Thank you, Madam Chair. So, a new year is upon us. A new school year is upon us. New not only for our students, but for their families, teachers, administrators, office staff, support and maintenance staff, and this
esteemed school board as well. This is a new day, not only for our students who demonstrate academic excellence, but also for a new year for another opportunity to get it right. For our students who, like me, may be challenged
in some subjects. As my teacher mentors taught me, inch by inch, anything's a cinch. And poco sre adilante, little by little, always forward. May everyone, all of us seek and
practice wisdom, patience, kindness, truthfulness, and respect when dealing with each other and in everyday life, but especially in this chamber, the classrooms, the school buses, staff offices, and conference rooms,
maintenance facilities, on the sports fields, and on social media. As good citizens in a great state, county, and country, we seek precious wisdom to do all the right things for all the right reasons. So, as our students are
presented with the truly wonderful opportunities that this school board affords them. May they take advantage of each and every opportunity. So when they leave our schools, they will be prepared to meet the social, technical, business, and political
challenges and responsibilities that precious citizenship entails in the world they will create to pass on to their children. We say all these things in the name of everything that is holy, good, true, and kind. Seree Adilante,
always forward. Thank you. Thank you very much. We'll now say the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Miss falls, will you call the role? Dr. Morardi, here. Mrs. Roberts, Mrs. Powers, Mrs. Russell here, Mrs. Pritchette here.
Before we go to the approval of the agenda, I would like to introduce our new student rep from Martin County High, Delaney Miller, a senior at Martin County High School and a high achieving student who has maintained honoral status throughout her accelerated
academic journey. She is actively involved in a wide range of academic, athletic, and community service programs, often serving in leadership positions. Delaney is president of the school's environmental green club, vice president of both the student government
association and key club, and participates in several other organizations, all while playing on the lacrosse team. Recently, she was selected as a delegate to attend Florida Girls State. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time at
the beach painting and exploring her interest in photography. Can we please give her a warm welcome? She will be presenting for the first time next month at at our regular board meeting, but she came to meet everyone.
And thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to do this. We really appreciate it. And welcome. Thank you. All right. So now I would like to get a motion to approve the agenda with the
following items added. 4.02 request authorization to utilize Valuchia County Schools electronics recycling and disposal services. 7.03 addendum to personal recommend personnel
recommendations. Items updated 3.03 03 New BDV solutions 4.01 requisitions to be board approved for purchases over 50,000 9.01 July 8th 2025 workshop 9.02 July 15
2025 regular school board meeting 9.03 July 29th 2025 special school board meeting trim 9.04 04 July 31st, 2025 joint meeting with city of Stewart Martin County Board of Commissioners and
Village of Indiantown 14.03 budget information 15.06 monthly referendum update 18.03 requisitions to be board approved for purchase orders over 100,000 18.11
committee appointments requirements and items removed. 3.08 08 renewal 202526 speak life bullying. May I have a motion? I move to approve the agenda. Second.
I have a motion by Dr. Mario, a second by Miss Roberts. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Okay. May I have a motion to approve the
items of consent? So moved. Second. I have a motion by Dr. Morardi, a second by Miss um Powers. Opposite a motion by Miss Powers, second by Dr. Morardi. All those in favor? I I.
Motion carries unanimously. Okay, we are now on board member discussion. Does anyone have anything they'd like to discuss? Okay, that leaves me. Um, one of the things I wanted to discuss, I wanted to
ask Dr. Miller if she would tell us that the Jensen Beach Elementary playground agreement is as it was previously. Good afternoon, Madam Chair. Thank you. the agreement that was before the board or that is before the board this evening
is very similar to what was in the past. The services to the community are the same. I think that's what you're asking if the services if the playground and space will be available to the community after school hours and at times not when when the playground is not in use by extended day and until sunset including
weekends. Yes, that is that remains the same. Okay. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Um, and let's see. I'll I'll wait on the rest of it for the discussion. And let's see, we'll go to um recognition
uh Heather Platt and Jeff Raymond for the Aspiring Principal Academy recognition. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, superintendent, members of the board. My name is Heather Platt. I serve as the director of professional learning and
joining me is Good evening, Jeff Raymond, executive director of talent acquisition and HR operations. Today we are honored to recognize four outstanding well two now outstanding assistant principles and two principles who have successfully
completed the Martin County aspiring principal academy. This is a rigorous year-long leadership development program designed to prepare our future school leaders for the principal ship. Our aspiring principal academy is grounded in 10 core competencies that align
directly with the Florida educational leadership standards and reflect the highest standards of educational leadership. From ethical decision-making and instructional excellence to understanding the importance of school culture and community engagement. These leaders have demonstrated a deep
commitment to these competencies through every phase of the program. Their journey began with a two-week summer intensive, which is intense, followed by a year-long residency where they worked sidebyside with experienced principles
to apply their learning in real time. Each participant completed a change project which is aligned to a specific need at their school and they determined this through data triangulation. It was developed to include collaboration also with a community
partner. Throughout the year, they have maintained reflective journals as well to deepen their learning and their leadership practice. We would like to thank you, the school board and superintendent, for supporting our aspiring principles, two of which are now principles, if I hadn't said that already, um, and for understanding the
power of instructional leadership to truly drive student achievement. These assistant principles and principles have not only earned their school principal certification, but they've also demonstrated the vision, resilience, and capacity to lead schools where every student can thrive.
And I just want to echo Heather's sentiments. Um, this year's aspiring principles, I met with them and I shared the fact that when you get your first principal ship, no one is really ready for that opportunity. Um but the experience that um you afforded these
graduates that you're soon going to get to uh celebrate with us um we were able to talk about real world examples that happened beyond your degree at any college or university. So the experience is invaluable and um we're kind of like proud parents looking back at the room.
Um but the journey doesn't end with aspiring um principles. It continues um through mentoring as no one is really ready until you start the journey. So, just thank you for your support and we're excited to acknowledge new graduates. Yes. So, please join us in
congratulating these four who are behind us who will walk up now. Um, please join us in congratulating Elizabeth Atinson who is the new principal at Bessie Creek Elementary. Welcome. Um, please join us to congratulate Shemica Forbes who is a
current assistant principal of curriculum at Steuart Middle School, Jackie Scott who is the assistant principal of curriculum at Anderson Middle School and David Schaefer who is the principal at Port Solerno Elementary.
He has a little stingray tie on just in case you didn't see that. So cute. Um, so we are very, very proud of you. As Jeff said, you all know this. Um, but we're very proud of your accomplishments. We are very excited for the future of Martin County School District with you all at the helm. So, congratulations. And I'm sure we will
want a little photo. Let's get a picture. Did you want to say something? Okay, real. Sorry. Miss Atkinson would like to say something if that mind. I just wanted to personally thank all of you in support of this program. I think that it's imperative that we do invest
in all elements of our school district and being able to be participate in this program afforded me to not just grow individually but collaborate with my peers um receive just valuable input and then push myself beyond my own capacity.
And today is in case no one is counting day seven with children on campus. and I'm proud to say that I have more than survived these seven days as a new principal and amazing things are happening on our campus. So, thank you for investing in us. Um Heather and Jeff
from all of us, thank you. Um and thank you for continuing to be partners in our growth. Heather was with me the first two and then I was like, "Please come the third day." Um just helping me navigate big stuff like Caroline, right? Caroline. Um and we did it. We
are breaking records on Carolina at best just in case anyone's counting. So, thank you and thank you also Jeff for investing in us. So, I just wanted to tell you guys, thank you. Now, we'll take a photo. Great. Go ahead. You guys want to go on up?
Congratulations. Congratulations. So, we have uh 14.01 PTA membership month proclamation, Kelly Robboto, Martin County Council of PTP, PTSA, and Carmen Merlin. Thank you for joining
us. Okay, just read it. Okay. Hi. So, I'm going to read the proclamation. Uh whereas the parent teacher association PTA has served as a powerful voice for children, a relevant resource for PA uh
families and a strong advocate for public education for over 125 years. And whereas local PTA units across Martin County are dedicated to building a strong family school partnership, supporting students success and
enhancing the educational experience for all children. And whereas PTA membership empowers parents, caregivers, teachers, administrators, and community members to make a positive difference in the lives of children and schools. And whereas jo
uh joining all local PTA in one of the simplest, most effective ways to stay informed, be engaged, and contribute to a vibrant, connected school community. And whereas the month of September is nationally recognized as PTA membership
month, providing an important opportunity to celebrate the impact of PTA and encourage new and rewarding uh new and renewed membership in supporting our students and schools. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Martin County
School Board does hereby recognize the month of September as PTA membership month in Martin County Public Schools and encourages all parents, guardians, teachers, staff, community members to become active members in their local PTA units.
Thank you so much. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Now like to call um Jennifer Dashazo and Heather Platt for the fiveent five essential data. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Superintendent Maine, members of the
school board. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity this afternoon to provide you with this year, the 2024 2025 school year's five essentials update, which is also our culminating five essentials survey update. We'll reflect on our progress and take a look
at what's on the horizon for how we capture culture and stakeholder data in our schools. Yes. So this was our third year for the school district to deploy the five essentials survey as our survey for teachers, parents and students. The this
tool and the results are used to guide strategic decision-making and professional learning. As you can see on the screen, the five essentials survey for students and teachers is made up of 22 measures and approximately 120 questions. Over 20
years of research conducted by the University of Chicago's Consortium on School Research in Chicago public schools found that schools strong on three at least three of the five essentials were 10 times more likely to improve student growth in test scores
and 30 times less likely to stagnate than similar schools that were weak in these supports. The five essentials framework provides statistically reliable research-based information that allows stakeholders to drill down into the fine grain details of school
performance over time. This visual just helps understand the complexity of school climate. The survey has measured these specific five factors for school improvement. You can see them. Just because it's a little small, I'll say it's um ambitious instruction,
effective leaders, collaborative teachers, supportive learning environments, and involved families. So, the data we're going to go over today reflects the lived experiences of our students, teachers, and parents who completed the survey. The framework
helps us pinpoint where leadership and support systems are working for us. We're excited to share that we did have an increase in overall participation rates for each stakeholder group which was very exciting to see. So students, teachers, and parents, our rates
increased as compared to last year. We would like to commend our school site administrators and our district team for their work to actively ensure the increase in those rates. Yes, I just wanted to point out that when we started this survey um two years ago, we had to
reach that parent threshold of 20% and it was not easy to hit that at every school. So to have that level of involvement and get our teacher and student rates up was pretty monumental for us last school year. And this visual that you'll see on the screen shows the summary of each of our
administration years and the progress. and we ended the 2425 school year neutral across the district um in all of the tested areas. But it's important to remember that that is the district overall and we saw exponential growth at certain campuses in many of the areas as
well. We'll get into that in just a moment. Yes. So as Chief Dazo just shared over the last three years we have seen upward trends for all of the five essentials. And of note, the top three that we improved in this year are involved families, collaborative teachers, and
effective leaders. And if you notice, effective leaders is very, very close to green. We were almost all green in that um quadrant, but um it is an aggregate overall. So these are the areas where the Martin County School District was is performing
the highest. The great improvement with collaborative practices speaks to the work that our schools are doing around collaborative learning teams with their teachers and the high expectations within those. In addition, in the last two years, we've heavily invested in our instructional leaders on campus through
the work of feedback and coaching as well as principal labs. All of these professional learning opportunities for our leaders have fostered clarity around the work of what effective leadership means and looks like. We also see notable gains in program
coherence and the quality of professional learning. The implementation of school-based professional learning plans over the last two years has played a key role in this progress supported by that consistent monitoring and that intentional follow-through. This approach has ensured alignment with instructional priorities and it's
fostered that meaningful sustained learning for all of our educators. The three areas of improvement shown on the screen also align with the domains where our district is currently performing at its highest levels. A key driver of this progress is our commitment to continuous improvement
through our rigor walks conducted across campuses multiple times throughout the school year. These walks provide actionable real-time feedback to schools, foster collaboration between district staff and school teams, and promote instructional coherence across the system.
Students have also reported notable improvements in academic personalism and the overall supportive environment which were key areas that we have prioritized based on last year's survey results. As an AVID school district, we remain deeply committed to strengthening that
relational capacity which continues to be a central focus in our efforts to foster meaningful connections with students, teachers, parents across across the district. This slide highlights key areas of opportunity for us. As a next step, we're going to incorporate targeted
goals into our scorecard work to address these opportunities and drive continued growth with accountability. We also want to celebrate some additional data from our parents and students which highlights strong parent teacher relationships and high levels of student engagement. These areas reflect
the positive connections and collaborative culture that we continue to build across our schools and our school district. And I would draw your attention to the first one, the increase in how likely the responding parents were to recommend their child's school to a parent looking um for a school for their child. We were
especially proud of that one. And then these are our district trends. You can see um where we landed in the rubric for each of the five domains. The green is where we're exceeding performing exceedingly well in. The kind of like peach colored would be where we're neutral and then the more red
color is definitely our opportunities for improvement. So our action for 2526 it it is a little tiny on the screen. So I am going to just um share some of the information that's there. So our next steps in measuring stakeholder engagement and satisfaction. As we move into this
school year, we are going to continue to measure stakeholder satisfaction and engagement, but we are going to move into utilizing students framework. Um, this approach is going to allow us to benchmark our performance not only with K12 education, um, but also to higher
education and industry standards, which gives us a broader lens for that continuous improvement work. Um, why we're transitioning to that new survey approach? Well, to create greater coherence between our strategic plan, the scorecard work that Chief Desazo
mentioned, and our district goals, we are transitioning to that new employee, student, and parent engagement survey. Um, and this is aligned with our district services survey that we gave towards the end of last year as well. That was a strategic shift that allowed us to better understand how our internal
services are supporting our schools and our stakeholders. and it helped us to identify those areas of excellence and opportunities for growth so we can avoid those blind spots. We want to avoid those if we can. So by aligning our new experiences survey with the insights gained from the district services
survey, we're creating that more integrated and actionable feedback system. So we'll continue to celebrate what's working well. We I we will identify and address the gaps before they become systemic issues and we'll ensure every stakeholder has a voice that informs our strategic direction.
We look forward to continuing this work and sharing our next data points to be continued at next month's workshop where we'll get into the stutter scorecard work. Does anyone have any questions? I have one little question. Can you go
back one slide where it says involved families parent involvement in schools? Who answered that question? Was it the parents or was it was on that slide? Yeah, that was a that was a teacher perception.
The teachers perception is that okay. All right. And again, we are giving and we would be happy to provide, you know, school by school data, but this is overall district data, right? Individual schools responses will vary on that on all the questions.
Okay. Um, yeah, I'd like to see the the breakdown of of some of the elementary, the middle, and the high schools. Absolutely. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Carter Morrison.
Budget information number five. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, board members, superintendent, um community, those members of staff in attendance today. Um this is budget update number five. Um as you're aware on August the 5th, the school board
tenatively adopted mill rate of 5.27270 7270 mills. And at that meeting, the board this um had some discussion regarding potentially reducing our budget um with respect to um
living within our means. Not only that, but uh how can we reduce our budget with a positive impact to our taxpayers. What you have before you in the first column on the spreadsheet is the prior year milit rates that the board adopted in 2425.
The second column shows the current year full rates which is the what the board adopted tenatively on August the 5th. As you are aware um those rates are not final until September um 9th when we have our next final trim hearing.
So the current the current full rates are 5.7270. Um at the direction of the superintendent staff has gone back. We've sharpened our pencils and we're here to recommend that the millage rates in the third column, the current year
adjusted rates, um, be reduced to 5.177 mills, which is a little bit less than the roll back rate actually at five and a quarter. With that, you can see the prior year proceeds in the first arrow on the right hand side of the spreadsheet that the prior year proceeds
as a result of the full the full levy was $220,231,428. And with the adjustment um to the millage rates as recommended, we will be living pretty much on the same budget as it was in the prior year
of $220,230,897. So what does this mean for the district? As I mentioned, we will be operating on the same budget funding for last year, primarily through adjustments in the capital budget. And what does this mean for a taxpayer after should the board accept the
superintendent's recommendation um at the final hearing that would mean a taxpayer would see their bill either remain the same or their taxes go down for the 2526. Um the next steps as I mentioned on September the 9th we will have a final
public hearing on the 2526 mill rates and budget. On September the 11th, staff is currently preparing the superintendent's annual financial report and the program cost report going to the DOE. On September 12th, within three days, we will be sending in our
documentation to the property appraiser tax collector and the department of revenue for their review. And then on September 30, we will um have the our final hearing final within 30 days of the final hearing, we will certify the trim compliance to the Department of
Revenue and send in our um information to that to the to the Department of Revenue. With that, I'll take any questions. Well, I just want to thank you because we heard what the public was saying and we did something about it, which I think
is amazing. So, thank you, Carter, for your hard work and the superintendent for making it happen. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, Delaney will join us next month, but you're you're on here, so I'm want
to acknowledge district update. Derek Low Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Superintendent Maine. My name is Derek Low, coordinator of public information and community relations. It's my pleasure to bring you the first
district update of the new school year. And we are starting things off with some breaking news. This information was uh released today. In fact, all three of our Martin County high school or Martin County School District rather high schools have been recognized among the
top performing schools in Florida and across the nation. And US News and World Reports 2025 2026 best high school rankings. Jensen Beach High School ranked 133rd in the state of Florida, up
12 spots year-over-year. That put them in the top 11% across the country. Martin County High School ranked number 230 in Florida. That's up three spots from last year. They are in the top 16% nationally. And South Fork High School
also jumped 14 spots to number 314 in the state, putting them around the top 24% uh in the US. Each year, US News and World Report evaluates nearly 24,000 public high schools nationwide based on
academic performance, graduation rates, and college readiness. Schools ranked in the top 40% nationally earned the distinction of being named a best high school. And since the news was released today, we've already began uh ordering uh plaques and banners and digital
badges that our high schools can display uh both on their websites and on their campuses for the public to see. So, we're very proud of them. Up next, I'm proud to share that one of our own longtime transportation professionals, Yvon Iker, has been named
the 2024 2025 Florida Bus driver of the year. This award recognizes exceptional actions to keep students safe and Ivonne truly exemplifies what it means to be a Martin County School District bus operator. She will be formally honored
during a statewide ceremony on September 8th at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. She will represent our district during the formal awards ceremony and accompanying events alongside school resource officers and education leaders from across the state. Uh, please join
me in congratulating our bus driver of the year and statewide bus driver of the year, Ivon Aiker. The newest episode of our Outland Martin podcast was released last week on Friday. Uh, this, I believe, is episode 9. It features our director of
facilities, Mr. Mark Serest talking about all of the hard work that our maintenance and facilities teams uh put in over the summer and are still wrapping up here uh in the first few weeks of the school year. A lot of summer projects that uh have been a long time coming and have been uh heavily
anticipated and are now complete. Um from fresh paint to major renovations and even brand new facilities like the Steuart Middle School cafeteria. It was a busy summer for our teams. Of course, uh, the latest episode and all episodes rather of the All-In Martin podcast can
be listened to on our YouTube page, our Spotify page, as well as Apple Podcast, and the district website. This year, the state of Florida has passed new legislation banning cell phone use in elementary and middle schools. Here in the Martin County School District, however, we've taken it
a step further, extending that ban to our high schools as well, a policy that has now been in place since the beginning of last school year. Our more comprehensive approach recently caught the attention of WPTV News Channel 5, which featured our policy and the
overwhelmingly positive feedback it has received from our local community. Let's watch their coverage of how we're once again leading the way in keeping students focused, engaged, and learning while they're in the school. Phone or no phone? I'm Cassandra Garcia
in Martin County where this was a hot topic at the school district last year. There's still mixed reviews this year. I spoke with Superintendent Michael Maine who says one thing is clear. A total ban on cell phones is making a big difference. One year without cell phones,
they were very strict. You were not allowed to use at all. Has been an adjustment for Martin County students. I feel like it really genuinely did make an impact. Dakota Dots graduated from Jensen Beach High School in May and says she benefited from the cell phone ban her senior year. I noticed that my grades were better, my
GPA went higher, and I was more focused on my work. Nonetheless, she thinks the rules might be too strict. I genuinely think that kids should be able to have their phones at lunch, in the bathroom, and for emergencies, not during teaching time. We asked the district how many devices they confiscated during the 2024 2025
school year. They report a total of 4,344 referrals given to 720 students with 78% of violators at the high school level. They were focused on the curriculum. They were focused on the content. I sat down with Superintendent Michael Maine who calls the ban a success.
Significantly decreased the drama that we had on campuses. It significantly decreased the the non-engagement in the classroom. The district has implemented an all day ban at all grade levels. The phones have to be turned off and put away but can stay with the students in case of
emergencies. It's made a big impact on them like they're not constantly pulling out their phone. As a parent and an administrator at Steuart Middle School, Joan Reigns is happy to see the district standing firm. It was super disruptive. It was never
just one kid on a cell phone, and I just had to redirect that one kid. This summer, Florida passed a new law that will limit cell phone use in all schools statewide. The law bans cell phones in elementary and middle schools, but allows districts to let high school students use phones outside of class.
Elementary school grandmother Yolanda Edwards is happy. in Martin County is making all students put their phones away. So basically a reward, not a necessity. Cassandra Garcia, WPTV News. That concludes this month's district
update. Until next month, you can find us wherever you scroll. We're constantly putting out new information on our website and social media platforms. Thank you. Thank you, Derek. Superintendent Update. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um before I begin, I do want to take this
opportunity to thank our PTA County Council uh for a wonderful relationship that we have. Uh there our monthly meetings are always very productive. It is a source of valuable information from you all to us as a district team and from the district team uh back to the
PTA County Council. Uh and you're really helping us in partnership to get good information out there that's factual. Uh so it goes a long way and means a lot to me and uh so I just want to thank you both very much for being here tonight. Um the first week of school is off to an
unstoppable um year. Uh we have last week I was able to visit every single school campus over the first couple of days. Uh it was a very electric time full of energy. Uh you would have thought that school had been in session other than the car loop lines for the
first uh couple of days which are always extremely long. You would have thought we never left. Uh let's watch a brief look back at uh what I know will be a very successful school year. It's the first day of a new school year which means a fresh start and exciting
changes. This is one of my favorite days of the year and uh this year we're going to be unstoppable at Murray Middle School. Everything is new for sixth grader Reneesme. Her first year in middle school and first year in Martin County. Today is my first day of sixth grade.
I'm technically nervous and excited which together is nited. Her campus is about to enter a whole new era. Rebuilding from damage caused by a tornado during Hurricane Milton. All of the buildings will be replaced. We are really excited that there will be
a brand new band room, brand new a room, a brand new chorus room, as well as a new gym, and the admin building here at uh Murray Middle School will be torn down and rebuilt as well. So, a lot of construction that's going to be happening here at Murray over the next
couple years. But new buildings aren't the only change. The Lions are climbing academically, too. Murray Middle School went from a C to a B, which we are super excited about. The most thing I'm excited about is getting to getting to know friends, making
friends, and having nice nice teachers. At Steuart Middle School, students are enjoying one of their new buildings now. Oh, it's really beautiful. It's much better than the other one. I really like like the new where you get the food and
stuff. It's It's much nicer. I like it. With the cafe totally rebuilt and ready for the Jaguars on the first day and the gym finishing soon after, it's a great way to start his last year on campus. I'm excited to just be the one who everybody looks up to. I'm really
excited for the new PE cuz I want to see what that looks like and you know how fun that could be. As students settle into routines, the goals for this school year are clear. This year, my goal is no C schools, right? So just because we're an A
doesn't mean that we are where we want to be. And on day one, that journey is already underway. Not every A is created equal, right? And in the Martin County School District, we're doing it right. And we're providing opportunities for our students to grow and become the very best that
they can they can be. And uh this is this is the school district to be a part of. [Music] Okay. Hey, and part of what makes our school so special is the people that are inside them. And just before the school year began began, we welcomed more than
a hundred new faces into the Martin County School District. Over several days of our new educators uh learned what it takes to be successful here, receive the tools, resources, and encouragement needed to thrive. And our new educator orientation is an event that I look forward to every summer
because it's a moment when new staff members step into a mission that is bigger than themselves. Let's take a look. High energy, meaningful connections, real support. So, welcome to our new teachers. Thank you for being here today. This isn't your typical new employee
orientation. This is how we welcome educators in the A-rated Martin County School District. Wherever you are coming from, we welcome you to what I believe to be the best school district in the state. District and school leaders show up on day one because County, we go all in for
students and staff. We want to make this the best possible environment for you. We welcome you. We hope that you understand how dedicated we are to helping you succeed. Having grown in the district herself, Tina Dunie knows that.
Hi, I'm Tina Dunie and I'm going to be teaching second grade at Warfield Elementary. For the last four years, she's been a computer lab assistant working to become certified to teach. Last year I made an school related employee of the year which I was super
excited about and honored. At NEO, Tina is gaining the tools and resources to prepare her for her first year teaching. It was nice to be amongst all of the new educators and people coming into the district from out of the
district. Um there's a a nice little field of people to get to know, to count on, and and use for resources. The resources have been great. Resources like advice from seasoned pros. Part of spicing it up is you've got to taste as you go, right? If I'm just
cooking something and I wait until the very end to try it, I mean, who knows how it's going to turn out. The last ingredient is you. I'm staring at you right now. When it comes to culture and connections, you are that difference maker. And after three days of prep and
support, they're ready to make a difference. I'm really excited. And if this is the field that you want to be in, go for it because it's it's hard. It's, you know, but it's well worth it. Together, we're going to make it an
unstoppable year. And artificial intelligence is changing the way we teach and learn. And here in Martin County, we are embracing it thoughtfully. WP uh BF25 News recently highlighted the district's efforts around the use of AI as an educational
tool and not a shortcut for students to cheat. Let's take a look at how students in our schools across the district are leveraging the use of artificial intelligence to receive targeted feedback and keep learning on track. Artificial intelligence and schooling,
it's been a hot topic these past few years. What does it mean for our children? Are they cheating with it? Will it help or hurt the teachers? I think everybody calms down a little bit when they learn about what a good studentf facing AI platform looks like. That's Patrick Saramino. He's a digital
learning specialist for the Martin County School District. He specializes in AI for the district. But we're talking about a shift in the workflow of how teachers and students work together. Like other districts across the country, Martin County tells me they realized early on that AI and its impact on
schooling isn't going away. That's why they've worked over the past year to integrate it first with their teachers through a program that teaches them about different AI applications and how to implement them with their students. So, I started implementing it right away. Kelsey Mole Vanderton spent the last
year as an elementary school teacher for the district and just recently took a position as a digital learning specialist. I've kind of been at the forefront of using it um even before the district began these professional learning um sessions where they would
tell us how we can use it. But while there are plenty of benefits with the use of AI, the concerns are just as plenty. Throughout the years, there's been countless stories of students cheating with AI and worries it might eventually replace or hurt traditional teaching methods. Here in Martin County, educators tell me they're
tackling these problems. So we're talking about teacher controlling the content and you bring them in, you help bring them up a level, you help bring them to the level where they're supposed to be. So you always have that personal communication. [Music]
Madam Chair, at this time this concludes my superintendent's update. Thank you so much. Um Mr. Serest, would you kindly give us a an update on buildings and the pool? On which buildings? Any buildings that you have updates on
and the pool? Okay. Thank you. So, Mark Se, director of facilities and planning. I'll give you a quick update. Um, Steuart Middle School, we actually opened up the cafeteria on the 11th. Um, building one was actually opened up a year ago. So, they're using the two new buildings now. And then over the summer,
we actually repainted the whole campus. It's getting new saw, new irrigation around those buildings. All that's pretty much in place. Just a little bit left. The gym will be finishing up so that we can use it on September 1st. So, right now they're installing a new floor, new bleachers. It got repainted
inside and new HVAC inside. Um, and then we actually added HVAC to the boys and girls locker room, which originally wasn't designed for that building. So, September 1st, we're planning on opening that up for the students. um Steuart, our South Fork High School, we just finished some punch list items on that
and it opened up again on August um 11th. So that building is running right now. Um it's open for um any students or any activities that are going on. Um tonight we're looking to approve some contracts for Murray Middle School. So
once that contract is approved for the architect, that starts a timeline on that capital project. And then we're making a recommendation to award to the CM at risk tonight which in September will bring that contract forward. Once all that clears after today, then we
will start that same process for Warfield and it it's a similar project. Um just a little bit different functions at that campus. Um the pool opened up on August 11th. Um the Martin County High School swim team is using it is
currently using it. Um, and so right now we're just going through some items that the health department brought up that they were able we were able to accomplish the five items they wanted us to accomplish before the 11th. So that's pretty much where we are currently with capital projects. Thank you. Does anyone have any
questions? Any other um information only reports that Go ahead, Miss Roberts. Um, so in the district forms, manuals, procedures, plans, and guidelines, Mr. remain. There's a MTSS parent handbook
for next year. And I noticed that on the in the MTSS process in the description for the decision makingaking process tier 2, there's a box that says parent parent permission required prior to behavior support. But the piece that I
think is missing out of that handbook, it doesn't say that if you don't get the permission where you go. like this whole handbook is showing you assuming you're getting the permission, but if it's a parent handbook, I think that maybe the parents should know. So,
I don't know whether that's um piece that's missing or whether that's but I mean I think it's especially since it's going to parents so they would kind of know if they don't give permission what's happening. We could take a look at that certainly and u make any updates if necessary and then put it back on.
Okay. You're welcome. else. Okay. Um board member information chair, Miss Roberts. Um I would just say that um at 5:00 we'll stop for public comment.
So I um I've been receiving a lot of questions and there's been a lot of um interest in the public about how the scholarship funding and what the scholarship kids do to our regular kids. So, I created a chart um which I'm sharing with you which I've used with
the public so the board can have it if they want to use it for something else. The right three columns on it are the state. The left three columns are Martin County. The total um for Martin County which includes traditional charter
student traditional students charter students and the fees scholarships are in the purple. The darker shaded areas are actual numbers and the lighter shaded areas are um estimated numbers.
The blue numbers are actually dollar numbers that show that funding piece. And then in the columns there's the fees scholarships and the traditional charter. Traditional and charter is in the green. So for example in the 2324 year and the years are separated with a
heavier bar. In the 2324 year, we started with an estimate that came from the state that said in Martin County, we were going to have 19,192 students, which included 1,58 fees scholarships. At the end of the
day, when we finished that year, the actual number came in lower than what the estimate was. The total was 19,05 students as opposed to 1919. Um but the chart but the fees scholarship number was actually 400 higher if you see from the light blue to
the dark blue number. Um and then if you look at the next year which was 2425 you'll see that the estimate for the year was supposed to be 19,731 unweighted FTE which would include 1,970
voucher students. And then if you look down, you'll see that the actual number of voucher students was 2,231. With our number um adding that to it, instead of getting the 19731, which is what the state was funding under, we had
a total of 19,841. So because that number is higher than the shaded number up above it in that same year, that's when pration kicks in. and the prition would kick in. If you figure what that number is, it was like $50 per student. If you do the math for
that, this summer's estimate that just came out is showing that the state feels that we're going to have 20,201 students total, of which 2,74 would be fees students. So, they're taking last year's number and they're
increasing it by 472. And they're actually estimating that our unweighted FTE instead of being 17610 which was the actual closed number they're estimating it's going to go down by 112 which would me mean that it's
17,497. The only reason that we would hit proration again is if that 20,201 number, that lightly shaded purple number, if the actual number of students, both fees scholarship and the traditional and charter schools come in
higher than the 20,201, there will be a proration. And I've showed you also in that those blue numbers, the dollar numbers. I'm showing you that the amount that went for the 17,497 students that are the green students
that they're estimating. They're estimating it would be 171 million for the fees scholarships of 2704. They're estimating 25 million there, which is the total of the 197 million. And then I gave you the local and state numbers there. I've also included a yellow bar
that goes across that is showing you what our tax role is. So our tax role in Martin County is at 42.5 billion dollar number. And if you look up to the prior year, it was 38.3, which is the 10.9% increase. So you can track
that back up and see what our numbers were. And then if you look far to the right, you can see what the state numbers are. But I just wanted to share it with you guys so that if you had anybody who was asking you any questions, you would be able to um kind of walk through it. I gave all the references of where the numbers came
from in the FEFP books so that you would have um that information to validate it. And if it says math, it was because it was like subtraction. Anyway, thank you. Does anyone have any questions? No. Thank you for doing that. Appreciate it.
We're going to um start our public comment a little bit early. Let me read. Citizen input is vital to the improvement of our district. Most times your remarks may be listened to without comment from the board members or
superintendent. This does not mean they are heard with any less intensity or concern. Where appropriate, the superintendent and staff will investigate your comments and report back to you and the board with an answer. We thank you for taking the time
and having the concern to make our district better. Your presentation to the board should not exceed three minutes. Letters or statements from others not present can be given to our clerk who will be sure that each school board member and the superintendent receive a copy. To keep our record
straight and authentic, our policy does not permit you to read the statements of others into the record. Our first speaker is uh Frank Mcrist. Will I get a 15 second warning when it's almost time to Yeah, it'll beep.
It'll beep. Yes. Okay. Thanks to all of you who have met with me. To be clear, I'm not looking for any specific answers tonight. I know there are processes ongoing. Other than Mr. Maine, I would seriously appreciate an hour of your time as soon as possible.
Please. And thank you, sir. The truth is like sunshine. It never goes away. It's always there waiting to shine through. There's a lady I've met and I guess we were raised the same way. She reverses truth above all else. But there's a huge difference between she and I. She has a law degree and still has youthful
energy. And this lady knows where to find the receipts and she always brings them. When she smells wrongdoing, she takes action every time. She has no timeline, understands how long it may take to bust through the cumbersome process that is the swamp.
She always goes the distance, armed with everything she needs to seek out and expose the truth no matter what. She is relentless. She deserves great respect. And you should never discount her simply because her relentless energy may wear
you out. So, we're sort of kindred spirits, she and I. It's simple really. When I see something very wrong, understand it completely and observe nothing being done about it, I make an effort to solve
the problem. If I don't, then I am complicit. Part of the problem, no can do. Why should you listen to people like us? One word, retribution.
As I'm out and about in the district, there's a common troublesome thread among teachers. When I ask teachers who see so much that could be improved upon why they don't rise up and speak out,
I'll get the same answer and I'll use a direct quote. Frank, I have a mortgage and I need health insurance. And I've seen what happens to those who rise up and speak out. This should be troublesome to you
leaders for a couple reasons. Number one, the absolute best, richest, most relevant feedback you will get to make important decisions on will be the troops on the ground.
Okay? The troops on the ground, not the next level of bureaucrats. There's another reason. This is the United States of America and no one should fear retribution for speaking up. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. If if I can. Sure. Uh Mr. Mcrist, I I will um oblige and meet with you, sir. So, expect a phone call. Thank you. Yeah. The next speaker is Dick Landram.
Good afternoon. I'm Dick Landram from Palm City. I'm here to talk about the community pool and I'd like to ask the community here and those watching on TV to get involved. If you're not a swimmer and you don't care, then if you're under the age of 115, you should be a swimmer. The
benefits are many. Since 1975, the school district has only had the responsibility of maintaining the pool, not operating it, not setting policy fees or schedules. In the last year, the school district usurped those responsibilities and closed the pool for
an entire year with no reason to do so and with no reason given. For 49 years, the head coach has always been responsible for operating the pool and making all decisions, including when the pool should be closed for maintenance. Last year, the school district deputy
superintendent took it upon herself to operate the pool. She took it away from the community. She has no certification for pool maintenance or operations and no idea how to run a pool. For example, when the pool was reopened for high school practice, she made no arrangements for morning practice. She
has kept the age group swimming teams away from the pool and she has made the head coach do something that is not done anywhere else on the planet. The head coach is a certified lifeguard, water safety instructor, and excellent coach. During swim practice, the coach is the
lifeguard. The deputy superintendent has made him sit in a lifeguard chair while coaching. It's so much safer for the swimmers if the coach is walking back and forth next to the pool, better observing each swimmer, and much closer to aid a swimmer with a problem. It's a
community pool, but the district has kept the pool inaccessible for all other teams and groups that should be using it without interference from the district or school board. The school board needs to direct the district to get out of the way and let the pool go back to normal operations directed only by the head
coach. I know this seems like such a small matter when running a school district is such a huge responsibility, but as it um as it is happening all over the country, governments of every size are unjustly
making rules, silencing the people, rewriting history to their satisfaction and in general undermining our democracy. We can't let that happen at any level of government. We have had four drownings of children under six years old in local area since June. We
need all pools operating their swim lessons and drown proofing programs year round to prevent these tragedies while continuously advocating for water safety. The district has interfered with all our programs for almost two years now. So, school board members, the
district has steered you wrong about the pool. Use your responsibilities to return the pool to the way it was used for 49 years. Give the head coach the gate key and let him reinstitute all the programs. Thank you.
Thank you. Our last speaker is David Heaton. Good afternoon. Thank you for your time this morning, Madam Chair. This afternoon, I'm sorry. This Madam Chair, board members, I really want to comment on your agenda item tonight that is
related to committee assignments. I know you're trying to align those with the school year. I understand that perfectly within your purview. However, the children services council is different than some of the other committees that do align very appropriately with the
school calendar. Traditionally, and I know Amy's updated the documents in your agenda item tonight to reflect the statute and typical practice. typical practice is that uh all of the appointing
authorities appoint in November. That's kind of rooted in the election process in election election cycle. So when newly elected members of the commission, newly selected chief judge members are
uh appointed to the these boards. They've uh done that in November. So all those entities have time to train and orient them. This year we're kind of faced with some additional challenges that I want to share. We are in the midst of
gubernatorial appointments. We are down from 10 to seven members. Had several meetings where we've had quorum challenges. I don't have any time frame from the governor's office for those appointments. As we enter trim like you
are, we have quorum issues and it's important that we have as many members present as possible to get through those uh items. We've also found ourselves in the midst of a executive director search. My apologies, but I am retiring.
That is an important process for this board. U leadership is important. We are in a strategic planning cycle where we're updating our strategic plan. All of those things uh have been shephered very ablely by your representative
Krisha Lee Roberts. She's been an exemplary board member, detailoriented. You all know her as well as I do. We appreciate her leadership, her guidance. Uh I think it's important that she be with us through November so that we can
uh take advantage of her expertise and the continuity of her presence. She's been a member of our board for so long. Anybody who steps up in her shoes has very large shoes to fill. So I caution you because we're going to expect the same level of commitment from you. So if
you just consider I don't know what your your calendar is or your time frame for this decision, but please give us till November with Lee Roberts. We would appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Heaton. Okay,
we will now move to actiononly items. 18.01 school board travel. I have a motion to approve. Move approval of 18.01. Second. Motion by Miss Power, second by Dr. Mari. All those in favor?
Amy, need to call for public comment. Oh, I apologize. Do we have any public comment on school board travel? or any of these items. Can I ask for them all at once or as each one goes? Okay. It's really in statute that we have to
ask for travel. Okay. All right. 18.02 renewal. We have to vote, Madam Chair. Okay. Yep. I'm asking for um this is the renewal of children's services council of Martin County and
Education Foundation of Martin County PSSE Lab School Literacy Coaches. May I have a motion to approve? Madam Chair, we we didn't vote on 18.01. We were interrupted in the middle there when you asked for public comment. Can we vote on 18.01? M
I thought we had a motion by Miss Powers and a second by Dr. Mararti. Then we asked for public comment and now we need Okay. All those in favor I I motion carries unanimously. Thank you. 18.02 Renewal of Children's Services Council
of Martin County and Education Foundation of Martin County. May I have a motion to approve? Move to second. Second motion by Miss Roberts, a second by Dr. Mari. All those in favor? I
I 18.03 03 requisitions to be approved for purchase orders over $100,000. May I have a motion? Move. Motion by Miss Roberts, second by Miss Powers. All those in favor? I
I. Motion carries. 18.04 PSAC award recommendation of Warren County School District to Hedrickch Brothers. May I have a motion to approve? Second. I have a motion by Miss Roberts, second by Dr. Morardi. All those in
favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.05 approval of term contract to various fieldtrip chartered bus services. May I have a motion? Second. Have a motion by Miss Power, second by
Dr. Mari. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.06 06 approval to utilize Sourcewell cooperative contract. May I have a motion? Moved. Second. I have a motion by Miss Roberts, second by Miss Powers. All those in favor?
I. I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.07 Hidden Oaks Middle School storefront replacement, gymnasium entrance, and door replacement. May I have a motion? So moved. Second. Have a motion by Miss Power, second by
Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.08 RFQ 202425 Architectural Engineering Design Services Murray Middle School Building Replacement Project. May I have a
motion? Move to approve 18.08. Second. I have a motion by Dr. Mario, a second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. Hey, we're on 18.09,
the social media litigation. Do we have any discussion regarding this? Any information? Miss Powers, did you want to say? No, I was just going to move approval um with the caveat that we utilize if we do
um get any funds that we utilize it um to combat the social media um academ um epidemic that we're facing in our schools in our community.
So I'll sec is it it that the proposal that's in here? Is that the one that you're recommending? Okay. So I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Dr. Morardi. All those in favor? I
I superintendent evaluation instrument. I had a conversation with our superintendent this afternoon regarding the the domain seven and his individual um input from each of us. So I think we
can if we are going to approve this we can do it and then addendum with with the domain um information. May I have a motion? Moved. Second. I have a motion by Miss Roberts, second by Dr. Mararti. All those in favor?
I. Motion carries. Um, let's get through 1812 to 1816 and then we'll discuss the committee appointments. 18.12 King project for Anderson Middle School. May I have a motion?
Move approval. Second. I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I I motion carries unanimously. 18.13 Florida safe schools assessment certification. May I have a motion?
Move approval. Second. I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.15 PSSE replacement project new intercom system to include the Epic system. May I have a
motion? Move approval. Second. I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. 18.16 renewal centic crisis alert. May I
have a motion? Move approval. Second. I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. Madam, yes, Madam Chairs. Uh I we think we were
trying to keep track. We may have skipped 18.14 or we missed that. We're just trying to keep track. Oh, okay. I apologize. 18.14, District Best Practices Assessment. May I have a motion? So moved. I have a motion by Miss Powers.
Second by Miss Russell. All those in favor? I. Motion carries unanimously. me just get to the chart here and we are going to discuss appointments.
Today we're doing the statutory at another meeting we'll do the policy um the ones that we have policies for. So which attachment are you looking at? So
all same page I have to 18 I am looking at um so let's start we'll we'll go through we'll go through them for how about
alphabetically we'll start with children's services which which attachment are you looking at the second one on the top on the second column the one that says updated Okay, perfect. So, the boundary
boundary advisory, that's a policy. Okay, children's services is is um statutory. It says the governance year is October to September. I was under the impression that it was
November is the appointment, January is the swearing in. is that it typically takes place um the appointment is actually in December
and the then the next whatever the next meeting I mean that's when the board approves it typically elections happen in November we have the swearing in for if they're um the reelected or the new members and
then we have the list that we get we get that in November, right? And we talk about it at or we get the assignments at our December meeting. Well, um who wants to start the discussion?
Anyone? I will carry if nobody wants to in light of um Mr. Heaton's public comment and my I did a little bit on my own. I looked at their statute and
I also looked on their website and the the chair of the school board appoints and apparently and I could be wrong. And I want someone to correct me if I'm wrong, but on their website, they're
saying that whoever is appointed will do so for the the time that they are in that uh elected office. So, the superintendent won't change until a superintendent
changes. the board member, and again, correct me if I'm wrong, Sarah Herd, has been on the Children's Services Council since her election to the position of uh commissioner and has served, I believe,
I think it's 12 or 16 years. I don't know the exact time, but I feel that we should in in deference to what Mr. Mr. Heaton is saying when the chair of the school
board changes we can then talk about changing appointments but doing it now I think would cause a disruption. Where is that language that you're talking about? If you go on to children's services website and click on
our council or our members, they have a two sentence description of the members that are serving. They talk about the governor appoints for four years. the um superintendent.
It doesn't say the superintendent per se, but the understanding is that the superintendent of the school district remains there until a new superintendent is in place and
that the person that is elect is is to serve from the school board does so for the duration of their um time on the school board. I'm not so much concerned about that as I am about disrupting
their calendar and moving to take someone to do the position now will be a disruption for their process moving to the end of the year. It makes sense to me that
whoever is the chair this next term can then appoint someone to that position. But as me being the chair, I appointed Miss Roberts and that is my um
that is what I was tasked to do. So, I'm fine with us voting in November if someone else wants to um step in, but I don't see that it is practical to do
it now. And that is just my my opinion. And if anyone else would like to speak, they may do so. So, uh just a couple of things. Um, in all due respect to the Children's Services Council, the the term is decided by the school board. It's in
statute that we do provide um a representative on the Children's Services Council, but we we as a board dictate that. And when we brought this up, it wasn't really about the Children's Services Council, and I'm fine whatever we decide tonight in that.
It was how we as a group when this originally came up. How we as a group decide and I think we decided that we may want to change the way we decide who the committee or the committee appointments that we do it as a group
similar to what the county commission does. It wasn't really about any one committee. it was more about our own process that maybe that's not something that should just be through the board
chair because what happens and I know when I was the board chair too it's a tough decision because you have your list of um committees and everybody kind of puts and I always try to put in order of what which committees I would like to be serve on um and then you know if two
people want it the board chair decides ides where maybe that's something that we as a group and I thought that was why we brought up the committees in the first place is our process how we are going to decide as a group. So if two
people wanted to be on the children services council or the insurance committee that we as a group would have that conversation and decide very similar to what the county commission does and that's I did say at the end there in November if we have more than one person
that wants to do it I think it's great that we do do it that way but I was also feeling like we were trying to change the calendar of a of a standing organization
that has a different calendar than what we are used to with some of our other organizations. They don't install their new members till January. So, November is the good time to appoint someone new and we can have that discussion because
in November that's when the uh reorg takes place and then we start talking about committees. So January is not January may be if the governor happens to have appointed in December, but the
the October that is the the fiscal year October to September. So if we're going to make a decision based on fiscal year and I'm I'm okay with that, too, but let's be consistent. So then we'll just we'll have we'll have different times
throughout the year that different committees are going to come up because like insurance committee is as a school year committee. Correct. So that would be in August. Um children's services council if we want to go by um fiscal year then that's
their fiscal year starts October 1 to September 30th. Now the governor appointees I guess technically they would start January 1 or whenever the governor appoints so I mean that's a moving target so I
don't think January is the date so if we want to use fiscal year let's use fiscal year or you know like how we need to be consistent with all the organizations that you know go ahead just like bumbling it
I do just I apologize I agree that we should have a discussion every year on committees and that we make that decision. I was feeling that we were trying to pluck someone out mid year and replace
them with someone else and that maybe I made the wrong assumption. So what you're saying is totally agreeable to me and I think everyone would would follow that we should have the discussion if
you have more than one person who's interested in serving on a committee. Right. I agree with that. Absolutely. Go ahead. So I was going to say yes. I think we should have a discussion for when there's more than one person who does it who wants to be on a committee. Um I
think I know that the county commission I know that the judge I know that every the other people who are appointed that are not the governor appointees and not this for example the superintendent they're getting appoint they're normal I think probably the reason it fell out
this way is because there's usually usually an election in November so that if you change to well I want to be on their fiscal year the problem becomes okay well I'm going to be on their fiscal year, but if somebody new gets elected, then you're going to be in a
position where, okay, I'm on the fiscal year, I'm starting in October, I lose my election, now you're going to replace me with somebody else or the person who took my seat. Let's say I lose an election or I don't run again or whatever that then the next person comes
in and you're back to right where you were before with okay well I appointed somebody to start in October, but now I've got a new person who's coming into the seat. So now I've got to give them somebody new. So they're going to be
retrained and they're going to end up with two people in one year. So, I mean, I think that their their process and what they've been doing is they get the board chairs like the county commission. Um, they do their appointments at the end of the year after the election. I think it's probably the first meeting
after everybody's they do the same as us, similar to what and then it starts up for the next year. It gives children services council a chance to orientate and give some information to the person who's going to be sitting in that. they vote for their officers and who's going to be their
leadership people during that period of time. But I mean, I think that I would recommend just from my experience with them is to not go by their governance here and to go by the go by the same procedure that the county commission is doing and the same procedure that everybody else the one that we have in
place so that if somebody doesn't get elected to a position, you're looking at your new people that are there and saying from this group, this is who I would appoint. Well, and I'm fine with that, but we're talking about a lot of committees besides children's services council,
too. So, when you have like Clark Advanced Learning Center, they typically are more operating on a school year basis. They don't they're already adopted their budget in um by the end of November, well, well, in December when
someone new would be coming on. And so I don't know. Do we ask them what their timing what how they want their timing to be? I don't know. And I think you're going to end up with the same problem of if you don't make it so that you're making those decisions in
November, December, knowing that schoolboard members have eight-year term limits, you're going to be in a position where somebody who's serving in one of those capacities is not going to be the person who you appointed them in October. You appointed them at the beginning of the school year. And now this many months into it, you're redoing
it again anyway in December. So let's say I appoint for let's say Clark. So they're running July to June. So I appoint somebody in June to be the Clark person during the next school year, right? Which makes perfect sense. But then if that person isn't on the school
board starting in December, there's two meetings a year for Clark. One in the fall and one in one in the summer. So then you're kind of like, well now I've got to appoint another one and come back again. So which is fine, but I mean it's just that you need to recognize that that's what you're going to be doing. Whereas, if
you took it from somebody's elected term of office and you said, "Okay, we're going to do it in November." Because I know that if you were elected in November, you'll be there for the the next year and you'll be there for four years. You know, actually, that's the problem.
I mean, I see what you're saying. I just want to make sure that if we're taking all those into consideration that we take everyone into consideration like what is their preference on how they they do it. Are we going to I don't know.
Well, let's look at past history has I know value adjustment we do differently. We do FSBA advocacy differently because of the timing. We do that in June. Um, I don't know.
Well, and I don't know how if changing it if it's I'm not I'm not as concerned about the data. I'm concerned more about the process like how we get to where we as a group that we because I I think
sometimes people people might feel like they didn't have a voice in that process. And so I'm I'm more worried I'm more concerned about the process. Yeah. And I and I think that we should come up with honestly just one date that works to just appoint all the committees. whatever date that is, it
should be just the same across the board rather than figuring out throughout the year shuffling people in and out. If there's an election and someone gets replaced and whoever gets replaced gets automatically put onto that committee where the previous person was. But whatever date we do come up with and
this is a really good discussion. Um it should just be consistent across the board, just one date, whatever you guys want to do. I I think that um Miss Powers kind of honed it down to having the discussion at the time of the
appointment, whatever that time is, and having everyone have a voice. So if if two or more people want to serve on a particular committee, then we have a discussion about it and we take a vote
as a board to decide. majority makes the decision. So I am asking if we can have a motion. Is it okay to get a motion to agree that this is how we're going to do it moving
forward that when that comes time or are we just agreeing here? I'm not sure how you want to do it. So I'll make the motion that we continue with the normal practice with the exception of like value adjustment and the FSBA which fall outside the calendar but for everything
else do the normal appointments in the way that we've been doing them in the timing that we've been doing them but with a note that when those things are turned in that if there's more than one person who wants to be on a certain committee that we have a discussion
about that as a board and vote for it. Do we have a policy on this? There's there's no policy. Oh, so that might be something that we look at as well, but for the time being, I'd like something on the record so that
when it happens at our reorg meeting and we or beyond, I should say, when the appointments take place that we are fully engaged in having a discussion and the majority will will
decide who gets the appointment. Well, and I think we need to have a further discussion too. It doesn't have to happen today or tonight, but we have, you know, do we want to because we brought up in the past um I think at the workshop someone brought up like term
limits for certain committees so that people are naturally rotating around so that you're getting experience and you know I served on the insurance committee for many many many years and but I feel like it was something that other board
members needed to experience too because it's you really become very well-versed in all as aspects of our insurance. So, um I would be um
I would be amanable to adding something like that. I don't know what what would be like maybe it's two two years and then you rotate or there's a rotation pattern or you know the I think there's a lot to talk about other than should this maybe be a workshop for us
because the time of the year is is also like we're just throwing out dates and I I think we really need to look into a little bit more into that about what's the best time. So I don't know if you want to discuss it further at a workshop. I like what uh Miss Pritchette is saying though um and
about the voting in and the process. I do like that part of it, but where I disagree with your motion is you're saying do it in November. And I I don't think I'm with you on that. I think we need to talk about when is the best time. I don't know when the best time is honestly because I think we need to look at this a little bit deeper. So, uh I'd
be in favor of what our chair is is saying. Um but I still think the time of when all this should happen we should discuss further. The the timing seems is precipitated on the reorg
right the reorg happens and then the following month the chair collects everyone's wishes and makes her decision or his decision. So
we need to do it with the new chair every year. The chair is the one who who organizes and and presides over. If we do it any other time of the year,
then I I don't know. I'm I'm perfectly willing to change the time of year, but it seems that much of this is about when a new whether it's a new election or a
reorg takes place. Those to me are the are the are the factors. So, we can't change the reorg date. Well, you're still going to have a chair before, but that we're kind of taking away that that other than the
soliciting from the other all the information gathering the information from all the board members the the role of the chair which I actually like that that goes away and is more of a group decision than it is rests in the hands
of one person because it's not really I don't think it's fair to the board chair to have to make those tough decisions um especially if you're brand new or that we should have So I I'm really about the process,
right? But my point is you get the chart, right? The chair collects the input from the other board members and then we have the discussion and the vote. No one else is in in
possession of that. Right. Right. So when I say the chair and the reorg, I'm talking specifically about the process that takes place every year after the reorg. So
when Diane sends out the chart and asks everybody what they want, it goes to the chair. Do you want to change that process? Oh, okay. So that's I mean or it could just for that matter it can go to the superintendent and he
can just distribute it to us. It's I mean however we want to do that. I'm just going by Yeah. I'm in my third year and and we've done this for three years. Yes. Well year and it's the way we
Exactly. Exactly. So um I think the motion just my opinion the motion was made we can continue to have discussion but I
think we need to have that process of as a body we decide who's going to to represent each of these committees. It isn't just the chair saying and picking that we will all decide if we have two or more people who want to be on that
committee or a committee. So I think we need to get over that hurdle before we start the other pieces. So that's just my two cents to make a motion process.
Yeah. What's wrong? Or you just it didn't get a second so you're you're gone. Okay. So I make a motion that um when committee appointments are decided
that we they will all be presented to the board and the if there are um multiple board members seeking the same that we will have the same position. We will have the discussion and take a vote
on those on those um openings in the committee appointments. Second. I have a motion by Miss Powers and a second by Dr. Marity to change the process to include um the entire board's
input if there's two or more people seeking uh an open position. All those in favor? I I motion carries unanimously. So now I'd like to move to the um we
have several committees that we discussed of possibly um changing or terminating. So we'll start with um the code of student conduct. Do I have any discussion
regarding the code of student conduct and whether or not we should keep keep that as a committee? Are we moving beyond the statutory committees now and now we're going to the Yes, because it was the process that we
were. So all of our statutory committees are going to be done the same way. two or more people want to be on those statutory committees, it will be voted by the body.
The second port part of this is we discussed some committee work that maybe is no longer necessary. So I'm moving to I'm asking about the code of student conduct. We talked about possibly
um it's not a policy and it's not statuto. It's a practice. Is that a committee we want to continue? So, um, Madame Chair, I know that, um, we've received advice before, I believe,
from you, Mr. George, that when we are on committees, we are there not to promote an interest or something. We're there more to observe and to be there in that manner. So things like the student
code of conduct um and even the insurance committee um I think that we don't necessarily need a board appointee for those. I would encourage any board member to go
to the insurance committee meetings mainly because we're not going to be discussing board members wouldn't be discussing anything that they're going to vote on but just the information that you get from being at that committee makes a difference you know and I think that if we didn't have one person for
example if Mrs. Russell was the person who was the designate on the insurance committee. I'm not going to go to the meeting because I would feel that I'm stepping on your toes. Whereas if nobody was appointed to it and any board member could come to it, then it's you may be there, I may be there, Mrs. Pritchette
might be there, Marcia may be there, and Dr. Morardi might I mean, we all might be there. It's an advertised meeting. We're not going to be making any comments that, well, I would never vote for that. I don't think that's correct, etc. we're there more to observe and to listen to what's going on. And I think
it would um behoove anybody to have that level of information. So whether it's the um code of conduct or whether it's the insurance committee, I look at those two kind of the same way. Um we're talking about not having a code of
conduct, not about our representation, right? I'm saying we had discussions about not having those committees as committees anymore. Okay. Not our representative. So I don't think we can do it for the
insurance committee. So just code of conduct. I don't think we need that committee anymore. If that's what you're looking I'm looking to find out from the board. Why are you laughing? I'm laughing at Miss Roberts. Well, I caught her. It's okay.
I'd like to know from the board if we feel a code of student conduct committee is necessary at this time. So, do you want a motion to I do. Okay. I'd like to make a motion that we
um abolish the student code of conduct committee. And we I I mean I think we have so many advertised um meetings and opportunities for public input that we um at multiple times. So
I'm I'm good with that. So I have a motion by Miss Powers, a second by Miss Roberts to abolish the code of conduct committee. All those in favor? I I motion carries unanimously.
The next committee, it's a board policy, the district advisory council. Uh, Superintendent Maine, you would talk to me about kind of switching it up to something else or can we talk about that just a little bit?
Uh, yes, Madam Chair. So the district advisory council for a long time has served as an extension of a school advisory council representatives that attend at the district level and historically uh whomever it's it's changed over the years but it was either
uh someone that was in the curriculum and instruction department or the individual that oversees school improvement process. Uh in this event last year it was Dan Moore. Uh this year moving forward it would be uh Mrs. Gford. Uh in speaking to Dan Moore and speaking to Mrs. Gford, they feel that a
lot of times they are representing information to a very small select group of individuals that tend to also go to school advisory councils and participate in other school-based events and they are receiving the same information. We
are not um getting it out there to a different audience, if you will. So, uh, executive director Gford has expressed potentially changing that up to be more of a virtual event, a teams event where maybe we get a larger audience of participants. They don't have to come to
the district office for an official meeting. Uh, perhaps that would encourage more participation, but it is something that can also be pushed out through other means. Uh, not something that we believe at this time needs to continue happening. Uh I would like to
see the state of the district replace the district advisory uh committee because we will get to the business community and other constituents beyond just our school-based uh individuals. Well, and the advi that just the name of
the committee um the district advisory council I think is very misleading. Um I don't know that they're truly advising on any specific thing. I I was a member of the
of DACK for a couple of years. Um and it was was a lot of information sharing and I feel like our staff were talking to other staff and so um I don't know how we replace it with something with a one
if there is something or if there is a need. I think um the SAC meetings are great places to share updates like that with parents that are engaged and students that are engaged already at at each individual school. So I I would be
in support of you know that that district advisory council being abolished and that's so in doing that do we have to um resend the policy? We'll have to go ahead please. I just want to say that
there's places like Riverbend. They don't really have a sack because there aren't any parents to draw from. So there's a representative that comes from Riverbend and she's a part of that who's actually been the chair last year and I think of doing that again because it does give her of an outlet. She's there
and she can hear all this information that they're not really getting like the other schools do with their sack. They don't have one. I I definitely sympathize with that, but one person. Yes. I just think about to make sure
that we util you know can she join um like what you're talking about on the teams like having a virtual I would because it's a policy uh and Mr. George, correct me if I'm wrong, but what I would like to see have happen is
just maybe we we have some direction that it is possible that the district advisory council even by the name itself may no longer be suiting what we are what you are looking for as a board. So the policy would need to be amended, brought forward through the policy
process. At that point through a workshop, you can change the name of the council or whatever we're going to call it to include and make sure that Mrs. Gford has an opportunity to even present to you what her plan would be to make
sure that the information is getting out and that the proper people are around whatever fashion we decide. Uh but we would need to go through policy change process to amend that.
So while this is happening, will there be DAC meetings? Yes, we would continue as normal until the policy was agreed upon, voted on, changed, made official. Okay. All right.
But I believe Mrs. Roberts has um Madam Chair, I was going to um perhaps ask if we could take a short recess and have our attorney look at these four policies or four committees that are established by policy. The
Niola template has reference statutes. So for example, on the district advisory council, it references 101.41.43 and point452. So I don't know what those statutes if those statutes are requiring us to have
that and I think before we statute that's the difference we separated them out. No, the policy policy 2140 for the district advisory council. When you look up policy 2140, it references three statutes. And
usually when it's referencing a statute, the statute is giving some direction on what you're supposed to be doing or something. But I would hate for us to vote here to abolish a committee and then come back and find out. Wait, that point 43 said that you must have this.
So, I was just suggesting maybe if we took a short break, Mr. George would be able to look at those four policies and see whether there's the statutory references. So, if you um got GPT, it it says it
actually um references uh chapter 101.452. Yeah. And it does say, but I guess there's going to be some um nuances, but SAC is the school level and
DAC is so all the members of sack go to deck. That's how but I covered um we could call it something else and make it more virtual like we can I think
we can fine-tune the policy that suits currently how it I think we would have more engagement if it were um a team's meeting or something like that. But yeah, we hear from Mr. George on this or Madam Chair, I would prefer if the board
is okay with it that you all do your motion subject to legal review. That way I'm not sitting here if I go to one statute being referenced to another. I would not you all to pause the meeting while okay and there's the four board based
policies too but it does say that for schools operating um it within DJJ which is probably they have the they have the option of establishing a deck but they don't have to.
Yeah. So, um, are we do we want to I'm not sure how you want this phrased. We want a motion to um
under legal review. I can't make the motion, but so I would make a motion that we um direct the superintendent to review the policy and make a recommendation regarding the status of the DAC committee because it's sack and DAC go
together and it appears from the statute that it's DAC is an option sack is not right. So um take the recommendation of the superintendent on how he would like to move forward. Whatever the statute says
we have to do, we obviously will do and then if it's option act on the recommendation of the superintendent. Can you add all three policies? Three policies. All four that have a policy list because those are the ones that have a
well reference. Do we does everybody want to the same fate for all the other policies? I think we need to know what it is. I mean, I think we need to know whether it's it's required by the reference statutes or not. I mean, I think well, I
know the Head Start policy board is required. School health advisory is right, but the statutory ones are not the ones we're dealing with. We're only deal and sack are Zach is Dak isn't
boundary advisory. Oh yeah. Boundary advisory. DAC school calendar and strategic plan are policies. So So Marcia, I'll second your motion if you include boundary advisory, school calendar committee and strategic plan to
it. You want to? I agree. I agreed. Okay. Okay. So, we have a motion by Miss Powers and a second by Miss Roberts to look into the statutory components of
the four committees that are board policy and come back and give us a recommendation. All those in favor? I motion carries unanimously. So,
so wait back to like the other They are a little bit different because the boundary advisory committee, the school calendar committee and the strategic plan are not statutory at all. Correct. So the only reason we would look at
district advisory is because it is um there is some statutory language. But I think we the superintendent should know if we do we want to do away with those committees. I think the boundary advisory committee should not be an
annual appointment because we very rarely look at boundaries. I think we've looked at it we looked at it once never acted on it. Um, so I don't necessarily So I didn't look in chat GTP, but I did
look under policy number 7100 and it's referencing four statutes that are driving that policy policy that lists that has to do with policy 7100, the Neola template for that policy. So,
so much as I trust you because you know these things, but all I'm saying is that I don't think that this needs to be an appointed position annually because I I I love being on the boundary advisory committee because they never meet. So it should be
a um but but my it should be a pointed for the action if we're going to look at the boundary that it should only be then that we so as needed. So I think there's a
difference because in one case we're completely abolishing the code of conduct committee whether it's a representative or anything. The committee is gone but I don't know if the boundary advisory committee needs to remain but we just don't need to have a representative on it.
Like whether the statute says that if you're going to change boundaries there needs to be a committee meeting of interested parties etc etc. I don't know if that language is in there. Okay. But if that language is in there, if it doesn't require one of us to be there, but it still requires that committee to
be established, then we can take ourselves out of it, but it we can't abolish a committee. Well, no, it's appointed as needed. That as as opposed to me um me or you or anybody else saying I want to be on the boundary advisory committee come
November, right? But because they never meet. So, I'm just talking about again, we go back to timing when the appointment happens. If it's a committee that we don't have to have since it's a decision that the board makes anyway, the same way that
the um the code of conduct is, we can completely abolish the committee if we're allowed to eliminate the committee. And I'm all for completely abolishing any of these extra meetings that people go to if we're if we're not required to. So I would like to know
whether the committee itself is required to meet and whether we're required to have a representative on it. So I mean I think those are the two questions because if it's not if we aren't required to have a representative and it's not required to meet then what are we even doing that we could just get rid of the whole thing
like we did with the code of conduct you know but that's why I said I would second your motion if you added the other three that had policies that had So then our legal can look at it and find out if we have So are we agreeing that if it is not
statutoily required that it will go away? Is that what you're saying in your motion? Because no, it was your motion for legal to look at it. But yes, if it comes back and none of those are required, then yes, I would be all for eliminating as many. But you had you amended the motion. I
amended it to add three committees because then like the boundary advisory committee not statutory but um so if are we agreeing that if it's not
statutory it we're going to remove it as for direction to the superintendent so we can start the policy update. That what you want your motion to say? I mean no I want to know what the board thinks. So the motion doesn't die.
Well, so let me just ask point of clarification. At one time the boundary committee was necessary. Correct. So my way of thinking is the boundary comm
advisory should be an ad hoc committee that's necessitated when we have to deal with boundaries. So abolishing it completely all that means is at some future time someone else is going to have to resurrect it.
But don't we we have a policy on ad hoc committees right separate. So that would be that would fall under as needed. Right now we don't need one and we don't need anybody going to them. So I'm I'm
all for that. I just want to make sure that at some future point it can be resurrected if if it's necessary. Go ahead. No, superintendent. I'm sorry. I was just going to say that yes, I think if we
I like the motion that was there to at least give me the opportunity to look through those. We tried to make sure that when Mrs. falls went through those that were policy driven that we tried to include the ones that we did go through the statutes and were very clear that
the statutes did not tie us legally to anything. Okay. But I would like to be able to go through those very quickly one more time come up with some uh language for you potentially that you could then because for instance the boundary advisory we
could add in there can be called upon at the time of need. Right now we have no need for boundary committees and I don't foresee that anywhere in the near future. So okay but for instance calendar committee staff is more than capable of putting
together three calendar options for you with slightly different variations bringing it before the board presenting them to you allowing there to be public comment on any of those and then the board voting to make a decision. Okay. So, and then the strategic plan
um is that something that has been mied in the recent future? I don't recall it. We get a we get a appointment every year, but I think we discussed that when we talked about the committees was that
it should be a board a board everyone should should be participating in the strategic planning. Okay. not just one single board member. Okay. So maybe that needs to be rewritten to include the body of the
board. So with regard to the motion that Miss Roberts made or miss, she amended. I accepted. Okay. Do we need to say it again or can we just vote on it?
So when are we going to when are we going to talk about this again? are voting to send it back. I don't know that we even need to vote to send it back. Okay. So, we are we're asking we're Yeah, we can work it. Um
because I mean it appears that we need additional information to make a decision whether we abolish committees or not. So, we need more information in order to do that. So we can do that at a workshop.
Would it be September or October? Okay. We can workshop it in September and then at the September regular meeting possibly make a final determination. That sound good with everyone? Sounds good. So I'll withdraw my motion.
Okay. a second or agree. Sure, I'll withdraw. Motion withdrawn. Okay. So now we are first review of school board policy 19.01 suspension or dismissal of
administrators. [Music] Do I have any comments from the public regarding any of these policies? I move approval of the advertising of 1140 suspension or dismissal of administrators
um 1902 1160 3160 and 4160 and 1903 1161 3161 and 41617 okay second where did you stop at 190 193 1903 I did the first three okay
04 uh school improvement. Oh, we have to I apologize. May I have a motion? Got my motion and Marsha second. Okay. Motion by Miss Roberts, second by Miss Powers. All those in favor? I I 19.04
school improvement. I move approval of 19 the advertising of 19.04 194 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 19.10
1911 I'll second that. 1912. Wait, hold on. 1912, 1913, and 1914. Okay, I'll second that. Motion by Miss Powers, second by Miss Roberts. All those in favor? I I
motion carries unanimously. Okay. Open to the board. Go ahead. I just want to take a moment to recognize the incredible leadership of Deputy Superintendent Tracy Miller and Chief Jen Deal.
Their unwavering dedication, vision, and commitment to excellence have made a lasting impact on our schools and our community. whenever there is an issue that I've come up with, they both jump in immediately respond and get things resolved
and I really didn't appreciate the criticism earlier because I think that that was unfair, but I am truly grateful for what both of them do for the district. So, thank you both for everything. Anyone else open to the board?
Oh, yeah. I had a couple things. I wanted to thank the Jensen Beach Chamber and Lori Vogel and um Jensen Beach High School for hosting the welcome back breakfast for the Jensen Beach Chamber. Um I think you know that Children's Services Council is having their trim
meetings. Those are on September 8th and September 22nd. The executive director search for Children's Services Council. Um pretty soon the portal will be opening with all the applications and they'll be willing to receive comments on any of those applicants that anybody
wants to um comment on. And Helios did a webinar about scholastic partnerships and there's a position paper if anybody's interested in that um I can forward that to Diane Falls and you can be able to read that. And I would like to thank Ruth at transportation and Mark Serest for all their work that they did
over the summer to get us to where we are. Not that everybody else didn't do work, but I mean I think that you guys really did a good job. Thank you. So, um I wanted to um say what a nice uh
event at the uh YMCA in Indian Town on Saturday, a back to school event. It was lovely. It was hotter than Hades, but it was really nice. We had uh hot dogs and and uh chips and water and soda. Uh Mr.
Powers was the was the barbecue chief and Miss Powers was his second in command and Jen was there giving out passports for the kids. They had tables all set up around the perimeter and the kids could go up and get their passports
stamped and they had a bubble machine. They had a little petting zoo, if you want to call it that. uh Kona Ice. It was just really nice. So, that was a great event. I look forward to going to them in the future. And my only other
comment is legislative committee. We if we want to have anything go to FSBA for their platform. I think we have a window of about I think it's September 5th is the deadline. So um
uh Superintendent Maine had asked me to mention that. So if you have any any um things that you want to put forward, please do them. You can go on the FSBA portal and do that. Um and uh thank you. It was a sure it was a
great a great first meeting back. I appreciate everyone's input. Everyone worked really hard um to make it almost seamless. It was a great first week and I appreciate everyone's hard work. Um, I just want to say um, great job on
the first week of school. Everyone just it was amazing. I I always step back that week because it is a moment for all of our teachers and administrators and parents to be experience that excitement and the hard work that you all do every
um, all year long. And the culmination comes with the first day and the last day. I know they're both exciting days, but I have to say this year in all my years on the school board has been the best start to the school year. The excitement in the community, the every
every single employee um you just feel it. It was really amazing. And Kirsty with the videos were over the top. I when I was actually on vacation and I was only able to watch news from Miami
and they were talking about our school district and the things that were happening in Martin County. So, it was really really amazing and um I just kudos to everyone who did an amazing job kicking the year off. I even um I know
we missed our the big kickoff with the guest speaker, but I felt like it was even almost even better because it was all week long leading up to and then all week it was just the best start to the school year ever. So, thank you all very
very much. Um, one of the other things I want to bring up to the board, and I know we probably need to workshop this later, is um, you know, as we talk budget, and I really appreciate, um, the cuts in our budget, um, you know, that really impact our taxpayers, and I know
that these are not easy um, decisions to make, but I want to talk about I want to talk about our expenses, and I know we talk a lot about our construction projects, and we have a lot in the pipeline. and really talk about how we can start
to save some additional dollars. I've talked a little bit about this with the superintendent and I think it's time for us to look at capacity at schools where where we have room because we do have quite a few schools that are not at capacity. Our high schools are full, but
our elementary and middle schools are not. So, I think it's a good opportunity before we start building multi-million dollar brand new buildings that we take a look at that as a board and decide and prior prioritize because we have a lot
of space that we're not using. And I don't want to be um I want to be efficient and fair to the taxpayers that we're spending those dollars wisely. So I would like to have if the rest of the
board agrees to have that conversation at a future workshop and really kind of talk through where we are with enrollment. And then the other thing I wanted to talk about was um there is a proposal and I think um ads has talked
about um a system I'd like to learn more about it of accountability for the family empowerment scholarship like how changes that could be made to the system so that those parents those families
that are receiving those dollars that there's more accountability process and that we we can be assured as taxpayers that those dollars are being spent the way they should. So, I'd like to have I I think is this superintendent from
Sarasota County? But if we could get as a board, I think we should hear what those proposals are and kind of tweak our own so that we can um be educated to provide our feedback to FSBA on those because I think it will
be a hot topic. I think that we have an opportunity this coming legislative session. I think that they're going to be listening to um to school districts, not because we want Florida family empowerment scholarships
to go away, but we just need to to create a better system that doesn't put all the burden on school districts and that taxpayers are feeling like our money is going the right places. Superintendent.
Yes. Just uh two items. one I wanted to for the record and I appreciate um Dr. Morardi bringing this up but I I wanted everybody to know that again the decision to close the pool was my decision as the superintendent uh given the fact that we had some information uh
from not only the health department but our maintenance and facilities department that the pool was in desperate need of uh renovations and with the support of the board approving those renovations we were able to do that and get the pool open. Uh it's it's
clean. The the we we met the deadlines thanks to the hard work of of the team. Uh and the swim team has been in it the entire uh all last week and also this week swimming and practicing. Uh and there were arrangements made with Silfish Splash for our all of our teams
to continue practicing and they didn't miss a beat and we even got a championship out of out of it. So, uh, I do want to make sure that the public understands clearly that the pool was not closed by Dr. Miller. The pool was closed by myself, the superintendent of schools, uh, as recommendation from my
staff and the health department that things needed to be corrected and then the board approving the financing to get those renovations completed. So, thank you uh, for the opportunity um, Madame Chair for being able to clear that up. The other thing too, I did want to thank
the board for uh having dialogue, robust dialogue about our finances, robust dialogue uh in listening to our taxpayers at the last workshop which gave myself and our team the opportunity to go back and really look at our capital budget. uh six over $6 million
in the reorg uh for taxpayer savings and then being able to do another 23 million out of our capital so that we hold fast at the 2425 uh spending levels is very important and I believe that our board all of you myself and the team is committed to
financial transparency uh the taxpayers association based on some feedback that I've received is very happy with the progress that we are making and the level of transparency that we have and I appreciate the support from the board and being able to make those changes and doing it together as a team uh for for
our constituents and for the public and community. So, thank you. I do have one tiny more thing. I promise I won't take long. Um, with the president's uh physical fitness, I believe u Miss Powers, you made a comment at at one of our last meetings
regarding us developing a policy um to to bring forward. I'd like to um start that ball rolling and perhaps at the September workshop uh have like a skeletal thing in place
that we can look at. Um, I was actually approached by another board member in another county who'd love for Florida to be like the cutting edge on developing a policy that the nation could adopt. Um,
they're very excited about it. So, I think it's a good opportunity for us and for the state of Florida to be to be who people want to copy in the policy. So, I am going to put something on the September workshop for everyone to look
at and then we can just talk about it. I'm really excited for the that was such a big part of our um growing up the presidential physical fitness and getting the patch every year and um the eraser puddle.
Yeah, I I can't wait. I'm gonna have to go and observe the PE classes. It was so um so nostalgic for me. Exciting thing. With that this meeting is adjourned.