##VIDEO ID:n7scfitfDPM## e e e e e e e e e e good morning I call this meeting of pelis County School Board December 17th 2024 to order we will begin with an invocation led by Revan Kenny Irby faith and Community Justice liaison for the city of St petersburg's office of equity followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by board member Lisa Kain in the national anthem performed by Holland's Royal chamber choir under the direction of Christian taper the colors will be presented by basa High School's jroc honor guard under the the instruction of army Sergeant First Class Carlos Vasquez please stand and remain standing until the conclusion of the national anthem Reverend irvy good morning good morning thank you Vice chair Edmund let us uh pause and Center ourselves in the posture of prayer behold let there be light even in the season of Darkness let there be light upon superintendent hendrik this board administrators Educators staff parents and Learners great God of ours show us the way of inclusive righteousness in times like these when truths are trivialized and lies are normalized when our children are taking the lives of children and fellow Learners when books are band and history is reimagined when Division and hatred grip too many of our conversations help us Lord to let our light so shine let your light of Truth and Justice shine behold children are Heritage from the Creator the fruit of the womb they are rewards in our lives they are like arrows in the hands of Warriors our children our youth are blessings bless the families who are filled with their Quivers with the children that we bear witness to we shall not be put to shame when we speak with our enemies in the gate behold the traditions of Hanukkah Christmas and Quanza and New Years the season of light is upon us and let the truth and the light of Justice and transformation radiate and guide us and guard us as we pray behold Lord help us to let our light so shine This Little Light of Mine I'm going to let it shine amen guard 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 dawn's early light what so proudly we h at the Twilight last gleaming who stripes and bright stars through the parous fight for the r parts we watch were so gly streaming and the rocking in air gave proof through the the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star [Music] spangled for the land of the free and the home of the bra C left Mar please be seated good morning School Board I hope everybody's having a wonderful morning my name is Christian tabber and I have the pleasure of directing the Hollands Royals chamber choir here this morning and we have a selection to sing for you guys this morning [Music] We Three Kings of glory and bearings we Trav AAR field and and Y [Music] star star of wonder star of night star with Royal Beauty bright word leading still proceed guide us to thy [Music] perfect King on bethlehem's gold I bring to crown him again King forevering over us all to R star of wonder star of night star with Royal Beauty bright Westward leading still proceeding guide us to thy Perfect Light [Music] thank you Mr Tapper in oh hallands Royal chamber choir next up we have agenda item 1.5 a video we will now share the video of our top 10 teacher of the year finalist let's take a look good morning Miss Snider you are one of the top 10 finalists for penel County School's teacher of the Year yay I'm so happy but so surprised it's amazing I've worked really hard and I love my job so it's this is awesome there you go there you go I just love coming to work every day and bringing my own children and and getting to change the lives of these guys and teach them something every day please give it up for your teacher Mrs Fuller the pelis County Schools top 10 finalist for Teacher of the Year I'm just extremely excited and pleased and can't wait to represent cfms um for the top these are my children This Is My Life um everything that I've done um my grandparents have set me up for this and so for this I am extremely privileged to um be one of the top 10 for pelis County for the 2024 school [Music] year not only are you the jonan C Gibbs High School teacher of the year you are also a panel County Schools top 10 teacher finalists all right thank you sir [Applause] I'm really excited thank you very much it's a huge honor from for Mr Brown for Gibs High School um we have phenomenal teachers and we have phenomenal students so I'm very proud to represent the students and the teachers of Gibbs High School a long history of respect excellence and pride you are a top 10 finalist for Teacher of the Year with pel's County Schools how do you feel right [Applause] now I feel so excited I feel honored I feel wmed it's not lost on me that I get to represent such a great place and such a great class we power our hearts and souls into teaching and just to have that recognition and be able to represent a profession as one of the top people that um is in that profession is just incredibly humbling your very own Mr moette has been selected as a top 10 finalist for Teacher of the Year [Music] I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for just like wanting to teach and wanting to come into this classroom so every day that I wake up I don't know if I'm going to live or not and I come in and I just want you guys to learn I really appreciate it and honestly it's just these kids just work hard and they make me look good so thank you guys Dr Dey congratulations you are a finalist for our teacher of the year [Applause] I love the students that that you saw today I like to be able to share my talents and my gifts and um hone Theirs Whatever their talents and their gifts are is what's more important so we partner together in a whole lot of different fun things um and it's just a learning experience for all of us it's mind numy it's exciting I'm I'm beyond I'm beyond surprise congratulations you are one of canel SCH cont teachers of the [Music] year I am beyond humbled and happy and [Applause] excited I love my job I I never feel like I'm going to my job when I come to work um so it's something I've always wanted to do so I'm I'm I'm Overjoyed you are top 10 finalist of the [Applause] year I I can't even put into words how how extremely um grateful I am and my students are a testament to to this and my school is a testament to this never thought that I would be in the top 10 um let alone just the teacher of the year so this was a a huge opportunity and I I just feel so privileged and honored I get to teach them how to read and write it's my life's work it's it's what I was always meant to do miss shercliff do you know why all these people are here no congratulations you're a top 10 finalist for Teacher of the [Music] [Applause] Year it's wonderful to be nominated that's what I expected I'm like oh nomination good I didn't think I'd make the top 10 so I'm very appreciative they mean the world to me and if I can help one student improve in their education then I've done my job I think um I'm not going to stop with one but um I it's the most important thing I think I've always wanted to be a teacher and gosh it's so great to me Miss Ashby is one of panel County's top 10 teachers of the [Applause] Year wow even if I was never named a top and final I do this because I really do love these kids this world is so much bigger than just these couple blocks it's it's it's a big big world out there and I'm able to show them and open up doors for them and and open up their mind to help them to just go forth thank you I do it for them congratulations to the top 10 teacher of the year finalists it is evident that their passion and excitement shines through through at their school from their students speaking to the Celebration from the administrators so thank you please note that chairperson Mrs Hine is unable to be here today now for the introduction of the professional and Community organizations by miss mascarenes public information officer good morning Madame Vice 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 from the penelas County Council of PTA Reagan Miller representing the north pilis League of Women Voters Nancy Cohen from the penila arts for a complete education coal ition Maria cantonis today we have a presentation from the student rights and responsibility committee please welcome students Lena Adams and Laura Li Thompson from Hollands high school and their principal Candace medf welcome good morning members of the penel County School Board and other officials we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to present the student rights and responsibilities committee report for Holland High School my name is Lena Adams I'm a senior at Holland in the Academy of entertainment arts and Cambridge program as well as the executive student body president and I'm Laura tomson I'm a senior in the Cambridge program and an avid program at Hans high school as well as the executive student body vice president we like to thank you for your time today as we tell you a little bit more about our School Holland is a district application program as well as an avid site of Distinction where our mission is to be the best public high school in the state of Florida our goal is for every student not just to graduate with a high school diploma but to also acquire some form of college credit and Industry certification learn career skills and pursue various Pathways to post-secondary education and success for the past two years we have earned a school letter grade of a c this year we are points away from being a be we proudly offer three application programs including Cambridge culinary arts and the unique Academy of entertainment Arts otherwise known as aea in addition to these we also offer technical programs such as cosmetology Machining and Robotics out of approximately 2,000 students 558 are enrolled in one of our three application programs with 120 seniors expected to graduate from one of said programs our Academy breakdown is as follows culinary arts has 130 students 24 of them being seniors Cambridge has 135 students enrolled with 34 of them being seniors The Academy of entertainment Arts has 293 students enrolled with 62 of them being seniors making it our largest program on campus last year 62 stud students earned their Cambridge diploma 27 of them are those current High School seniors who earned their diplomas last year as Juniors this means out of the 34 expected Cambridge graduates only seven of them have yet to earn their diploma our culinary arts program presents students with the opportunity to earn up to three industry certifications throughout their four years at Hollands each year this program sends students to competitions where they have been very successful some of their accomplishments include winning first place at the Florida state grilled cheese competition the proart competition and the state's competition for skills where they've won first place in the wedding cakes category for three years in a row in addition to this at the state's competition for skills they've won second place at both in the culinary edible centerpiece and baking sections at the skills culinary arts competition they've won first place five times second place three times and third place two times finally at the skills baking and pastry competition they've won first place three times second place three times and third place two times the Academy of entertainment arts program consists of multiple tracks the main branches are film music production game design animation and brand VI alongside these we also offer an array of unique electives such as uh special effects makeup and photography this program offers students the chance to enter their work into festivals competitions and showcases since 2014 our aea has won nine Scholastics art and writing national awards 89 Scholastics art and writing Regional Awards 28 semi- Awards and one student World award along with this our AA student have participated in Brad Awards home in five FMEA digital music showcases 26 gasparella International Film festivals three Palm Beach International Film festivals four buhu haa film festivals three Bon Beach short film festivals and six Dollywood surreal film competitions and eight sunscreen film festivals in the 2022 2023 school year alone awards were won at five different film festivals the Cambridge International program allows students to earn as few as 21 or as many as 4 5 college credits students not enrolled in the program are still eligible to take Ace classes and earn their Cambridge diploma earning the Cambridge diploma makes students eligible to receive a 100% bright future scholarship by waving the test score requirements so long as they have the required GPA and volunteer hours the Cambridge program prepares students for college by matching the level of rigor found at universities as well as the cosmetology program consists of nine levels that students can take throughout the four years at Holland's High School upon completing all nine levels as well as the required hours for a cosmetology license students can submit their application to the Florida Bo Florida State Board of Cosmetology students are technically required to have 12200 hours to take their exam and have three attempts however if they have a th000 hours they can challenge the board and have a single attempt to take their exam once they take their state board and pass the exam students can become licensed cosmetologists our Machining program begins at Hollands and funnels into panala technical college students First Take Tech 1 2 and 3 where they begin with the basics of Machining learning how to operate machines such as handsaws and drill presses then they gradually advance and learn how to use vertical Milling machines and lath machines by their fourth year they began a dual enrollment program with panella's Technical College this allows them to reach the required hours in order to receive their industry certification at our school robotics is offered both as a class and as an extracurricular activity our two robotics teams build robots program them and compete with them at Regional State and National levels where they bring home abundance of Victories each year in the previous years our team has made it all the way to the world competition in Austin Texas in 2022 they won second place at The League championships for the control award and the think award in addition to this they were the second pick for the winning Alliance in 2023 at The League championships they won first place for the connect award and second place for the innovate award at the Florida state championships in 2022 they were the second pick for the winning division Alliance and a finalist Alliance of States at the 2023 Florida state championship they won second place for the design award holls is one of the only schools in the county to implement what is known as team Court we partner and collaborate with the six judicial court and hold Court meetings out of school to make it more accessible to families and students at the risk of truy their program mainly focuses on underclassmen to get them on track for graduation and improve their attendance while building them up with supports in place for Success starting last year we began offering the Triad of Life Training where we partner with Sunstar paramedics to promote safety among staff and students by teaching stop the bleed Narin Administration and bystander CPR as a way to support our students and families within the community Hollands operates a thrift store for free of charge and offering not only clothes and shoes but also hygiene products for anyone who may need it theft store runs solely on donations and student volunteers this year we have added a dress closet fully stocked with beautiful prom and homecoming dresses allowing students to save money when it comes to school dances Hollands is a truly unique place with an overwhelming number of opportunities our teachers and administrators ensure that we leave Holland with some form of college credit or industry certification this puts us a step ahead of the competition when it comes to applying for colleges and jobs our school's mission is to be the best public high school in the state of Florida and every day the students teachers and administrators try very hard to achieve just that holl has given us the opportunity to learn and grow in fields for our interests all about giving us real opportunities we are incredibly grateful that we are able to attend such an amazing school as we conclude we would like to thank the school board Mr hendrik Mrs metf and all the others who make Holland's High School possible thank you thank you and thank you for highlighting the academic Excellence talent and opportunities available at Holland's high thank you agenda item 2.1 possible changes to the agenda Mr hendrik are there any amendments to the agenda yes Madam chair there is one Amendment item 7.22 request approval of the administrative appointment of the principal at Tarpon Springs Middle School it was added for the public to look at yesterday uh as we concluded interviews at the end of last week thank you board members are there any amendments as board chair I see good cause to amend the agenda as described by Mr hendrik agenda item 3.1 adoption of the agenda may I have a motion Miss I have a motion by Mrs King and a second by Mrs Meyers the vote will reflect um well all in favor I the the vote Flex 60 with one board member being absent okay all right public comments on agenda items Mrs Hal are there any speakers to agenda items yes Madam chair we have one speaker okay members of the public have three separate opportunities to address the board when we gather for a business meeting the first is public comment on agenda items the second is at public hearings most of which are policies the last is after our meeting when speakers May address the general business of the district at each opportunity for public input board members are here to listen to you this is not a time for interaction but the board will take your comments into consideration before it votes on agenda items the board is committed to a standard of Civility in the Quorum in conducting our meetings this includes refraining from clapping or making audible noises during or after a speaker's comments we appreciate your assistance in maintaining a civil and constructive environment lastly please note that this meeting in all public comments will be broadcast live on their internet and the video will be publicly archived members of the public may always communicate with the board through our email address board pcsb.org or by calling the board off office at 588 6300 thank you um our speaker today is Mark ktho he is speaking to items 7.15 7.16 7.18 and 7.13 13 uh 421,000 but the final bill is 5 million and of course you're upgrading the chiller and HVAC system systems oh yeah pump the carbon 715 you're going to uh decrease but it's still 5, 156,000 for another bad building 716 uh you're going to De decrease but it's still 22 million $963,000 for another bad building 718 a decrease but it's 4, 362,000 no no I take that back 7,498 th000 with a strategic price priority fiscal and operational responsibility what a joke you know walking in here I'm looking over here at that new hideous City Hall for the city of Largo and I'm thinking if only Largo or the panel schools would make some buildings to give an example for them I wouldn't be looking at that building but all of these here are the same thing over and over again and so we end up with the headline like this this science can't keep up with the warming planet and we have these graphs so the part that you could do you just completely ignore high performance passive solar building that science is right for the picking and what do you do just completely ignored thank you on to the next agenda item seeing that there is no unfinished unfinished business we're on to agenda item seven consent may I have a motion in a second to adopt the consent agenda I make a motion we have a motion from Mrs long and a second from Miss Peters all in favor the vote passes six NOP five Z thank you now we're moving on to pardon oh you you can check with M Mrs Meer and Mrs Myers okay so the vote passes 60 for the consent agenda now moving on to nonconsent agenda item 8.1 may I have a motion in a second to appr approve agenda item 8.1 which is the request for approval with cix for the purchase of the crisis alert wearable solution make motion we have a motion from Mrs long and a second from Mrs Meyers Mr Hendrick thank you m edman I'd like to call up our school safety specialist Shan Joel uh to talk more about this item 8.1 but we did Workshop this last week with the board and as board as the board knows we continually look at all of our systems to make our schools as safe as possible and this particular request We Believe brings even greater safety to our students and staff and so to explain that and a little bit about the contract Mr Joel Madam Vice chair board members superintendent Hedrick and staff good morning so in 2020 during the legislative session alysa's law was enacted and from alysa's law it dictated that every school district within the State of Florida purchase and provide to their staff and administrators a mobile Panic alert system capable of integrating directly with the closest responding emergency dispatch Center as a district we looked at the approved list provided by the Florida Department of Education selected the vendor and we implemented that during the 2122 Academic Year and it has been in place since that time during this time now technologies have new technologies have emerged Advanced and evolved and from our research in our review we discovered a wearable crisis alert badge produced by CICS and we believe that this particular solution will only add to our current operational platform that we have in place for the Safety and Security of our schools it is a single-purpose badge that can be worn by our staff and our administrators along with our school ID so they will have it on them at all times at any one of our campuses throughout the district the nice thing or the incredible thing about this new technology it will integrate directly with our current software solutions that we have in place within our security so it will not detract it will only increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the Safety and Security platform we have in place which means that identifying or being notified of a critical incident at one of our campuses will be that much quicker the response from law enforcement will be much more efficient and effective of getting to the exact location on our campus to provide the emergency response uh to that particular situation I truly feel through the research and review that we've done uh that this will actually be a force multiplier for the current Safety and Security protocols we have in place however it will not negatively impact us providing a welcoming and a safe and respectable climate within our learning environments for our school board members are there any comments Mrs long I just want to thank you for the research that your team does it it's going to make life a lot safer for kids unfortunately we live in a world where danger is all around us but this is a great way it's something that I think will ease teachers that they don't have to run you know uh when I taught moons ago you panicked and this Panic will be right there on your neck ready to go I think it's going to take a lot of pressure off of teachers thank you ma'am so thank you yes ma'am thank you Mr Joel and your team having the opportunity to speak with colleagues as well as the representatives of this organization I believe this is the right step to go um um so thank you very much thank you we have a motion on the floor to approve all those in favor I any oppose motion passes 60 agenda item 8.2 requests the adoption of the proposed greater Florida Consortium of school boards 2025 legislative program may I have a motion in a second to approve item 8.2 motion thank you Mrs long Mrs long made the motion Mrs blackberg Blackbird made the second currently I have an opportunity to serve as the president of the Consortium of school boards and I'm proud to bring this item forward the Consortium has 10 School member districts at this time and those districts include bravard Broward Charlotte CER Manatee Miami Dade Monroe Palm Beach our County and St Lucy annually member districts are asked to submit platform recommendations our platform item except for our Appropriations requests was submitted and later discussed at the consortium's legislative platform meeting with proposals from other counties in November the majority of our platform items are included in this document as stated during the workshop if the board rejects any issue that issue is automatically removed from the program um there was no discussion to remove or amend any items at the workshop so at this time we have a motion on the floor to approve all those in favor any opposed motion passes 60 agenda item 8.3 requests the adoption of the Florida school boards Association 2025 legislative platform may I have a motion in a second to approve item 8.3 we have a moot from Mrs Myers and a second from Mrs Peters Mrs Kane would you please introduce this item sure thank you so much um very proud to serve the penel County School Board as the uh representative on the Florida State School Board um board of directors as well as the Florida state um School boards Association policy committee this year um while I'm not on the legislative committee I'm going to introduce the item um but I've been keeping up with um some of the changes and the the bills being proposed throughout the process so if you've taken a look at this document some of it um you've probably seen before in Years Gone by but some of the highlights of this year's platform for the Florida State School Board are our Hurricane Relief and Community resilience platform um there's some items on there about not um holding harmless uh school districts who had to relocate students into other areas due to the hurricane and the effects of the hurricanes in different geographical areas there's a section um that is dedicated to that as well as administrative efficacy which um is highlighting the school start time uh proposals um throughout that there's some in information on attendance and accountability about allowing districts to laser in on unexcused absences that are currently the the current um current policy states that in within a 90-day period a student would need 10 unexcused absences for the district to take action and so the proposal is that we would eliminate the 90-day period so that after the 10th unexcused ACC absence to the district would be able to um start um start the process of initiating um a I would say uh mediating the process sorry I'm fumbling all over that one but and not show that's what it means uh we have an area on school safety as well continuing to support um the implementation of HB 1473 school safety and also finally in the final section of the uh proposal there is an entire section for um education funding and fiscal responsibility discussing um student based allocation and a number of other um Workforce Development proposals so if you've had a chance to look at it it's really um great proposals and hopefully um we will be successful in this year's platform thank you Mrs Kane I have the opportunity to serve on Florida school boards Association legislative committee for both Federal and local advocacy and I just would like to acknowledge the work of our board because as we created our platform items and provided the opportunity for me to um submit those with Mrs Dole the majority of our platform items are included on the Florida Schoolboard Association um platform and as mentioned in the Workshop they have the platform items on the front and items related to funding on the back of the platform and one thing that we didn't have a opportunity to disc discuss that Miss Kaine mentioned is in the platform is the hurricane relief and Community resilience which is a great great component of this platform on top of the other items included so thank you very much for your work on the platform colleague and I look forward to um continue to push our advocacy forward and if this passes we'll have the support of the State Association as we move forward with items in our advocacy so thank you we have a motion on the floor all those in favor I any opposed the motion passes 60 thank you very much on to new business agenda item 9.1 superintendent yes thank you madam chair uh last February as you remember board members we applied for district white accrediation from Coga and we reive word in July uh that we receive that accreditation ongoing accreditation uh just last week we received recognition from Coga that we have been honored uh as the only Florida school district for exemplifying the values that drive positive change and Improvement in student outcomes in their once ay Year award to school districts uh in the State of Florida so we're very proud of that uh award and we'll be receiving it in January as the only School District in Florida to receive that congratulations to all of our uh students our staff and our community for that great recognition over the last weekend we've had lots of opportunities to see the student experience in action in penel County Schools one of those was at aelia Middle School school with the fourth annual uh annual drone Expo the Sunshine State drone Expo which is hosted by the school's Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron uh different drones from all over the state and operators helping students understand ways uh to use the technology and also make careers from that we also had seven schools Advanced from the first Lego robotics regional tournament and they will go to Orlando to participate in the state tournament coming up those include the oio Middle School Chiefs the Fitzgerald Phantoms the East Lake Middle School engineer Eagles the Safety Harbor brick Rays the John Hopkins Middle School techn Trojans the Perkins Elementary Wares Warriors and the Clearwater Fundamental radioactive trash pandas all seven schools advancing to the state competition and last weekend we also had our indoor soccer championship which was won by Oak grve Middle School and that was part of the larger experien PCS event and to give the community a little more information on that we have a short video that we're going to show so we're at experience PCS this is our third year of trying to show the community what's available in penel County schools look we have demonstrations from students from everything from culinary to vettech and everything in between and then we have a lot of competitions there's musical drum line today uh behind us in the gymnasium is an indoor soccer championship for middle school so it's just showing the community and inviting everyone in to see what penel county schools has to offer we want to show the community what we have it's so infrequent that they get to come inside and experience School the way it is today which is very different maybe than 20 years ago 40 years ago and so you get to see the new things all the new technology what this young man is doing he's using our virtual reality prisms headsets and he it is designed for mathematics from middle school math all the way through advanced math and High School but this is really engaging their mindset on reality it makes the the lessons come to life so we're experiencing our second annual chalk mural challenge we've got four participating schools the theme this year is spark excellence and so you're going to see some kind of uh imagery that's connected to that the other thing that's that they need to incorporate in their image is the PCS porch logo [Applause] El we've created a family engagement event around math give me five thank you we believe that parents are the Cornerstone of partnering with our schools to ensure that students achieve and so what we have here is an example for elementary and secondary using Bingo to instill those math concepts he loves math and it was great because he got to use his math skills and memorization and everything that he's learned in school as the parents and the families go through this process they then end with an area here which is conversation and so we know that the Cornerstone for all levels is having that conversation with your kids about their school day this was fun because I got to learn new things about like animals and how to like make things this is fun because I really like Hands-On activities and I got to experience that today having a really fun time I think about this was so fun I like dressing up as a firear because this my first time being a fightman shoot and a glow this was fantastic I didn't even know they had this and to be able to see different areas of different schools and what's offered throughout the pel's county schools was astonishing I think this is so cool I'm excited to touch the tarantula I think it's cool that they're keeping the PE the kids and their families involved and teaching them about animals I think it's great a learning experience for science and technology and uh both my kids have had a really good time I think the drones are really fun but it's a a lot of fun and educational and and it's um it's different my daughter malice she have a very great experience with the singing at night CH it's amazing for her this is a very great event that I have experienced it's awesome so there about 4,000 attendees last weekend I want to thank board members who were there also Mayor Bruce Rector spent a long time uh watching and cheering on students in the soccer indoor soccer competition and I want to thank Principal Bob Florio for opening up his school uh for the weekend uh we are at the end of the Fall Athletics season and I want to congratulate the high school football players who participated in the 30th annual penis All-Star football game which was also held at cler High School uh last week the South County team beat the north 34 to2 but all the students had the opportunity to be an All-Star and speaking of Allstars I want to congratulate uh two of our fall sports teams the Northeast High School boys cross country team and the Northeast High School girls volleyball team which both earned first place in the State academic team championships they had the highest grade point average of any team in the state in those particular Sports and a couple of things coming up for the the public to do as you're at home over the next couple of weeks for the holidays go out and see some student artwork at the Maran Art Center the high school artwork has just closed but the Middle School artwork is now on display it's through January 18th at the Maran and our continuing way to Showcase student artwork across the community this year's theme at the Maran is my favorite thing and our district application program will ramp up the opportunity for parents to apply for magnet fundamental and Career Academy programs will begin on January 7th we'll have a YouTube live on January 6th but over the break is a great time to take a look at those websites and make those final preparations and of course I know everyone on January 1st will be watching the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade in California as our own seminal Warhawk marching band will be participating in that parade and it is our last board meeting before our upcoming holiday break and I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable break and finally as I do at each meeting I'd like to recognize one of our employees for demonstrating our core values and this time is Miss jod Baran a third grade teacher at Fugate Elementary school who was recently recognized by a colleague who said Miss Baran exemplifies a commitment to children and connectedness with both staff and families after being a teacher for over 30 years watching Miss Baran work with her students to instill the joy and fun of learning has reinvigorated me she makes connections with students through fun and learning and reminds me daily that the two should be intertwined and for this both my students and I are grateful thank you Miss Baran and all our employees for what you do each and every day in this most challenging semester and look forward to that two-e break for all of our employees thank you madam chair agenda item 9.2 items introduced by School Board attorney I have no report today thank you madam Vice chair thank you um agenda item 9.3 items introduced by the board okay I do have a few items um one is is I had the opportunity to attend explore PCS and um every year it's different and I think that's just another way that the district highlights what's going on that's great from the chili cook off to the art contest um having an opportunity to see my own child um engage in the activities was great so thank you and your team for providing that opportunity annually um Saturday I had the opportunity to attend reading opens the world um book distribution held at John Hopkins and that was put on by aft and pcta pespa so I would like to acknowledge them and several students from Holland's high they were volunteering popping the popcorn making the cotton candy and just to see the amount of books the excitement on teachers students and all that walked in there to obtain those 30 books in Legos that just was amazing so thank you and then last but not least is the fsba advocacy committee um they met during the conference and completed an activity but I just want to let colleagues know that in January the meeting will be open to all board members they'll have a social media and a marketing expert on the call um just to provide some information regarding social media and legal even though we have Mr kerski here to give us all our legal guidance um and also one of the platform items that are both on our platform fsba and the Consortium is the VPK Bill and Senator Burman filed a full day VPK bill so just making you sure that you all are aware of that so that we can continue to track those items and I wish you all a wonderful safe winter break um Mrs Woodford do we have any requests I did not record to any requests thank you uh agenda item 10.1 with that seeing no other business I adjourn this meeting and move to public participation Mrs Hal do we have any speakers today uh yes we have three speakers this morning thank you I will adjoin the meeting and we will move to public okay we will now move to 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 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 in decorum and 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 hendrik 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 Mrs H thank you madam chair the first two speakers are Mark clo and Dr Jeff Walker Mark lutho Largo did your lawyer and I tell you your civility notion is null and void the 11th Circuit Court ruled here's page 16 restrictions that bore offensive or otherwise unwelcome speech are impermissible straightforward did you not instruct them do you not understand plain English straightforward simple effectively happy talk that's with some catastrophes around it permitting a speaker to give positive or benign comments but not negative or even challenging ones no doesn't work that way you know again First Amendment you just don't understand how it works you're pathetic I have to have another meeting again science can't keep up with the warming Planet you don't do your part ignoring the science of high performance passive solar building here's the headline hurricane Milton is terrifying and it is just the start more hurricanes are slamming the Gulf Coast is this the new normal yeah it certainly is and who's responsible tariffs May raise us prices so you factor that into it into your equation and then here was the spotlight on Tampa Bay and these stupid fools reactionaries and that's all you are you're just creating a hell of a future because you ignore science it's so sad 25 years I've been bringing the science Mr Walker my turn okay yeah hi my name is Dr Jeffrey Walker I'm a Duke University trade neurosurgeon practicing in pelis county for 40 years starting next year and I've been on the pelis Education Foundation for uh over 20 years and I'm a founder and major sponsor of Walker Rising Stars I'd like to invite everybody to that uh wonderful event on May 5th at mafy theer theater it starts at 6:00 and you bring all your family grandkids kids it's a wonderful event that celebrates excellent uh in the Arts in all the Arts it uh all those students are A+ students and the reason I'm here today this is the first uh Schoolboard meeting I've ever been to uh and so I want to uh what I'm trying to talk about here is that uh uh my son is a seventh grader at thorough Good Marshall Middle School and of course he's gifted and in the gifted program so he came uh home with a c on his report card so in my world b means bad and C is like terrible so I chassen tized him about getting to C and he goes but I made the honor rooll honor rooll how can you make an honor rooll with making a c so I found out from uh Mr Hendrick that that's board policy that having to see get can get you into the honor role throughout this whole meeting we've been celebrating excellence in education students uh our own uh School District you know went to a all right and uh I think it's very important that we uh raise the bar High these students will jump over it you have to have confidence you have to raise the you know this policy was set when the school district was was a c so you know no one's happy that it was a c or even a b school district and now it's a middle of the pack a this board and the superintendent they wanted to be a A+ School District so so well I think that you need to change the honor roles to eliminate C's they have to have all A's and B's Straight A's is the principal's list then uh the other issue is that my son came home and he was very upset because his Spanish teacher gave him a 50 on a homework assignment where he forgot the last question out of 20 and then so that didn't seem right to me and then she cited a board policy that if you don't uh turn in your homework or it's incomplete that you get a 50 well that was really designed so if you don't turn in the work uh you get a 50 instead of a zero so it doesn't you know completely ruin your grade so she did eventually come around to that but the fact that the teachers thought that that was board policy I think that needs to thank you the next speaker is Lee Bryant good morning Miss uh Edmond uh members of the board superintendent h and staff my name is Lee Bryant I'm the president of the pcta and it was nice seeing some of you at the uh reading opens the world event Miss uh Edmund miss blackburg Mr hendrik and if I missed you it may have been out because I was out learning how to make cotton candy that morning so I could teach the uh kids from Holland High we did have volunteers from Hollands and St Pete High there and that was uh that was very uh very fun event uh aft sponsored it Randy wearden the president came uh uh first book sponsored it Florida Freedom to read was there with Miss Miller working very hard uh and her family I'd like to thank uh Mr herbick and his staff uh Mr hendrik and uh School uh from jhop uh John Hopkins Mr Carman Jones Mr Michael Sharp and Miss Christy Lane for all their help uh putting on the event we had over 30 pallets of books and Legos to give away uh over 30 thousand books we gave away we shared thousands and thousands and thousands of books with families with teachers uh it was a wonderful event we had uh DJ Kitty there we had uh St Pete mad the uh music acting and dance troop uh this so after the event we were able to share with uh pre- level books with the families at uh the Betty Ray Ivy Center the Lou Williams School uh dropped off books there this morning at 6:30 at the Lou Williams uh Center for prek it was uh tough I'm not used to that I'm not in high school anymore uh as we finish up this calendar year uh simply uh if you celebrate and you remember uh U Christmas Hanukkah or k Quanza uh your friends at pcta and pespa wish you a happy holidays uh alone we can do so little together we can do so much thank you there are no more speakers thank you that concludes our me