Good morning. I call this meeting of the Penllis County School Board on July 14th, 2026 to order. Please stand for a moment of silence and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance led by Vice Chair Don Peters
in for the national anthem. Say you see by the dawn. But so proudly we held at the twilight lasting
brought stripes and bright stars through the perilous we were so and the rockets and the bombs bursting
in gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled
yet for the land of the free and the home of the Thank you. You may be seated. Now on to
agenda item 1.5, the Italian dinner cooking camp. This specific camp, it's an introduction to Italian dinner and just kind of get them a little bit excited as to having a completely home-cooked meal. The point of this is to show them that
they have an opportunity to learn how to improve on the life skill of cooking. I didn't know like how to use a knife. So, I learned how to do that. And the recipes I'm definitely going to take home and try to learn more.
The menu today consisted of four different parts of the meal. They cut fresh vegetables, zucchini, yellow squash, onions. They minced a lot of garlic. You know, garlic is important in Italian cuisine.
Once they cut their ingredients or their vegetables, they roasted them. They made homemade pasta cut into tagell which is feruccini just a little bit on the whiter side and they tossed that in a homemade tomato creamy sauce along
with a nice garlic roll. It was fun and it was entertaining and it was also educational because then I can do it at home next time if I if I'm ever alone or hungry I can always make some pasta from scratch by myself. one of my helpers.
Four years ago, he joined he joined the summer kit program when he learned how to make pasta. >> I attended and it was everything I wanted it to be. It was teaching you how to build something from scratch that you never thought you would be able to do. So, it was just amazing. I just loved
it. >> As soon as he got the taste of what it's like, this specific kitchen and just being able to to have access into an industrial kitchen, he was like, "This is it." Like, this is what I want to do. Sometimes it sparks them and then they want to become a chef and sometimes they're like, "Oh, you know what? I want
to use a dishwasher here because I don't have the dishwasher at home." So, it's easier and and it just it it gets them introduced into the opportunities that they have within culinary and the hospitality industry here in Bas County. So, everything from zero to 100 and now
they get to enjoy it after they do all the hard work. >> Wow. we are seeing the opportunities that are provided to our students over the summer um for the past few board meetings and it's amazing having the opportunity to
learn how to create a meal from scratch. So, thank you to the instructors as well as the parents and students who are participating in the program. Now, on to agenda item 1.6, introduction of professional and community organization
representatives. Missing. >> Good morning, Madame Chair, members of the board, Mr. Hendendrick and staff. It is my pleasure to introduce the following members, representatives of community and professional organizations representing the North Panelis League of
Women Voters. Jean Reynolds from the Penelis Arts for a Complete Education Coalition. Steve Batty. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Welcome. Now on to agenda item two. Mr. Henrik. Mr.
Hendrick, are there any changes to the agenda? >> Yes, Madam Chair. There is one addition to the agenda item 7.27. Request approval of the administrative appointment of the principal at Penelis Park Elementary School. Uh that was not posted seven days ago. It was posted yesterday as we finished up that process
in preparation for the new school year. >> Board members, do you have any changes? I find good cause to amend the agenda as described. Now on to Now on to the adoption of the agenda. As
board chair, I find good cause to amend the agenda as described by Superintendent Hendendrick. May I have a motion to adopt the agenda as amended? I have a motion from Mrs. Hind and a second from Mrs. Meyer. The the agenda
has been adopted as amended. All those in favor, please say I. >> Any oppose? The motion to adopt the agenda as amended carry seven to zero. We will now move on to special order
agenda. There are no special order items. So now moving on to agenda item five. Mrs. Hal, are there any speakers for agenda items? >> Madam Chair, there are no speakers for agenda items this morning. >> Thank you. And now we are on to
unfinished business. Board members, may I have a motion to approve agenda item 6.1, public hearing to consider the amendments to policies 5500.07, code of student conduct discipline 55
00.08 code of student conduct misconduct that requires specific consequences and 5500.09 code of student conduct conduct on school buses. This is the second
reading. There are no changes. >> I have a motion from Mrs. Peters and a second from Mrs. Blackburg. Mr. Hendrickk, would you please introduce the item? >> Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the annual update to our code of student conduct. Of course, the board has workshopped and we had a first reading
of this policy and here to talk about the second reading and have the public hearing is our director of strategic planning and policy, Lyanna is Miss. >> Good morning, Madame Chair, board members, Superintendent Hendrick, staff and community. There have been two board
workshops discuss discussing these policies. The first was in April and the second was in June. The first reading of these policies was on May 19th and there are no changes to these policies since first reading. Annually, the district engages with stakeholders to review the
student code of conduct and align it with state law and district practices. The proposed amendments are designed to improve clarity, consistency, and understanding of expectations for student behavior and consequences. The amendment to policy 5500.07 07
consolidates misconduct, disciplinary action, suspension, and expulsion from the current policies 550007, 550010, and 5512 into a single cohesive policy, streamlining discipline guidelines for
students, families, and staff. This policy change also removes the wireless communication device section from the existing policy 550007 to support the creation and adoption of a standalone policy on the topic.
Policy 55008 maintains all legally required consequences while refining language regarding discipline related to felony arrests and off-campus conduct. The suspension process is also removed from this policy as it's incorporated into 550007.
Policy 55009 adds rules for electric transportation such as ebikes and ecooters. The new rules include definitions, storage requirements, and safety expectations aligned with state law. We recommend
approving these amendments. >> Thank you, board members. Is there any discussion? I have a motion in a second to approve item 6.1. All in favor, please. >> Madam Chair, >> I apologize for the interruption. Um, we'll ask for speakers because it's a
public hearing. >> Pardon? Yes. Mrs. Hal, are there any speakers? >> Madam Chair, there are no speakers for this item. >> Thank you. Thank you. Board members, any discussion? I have a motion and a second to approve item 6.1. All in favor, please say I. I.
Any opposed? The motion passes 70. Now on to agenda item 6.2. Board members, may I have a motion to approve agenda item 6.2, public hearing to consider the repel of
policies 5500.10, 10 C code of student conduct disciplinary action and 5500.12 code of student conduct suspension/expulsion in the adoption of policy 5500.10
code of student conduct wireless communication devices. This is the second reading. There are no changes. I have a motion from Mrs. Blackburg and a second from Mrs. Long. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce the item?
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. By your previous action in 6.1, you combined and put together several discipline policies to make it easier for the public to see those as well as students in the actual code of conduct. In doing so, as Mrs. Eison just mentioned, you also created uh a separate wireless communication
device policy. So, this is the repeal of those policies you just combined and now the wireless communication device which will be standalone. So, with that, our director of strategic planning and policy, Mrs. and will summarize these items. >> The amendments are part of the code of
student conduct updates for the 2627 school year. They were discussed during the April school board workshop and first reading on May 19th, 2026. Following the recommended amendment to policy 550007 to consolidate misconduct, disciplinary action, suspension, and
expulsion into a single cohesive policy. We're recommending the repeal of policies 5510 code of student conduct disciplinary action and 5512 code of student conduct suspension expulsion. Additionally, we recommend the adoption of a new policy 5510 wireless
communication devices. This policy separates wireless communication device rules and expectations from the student discipline policy improving clarity and reference for students, families, and staff. The new wireless communication device policy maintains and strengthens
the existing expectations for wireless communication devices while adding definitions for and prohibited use of wearable recording devices such as smart glasses. The policy also clarifies that smart watches are to be used only for
timekeeping and location tracking. We recommend repealing the existing policies 550010 and 5512 and adopting a new policy 550010 titled Code of Student Conduct Wireless Communication Devices.
>> Thank you, Mrs. Hal. Are there any speakers? >> Madam Chair, there are no speakers for this item. >> Thank you. Board members, is there any discussion? Mrs. time. >> Just for the public's sake, if you're tuning in kind of for one of your first times, this is the second reading of
this policy. So, we've had a lot of discussion and workshopped and gone over these with a fine tooth comb before, but so that's why you don't hear us necessarily discussing it up here today, but we have been through it in workshop, first reading, second reading. Um, just wanted to let you know.
>> I have a motion and a second to approve item 6.2. All in favor, please say I. Any opposed? The motion passes 70. Now we are on to the consent agenda. May
I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda as amended? >> I have a motion from Mrs. Long and a second from Mrs. Blackburg to approve the consent agenda as amended. All in favor, please say I.
>> Any opposed? The motion passes seven to zero. Now on to non consent. Board members, may I have a motion to approve agenda item 8.1, request approval of the office of safe
schools quarterly inspection report. >> I have a motion from Mrs. Meyer and a second from Mrs. Peters. Mr. Hinder, would you please introduce? >> Thank you, Madam Chair. As you are aware, for the last two years, the Office of Safe Schools as they conduct
investigations and inspections in our schools provides to the board a report each quarter that the board must bring up and then vote on uh for that report. As you'll see on this one, we have 140 facilities. They inspected 14 sites during the fourth quarter of the school
year. And that is, you know, fairly consistent with previous ones. The report that we receive is their report. They print it out for us. They give it to us. We then bring it to you for approval. Of course, it's not the only piece of safety and security that we work on. Mr. Joel and his team,
including members of our school's police team, do inspections routinely. There are laws about how many times a school must be inspected by our team as well as the office of safe schools. I bring all this up to say the report that we receive, I know the board members have had questions in the past about the data
on it and how the calculations are done and the percentages and once again we have a little bit of some numbers that don't tell a complete story uh which is different than any other one that we've received. The way that they calculated the percentage this time is the first time to our knowledge that they've
calculated it this way. So I understand the concern from the board of why does this keep changing? Why isn't it consistent? We have the same concern and we've shared that concern with the office of safe schools. The data isn't bad in any way. It's just that it continues to change a little bit and if you have not been paying attention for
the last eight quarters, you may not know how that's evolved. So with that in mind, our director of safety and security, Sean Joel, will give us an update on this quarter's report. Mr. Joel, >> thank you, sir. Madam Chair, members of the board, Superintendent Hendrick, staff and community, good morning. As
superintendent said, we did receive our fourth quarter compliance inspection report as mandated by the state school safety legislation. Within that reporting period, there were 14 of our campuses that were inspected or reinspected. And that's important as I
move forward on this. Of the 14, 11 of those campuses were found to have no deficiencies noted, so that they passed 100% as far as from a safety compliance standpoint. Of the remaining three, the deficiencies that were located by the
Office of Save Schools had or consisted of uh a doorway that had malfunctioning hardware, uh a doorway that was found to be uh unlocked at that particular time. We had some areas where the safe areas had to be more visibly notated and
revised to show that to be in in line with the state statutory requirements. All those that I just mentioned, once those were brought to our attention, which was the very day the inspections were conducted, uh, as we always do, we contacted and worked with the lead administrators and their team directly.
All these were corrected within that same day, either through corrective actions, uh, fixing, changing out the hardware to the doors to ensure that it did secure and latch correctly each and every time. So to the principles and their team's um credit, these things
were handled immediately and squared away to the satisfaction of both our office and the office of safe schools. Having said that and to speak to what Superintendent Hedrickk was talking about, the representation with the report was a little bit different again
this quarter. uh as I mentioned last reporting period last quarter uh we have asked and been working closely with the office of safe schools to revise the report that we receive so that each one of the columns whether it's the numbers being depicted or are presented or the
percentages that there is a definition that clearly explains how they reach those particular numbers andor percentages and speaking with Mr. Mercer directly from FDOE. He has been working on it. I spoke to him again this week. He assured me that his goal is to ensure
that those revisions are completed and approved so that we will see those on the Q1 or first quarter report with the beginning of the next academic year. Having said that, so we understand the numbers. So 13 of
11 were reported or 11 of the 13 in that last uh column that was within the report. The reason being is that one of the schools had a reinspection of a incident or a deficiency found under reinspection on Q3. The reinspection the second one was done in Q4. They did not
consider that to be a primary inspection or primary reinspection. That's why they took it from 14 to 13 for that particular reporting column and that would explain the 82 or 84.62% of compliance. Um with that uh I'll take
happy to take any questions you may have. Thank you board members. Any questions? Mr. Joel, thank you very much for following up on these issues and continuing to stay in communication as well as to share with us what the
numbers means. It is appreciated. >> Um so keep up the great work on that and I'm looking forward to a quarter one report that clearly defines how the math is math. >> We are as well math. Thank you very much. >> So, I have a motion and a second to
approve item 8.1. All in favor, please say I. >> Any opposed? The motion passes seven to zero. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next is agenda item 8.2. Board members,
may I have a motion to approve agenda item 8.2, 2 request approval of the 2728 calendar and special observant days. Second, >> I have a motion from Mrs. Hyde and a
second from Mrs. Peters. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce? >> Yes, Madam Chair. We have not begun the 2627 school year, but it's time for the 2728 school calendar. So, our calendar committees with a lot of different stakeholders have met and are recommending the calendar that you see
in front of you today. And to explain that is our chief of human resources, Mr. Michael Vigu. Mr. Bigu. >> Morning board members, superintendent Hendricks, staff and community. Our calendar committee, which consists of students, parents, teachers, administrators, union represent uh
representatives, district staff, Mrs. Hine from the board, higher education representatives, and community partners met on May 18th and then again on June 8th. Their involvement and valuable input led to this recommendation. For your review and consideration are drafts
of our proposed yes 2728 calendars which include descriptors for the instructional calendar, visual representations to the student calendar, the 10-month teacher calendar, and the 11.5month teacher staff calendar and our
proposed special observance days. Some highlights include the first days starting on August 10th, which is the earliest allowable for students based on state guidelines. Thanksgiving, winter, and spring breaks consistent with previous years. Ensuring we have a non-
studentent day at the end of each of the first three quarters, the first semester ending right before winter break and the second semester ending right before Memorial Day. and in alignment with instructional minutes, 87 instructional days in the first semester and 93
instructional days in the second semester. If the recommendation is approved, we will begin the communication process with schools in our community. Do you have any questions? >> Board members, any questions or comments? All right. So, I have a motion and a
second to approve item 8.2. All in favor, please say I. >> Any opposed? The motion passes seven to zero. Thank you, Mr. Vigu. Now on to agenda item 9.1, items introduced by Mr. Hendendrick.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. If you have not heard, Penelis County Schools has once again earned an A, School of Grade, district grade, and 80 of our traditional schools earned A grades. 92% of schools earned an A or a B. And all schools earned an A, B, or C. I know we
shared with the board at the workshop in June the raw data but on July 1st uh the information was put out by the state with all school grades. I want to give a special congratulations to firsttime A schools ever Campbell Park Gulport
Monasuri Melrose and Woodlon elementary schools in 25 years of school grades. This is their first A and we are so excited for each of those schools. Penelis County Schools remains one of the top performing districts in the state of Florida and of particular
importance is our third grade reading score which for the first time ever hits 70%. That places us ninth of the 67 districts in the state of Florida and we continue to make tremendous gains in early literacy which is paying off for the rest of a student's academic career. I'd like to congratulate all of our
hardworking students, our dedicated teachers, support staff, and the support of our school board, families, and community members. For now, the third straight year, Penelis County Schools has earned an A and continued uh great uh performance across the state by our district. We're working together for
100% student success, and certainly the results that we recently achieved uh are celebratory in that regard. Uh board members, I placed uh uh for you today a one-pager at your request about the property tax reform constitutional amendment that is coming up. I know that
we've had a conversation about that at a prior board meeting and then at the workshop and you asked for some facts and figures to share with the public. So you have those about different partner agencies that we work with that will be impacted depending on if the constitutional amendment is passed. On
the back of that document, uh we provided you with the overview budget of the juvenile welfare board, which obviously its whole purpose is to support childhood uh welfare in our county. And you can see their budget, the 20 to 30 million that may be reduced from there in some of the major
categories in which they spend their dollars. Number one of which is out of schooltime programming. So before school, after school care for students when parents are at work and then certainly summertime programming. So, lots of fact and figures there. As Mr. Kaperski will remind you, uh we don't
take a position on the amendment, nor do we hand this out. This is for uh and we don't send it out or mail it out or anything like that. It's simply the facts as partners have shared those with us. And we hope that that provides you some information as you are talking to constituents over the next couple of
months. Uh last week we continued our community forums on planning for progress, a series of community meetings to gain feedback from families about the future of the school district. Uh we presented uh information at those sessions and then had the opportunity
for uh individuals from the community, parents, students, family members, concerned community members to share their ideas about the future of our schools. We're hosting additional community sessions this week on Wednesday evening at Duneden High School, Penllis Park High School, and
St. Petersburg High School. To be clear, uh we chose the high schools to have these not because they are the only schools that may or may not be impacted by uh changes in enrollment, but because they have auditoriums and spaces to meet. And so certainly uh they have been great hosts for us in doing these
community meetings. We've invited all of our school families to come. We did call outs to them. We've done social media. We've even done a specific asked our principles to specifically reach out to families if their school has uh below 60% capacity because obviously the lower
capacity you have at your school, the more likelihood that your school could be impacted. As we've said at these meetings, uh capacity is just one factor of decisions that the board will ultimately make. included in those factors include overall trends in
different areas of the community, include age of buildings, uh, programming. Uh, I gave the example at my particular one that, you know, Gibbs High School is the only school with the performing arts and all of the practice rooms and their really high theater. We're not going to build another performing arts school, right? We're
going to continue to have PCCA at Gibbs forever and Gibbs is going to stay open. And so there's a lot of different factors that come into play as we consider recommendations for the board later this fall. So we really want the public to engage in this. Give us good feedback. There is a survey on our website that any member of the community
can fill out. The survey will be open until July 24th. And certainly at the community meetings, you have the opportunity to engage with members of the staff to answer questions. Board members have attended these meetings as well. And we look forward to ongoing dialogue in this regard.
A few other items to share with the board. As you know, uh, at our May or June meeting, we celebrated a lot of state champions and students, uh, both in our K12 program and adults that won state competitions. And many of those went on to national competitions this summer. And I'm excited to share that at
the 2026 Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference, two Penelis County School students came home with a national championship. In first place in business communication from Palm Harbor University High School was Amamira Sed. She was one that we
recognized. And in first place in exploring customer service was Matteline Harrison at Fitzgerald Middle School. Both national winners in FBLA. Congratulations to students from Carwise uh Middle School, Eastlake Middle School, Eastlake High School, and St. Petersburg High School who also finished
in the top 10 in the country in their respective categories. And it is July 14th, which means school is less than three and a half weeks away. I can see some of our teachers in the audience so excited already. Look at those smiles. And we have lots of information on our
website to help families, students, and yes, staff return to the school year. The first day of school is August 11th. And on our back to school web page, you can find links for calendars, lunch details, back to school events, community events, and much more. And finally, I'd like to honor one of our employees as a superintendent standout,
as we do at each board meeting. And today, I'm honoring Madison Brown, a financial reporting analyst in our budget and resource allocation department. She's worked for Penelis County Schools for a little over two years, and she's recognized for her efforts and dedication in building the
budget and the work that goes into helping each school have their budget ready. and she was uh notice notified by another employee for her remarkable growth. How she approaches every new challenge with a willingness to learn, never afraid to step out of her comfort zone and take on something new. She
doesn't just complete tasks, she dives into them, works through challenges, finds solutions, and always gives her best. Her work ethic is exceptional and we are so happy to have her with Penelis County Schools. Thank you to Mrs. Brown and all of our employees for the work that they do each and every day. Thank you, Madam Chair.
>> Thank you. Agenda item 9.2. 2 items introduced by the school board attorney. >> I have no report today. Thank you, ma'am. >> Thank you. Agenda item 9.3, items introduced by the board. Mrs. Hine,
>> thank you. Yes. Um, I had the opportunity to attend one of the planning for progress sessions last week at Largo High School. It was incredibly informative. I of course have close access to a lot of information over the years as we've talked about this, but the public who I spoke to who went, we're very grateful. Um, parents, staff,
and so I just want to encourage everybody if you can this week, please go on Wednesday evening to one of the three meetings that are being held so that you can hear and see that information personally and directly and have conversations. So, um, I'll be at the St. Pete High meeting um, if if I
hope to see many many people there. Um, I would like to raise up the academic performance that came up uh with Mr. Hendrick's report. It is truly extraordinary. We have work to do. Yes, we do still and and and we will keep
doing that work. But also, it demonstrates that excellence is possible. A couple things that I want to highlight. Our third grade reading rate over the last three years has gone up 30%. 30%. Um, our ninth grade reading rate has gone up 37%.
In three years, that's extraordinary. There is a lot of national news right now about how Americans can't read and kids can't read and kids going to college can't read. And people are seeing it and it's it's everything I can do. I feel like I'm just blowing into the wind to say, "Let me tell you about
Penllis County Schools. Let me tell you about the last three, five, eight years." And it's extraordinarily important story to tell. People have to know that excellence at scale is possible. Excellence in our public schools is possible and we are showing
it right here in Penllis County Schools. One of the other things to point out is when you look at the national testing data, the the nation's report card or NAPE scores that have come out. There's been an analysis of that academic recovery they call it or the COVID slide. People think, oh, kids fell so
behind with COVID. Sadly, that is very true in a lot of places. Happily, it is not true here in Penllis County schools. When you look at that data from 2019 to 2025, our kids are still reading at the same level, whereas the state of Florida has
fallen six or seven months behind. All of this data is available. I'm bringing it up to you today because it is extremely important to reinforce the fact that excellence is possible. When you believe in, invest in, and lead your
schools the way we do here in Penllis County, it is possible. Certainly, the leadership from our superintendent and his leadership team, the investment from our citizens, you chose to tax yourselves. you choose every four years to tax yourselves to invest more in your
schools because you believe in them and you want them to be strong. This is the result of voting for that and I I just want you to see it and feel it and be very very proud of it. Also, our partners like the Penelis Education Foundation, uh, Juvenile Welfare Board,
ACE, plenty of other partners in our schools that are showing up, volunteering, investing in our students, in our teachers. We are so grateful. But our teachers at the end of the day, your teacher in your classroom is the number one impact of a child's chance of success in school outside of their
family. And I just want to say thank you and congratulations. Thank you. >> Any additional comments from board members? >> Okay. So, I would also like to just say congratulations. You've heard it from
both super superintendent Hendrickk and Mrs. Hine how well our schools are doing. One of the things that came up was how do schools get graded? How is the district an A? Again, this information is coming from the state. So, the state is letting us know that we
are performing well and as mentioned, we do have work to do. However, let's celebrate while we can. Congratulations to everybody. Thank you very much to all the teachers, support professionals, district staff, and everybody that makes
the district run, the parents, the PTAs, the community leaders for your support of Penllis County Schools. Earlier, Mr. Hendrick mentioned JWB, and I want to just give them a shout out about the book bus. I had the
opportunity to go to the book bus at the Sanderland Center and just to see the smiles on the kids' faces as they had an opportunity to select through the books and talk about their interest. It was amazing. It reminded me of my time in
the classroom. The ability to spark interest in reading just comes from having access. that book bus pulling up and providing access to books encourages a love for learning. So, thank you JWB
for that being one of many initiatives that you have um encouraging a love for learning and care within our community. Also, on August 27th at 6 PM, there will be a district monitoring and advisory
committee meeting held virtually. For additional information, please visit pcsb.orgdmac. And board members, you may have received the email from, well, we all received the email from Tom Sarah regarding the Greater Florida Consortium of School
Boards legislative platform. And this item will be something that we discussed at our next workshop. I had the opportunity to connect with Superintendent Hendrick and Miss Een as well as receive FSBA's timeline just to ensure that we're able to provide our
proposal recommendations to both the consortium and FSBA in a timely manner as well as choose to attend um the Greater Florida Consortium's platform creation which will occur in September.
So, I'm looking forward to a robust discussion regarding legislative priorities um on our district level as well as on the state level as we collaborate with other school boards and school district throughout Florida and our work in partnership with the
consortium as well as FSBA. The consortium is going to continue to have a federal platform as well. information regarding participating in that was sent out and as you all are aware FSBA is involved with COSBA. We received some
information from Joe um just this morning or yesterday regarding the rate the possibility of cuts to the rate as well as there being um the ability to provide comments on that topic amongst
others. So um as we celebrate it is also time to be aware of the impact of legislation both locally um state statewide federally because it all has implications on the work that we
do here. Um so that will on that note I will conclude my comments and just say congratulations again a third year as an A and we continue to raise the bar so congratulations and thank you. Next on
our agenda item is a review of board requests agenda item 9.4. >> Madam chair I did not note any board requests. >> Thank you. Um I adjourn this meeting and we will move to public participation.
Mrs. Hal, are there any speakers this morning? >> Madam Chair, we have four speakers this morning. I'll be calling two at a time, one to each lectern, and each speaker will have three minutes. The first two speakers are Towi Ringlepa and Andy Brown. >> We will now move to public comments on
the general business of the district. Please note that the views and comments of the public speakers are their own and are not endorsed nor sponsored by the school board or district. We cannot ensure the accuracy of statements made, but will review concerns that are raised
and take appropriate action which may include clarifications or the referral of speakers to the proper staff member for assistance. The board is committed to a standard of civility and decorum in conducting our meetings. This includes refraining from clapping or making
audible noises during or after a speaker's comments. We appreciate you assisting us in maintaining a civil and constructive environment. Additionally, please note that although board members or Superintendent Hendrick may leave the dis briefly, there are speakers in the
back room and we will continue to be able to hear your comments. Thank you. >> Tony Ringles. I am a candidate for Pineellis County Commissioner District 4. I'm glad to hear you say that you had some reading success at one of your
schools. Um, I actually donated to the LL program at Duneden Elementary to make that a success. That's not why I'm here. I'm here because we have a little issue in Palm Harbor with the new charter school. I don't know if you know it's
trying to be built next to Southern Elementary. We attended a county meeting last month and part of that county meeting was they needed to purchase a piece of land of Southern Elementary to make their
driveway bigger from Pineellis County Schools. Um I've reached out to the school board. I haven't got any calls back. They've sent me to the real estate department. Nobody's called me back. But this is very important to us because we have a traffic problem now and we don't need a
charter school right next to Southern Elementary with 850 more students. So, we're hoping that you guys will not sell that piece of land that they need to extend their driveway. That's a big part
of this and that's why we're here. We're here because we care about our community and we care about Southern Elementary that's been there. We have a traffic problem. I personally live right across the street. I've seen what traffic does to both sides of drop off and pickup
every single day. Um we just we don't need this piece of land that you all own. If they want to build the charter school, why don't they buy one of the schools that you all have closed and put it there? So, we're asking you to consider this when it comes to you guys
to deny selling that piece of land. Thank you. >> Hi, good morning. Um, thank you for letting us be here. Um, congratulations on your A+ rating and and good work everybody. Uh, I am also with Tony. I my
name is Andy Brown and I am part of what's called the alderman overlay. Uh the al alderman overlay was set up about 20 years ago to protect our green space. Uh and the area that Tony is speaking of, it's uh actually at the corner of
Alderman Roads and Belchure Roads. Um and you guys are hopefully not going to approve somehow the addition of this new charter school, the Discovery Academy of Science. I don't know why they would want to come in and decimate over nine
acres of protected green space with the wildlife. Uh all of the gopher tortoises, all of the wildlife that lives there's beautiful canopy of trees, 100 foot tall trees. They're just going to come in, take the entire thing down
and pave it. Um again, you are per your own admission, you're 45,000 seats vacant in Penllis County for schools. Why would you go ahead and take our tax dollars and put up another
school that's not needed or wanted in that area? Um there may be schools needed or wanted somewhere else but not there. The traffic is a nightmare. Um the ingress, the egress is a problem and
uh it's it's only going to get worse. And um we also on our protected alderman overlay green space uh probably 95% of us have wells, wellwater, septic systems. We don't know the kind of
collateral damage that putting up a 9 and a half acre parking lot uh is going to do to our homes. And there's nobody going to guarantee me that my well is going to operate when this school opens. Uh there it's it's very very upsetting.
We have hundreds of signatures on our petition which we just put up about a week ago. Um we've got a lot of very upset people in Northern Penllis County that really really need your help in making sense of this. There's no sense. I don't understand.
Southerntherland Elementary School is running at 60% capacity and so why put up another school directly next door? I'm talking about the school is as close as I'm standing to to Superintendent Hendrickk. Uh it's it's so close. It's
ridiculous. It's redundant. We don't know why. So, I think that we can find a better use of our tax dollars. Um I would hope you could and um I guess that's probably my plea here is please
help us stop this. It's it's it's a ridiculous it's a ridicul it's just ridiculous on any level. Also, if that school fails, what happens to that property? >> Thank you. The next two speakers are
Hayden and Tracy McConnell. Good. Good morning, Chairperson Edmonds, Superintendent Hendendrick, and school board members. I'm here today because many students have concerns about the modified dress code policy for Palm Harbor Middle School. Over the past several days, I've spoken with students and families in our community who share these concerns. In addition to that, a
petition regarding these concerns has received over 650 signatures from students, families, and community members who share these concerns. Students at Palm Harbor Middle understand that schools have a responsibility to maintain a safe and productive learning environment. We are not asking for the removal of rules, but we are asking the board to reconsider
this policy as in its current form. It we do not believe is is the most effective way to achieve those goals. While presented as a dress code, this policy functions similarly to a uniform system with strict limits on clothing colors, styles, and materials. For many students, this significantly reduces everyday flexibility and comfort in what
they wear to school. There are also practical concerns about comfort and accessibility. In Florida's climate, limiting options such as athletic wear, leggings, and lighter clothing may make it more difficult for students to remain comfortable throughout the school day, especially during warmer months. In addition, the strict requirements around clothing types and measurements may
create inconsistency in enforcement and confusion for students trying to follow the rules correctly. Even small details such as inseam length and allowable materials can be difficult to interpret consistently across a large student body. We are also concerned about the financial impact on families who may need to purchase new clothing in specific colors and styles to comply
with the policy. While clothing assistance resources are available, not all families may be aware of them or easily able to access them. Most importantly, many students feel there is not enough opportunity for student and parent input before a policy of the scope is finalized. Palm Harbor Middle students believe that policies which
directly affect daily student life are most effective when those impacted have a meaningful voice in the process. We respectfully ask the board to review this policy, consider student and parent feedback, and determine whether these changes are necessary in their current form. If they are not, we ask that the board consider revising or reconsidering
the policy to better reflect the needs and concerns of the students it affects. Thank you for your time and listening to the students you serve. Penllis is facing a huge problem with the cost of insurance. I know if Penllis continues its current trajectory, it will be in the whole 12 million. I know
this is huge, but here here is the real ugly truth. You can't balance the budget on the back of employees. You especially can't do that and retain good teachers. Article 47 of our contract says the board will pay approximately
80% of the annual health insurance premium for the duration of this agreement. I want to point out that the contract doesn't say employee only. I have worked for PCSB for 22 years now and not once have employees had to pay
more than the bargained 8020 split for other members of their family. I would definitely say that constitutes past practice. I hear every day how teachers cannot afford their health care since last year's plan changes. I can't even
imagine how this year's changes will affect them. I had one teacher tell me about how she may have to discontinue her insulin pump against the advice of her doctor because it was just too expensive. If that teacher chooses to do this, then she will run the risk of a
health crisis in front of students. Not to mention, most staff work around kids, and we know schools are living petri dishes. Teachers and support staff get sick. We need to be able to go to the doctor. Health care is not a luxury. It
is a necessity. If teachers can't afford to go to the doctor, that means more missed days and less quality instruction for students. Now, let's talk about the cost of plans to families. My husband is a paraprofessional whose take-home pay
is $1,085. Now, if he was a single dad who pays $62, his take-home pay is $483. Is that enough to buy food or pay rent?
Where were the presented? We were presented with one plan. Where are the other plans? What about the possibilities of health clinics? Where are the other options? Go sell a building or something. We know that the
state is limiting the pay increases to teachers, but your insurance plan is making sure that employees will have no other choice but to consider looking for work elsewhere. Panelis is an A-rated county chasing its employees who earned
the A out of public education. School board members have the same insurance as the teachers. Which one of you will come sit on EWBS next week, July 22nd? Panelis must do better than this. Thank
you, >> Madam Chair. There are no more speakers today. >> Thank you. That concludes public participation. Have a great day.