience. Public comment. We are going to uh place the notification on our PowerPoint. Uh
and remember that you have three minutes. Uh, first up, Miss Sheila Torres. Mr. Bruce Freriedman, you're on deck and please state your name and address. My name is Sheila Torres. My address is on
file. So, like always, I'm always coming over here to ask for accountability and transparency. But before I get into that, I want to hit Mr. the superintendent because in last board meeting he said not everything that you read or hear on Facebook is real. At the
end of the day, whatever I spoke about last um last month, it had nothing to do about Facebook. But what I did see in Facebook that you guys was looking for a wrestling coach in Fleming Island. That's the only thing I did see in um Facebook, but obviously I guess that was a lie. Well, nevertheless, accountant
and transparency. I am one of the parents of Klay County where my kids go to school. I I am requesting I'm also demanding that you guys put a camera in the classroom like I said it before that keeps our teachers safe and our students. Now, there was an incident
that transpired not too long ago where there was a teacher that was basically she likes to pick and choose. And what she does is that whatever kid that she's okay with, she treats nice. She don't have a problem explaining. Kids that she don't like, she treat them like crap. She mimics them. She makes fun of them
in a classroom. That creates a toxic environment. Now, the thing about it is that I know that we need the teachers. They need better pay grade. But at the same time, 30 kids in environmental science make that make sense. Especially when y'all saying, "Oh, there's a lot of discipline issues or whatever the case
might be. Okay, let us see it. You guys already have cameras throughout the whole school. You guys already approving record audio. Okay, let's put a camera in the classroom. Let's see what's really going on in the classroom. Because like I said before, if the teacher is doing everything per
protocol, what is the problem? If the kid is acting up, let us see it. Not everybody's going to be watching the camera 24/7 while the kids in school. But if there's an incident that transpire, it's not that hard to pull up that camera, that image of that time,
and that date recording for us to see what's going on. There's a lot of stuff that's going on in this in this district that you guys are aware. This admin tells the supervisor, the supervisor tells the secondary. The secretary tells the superintendent, "Guess what? Nothing is getting done." And what I feel that
these policy that you are guys are trying to implement the what is it the complaint policy is basically to protect your teachers and yourself. It's nothing in order to protect our kids. in order for us to advocate for them. I am requesting, I'm also demanding, like I
stated, to put a camera in the classroom. That's it. Now, everybody's going to see it, but at the end of the day, if there's an incident that's transpiring between the student and another student or student and a teacher, we can view it. We're not going to go off for hearsay because when a parent brings something up or a student
brings something up, it's hearsay. But if a teacher brings something up, admins brings something up, oh no, we got to believe them in every aspect. That is wrong. And I had caught teachers in high school lying about their student conduct and overexaggerating just for their students to get in in trouble. Please
let cameras inside the classroom. Mr. Freriedman. I think this is Corey Johnstone. You're on deck. Hi, Bruce Freriedman. Address on file. I'm going to read to you a copy was given to you earlier. I hope you hold in
all your hands. This is a paradigm shift from what's been going on with regards to choosing books for the schools. We've been working on rubrics and guidelines and policies and procedures and the governor and the legislature are beating up statutes and
laws. This is from an author. In choosing books for children, these rules are worth the consideration of parents and accordingly they are worth your consideration. Number one, read your children's books yourself or better
still get your boy or girl to read them aloud to you. Ask yourself during the reading, does this book lay stress on villain? Is it making bad guys seem like good guys? Deception or treachery? Are all the incidents wholesome, probable,
and true to life? Granted, there's a place for science fiction and fantasy and other adventures in the library, but wholesome is the key word there. Does it show young people contemptuous toward their elders and successfully opposing them opposed to planting better seeds?
You want a better crop of students and children and future taxpayers? Stay wholesome. Do the young characters in the book show respect for teachers and others in authority? That would be a nice lesson to teach as well. Are these characters the kind of young
people you wish your children to associate with? I think that one carries most of the weight of what's gone wrong in our libraries. Most of these are bad examples and not a negative example you can learn from, but actually teaching you to head down the wrong road. Uh, a
couple more bits. Does the book speak of and describe pranks, practical jokes, pieces of thoughtless and cruel mischief as though they were funny and worthy of imitation? Again, plant better seeds. Is the English good and is the story written in good style? Well, that might
be too much to ask. From the thousand plus books that I've read from your libraries, most of them are garbage. I brought a couple with me today. Going boine by Liba Bray. I will be submitting a formal challenge for that one. It's
gross. And an informal challenge. Bless you. Be real. Macy Weaver by Lita Wilson. This one is recently added to the collection at Spring Park Elementary. It's driving home lessons on fluid gender. Pronouns are mentioned six
times. The phrase gender neutral is in there four times. It's crap. If you want to teach lies to your children, buy the book on Amazon. Bring it home. Have at it. Don't spend our tax dollars on garbage. Thank you. Have a great night. Up next is Corey Johnstone. And if you
are a student, please do not state your address. Mr. Jstone, are you okay? And then uh I'm sorry, I'm trying to read your the writings. I think it says uh I'll just go with Miss Janette. You'll be on deck.
Just whenever I'm ready. Yep. Uh members of the school board, my name is Carrie Johnston. Um I'm standing here before you today to uh talk about some of the books that are being banned in Klay County. Um, and according to the Fleming
Whoa, Fleming Island website, um, some of them make sense. Like, uh, Stephen King was never a teen writer. He was always an adult writer. That makes sense. George, George RR Martin's, um, Game of Thrones, obviously very
explicit, obviously not a good idea to keep in high schools. But then some just don't make sense. Um like and I have a couple with me. Uh the book Go Ask Ellis by Anonymous is under the uh drugs or
criminal activity which is is right. It mostly only talks about the negative effects though and I believe that especially high school students should be reading about the negative effects of drugs on the bo on the body and mind.
Um, I also find it ironic that um, the same people, the same students here today that are standing against book bans um, aren't able to read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradberry, which is about
banning all reading. Um, luckily my high school was able to put on a production of uh, Fahrenheit 451, so I got to learn more about the meaning of it. Um, I believe that it's important for
people to read Fahrenheit 451 because it talks about the same situation we're starting to go through now in schools, specifically across Florida, where books are being um removed from shelves for
one reason or another, because somebody said something about it. And I really believe that it's trying to keep education out of the hands of people who should be learning about these problems. I also found out on the Fleming website that Lord of the Flies was also banned.
Um, and Lord of the Flies is a really good story to learn how um, governments are organized and how they're easier to understand. Um, George Orwell's 1984 is also one that is, albeit controversial, banned,
even though it describes um, governments that are trying to take control by keeping information out of the hands of the people. And the idea that it's banned is just ironic to say the very
least. That is all I have to say about it. I personally believe that um banning these books is preventing us from learning about our personal liberties and I believe it dampens our intelligence as a whole. Thank you for your time. Miss
Janette, Leo Larson, you are on deck. Can I just ask for a quick point of clarity? Janette, you're you're up. And then Leo Larson will be after you. Can I ask for a quick point of clarity? Yes, you can. 1984 Fahrenheit 451 Lord
of the Flies, to my knowledge, are not banned books in Klay County schools. Lord of the Flies, maybe Lord of the Flies. Okay, thank you. But it it was when I was a teacher. Go ahead. You can just state your name.
You don't have to state your address. Hello, my name is Kai Janette. I'm a senior in Klay County. I'm against the book ban and if you care about the minds of the growing children in your county, you should be too. The very books that shaped and grew myself and many of my
peers are being banned. One of the main ones I want to address now I'm not too sure about is Fahrenheit 451. This book was a staple in many English classes as as it showed the damage, destruction, and chaos that the restriction of books
could cause. I hope it's understood that the real damage is not caused from the banning of the books himself. The damage is caused when stories that promote the think that promote thinking are being considered unfit in a place of learning. When books that show the
damage of books being taken are being banned, I start to wonder what the real criteria for the books for the book ban is. The stories that simply show life paths you've been fortunate enough to never step foot on are being banned. I start to fear what the education of
those younger than me will look like. I encourage you, the board of education, to take the necessary steps to protect the freethinking minds of the youth. These steps include promoting stories that show the damage of restriction of knowledge itself that show the pasts and struggles of the
lives of other that others have lived and that encourage the questioning of the world around them. I hope we I hope you will take the necessary steps to protect and grow the minds of the youth. Thank you. That's all. Leo Larson. Good evening. My name is Leo
Larson. I'm here to speak out about the censorship on education and standing up for mine and others futures. Recently, my school had a peaceful protest regarding budget cuts, book bans, and feeling like we're not seen by our county and by our state. Like I said, it was a peaceful
protest. A group of my classmates got together and wrote in chalk and how we feel like there's limits on our education and that we shouldn't be censored because every day our school curriculum is constantly being changed to support the comfort of the people in
charge of it. I feel like every day I'm being restricted from my own right to learn. I want to be I want to go out and read more books. I always want to get smarter. But how can I do that if the books that I want to read are being stripped from my starving from our
starving to But how can I do that if the books I want to read are being stripped from our starving libraries? Every day I walk past my library and wonder what it will be like tomorrow. Because I don't know the lengths of my county. I don't
know. I don't know the lengths they will go to limit the uneducated to limit our its own students. I'm here to spread awareness to the mass book bans that are currently and happening. And I'm here to defend the education for every student from now
and in the future of Klay County. Thank you for your time, Sylvia. Hi, my name is Sylvia McCrainy. I'm sure you all know me by now. Um, we do have some different websites like they have uh visit Klay County or visit Fleming Island today and all that stuff. Um, and I would be that talk about what books
are banned and I would be happy to print out a list of these sources and give them to you guys so you can know exactly where you pull this information from. Um, so I'm here to speak out against bookbs once again. You try to say every choice you make, every book that you ban is for our children. Well, we're here to tell you today that the blindfold is
off. No longer will we sit idly by while you take our learning materials. Banning books only for standard courses while allowing honors and college level classes to read whatever they want is clearly an attempt to keep the uneducated uneducated. It's conniving and you plan to limit education is a sneaky deliberate task. You knew if you
banned AP and dual enrollments books, the backlash should be much more immediate. Instead, you choose the method that would gain traction too little too late. Taking books from standard classes and libraries. Everyone should find this terrifying. And if you still assert that the parents who suggest that there are parents who suggest these books to ban, why do we
let one person decide what books are available to other people's kids? And are we certain that the people putting these um book ban requests in are even parents? How do we know it isn't just a random person with no stakes in this whose kid isn't even actively attending a school in this district? You can say all you want that you are that you
aren't really banning books. You're just removing them. Removing them permanently where if a librarian or teacher tries to teach these books, they could be facing legal repercussions. Sounds like a ban to me. You're removing books by Maya Angelou, Flanderly O'Conor, and Richard White. These books, quite frankly put,
are not pornographic. Almost all the books you ban aren't. Have you ever read any of these books? Are any of you worse off because of them? Students consume far worse media. I'm certain you won't ban the Bible, even with verses such as bruise the teeth of their virginity. And since he was stronger than her, he raped
her, and she lusted after her lovers whose genitals were like those of donkeys. I know this is I know this because it is still in our school libraries. You are taking away our ability to learn and grow. An obvious attempt to keep us uneducated and ignorant, such as keeping books that only fit into your rhetoric. And you say
that we can buy the books ourselves. Will you pay for our copies? You say that you can go into the local library who will provide transportation. It's a well-known fact that the more uneducated you are, the easier you are to control. The cage bird doesn't dream of flight if he's never seen the sky. America was built on the principle of freedom,
especially the freedom of speech. We have the right to an education, the right to books, and the right to thrive. You are taking countless opportunities away from us. Now is the time to stand up, not just for yourselves, but for the future generations and classes that are up and coming. We are not confused, and
more and more of us are being are are showing up and beginning to speak out. The time for change was yesterday. We must protect our most valuable resource, free thinking. After all, education is a right, not a privilege. And we will no longer sit in silence. Oh, and also real quick, um, as a Catholic, no one is
persecuting Christians. I feel like I am far far far more likely to be be persecuted for being queer than believing in God. So, I tack that one in. Thank you. [Applause]
Syria man, watch the news. One was just beheaded, but uh, Dr. Chandra Nicole Holley You are up next. Good evening. I'm Dr. Shondaanda Nicole
Hosley. My address is on file. I'm the mother of two Klay County students. One is a college collegebound junior. Her name is Savannah. She has and is currently taking several AP courses and have passed exams providing her with
early college credits. She will also participate in dual enrollment um that program next year. She attends Fleming Island High School. So, this will help her to graduate early and also help our family to fiscally benefit from her um
achievements. So board members, I'm aware of an education bill HB7 70330 currently being discussed in the Florida legislature. I have been tracking it and believe that it has now been forwarded to the committee for
discussion and if it's passed, it can potentially cut API ACE dual enrollment programs and CT programs by half. I have personally reached out to my senator and congressman expressing my concern and I know that you're the
elected your elected body is not the decision makers for this proposed bill. However, I wish to publicly share it and um address this topic because I know at the beginning of the year, one of the things that you discussed was how proud
you are of your CTO CTE programs and um providing the opportunity for other students that might not uh attend college to have a successful career. Additionally, according to the website, IB programs will provide world-class
education that prepare students with intellectual, social, and critical perspectives necessarily for necessary for college and the rest of their lives. And all seven high schools in Klay County offer accelerated learning
programs. As Jess shared with the superintendent student advisory council member presentation and with my daughter Savannah, Klay County students benefit from these amazing programs. Actually, my youngest daughter has been accepted into the pre-Ace
program and will be starting at Green Cove Middle School next year. So, it's my earnest hope that funding for the accelerated learning programs are not reduced but increased. And as repres as you are the
representatives for our Klay County students, I have some specific questions for you. One, what are you currently doing or can do in your elected capacity to advocate for these programs? If the bill
does make it out of committee and passes and funding is decreased, what is your plan to mitigate the harm of these reductions for our Klay County students? What are you doing to proactively prepare? I hope that there there is a
plan in place. And finally, what would you advise engaged parents to do regarding this matter? Thank you for listening to me and I look forward to your
feedback, Mr. Donald Trice. And I know normally we wait till uh public comment to speak on some of these matters, but I just wanted to let you know, Dr. Chandra, we we a couple of us went to Clay Day, uh which I'll touch on in board comments, but um we have
actively went to Tallahassee to advocate for these programs and um have actively spoke to our delegation here in Klay County. So, um that is one thing that we are we are doing. Don Trice, my address is on file. Uh
I've talked to you three times. This is the third time on a National Day of Prayer. So, you've already recognized it. So, but anyhow, I want to direct you to a website. It's pretty good that um Dutch Sheets has it, and that's what I'll read from briefly. It's it's 15 minutes. So, I I I I'll cut it short.
The uh but it's a give him5.com. Today is the National Day of Prayer in America. The year's theme is pour out to the God of hope and be filled. Please take some time today to join. And like you've already said, some
have already done that, but uh visit that site, National Day of Prayer website. Let's go straight to the prayer. Talking to the heavenly father. Father, this is a significant day in America. a spot
apart, a set aart day with your church where your when your church crosses denominations, cultures, and political lines, humbles itself, and prays together for our nation. It is so important that we set apart a national
government-honored day to seek you. America is in desperate need of your guidance and direction. Forgive us for our national sin of rejecting you and negot and neglecting to seek your plans and your ways. You have we had wandered
far from you yet you are merciful. I don't want to cut it short. I know y'all been to listen a lot of things tonight but um thank you for the opportunity to recognize the National Day of Prayer. Thank you. [Applause] Next up we have Miss Vicky Kiddwell with
a three minute union update. Good evening. We appreciate your willingness to hear the concerns of educators for three minutes. This year, Florida's ranking of beginning teacher pay fell nationally. Beginning teacher pay from 16 to 17. Average teacher pay
continues to rank at the bottom of the nation, 50th out of 50 states and DC. Florida's dubious distinction of 50, second year in a row. The Florida legislator's inadequate funding of public schools is something we all worry about. Klay County educators have
reached out to legislators with phone calls and emails nearly 200 times during this legislative session. It's up to all of us to advocate for fully funding our public schools. I'm glad to hear that parents are calling, too. I hope that parents and all of the schoolboard
members have been calling and emailing over and over again. We understand that tight budgets from Tallahassee mean hard choices at every district. While we wait for the final budget numbers, it's important to remember that budgets do reflect priorities. Teachers want to know that competitive salaries for
veteran teachers will be a top priority for this district. Next week, May 5th through 9th, is teacher appreciation week. But it's often difficult for teachers to feel appreciated in Florida. This story is from a veteran teacher. I'm writing to you not only as a
dedicated educator with nearly 20 years of experience, but also as a parent of a teacher who has followed in my footsteps. Teaching is more than just a profession. It is a lifelong commitment to shaping young minds, mentoring new educators, and ensuring student success.
While I am thrilled that the state has finally taken steps to provide new teachers with competitive starting salaries, I'm deeply disheartened by the neglect of veteran teachers who have dedicated decades to this profession. Despite my years of service, my daughter, who has only been teaching for
a few years, earns nearly the same salary as I do. Veteran teachers are the foundation of our schools, providing stability, guidance, and expertise that directly impacts student achievement. Without experienced educators, new teachers lack the mentorship they need
and schools lose the institutional knowledge that drives success. I ask you to consider implementing a veteran teacher step plan that ensures fair and equitable compensation based on years of service. Our salary should reflect our expertise, our dedication, and the
rising cost of living. A structured pay scale that rewards longevity would not only recognize the hard work of veteran teachers, but also encourage retention, benefiting both educators and students alike. I urge you to take a serious look at the disparity in veteran teacher pay
and work toward a solution that honors the contributions of those who have given decades to this profession. Please do not let the knowledge and experience of your most dedicated educators be overlooked. Investing in our veteran teachers is an investment in the future
of Klay County students. Thank you. Is Mr. Lonnie present? All right. Next up is Mr. Broski with the superintendent update. All right. Fantastic. Everybody excited? Yes. All right. Awesome. Okay. be before I go
into my presentation, I just want to kind of comment about the last two or three presenters and just provide some context. One, you know, Dr. uh Hollyy, let me just say, you know, this related to funding, you know, uh the concern the
concern is there and the concern has to do with what's called FTE add-on funding for all of those programs. So, in Klay County, that amount of money would go from 5.8 8 million to 2.9 million in Klay County in real numbers. And so we
appreciate your advocacy for that. And and I think just in general um when I look at what's happening at the state level, um it's no secret that the House and the Senate aren't uh aren't uh on the same page when it comes
to funding, more so than I've ever seen in in my years. So that causes great concerns for folks that are in charge of school districts and so we feel that. So I just wanted to reassure you that yes, we totally get it. Uh and so there are several things that we're doing now to
be proactive related to that. I've made a commitment that we're not going to do anything that that harms children. Children are the number one reason why the organization exists. So there'll be no cutting of programs or any of that stuff. um related to that. We're going
to have to find a way because children are a top priority. When it comes to teachers salary, I I think that talking to that same group of folks would be uh advantageous. I think that this board has shown their commitment. the number
would be 58 million over four years, which the four-year period would be two and a half times more than any other four-year period in the history of Klay County. Okay, so I think when you look at that number, okay, it shows the
commitment of the board towards that. Do we believe I think we all believe because we've all talked about it, we all believe that veteran teachers uh should receive higher salaries. we're all committed to that. It comes down to whether or not the resources are there
to do that. So, I I think that we're all on the same page, but the resources have to be there in order to do that. And there's great concern um because if you watch the news, it's great concern for everybody related to
that. So hopefully it's too early to tell what's going to happen there because I I think they'll they'll have a little bit more time in order to figure it out, but then we'll see where we're at to there. We've we've proven by action the commitment towards that. Uh and if the funding's there, we'll be
glad to prove it again. Okay, with that in mind, okay, math field day. We we seen that. Oh my gosh. I It's the only time I get to do the wave. So, I guess it's one of my favorite events for that for that reason. It's fantastic event. All the
students there, over 500 students on a Saturday for math. That's amazing. Totally amazing. How about this? Um, and we should have really gotten these folks together. Our district uh academic team from Klay County placed second in the
state. Little known fact, I don't know if you guys Yeah, they deserve a round of applause. I don't know if you can see, you see David is the uh the tall young man that received the scholarship. He's in the front on the picture on the
right. He's holding up a picture of Greg Martin. Remember Greg Martin was the coach that passed away earlier and and that whole sad story. And I looked at the picture really close and noticed that and I just wanted to point that out to the board. Uh, great group of kids, second in the state. Nothing to sneeze
at there. Kindergarten registration, let me just say, kindergarten registration is open. Please register for your kindergartenner for next school year. In fact, we've done several things to prepare. Just as a reminder, you have to be 5
years old, honored before September 1st, 2025 to register for for kindergarten, birth certificate, proof of residency, and your your health uh documents are needed. We revamped the website to make it easier. One of the things that we've
heard was, "Hey, it's too complicated to register for school." So, if you go to our website, you can see the the button. You simply click the button. It says, "Hey, what school do I go to?" Click that button, and it'll tell you how to figure that out. If you were to go over the uh QR code,
it talks about um uh kindergarten tours. So, you can see a listing on there of when they're giving tours of the school. We realize that uh especially if your kindergarteners your oldest, you might be worried about sending your child to school. Why not take them on a tour? get
to see the school uh and reassure you that those are some good folks uh out there doing good work each and every day. So revamped website trying to make it easier. Parents, please go ahead and register. The benefits of of being in
kindergarten are great for a young person uh starting their academic career. We have a teacher recruitment fair. It's Tuesday right here at U Fleming Island High School. All you need to do is come with your
smile on your resume and and be ready to we hire about uh 70 or so people. Contracts are given out at that out that event. So if you want to be a teacher, ever thought about being a teacher, that's your opportunity. 5 to 7:00, all administrators will be there
interviewing people on the spot, getting ready to offer some contracts out to people for the next the next group of educators. It is teacher appreciation week and and um nobody more the backbone of Klay
County schools than teachers. Teachers are the ground floor. They have the contact with stu with students that makes them the stars of what happens in Klay County schools. We should appreciate teachers each and every day, not just during that week, but this is
signified out traditionally in order to do that. We've got some of the best teachers in the entire state of Florida right here in in Klay County. So, let's make sure that we we show the appreciation of that. I you know, I was uh interestingly enough, we had a a
group of teachers from the Netherlands come in exchange program to Klay County through our professional development office. And they they went to a couple of schools and um and this might provide a little solace for some of the teachers that are out there. And I went to their
their meeting and first of all it was kind of interesting just the cultural difference. They all when they walked into the room they all stood by the round tables by their spot and nobody sat down because in their culture you don't sit down till you're told to sit
down. And of course you know my kids would have you know probably put their feet up on the table or whatever right? You know we just have a whole different culture. They stood there waiting to be told go ahead and have a seat. And then I had conversations with them and and some of the same frustrations I found it
amazing the conversations that I had with them or the same conversations that we're having here today and the same conversations that I have with teachers uh all the time. And so in my book, teachers are at the top of the of the um
of the grouping. Uh anytime I go somewhere and and Sue cracks up at this when they say who who are you and I say my name and they say what do you do? Do I say I'm a teacher? Uhhuh. Right. I don't tell people I'm superintendent of the schools. I always say I'm a teacher
because in my heart I still believe I'm a teacher. Right. So let's show our appreciation for teachers out there. Uh next week Kelly's giving me an amen over here over my shoulder because she's she's been around when I introduced myself as
a teacher. Uh upcoming events. Let me just say this. Today May 1st is also principal appreciation day. Okay. Uh, let me just say something about principles. Being a principal may be the toughest job in all of Klay
County schools because a a lot comes down on that individual. That individual is the mayor of a small city. Uh, they have a lot of different people to try to make happy in very difficult circumstances, right? Every student learns a different way. Every teacher
has a a different style about them. It's it's very difficult to be in that position. I was a principal um three times, three different schools. Let me tell you, I can certify it's the toughest job that I've ever had. Also, one of my favorites. If I had to do it
again, I'd be a high school principal again. That's that was my favorite position. Not that I don't like this one, but that there you got to go to prom and other cool things. It was was more fun than this one. Okay. I hate to say that out loud. Be be honest, they're
all your favorite. No, I I would say that uh this job is less fun than being a being a high school principal. Uh May 2nd, lunch uh school lunch hero day. Then we have nurses day, the athletic awards show,
the fine arts show. A lot happens in May. Of course, assessment uh season kicked off today also. So there's a lot going on in the school system. I always say uh when you go into May, put your seatelt on and and uh it goes by very
very quick. Today was the last schoolboard meeting that students were in session. Uh so I appreciate the board's uh willingness to have so many of them come before. It really is a big deal for young people and it also sets the tone that that's what we're really
about. So thank you so much. School board turning attorney comments. All right. So, u Mr. Alvaro, would you like to go first this this week? Always do ladies first. So I feel bad when I
well uh since I got elected November 5th, 2024, I have visited 22 schools and I can share with you guys that all I have seen is um safe schools, clean and good uh administrators doing the job for
our children. I asked uh what did they need from us and their response is the district has our back. I mean there is nothing that the district doesn't do for them. I have visited uh several junior high schools
that are getting ready to get the sixth graders and they just build new buildings for them to have them comfortable have all the the things they need. So that's all I can say right now. Thank you. Miss Hansen, start on that and work our way to So, I want to I want to address
the comments about the book banning. Um, so I would love for one of you or all of you to email me. I actually spent about 12 months writing a policy and working with wonderful district personnel who clearly understand what is appropriate
as teachers. I was an English teacher. What is appropriate and what is not appropriate. So, the information I could give you would be valuable. And let me tell you why. I just opened up the district reconsideration list. I know how to use it. I do often. I sorted by
author and then I sorted by title. And so what I wanted to tell you was you are right about George Orwell 1984, the graphic novel only. In addition, Fahrenheit 451, which
was my favorite dystopian text to teach to 9th graders. It is not removed from Klay County schools. Go ask Alice was found to be problematic for younger kids. It was uh remain in collection and keep in high school only. So if you
would like to learn um what it is we're trying to do, I would love to get together and talk about that. This board has agreed to review our community standards for books this summer. I would love to have that conversation with you. I would love to know what you think is
appropriate and not appropriate because I think it's important that we stay in touch with what's happening in this world. But I can tell you that great books are not being uh you you do say ban, but the terminology of ban if you look it up in Webster dictionary or any
dictionary for that matter is not what we're doing in Klay County schools. What we are doing is removing books that violate statute. And sometimes, as in the graphic novel, the pictures are way more than we needed or could have gotten from the words themselves. So, I would
love to talk with you if you would send me an email. I'd love to sit down about community standards, especially because you are in high school and you you actually have um formulated what you think should be and shouldn't be happening in our school libraries. And I do appreciate you uh
getting up there. And I know it's nerve-wracking because I get nervous just talking like this, but um please shoot me an email. I'd love to talk about it. And I also just wanted to say that Morning Star Church, many of us were there this morning for prayer and I
felt good about it all day. It's something we should do more of and be more appreciative of and more considerate of what's going on in the world. and uh be appreciative for what we have. As for our teachers, I think that's the hill we're
all going to die on and do the best we can for our salaries, your salary, my daughter's salary, my friend's salaries to keep our best teachers in the classroom. That's what I know this board is committed to do. How we do that is a little tricky and we'll have to wait for
the legislators to decide, but that's all I have. Miss Clark, I first wanted to say to each of the students that came before us to talk about the books, thank you. Your heart's in it. I've read most of those books and
I think they're great. So, in fact, I'd like our libraries to add, probably said it before, more books about coping skills because we really lack it. Um, I don't know if we had the meeting for the internal audit committee
before the last meeting or not, but I the first one was great and Miss Hansen did a great job. So, I think it went it was off to a very good start and thank you to our attorney for giving such great instruction.
Uh, as far as Clay Day, I had to make the decision the Sunday before to cancel due to my workload. But the nice part is with Clay Day, all of our representatives are in our phones and they're very accessible. It we can call them
about anything and I think they've all heard from us about these issues. So, we just continue continue on. But what I did have when I didn't go to clay day, I had a sixth grader at an elementary school who invited me to lunch, which
was great fun. Always enjoy that. And then I was able to talk to someone later with a business about funding for the Dolly Pardon Imagination Library, which we need more people to more organizations to get behind it.
um met with the sheriff's office and went over getting up to this last quarter and the good news of course as expected they came in under budget and I think there's oh let me go
back um thank you for listening to why I put forth the proclamation we have proclamations from time to time obviously very different from policy but the way we are set up, we can't talk to
each other as schoolboard members about things that are on the agenda. And there was no intent to sneak anything in. And there, this is, as I said, has been something I've been trying to do for a number of months, but there were a lot
of assumptions made and it shouldn't have been that way. Uh, other than that, I'm sorry. um got a little bit of pneumonia and so my voice is back to not working as well. So I appreciate you listening.
But one thing I'd like to get on our agenda is that we do as Miss Hansen mentioned at our last workshop. I'd like to talk about the teachers and smoking breaks and what we can do to assist them
if that's even possible. And lastly, I'm looking forward to the few events, musical events, such that are coming up. And I think I've got seven graduations to go to and wish we could squeeze in more, but many schools have them on the same night, so it gets
a little difficult. But thank you all. Um, I just want to reiterate my appreciation for um the way that our country honors prayer and um as a board that we appreciate the power that it
holds. And um I hated missing with you guys at Morning Star, but Semark Ranch had our own National Day of Prayer. Um we met at the flag pole and prayed with our students and our staff and it was a really special time. Um, I echo your concerns about uh what's
happening with our funding um or what could potentially happen with our funding. Um, I appreciate the advocacy from parents, from students who are concerned about our programming and and being um adequately funded to offer the services that um I know we all benefit
from here in Klay County. Um, and I'll just on a personal note, um, this proclamation I think was important to recognize. Um, over our spring break, my family visited Washington DC and we toured the Holocaust Museum and it was probably the
most impactful um, experience that I've ever had with my children. Um, we learned a lot from it. It was hard to look at. Um, but I think it's important that we um recognize that and um I told my kids,
they asked me when we left, "Mom, why did you make us do that?" Because it's hard, right? Um, and my response to them was, "I want you to know what hate does and where it leads and why we don't harbor it in our hearts towards
anyone." Um, so, uh, on a lighter note, I know May is jam-packed with so much. Um, I think May really makes us earn our summer breaks. Um, I know we're all looking forward to lots of celebrations for student achievements. Um, my family's enjoyed visiting a lot of the
um, championship games that are going on. Klay High is knocking it out of the park lately. U, those girls flag football are um, a force to be reckoned with and Klay High baseball is on to another championship game shortly. So, um, lots to celebrate, lots to look
forward to. Um, and I wish you all the best. Thank you, Miss Gil Hen. And um, I want to say that um, we we here in Klay County are very special and unique, I think, especially with your elected officials. Um, a majority of us were at
uh, Morning Star this morning. And um a lot of people have to work outside of their elected positions. Um some of us have flexibility with our other jobs, but um to have all of us together in a room
praying for our kids, praying for our country, praying for our county, praying for um what's going on in the world, the the heinous things that are happening. um really says a lot for your elected
officials here in Clay. Um whether you believe in a higher power or not, that's unity with your elected officials and I think it's an amazing thing. Um, and as far as I know I addressed clay day. A lot of us um go over there.
Um, a lot of people think it's just a big social event, but um, we actually do not only talk to our delegation. They call it clay day because the majority of clay goes over there. that um a lot of us spend our time talking to several
other um senators and uh house reps and anybody and everybody that we that will hear us out and and letting them know the individual impacts that we are going to see because um when you give a
different perspective when you you know just line item something sometimes you don't understand the trickle down effect. So, um, we just let them know our voices, I think, were heard. Um, and and that's all we can do. But,
um, like the other board members have touched on, uh, we do have them in our phone and we communicate and we, um, I would say that we and and Clay have a great communication with, um, all of our elected officials being able to express
concerns and work things out. I I I do believe that. Um and uh last lastly, May is busy. Uh it is the end of the year. I have two little ones, so we're running around crazy. I've got um four teachers that I
get to take care of and uh spoil. Um I've got a baby going into kindergarten next year, so I'm going to be enjoying my last little summer uh with my last little one. Uh, and I want to say, um, it's so neat when we go to our to these
schools to see, you know, you you sign off of things at board meetings and, um, you vote them in and you vote them vote for them to to get funding here and there. and to actually go to a school and to see a track
um the the track field redone and the and the track redone at all these schools and all the new things that we're doing um really puts things in perspective. But I had the opportunity to go to the Little Mermaid at Fleming
Island Elementary. Um I think it was last weekend, last Friday. Um, and I took my little girls and my littlest one is obsessed with princesses. So, the whole time her mouth's open watching it. But,
uh, what was so impressive to me is I guess I'm not used to elementary school productions that well put together and um, well done. Like truly, I was very impressed. I uh told the director and all the teacher and that's
put on by teachers like there there's no designated like music teacher or drama coach or or whatever. Um they all kind of just get together and and and put it together and they did one heck of a job and uh my littlest one turned to me and
said in the middle of it um mommy this is just great and uh put her hands together. So, it was really sweet and um at the end she went up to Ariel and I want to I want to thank the student because she never left her character.
She was Ariel to my little girl. So, it was very sweet. Um it actually brought little tears to my eyes because of how excited uh my littlest one uh got. So, thank you for that. Um our arts program um is doing great and like I said, I was
truly impressed. um the singing, the the dancing, the the the props, like all the things. Um but with that, Mr. Broski, did you need to say one more? Okay. With that, this meeting is adjourned.