##VIDEO ID:Xn7HxR1_mI4## e e e good evening I call to order the school board meeting of Tuesday January 28th 2025 here in pelis County we'll begin this evening with an invocation led by Ed darling ambassador of Peace followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Vice chair Caprice Edmund with the colors presented by penis Park High School's Army jroc under the instruction of Master Chief Mike Collis the national anthem will be performed by pelis Park High School's vocus virtus choir under the direction of Sam eses please stand and remain standing until the completion of the national anthem Ambassador darling good evening good evening may we bow our heads please dear any father let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in th sight oh Lord my strength and Redeemer we come now before you with bowed heads and Humble Hearts on behalf of the school board members as they embrace 2025 and all it has to offer you Lord have allowed them to represent your people teachers staff members students parents concerned citizens alike as they have been tasked with the responsibility and duty to oversee the control operations organization management and administration of the schools within penis County yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised so let them focus on the tasks which are set before them today sadly they are facing unprecedented and challenging circumstances of which many have never experienced in their lifetime may they not look inward to themselves for the answers but may they seek you continually for divine wisdom knowledge and understanding give them eyes to see and ears to hear and the ability to serve your people in spirit and truth that truth which sets captives free may they walk Faithfully with Integrity character courage and an unwavering commitment to protect and Safeguard the rights of every student in their care even in the face of adversity may they feel your presence daily as you give them the fortitude To Boldly stand against any principality of Darkness that impedes their ability to inspire motivate and cultivate a collective Vision through a platform that is centered in love unity peace and compassion for the well-being of all protect them from both seen and unseen dangers and when they are in their constituents grow weary in their well-doing restore them breathe a fresh anointing into their nostrils Revitalize them refresh their spirit so they may continue to carry forth the torch of this time honored profession may they never lose sight of their calling for they are not only Role Models but they are equally architects who have the ability to plant seeds of greatness that allow the Next Generation to soar beyond all imagination these and all bless blessings we ask in your sweet precious holy name we pray amen allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all [Music] say can you see by the [Music] da sooud we the Twilight last [Music] ging and bright star [Music] the the r we were so G and The Rock bursting in Pro through the night flag still [Music] for the of [Music] the the of [Music] the right forward March please be seated and Mr eses would you like to introduce the second song please hello um my name is Sam eses and I am have the wonderful pleasure of being the director of coral activities at penel Park High School thank you um to the school board and to everyone here just for allowing us the opportunity to be here and share our voice um it's our motto that we always let our voices be heard and you are such a huge part of that every day so thank you so much this next song that we're going to be singing is called I Sing Because I'm Happy arranged by R Dorth enjoy I because happy I sing because I'm free his is on the sparrow and I know he watches me i s because I'm happy I sing because I'm free his is on the sparrow and I know he watches me i s because I'm Happ i s because I'm free for his is all SP and I know he watches me I see because I'm happy I see because I'm free for his is on SP and I know he watches me I'm so happy yes I'm so happy yes I am I'm so Happ happy yes I'm so happy yes I am I'm so happy yes I'm so happy yes I am I'm so happy yes I'm so happy yes I am I'm so happy yes I'm so happy Happ yes I am I'm so Happ I'm so happy yes I am I'm so happy yes I'm so happy yes I am for [Music] his and I know he watches me wonderful thank you so much thank you for making us all a little bit happier with your presence and your singing here tonight um I'd like to beg your pardon I called our Color Guard tonight an army Color Guard it was quite clearly the Coast Guard the jrc of the Coast Guard so thank you and uh Mr Larson please pass on my apologies to Master Chief um the next item on the agenda tonight will be sharing a video with you from the evening of Excellence last night it is the one evening a year where we select and celebrate the teacher of the year but all top 10 finalists are there and it is a night to both celebrate and be inspired by our best and brightest teachers across the district truly incredible so let's take a look at the video good evening and welcome to the 2025 evening of Excellence so tonight we're gathering for our evening of Excellence where we're going to celebrate our top 10 finalists for Teacher of the Year and announce the winner of our teacher of the year for penis County schools for us we are all about focusing on education for students but none of that work happens without the great work of teachers and so celebrating their efforts and their commitment to our students tonight is really special for us so tonight wouldn't be possible without generous donors and sponsors for this event and for us those partners are really critical to our work they're the ones that are investing in education and helping us create programs that change outcomes for students and invest in teachers truly an honor to stand PNA is honored to be a sponsor because this is really the focus of how we can help build better communities the way it starts with education and sponsoring supporting and partnership with the school district and the penel Education Foundation just really opens up the doors for all the possibilities I'm Gerard madr the 2024 it's been quite a year and it's incredible to think that uh they're going to be crowning another teacher of the year tonight and so that person's Reign and the next 12 months for them begin tonight and it's going to be such an adventure for that person tonight we honor our top 10 teachers of the year but really they're symbolic of all of our teachers and the great teaching that happens in penis County Schools every day and you know we take this opportunity to take a pause and really celebrate the teaching profession and the very best of the best and so I'm so excited to celebrate our top 10 to name our teacher of the year but more so to even just celebrate teaching and what it means for our community and now through 2025 pelis SC School's teacher of the year is Dennis zerker Gibs High School I thought he got it wrong I I'm just stunned I can't believe with all the amazing teachers in the room I would be chosen so I'm quite honored and humbled there's a lot of people to thank I mean there's my wife of course my children my mom and my dad um my dad died a year ago and I think it's been sort of a hard year as we come to grips with that but my dad was a teacher my mom was a teacher my grandmother was a teacher my wife's a teacher so were all teachers and I think she was so proud of me and it was really my mom who pushed me towards education because I didn't know what to do and she said you should go to school to be a teacher and I said okay as moms are they're usually right this speech would be a lot easier if you were all teenagers I promise just it's overwhelming to be recognized by your staff and your students and parents I mean that's the best part of this job 1 two three [Music] boy yeah so our teacher of the year this year is a high school history teacher from Gibbs High School in case you didn't um catch that you you can go on and find the individual video about him I highly recommend you watch it one of the things our superintendent said last night during during the dinner that is absolutely true is as we watched the 10 different V videos about the individual teachers of the year that top 10 finalists there wasn't a parent in that room who wasn't thinking I wish or I hope my student has that has that teacher they just truly truly inspiring um and and I don't know I personally would not want a room full of teenagers but thank God there are people who do um and I just want to say thank you to the pelis Education Foundation they are an incredible partner for for what they do for us and certainly all of the sponsors who helped put on last night um and help us throughout the entire year item 1.6 the introduction of professional and Community organization Representatives our public information officer Isabelle mascarenes good afternoon Madam chair members of the board Mr Hendrick and staff it is my pleasure to introduce the following representatives of community and professional organizations from the penila classroom Teachers Association Lee Bryant president representing the north panila League of Women Voters Teddy Sweeney and Jean Reynolds from the penila arts for a complete education Coalition Sue Castleman today we have a presentation from the students rights and responsibility committee please welcome students Claire lefave and Lily Duna from penila Park High School and their principal Jeffrey Larson good evening welcome [Applause] before we get started we would like to thank chairperson hin and the entire Board of Education Mr hendrik Mr Larsson and our entire penar family for the opportunity to present this to you today good evening everyone my name is CLA lefave and I'm currently a junior at penal Park High School enrolled in the Criminal Justice Academy I'm the treasur of pen Park's law Honor Society and the commanding officer rifle team captain and Raider chief of our Coast Guard J company penal park has given me the chance to show my capabilities both academically and physically I am part of many extracurricular activities penel park has to offer including the lady Patriots Varsity soccer team and Jared C's Varsity Raider Team all while maintaining a GPA of 3.7 unweighted and a weighted GPA of 4.1 it is my pleasure to share with you some of the programs penel park has to offer penel Park is a magnet school of Distinction with two magnet programs the Criminal Justice Academy where students gain an understanding of the American legal system and explore the wide range of career related opportunities available as they go through their four years they go through scenarios involving the different careers in the field of law including lawyers paralegals defense attorneys and many types of careers in forensics on the other side of the school we have our first responder National Guard Center for Emergency Management where students are taught and receive their CPR certification and learn about careers in the medical field including EMTs paramedics nurses doctors and many anymore additionally First Responders also has a firefighter program where students go through scenarios and training to become educated in the career field of firefighting in both magnet programs at penel Park all four years students are taught and observed by former active professionals from those career Fields although all these things are great that is not what makes penel Park so special After High School I plan on enlisting in the US Coast Guard but before I came into PS Park I didn't have any idea what I wanted my future to be without the experience support and guidance P par has gave and brought into my life I would not have reached the point where I'm at today I'm beyond thankful for the family I have created in the last 3 years and wherever I end up in my life I know I was I will always have a home and a place to come back to a penal Park this is penal Park High School welcome home good evening everyone my name is lunia and I'm currently a junior enrolled in penel Park High School's Criminal Justice Academy I the president of the junior board in student government I'm not only active invol and involved in the student government I am also part of the jotc and I'm the executive officer there the programs provided to me by panel's Park have given me numerous opportunities of leadership and learning not only have I gained leadership from J TC but I also have been given the chance to excel academically I am a member of all six honor societies panel's park has to offer these societies have opened my eyes to many opportunities of learning giving back and helping others creating meaningful and Unforgettable experiences and memories that I will hold on to for the rest of my life The Faculty of panel's Park High School whether I had them as a teacher or not consistently supported me and guided me in every aspect of my education since walking through the doors my freshman year panel's park has such unique courses like drones American Sign Language and musical theater there really is something for everybody The Passion of its teachers really shines through the care of every student with this support I have been a part of many clubs and activ ities such as Key Club wrestling team manager health information projects and student rights and responsibilities with so many opportunities and resources like AP classes dual enrollment classes industry certification and Ace courses it makes it possible for students like myself to achieve such a high GPA while maintaining a memorable and impactful high school experience penela park has 24 AP course options and across seven different subjects eight on campus dual enrollment opportunities and countless off-campus SPC and ctae experiences as a student I have been recognized for many awards including the daughters of American Revolutions youth Citizenship Award all while maintaining an unweighted GPA of 3.7 and a weighted of 4.1 achieving principles list every quarter since I was in freshman year specifically I loved AP seminar and AP biology and the relationships I made with these teachers as well as the students I learned with I am taking these techniques and learning how to apply them in every aspect of my life it is not just the courses and the credits that I earn it's what comes from these classes that makes such an impact but I can only have achieved all this with the help of such an involved and supportive faculty always providing the best advice and guidance for my goals I'm beyond grateful to be and proud to be a part of the Patriot family again this is panel's Park High School welcome home in closing at penel Park High School we start every day with our morning announcements Mr Larson finishes by saying make it a great Patriot Day let's go and if you're okay with it we would like to teach you all how to do it in sign language you all have a great Patriot Day let's go so good we like it thank you so much thank you Lily and Claire and Mr Larsson you have a great deal to be proud of it's nice to see you tonight thank you for being here as we move on in our agenda I would like to note that board member Don Peters is not able to join us this evening so all of our votes will be with six members item two amendments to the agenda Mr Hendrick do you have any amendments to the agenda yes Madam chair there are three amendments to the agenda item eight or I'm sorry item 7.4 request approval to apply for the school hardening Grant uh that has been updated to reflect some different equipment being purchased with that particular Grant item 7.8 requests approval for purchasing items uh looking at page two of the attachment the bid term and contract amount for the Elian Enterprise Edition subscription bid has been updated and item 8.2 requests approval of the proposed 5-year Capital outlay plan and Adoption of the tenative 5-year facilities work program uh that has been updated in several places specifically Pages 27 through 30 all of these were shared with the board last week and with the public they were posted on Friday thank you members are there any amendments no as board as as board chair I find good cause to amend the agenda as described by Mr hendrik may I have a motion in a second to adopt the agenda as amended second uh motion from Mrs blackburg and a second from Mrs Edmund all those in favor say I I any opposed passes 6 to zero on our special order agenda tonight item 4.1 presentation of the Proclamation designating February 2025 is National Black History Month may I have a motion in a second to approve this item a motion from Mrs Meyer and a second from Mrs Edmund Mr Hendrick would you please introduce this item thank you madam chair it's my pleasure to do so and I call up our social studies specialist um Miss Jessica hassa and it is almost February we're just a few days away in time for our annual Pro Proclamation honoring African-American history month the Black History Month and we have lots of activities planned and to share more is Miss HOSA sure uh good afternoon Madame chair school board members Mr hendrik and staff as the high school social studies specialist I am pleased to be able to present today in recognition of February as Black History Month African-American history related benchmarks and standards can be found throughout many of our social studies courses that use practices aligned to required instruction to infuse the history of African-Americans during the month of February and all year long the Florida Commissioner of education's African-American history task force supports districts in implementing the teaching of history of African peoples and the contributions of African-Americans to society in accordance with State statutes rules and standards since 2015 the African-American history task force has recognized penel County Schools as an exemplary district for our structured professional development integration of African-American history into required curriculum Frameworks and strong Community part Partnerships among other factors to date the approved exemplary status has only been awarded to 11 school districts in the State of Florida continuing our work to remain exemplary in our efforts for this historic observance our schools are preparing a variety of of celebrations and recognitions throughout the month of February pelis County Schools celebrates the many achievements and contributions of local state and National African-American figures throughout the year through our state standards but particularly during the month of February celebrated as National Black History Month the theme for this year is honoring African-American contributions to Florida's success this time provides an opportunity for students to continue to learn about the Legacy and those contributions African-Americans have made throughout our nation's history the Florida Department of Education and volunteer Florida are encouraging students to participate in the 2025 Black History Month art and Essay contests that are now underway until Monday February 3rd details on those contests can be found at Florida blackhistory.com we look forward to seeing our schools and District offic celebrate Black History throughout the month of February thank you Miss Hassel Mrs long would you please read the proclamation whereas during Black History Month we celebrate the many achievements and contributions made by black Americans to our economic cultural spiritual and political development and whereas in 1915 Dr Dr Carter Goodwin W Woodson noted black scholar and Son of formerly enslaved parents founded the association for the study of African-American life and history and whereas Dr Woodson initiated black history week February 12th 1926 and for many years the second week of February chosen so as to concede with the birthdays of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln was celebrated by African-Americans in the United States and whereas in s 1976 as part of the nation's Bicentennial black history week was expanded and became established as Black History Month and is now celebrated across North America and whereas the 2025 theme honoring africanamerican contributions to Florida's success offers a rich opportunity for acknowledging and exploring the legacy of black leaders Faith institutions cultural centers medical profession professionals and history historians in sustaining fortifying and respecting the Quest for civil social and human rights and now therefore the school board of Panela County does hereby recognize February 2025th as Black History Month and urge all citizens to celebrate our diverse Heritage and culture and continue our efforts to create a world that is more than just peaceful and properous for all signed the 28th day of January 2025 thank you Miss Long Mrs Edmund thank you very much for bringing this item forward and miss long for reading the proclamation it brings great joy to visit the schools and see everything that the students are learning about Black History Month um not only during the month of February but outside of um this month so I just want to thank you and your team for your support of African-American history um in the ongoing efforts that the district is doing to share information with students um Community organizations and Educators within penela County continue to promote black history month and the achievements of African-Americans these actions make me proud and again I look forward to visiting the schools and seeing the door decorating contests The musicals and all the likes so thank you thank you thank you we have a motion in a second to approve approve item 4.1 the proclamation dedicating uh excuse me designating February 2025 as National Black History Month all those in favor say I I any opposed passes six to zero thank you the next item on our agenda this afternoon item 4.2 presentation of the Proclamation recognizing February 3 through 7 2025 as student services week May I have a motion in a second to approve this item I make a motion a motion for from Mrs long and a second from Mrs blackburg Mr Hendrick would you please introduce this item it's my pleasure Madam chair to invite Donna Sicilian our executive director of student services and as she comes forward to really think about the last decade of education and how much mental health has come into the picture for our children and our student services staff are there on the front line supporting our students and sometimes our staff each and every day and so to share more about this Proclamation I'll pass it to miss cilian thank you so much Mr Hendrick Schoolboard members and staff this is my absolute favorite school board meeting of the year because every year I get to come forward and brag a little bit and remind everyone of the hard work and everything that the student service staff in pelis County Schools do so the State of Florida sets aside this first week in February to recognize the work of student service staff across the state and I just want to start by thanking you this board this District leadership has has always been so supportive of the work and has a really clear understanding of the connection between physical mental and social health that goes with learning and so I just want to thank you for your ongoing support and to convince you to um pass this Proclamation I always try to bring in some sort of real life uh example maybe Infuse a little bit of laughter in the board meeting and so I was thinking and you know if you remember last year I was talking about how I love jigsaw puzzles and we went over that the year before I think I put a little chor in Mr Hendrick's heart when I started telling you about the Bob Seager tribute band concert I went to and how we're all like Ries well right now I want to share something that's going on in my life and how I was thinking and reflecting and there's so many student service staff here this evening mainly for our next agenda item but um I wanted to share with you you a couple of young ladies that have entered into my life Sean this is Mia and Ava so it's Mia Gardner and Ava pharah Mia pharaoh and Ava Gardner they are my new puppies and so I got them less than a month ago and they are consuming my life and in fact Miss Woodford I dropped them off this morning at a 7-Day residential Behavior boot camp so they are hopefully will come back to me uh potty train Tred and with a little less attitude that's the run she runs the show but it got me thinking and one of the things I thought about was as I was searching for a worldclass puppy trainer what do I want to find in a world class puppy trainer well many of the characteristics that I've been fortunate enough to experience these 29 years here if you can believe it with the student service staff so how are worldclass puppy trainers similar to student service staff I'm glad you ask let me tell you first of all is a strong desire to invest in another's life they're very patient they have to have perseverance they're responsible they demonstrate Integrity a strong connection to their clients they're very self-sacrificing putting the needs of others above their own they're protective they seek out resour ources when needed they're compassionate they really have a lack of concern for what the cost would be they're caring and kind and I just want to end by saying one of the biggest shared characteristics is the common belief that seeing the benefit of seeing the growth and maturity in someone else and knowing that their efforts really impacted in a positive way someone else's life so with that I ask you to please accept the proclamation um recognizing the staff and the work that they do during the first week in February thank you thank you Mrs Cecilia Mrs edman would you please read the proclamation student services week whereas student services professionals include school counselors nurses social workers psychologists and prevention staff work together to assist students in acquiring the knowledge skills and competencies to make well-reasoned and healthy lifelong decisions and whereas it is important to recognize that academic performance is impacted by developmental factors in school and Community factors and whereas the services provided by student services professionals enables the students to learn and the teachers to teach and strengthens the bond between families and schools and have the necessary knowledge skills and abilities to reduce barriers to learning and assist classroom teachers parents and Community agencies and providing a safe and positive learning environment for all children and whereas we acknowledge that student services professionals contribute to the educational success and personal development of all students and now therefore the school board of pelis County does hear hereby recognize the week of February 3rd through 7th 2025 as student services week for penelas County schools and appreciates the significant contributions made by school counselors nurses social workers psychologists educational diagnosticians and prevention staff sign this 28th day of January 2025 thank you and Mrs Sicilian I just want you to know that we too look forward to this week every year and having you present to us um certainly your deep sincerity and your professionalism comes through and your enthusiasm so thank you so much for your leadership here Mrs long I just want to say that every year I see student services grow and they are the most loving caring out standing individuals I was a special ed teacher Dropout prevention so I worked very closely I I can't imagine us not having such a great group of individuals you're helping students it's not like the 1940s and 50s kids are bringing a lot of luggage to school and they're having a hard time dealing with a lot of things and you're there all of your staff is there you jump in I've even had to call some after hours when something was reported to me and you were you all are just outstanding individuals and I wish there were even more of you but I thank you from the bottom of my heart as a teacher as a parent and as a school board member thank you thank you we have a motion and second on the floor to approve item 4.2 the presentation of the Proclamation recognizing February 3 through 7 2025 a student service this week all those in favor say I I any opposed passes 6 to zero item 4.3 is recognition of the 20242 student services staff we are looking forward to recognizing them board members we're going to go down so that we can shake hands and take some photos and I'll allow Mr in or Mr Hendrick please introduce this item thank you madam chair as the board goes down I want to express my gratitude as well to the student services staff I know we have many here in the building tonight but also those that work tirelessly in our schools each and every day as you heard in the proclamation there are so many different groups of folks that we celebrate tonight and in doing so uh sometimes we change up how we celebrate and this year our student services division also has a new way to look at celebrating the different members of our student services staff and I'm excited about the core values recognitions and I'll pass it back to miss Sicilian for the honores thank thank you Mr Hendrick yes now it's been about 10 years that I've been bringing to you a student Service employee of the year to kind of represent the work of all the student service staff and that's a really hard task so I thought I'd make it a little easier on myself and um select a group but I didn't realize that I was just making it harder on myself because what I did was um Kaylee Forbes was able to give me a spreadsheet with all of the PCS Praises that any student service member staff member had received over the last year and so student service leadership who are also here tonight we went through it and it was a difficult task because there are so many people who were recognized by their peers by their principles by administrators by families um for the work that they did but what we did was we went through and we chose a student service staff member for each of the core values and I'm just gonna introduce that person and I'm going to just read a little bit from one of the PCS Praises that they received that will kind of help you understand why we selected that individual for that particular um recognition of that praise so I'm going to ask Ruth Tipton Ruth Tipton is a school social worker and the person who nominated Ruth said that she is um and so Ruth Works she's a social worker and and she works in every school that we have in the districts as well as she is the social worker assigned to Charter Schools and she fills in because we do have vacancies so she has filled in at several of our schools in addition to working in every school to support to children in care she has an office out with the foster care system and so she is that connection and that liaison and School staff um other social workers counselors teachers everyone greatly appreciates the work that Ruth does and the connection that she makes her kids during some of their most vulnerable times so the person who nominated Ruth said in the schools I serve today as in the past I serve a lot of students who are in foster care and often do not have a stable Foster or group home placement these students have barriers to access their attendance available caregiving situation and daily living needs Ruth has always been there to help me navigate through these challenges and identify the obstacles that may be impeding the students achievement and access to schools so Ruth has received the core value of children families and [Applause] Community next I want to introduce you to J Joanne Mercer mercery I never say I never say her she has a French name and I just can't get the rle Merc okay um Joanne is also a social worker she works with prevention on the Heat team oh wait a second I didn't know they I thought we were doing a group sorry um so Joanne has um worked with the heat which is the homeless education assistance team and she also works in there there are only two social workers assigned to that team and they split the county and the schools and so she's in a lot of our schools every day serving again some of the most marginalized families we have families that are unhoused and as you can imagine that number has really grown this year with the Hurricanes so the person who nominated Joanne said Joanne and everyone on the Heat team have been doing amazing I cannot imagine the stress she has endured after two huge hurricanes but she somehow seems to have handled it with so much grace and patience she's always willing to answer any of my questions she truly wants to help others it's a beautiful thing keep it up Joanne so thank you [Applause] Joanne oh that was Integrity I'm sorry I should tell you which which um core value I'll do that I'll do better next for the core value of connectedness we have lesie Dodge lesie is one of our nurses the person and she is with connectedness and the person who nominated Lesley said that she worked at Oak grve Middle School during Hurricane Milton I got to see her in action as she worked tirelessly to ensure that evacuees were getting settled and were getting their needs met the evacuees at Oak grve were some of our most fragile and medically vulnerable residents most of whom had traveled a great distance to arrive at the shelter lesie took time to sit with each resident under her care and talk with them about their medical needs and their lives outside of the shelter she connected with each person on a human level and was able to provide them with the much needed support Leslie's calm and caring nature with these evacuees was especially needed during this very challenging and extremely stressful time she was also an integral liaison with the Department of Health to assist with managing the needs of the residents and help troubleshoot some of the more challenging situations that went on there so thank you lesie [Applause] and I want to maintain confidenti but keep in mind that several of these individuals experience their own struggles and losses during the hurricane and um our next our next person to be recognized for respectful and caring relationships is Christin Alon Kristen is the counsel a counselor at madira Beach and um her the person who nominated Kristen said uh Kristen Vermilion is consistently putting the needs of her students and Families First upon coming back from Hurricane helain she quickly went into action supporting her students and families as they navigated moving to a new school because of the destruction to their school during the hurricane no one ever knew or could ever tell that she had person Ally lost everything in the storm her priority was consistently her students and their families and I'll mention that her husband is also a teacher at that school and so we we see you thank you than for our core value of cultural competence I want to introduce you to Vicky Bishop Vicky is a school psychologist and the person who nominated Vicky said I really have to hand it to our bilingual psychologists and where would we be without Victoria I have seen the process set better and better each year and every time I have had a question Victoria has been an incredible about getting back to me she has been very quick about coordinating elll testing I know she has to put so much work into it and I want her to know that it hasn't gone unnoticed I'm thankful for all of her work helping us work with all of our diverse population so congratulations Vicki and all of us where would any of us be without the support staff that come in and support all of this work that you've been hearing about so um our next core value um recipient is for the core value of responsibility and it goes to Deb stots who is the um executive secretary and she just really is the person who absolutely keeps all of students services including me especially me a flow and um she was nominated by by um someone else in leadership who said um Deb STS is absolutely amazing she is a team player who is always willing to help others this morning Deb took time out of her busy day to help a colleague complete a task that was new to her and she did it with such kindness and grace everything Deb does she does with a smile on her face she is kind compassionate hardworking and dedicated to the students families and staff of pelis County Schools I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for Deb and all of her support and I'll add my ditto to those sentiments so thank you Deb [Applause] you so I really appreciate everyone's time as we went through this but I think when we think about the core values and as I said we had pages and pages of similar um PCS praise that had came through for so many of our student service staff and we thought it was a good way to recognize and to demonstrate how the work that they do really ties into the values and the missions of the district so I had asked them to wait because I thought we were only doing one group photo oh okay come join them Miss Cilan yes yes that's you too bad the puppies aren't here for the [Applause] thank you once again to all of our student services staff in our schools across our district for the work that they do each and every day it's great to celebrate them in this one honorary week but we appreciate their efforts each and every day and I'll await Mrs hin and we'll continue with the rest of our meeting wonderful thank you so much again to our entire student services team the next item on the agenda item number five public comments on agenda items Mrs Hal do we have any speakers yes Madam chair there is one speaker for agenda items please go ahead Mr Mark cluto speaking to item 7.4 7.8 and 8.2 Mr Mark kutho yes sir we have Mar clth o Largo 7.4 hardening I know this deals with uh protecting the children's from the bad guys but uh you know before that notion ever happened hardening was making the building so that they were protect protecting people from the bad weather now that's what you should be thinking about which you always overlook your bid policies and procedures well you know your strategic priority fiscal and operation responsibility we all know you get that wrong look at that new building right across the street look at that new building up there Clearwater High how in the world could that be fiscal or an operational responsibility not even close not even close and then your proposed fiveyear Capital outlay plan oh boy more of the same more of the same here's this editorial Trump is trying to force America to use more fossil fuels well you don't have to be forced you just keep burning burning burning burning and what's going to happen with your capital outlay A desolate future it's going to be very sad and like this headline here reads hurricane milon is terrifying and it is just the start because Madam chair there are no more speakers for agenda items thank you item six we don't have anything under unfinished business item seven our consent agenda may I have a motion and approval to a motion and a second to approve our consent agenda as amended a motion from Mrs Meyer and a second from Mrs Edmund all those in favor say I any opposed passes six to zero non-consent agenda item tonight item 8.1 request approval of the office of safe schools quarterly inspection report may I have a motion in a second to approve this item motion from Mrs Kaine and a second from Mrs edman Mr Hendrick would you please introduce this item yes my pleasure Madam chair so earlier this year the State of Florida began releasing quarterly reports or in 2024 for school districts based on the visits that the office of safe School schools makes in fact we brought to you in a non-consent item earlier uh our yearly report which was the first one that was released and then the first quarterly report this is the second quarterly report we don't intend to do it in non-consent every time but because they're new and because there's some nuances and how they're conducted and what is looked for we wanted to make sure that we provided more context because what is attached in the report is just simply a spreadsheet from the Department of Education and the office of safe schools and so to give more context to those visits and the work work that we're doing to keep our children safe at our schools is our school safety specialist Mr Shan Joel thank you sir Madam chair members of the board superintendent Hedrick staff good evening as a superintendent stated the state legislation regarding school safety security requires the office of save schools under the direction of the Florida Department of Education to submit to the school superintendent in the district of all 67 districts a quarterly report that quarterly report entails any and all site visits that were conducted by the office of save schools assessors during that period in time on Quarter Two we had 12 site visits conducted by the office of safe schools throughout the entire District comprised of both public and charter schools from those site assessments and from the results five of the 12 schools were found to have some deficiencies however those deficiencies when I reviewed those with the office of schools and the administrators at each one of those schools were mostly administrative protocols and procedures required documentation per OSS to have which was easily remedied and the remaining were just simply operational Logistics that also I can attest to that once we were notified which is usually the day of the assessment followed by an email those were immediately rectified with the administrators responsible for each one of those respective campuses through efforts by the office of save schools and the relation reltionship that we worked to uh develop with them and myself my staff within the office of Safety and Security I can also test that those efficiencies were not anything that was intentional or knowingly violate the state statute in the Safety and Security protocols established within that legislation I will also say as I've said before we continue to support provide resources guidance and education to our administrators across the district to Ure that we have have and maintain a safe and secure School while also ensuring that that school is a welcoming and a respectful learning environment thank you Mr Joel Mr sedman thank you very much for providing that information as well as answering some of the questions that I had um regarding the document I just think that it's important just to reiterate some of the things that you've stated already which is the deficiencies were corrected and you work with the office of St safe safe schools to make sure that all schools and Facilities within the district are compliant so thank you yes ma'am thank you seeing no further discussion we have a motion and second on the floor to approve item 8.1 all those in favor say I I any opposed passes six to zero thank you Mr Trel item 8.2 request approval of the proposed 5-year Capital outlay plan and Adoption of the tentative 5-year facilities work program for 20242 through 2028 29 may I have a motion in a second to approve this item a motion from Mrs Kane in a second from Mrs long Mr Hendrick would you please introduce this item yes thank you madam chair as the board knows and we discussed recently at a workshop the district has a fiveyear capital Outlet plan that we revisit every 5 years to do a full and complete relook at the entire plan we shared with you a few months ago that we would be bringing uh in engaging in that process encouraged your input and we'll be bringing you that plan in a workshop coming up in March this particular process tonight is the result of the budget portion of that Five-Year Plan and this is the fifth year of that Five-Year Plan so every year we bring to you the updated budget based on that five-year cycle this year happens to be year five of that plan we'll be bringing you a brand new plan and then a brand new budget in the future the process does span the entire year and is closely tied to our budget cycle particularly the capital outlay budget this year our process has been shaped by significant impact of two hurricanes which require extensive rebuilding and repairs at several schools across our district despite these challenges we've maintained our commitment to balancing long-term priorities with these immediate needs as part of this process we are required to officially submit a report to the Department of Education outlining The Five-Year facilities work program and its alignment with statutory requirements tonight Mr Jefferson our Chief Financial Officer will provide a summary of the process and this year's submitt including the adjustments we've made in response to these extraordinary circumstances we faced Mr Jefferson thank you Mr hendrik each year the board approves The Five-Year Capital plan and adopts a corresponding 5-year facility work program consistent with Florida statute this plan is developed internally by our Capital outlay Committee in collaboration with student assignment and operations and indicates how we're going to spend the funds from our one and a half M local millage in each of the next 5 years this year has been challenging as we face significant disruptions caused by two hurricanes which have resulted in the district needing to rebuild two schools and address damage at some of our facilities our total estimated cost for the stabilization rebuild and repair projects stand at about $21 million and the capital related expenditures for the affected facilities have been included in this document to address these unanticipated costs in our Capital spending we have utilized our $7 million Capital contingency fund and have deferred two major projects and several smaller projects into future years these adjustments have been reflected in the plan documents that have been submitted to you today I'd like to emphasize that our facility's work plan is a project budget Dynamic and flexible in response to changing circumstances this flexibility allows us to address urgent priorities such as hurricane recovery while maintaining a balanced approach to our long-term goals additionally I want to remind you that we do bring forward budget budget summaries which allow you to be informed about how these adjustments are reflected in our finances throughout the year I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have thank you Mr Jefferson and Mr hendrik uh M zedman I see you have a question thank you for bringing this item forward in providing additional information board member superintendent and several staff are aware of some of the questions I have asked regarding this agenda item and some of my questions have led to amendments which include documenting a more accurate cost of removing relocatable classrooms instead of $1 also accurately reflecting the additional projects that have occurred due to the Hurricanes under additional projects however the following concerns regarding this document subjected to audit by the attorney auditor general of the state of of Florida include one some facilities listed throughout the document aren't named accurately I've been informed that the names on the list are periodically updated and the names may get updated when the district is able to two there are facilities listed under items that may not allow for the district to provide services due to lease agreements three some facilities are listed under items that don't apply such as spectator seating portable rehab playgrounds or curriculum enhancements to name a few and there are some instances where discontinue should be used instead of replace so these are a few of the concerns that I have and why I will be voting no on this agenda item thank you board members any other discussion or questions no okay seeing none we have a motion in a second on the floor to approve item 8.2 all those in favor say I any opposed no passes five to one new business items introduced by the superintendent thank you madam chair I wanted to start tonight by just giving the board and the public a little bit of an update on a news item that does affect our schools and that is the federal pause on grants and Aid today public agencies were made aware of a memo regarding a temporary pause of agency Grant loan and other financial assistance programs from the federal office of budget and management penel County Schools as the board knows receives funding from men many federal programs including grants such as Title One the individuals with Disabilities Act the federal school lunch program and many more as of now the Florida Department of Education has directed districts to continue to work using Federal grant budgets as we normally would there has been some confusion with this memo and to our knowledge right now and as recently is a memo from the doe at 446 today there is no impact on our school district however this is a new and involving situation and I'll continue to keep the board updated as more information becomes available we saw earlier the video of our evening of excellence and I do want to congratulate our teacher of the year Dennis zerker a social studies teacher at Gibbs High School a third generation educator as you saw he teaches advanced placement US History government and politics and US history as well as credit recovery classes at Gibbs High School he has a Gibbs High School graduate and has been teaching at Gibbs since 1998 we had a wonderful evening last night I want to thank the panel's Education Foundation as well and celebrating all of our teachers not just the top 10 but all of our amazing teachers throughout the district this week is also celebrate literacy week across penel County schools in the state of Florida and in preparation for that last week the district held the boys read battle of the books and the new guys read battle of the book competitions they were held here on Friday in our administration building the competitions Grew From the closing the gap program and a partnership that we established with the pelis Education Foundation to narrow gender-based achievement gaps in literacy the program uses competition to engage male scholars in reading the number of students and schools participating now is amazing it's over 80 schools across our district when the first year I think we had eight uh just five short years ago but congratulations to first place teams from Lake St George Elementary School Morgan Fitzgerald middle school and East Lake High School won this year's Battle of the books guys read and their traveling trophy can be found in their front offices I want to thank Mrs hin and Mrs Kane for joining and celebrating with the students on that day uh it was a lot of fun speaking of celebrations 23 penel County Schools won national merit awards from the magnet schools of America that is the most we have ever earned from magnet schools of America this includes three panel schools that won the highest honor in the nation the top Magnet School of Excellence James B sanderlin K8 IB World program the Mildred Helms Elementary School IB World program and Tarpon Springs High School which has the Jacobs and culinary arts academy the leadership Conservatory for the Arts and the veterinary sciences Academy 10 more were named Magnet Schools of Excellence the second highest honor and several and since several of the schools host multiple programs it means 35 of our magnet programs earned this prestigious honor of course we offer over 80 magnet and fundamental programs for students interest talents and abilities and I want to congratulate all of our schools on their great work a few events coming up include our Esau community resource Fair which takes place tomorrow night at Countryside High School our ESC college career and life fair for middle school and high school students as well as those in our extended transition program with which will be Thursday night at panel's Technical College in St Petersburg and our South County College and Career Fair for high school seniors will take place Monday at PTC St Petersburg as well the public can find more information about this on our website we also want to celebrate students who are recently chosen for all count middle school and high school band concerts and their concert was at the mafy theater last week and the allc county Orchestra will perform at the maafi on February 8th and the Elementary concert also at the MAA on February 22nd and speaking of celebrating students in the Arts I had the pleasure last week of attending the annual kids tag art ceremony at Largo High School it is now the 10th Annual T kids tag art Cel uh ceremony with our new tax collector attending for the first time Mr Adam Ross they've raised over $350,000 to support art classrooms in our school district and there were 2600 entries from fifth graders in penel County schools and the top 200 were recogniz ized last week if you weren't there to see it that's okay because you can go online and purchase one of those vanity plates from the tax collector's office and support teachers in their classroom you can also go out and see student exhibitions right now at the Maran Arts Center and the Dal Museum in St Petersburg and also coming up in the next 10 days at the on February 8th is the regional spelling be the scrips Regional spelling be where the 35 student field is set for a spot in the national competition in Washington DC and 18 pelis County students have qualified I want to thank the raay baseball foundation and the rowy soccer fund who are once again partnering with penel County Schools to host the regional qualifier since Tropicana Field is not available this year it'll be at the lman exchange on February 8th 52 pelis County Schools hosted their own competitions this year to get down to the final 18 and I want to wish best of luck to our students and finally tonight's superintendent at standout recognizing our employees across the District of course has to be a member from student services this week and it is a school counselor at Safety Harbor Elementary School Mrs Emily Yer she has been with penel County schools for nine years and she was recognized by a colleague as a wonderful school counselor who's always working with students to prevent bullying I believe she uses her professional skills as well as being committed to students and families and she really cares about each and every student she definitely exemplifies all all six core values of our district and I wanted to take this time to recognize and thank her for her hard work you are truly awesome thank you to Mrs Yer all of our school counselors our student services staff and all of our employees for the work they do each and every day thank you madam chair thank you Mr Hendrick items introduced by our Schoolboard attorney have no report this evening thank you thank you items introduced by the board Mrs Edmond thank you the Journeys in journalism ex exhibit is a great opportunity to see photos from the perspect from the perspectives of students participating in the journalism programs at Melrose John Hopkins and Lakewood the exhibit will be held at the studio at 620 until February 3rd I encourage you all to um visit congratulations to our students and thank you to the sponsors and partners for that great exhibit also the district monitoring advisory committee will be meeting on the 30th at 6 PM the meeting will be held virtually additional information can be found on the district website the topics for the meeting will include arrest data ese updates and the student code of conduct I hope you are able to join again this is a virtual meeting open to the public also panel's Technical College St Petersburg campus will be hosting an open house on February 3rd from 6:00 p.m until 8:00 p.m. it's a great opportunity to learn more about the programs meet instructors receive enrollment information and more also I had the opportunity to participate in several MLK um Day activities last weekend and it was just really wonderful to see the students and staff um out there from the parade in St Petersburg seeing the 5,000 role models and girlfriends holding up the district um a banner and the 5,000 role model Banner it was really heartwarming just to see our students engaged in the activities the bands were great and um just really kudos to all the staff and family members who were really involved um during those activities I do have a few updates as it relates to the greater Florida Consortium of school boards as well as fsba so regarding the Consortium all 10 member school districts have taken action on the greater Florida Consortium of school boards 2025 legislative platform as you were informed when we voted the consortium's bylaw stipulate that if any item in the proposal is objected by one member district the issue is removed from the final program this ensures that all items are supported by all member districts the executive director Tom provided an updated program indicating one change and this information has been shared with all board members so that you know what will be handed out to delegation as well as others also the executive director emailed members link regarding um start times thank you superintendent Hendrick for completing the survey the Consortium is joining approximately 40 small districts to collectively advocate for flexible um school start times I serve on Florida school board association's legislative committee as well as advocacy advocacy committee and on the 31st at 11:00 a.m. the legislative committee is hosting a meeting regarding legislative session and Bill tracking um as you heard from superintendent Hendrick on a federal level um all eyes are going to be on what's Happening federally State um because it all will impact our district so on the 31st you all members have an opportunity to listen in on that session and find out what the School Board Association will be doing on our behalf also on the 29th tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. the advocacy committee will be meeting to discuss social media and public school marketing this is another meeting open to all school board members and last but not least recent actions related to Federal immigration enforcement has led to the district issuing a memo um to administrators regarding enforcement at schools Mr kerski do you mind addressing this topic please uh no I do not thank you Mrs Edmond um board members you've all received a copy of of our Memo from the legal department uh we have already had an opportunity um and to share some advice with principles and assistant principles uh even today and this afternoon we feel that calls from concerned parents and we're available to talk to anybody who who ask questions or concerns but just in general for your benefit and for the benefit of the public just a couple of points I'd like to make first of all just overall we know that the purpose of a school district is to educate children and this school district uh does its best to try to educate children and increase student achievement um with excellence in his practices U but of course we have to do that in within the confines of the law and so we follow the laws federal and state and then of course we follow our own local laws which are Schoolboard policies and so there have been federal laws on the books for many many years um these Florida stat Federal statutes have not simply come in in the last 10 days or so they've been on the books for many many years and so those Federal statutes give Federal immigration authorities whether they be from the immigrations and custom enforcement or ice or other departments relating to immigration they give those uh agencies very broad investigative Authority and that of course is based upon the issues relating to National Security and Border Protection so um we have dealt with this issue in the past with people having concerns over the last couple of decades in the district but I think it's also important to note to the public um that over the last couple of decades there while there have been concerns we've not had any reported visits from any immigration enforcement officials in our schools of course that past practice does not necessarily guarantee what will happen in the future um but I think it does show uh that penel County may not be at the Forefront of these enforcement activities around the country or even necessarily within the State of Florida so um another point I'd like to make um just overall that a lot of people in the public may not know is that school districts including this one does not collect information about the immigration status of our students and families um nor can we legally collect that information and that was made clear by the United States Supreme Court in 1982 and so for many decades we have not been doing that and so we don't even know the immigration status of students within our our schools and so if we have an immigration enforcement official come to our school which has not happened or if it did it wasn't reported anywhere to the central administration building if we do we have asked that our school administration contact the legal department we will help walk them through the situation but we will certainly follow Federal and state law and you probably have heard um up in the Florida legislature during the special session that is occurring right now they are considering certain bills to uh basically enhance um enforcement of immigration activities uh nothing that would conflict that I see with the federal statutes but just to to complement those existing Federal statutes and so while I understand that a lot in our community have concerns about what may be going on around in the country um my duty and I've had conversations with Mr hendrik and our executive leadership team um our duty is to help our schools follow the law but still try to continue that climate of of safe and caring environment at our schools and we'll do that to the greatest extent possible under the law thank you board members any other comments or discussion this evening I've just I've been reflecting on what you said Mrs Edmund during the um 8.2 Capital outlay plan um and so I just I thought I'd share a couple thoughts what I what I heard you list the three things you were concerned about all felt very ad ministrative and certainly Administration is important and I believe in in in getting things right and the way you do one thing is the way you do everything um but I wanted to share also that for instance when they have things when it says plumbing and it lists every school or it says Carpeting and it lists every school you know we we understand that allows for the flexibility for when those things have to happen and I hear you too that it listed every facility and some of under playgrounds but not every facility necessarily has a playground and so it was a very kind of copy and paste kind of thing right where they just kind of put all the schools in there some of those names have been updated um I understand it I mean I understand why we list all those schools and it gives that flexibility to then be able to assign those dollars what I was looking at was the dollars what I was looking at was Plumbing electrical carpet lighting how are we allocating those over what years elevators you know all of those different things and understanding those dollars and understanding that when time comes they will apply to the facility and school that it's necessary for it to apply to what we we have also been given is we were given last year I can't remember which Workshop it was but an actual replacement cycle for the various schools for those and so I was speaking with Mr Hendrick about this item within the recent few days and and what I said was I see that we just list every school and you know it doesn't necessarily say um but I recall that replacement item list and I think when we do talk about this at the workshop it'd be great to have that brought forward again and so if that's been updated and so to include that so we don't just have this General list of a bunch of schools but but but we see that list it's also a great thing to carry around with you when you visit schools honestly because when they say this carpet is a mess and you agree you can look and say oh look you're slated for replacement um you know in the next school year or whatnot so I'm just suggesting that's something i' like to have in my in my back pocket um but that's kind of where the detail happens but you're right those documents in that fiveyear plan that was posted online um um are not um custom so I just wanted to address that I noticed that as well um but I still have great confidence in the dollars in the assessment that we are thoughtfully knowing which schools need what when and making that um plan happen so I would like to see that you know replacement cycle and know we already agreed to that um let's see it is the time you know is as we know that legislative session will start soon we got to address the pelis legislative delegation recently um I think most of us us were there um if you if you have relationships with your legislators or Senators I would ask for you to pick up the phone talk with them send them an email look at our legislative platform and advocate for those things um um I've had the opportunity to meet with several and something that seems to um have a lot of energy around it is that uh fully funded full day VPK um and so if we can show them the data that we put in our platform we actually we actually have in there a chart that shows the different in third grade reading levels in between the students who do participate in full day VPK versus those who don't it makes it makes a difference and so I would just I do think that that's an item that could um you know potentially get some look and it is something we certainly need right now penel County Schools is covering and so it's fully funding full day VPK for the students are on free and reduce lunch so understand that students right now the state funds three hours of that four-year-old preschool three hours that's for families who can drop off their child and pick them up three hours later and so for students that qualify for a free or reduced lunch right now penel County Schools is using our Title One funds to be able to support their full day program um and and of course those Title One funds are uncertain uh but also those Title One funds could be used for other things they could be used for tutoring in school they could be used for you know a number of in school activities that can address the needs of that title one population but but we're pulling them to use them for that VPK so I just I just wanted to put a note out there of course there are other items on our platform and some of you might want to raise raise some of those up as well um but that time is coming so just a a reminder to put a bug in their in in their ears as they move into those sessions especially if you look at the education committees and and if you know any of those people who might be from other counties and you can reach out or create a relationship with them a lot of people who are on the education committees don't necessarily have any experience in education you know have or might not you know whether it's as a parent or as a teacher or whatnot so honestly you're helping them by saying hey I just want to share with you here are the some things that have come up for me while I've been on the school board so just want to encourage that as well it helps a lot anything else from board members Mrs edman thank you Mrs Hine for your comments regarding my concerns as you all are aware we have the opportunity to contact staff gain additional information and vote the way we deem as appropriate as we are um representatives of our constituents and as it relates to administrative task I believe it's a part of our responsibility to make sure that things are accurate as best as possible thank you thank you items introduce or a review of board requests Mrs Woodford yes Madam chair I noted your request that we include the life cycle plan um with the workshop when we discuss The Five-Year Plan thank you see no other business before the board I will adjourn this meeting and we'll move to public participation Mrs Hal do we have any public speakers tonight yes Madam chair there are six speakers this evening wonderful thank you I'm going to read the statement we read before receiving public participation we will now receive public comment on the general business of the district please note that the views and comments of the public speakers are their own and not endorsed or sponsored by the school district we cannot ensure the accuracy of statements made but we'll 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 our board is committed to a standard of Civility and decorum and conducting our meetings this includes refraining from clapping or making audible noises during or after a speaker's comments we appreciate you in assisting Us in maintaining this civil environment additionally please note that although board members or superintendent hendrik may leave the Das briefly there are speakers in the back room and we will continue to be able to hear your comments thank you so much Mrs H thank you the first two speakers are Mark clo and Cynthia recort marluth o Largo that's a de not a dis well you keep parading those toy soldiers in here with all their fake medals I don't think they'll be able to stand up under that completely unqualified new Secretary of War under that illegitimate president Trump ah it's bad really bad yeah so yeah you're you're Capital outlay so what you're what you're saying is you're going to build more storms I believe believe that I definitely believe that yeah Trump is trying to force America to use more fossil fuels and he's also going to leave the World Health Organization what's that going to do for the health of your children's here in school oh not good not good yeah more hurricanes are slamming the Golf Coast is this the new normal well you keep ignoring the science of hyperforms passive B building and oh it definitely will be the new normal and then we have the bird flu and you're going to get rid of the Health Organization and you're going to have that W wacko Kennedy oh I fear for your students yeah there's cases of tuberculosis now it's going to be a scary future very very scary but what you could be doing what's there for your opportunity you just let slip through your hands I looking at that sick new building right across the street uh it's good evening um my name is Cynthia rort I live in penel County I just retired from pel County Schools after 35 years both of my sons graduated from pel County schools and my grandson attends penal County school so the success and safety of every student here in Penal County schools is extremely important to me um Mr um kerski you took a little bit of wind out of my sales so I'm going to jump around and my comments might seem a little bit disjointed so I apologize in advance but I was very concerned I've been working with um some immigrant communities since the hurricane and become very um close to them working side by side um and so it has really you know been a concern of mine as I hear their concern they're scared their children are scared you the parents are not sure what to do they're not sure if they should send their children to school so um you know all of this that has been in the news has you know put fear into our community and the governor saying that you know he will provide consequences for administration that doesn't comply and follow the law and all of that of course makes it seem even more um scary for their children to be at school right now I realized that PS County hasn't had these incidents and I I understand that but I think this is not maybe going to be what it normally is in the future I hope I'm wrong I hope you're right um I did email and ask about the policy last week and heard there was no policy to address this and that's really why I'm here tonight because that concerned me greatly you know there are teachers that are asking questions you know talking about what's going to happen What would happen if ice came into our school so I really feel that our teachers and our administrators you know they need to not just be provided a memo but I I think they need a little more support than that to really understand what this would all look like um a couple of quick things that um you know I'm not a lawyer but I know furpa is the reason we don't know about immigration status for our students I think that's the reason because of um for federal education protection act and that's good but if an ice agent did come into one of our schools to arrest a student um I believe would we need to make sure that that arrest warrant was signed by a judge and not just an administrative warrant because we're hearing from other states that um they're coming in with administrative warrants and not signed by judge so I don't know if that's something that could be important and lastly scotus does not over uh I mean the executive order does not oh my God uh maybe we can I'll be happy to talk to you the next two speakers are brand Robinson and Lee Bryant Madame chair members of the board Katie welcome superintendent hendrik and staff U my name is brtt Robinson and I am proud to have served here in pelis County Florida for 28 years as a history teacher and as always I'm so grateful and so honored and so humbl to be here with you I really appreciate the opportunity um as you all know yesterday the Trump Administration rescinded um longstanding protections for undocumented immigrants specifically in schools churches and hospitals and there is tremendous uncertainty out there and Mr gersy thank you so much for providing as much clarification as I know you can provide we're really grateful for that but you know for all the uncertainty that's out there I want to assure you there is tremendous fear and anxiety out there not just on our little Campus of 200 at penel high Innovation but but across the country I'm in constant contact with teachers from across the country there's tremendous fear and anxiety out there and so understanding that our superintendent who I know well and many of you who I know well you are people of immense Integrity you're people of intense commitment and dedication to Public Schools um I want to urge you to continue to make a commitment to open dialogue and discussion but most importantly communication so that we can provide reassurance to the public I hope to hear from you on a regular basis and and to hear from you so that for every time there's some kind of fear and anxiety expressed on my campus we can equally turn around and say yes but our super superintendent yes but our lead attorney yes but our board members are reassuring us that we're going to continue to maintain our commitment to providing safe schools for our students no matter who they are um I hope and I'm sorry to get emotional but I hope that you know as a history teacher I hope that I can look forward and be really proud of what we've all done here tonight in these critical times you know regardless of our party affiliation these are critical times and I want to be able to look back proudly on what we've done here as a district for our our commitment to maintaining you know safe spaces for all of our students and I want to thank you going forward for everything I know that you're going to do and I just want to remind you that the children are always watching so thank you good evening uh chair Hine members of the board uh superintendent Hendrick and staff my name is Lee Bryant my pronouns are he and him and I'm president of the pcta it is the right of every child regardless of immigration status to access a free public K through2 education when Federal immigration authorities aggressively pursue enforcement activities on or around school property and transportation routes whether by surveillance interviews demands for information arrest detention or any other means it is it harmfully disrupts the learning environment and significantly interferes with the ability of all students including US citizen students and IM students who are here legally in the US to access their free public K through2 education I am proposing that pelis County schools adopt the safe Zone resolution that I emailed to the members of the board earlier today the language is closely tied to the Supreme Court case pler versus doe which is the foundation precedent that ensures access to K12 education for all children regardless of immigration status the model resolution contains reassurance for students procedures for law enforcement and information and support for families and staff countless school districts across the country have already passed safe Zone resolutions uh everywhere from large districts like Los Angeles to small rural districts in Colorado New Hampshire Kentucky and so on the safe Zone resolution does not require any additional District expenditures staff responsibilities school hour or any other resources unless the board wishes to support beyond the resolution offered such as adding an extra counselor to support immigrant students The District administration will need to take steps to ensure the resolutions requirements are being fulfilled but it does not add any new or different job duties or hours for educators the safe Zone resolution does not provide immunity should an educator decline to obey directives from law enforcement the resolution does provide steps that the educator must request that law enforcement follow if law enforcement refuses to cooperate that becomes a matter uh for the district legal council uh and the courts to determine no educator is expected to put themselves or those around them at risk to assert these rights the penis County Schools mission is 100% Student Success we are here to educate and prepare each student for college career and life if a student does not feel safe at school they can not be expected to learn thank you for your time the next two speakers are Tracy McConnell and Reverend James Warren hi I am Tracy McConnell and the first thing that I want to do is I just want to take the time to thank all of y'all um I have two children that have gone to penel County school since the time they first started school in the three-year-old classroom and December 27th both of my kids flew out to California with the Warhawk marching band and they performed in the Rose Parade and I'm going to tell you if it would not have been for the support from pelis County Schools paying for part of that trip for my family my children would not have been able to go and that is not just me there are many other parents who also benefited from that and we desperately needed that so I wanted to make sure that I thanked you for that and now I want to speak to you as an educator um I am a third grade teacher at penella Central Elementary School my classroom is the ESC cluster group of students so about a little right around about half or so maybe a little less are ESC one of the things that I want you guys to please really focus on is teacher retention um last year we lost a very good highly qualified ve resource teacher at my school we lost her to kenet to um Kansas City schools she still lives in pelis County but she teaches there virtually and she makes more money teaching virtually for Kansas City than she did for pelis County Schools then our school lost a half a unit ve resource so my students weren't getting as much service that they had been getting now the person that is coming there or was coming retired so my students now have nobody that's going to be servicing them until that position is filled so until somebody is hired that for the position that is half timee at um another school and then half timee at my school the students aren't going to be getting their ESC minutes serviced so they desperately need somebody especially with this time of the year third grade remember those kids if they don't meet the state requirements they're going to be retained I'm struggling with that because I know at some point I'm GNA have like I can only do so much and those students are behind they need support that they're not going to get until that position is filled so that's all I just wanted to ask you guys to please please please do something so that we can retain good qualified teachers and to do something to fill that position thank you my name Reverend James ju I'd like to thank y'all from passing the this the doors be locked in all the pan kind class we got to go beyond that first IID like to thank chief for working with the youth and Panela County and Y so over Christmas holiday Jeremiah Nelson 12 years old shot itself so it could have been back up into the school but I'm going to say this next month February the 11 made 37 years P another Park shooting about 37 years ago I 20 years old I've been working for the schools 51 years well may coming up make 51 years custodian then electrician for the old High Point service center I work I work in there when Mr uh the gentleman got shot Pand Park High School 37 years ago I would would like for y'all to go ahead and pass get this melody tched white house is protected this building is protected Hospital protected me protected we could get that in our schools ain't nothing normal no more nothing normal no more those 60 what they call January 6th they got grandkids and cousin and everything they persuading the kids talk all kind of crazy stuff my wife was a behavior teacher C the Seas were from pan County years they call a session the child Center back then special education and she was saying the kids learn from the parents that's true you could a kid could walk into school with a book bag with a gun and start shooting up the class I appreciate Chief I appreciate all law enforcement they can still walk in that school it' be easy for y'all to have this melody detected Lisa to go off then the law enforcement office could react to it and stop that kid so I would like for y'all to get that done please in the Name of Christ I love all y'all I appreciate y'all thank you madam chair there are no more speakers thank you this this concludes our meeting tonight have a good evening