Again, the school board meeting will begin in one minute. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]
[Music] Good morning and welcome to the June 16th, 2025 meeting of the Marian County School Board. It is now called to order. Mirroring and modeling the way our students begin each day. I ask that we observe a moment of silence at this time. Please join me.
Thank you. I'm now going to read the board commitment statement. We are the Marian County School District Leadership Team. When we come together to work, we are efficient, effective, and productive. Our three most important characteristics are dedicated, transparent, and
individually responsible. To work well together, we must demonstrate respect, confront reality, and be accountable. We will always put students first. We will leave a legacy of success. For the courtesy of those listening to the meeting, I am requesting everyone in the
audience to please turn off their electronic devices or put them on vibrate. Later in the meeting, up to 30 minutes will be provided for individuals to address the board on matters concerning the operations of the Marian County School System or the school board only. Presentations to the board are
limited to 5 minutes and are televised. If you wish to address the board regarding a regular agenda item or matters on which the board customarily takes action, you must first complete a peach form located in the lobby. If you wish to address the board regarding a public hearing or a student discipline
matter, please complete a lime green form. These forms must be fully completed and received to the board clerk no later than 10:10 a.m. The procedures applicable for each are on a separate sheet. Good morning, Miss Martinez Young. Can you please call the
role? Good morning. Dr. Allison Campbell, District 1. Mrs. Lorie Conrad, District 2, here. Mr. Eric Cummings, District Three, here. Mrs. Nancy Thrower, District 4, here. Dr. Danielle Brewer, superintendent, here. Mr. Jeremy Power, school board attorney, here. And
let me note for the record that we do have quorum and that um we have one board member participating telephonically. There are three present physically. And of course, Mrs. Dr. Sarah James here. District five. I had to write the script now. It's all good.
We're all We're all here. All right. Thank you, Miss Martinez Young Board. Would you please stand for the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all. Miss Martinez Young, would you please provide the proof of publication for today's school board meeting? The notice for the June 16th, 2025 special board meeting ran in the Ocala Gazette on June 6th. Proof of publication has been attached in board docks under proof of publication.
Thank you. Good morning, Attorney Powers. Can you please explain the rules governing persons who wish to address the school board meeting this morning? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. In compliance with section 286.0114 0114 of Florida statutes. The school board has adopted uniform procedures for public speakers
who wish to speak at this morning's meeting, either regarding one of today's agenda items or a matter relating to the operations of the school district. These procedures will ensure the public has a reasonable opportunity to be heard on school board and school district matters. A written summary of these
procedures are available from the table in the lobby. Public speaker forms are also located on the same table. The completed forms were due to the school board's clerk no later than 10:10 a.m. This morning, speakers will be called prior to the business portion of the
school board's meeting in the order of receipt by the school board clerk. Before you begin speaking, please state your full name for the record and spell your last name. Each speaker will have five minutes of time. However, if there are more than five persons who wish to speak, the board may seek consensus to
limit each speaker's time to three minutes. When the speaker has one minute remaining, the speaker will receive a visual notice to complete his or her comments. Speakers may not yield their time to other people. Speakers and meeting attendees are expected to conduct themselves in a respectful
manner. The board is here to listen to your comments only. You may be directed to an administrative staff member following the conclusion of your comments for further assistance to address your concerns. If there are matters dealing with student discipline, including expulsions, they'll be scheduled at the conclusion of the televised portion of
the meeting. Parents may address the board regarding a discipline matter at that time. But to ensure student privacy, only a parent or guardian may use a student's first or last name. Identifying references to or identification of other students and or their families is also strictly
prohibited. Thank you for your attention to the board's requirements. Madam Chair, that in that concludes my explanatory remarks. Thank you, Attorney Powers. Miss Martinez Young, do we have any speakers this morning? Not at this time. Thank you. All right. With that, we'll move on to our first discussion
item. May I have a motion to approve the administrative personnel items 25 2025 2026 fiscal year. Motion to approve. Thank you, board member Thrower. Second. Thank you, Dr. James. Um board, is there any discussion on this item?
Okay, seeing none, all those in favor say I. I I Any opposed? All right. Motion passes for Is Eric Can you hear Eric voting on that? Eric, did you vote? Is he unmuted? I did. I did. Okay, good.
All right, so four. I just want to make sure we get it correct. Four zero. Thank you, Reverend Cummings. Uh, may I have a motion to approve the new job description for director of student discipline? May I have a motion? Motion to approve. Thank you, Dr. James.
Second. Thank you board member Thrower. Is there any discussion on this item? Okay. Thank you, Reverend Cummings. Go ahead. This item and the next item, I just want want to clarity on this this item. Two separate job descriptions when one
person had both jobs. Am I correct? Hey, Eric, hold on just Reverend Cummings, hold on just a minute. We need to work on the audio a little bit. Give me one second. What what he said was it's two separate job descriptions, but the person's the same person's doing both jobs. Reverend Cummings, it's a job
description for student discipline and a job description for K12 academics. They're two different items. The current is am I correct that was doing both jobs? Oh, was Dr. Brewer doing both jobs? Is that the question?
Yes. Okay. Dr. Brewer. Thank you, Reverend Cummings. I'm going to ask Mr. White House to come to the podium. He can respond to both of these job descriptions um to explain the roles and responsibilities.
Good morning, board. Good morning, Mr. White House. You guys hear me? Okay. Yes, that's good. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Uh Reverend Cummings, to address your question. So, no, Dr. Brewer was not doing both of these jobs. Um the the role of discipline support did fall under the senior executive
director for secondary education. Uh we no longer have a senior executive director of secondary education and we also eliminated the director of secondary education from the 2526 staffing plan due to budget challenges. So the standalone director of discipline job is critical for us to be able to
provide better tier one behavior support to our schools. Uh part of our strategic plan for 2026 is goal two, which is really making sure that we are providing uh safe and effective learning um learning and work locations for all of
our students and staff. And so we need to have somebody who is responsible for leading that work for not only helping us in what may come to the district in the way of alternative placements, expulsions, but really somebody who can get out to schools and work with our staff, work with our assistant
principles and our student services managers to make sure that we are providing good tier one support at our school level um to prevent some of those from happening. The second position that's on there, the executive director of K12 academics. That is someone who's actually going to oversee secondary
education, elementary education, and early learning work. Um, so it really is way beyond the scope of what Dr. Brew was doing previously. Thank you, Mr. But there is a perception that um this these two that Dr. Drew was doing both
of these jobs. um at one point and that we're now we're now dividing the duties the duties she was doing the duties of both of these jobs. I just need that cleared out so everybody understand what's what what's really happened I don't know Mr. White House do you want
to respond yes sir so you're you're correct those were not the jobs that Dr. Brew was doing previously. This is way beyond the scope of that. And you know, I'll also add that even though discipline did fall under our senior executive director of secondary education, it was not necessarily the
most effective approach to be able to provide tier one support. Dr. Brewer was keenly focused on tier one academic support. And we need both. We need somebody that can do tier one academic support and somebody that can do tier one discipline support. And those are two separate topics that require two
different focus. Correct. Thank you. I just need I just want to clear up so people understand exactly what it is. That's all. Okay. All right. Thank you, Reverend Cummings. Thank you, Mr. White House. Board, is there any further discussion on this item?
Okay. Yes. Board member Thor. What I will say is thank you for this because it's very heartbreaking to sit up here as a board member knowing that in most cases we we need to vote yes
when kids have made it to our deis so to speak and tier one you know for folks that are just watching at home it's all the tier one it's prevention you know we're trying to put supports into place so kids JD numbers
never end up on our days to have to vote on. So, I'm really happy for this course correction. I think it will really benefit students. Thank you. Thank you, board member Thrower. Anyone else? Okay, seeing no further comment, all those in
favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes 4. Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the new job description for executive director of K12 academics? May I have a motion? Motion to approve. Thank you, Dr. James. May I have a
second? Second. Thank you, Miss Thrower. Is there any discussion on this item? Okay, seeing and hearing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes 40. May I have a motion to
approve the proposed central office staffing plan for 2025 2026 fiscal year? Motion to approve the central office staffing plan. Thank you. Board member Thrower. May I have a second? Is that a second? Thank you, Reverend
Cummings. Thank you for the second. All right, board. Is there any discussion on this item? I have a little Okay. I was going to let Dr. Brewer go to um Dr. Brewer. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. After further conversations, as you know, we've worked um tire
tirelessly on working on the um budget and where we need to be. One additional recommendation I would like to make today um if you would approve the central office staffing plan for 2526 with the removal of the contract manager position. This would have been a new
position for 2526 school year. And as much as we know we need that position for um efficient processes, we we believe at this time when we're looking at other cuts that we do not need to add this position to the staffing plan. Thank you very much for your
recommendation, Dr. Brewer. Board member Thrower. Thank you. And that really wasn't going to be part of my comment, but I will respond by saying I agree with you. Not at this time. Uh I do believe that it is uh an essential
uh missing link to our efficiency and productivity and that when we know better about our budget, we'll hopefully be able to fit it in um sooner than than later. Um the comment that I was going to make about the central office
staffing plan is um all of you may have gotten the same email or I had a chance to look at it that the house and the senate did come to some agreements and budget conferencing is is occurring. Um it looks like Marian
County Public Schools specifically because we're a growing uh district and so many districts are not. we are in the minority that we may and I'll say may not be as bad off as we thought moving
forward. Um, that being said, I think that the conversations need to continue uh going forward to ensure that we are prioritizing and continue to prioritize as as I know we're committed to the the classroom
first and then going up from there. Uh, we have to take an even stronger look at anywhere where we're duplicating services. um this becomes a very tough conversation especially when it comes to school
safety. Uh I certainly would never want to think that any of us would be looking to cut corners in in any way uh when it comes to school safety and and when it comes to classroom first. So, I I think that as we continue to move along and we
get all of the real numbers of what we have to work with, then we can continue to have these conversations. But I just want to make sure that we are uh keeping a razor sharp eye. This court course correction has been good for the legislature. You know, they had COVID
relief dollars that dried up. Uh and so did we. Um, so whatever we're left with, I just am committed to being mindful that our core business um, continues to be supported. But I wanted to thank the public for
suffering along with us, you know, as we've tried to move through and including having the special meeting today, you know, just doing all that that we can. And and thank you, Dr. Brewer. Uh, it's not easy to put tough news out there, but it beats being
surprised. Correct. So, that's what I got. All right. Thank you, board member Thrower. Anything further? Nope. All right. Sure. Yes, sir. Um, I too I need to um kind of chime in on this one. I do thank the administrations administration
uh her team for um pulling this one. Um it does shine a good light on us that we're doing the right thing. We understand the times that we're working in and with the budgetary restraints that we have current currently because um I think um
there's a lot of an there's a lot of anxiety out there. Um people worried about jobs and where they're going to be and how they're going to do it. and we have to at the top have to make those decisions that can um show that we are looking at everything and we're being
good good financial stewards. So I I do thank them for pulling that as well. We as as as board throw just said our first our first obligation is education for these kids and make sure that we're supporting every classroom. So I appreciate everything that they're doing
trying to make sure that we do do it um fiscally responsible. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Reverend Cummings. Okay. Um board, it sounds uh Can someone would like to make an amended motion? Oh, um sure. I can make an amended motion.
Okay. Um amended motion to um the proposed the um the proposed central office staffing plan for 2526 fiscal year without the contract manager position. Thank you. May I have a second? I'll second that. Thank you. All right. Is there any
further discussion? Okay, seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion passes 40. All right. Thank you, board. At this time, we're going to move into uh committee
comments and board comments. Um Dr. Brewer, we'll let you go first. Thank you. We had um the we were able to celebrate our MTC graduates last Thursday night. And I know um Miss Thur couldn't be with us because she was out of town, but it was a great evening. Um
we had close to 150 graduates, which was great. Um it was so nice um that we were we had to actually change the location to the First Baptist Church. We had over 1,200 um family and friends in attendance. So I wanted to comment what a nice celebration that was. That's all.
All right. Thank you, Dr. Dr. Brewer. Miss Martinez Young. No, Madam Chair. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Attorney Powers. Nothing further from me. All right, Dr. James. Uh, to Dr. Brewer's point, MTC graduation was wonderful. There was more graduates there than I had ever seen at a graduation for MTC previously. It was a
packed house at First Baptist and we're grateful for their partnership and allowing us to use that space. It flowed wonderfully. Uh, and and Mr. Smallbridge always puts on a quality performance is what I will say. But it was really good. We even saw uh he made sure to highlight
some of these students were wearing cap and gowns that were not the MTC color and that's because they were dual enrollment students. So they got to wear their high school regalia uh because they had also received a high school diploma and so great things are happening at MTC. Uh but other than that I will save anything else for Thursday's
meeting. Thank you Dr. James. Yes Mr. Ro. Thank you. Yes. and you know career and technical education and the way we are just sailing with that is such a shining star especially for me it's just been a
priority of mine ever since I was in high school the the importance of just finding that key to each student that makes them want to be in school that sees the relevance of it and gosh you get a chance to see you know how well they can really do and the the second
thing that I'm very grateful for is that it does appear that our district will be held harmless. Uh the the House and the Senate I believe came to agreement on continuing full funding for advanced placement international balorate ACE and
also um cape funding. You know, the ink's not dry on the paper yet, but it appeared to be solid agreement. And I just want to thank this school board for leading off uh very early and providing the resolution that showed exactly where
we stood. And where we stood was with students and making sure that we have the opportunities to serve every child. And I also want to extend thanks to all of the the coordinators of all of these programs, the teachers, you know, John
Crawford really uh publicly led that charge, you know, getting the kids up to Tallahassee. It was very clear that that we were in the House and also the Senate. So when you come together, great things happen. And I'm already really excited about what's to come this school
year. Thank you, board member Thrower. Reverend Cummings. Uh, Madam Chair, no comments this morning. Just grateful that um we were able to get this done and um I I'm praying that uh by in the next few days
we have some good news coming out. All right. Thank you. Um board, I just want to say uh thank you to you and thank you to our district staff for coming in um for this meeting this morning. it was added. And so I appreciate everyone being here so we can
continue to move the work of the district forward. Um, and with that, if there is no further business, may I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn. Thank you, board member Thrower. Second. Thank you. Um, Dr. James. All those in
favor say I. I. I. To move the work of the district forward. Any opposed? Motion passes for zero. Thank you. This meeting is adjourned at 10:21. [Music]