Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
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20:41 Thank you. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
20:48 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
20:52 and to the republic for which it stands,
20:55 one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
21:04 all.
21:05 At this time, I would like to offer my fellow board members
21:07 and Dr. Mullins the opportunity to recognize students, staff,
21:10 or members of the community.
21:12 Let’s start with Ms. McDougall.
21:16 Thank you.
21:17 First, I want to remind everybody about the upcoming fundraiser
21:21 for the Cocoa Choir.
21:23 They have been invited to Carnegie Hall in October,
21:27 and the Cocoa Playhouse in Cocoa Village is having a fundraiser
21:32 for them,
21:33 and I believe the date is August 10th.
21:35 I think tickets will be available in July, so keep your eyes
21:38 open for that.
21:39 So I hope you can all attend and support Cocoa High School.
21:44 Also, I was attending the NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Banquet,
21:50 which was wonderful to connect with people again,
21:54 and I was lucky enough to meet the new principal at Stevenson
21:57 High School,
21:58 Mrs. Flieger, and she had a meet and greet for the local
22:01 community,
22:02 business people, and it was very nice to meet her.
22:06 I think she’s going to be dynamite there.
22:08 She has some shoes to fill, but I think she’s going to do just
22:11 fine.
22:11 So that’s kind of what I’ve done.
22:16 Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
22:18 Ms. Belford?
22:21 Thank you, Ms. Duskovich.
22:23 I wanted to thank the Brevard Schools Foundation for all that
22:27 they do.
22:28 Several of us had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago
22:31 to attend the Brevard Schools Foundation Golf Tournament
22:34 and wonderful support from our business partners,
22:38 which of course helps to make lots of things possible in Brevard
22:40 Public Schools,
22:41 so we certainly appreciate that and want to give a shout-out to
22:43 all who supported.
22:45 I also have to give a special shout-out to two of our board
22:48 members
22:49 who actually got a hole-in-one on the putting challenge.
22:54 Ms. Campbell and Ms. McDougall rocked it with a hole-in-one out
22:59 on the putting challenge.
23:00 I tried more times than I would like to count and it was not
23:03 successful, but they were awesome.
23:05 So thank you guys for your support.
23:07 Mr. Susan, you were there as well, hitting with his sledgehammer.
23:11 It was a good time and lots of good stuff happening.
23:15 Last week we were at the Florida School Board Association,
23:18 and I will be getting out to you all the legislative update.
23:23 We have what we lovingly call the Book of Ruth.
23:26 Ruth Melton is the FSBA person that puts together our
23:28 legislative updates,
23:29 and it’s a good-sized book, so I’ll be going through
23:32 and pulling out the most important information to share with you
23:36 all,
23:36 and I’ll send it out in an e-mail so you can glance through it.
23:40 I wanted to mention that this Thursday we have an adult ed
23:43 graduation at Clear Lake,
23:45 so if any of you are available, I try to make all the adult ed
23:48 graduations I can.
23:49 They’re a ton of fun, and I think the students really appreciate
23:53 our presence.
23:54 So I would encourage you to reach out to Jeff or not if you’re
23:57 planning on attending
23:58 so they can make sure to have a gown for you since ours have
24:01 been returned.
24:02 7 p.m. Clear Lake, I believe.
24:05 Thursday.
24:08 Thank you, Ms. Belford.
24:11 Mr. Susan?
24:14 So thank you.
24:16 First off, I wanted to say thank you to the Economic Development
24:19 Council Board of Directors.
24:20 We had a meeting two weeks ago, and we were honoring Bill McGinnish’s
24:25 aviation program
24:26 from O’Gally High School, and he gave them a huge–so that
24:31 everybody understands,
24:31 the Economic Development Council, when he was trying to buy
24:34 supplies
24:34 and he was trying to fight up to get his program going,
24:37 they gave him $35,000 out of a grant they got from Tallahassee
24:41 to supplement that to move forward.
24:43 So Bill came forward and gave a big propeller signed by all the
24:47 kids, which was really cool to give to the EDC.
24:49 Unbeknownst at that moment, Bill had a series of on-the-job
24:54 training opportunities
24:55 that he had for his students this summer that the funding had
24:58 fallen through,
24:59 and he was telling that story right there in front of the EDC,
25:02 and, of course, he raised–
25:05 he only needed $1,500. He raised close to $3,000 in a matter of
25:09 about 10 minutes
25:10 to fund those kids to go back.
25:11 So a huge shout-out goes to the Economic Development Council,
25:15 the Space Coast’s Board of Directors.
25:17 That’s Linda Weatherman and the crew over there. They’re
25:20 absolutely amazing.
25:21 I also wanted to give a shout-out to the golf tournament.
25:23 Before you two ladies showed up, I was pretty good at golf,
25:25 and now all of a sudden my game needs to be picked up because
25:28 you guys are draining the hole in ones.
25:29 I did have my sledgehammer contest against Gary Shiffrin.
25:32 Many people understand he’s in my community, and he’s known as
25:36 the golfing guru of the entire area,
25:38 so it was very nice last year when I beat him, and then this
25:41 year he beat me.
25:42 So I was out at a garage sale, and my daughter found this, and I
25:46 didn’t notice he was here,
25:48 but since we’re going to challenge each other every year, I’m
25:50 going to put this for Gary Shiffrin to come get
25:53 because he won it this year, and then we’re going to pass it
25:56 back, back and forth every year.
25:57 So this is going to be the sledgehammer cup. He’s not here.
26:00 I’m going to call him out for not being here, but this is going
26:03 to stay here until he comes and gets it.
26:04 So just so everybody knows, that’s Gary Shiffrin. He beat me,
26:07 and I’m a good sport,
26:08 so I’m giving him the sledgehammer cup for until next year.
26:11 I drove by this morning and sat out there with the guys from Wharton
26:14 Smith for Viera Elementary School
26:15 so that you guys know that is moving quick.
26:18 They have four of those huge arms digging out all of the lakes
26:22 around.
26:23 The foundation is up. They’re still moving, and those guys – I
26:26 mean, I drove up.
26:26 I didn’t go on the ground because I have a little foreign car
26:29 that would get stuck and I’d look ridiculous out there,
26:31 so I sat on the paved part. They drove up, “Hey, you want to
26:33 come out here and look at it?”
26:34 I mean, they’re real excited, moving forward quick. A lot of
26:37 good things happening over there.
26:39 And on a different note, I wanted you guys to understand
26:42 something
26:43 that we did lose a student from Rockledge High School. He was on
26:46 the baseball team.
26:47 And a unique note, that night, the night of his funeral where
26:52 everybody was at,
26:53 the Rockledge High pitcher that pitches for Florida State, which
26:58 was also a part of that team,
26:58 pitched a shutout in the College World Series.
27:01 So it was kind of a bittersweet story to follow in around.
27:05 And with all the other things that are going on in our district,
27:08 I wanted to say, “Good job,” and that’s it.
27:11 Do you want me to pull this thing down, Chair?
27:13 Thank you, Mr. Susan. Whatever.
27:15 Does it bother you?
27:16 I don’t care.
27:17 We’ve got camera angle here.
27:18 Ms. Campbell.
27:20 All right. First of all, I wanted to thank Linda Buffum and the
27:25 professional development team
27:27 for the event they put on the day after school got out on May 31st.
27:31 They hosted the first-year new teacher event, and I heard it was
27:34 a lot of fun.
27:35 And so great job, you guys, for encouraging our first-year
27:39 teachers
27:39 and letting them have a day just to kind of breathe in and
27:43 reflect on how things went.
27:45 I have had a little bit of fun this summer, besides playing golf,
27:51 which I can’t really say I played golf.
27:53 I just swung the putter and got lucky.
27:58 But I have had fun visiting some of our construction sites this
28:01 summer,
28:01 our half-cent sales tax projects going on at Southwest Middle
28:05 School.
28:05 I was duly equipped with goggles and whatever you call it,
28:11 strapped in or whatever so that I wouldn’t fall out.
28:16 Yeah, hard hat, had the hard hat, and everything got to go up
28:18 and get an up-close and personal look
28:20 at the replacement of the canopy at Southwest High School, which
28:23 is about 30 feet up in the air.
28:24 They’re doing a good job down there.
28:26 Also was able to go to Lockmar and see the replacement of some
28:29 of our air conditioning units,
28:30 our half-cent sales tax money, hoping to get some other sites in.
28:36 I was able to see this wasn’t half-cent sales tax but the
28:39 replacement of the Mill High football field that’s going on.
28:42 And we have great – our team put good contracts together with
28:48 great people who are working on those projects
28:49 and then our staff that are supervising those.
28:52 So I hope to get to see some of the other projects going down in
28:55 District 5.
28:56 We’ve got a lot of construction going on down at our end this
28:58 summer.
28:58 So thank you to those guys who let me come and visit.
29:03 I wanted to thank Dr. Sullivan and her team and all of our
29:07 principals and assistant principals at the secondary level
29:09 and reading coaches and teachers on assignment and all of the
29:12 leadership in our secondary schools who had their team planning.
29:18 I can’t remember what the official title of it was, but they all
29:21 got together and just broke down data
29:24 to see which students – you know, a lot of our schools are A
29:27 schools, B schools, but it’s every population,
29:29 it’s every racial breakdown, it’s every – you know, are
29:33 students with disabilities, are students that are economically
29:37 challenged,
29:38 free and reduced lunch, are they all succeeding at the same
29:41 levels?
29:42 And where we’re not succeeding, what do we need to do?
29:45 And so I got to be a part of that for a few hours and I know the
29:49 work continued on and it will continue,
29:50 but I just appreciate the chance that they all got to sit down
29:53 together and brainstorm and work together and really dig deep.
29:58 I want to remind everybody that this week is the culmination of
30:03 the summer fine arts theater workshop.
30:05 And if you don’t have your tickets yet, please go online and
30:09 find them.
30:10 You can find them on the BPS page. I think you can find them on
30:12 the BPS Facebook page.
30:13 I know I’ve got them posted on my Facebook page, the link, down
30:18 at Oak Alley High School on – the show times are the same,
30:20 Thursday night at 7, so I won’t be at the graduation, but Friday
30:24 night at 7 and Saturday at 2 at Oak Alley High School,
30:27 they will be putting on Fiddler on the Roof and then at Merritt
30:31 Island High School, they will be putting on Mary Poppins.
30:33 So I’ll be catching both those this week.
30:35 I hope that you get out to support our students because I think
30:38 it’s going to be two really great shows. That’s all.
30:42 Thank you, Ms. Campbell. Dr. Mullins?
30:45 Thank you, Ms. Deskovich. A couple of things. I want to express
30:51 a thank you and appreciation to Congressman Bill Posey,
30:54 who annually recognizes students – did someone – no one else
30:59 mentioned that, right?
31:01 No. Tina was going to.
31:03 I claimed it earlier that I was going to share, but you go right
31:06 ahead.
31:06 I missed that. I can’t retreat now.
31:09 Congressman Posey bestows upon a senior every year at our high
31:15 schools the Congressional Medal of Merit.
31:19 And these students are chosen because they demonstrate exemplary
31:24 citizenship and academic excellence
31:25 throughout their high school careers and displayed an
31:29 outstanding sense of service to their peers and community.
31:31 And our administrators in our schools nominate these students.
31:36 So I would appreciate going through the list and recognize them
31:39 one more time.
31:39 Our students across the district who were recognized, Ms.
31:43 Gabrielle Maggard from Astronaut High School,
31:45 Mr. Jacob Sickles from Cocoa High, Heather Hartz from O’Gally
31:50 High School,
31:50 Madison Mercer from Heritage High, Sydney Clark from Merit
31:54 Island, Sebastian Fogel from Rockledge High,
31:58 Tessa Dempski from Space Coast, Chancellor McGriff from Viera
32:03 High School, Nathan Johnstone from Bayside High,
32:07 Brittany Stanley from Cocoa Beach, Logan Mendoza from Edgewood,
32:12 Taylor Aldega from Melbourne High,
32:15 Brandon Harcourt from Palm Bay High, Coby Thompson from
32:19 Satellite, Sydney Acheson from Titusville High,
32:23 and Smriti Sanjay Kapal from West Shore Junior/Senior High.
32:28 It was just such a prestigious ceremony for our students.
32:36 Of course, Congressman Posey was there and families were there.
32:39 It was just a beautiful recognition of our students’
32:43 accomplishment.
32:44 And last, I’d like to share that I had the genuine pleasure of
32:49 being a speaker,
32:50 a guest speaker at the Summit of Seven conference a couple
32:57 weekends ago.
32:58 The Summit of Seven is in its 27th year, I believe, and it is a
33:05 collective of our faith-based community,
33:07 particularly in the University Park area, who challenged men in
33:13 the church to identify seven younger men
33:16 to bring to this conference, and it’s about coming together
33:20 around growing up, mentoring up,
33:23 and building up young men to be leaders in our community.
33:27 Just that there were almost 500 attendees.
33:30 It’s grown from less than 200 27 years ago to 500.
33:35 And the energy and the synergy and the positivity and the
33:39 support from the community,
33:41 sponsors from Microsoft to the Brevard Schools Foundation, was
33:45 just such an impressive demonstration
33:48 of what our community is about, and it was a privilege to be a
33:50 speaker at the event, so thank you.
33:53 Thank you, Dr. Owens. That sounds like a good opportunity.
33:56 I just have one.
33:58 It seems so late now because it was weeks ago, but we haven’t
34:01 had a school board meeting in a few weeks,
34:03 and it’s to the teachers and staff at Indiana Elementary School
34:06 that put on – it’s the fifth grade –
34:09 the fifth grade teachers that put on Ellis Island Day at the end
34:11 of every year.
34:12 They’ve been doing it for at least 20 years.
34:15 I believe your children went there, Dr. Mullins.
34:17 I’m sure they experienced Ellis Island Day.
34:20 And for my older son who has now graduated, it’s one of his
34:22 favorite memories of elementary school,
34:24 and now my younger son was able to experience it this year.
34:28 It is – it’s such a tradition there, and it is – the kids
34:31 learn so much hands-on.
34:33 They spend – they dress in period time clothes.
34:38 The volunteers were all asked to speak foreign languages, so
34:41 when the kids arrive to Ellis Island,
34:43 they can’t understand what’s going on.
34:45 They go through the whole process of getting their passport
34:48 checked, and there’s errors in it,
34:51 and they get yelled at in a foreign language, and they get upset.
34:53 And I think they’re told they’re not going to pass – if they
34:55 don’t get through Ellis Island to America,
34:57 they don’t pass the class.
34:59 And so they have the anxiety of not getting through a little bit,
35:02 and it’s such a phenomenal thing.
35:04 And they’ve stuck with the tradition, and it’s super impactful,
35:08 and I just want to give them some recognition for their hard
35:10 work.
35:11 It’s not easy to pull that all off for a day learning experience.
35:15 And that is all I have.
35:17 Ms. Belford, do you have something else to add?
35:19 I apologize.
35:20 One important thing that I overlooked – happy belated birthday,
35:24 Ms. Daskovich.
35:25 You were – we have not been together since your birthday
35:28 occurred,
35:29 and I know that we were, I think, in our cone of silence at the
35:33 time.
35:34 So happy belated birthday to you.
35:36 I hope you had a great day.
35:38 Thanks. Appreciate it.
35:40 Okay, this brings us to the adoption of the agenda.
35:42 Dr. Mullins.
35:48 Ms. Daskovich and members of the board, on this morning’s agenda,
35:50 we have administrative staff recommendations,
35:53 22 consent items, five action items, and ten information items.
35:57 You also have the yellow supplemental agenda, which are changes
35:59 made to the agenda since being released to the public on Tuesday,
36:03 June 18th.
36:04 Item A7 on administrative staff recommendations, F10 on student
36:09 expulsions,
36:11 as well as F27 on O’Gally High School additional design services,
36:16 and G32 on purchasing solicitations, each received a revision.
36:22 What are the wishes of the board?
36:24 Move to approve.
36:25 Second.
36:26 Second by Mr. Susan.
36:28 Please, any discussion?
36:30 Please vote.
36:38 Motion passes 5-0.
36:45 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about the
36:46 administrative staff recommendations for today?
36:49 Yes, there are eight persons on this agenda item for the board
36:52 to consider.
36:54 What are the wishes of the board?
36:56 Move to approve.
36:57 Second.
36:58 Motion by Ms. Belford.
36:59 Second by Ms. McDougall.
37:00 Any discussion?
37:04 We’re approving administrative staff recommendations.
37:07 Any discussion?
37:09 Please vote.
37:18 Motion passes 5-0.
37:20 Dr. Mullins.
37:21 At this time, I would like to welcome and congratulate first
37:24 administrative appointment,
37:26 Ms. Sandra Martinez, on her reclassification and transfer from
37:30 the position of assistant principal
37:31 at Enterprise Elementary School to the position of principal at
37:35 Sherwood Elementary School.
37:37 Congratulations.
37:43 First, I’d like to thank the board, Dr. Mullins, Ms. Klein, Dr.
37:47 Sullivan, for this opportunity.
37:49 I am thrilled to be a part of Brevard County Schools.
37:52 I’ve grown up in Brevard, and I went through the school system,
37:56 so I’m a product of Brevard,
37:58 and I’ve spent the last 20 years in Brevard County Schools as an
38:01 educator and learning leadership,
38:03 and I’m just so very grateful.
38:05 I’d like to thank my family today who are representing me.
38:08 There are many, but for the two that are here, my sister Erica,
38:12 thanking the Brevard County Zoo for releasing her for this
38:14 celebration,
38:16 and also my daughter Alethea.
38:19 I’m just so proud that they’re here to do this with me.
38:22 I’d like to take a special moment to thank all of the directors
38:25 that I have worked under and alongside.
38:28 They have really prepared me for this position, given me many
38:30 opportunities and gentle nudges along the way.
38:34 So thank you so much, and to all the principals and assistant
38:37 principals as well.
38:39 And a shout-out to my Enterprise staff.
38:41 Love you, and thank you for such – the last three years have
38:44 been amazing,
38:45 and the growth amongst all of us has been phenomenal.
38:49 And a special thank you to the Sherwood staff who came out today.
38:53 What a warm welcome.
38:55 I really appreciate all of you.
38:57 And to my new assistant principal, Ms. McDonough, I’m just
39:00 thrilled.
39:01 I can’t wait to be an archer, and I’m honored to be a part of
39:07 your family.
39:10 Congratulations are also in order for Cole Mannes on his reclassification
39:17 and transfer from the position of teacher at Heritage High
39:20 School
39:21 to the position of ten-month assistant principal at Central
39:23 Middle School.
39:24 Congratulations.
39:28 Thank you very much.
39:29 Thank you to the board, Dr. Sullivan, Ms. Bowman, my wife, Mr.
39:33 Alba, especially Dr. Harris.
39:35 He’s been the principal of the only school that I’ve worked at.
39:39 I’ve worked at Heritage High School for nine years, and that was
39:41 home.
39:42 It’s been nice to learn there and go to other places.
39:45 I feel especially fortunate to be placed at Central.
39:48 I did go to Central back in the day at the exact spot,
39:52 and one of the most poignant life memories happened to me there
39:55 where a student who wasn’t very popular was being bullied,
40:01 and I saw it happening, and I saw the fight that happened and
40:05 everything,
40:06 and I didn’t do anything about it.
40:08 It’s something I can never go back and change.
40:10 It’s something that’s haunted me for a long time,
40:12 but it’s also something I’ve used for a moral beacon
40:14 that does pop up at certain times in my life,
40:17 and to be able to be at the exact school where that happened
40:21 and march the kids to the exact spot where I made life-altering
40:24 decisions
40:25 is something that I’m ready to undertake,
40:28 and it’s going to be a very great tool for me.
40:30 So thank you very much for this appointment,
40:32 and I will do my very best to make you all proud.
40:35 [applause]
40:41 Next we congratulate Andrew Hoppenbrouwer.
40:46 How did I do?
40:47 Perfect.
40:48 All right.
40:49 On his reclassification and transfer from the position of
40:51 teacher
40:52 at Jackson Middle School to the position of 10-month assistant
40:55 principal
40:56 at Merritt Island High School.
40:58 Congratulations.
40:59 Thank you.
41:00 [applause]
41:02 I want to thank the board and Dr. Mullins and Dr. Sullivan
41:05 for this opportunity.
41:07 I’m also a Brevard County School product from Ocean Breeze to
41:11 Delora to Satellite.
41:12 I had the pleasure of working at Satellite High School
41:15 for a large chunk of my career under Mark Elliott and Eileen
41:17 Hare
41:18 and Doug Cook and Kevin Ryan,
41:20 and I want to thank them for the push to go back to school
41:24 to give me leadership opportunities.
41:27 And then I’d like to thank at least two ladies that are here
41:30 from Jackson,
41:30 Ms. Susan, Ms. Shockley, and Mrs. Donahue, my dear friend and
41:33 mentor at Jackson,
41:35 for giving me all the growth opportunities that they could find
41:39 while I was there at Jackson for the year.
41:41 And then I’d like to thank, obviously, my family and my wife,
41:44 who’s with my son in the back, for dealing with me being busy
41:47 all the time.
41:49 My dad is here.
41:51 My mom and my mother-in-law are all here to support me.
41:53 And then finally I’d like to thank Mr. Ramer over at Merritt
41:56 Island
41:57 for the opportunities he’s given me to continue to grow.
42:00 And I’m looking forward to being a part of the Mustang family,
42:03 so thank you.
42:04 [applause]
42:09 I have to do a special thank you to Mom and Dad Hoppenbrouwer.
42:15 Thank you for raising up a son to serve our kids.
42:17 He’s also an FSU fan, Dr. Mullins.
42:19 And an FSU alum?
42:20 Yes, sir.
42:21 All right, go Noles.
42:22 [laughter]
42:24 Congratulations to Steven Link on his reclassification and
42:27 transfer
42:28 from the position of teacher at Heritage High School
42:31 to the position of 10-month assistant principal at Vieira High
42:34 School.
42:35 [applause]
42:38 Congratulations.
42:40 First off, go Gators, most importantly.
42:42 [laughter]
42:43 All right, moving right along.
42:46 Thank you to the board.
42:47 Thank you, Dr. Mullins, for this opportunity.
42:48 Thank you, Dr. Sullivan.
42:51 Another Brevard County public school product.
42:53 I was the first class at Crystal McAuliffe Elementary.
42:56 Way back when that opened, I was in kindergarten.
42:58 The first year that opened, and then I went to Southwest.
43:01 And then I may have gone to a private school for high school,
43:03 but that’s okay.
43:06 Thank you so much to Dr. Harris.
43:09 I’ve been at Heritage for ten years and six years with him
43:12 and his leadership in helping me grow from a teacher and a coach
43:15 to giving me every possible opportunity I could ever ask for
43:18 and then a little bit more to get to this point right now.
43:22 It’s been an unbelievable journey.
43:24 It’s hard to step away from coaching,
43:26 but I’m excited for this next opportunity to grow in the Vieira
43:30 community
43:31 and help them in any way possible.
43:33 Thank you to Sarah Robinson, my new principal,
43:35 for giving me this opportunity, one that I’ve wanted really bad
43:38 all year long,
43:39 and I’m just excited to do it.
43:41 Thank you to my dad for years and years of support
43:44 and every facet of the word of support,
43:46 and to my beautiful wife, Brooke, for helping raise our two boys
43:50 at home
43:50 while I’m off chasing down kids and getting my masters
43:54 and maybe doing a few other things on the side.
43:57 But I’m so excited for this opportunity,
43:59 and I look forward to serving this community in any way possible.
44:01 Thank you.
44:03 [applause]
44:06 And likewise, Dad Link, thank you for raising up your son to
44:09 serve our kids.
44:11 Moving on, we congratulate Ms. Vivi Finerson on her reclassification
44:16 and transfer from the position of teacher on assignment
44:18 at Heritage High School to the position of 10-month assistant
44:21 principal
44:22 at Merritt Island High School.
44:24 [applause]
44:27 Good morning.
44:29 I’d like to first thank the school board for your appointment.
44:33 I am also homegrown Brevardian.
44:37 I graduated from Oak Valley High School, so go Commodores.
44:42 I’d also like to thank Dr. Harris, who encouraged me.
44:46 He kind of got on my nerves sometimes.
44:50 But that was the teaching moment as well.
44:53 Everything is not going to always go the way that you think it
44:55 should.
44:56 But anyway, I’d like to thank him again.
44:59 I’m going big blue, but I’m no longer going big blue.
45:02 I am going Mustang.
45:05 I’d like to thank James Ramer for accepting me.
45:09 We’re going to have fun, trust me.
45:11 And then my dad, excuse me, I’ve been sick ever since I’ve had
45:16 that interview.
45:17 [laughter]
45:19 But anyway, again, I’d like to thank my dad and his wife,
45:23 my stepmother, Shirley Finerson.
45:26 James Minus, I was expecting to see him here.
45:29 He’s also been an exploration for me.
45:31 He’s pushing me, encouraging me to go higher.
45:34 And Dr. Sullivan, I’ve known her forever.
45:37 So I’d like to thank everybody, and I’m looking forward to being
45:40 a Mustang.
45:41 Thank you.
45:42 [applause]
45:46 Again, Mr. and Mrs. Finerson, thank you.
45:48 Very proud of your daughter, as I know you are as well.
45:51 And also, I can’t pass up – that was, I think, the third
45:54 appointment we’ve had so far,
45:56 coming from Heritage High School under the leadership of Dr.
45:59 Harris.
46:00 So, Dr. Harris, thank you for providing those professional
46:03 growth opportunities,
46:05 even more than they may have wanted,
46:08 to get them ready to serve students and families, community, and
46:11 other schools,
46:12 who appreciate your leadership as well.
46:15 Go Big Blue.
46:17 Congratulations to Niamh Torlak on his reclassification
46:21 and transfer from the position of teacher at Bayside High School
46:25 to the position of 10-month assistant principal at Vieira High
46:28 School.
46:29 Congratulations.
46:30 [applause]
46:34 Thank you, Dr. Mullins. Thank you, school board.
46:37 I’d like to thank my mentor from Bayside High School, Ms. Lena
46:40 Whitebelt.
46:42 She gave me all the opportunities for growth, and I really
46:45 appreciate those.
46:47 I would like to thank the staff at Bayside High School who
46:50 accepted me
46:50 and gave me those opportunities as well.
46:53 And then I would like to thank Ms. Robinson for giving me this
46:56 opportunity
46:57 to become a hawk at Vieira High School.
47:00 And finally, I’d just like to thank my family for putting up
47:03 with me this whole time.
47:05 [applause]
47:12 And finally, congratulations to Dr. Michael Miller on his
47:16 appointment
47:17 to the position of director of transportation.
47:20 Mr. Miller has been serving in the capacity of acting director
47:23 of transportation,
47:24 and I think he has now officially failed retirement as a former
47:28 Brevard Public Schools principal
47:31 for many years to serve us as the director of transportation.
47:34 Congratulations.
47:35 Thank you, Dr. Mullins.
47:36 [applause]
47:39 I want to thank Dr. Mullins and for the board and for district
47:42 staff for taking a look at me.
47:45 I want to thank Dr. Thetty for calling me one day when I was
47:49 just out of the blue
47:50 sitting at the doctor’s office, and she twisted my arm, and you’re
47:54 right.
47:55 I am officially failed retirement.
47:58 I have been back since January, like you said, into
48:00 transportation.
48:02 It has been a learning curve that I have thoroughly enjoyed.
48:05 I spent almost 37 years at the school level,
48:09 and now I’m seeing the school district at a different position,
48:12 and I’m really enjoying it,
48:13 and we’re hoping to make a big difference in transportation
48:16 services for our students and our schools.
48:19 Thank you.
48:20 (audience applauding)
48:23 Congratulations to all of you. What I loved about that was
48:31 several of you were homegrown
48:34 graduates from our own schools. I think I like to watch that
48:37 happen.
48:37 We are now onto the public comment section of our meeting.
48:41 Though school board policy
48:42 0169.1 limits to 30 minutes the portion of the meeting during
48:46 which the public is invited
48:47 to participate and provide public comment, the policy further
48:50 provides that this time
48:51 limit may be extended by a board vote. We have five speakers
48:58 signed up this morning.
49:02 Each speaker is limited to three minutes. We have a clock in
49:04 front of me to help you
49:06 keep track of your time. When your time is over you’ll be asked
49:09 to stop and allow the
49:10 next speaker his or her turn. Always keep in mind that
49:13 reasonable decorum is expected
49:15 at all times and your statement should be directed to the board
49:18 chairman. The chairman
49:19 may interrupt, warn or terminate a participant’s statement when
49:22 time is up, personally directed,
49:24 abusive, obscene or irrelevant. Should an individual not observe
49:28 proper etiquette the
49:29 chairman may request the individual leave the meeting. Let’s all
49:33 encourage an environment
49:33 appropriate for our children who may be present or watching from
49:37 home. Let’s begin with our
49:38 first three speakers, Mr. Bradley, Mr. Colucci and Ms. Skipper.
49:59 Before speaking if you could
50:00 state your name, the organization you represent and identify the
50:03 topic that you will be discussing.
50:05 Thank you, Mr. Bradley. Good morning. First thing I’d like to
50:19 talk about is something
50:22 that’s really on my heart. I don’t know why I’m here. My only
50:28 real focus goal is to live
50:30 each day for the fullest and try to honor God and encourage
50:34 others. What the future
50:36 holds is firmly God’s hands and I’m happy about that. I got a
50:43 few things I’d like to
50:47 share with you. The company I work for, if you’d ask the
50:52 president of the company what
50:54 he would say, and he says I don’t pay good wages because I have
51:02 a lot of money. I have
51:04 a lot of money because I pay good wages. And I was very
51:11 disappointed yesterday about what
51:14 happened. I spent about three or four hours Saturday going on
51:21 the internet and looking
51:23 at what some of the board did in the community. I was very proud
51:29 of that fact. But at the
51:31 same time, you’ve got to realize you’ve got to spend money to
51:37 make money. You can’t run
51:40 a school system on dimes and nickels when you need dollars.
51:49 Another thing, it’s good
51:52 to have money and things money can buy, but it’s good to check
51:57 once in a while and make
51:59 sure you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy. What does
52:07 a corporation do when
52:08 things go south? They start reducing overhead. And I think we’ve
52:16 got a lot of overhead where
52:18 we shouldn’t, and I don’t know how to find out who’s what, but I
52:24 don’t understand when
52:26 you’ve got teachers that have to have a certificate to teach,
52:30 and then you’ve got people out of
52:33 the district office going out and telling the teachers how they
52:37 should teach. Let them
52:39 do their job. Let them teach the way that God wants them to
52:46 teach. And a few people
52:49 would spend as much money, as much time going out to the schools
52:53 and talking to schools,
52:54 spend some of that time up in Tallahassee and telling them
52:58 people that you need more
52:59 money for your school. My taxes is going to go up, but I don’t
53:04 care because it’s investment
53:06 in the future. You’ve got to spend money to make money. Now, two
53:11 and two made four when
53:13 I went to school, but some reason or other here at this school
53:17 board, two and two is
53:18 making five, and I don’t understand that. Thank you, Mr. Bradley.
53:32 Mr. Colucci. My name is Anthony Colucci. I’m the president
53:36 of the Brevard Federation of Teachers. Mr. Susan, on behalf of
53:40 our teachers, we want
53:41 to thank you for staying true to your word on increasing teacher
53:45 pay and more importantly
53:47 voting on behalf of the best interests of students yesterday.
53:50 Thank you. That trophy
53:51 is in the right spot today. We appreciate that you had the
53:56 courage to ask sincere questions
53:58 of your CFO and not accept her flawed analysis without question.
54:03 For the rest of the board, it is now clear as day as to where
54:07 you stand on the issue
54:08 of teacher pay when you’re away from the campaign trail. We will
54:12 point to this vote every time
54:14 you want to tell us how much you appreciate teachers. You
54:17 actually probably are best off
54:20 just avoiding that lip service. Even when a neutral party tells
54:24 you that you can afford
54:25 a raise and it’s in the best interest of students to give that
54:29 raise, you chose to pad your
54:30 budget. Even when your CFO comes to a meeting completely
54:34 unprepared to answer your questions,
54:37 you fell in line to maintain the status quo. Perhaps most
54:41 concerning is that you wouldn’t
54:42 even accept the facts the union presented and verified by a
54:46 neutral party when there
54:48 was nothing presented to dispute them. It’s simply appalling
54:52 that you think teachers are
54:53 going to be baited by promises of some great raise next year.
54:58 How many years in a row can
54:59 you say that? I’m counting three right now. I’m not sure how you
55:03 can even believe that
55:05 at this point. It’s unfortunate that yesterday marked the day
55:09 that this school district will
55:10 begin its descent to rock bottom. I know for most of this board,
55:14 apparently saying I didn’t
55:15 bring information is more credible than actual data, but just a
55:19 reminder to the public, there
55:20 were about twice as many teachers resigning or retiring this
55:24 June as there were last June.
55:26 That’s just a fraction of what we’ll see in July and August.
55:30 There were 81 instructional
55:31 vacancies last Wednesday. Your actions took a sledgehammer to
55:36 teacher morale. Teachers
55:38 will start the year with continued protest and resentment
55:40 towards much of this board
55:42 and superintendent. How do you pass the sales tax in 2020? Are
55:46 you really going to ask teachers
55:47 to support that? Some of you are fond of bragging that at the
55:51 last second you decided to support
55:53 the half penny. That’s cute, but teachers like me actually
55:57 actively campaigned for it.
55:58 I won’t be doing that again. Perhaps most disturbing is that
56:01 some of you wanted to do
56:02 a political punt by bringing up millage now. Too little, too
56:07 late. Teachers and taxpayers
56:09 don’t trust you. The course that you set is terrible teacher
56:13 morale, low wages, unfilled
56:15 teaching positions, a failed effort to renew the half cent sales
56:19 tax, and additional millage
56:21 that doesn’t even get off the ground. The public will vote you
56:25 out of office. The new
56:26 board will hire a new superintendent, one who believes in
56:29 holding staff accountable,
56:31 and eventually we will rebuild this district into a better one,
56:34 one where every classroom
56:36 has a certified teacher and one who gets compensated as they
56:40 should be.
56:40 Thank you, Mr. Colucci. Ms. Skipper.
56:46 Good morning. At one of the recent meetings I talked about
56:54 teachers needing to be turnkey
56:57 ready on the first day when students walk through their doors.
57:00 We are expected as professionals
57:02 to have a welcoming classroom and a plan in place to build a
57:07 classroom culture built on
57:09 trust and standards driven instruction. We are expected to have
57:14 our objective standards
57:15 and lessons ready to go every single day. We are expected to
57:20 anticipate challenges and
57:21 adjust our instruction, oftentimes on the spot. We are expected
57:27 to be on time and prepared
57:29 for meetings, and when we are not, we are reprimanded. Are the
57:33 same things happening
57:34 to every employee in this district? I lost count of the times
57:38 that I heard I don’t have
57:40 that information yesterday during the legislative hearing. Since
57:46 when is being ill prepared
57:48 for your job appropriate? Since when is it okay to show up to a
57:52 hearing on such an important
57:53 topic as teacher pay without your current budget? We have sat
57:57 with teachers this year
57:58 in disciplinary meetings for not having data ready for meetings
58:02 or for being late for meetings.
58:04 Is discipline happening at all levels or just for teachers? And
58:09 also, why was a CFO of Brevard
58:12 County who makes over six figures a year never asked to boot up
58:15 her computer and bring the
58:16 information you needed? Are you telling me that in 2019 there
58:20 was no ability for her
58:21 to have a laptop to access the necessary information or that
58:23 during the recess she couldn’t have
58:25 walked to her office, which is in the same building, to get that
58:29 information? Another
58:30 phrase I want to discuss is credit rating. It seems the district
58:33 is very concerned about
58:35 its credit rating, but not at all concerned about its teachers’
58:39 credit rating. We have
58:40 teachers who can’t buy houses in the community in which they
58:43 teach. We have teachers who
58:44 are barely staying above water financially while watching their
58:48 credit rating sink. Here’s
58:49 a message I received about yesterday. I’m currently trying to
58:53 refinance my house. My
58:54 issue is I have max credit cards. I’m single and caring for my
58:58 96-year-old mother. I’m
58:59 just paying principal. My bank rejects me because of my debt
59:03 ratio to income. I needed
59:06 the increase from the magistrate. I can’t keep up with less than
59:09 cost of living increases.
59:11 I’m screwed because I can’t retire and stay in my own home. My
59:15 doctor has put me on blood
59:17 pressure meds. I have been a teacher in this district for now 13
59:21 years. I am that average
59:23 year of experience that we talked about yesterday. If I didn’t
59:28 have a master’s degree, I would
59:30 be that $43,000 median income. If I had chosen Orange County, I’d
59:37 be making $11,000 more
59:38 dollars than I do now. During that four-year pay freeze that was
59:42 projected on the screen,
59:44 I lost my house because I couldn’t refi because I was an annual
59:48 contract teacher with an income
59:50 that wasn’t steady. You guys had the choice to do better
59:53 yesterday and you made the wrong
59:55 choice.
59:56 Thank you, Ms. Skipper. Our next two speakers are Chris Vasas
1:00:06 and
1:00:07 Jensi Lee. Good morning. My name is Chris Vasas. I believe I
1:00:25 sent you all an e-mail
1:00:26 except for Ms. Mullins regarding my situation with the event
1:00:31 list. I just ask that you at
1:00:34 least check into the type of service that I give and the quality
1:00:38 of the service that
1:00:40 I normally give. Yes, like any company, I am going to have
1:00:43 issues. You are not supposed
1:00:45 to, but when you are doing 50, 60 trips a month, you are going
1:00:49 to have issues. You are
1:00:50 not going to please everybody all the time. So I really
1:00:54 appreciate if you look into it
1:00:55 in depth with some of the people that I put as references. Thank
1:01:00 you very much. I appreciate
1:01:02 everything that you just do. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vasas.
1:01:07 Jensi Lee. Good morning. My name is Jensi Lee. I am a music
1:01:17 teacher at Holland Elementary.
1:01:21 I am here because something that touched me yesterday from the
1:01:28 meeting, I have been working
1:01:31 with Brevard Public School since 2002, and my husband has been
1:01:36 working since 2001. We
1:01:38 are loyal to this public school. It is our passion to be who we
1:01:47 are to these kids. As
1:01:54 music teachers and teaching the arts, we teach compassion for
1:01:58 kids to kids. So they eventually
1:02:01 hopefully will grow up to be one that continues the humanity for
1:02:06 the next generation. So with
1:02:10 either transparency or not, from yesterday’s meeting, something
1:02:15 was thrown out about the
1:02:17 STRINGS program. I am sure you are aware that the STRINGS
1:02:24 program in Brevard County touched
1:02:27 many lives in this county. Not only that, but it is recognized
1:02:35 statewide, highly recognized
1:02:37 in the state of Florida, and also nationally with festivals like
1:02:42 Music for All, National
1:02:44 Orchestra Festival competitions, and the Midwest Band Clinic
1:02:49 competitions. That comment affects
1:02:56 some of us who are in the room, because we worked hard, and I
1:03:00 know all the STRINGS teachers
1:03:03 worked hard. They have more on their plate than regular music
1:03:09 teachers. But I just want
1:03:11 you all to understand that their job is very important. I am not
1:03:15 here to defend my husband’s
1:03:17 string consultant, but his colleagues from Titusville all the
1:03:23 way down to Heritage, and
1:03:26 every single one of them deserves the respect and recognition
1:03:30 that their job is important.
1:03:31 Another thing for the last 45 seconds, I am from Malaysia, and
1:03:36 growing up in Malaysia
1:03:38 and in Singapore, seeing the education there, the budget line
1:03:43 one is teacher salary. Because
1:03:45 they are in the class, they are there. They are the human in the
1:03:50 classroom. Be with the
1:03:51 kids and affecting all these kids mentally and emotionally, and
1:03:56 with the academics. So
1:03:57 I want you all, moving on to the next budget meeting, teacher
1:04:03 salary, if you take care
1:04:05 of that, have faith, and be courage, and go out and find money,
1:04:08 just like we all do where
1:04:09 we need money for our funds. Like Ms. Tina Deskovich has been
1:04:14 giving out the bridge builder.
1:04:16 We go out to ask for donations for our programs for the kids. So
1:04:22 I hope all of you will do
1:04:23 that, have the courage and have faith that it will be there with
1:04:27 Boeing moving in. There
1:04:28 will be a lot of monies coming in. Please, thank you.
1:04:34 Thank you, Ms. Lee. Ms. Lee, I just want to respond to a little
1:04:40 of what you said. We know,
1:04:42 at least I know, that you are an amazing music teacher, and we
1:04:45 are grateful for your dedication.
1:04:47 I appreciate your comments. I just want to clarify Ms. Campbell’s
1:04:50 comment yesterday.
1:04:55 What we ultimately voted for was to make sure that those areas
1:05:01 of things that I was talking
1:05:04 about with social workers, Ms. Campbell was talking about with
1:05:06 the strings programs, would
1:05:08 be protected. We felt like, four of us felt like we were going
1:05:13 into risky areas. I know
1:05:15 we can all disagree on that all day, but we felt like if we went
1:05:18 that extra $6 million,
1:05:19 we didn’t know where we were going to cut that from. So she was
1:05:22 saying, I can’t get
1:05:24 near, I don’t want to touch strings. I was saying, I don’t want
1:05:26 to touch social workers.
1:05:28 People yell at us for board priorities. We each have these
1:05:31 priorities, and that’s what
1:05:32 she was saying. So your strings program is absolutely safe with
1:05:35 the most recent vote,
1:05:36 so please don’t worry about that, okay? Thank you. Mr. Susan,
1:05:41 did you want to share?
1:05:42 Yes, I just wanted to say that there is absolutely no looking
1:05:46 right now at cutting any of those
1:05:48 said programs by any single member on this board or the
1:05:51 superintendent in any way. You
1:05:53 can rest assured that I hated the fact that you went home
1:05:57 thinking that. It was not what
1:05:59 their direction was in any way. So if that helps you, I just
1:06:03 wanted to say that.
1:06:05 Thank you, Mr. Susan. Any more comments for the public speakers
1:06:10 before we move on? Ms.
1:06:12 Belford. Ms. McDougall, do you want to start? Okay. Ms. Belford.
1:06:18 So just a couple of comments that I think are important for
1:06:26 everyone to hear. Be assured
1:06:30 that the feel-good, easy vote yesterday would have been to
1:06:34 support the magistrate’s recommendation.
1:06:37 It would have been much easier for all of us to have done that.
1:06:41 We would have had a
1:06:42 much better afternoon, a much better morning today, and the
1:06:46 unfortunate thing is that we
1:06:47 would not have had a much better next month or the month after
1:06:52 when we started looking
1:06:54 at cutting things like the strings program, like our social
1:06:57 workers, to make up the deficit
1:06:58 in those dollars. I’m not done yet. It is true. For several
1:07:09 reasons, those of us who
1:07:12 voted to support the superintendent’s recommendation did so
1:07:15 because we’re looking at the long
1:07:17 haul, but I think what has not come out in this discussion is
1:07:22 there was a mention of
1:07:24 teachers starting the year with continued resentment. There was
1:07:29 a message of how do
1:07:30 we expect to get the sales tax and that we should put the budget,
1:07:35 the first line item
1:07:36 in the budget as teacher salary. Three weeks ago, the district
1:07:40 went to the union and requested
1:07:42 that they come back to the table so that we could discuss not
1:07:46 only this year’s money,
1:07:47 which is limited because, recall, we had a 47-cent base student
1:07:51 allocation increase this
1:07:53 year, but within the past month, we have received next year’s
1:07:57 budget, and so we know we have
1:07:58 additional dollars for next year. We are eager to make that the
1:08:02 very first commitment in
1:08:04 next year’s budget by going back to the table right away. We are
1:08:08 eager to meet the magistrate’s
1:08:09 recommendation without putting programs in the district in
1:08:13 jeopardy, and we are looking
1:08:14 forward to moving forward in doing that. We don’t want teachers
1:08:17 starting the year with
1:08:18 resentment. We want to wrap this up. We want to get money into
1:08:21 the hands of teachers as
1:08:22 soon as possible, and that has been our goal and that continues
1:08:27 to be our goal, but in
1:08:29 order to do that, we have to come back to the table and we have
1:08:33 to discuss how we get
1:08:34 there. Next year, we have $151 increase in base student
1:08:39 allocation, which gives us the
1:08:41 flexibility to make commitments that we couldn’t make this year.
1:08:44 So please understand that
1:08:46 none of us up here feel great about the decision that we made
1:08:50 yesterday, but we had to make
1:08:52 it in the best interest of the long-term sustainability of the
1:08:56 district, and we have a plan to still
1:08:58 take care of our teachers and get them to that amount, but we’ve
1:09:00 got to get back to
1:09:01 the table and have that discussion, and that is our plan from
1:09:06 our side. There is no one
1:09:07 up here that doesn’t want to give teachers as much money as we
1:09:11 can possibly give them,
1:09:12 but we have to work within the constraints that we have. We can
1:09:15 get there tomorrow, quite
1:09:17 frankly, but we have to work together to get it.
1:09:22 Mr. Colucci, please quiet down. Can I say something?
1:09:27 Mr. Susan.
1:09:30 I agree with the sentiment that each one of the individuals that
1:09:33 sits up here at this
1:09:33 dais does want to give the teachers as much in their possibility
1:09:37 that they can. I would
1:09:38 say that the financial stability of the district, in my opinion,
1:09:42 could have been offset by some
1:09:43 of the numbers that we were receiving, along with the $9 million
1:09:47 of reoccurring funding
1:09:48 that we have coming in next year. So if, in the event that we
1:09:52 could not find the funding
1:09:53 this year to do what you say, I felt like the $9 million of reoccurring
1:09:57 next year, that
1:09:57 was the main point. I feel that this is something that I think a
1:10:02 lot of people have split hairs
1:10:03 about because I do believe, and I’ve said it publicly over and
1:10:05 over again, that every
1:10:06 one of you tries to do the best that they can, and that Dr. Mullins’
1:10:10 heart is true.
1:10:11 It was a difference of how to get there. That’s all.
1:10:14 Thank you, Mr. Susan. Ms. Belford.
1:10:17 I agree with you, Mr. Susan. I think we’re on the same page on
1:10:20 that. I think where we
1:10:22 vary on that is we can’t commit dollars from next year’s budget
1:10:27 for this year’s issue,
1:10:30 which is why it was so important that we be able to have the
1:10:32 conversation and go back
1:10:33 to the table so that we can address what we’re doing next year.
1:10:36 And I think that you would
1:10:37 agree that had we gone back to the table, we would have all been
1:10:41 where we wanted to
1:10:42 be at this point. So that’s my only encouragement, is that we
1:10:46 keep that in mind going forward,
1:10:48 and the sooner that we can do that, I think the sooner that we
1:10:51 can address some of the
1:10:52 concerns that have been brought forward by the community and the
1:10:54 teachers.
1:10:54 And I agree with you, Ms. Belford, and I would remind the board
1:10:58 that Dr. Mullins multiple
1:10:59 times in his statement in paper, along with what he said over
1:11:02 there, was that we were
1:11:03 looking at next year’s funding, which allowed us to free up reoccurring
1:11:07 dollars that gave
1:11:08 us the extra money for this year. So I was only asking to
1:11:12 continue that same thread of
1:11:13 thought where we were looking at next year’s revenue to gain for
1:11:17 this year. And we could
1:11:18 have got to that point per the reoccurring dollars that we had,
1:11:22 and that was my point.
1:11:24 » Thank you, Mr. Susan. Thank you, Ms. Belford. Ms. Campbell or
1:11:27 Ms. McDougal.
1:11:28 » No, Ron, you can’t talk. You got your three minutes.
1:11:31 » The board wishes to thank our public speakers. We appreciate
1:11:35 your participation in our meetings.
1:11:37 This moves us on to the consent agenda. Dr. Mullins.
1:11:43 » There are 22 agenda items under this category, one with prior
1:11:45 information.
1:11:46 » What are the wishes of the board? Does any board member wish
1:11:51 to pull any of these
1:11:52 items? » If I can pull F11 and F14, please.
1:11:54 » Pam, will you please pull F11 and F14? I will entertain a
1:12:02 motion to accept the consent
1:12:03 items with the exception of the items F11 and F14, which have
1:12:07 been pulled.
1:12:08 » So moved. » Second.
1:12:11 » Moved by Ms. Belford, second by Ms. Campbell. Is there any
1:12:16 discussion on the consent items
1:12:18 that were not pulled? Please vote. Motion passes 5-0.
1:12:34 Mr. Susan, let’s move on to F11. We need a motion on F11.
1:12:39 » Move to approve. » Second.
1:12:41 » Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford. Open for
1:12:44 discussion. Mr. Susan.
1:12:45 » Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m taking a look at this, and this
1:12:48 is a perfect example of
1:12:49 how we can raise funds throughout the district. Our advertising
1:12:53 group went out and worked
1:12:55 out this sale for the rental of the name of the stadium. My
1:13:00 point today, and Dr. Mullins
1:13:01 was in full agreement on our one-on-one less than a month ago,
1:13:05 was that we have talked
1:13:06 up here about raising local revenue through advertising dollars
1:13:11 for years, and we just
1:13:13 don’t seem to get the curve because we’ve got so many things
1:13:16 going on. We proposed that
1:13:18 we go out to an outside advertising agency. They collect a small
1:13:21 percentage of it, but
1:13:22 we have literally a lot of money just sitting that we don’t
1:13:26 collect every year. The naming
1:13:28 of stadiums, we can put up signs that are appropriate to that.
1:13:31 We have frontage on 95s.
1:13:33 We have main drives that you can put up. I mean we can wrap our
1:13:36 maintenance vehicles.
1:13:37 There’s an entire plan that we’ve already looked at, multiple
1:13:40 ways of recovering this
1:13:41 revenue, and I just wanted to make sure, because I didn’t want
1:13:44 to speak to Dr. Mullins out
1:13:45 of turn, that the rest of the board’s on board with moving
1:13:48 towards something like that. I
1:13:50 had already given Mr. Matt Reed a call and just said, hey, I’m
1:13:53 going to pull this thing.
1:13:54 I called him last week when I was looking at the budget or the
1:13:57 agenda, and he said he
1:13:58 agrees wholeheartedly and they’re moving in that direction, but
1:14:00 I didn’t want to be like
1:14:01 a lone wolf pushing an outside agency. We have an issue that we
1:14:05 don’t want to pay somebody
1:14:06 to be doing that because, one, we’re not the best at that, and
1:14:09 one person that we would
1:14:10 cost would not be able to do the rest of it. So go out to RFP to
1:14:13 do whatever it is.
1:14:14 Mr. Susan, I recommend that we either put that on the next board
1:14:18 retreat or board workshop
1:14:19 and ask staff to come forward with some suggestions, ideas,
1:14:23 opportunities, and let us hash that
1:14:26 out. I’m sure there’s concerns about what type of advertisements
1:14:29 we can allow and not
1:14:30 allow and different things, but I’m ready to dive in and discuss
1:14:33 that if the rest of
1:14:35 the board is. Everybody feel good about that? Dr. Mones, can you
1:14:38 please?
1:14:39 Just to acknowledge, at a previous board workshop, there was
1:14:42 interest as well, and Mr. Susan
1:14:43 and I had a follow-up conversation a couple weeks ago. I am
1:14:46 working with staff to develop
1:14:48 a proposal or a study of what opportunities are out there and
1:14:51 what they could present,
1:14:52 so we’ll be planning a workshop in the near future, but we can
1:14:55 certainly have some additional
1:14:57 conversation at board retreat. Perfect.
1:14:59 And if we can sort of work towards an aggressive – not an
1:15:02 aggressive, but some kind of a date
1:15:04 where we say, okay, we’re either going to do it or we’re not
1:15:06 going to do it, here are
1:15:07 the rules by a specific amount of time. And I only ask that
1:15:10 because I am guilty of it,
1:15:11 too, for not following up, but I’ve been up here for almost, you
1:15:14 know, almost three years
1:15:15 now and it’s – I haven’t gotten it across the finish line.
1:15:19 Understood. Dr. Mones, can you give us a tentative when you
1:15:22 might have something to show us a
1:15:23 month? We’re not putting pressure like it needs to be next month,
1:15:26 but just give us an
1:15:27 idea. No, I don’t mean that at all. I just – whatever
1:15:28 it’s going to take for staff to get it forward, we can just get
1:15:30 it done.
1:15:31 I’ll review with staff and give you a tentative date by the end
1:15:34 of the week.
1:15:34 Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you.
1:15:38 So we have a vote on the approval. Are we ready to vote? Is
1:15:40 there any more discussion?
1:15:42 Please vote on item F11. Do we need a voice vote, Pam? Oh, it’s
1:15:48 on there. Please vote.
1:15:52 Motion passes 5-0. We now need a motion for F14.
1:15:56 Move to approve. Second.
1:15:58 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford. Open for discussion,
1:16:02 Mr. Susan.
1:16:03 Yes, ma’am. I would ask the Board to go to the item and pull up
1:16:07 the financial statements
1:16:09 and move to page 19. It was something that I was trying to state
1:16:13 and I just wanted to
1:16:13 kind of follow up with it today since it’s one of the agenda
1:16:17 items, not in any way against
1:16:19 this item. So if you go to item F14, go to page 19 at the bottom,
1:16:24 it should say capital
1:16:25 projects fund compared to 2017 to 2018 as of April 30th.
1:16:29 Hold on one second, Mr. Susan, because I only have seven pages
1:16:32 on my document. Here we go.
1:16:34 Say what page again? I’m just getting it open now.
1:16:35 19. Page 19. Okay. I’m there.
1:16:44 Are we good? Everybody okay? We’re all there? So what I’m
1:16:51 looking at specifically is if
1:16:54 you look at the local sources, go down to April 2018, we
1:16:59 received $83,785,398 last year
1:17:03 as of this time. This year as of this time, we have $100,147,156.
1:17:09 That is a net increase
1:17:10 of $16 million in local sources. This was one of the points that
1:17:14 I was trying to make
1:17:14 that our local revenues are moving up and here’s a document that
1:17:18 I can show. Also, the
1:17:19 other fact that I was trying to get at, if you look down at the
1:17:22 end where it says ending
1:17:23 fund balance and beginning fund balance, now this is our capital
1:17:27 projects, we had an ending
1:17:28 fund balance of $107,777,623 and we are now at $108,861,513 for
1:17:38 a total – I’m sorry.
1:17:39 Am I on page 19? We’re not looking at the same numbers at all.
1:17:46 I’m looking at the same thing you are. I’m so sorry.
1:17:50 That’s okay. I just want to make sure I’m following on. I’m on
1:17:52 page 19.
1:17:53 Are you looking at the bottom page or your page on the right?
1:17:56 Mine says ending balance $62,929. Yeah, yeah.
1:18:01 That’s 18. It’s just because – Oh, I was rolling 19.
1:18:06 Yeah, I’m sorry. That’s okay. No, it’s my fault.
1:18:08 Okay. Does that make sense?
1:18:10 So if you look at the bottom – I’m sorry. So for the
1:18:13 individuals that couldn’t pull
1:18:14 it up because it was – I apologize saying the page that was on
1:18:18 the PDF, not on the thing.
1:18:20 If you look at the local revenue, even our state revenue, all
1:18:24 have increased from last
1:18:26 year to this year. If you look at April 2018, you have local
1:18:30 sources from $83 million to
1:18:32 April 2019 of $100 million. If you look at state sources, you
1:18:37 have $1.8 million to $8,347,000.
1:18:42 The idea was just to say that our local revenue is growing at a
1:18:46 rate that is pretty significant.
1:18:48 Also, if you look at the beginning fund balance at the bottom,
1:18:51 which was one of the things
1:18:52 that I was asking yesterday, which was $107 million, it is now
1:18:56 at $108 million.
1:18:57 So it’s a growing beginning fund balance on the capital side.
1:19:00 And if you look all the way at the bottom where it says ending
1:19:02 fund balance, it’s at
1:19:04 $167 million. Now, I’m not asking for Penny to come up. I don’t
1:19:08 need any explanation.
1:19:09 It was just one of those things, and I’m going to ask later on
1:19:11 just for a breakdown of that
1:19:13 capital reserve budget.
1:19:14 Dr. Mullins, can you have that looked into for us, please,
1:19:17 because I think I remember
1:19:19 the number of $6 million told to us at the end – $4 million at
1:19:22 the end of the meeting
1:19:23 yesterday that was left in this fund balance. So unless you know
1:19:28 off the top of your head,
1:19:30 which probably not, I’m guessing you need to dig into that.
1:19:32 Penny, I didn’t call you and let you know. I was just doing
1:19:34 point of clarification, so
1:19:35 I wanted to –
1:19:36 I think we – well, we have a budget update this afternoon in
1:19:38 the workshop.
1:19:38 Perfect.
1:19:39 We can provide some more information this afternoon.
1:19:41 That would be perfect.
1:19:42 An opportunity for discussion.
1:19:43 I haven’t, so that’s not a problem.
1:19:44 Okay. Thank you.
1:19:45 Thank you.
1:19:46 Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
1:19:47 Ms. Belfort, did you have comments? No? I thought I saw you lean
1:19:51 in. Sorry.
1:19:51 It was just a point, and then for asking for clarification later.
1:19:55 That’s all.
1:19:55 Ms. Belfort.
1:19:56 Actually, I will just make one comment on that point of
1:19:59 clarification, and great job
1:20:04 bringing those numbers up. Matt, thank you so much for bringing
1:20:07 it to our attention,
1:20:07 and certainly we do need an explanation later, but just for the
1:20:10 public who is here today,
1:20:12 I believe that within those funds and one of the things that was
1:20:15 also brought up yesterday
1:20:16 is our sales taxes included in there.
1:20:18 Sure.
1:20:19 I just don’t want the public to be leaving thinking that we have
1:20:22 this enormous amount
1:20:23 of capital, but I think also in that conversation, it’s
1:20:26 important to note that if the sales
1:20:28 tax goes away in 2020, this fund looks very different, and not
1:20:32 only does this fund look
1:20:34 very different for us, but it also means that we are going to
1:20:37 have to lose additional dollars
1:20:39 in our operating fund.
1:20:40 Sure, and the point of clarification was for those individuals
1:20:43 that were worried about
1:20:44 us taking a hit on our insurance because of a hurricane, this is
1:20:47 where it would come from,
1:20:48 and I wanted to prove that there were necessary reserves in
1:20:50 order to cover the $10 million
1:20:51 fund balance, or deductible, and that was all. So this is
1:20:55 discussions later on, but
1:20:56 I just wanted to point out the actual numbers now for
1:20:58 discussions later.
1:20:59 Thank you.
1:21:00 Thank you, Mr. Susan. Is there any more discussion on F14 before
1:21:04 we vote? Please vote on item
1:21:09 F14. Motion passes 5-0.
1:21:25 We will now move on to the action agenda. Dr. Mullins.
1:21:36 The first item is G31 on Department School Initiated Agreements.
1:21:43 What are the wishes of the board?
1:21:45 Move to approve.
1:21:46 Second.
1:21:47 Motion by Ms. McDougall, second by Ms. Belford. Any discussion?
1:21:52 Please vote.
1:22:02 Dr. Mullins. Motion passes 5-0. Dr. Mullins.
1:22:05 Next item is G32 on Purchasing Solicitations.
1:22:09 What are the wishes of the board?
1:22:11 Move to approve.
1:22:12 Second. Motion by Ms. Belford, second by Ms. Campbell. Any
1:22:16 discussion? Please vote.
1:22:24 Motion passes 5-0. Dr. Mullins.
1:22:27 The next three items are policies. Each were brought forth to
1:22:32 staff during the work session of May 14, 2019.
1:22:35 A Rural Development Workshop was held on May 28, 2019, giving
1:22:39 the public its first opportunity for public comment.
1:22:42 The policies came before the board as information items on May
1:22:45 28.
1:22:46 Today will be the second opportunity for public comment, after
1:22:49 which time the board may take action by a vote.
1:22:54 I will now hold a public hearing on these policies.
1:23:02 Give me one second, please.
1:23:23 Okay, we are now going to hold a public hearing on the two
1:23:26 policies that are on our action agenda.
1:23:28 I declare the public hearing open. Is there anyone who has come
1:23:33 to address board policy 8407, Safe School Officers?
1:23:40 Is there anyone here that has come to address board policy 8407,
1:23:47 Safe School Officers?
1:23:49 There being no comments, what are the wishes of the board? Move
1:23:53 to approve. Second.
1:23:54 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford. Any discussion?
1:23:59 Please vote.
1:24:07 Motion passes 5-0.
1:24:10 We will move on to the next policy. Is there anyone here that
1:24:13 has come to make public comments on 8406,
1:24:16 Report of Suspicious Activity and Potential Threats to Schools,
1:24:20 Facilities, Students, and Employees?
1:24:23 Is there anyone here that has come to make public comments
1:24:26 concerning 8406,
1:24:27 Report of Suspicious Activity and Potential Threats to Schools,
1:24:31 Facilities, Students, and Employees?
1:24:34 There being no public comments, what are the wishes of the board?
1:24:36 Move to approve. Second.
1:24:38 Motion by Ms. Campbell, second by Mr. Susan. Any discussion?
1:24:46 Please vote.
1:24:48 This concludes the public hearing portion.
1:25:01 Our last policy this morning is school board policy 2520. Is
1:25:05 there anyone here that has come to address policy 2520,
1:25:08 Selection of Instructional Materials and Equipment, Objections
1:25:12 and Requests for Reconsideration?
1:25:15 Is there anyone here that has come to address policy 2520,
1:25:19 Selection of Instructional Materials and Equipment,
1:25:22 Objections and Requests for Reconsideration? There being no
1:25:26 public comments, what are the wishes of the board?
1:25:30 Move to approve. Second. Motion by Ms. Campbell, second by Mr.
1:25:34 Susan. Is there any board discussion?
1:25:36 Please vote.
1:25:46 Motion passes 5-0. This concludes the public hearing portion of
1:25:51 our meeting.
1:25:53 We will now move on to the information agenda, which includes
1:25:55 items for board review and we brought back for action at a later
1:25:58 meeting.
1:25:59 No action will be taken on these items this morning. Dr. Mullins.
1:26:03 There are ten items under the information category.
1:26:06 Does any member wish to discuss any of these information items?
1:26:13 Okay, we are now on to board member reports and discussion
1:26:16 points.
1:26:17 Ms. Campbell would like to have some discussion on the Palm Bay
1:26:20 Youth Advisory Council. Ms. Campbell.
1:26:28 So last week I received a letter from the City of Palm Bay and
1:26:32 under the leadership of Councilman Kenny Johnson,
1:26:35 they have passed ordinance number 2018-69, which creates a youth
1:26:41 advisory board for the City of Palm Bay.
1:26:44 And the purpose is to provide a youth perspective on issues
1:26:48 relevant to the City Council and to facilitate the involvement
1:26:52 of young people in the government process,
1:26:53 basically getting them started at that young age. And you have
1:26:58 attached to the agenda, I believe, the ordinance,
1:27:00 and it describes the students that are going to be allowed, you
1:27:03 know, the qualifications.
1:27:04 And I believe they’ve chosen all those students. But as part of
1:27:07 the advisory board, they have a few advisory positions.
1:27:10 Councilman Johnson will be there as a nonvoting member, but they
1:27:13 also would like to have a school board representative and they
1:27:16 invited me to do that.
1:27:17 But we usually do that by discussion. And so that’s my area. It’s
1:27:21 also part of Palm Bay as Tina’s area, too.
1:27:24 So just wanted to put that out there and just let you know that
1:27:27 that’s if we can kind of get a thumbs up from everybody.
1:27:30 I would love I’m so excited to be a part of this. And we were
1:27:32 supposed to start this evening,
1:27:34 but I believe it’s actually going to be put off till July for
1:27:36 them to get it started again, a nonvoting member, just as an
1:27:39 advisory position.
1:27:43 Does anyone have any concerns with Miss Campbell representing us
1:27:47 on the Palm Bay Youth Advisory Board?
1:27:49 I think you’re I think it’s great. I think it’s an amazing thing.
1:27:52 Palm Bay leads the league when we go out to do like jobs
1:27:55 programs and everything else.
1:27:57 Palm Bay leads the county as far as cities taking initiative and
1:28:00 a lot of hats off to that organization.
1:28:02 I actually took that ordinance, forwarded it to my city managers
1:28:06 of Melbourne Rockledge and Kurt Smith and said,
1:28:08 if you guys wanted to start like something like this, this would
1:28:10 be an amazing thing. Great job.
1:28:12 I mean, all the credit goes to you and them for what they’re
1:28:15 doing down there as far as trying to get our community, our
1:28:17 youth involved.
1:28:18 I’ll leave all the credit with the city council.
1:28:20 I want to just mention that Councilman Johnson is a product of
1:28:24 Brevard Public Schools and his parents are both teachers in our
1:28:27 schools.
1:28:28 And, you know, he’s only 25. Sorry, Kenny, if I got that wrong.
1:28:34 And I think he’s an example of how youth getting involved at an
1:28:37 early age.
1:28:38 He’s you know, he’s really encouraging people as such a young
1:28:41 person to get involved in city government and to move forward.
1:28:44 And so, you know, to see that we might have some more young
1:28:47 people get involved and not be turned off so much of what we
1:28:50 have going in politics these days really turns young people off
1:28:53 and to try to turn them on by giving them a voice and letting
1:28:57 them get involved and see what it really looks like from the
1:28:59 inside out, I think is important.
1:29:02 Thank you, Ms. Campbell. Our next item is our membership to the
1:29:07 Florida School Board Association.
1:29:10 See, we need to make a determination on whether or not which
1:29:13 members want to join the association this year.
1:29:16 This past year, four of us belonged to the organization.
1:29:20 We have our invoice here. It is a cost of $4,612.60 per member
1:29:30 to to be a member. So Pam needs to go ahead to pay the invoice
1:29:34 on who wants to be a member.
1:29:35 I again this year choose not to not to join. So that’s minus one.
1:29:42 How did the other four want one direct him SBA provides
1:29:45 important professional development and opportunities to
1:29:49 communicate with our legislature.
1:29:51 And I know for myself, it’s provided a mentorship program with a
1:29:54 school member from Osceola. And so I intend to continue this
1:29:58 next year.
1:29:59 Okay, Miss Campbell, Pam, you got that, Mr. Susan? Yep. Just got
1:30:03 elected to the board of directors. We’re good.
1:30:06 You have no choice. You kind of off Miss Belfort.
1:30:12 I too am once again appointed as legislative liaison, advocacy
1:30:16 leads and federal relations liaison. So I probably need to
1:30:19 continue that.
1:30:20 Thank you all for taking leadership roles in the organization.
1:30:24 Miss McDougal.
1:30:25 I would like to continue my membership. It’s been very valuable
1:30:29 and helpful at mentoring and also personal growth and knowledge.
1:30:33 So it’s been very helpful. Yes. OK, Pam, does that give you what
1:30:37 you need? Great.
1:30:38 And while I am while we’re on the topic of SBA, they’re
1:30:44 requesting that we submit to them our appointees.
1:30:50 I think for for legislative and federal relations, I was lead
1:30:54 and Matt was back up and for board of directors, Matt was lead
1:30:58 and I was back up.
1:30:59 So if we could if we could just send that over to them, if you
1:31:02 all are in agreement with that.
1:31:04 Yes. No request for changes on that. Yeah. OK, sounds good. OK,
1:31:09 that is one thing Miss Campbell.
1:31:13 Just wanted to remind you that if you are going to be traveling
1:31:16 for SBA or any other purposes under the new statute starting
1:31:19 July 1st under Section one thousand one point three nine,
1:31:23 it requires that school board members that travel outside the
1:31:26 district are requesting that reimbursement for travel expense in
1:31:28 excess of five hundred dollars.
1:31:30 Obtain approval from the school board that the travel is for
1:31:33 official school board business and that it complies with the
1:31:35 rules of the State Board of Education.
1:31:37 So that’s going to change some of your travel plans that can’t
1:31:40 be made as quickly because you just need to have school board
1:31:42 approval.
1:31:43 And that won’t be in a that won’t be a superintendent item. That
1:31:45 will be a school board item.
1:31:47 So just keep that in mind. We have Pam and I are working on a
1:31:51 sample form for you to fill out.
1:31:53 But just remember that is a requirement as any for any travel
1:31:57 after July 1st.
1:31:58 Thank you, Miss involved. Pam, that’s going to require you to be
1:32:03 super diligent with us when we ignore your emails.
1:32:07 Keep harassing. Thank you. Dr. Mullins, do you have anything
1:32:11 that you would like to report on?
1:32:12 Miss Tescovitch and Board. Excuse me, Dr. Mullins has more. I
1:32:16 can go after him. Go ahead.
1:32:17 We wrap up the courts first. So I just wanted to make it clear
1:32:20 that I had some follow up data that I’d like to get back and we
1:32:23 can talk about it in the thing that doesn’t no rush on it.
1:32:26 But I would like to follow up with the instructional lost,
1:32:30 retired and transferred and everybody that’s an instructional
1:32:33 from last year total numbers.
1:32:35 I would like to get the capital fund balance breakout, which
1:32:38 sounds like we’re going to get that later on today.
1:32:40 I would also like to get the lapsed salary breakdown in risk in
1:32:43 relation to when somebody doesn’t fill the positions of vacant
1:32:46 positions, how much money was saved there.
1:32:49 And I would also that’s that’s that’s that’s good enough.
1:32:53 So just clarification of what I needed to go back through it
1:32:57 lapsed cost of vacancies, lapsed cost breakdown of not only
1:33:01 retired, but also every other instructional position that’s been
1:33:05 in there and a capital fund break balance breakout.
1:33:08 OK, sounds like we’re working on it, but I did want to make it
1:33:10 official. Dr. Mullins, you’ve got those three.
1:33:13 Thank you. OK. Do you have anything to report, Dr. Mullins? Just
1:33:17 that there have been some questions on next.
1:33:21 What what follows yesterday’s meeting. And I’ve asked Dr. Teddy
1:33:34 to come and just provide a brief update.
1:33:42 Good morning, Mrs. Deskovitch, board members, Dr. Mullins, thank
1:33:45 you for giving me a brief opportunity to talk with you this
1:33:47 morning.
1:33:48 My team and I have been working to see what we can do to assist
1:33:51 and facilitate the BFT with reaching the teachers to conduct a
1:33:55 ratification vote in recognition that it is summertime and they
1:33:59 do not have easy access to teachers in an effort to support our
1:34:02 teachers.
1:34:03 I wanted to update you and let you know that the BFT is welcome
1:34:07 to use the communication tools and resources at the district
1:34:10 that they don’t traditionally use to help facilitate this
1:34:13 process.
1:34:14 Some of the tools that we’ve looked at and considered include robo
1:34:17 calls. GCR is looking in to make sure that that’s a possibility
1:34:21 to isolate teachers and send out a call to teachers.
1:34:25 District email access to teacher mailing lists, BPS social media,
1:34:30 obviously communication with principals to facilitate having the
1:34:34 schools open and on the date and time that a vote may occur.
1:34:38 I look forward to working with the BFT cooperatively with Mr. Glucci
1:34:43 and Mrs. Skipper to facilitate this process.
1:34:47 Thank you so much, Dr. Teddy. I didn’t even know that was on the
1:34:52 table, so I appreciate the willingness to work.
1:34:55 Obviously, we as the board want to get money in the hands of
1:34:58 teachers as soon as we can, so appreciate it. Thank you.
1:35:02 Can I ask us a follow-up question just around the amount of time?
1:35:05 I know we’ve already done this vote with 1010, but about how
1:35:09 much time is there once a date is set that has to be given as
1:35:14 far as the amount of notice and this preparation before that can
1:35:17 be done?
1:35:18 So there are some things that have to be done before the BFT can
1:35:21 even take it out to a vote.
1:35:23 We have to package up all the TAs and the language from
1:35:27 yesterday and put it together.
1:35:29 I’ve spoken with Mr. Glucci about that this morning, so that
1:35:32 will ultimately become what they vote on.
1:35:35 They need time to be able to put all of that together along with
1:35:39 getting their membership available to vote, so we want to help
1:35:42 facilitate that process.
1:35:43 It does take a little bit of time. Okay, thank you.
1:35:48 Any more comments for Dr. Teddy? Dr. Mullins, do you have
1:35:52 anything else to report?
1:35:53 Thank you. The next school board meeting will be July 9, 2019,
1:35:57 and will convene at 930 a.m.
1:35:59 There will be a workshop in the superintendent’s conference room
1:36:02 today at 1 p.m.
1:36:03 There being no further business, this meeting is now adjourned.
1:36:23 [Music]