Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
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19:59 » And it is your time to speak.
20:01 Mr. Gibbs, roll call please.
20:03 » Ms. Belford.
20:04 » Present.
20:05 » Ms. McDougall.
20:06 » Present.
20:07 » Mr. Susan.
20:08 » Here.
20:09 » Ms. Jenkins.
20:10 » Present.
20:11 » Ms. Campbell.
20:12 » Present.
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20:14 » The board will now hold a moment of silent reflection in
20:17 memory of two BPS students who
20:19 recently passed away.
20:20 Bryson Castor, sixth grader from Williams Elementary, and Luciana
20:24 Wilson, fifth grader
20:25 from Enterprise Elementary.
20:27 Our hearts and prayers are with their families.
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20:52 Thank you.
20:53 Please stand for the pledge.
20:59 » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
21:03 America and to the republic
21:05 for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with
21:10 liberty and justice for all.
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21:16 » At this time, I would like to offer my fellow board members
21:18 and Dr. Mullins an opportunity
21:20 to recognize student staff or members of the community who’d
21:23 like to get us started this
21:25 evening.
21:26 » Kind of mind starting.
21:27 » Ms. Jenkins.
21:28 » Yeah, I just wanna do a quick thank you to Emma Jewell
21:31 Charter Academy for inviting
21:34 me to their Black History Month celebration.
21:37 It was absolutely incredible.
21:40 I really appreciated their sixth graders.
21:42 I think it was sixth graders that were reciting their poetry and
21:46 their raps.
21:47 It was really cool to watch, it was really fun.
21:50 And I also wanna thank Stone Middle School and congratulate them
21:53 for putting on a tremendous
21:56 community celebration for Black History Month.
21:59 It was really incredible to walk inside their library.
22:02 They had a video set up of all the history of Stone Middle.
22:07 Something that I didn’t even know that the last graduating
22:09 segregated class at Stone
22:11 Middle or at the time of Stone High was 1967, so not that long
22:15 ago.
22:16 History of Melbourne and how it was founded, some really amazing
22:20 people that have graduated
22:22 from there.
22:23 They also had their chorus sing the Black National Anthem and
22:25 their culinary students
22:27 put together some really amazing food and desserts for everybody
22:31 to enjoy.
22:32 They also put on a display of what they called the Black Wax
22:37 Museum, where their students
22:41 pretended to be wax figures that came to life and educated the
22:45 community on history’s figures.
22:48 Thank you so much for that experience.
22:51 I really appreciated it.
22:52 It was really cool to see members of the community coming and
22:54 visiting Stone to participate in
22:56 that, so thanks.
22:57 Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
22:58 Ms. Campbell, you wanna go next?
22:59 Yes, I will.
23:00 A few weeks ago, we had the relaunch of the parent leadership
23:06 team, which is made up of
23:10 representatives, parent representative from each school in the
23:13 county, and I just wanted
23:15 to thank our host, Caitlin Maffeo, for doing a great job guiding
23:20 us through the relaunch
23:22 of this.
23:23 This one was virtual.
23:24 The next ones will be in person.
23:25 And also, our presenters, Janice Kershaw from the Brevard
23:27 Schools Foundation, Rachel Rutledge,
23:29 who is our director of career and technical education, and
23:32 Rachel Winston, who did a presentation
23:35 about health education and PE in the county, what the standards
23:37 are and what the students
23:39 get to experience in our PE programs across grade levels from
23:41 kindergarten through 12th
23:43 grade.
23:44 And so, great job, everybody.
23:45 There were more than 90 attendees on that virtual meeting.
23:49 It was very well done.
23:51 I wanted to just…
23:53 I got this announcement at an event at one of the schools in my
23:55 area, but it’s actually
23:57 more of a North End thing, so I just wanted to share this on
23:59 behalf of St. Francis Reflections,
24:02 which is one of our PI people.
24:04 They came to an event at Jupiter, but they’re going to be
24:06 hosting a teddy bear clinic, which
24:09 is just something to help students who may be afraid of going to
24:12 the doctor, where you
24:14 get to bring your teddy bear and you can kind of doctor the teddy
24:17 bear while they’re taking
24:19 care of you.
24:20 And so, that’s going to be this Saturday from 9 to noon at the
24:24 Children’s Center in Titusville.
24:26 So, if anybody up that way would like to…
24:28 I mean, if you come from the south and you want to drive up to
24:30 Titusville to go to the
24:31 bear clinic, go right ahead, but I thought people in that area
24:33 might like to know.
24:34 And just lastly, on Friday night, I was able to attend the
24:38 wonderful showcase of our three
24:41 orchestras that are headed to the National Orchestra Festival
24:44 next week during spring break,
24:46 and was really excited to find out that it’s an even bigger deal
24:51 than I thought it was.
24:54 The National Orchestra Festival is put on by the American String
24:57 Teachers Association,
24:59 and there will be a grand champion announced, right?
25:03 The best high school orchestra in the nation.
25:06 Well, just to give you a little statistics, I know Dr. Mullins
25:08 likes to brag about our
25:10 percentages.
25:11 There are only 15 high schools, 15 high schools from around the
25:15 country that are participating
25:17 in this competition for the best high school orchestra in
25:20 America, and three of them are
25:23 not just from Florida, three of them are from Brevard.
25:27 Exactly, yes.
25:29 So Mel High, O’Gally, and Satellite will be sending their top
25:37 groups to the National Orchestra
25:40 Festival, and they can’t all win, but I’m telling you, at the
25:43 concert on Friday night,
25:45 oh, it was amazing.
25:47 It was truly amazing.
25:49 And we’ll know by the time we have our next board meeting, we’ll
25:51 know if one of our schools
25:52 was the grand champion high school orchestra.
25:56 So I’ll definitely report back on the progress of that
25:58 competition, but just super proud,
26:01 and everybody needs to know what great orchestra programs we
26:03 have across the district, but
26:05 they were particularly proud of these three schools for their
26:07 achievements this year.
26:09 Ms. Campbell, do you happen to know, just because I got, is
26:13 there any other district
26:15 in the country that sent three of their schools to this
26:18 competition?
26:19 I’m going to say that’s a no.
26:20 I don’t know that for a fact, but I’m just going to guess.
26:22 I checked.
26:23 Then the odds are pretty good in Brevard’s favor, we’re bringing
26:28 home a grand champion.
26:32 I checked.
26:33 There is no other school district.
26:34 It’s only us three, so I just verified it on Google, and we’re
26:38 good.
26:39 And I wanted to verify that since there is going to be a grading,
26:42 right, O’Gally, my
26:44 school, Melbourne, your school, Jenkins, got Satellite, we could
26:46 have a little friendly
26:48 competition to see who comes out on top.
26:51 I mean, I’m just saying in the spirit of everything, you know.
26:54 I think while we’re at it, though.
26:55 Because O’Gally is pretty tough.
26:56 You’re going to have to play an instrument.
26:57 Got to give him some run.
26:59 Well, if we want to have a musical competition, I’m all in.
27:03 So am I.
27:05 I will, I just, I want to add this really quick, just to give
27:07 everybody an update on
27:09 our 300 mile walking challenge, Mr. Gibbs is still by far in the
27:13 lead.
27:14 I haven’t even updated.
27:16 I know.
27:17 So the, you know, the other, there’s four people on this diet
27:19 that need to kind of,
27:21 you know, start moving and start recording.
27:23 But Ms. McDougall and I are neck and neck.
27:25 Yes, we are.
27:26 Have you checked to make sure that Mr. Gibbs hasn’t attached
27:27 those walking things to his
27:29 kids?
27:30 Maybe to his dog.
27:31 The dog, kids.
27:32 I got you, Gibbs.
27:33 I got you.
27:34 Start moving.
27:36 We work him too hard.
27:37 Mr. Susan.
27:38 Oh, okay.
27:39 So anyways, I did want to say thank you for that great
27:45 introduction to our orchestra program.
27:50 One of the things you’ll notice from all of our school board
27:52 members is that we all have
27:54 something that we champion, right?
27:56 And you’re looking at a great organization that cares about
28:00 individuals from across the
28:02 district.
28:03 And Ms. Campbell has routinely always been there for all of our
28:06 fine arts, and she’s
28:08 done a great job to keeping us up to date.
28:10 I will tell you that Dr. Mullins and I are not the greatest in
28:14 playing the fine arts,
28:16 so we’re happy to see that you actually were willing to give
28:19 those updates to us.
28:21 Any time that you want to compete with me, Ms. Campbell, on any
28:23 of those kind of things,
28:24 I’m willing to throw myself in for a fundraiser to play any
28:26 musical instrument to compete
28:28 against you, just so you know.
28:31 Anyways, so I did want to give an update.
28:33 We keep talking about trades tours, and I’m just going to keep
28:35 pounding it until it’s
28:36 done.
28:37 I wanted to let you guys know we went through all the trades
28:38 tours, and now it’s off to
28:40 the other districts, and they’re moving through each one of the
28:43 schools.
28:44 But I did want to give you an update as to some of the things
28:46 that are on the tailspin
28:48 of what’s been happening.
28:49 So FASTMD, the race team that found out about O’Gally and
28:51 decided that they were going to
28:53 endorse them, next week at the Sebring Raceway, we’ll be going
28:56 live from the testing and
28:59 piping into O’Gally High School on a virtual platform, and their
29:02 race team is going to
29:04 come bring the race car after the Sebring and come talk to them.
29:07 And what they’re going to do is they’re going to tie in.
29:09 There’s a couple parts inside the car.
29:11 This is pretty cool.
29:12 There’s parts that they need to race that are not developed by
29:15 the race teams.
29:16 So they’re going to ask O’Gally High School, Bayside, and all
29:18 the rest of them if they’re
29:20 develop them and manufacture them.
29:22 So like seat belt, race car driver has to get out real quickly
29:25 when they change race
29:27 cars, because many people don’t know.
29:28 But at the Rolex races and at the Sebring races, it’s a 24-hour
29:31 and a 14-hour race.
29:33 So they can’t – they only race their drivers for two and a half
29:35 hours in between.
29:36 They got to pop out.
29:37 Well, apparently getting the seat belt off and all that stuff
29:39 requires a couple of
29:40 innovative things.
29:41 So they’re going to bring that along with the car.
29:43 And I don’t know if it’s legal, risk management, not to, but I
29:46 think I got an
29:47 opportunity for Dr. Mullins to get in the racetrack and run
29:50 around one of our running
29:52 tracks.
29:53 So we’ll see how that turns out.
29:54 I think we should be able to do it.
29:55 We do prom tracks, right?
29:57 » Don’t over and under deliver.
29:59 Don’t over promise.
30:00 » Listen, Mullins, I thought about this.
30:01 » I have a need for speed.
30:02 » I’m telling you right now, I’m telling you right now, we have
30:05 people that get in
30:06 the back of cars and they go around the track, right, during
30:08 proms and stuff like that.
30:11 So why wouldn’t we be able to take a race car around that thing?
30:14 And then why wouldn’t the superintendent be able to run it?
30:16 I think it’s possible.
30:17 I think we should do it.
30:19 Ms. Mullins, you think so?
30:20 We’re good?
30:21 There it is.
30:22 Now you’re in trouble.
30:23 She says it’s good.
30:24 All right.
30:25 So that’s Race ND.
30:26 Stewart Health decided that they’re going to make an
30:28 announcement next month, and I’ll
30:30 be a precursor, that they’re going to open up a nursing school
30:34 at their Stewart Health
30:36 Melbourne campus, and they’re going to start offering our kids
30:38 scholarships out of our
30:40 nursing programs to go directly in there.
30:42 So kids will be able to go there for free and be able to get
30:44 their nursing programs.
30:45 Huge opportunity.
30:46 And they’re going to do a press release in a couple of weeks,
30:49 but I figure we just dump
30:50 it right now.
30:51 The other thing is that Health First, just like you guys knew,
30:53 they put out over 100
30:55 pharmacy techs that they’re looking for for jobs because of it.
30:58 BRPH offered internships, and I sit on the executive board of
31:02 directors for the Economic
31:04 Development Council, and they have the EDC.
31:07 I’ve chaired a thing called the CPT program.
31:09 That’s the Certified Production Technician program, and what
31:12 that is is entry level into
31:14 manufacturing.
31:15 So if your sons or daughters, and believe me, daughters are more
31:19 than likely more – they’re
31:22 better than the sons at a lot of the CPT in manufacturing.
31:25 The best welders in our county, just so everybody knows, are
31:27 women.
31:28 I’m not going to lie to you.
31:29 So a lot of our girls that are graduating are actually better
31:31 welders than our guys,
31:33 and that’s happening at O’Gally.
31:34 It’s happened a couple of years ago at O’Gally, but they have a
31:37 thing called the CPT program,
31:39 and I’ve been chairing it now for six years.
31:41 They’re going to open up the scholarships to allow 25 more
31:44 scholarships, and just so
31:46 you guys know what that is, a kid graduates or takes the program,
31:49 they pass four major
31:51 areas.
31:52 After they’re done with that, they’re offered a job inside of
31:54 our manufacturing sector.
31:57 So a lot of people will – they use it as an opportunity to see
31:59 if a kid is serious
32:01 and get his credentials, and then they offer them.
32:03 They have an 87 percent completion rate and job placement rate.
32:09 So a lot of kids that want a future in manufacturing, they get
32:11 their hands and everything into the
32:14 trades, here’s an opportunity.
32:15 So the EDC came.
32:16 I was really excited, and then my funnest one that I’m really
32:21 excited about is the HBCA,
32:23 Home Builders and Contractors, and the ABC are trying to put
32:25 together a competition to
32:27 compete against each other for building.
32:29 So I don’t know if you guys know this, but like the Home Builders
32:31 and Contractors Association
32:33 through some organization, we used to take our kids and take
32:35 them all the way down to
32:37 like Crystal River and other places and compete against these
32:39 other schools across the state,
32:41 but they’re boring, okay?
32:42 Like they’re really boring competitions.
32:44 The kids are staying there for three days.
32:46 So what I said was let’s compete between the schools here in Brevard
32:50 on framing, on electrical,
32:53 on plumbing and all that stuff and compete and have scores at
32:56 the end, and I can talk
32:58 trash to my school board members for their schools, and then we
33:00 can have a friendly competition.
33:03 So the Home Builders and Contractors Association along with the
33:05 Associated Builders and Contractors
33:08 Association have come together to try to create this competition.
33:10 We’ll just figure out if we’ve got enough time before the end of
33:12 the year to pull it off.
33:14 And that is, oh, I forgot, UA Local 295, plumbers and pipefitters
33:20 are coming to your astronaut
33:22 high school to offer 10 scholarships to get jobs into the trades,
33:27 and what that is is
33:28 full trades fully into the union.
33:32 That is union wages, Kennedy Space Center, all of those.
33:35 So they’re going to come and make that announcement at your high
33:37 school at astronaut, Ms. Belford,
33:39 and that’s a huge opportunity because wages out there at Kennedy
33:42 Space Center are massive.
33:44 So we have, just so you know, a plumbing program at astronaut
33:48 high school that has students
33:50 that graduate with plumbing certifications, and this is a
33:52 pipeline to that.
33:54 So what we’re trying to do is create pipelines into the industry
33:56 during the industry tour,
33:58 and I can’t give any more credit to the staff here and Dr. Mullins
34:01 for taking this and running
34:03 with it and creating such a great program.
34:05 So that’s that.
34:07 And then I had to do one thing.
34:09 So there’s going to be, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to
34:11 speak about it in a minute,
34:12 so I’m going to do it now.
34:13 There’s an individual that came here tonight to get a
34:15 recognition for an organization,
34:18 and I did want to give her a shout out.
34:20 And the reason is, is that a lot of people in this room, a lot
34:22 of times we do things.
34:24 This woman was spectacular during a time period when it was
34:27 absolutely needed for our schools.
34:30 Many people don’t know that when COVID first broke out, we ran
34:32 out of, the children were
34:34 sent home and they were sitting at home and they had no access
34:38 and many parents were not
34:39 in the, in the certain levels of our economy, their jobs were
34:42 all shut off.
34:44 Hairdressers, everybody else.
34:46 And for us in the O’Gally corridor, through what I call my O’Gally
34:49 pipeline there,
34:51 there’s a lot of housing developments and mobile home parks and
34:54 stuff like that where
34:55 kids were starving.
34:56 So we had a application that went through the state successfully,
35:00 and we were able to
35:01 do a mobile feed, right?
35:03 So we had cafeteria workers that were putting, I’m getting
35:06 choked up, so I’m trying not
35:08 to get through this.
35:09 They were putting together packages to deliver to kids in the O’Gally
35:13 area that were starving,
35:15 okay?
35:16 And one of the individuals that made that happen with the
35:19 communities and brought them
35:21 out was Ms. Samantha Nazario.
35:23 Now, not only was she there to do that, but then when we started
35:27 having a couple of local
35:29 churches said, you know what, we’ll start taking in food drives
35:32 and stuff like that,
35:34 Sam says, don’t worry about it.
35:35 I’ve got it covered.
35:36 I promise you, people will show up.
35:38 I’m like, listen, I asked the church and all that stuff.
35:41 And I am not kidding you, if she ever gets on a project with you,
35:44 she will come through
35:45 because I had people showing up and they were bringing stuff I’ve
35:47 never seen before.
35:49 Like if you ever are in a pandemic, you have to have her phone
35:52 number because she knows
35:53 people that bring like 15 pounds of pasta.
35:56 And I mean, I’ve never seen loads of food like this before in my
35:59 entire life, but she
36:01 did it.
36:04 And I have to give a huge shout out to you for that time period
36:06 because not only did
36:08 you work with me on the feed unit, not only did you work with me
36:10 on bringing all those
36:12 people and I see the faces, right?
36:14 Your poor mom, she’s in here supporting you and everything else.
36:16 She was part of it.
36:18 But you guys, like you are a family and I really appreciate what
36:21 you did for our kids.
36:23 I’m only successful in anything that I ever do because I have
36:25 individuals like you that
36:27 actually do it.
36:28 And I just get to be the cheerleader.
36:30 And you did it.
36:31 And you helped save a lot of those kids from hunger and
36:33 everything throughout our corridor.
36:34 And I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for
36:36 doing that.
36:37 And thank you so much.
36:52 What?
36:53 Sam, you can’t cry here.
36:56 Listen, I’m proud of you, girl.
37:00 All right.
37:01 Thank you very much.
37:02 I’m done.
37:03 So I want to tag team with Miss Jenkins.
37:09 I also was at Emma Jewell, the black history.
37:12 Celebration.
37:13 And what she forgot to mention is that from the VPK, the littlest
37:19 guys to the sixth graders,
37:21 every single class had some type of presentation that included
37:25 the whole school.
37:27 And the rafters were packed.
37:29 You couldn’t.
37:30 There was standing room only at Emma Jewell.
37:33 And it was a wonderful night celebration.
37:35 So I wanted to also thank Emma Jewell.
37:37 I also want to give a shout out to Tokina and Principal Lovelace.
37:43 She was nice enough to show me around her school.
37:47 I went into some of the classrooms.
37:49 It’s a very – they’re working hard there.
37:52 And it’s a great school.
37:54 I thank you, Principal Lovelace, for having me and showing me
37:57 around and taking the time.
37:59 I enjoyed my time with her.
38:01 And last but not least, I can tag team on what you said about
38:05 women welders.
38:07 Today is International Women’s Day.
38:11 So thanks to all the women who have come before and we have
38:18 wonderful examples for all of our girls in our schools.
38:23 They can be anything that they want to be.
38:25 So congratulations and welcome to all of our children and all
38:30 the women here today for International Women’s Day.
38:33 And that’s all I have.
38:34 » Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
38:35 Dr. Malone.
38:37 » Thank you, Ms. Belford.
38:39 Just want to give a shout out and a huge thanks to our great
38:44 staff and our ESC, our student services department.
38:48 About two weeks ago, February 26th, they hosted the seventh
38:51 annual START conference for families and educators,
38:56 individuals who support those with unique abilities of all ages,
39:00 not just our school age kids.
39:02 They had well over 100 participants in that conference on a
39:07 Saturday morning over at Viera High School.
39:11 Thirty agencies came and made presentations and were available
39:15 to support our community and really come around our students
39:19 with disabilities.
39:20 It was a beautiful morning, a great time of support, and a huge
39:23 shout out to the Interagency Council of Brevard for Individuals
39:28 with Disabilities who sponsored the entire event.
39:30 Appreciate them being there and make that possible.
39:32 So got to give a shout out to a few names here in the
39:34 organization that helped make it possible.
39:38 Terry Mattson, Renee Raines, Jennifer Jenkins, and Christine
39:43 Gustafson, different Jennifer Jenkins, in the ESC department.
39:50 And so that team put the whole conference together, did a
39:53 wonderful job of supporting our community.
39:56 So thank you, Terry and team, Ms. Moore for your team always
39:59 being there for our community.
40:02 And then I want to piggyback Ms. Campbell’s announcement about
40:07 our orchestra teams going on to competition.
40:11 You know, it is not even not every district, it’s few districts
40:17 in the state of Florida that have a comprehensive fifth and
40:21 sixth grade strings program,
40:24 not just regionally at elementary schools, but Brevard Public
40:28 Schools is very proud to have a strings program at every
40:32 elementary school for our kids.
40:35 And it’s there that our kids begin to see and experience and
40:40 grow their love of orchestra.
40:43 And so on February 26th, I had the privilege of taking in both
40:49 the North Central and the Central South Elementary Music
40:54 Festival,
40:56 where hundreds of our elementary students came together and sang
41:00 in chorus.
41:02 It was absolutely beautiful. Just the spirit in the air of love
41:08 and coming together, these kids in four hours.
41:13 These are kids from all over the county coming together and in
41:16 four hours they put together an absolutely beautiful concert.
41:21 And then we had a concert by our string students in our
41:24 elementary schools and then the concert ended with, I don’t know,
41:29 two or three hundred chorus kids.
41:31 And probably upwards of a hundred orchestra kids all performing
41:35 a song at the end together.
41:37 It was absolutely beautiful and it’s really a testament of the
41:40 talent in Brevard.
41:42 I think I posted online, I said Brevard’s got young talent and
41:45 it was very evident that afternoon and evening.
41:49 So thank you to our amazing music teachers. We’ve got a little
41:53 bit of seminal pride in my house.
41:55 And my wife reminded me that all three orchestra teachers that
41:57 are going to competition came from Florida State University.
42:01 Go Seminoles.
42:06 Thank you, Dr. Mullins. Just a few for me. For all of us, I
42:13 think, know Kathy Hamilton Brown.
42:16 Our audience members probably don’t, but she is one of our rock
42:19 stars assistant principals at Sun Tree Elementary.
42:24 And she reached out to me about a month and a half ago and asked
42:28 me if I would attend and participate in the Sun Tree African-American
42:32 read in chain.
42:34 And I have to tell you, you know, that Kathy doesn’t do anything
42:37 without absolute exuberance.
42:40 And there were the people that turned out to participate in this
42:43 program at Sun Tree Elementary were absolutely phenomenal.
42:47 We had people from all across the community and they all said
42:50 the same thing. When Kathy Hamilton Brown calls you and asks you
42:54 to be someplace, you don’t say no.
42:57 And so they all they all came out in support of her, but also,
43:00 of course, in support of the students as well, and had a lovely
43:02 opportunity to read to a classroom students.
43:06 And I think we had probably 30 to 40 volunteers that showed up
43:12 that day to read.
43:14 Had some great fellowship beforehand with some breakfast snacks
43:18 and put some pictures and just really it was it was a phenomenal
43:22 experience.
43:24 And so kudos to Kathy Hamilton Brown and the team at Sun Tree
43:26 for putting it together and especially thanks to all the people
43:30 that took time out of their day to be there to support our
43:34 students.
43:35 Also, thank you. Also, Mr. Susan mentioned the CTE tours and we
43:48 had a wonderful CTE tour at Space Coast Junior Senior High
43:48 School.
43:48 And the impact of these really is significant. And just so you’re
43:52 aware, we were in the HVAC program there, Mr. Susan.
43:56 And we did have a phenomenal young lady that was just rocking it
44:00 in her program and had high hopes for the future and where she
44:03 was going.
44:05 And we had some community partners that could not have been more
44:07 excited about connecting with our students and providing
44:10 opportunities.
44:11 So interestingly enough, Bridget, I think from L3Harris was
44:16 literally almost offering our students binders like in the
44:20 classroom.
44:21 She was sucking them up and that was when we were in drafting
44:24 and then we moved over to HVAC and they don’t have HVAC at her
44:29 particular L3Harris location.
44:32 But she was like, you know what? One of my other locations has
44:35 welding.
44:36 And I said, oh, well, you know, this is HVAC and they do some
44:38 welding in here, but we also have a dedicated welding program at
44:42 Astronaut High School.
44:44 And so she said at the time, she’s like, you know, I’m so sad
44:47 that I couldn’t bring more of my managers from the other
44:49 locations with me because they have a big project deadline that
44:53 they’re working on.
44:54 And I said, oh, don’t worry. We’ll be happy to arrange a tour
44:57 just for the L3Harris team to go and see whatever school you
45:01 want to see.
45:03 So great, great, I think, recognition of the opportunities that
45:07 our students have in our schools by our community members that
45:10 are attending these events and great opportunities for our
45:14 students to connect and get those real world opportunities
45:17 outside of the program.
45:19 So thank you, Mr. Susan, for kind of getting the ball rolling on
45:27 those those tours and look forward to continuing to do more of
45:35 those. And I would say to all of our business community, please
45:37 look up and see when we’re going to be at schools in your area
45:37 and come and check it out because it’s people have been really,
45:38 really impressed with what they’re seeing.
45:39 Then I also had the opportunity and I know I’ve been on this
45:43 kick of like community interaction in our schools and support of
45:48 our schools. I was recruited to do a junior achievement day at
45:50 Endeavor Elementary, and they literally had like, I don’t even
45:54 know how many people showed up to do junior achievement at Endeavor.
45:59 And so I got to spend the day with a sixth grade classroom and
46:02 phenomenal teacher. If any of you want to see Conscious
46:06 Discipline in action, I would encourage you. I’ll be happy to
46:10 give you the teacher’s name offline.
46:13 But just amazing interaction with her students from the
46:16 Conscious Discipline perspective, the relationships that she’s
46:21 built.
46:22 And it was great to be in the classroom and interacting with the
46:25 students for the day and and really talking about some cool
46:28 stuff. And they got it.
46:31 We had some good conversation. And then the last thing that I’ll
46:34 talk about, some of you may recall the Prom Princess program
46:38 that was done by Space Coast Association of Realtors a few years
46:41 ago.
46:42 They stopped doing the program because they didn’t have storage
46:45 space for the dresses and the staff at the hotel where they were
46:49 doing it were not I guess they had downsized. And so they weren’t
46:53 really capable of providing support anymore either.
46:57 And through talking with Space Coast Association of Realtors and
47:01 talking with Dr. Mullins and our facilities folks, we have
47:04 identified storage space at Gardendale Elementary at our Gardendale
47:09 facility so that we can store the dresses.
47:12 And they are, last I heard, planning on doing Prom Princess on
47:16 April 2nd at the Space Coast Association of Realtors facility.
47:22 So super, super excited for students to have that opportunity. I
47:27 am going to need you guys to commit some volunteer time to help
47:29 set up for the event.
47:31 So I’ll get you more information on that as it goes. But can you
47:34 explain what that is?
47:36 Yes. So Space Coast Association of Realtors for years did this
47:39 program called Prom Princess.
47:41 And basically what they did was they took in donations of shoes
47:46 and dresses and it wasn’t just for girls. They also had male
47:51 attire. They bring in seamstresses, hairdressers, people to do
47:56 makeup.
47:57 And our students can go down and get all of it for free head to
48:02 toe prepped for their prom.
48:05 Yes, I will. And it just it’s an incredibly heartwarming event
48:09 to go to and to see just the opportunity that’s there and the
48:13 excitement from our students, you know, who probably otherwise
48:17 wouldn’t have the opportunity to get dresses and tuxes and all
48:21 of those things.
48:22 And all of the volunteers once again that come around and
48:24 support the events make it possible. Just really phenomenal.
48:31 They do need donations. Yes. So certainly donations of dresses
48:36 and shoes and jewelry. And if you are a seamstress, if you are
48:41 good at steaming dresses, if you are a hairdresser, by all means,
48:46 let us know and we’ll get you in touch.
48:49 So some very cool things.
48:52 And I think that is all that I have for recognitions
48:56 this evening.
48:57 So that is going to bring us to adoption of the agenda.
49:01 Dr. Mullins.
49:02 - Ms. Belford and members of the board
49:04 on this evening’s agenda, we have one resolution,
49:06 one presentation, 17 consent items,
49:09 one action item and one information item.
49:12 - Do I hear a motion?
49:15 Moved by Ms. Campbell and seconded by Ms. McDougall.
49:22 Is there any discussion?
49:24 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
49:26 - Aye.
49:27 - Any opposed?
49:28 Same time.
49:29 The motion passes five zero.
49:31 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know
49:32 about the resolution?
49:33 - The resolution is for the board to approve
49:36 the month of March as hemophilia
49:38 and bleeding disorders awareness month.
49:41 Mr. Bruhn will read the resolution for us.
49:44 Mr. Bruhn.
49:51 - Good evening, board.
49:52 Dr. Mullins.
49:56 Hemophilia and bleeding disorders awareness month.
50:00 Whereas hemophilia is a rare disorder
50:03 in which blood does not clot normally
50:04 because it lacks sufficient blood clotting proteins.
50:07 And whereas if a person has hemophilia,
50:11 they may bleed for a longer period after an injury
50:13 than a person would at blood clotted normally,
50:17 causing weakness of the voluntary muscles.
50:19 And whereas symptoms of hemophilia
50:22 may include unexplained or excessive bleeding,
50:25 large or deep bruises, pain in joints,
50:27 and those bleeds without a known cause.
50:29 And whereas the bleeding disorders coalition of Florida
50:32 is an advocacy organization
50:34 founded by the Hemophilia Foundation of Greater Florida
50:37 and the Florida Hemophilia Association
50:41 to be the voice of the Florida bleeding disorders community.
50:44 And whereas the bleeding disorders coalition of Florida
50:48 has been serving the bleeding disorders community
50:50 to improve the quality of life
50:52 by offering programs and services
50:54 such as medically supervised camp,
50:56 scholarships, advocacy efforts,
50:58 emergency financial assistance,
51:00 and educational programs to support healthier
51:03 and more independent lives.
51:05 Be it resolved on March 8th, 2022,
51:08 that the Brevard Public School Board
51:10 does hereby proclaim the month of March
51:12 as Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month
51:15 to bring awareness, education, and support
51:17 to those who are affected by hemophilia
51:20 and bleeding disorders in Brevard County
51:22 and throughout the world.
51:23 And if you do pass this,
51:25 I do believe you’ll be making some history.
51:29 - Thank you, Mr. Broome for that explanation.
51:31 We appreciate it.
51:32 (audience applauding)
51:34 All right, board members, do I have a motion?
51:36 - Move to approve. - Second.
51:37 - Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
51:39 Is there any discussion?
51:42 - Thankful for the parents and students
51:44 who have joined us tonight
51:45 who represent some of our local students
51:49 and folks with bleeding disorders.
51:51 And I know they’re a pretty tight-knit group.
51:54 They have like events and camps
51:55 and online groups and whatever.
51:57 So we’re glad to be able to support them tonight.
52:00 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
52:01 Additional discussion?
52:03 - Did Russell expand on why we’re making history tonight?
52:07 Are you gonna do that? - We did not.
52:08 I believe that we will be the first school board
52:11 in the nation to have approximation
52:14 at this time. - Is that right?
52:15 (audience applauding)
52:21 - Good stuff.
52:22 So I’m sorry, I will comment,
52:25 but I just wanna make sure
52:26 I give you guys the opportunity first.
52:27 Anyone else?
52:28 - Did we miss anything else, Sam,
52:29 that we are the best at and number one at
52:32 in your organization?
52:33 I’m just checking. (audience laughing)
52:34 ‘Cause we like that, we like that.
52:37 Okay, all right, okay.
52:40 - Yeah, and so as Mr. Susan alluded to earlier
52:43 in the meeting, Sam is a mover and a shaker
52:46 and does so much and we are so incredibly appreciative
52:48 of her, but we also wanna recognize the individuals
52:52 who came tonight in support of the resolution.
52:53 If you guys could just stand for us for a moment.
52:56 Thank you. (audience applauding)
53:08 Thank you so much for your advocacy,
53:09 for educating on these important issues.
53:11 We appreciate you and we’re proud to be able
53:13 to partner with you on it.
53:14 Thank you.
53:16 Yes, I am going to go ahead and call the question
53:20 because we’ve not yet voted on the resolution,
53:22 which we have to do.
53:23 And then Mr. Susan, I think is requesting a picture.
53:26 So all in favor, please signify by saying aye.
53:29 - Aye. - Aye.
53:30 - Any opposed?
53:30 Same sign.
53:31 And the motion passes five, zero.
53:34 (audience applauding)
53:39 All right, Board and Dr. Mullins,
53:41 I think we could join them down front for a photo real quick.
54:11 (indistinct chattering)
54:44 (audience laughing)
54:45 Fantastic, thank you.
54:47 (audience applauding)
55:11 (indistinct chattering)
55:19 - All right, Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know
55:21 about the presentation on tonight’s agenda?
55:24 - Yes, Madam Chair.
55:25 - Dr. Mullins. - Yes, ma’am.
55:26 (indistinct chattering)
55:29 (audience laughing)
55:34 - She will not–
55:35 - Mr. Bruhn will take care of you.
55:36 See, she’s tenacious. - I told you,
55:38 she will not mess around.
55:40 That woman will not let you go, I told you.
55:44 Good job, Sam, you’re holding accountable.
55:46 - Madam Chair, members of the Board,
55:48 Ms. April Griffin is here with us this evening
55:50 from Leadership Consultant
55:52 for the Florida School Boards Association
55:56 to recognize the Board for their completion
55:58 of the Master Board Certification Program.
56:00 Ms. Griffin.
56:01 - Is there another award we’re doing?
56:03 - This evening, I’m very pleased to be here.
56:07 - Hold on just a second, April, we gotta get you on mic.
56:09 - Oh, I saw it rises up, I don’t need it to be higher.
56:13 (audience laughing)
56:17 Then you got the short person here today.
56:21 It’s a great honor for me to be here tonight
56:24 to, on behalf of the Florida School Boards Association,
56:27 to present you with this plaque recognizing the fact
56:31 that you have completed the Master Board Program.
56:34 The Master Board Program is governance team training
56:38 for the school board and the superintendent,
56:40 and it’s designed to strengthen the team’s ability
56:43 to work effectively, efficiently, and collectively,
56:47 all while maintaining focus on student achievement
56:50 and factors that contribute to the success of your schools.
56:54 Currently, there are 27 Master Boards
56:57 in the state of Florida that hold the distinction,
57:01 and Carol Cook couldn’t be here tonight
57:04 to present your award,
57:06 and she’s the one that has been doing most
57:08 of the consulting with you, but she sent a message.
57:12 She wanted me to tell you that she enjoyed getting
57:14 to know each of you better,
57:16 and she hopes that something you worked on will take root
57:19 and help you become the team your students deserve,
57:23 and she wanted me to tell you congratulations.
57:25 So congratulations, I have your plaque,
57:28 and I’d like to get a picture, if that’s okay.
57:30 - Yeah, let’s go.
57:31 - Thank you, April.
57:32 - You’re welcome.
57:35 (audience applauding)
58:05 - Mr. Susan, you guys ready?
58:12 (audience chattering)
58:36 (footsteps thumping)
58:39 - Before you try to take off,
58:40 I just wanna make sure the distinction is,
58:42 we are the most up-to-date board distinction
58:45 of this honor, right?
58:47 Master Boards, we are the latest Master Boards
58:50 in the most recent.
58:51 (audience chattering)
58:55 (audience laughing)
58:59 - Thank you, April.
59:00 Safe travels back.
59:03 All right, with that, we are going to be
59:06 at the public comment portion of the meeting
59:09 on agenda items.
59:11 We have three speakers.
59:14 Therefore, each speaker will receive three minutes.
59:16 Please note that the time is per speaker,
59:18 not per agenda item.
59:20 Topics not specific to agenda items
59:22 will be moved to the non-agenda portion of the meeting.
59:25 We have a clock in front of me
59:26 to help you keep track of your time.
59:28 When your time is over, you’ll be asked to stop
59:30 and allow the next speaker his or her turn.
59:32 Always keep in mind that reasonable deform is expected
59:35 and your statement should be directed to the board chair.
59:37 The chair may interrupt, warn, or terminate
59:40 a participant’s statement when time is up.
59:42 It’s personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.
59:46 Should an individual not observe proper etiquette,
59:48 the chair may request the individual to leave the meeting.
59:52 I’m gonna go ahead and call all three of our speakers
59:54 and if you guys could get on deck on the east side for me.
59:58 Karen Kolbe, followed by Sarah Merski,
1:00:01 followed by Katie Delaney.
1:00:21 - Yeah, hi, I wanted to talk to you
1:00:22 about the Youth Truth Survey.
1:00:26 I guess I get, it’s three minutes, okay.
1:00:29 I was concerned about this
1:00:30 because when I was reading some of the things
1:00:32 that were asked on there,
1:00:33 I felt that they were borderline inappropriate.
1:00:37 - Ms. Kolbe, if you could hold for just one moment.
1:00:38 - Yes, ma’am.
1:00:48 - So we don’t have Youth Truth Survey
1:00:49 on the agenda this evening,
1:00:51 so I’ll be happy to move you
1:00:52 to the non-agenda speakers if you’d like.
1:00:54 - Okay. - Okay.
1:00:56 - Thank you. - You’re welcome.
1:00:57 Ms. Merski.
1:01:00 - I just want to make sure you’ve got me down
1:01:10 for two agenda items.
1:01:13 One was the proclamation that was just talked about
1:01:16 and then the other one is the policy making.
1:01:21 It was about our workshop,
1:01:22 which would have to do with the Youth Truth Survey
1:01:24 and parental opt out.
1:01:25 - I don’t have you down for the proclamation.
1:01:27 I have you down for age 30 research and evaluation.
1:01:30 What about C?
1:01:32 I don’t have the agenda in front of me.
1:01:37 Thank you.
1:01:51 So let’s see here.
1:01:58 If you want to go ahead and take the next speaker
1:02:00 and then I’ll come after that to get my paperwork together.
1:02:03 - Katie Delaney.
1:02:22 - Okay, members of the board,
1:02:25 I am here to speak about policy 2605
1:02:32 where it talks about the right of the parent to opt out
1:02:35 of any district level data collection
1:02:38 relating to their minor child that is not required by law.
1:02:44 I am requesting that this policy,
1:02:50 that when different surveys and things like that go out,
1:02:54 that the board uses a multi-pass it communication system
1:03:01 between the school board and the parents.
1:03:03 Just because for instance, the Youth Truth Survey,
1:03:07 when that went out,
1:03:09 the notification was at the very bottom of an email.
1:03:12 Some people got it like the last day of school
1:03:16 for Christmas break and their student had to take it
1:03:21 the day that they returned to school.
1:03:24 So there was a lot of miscommunication with that.
1:03:28 So I would ask that you guys use social media,
1:03:33 send out a text kind of thing out to the parents.
1:03:37 And with that, I would also ask that you also send
1:03:41 the parental opt out with that email
1:03:44 so that it’s easy for parents to just look at it.
1:03:49 If they want their child to participate, great.
1:03:52 If not, then the opt out’s right there
1:03:54 and it’s quick and easy for parents.
1:03:57 Thank you.
1:03:58 - Thanks Ms. Salini.
1:03:59 Ms. Marski.
1:04:09 - Thank you.
1:04:10 Just to clarify, I’ll be speaking on C8 agenda item
1:04:13 and agenda item age 30.
1:04:16 Do you not have that on my form?
1:04:23 - I have age 30 and then under complete agenda item title,
1:04:31 it says C8, but not on separate agenda issue.
1:04:35 It’s fine.
1:04:36 - Okay, thank you.
1:04:37 Okay, good evening, Madam Chair and board.
1:04:40 My name is Sarah Marski.
1:04:42 I’m a wife, mother.
1:04:44 I’m a student.
1:04:46 I’m a registered voter, taxpayer and constituent
1:04:49 of district two for school board.
1:04:51 And I’m speaking on my own behalf tonight.
1:04:55 I want to address under C8,
1:04:57 which is the bleeding disorder awareness month
1:05:00 about it has to do with the Brevard public schools
1:05:06 and the medical form that has gone out recently to parents.
1:05:09 - Ms. Marski, that has nothing to do with C8.
1:05:11 Move on, please.
1:05:13 - Okay.
1:05:14 Then I wanna talk about the age 30 agenda item.
1:05:18 And what I want to talk about with that is
1:05:21 I really appreciate when I was working with Dr. Sullivan,
1:05:26 I talked about this in the workshop
1:05:28 about working with parents and going over concerns.
1:05:30 And I look forward to the youth truth survey presentation
1:05:34 in April and continuing to work with Dr. Sullivan
1:05:38 on all of our concerns and our input,
1:05:43 as well as being able for parents to opt out,
1:05:47 but also for teachers to opt out of that survey as well.
1:05:50 Thank you so much.
1:05:51 - Thanks, Ms. Marski.
1:05:53 All right, that concludes our agenda item public comment.
1:05:56 For those of you who are signed up for non-agenda,
1:05:58 know that you will have the opportunity to speak.
1:06:00 We just have to get the board’s work out of the way,
1:06:02 and then we’ll take all of the other speakers, okay?
1:06:06 That is going to move us into the consent agenda.
1:06:09 Dr. Mullins.
1:06:13 - There are 17 agenda items under this category.
1:06:17 (laughing)
1:06:20 - Thank you, Madam Chair.
1:06:23 Yes, there are 17 agenda items under the consent agenda.
1:06:27 - Does any board member wish to pull any item
1:06:28 from the consent agenda?
1:06:31 Hearing none, I’ll entertain a motion
1:06:32 to approve the agenda as presented.
1:06:34 - Move to approve.
1:06:35 - Moved by Mr. Susan and seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
1:06:39 Is there any discussion?
1:06:41 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:06:44 - Aye.
1:06:44 - Any opposed?
1:06:45 Same sign.
1:06:47 Motion passes five-zero.
1:06:49 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about the item
1:06:52 under the action portion of tonight’s agenda?
1:06:54 - There is one item, A-29,
1:06:56 to approve procurement solicitations.
1:06:58 - Do I hear a motion?
1:07:01 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:07:04 Is there any discussion?
1:07:05 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:07:08 - Aye.
1:07:08 - Any opposed?
1:07:09 Same sign.
1:07:10 Motion passes five-zero.
1:07:13 We’ll now move on to the information agenda,
1:07:15 which includes items for board review
1:07:16 and may be brought back for action at a subsequent meeting.
1:07:18 No action will be taken on these items tonight.
1:07:21 Dr. Mullins?
1:07:21 - There is one item under the information category.
1:07:24 - Does any board member wish to discuss the information item?
1:07:28 Ms. Campbell?
1:07:29 - Just wanted to clarify, because I’ve sent in an email
1:07:32 and I said it’s after this workshop,
1:07:34 and we’ll just say it one more time,
1:07:35 Policy 2605 is not about anything that had to do
1:07:38 with the Youth Truth Survey.
1:07:39 It would fall under something else.
1:07:40 Policy 2605 has to do with academic evaluation,
1:07:45 progress monitoring, that kind of data.
1:07:47 And there are also some opt-outs on that,
1:07:50 which is why we had to add that language.
1:07:51 But it’s not the other kinds of surveys
1:07:53 that were spoken about this evening.
1:07:55 Just wanted to clarify with everyone what that policy is
1:07:58 that we will be voting on at our next board meeting.
1:08:00 Thank you.
1:08:01 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell, for that clarification.
1:08:03 Appreciate it, Mr. Susan.
1:08:04 - Ms. Campbell, since you’re getting those emails,
1:08:06 if some of those were requested to identify the policy,
1:08:12 if it’s not this one, that those fall under.
1:08:15 So if you can just send those back to those people.
1:08:18 ‘Cause they were asking me afterwards,
1:08:20 just respond to it, that’ll help.
1:08:21 And then just so that everybody knows,
1:08:23 we were talking earlier, and one of the things
1:08:25 that we talked about was that any of the surveys
1:08:28 or any of the way that some of these companies come in
1:08:32 and they may be taking any kind of data,
1:08:35 that is always identified and upfront for anybody
1:08:37 to ask questions about.
1:08:38 So they have to form, I think Paul was saying,
1:08:41 what was it it was, what is the form that they have to sign
1:08:44 in order to do that?
1:08:48 - We have contracts with these vendors
1:08:50 that provide progress monitoring
1:08:51 and they have FERPA provisions in there.
1:08:53 - So they all have to sign FERPA provisions
1:08:56 and they’re contracted to do it.
1:08:57 So there’s a barrier so that if anybody needed
1:08:59 to know any information about ‘em, you could request that.
1:09:02 That’s all, I just wanted to let everybody know.
1:09:04 - Okay.
1:09:07 - Anything else on the information item?
1:09:09 All right, that is gonna bring us
1:09:11 to board member reports and discussion points.
1:09:13 Do any board members have information
1:09:15 or to report or discuss this evening?
1:09:18 - I do. - Mr. Susan.
1:09:20 - In case anybody else doesn’t, I’ll go last.
1:09:22 And the only one.
1:09:24 So I talked to Dr. Mullins about this earlier.
1:09:26 And with the culture of what’s happening in our country
1:09:30 and what’s happening over in Ukraine,
1:09:32 our Biden administration is getting ready
1:09:34 to move towards possible sanctions on Russian oil.
1:09:38 All of the investment companies throughout the United States
1:09:43 are starting to cancel off and get rid
1:09:46 of all of their holdings in Russia.
1:09:47 So what I would like to do is evaluate
1:09:50 if any of our investments are inside of
1:09:53 or tied to any Russian companies, right?
1:09:57 And also to make sure that the oil that we purchase
1:10:00 does not have anything to do with it with Russia
1:10:03 in any way, shape or form.
1:10:04 I will tell you that from teaching American history,
1:10:08 American government, and being as tied
1:10:10 to the veterans in this county,
1:10:13 one of the things that it really makes me sad about,
1:10:15 and I applaud the Biden administration
1:10:17 for sending to get ready to send them back
1:10:20 and not accept Russian oil.
1:10:22 I would like to say that we would do the same thing.
1:10:25 And bipartisan across the board,
1:10:28 this is not about Republican or Democrat,
1:10:31 this is about democracy against a dictator.
1:10:34 And I would hope that the dollars
1:10:37 that our taxpayers pay in this county
1:10:39 do not go to fund anything that is inside of that curtain.
1:10:44 And that was all.
1:10:45 So Dr. Mullen said that I would need your recognition
1:10:50 to do that, I need board approval,
1:10:51 because I can’t just request that.
1:10:53 I’m just looking tonight, and I promise you
1:10:57 that the companies and anybody who has investment portfolios
1:11:00 is already looking at this.
1:11:01 This is not a crazy request.
1:11:03 But I would like to know personally if we do.
1:11:06 And then we can take action based on how that looks.
1:11:09 I’m not demanding that we make action,
1:11:11 but let’s just make sure for due diligence.
1:11:13 By the time we come back, it may already have gone,
1:11:16 but I feel like it’s our right to do that.
1:11:19 And I think that we should do that, that’s all.
1:11:21 So I’m asking for your approval
1:11:23 to make sure that our investment portfolio nor our oil
1:11:27 has any ties to Russian companies in any way.
1:11:33 - Is that something that our investment management company
1:11:37 can prepare for in the next couple of weeks, Dr. Mullen?
1:11:41 - I haven’t reached out to them.
1:11:43 We just spoke about this this afternoon.
1:11:45 I assumed that they would be able to verify and clarify
1:11:50 if any of our investments are affiliated
1:11:53 or associated, I don’t have any reason to believe
1:11:54 that they are, but certainly we would ask
1:11:57 and do that research to determine if that’s the case,
1:11:59 if that is the direction of the board,
1:12:01 as well as we do have vendors that we obviously,
1:12:04 we consume a considerable amount of petroleum
1:12:08 through the vehicles that we use and our buses.
1:12:11 So we would have to affirm that the vendors we use
1:12:17 aren’t receiving petroleum or fuel from our business.
1:12:23 - If I understand, the board’s suggested direction
1:12:26 at this time from Russian sources of oil or petroleum, so.
1:12:32 - And this goes beyond, for me, goes beyond,
1:12:35 just so you know, goes beyond now.
1:12:39 We have been consistently and under aggression
1:12:43 from this country for a long time,
1:12:45 and I feel it is our due diligence to make sure,
1:12:48 especially the fact that we have so many kids
1:12:50 in our OTC program, so many kids that are a part
1:12:53 of what may become the next step.
1:12:55 So I am just asking for board,
1:12:57 and I think that it’s something,
1:12:58 I’m not asking for a specific time date,
1:13:01 because I don’t wanna create this get back to us now,
1:13:03 but if we can start doing that,
1:13:04 I think that they’re already probably doing that, that’s all.
1:13:07 And it’s very easy, just so you guys know,
1:13:08 BP just sold off 20% of their holdings,
1:13:12 because they’re taking a stance
1:13:13 that no longer are they gonna support,
1:13:14 and I think we could do the same thing.
1:13:16 That’s all, if I can get board support,
1:13:18 Dr. Mullins could do it.
1:13:21 - Anyone opposed to the request that’s been put forward?
1:13:24 The only thing that I will add to it,
1:13:26 Mr. Susan and I support your request
1:13:28 for us to gather the information.
1:13:32 I wanna caution over promising and under delivering on that,
1:13:39 because we’ve had conversation in the past
1:13:41 about the legal requirements
1:13:43 for our investments in the district.
1:13:46 And we are required to make the decisions
1:13:53 that garner the greatest return for the district
1:13:55 on our investments.
1:13:56 And so I think absolutely let’s look at it
1:14:00 and see what can be done.
1:14:02 I just want, I don’t, I want everyone to know
1:14:05 that that’s not just like a flip the switch
1:14:07 and we can do that.
1:14:08 We have other legal requirements
1:14:10 that we have to work within as well.
1:14:11 So, and maybe it’ll be a non-issue,
1:14:13 hopefully it’ll be a non-issue,
1:14:14 but I just think it’s important to recognize that limitation.
1:14:18 - Yeah, and I applaud you for that.
1:14:19 There’s always gonna be limitations
1:14:21 and stuff that we can do.
1:14:23 I think that the way the country’s moving
1:14:24 by the time that all comes, it won’t be there.
1:14:27 Those restrictions may be alleviated.
1:14:29 That’s all, thank you.
1:14:31 - And I would just add, I don’t want it.
1:14:33 I don’t want the public to walk away
1:14:34 from this conversation believing that we do have holdings
1:14:37 or we are utilizing right now.
1:14:41 That’s not something I track and monitor.
1:14:43 So, I’ll have to work through our consult or our contracts
1:14:47 and our vendors to determine exactly what that looks like.
1:14:50 So, but I think it’s worth verifying for our public
1:14:55 and for our taxpayer.
1:14:58 - I appreciate you guys’ support.
1:14:59 If you’re watching any of the scenes coming out of there,
1:15:01 it’s worth it.
1:15:02 - Thank you, Mr. Susan.
1:15:03 - Ms. Crawford.
1:15:04 - I do have something I wanna just discuss and bring up.
1:15:07 So, just recently this week, it was brought to my attention
1:15:10 by many members of the League of Cities
1:15:13 and city councils across Brevard.
1:15:15 I just wanna say a thank you to Senator Debbie Mayfield,
1:15:19 to House Representative Altman and Tyler Soroy.
1:15:24 And I just wanna heighten awareness to the public.
1:15:27 Palm Bay High School is in my district
1:15:29 and we had gone to our delegation to request appropriations
1:15:33 for our firefighting program that we’re starting there.
1:15:36 And it was blocked by one of our local representatives.
1:15:39 And I feel like that kind of got swept under the rug.
1:15:42 But Senator Mayfield, Representative Altman,
1:15:46 Representative Soroy were very displeased with that.
1:15:50 Begged and pleaded for that not to be the case.
1:15:53 And I think it’s important for the public
1:15:54 and all of Palm Bay and the schools that feed to Palm Bay
1:15:58 and the families that access Palm Bay High
1:16:00 to be aware that the representative of that district
1:16:03 is the one who stopped that from happening.
1:16:05 That’s not to say we’re not gonna have the program.
1:16:07 We’re gonna go ahead and do it.
1:16:09 But it’s frustrating that our taxpayer money
1:16:12 wasn’t allotted to be funded for that program.
1:16:14 And I know that, speaking of Palm Bay City Council members,
1:16:18 they are about to hire a ton of firefighters
1:16:20 for the city of Palm Bay.
1:16:22 They’re in desperate need of firefighters,
1:16:23 which is why they put that program there.
1:16:25 So it’s gonna be an asset to that community
1:16:27 and the students that access that program.
1:16:30 So I just think it’s important for everyone to be aware,
1:16:32 but I also want them to be aware of those representatives
1:16:34 that stood by them and spoke up and did the right thing.
1:16:38 So thanks.
1:16:40 (muffled speaking)
1:16:45 - We have gotten quite a few emails in the last week about,
1:16:49 or actually last few days, about book banning.
1:16:55 And I’m on a social media break right now,
1:16:58 so I’m missing some of the drama
1:17:00 that I think has been spinning some of the misinformation.
1:17:03 But just wanted to take a moment
1:17:04 to correct some information.
1:17:08 It’s my understanding that we have received
1:17:10 a short, relatively, list of books to take a look at.
1:17:16 We have a statute and we have policy
1:17:21 that governs this process.
1:17:24 And then on top of that,
1:17:25 our media specialists have training
1:17:27 of how theirs to select the books.
1:17:30 There is a particular statute that we’ve looked at before,
1:17:33 where we’ve looked at our policy 2521 that we just revised,
1:17:36 and that just to be clear,
1:17:40 and I’ll give the statute,
1:17:41 for anyone who’d like to look at it,
1:17:43 it’s Florida Statute 847.012.
1:17:49 And under that, especially particular section five,
1:17:51 I’m not gonna read the whole thing,
1:17:51 ‘cause actually this is a family-friendly show.
1:17:55 But it says an adult may not knowingly distribute
1:17:57 to a minor on school property or post on school property
1:18:00 in any material described in subsection three.
1:18:02 You can go look that one up yourself.
1:18:06 So it does not apply to the distribution
1:18:10 or posting of school-approved instructional materials
1:18:12 that by design serve as a major tool
1:18:15 for assisting in the instruction of a subject
1:18:17 or course by school officers, instructional personnel,
1:18:20 administrative personnel, school volunteers, and so forth.
1:18:23 So just to be clear, this statute’s pretty clear.
1:18:26 Now, there’s other sections of statute that define,
1:18:30 and part of it is this.
1:18:31 This actual statute defines what some of those things are
1:18:34 that would not be allowed to be given in school.
1:18:36 So that’s statute, and we also have policy.
1:18:38 And if the book is challenged, we have a policy process.
1:18:41 So if people are kind of going to the extremes,
1:18:45 which happens, and so that,
1:18:48 we are going to be going through our processes,
1:18:50 but we as a district will follow the law and our policies
1:18:54 when it comes to this.
1:18:55 I also, though, wanted to say,
1:18:58 a couple of months ago, I had someone come to me
1:19:02 and had a conversation with them
1:19:03 that there were some books that they had a list.
1:19:05 They were developing books that had some concern,
1:19:08 and what would be the best way to go about it?
1:19:10 And at the time I said,
1:19:12 rather than going school to school to school,
1:19:14 why don’t you just give us a list and take a look
1:19:15 if there’s really something that’s against statute,
1:19:17 against our policy, we can take care of it.
1:19:19 You don’t have to go through that.
1:19:20 I am not sure why that person chose
1:19:21 to wait a couple of months to get,
1:19:23 and it wasn’t the same person who sent the list,
1:19:25 but there’s really no good purpose that I can see
1:19:28 for holding onto those things.
1:19:31 We are going to follow a statute.
1:19:32 We’re going to follow our policies.
1:19:34 We’re going to work through the process.
1:19:36 But this is just something that we need people to,
1:19:42 I want to cooperate, and I believe we do.
1:19:45 All of us do want to cooperate with the public
1:19:47 because we want what’s best for our children.
1:19:50 And so there’s been some extremes and some misinformation.
1:19:53 I got some emails, people thought we were pulling books
1:19:56 based on racial history,
1:19:58 and I just took a quick glance at that list of 10 books.
1:20:01 I didn’t see anything on that list that had to do with
1:20:04 anything that would be historical
1:20:06 or had anything to do with race.
1:20:08 Most of it specifically had to do with things
1:20:12 that would be in this particular statute,
1:20:13 which I’ll let everybody read on their own.
1:20:16 So I just wanted to clarify that for us,
1:20:19 for people in the public who might be listening
1:20:22 or in the audience tonight.
1:20:23 So there you go.
1:20:25 Trying to keep it clean.
1:20:26 - Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
1:20:27 I appreciate the grace with which you waded through that.
1:20:31 And for not going into detail on the statute linguists.
1:20:36 - And just to follow that up,
1:20:39 I was talking to Dr. Mullins about this today,
1:20:40 and you can search through our database of our schools,
1:20:44 all of the books that are inside there.
1:20:46 And I was speaking to a school board member
1:20:49 last night, actually, in Tallahassee.
1:20:51 And she was mentioning that they have a unique program
1:20:56 where you can search for the books,
1:20:58 and if your kid goes to that school,
1:20:59 you can opt out right there from that book.
1:21:01 So the individual can opt out.
1:21:03 So there’s other options besides not only that,
1:21:06 but actually putting those in place too, so that’s all.
1:21:08 - I’m gonna ask, I’m getting lots of noise,
1:21:10 and I think it’s directly in front of me.
1:21:12 If you could please make sure that we’re not hearing you
1:21:15 over everything else, that would be great.
1:21:16 Thank you, Mr. Susman, for that recognition
1:21:18 of some other options that may exist.
1:21:23 All right, any other board member discussion points?
1:21:27 Dr. Mullins, do you have any discussion points?
1:21:30 All right, that is going to take us
1:21:32 into our non-agenda speakers.
1:21:37 Each speaker is limited to one minute.
1:21:40 We have a clock in front of me
1:21:41 to help you keep track of your time.
1:21:43 When your time is over, you will be asked to stop
1:21:45 and allow the next speaker his or her turn.
1:21:46 We’ll hear from the speakers
1:21:48 in the order in which they signed up,
1:21:49 including those who may be waiting outside.
1:21:52 As stated earlier, reasonable decorum is expected
1:21:54 at all times, and your statement should be directed
1:21:56 to the board chair.
1:21:57 Should audience participation interfere
1:21:59 with speakers being heard or hearing me,
1:22:01 I’ll be forced to clear the room.
1:22:03 When I call your name, please line up along the east wall
1:22:05 of the board room to facilitate
1:22:06 the smooth transition of speakers.
1:22:08 We’ll begin with our first three speakers,
1:22:10 Avalon Strafford, Fred Kilgallen, and Karen Colby.
1:22:22 - Whenever you’re ready, Avalon.
1:22:32 - Good evening.
1:22:33 I’m here tonight to let you know that it seems my safety
1:22:35 as a straight female does not matter to a few of you.
1:22:38 I have friends that are part of the inclusive community,
1:22:41 including non-binary and trans,
1:22:44 yet their safety and comfort seems more important to you.
1:22:48 Part of your job is to keep every student safe.
1:22:52 Yes, including the straight students.
1:22:54 Since you’re all about science,
1:22:57 why are you allowing biological boys and girls bathrooms
1:23:00 and locker rooms and vice versa?
1:23:03 It was stated by a board member
1:23:06 that the inclusive community will always exist.
1:23:09 Well, I am here tonight to let you know
1:23:11 that the straight community will always exist as well.
1:23:14 And we deserve to always feel safe
1:23:17 on school property at all times.
1:23:19 Since a few of you do not have safety,
1:23:23 safety of all students in mind and lack of common sense,
1:23:26 I’m demanding the following board members
1:23:28 to quit immediately.
1:23:30 Jennifer Jenkins.
1:23:31 - Avalon, I’m gonna have to stop you.
1:23:34 So everything’s directed at me,
1:23:35 not individual board members, okay?
1:23:37 You’ve got roughly a second left though.
1:23:43 - Karen McDougal and Ms. Belford,
1:23:45 you are not going to stop on our first amendment rights.
1:23:47 All right, I need you to step away.
1:23:52 Mr. Kilgallen.
1:24:03 - Good evening, my name is Fred Kilgallen.
1:24:05 I’m here with Families for Safe Schools
1:24:07 and want to address what was just spoken about earlier
1:24:11 with the books in schools.
1:24:14 And we appreciate that there is a way
1:24:17 to let individual parents choose
1:24:19 what their child may or may not see in school.
1:24:21 We think that’s probably the best approach
1:24:24 and we stand ready to help implement that
1:24:26 if you need or want our help for it.
1:24:29 I would urge you not to let adult discomfort, however,
1:24:34 be the criteria for choosing which books get pulled
1:24:37 and which books do not.
1:24:38 Just because it’s a description of sex
1:24:41 doesn’t necessarily make it pornographic.
1:24:43 All right, thank you very much.
1:24:45 - Thank you, Mr. Kilgallen.
1:24:46 As Karen’s approaching,
1:24:47 our next three speakers will be Nancy Reagan,
1:24:49 Jody Hand and Katie Delaney.
1:24:52 - Do I have two subjects?
1:24:55 ‘Cause I didn’t talk on the other one.
1:24:57 - You have one minute for however many subjects
1:24:59 you want to cover.
1:25:00 - Thank you. - Yeah.
1:25:01 - Okay, and one of my subjects had to do with the proms
1:25:06 and the senior activities to please be allowed to continue.
1:25:10 And some schools aren’t able to accomplish this.
1:25:13 So I’m here to ask, please, can we help some of the schools
1:25:15 who can’t get it together for this year?
1:25:18 Because it’s kind of not fair to those seniors
1:25:20 when other schools have accomplished the task.
1:25:24 So I’m just gonna speak on this.
1:25:26 I’m willing to help.
1:25:27 If they need help with project graduations,
1:25:29 if they need help with organizing proms,
1:25:31 I can find volunteers to help.
1:25:33 I don’t think it’s fair for some high schools
1:25:35 to not have a prom.
1:25:37 Like let’s take Mel High, for example.
1:25:39 Their basketball team has to pick between
1:25:41 going to their senior prom or playing their last,
1:25:43 one of their last games.
1:25:44 That involves the cheerleaders and the band.
1:25:47 I would like to specifically please reach out to Mel High
1:25:50 and try to find them a venue
1:25:52 that will accommodate a weekend event.
1:25:54 They said all they could find was Thursday.
1:25:56 If we could please help,
1:25:57 I’ll forget whatever else I was gonna speak about.
1:26:00 It was complimentary.
1:26:02 Thank you.
1:26:02 - Feel free to reach out to the school, Karen,
1:26:04 and see if there’s anything you can do to help, okay?
1:26:06 - The principal’s not interested.
1:26:08 - Okay.
1:26:10 Nancy Reagan.
1:26:11 (silence)
1:26:25 - Hi, my name is Heather,
1:26:26 and I have a daughter in eighth grade
1:26:28 at Delora Middle School.
1:26:29 She’s being racially bullied,
1:26:30 and the administration has failed her.
1:26:34 January 12th, she was called the N-word in PE.
1:26:38 This is in district three.
1:26:40 She was called the N-word in PE.
1:26:43 Another boy said it looks like she’s got birds in her hair,
1:26:46 and another boy said she has messy hair,
1:26:49 and she texted me right away.
1:26:53 And called the school, and Mr. Cook says,
1:26:56 “Oh, ha ha, where did these boys come from?”
1:27:01 I said, “From their racist parents.”
1:27:03 So a no contact rule was set in place for the three boys.
1:27:09 It was broken.
1:27:10 I got a screenshot that it was broken.
1:27:12 This was January 12th.
1:27:14 Today, my daughter’s grades are slipping.
1:27:16 She eats lunch alone.
1:27:17 All her friends have outcasted her,
1:27:19 ‘cause they said she is causing the problem at school
1:27:23 by telling the truth.
1:27:26 - Thank you for joining us.
1:27:30 - Yeah.
1:27:31 Ms. Solomon?
1:27:33 - Either one.
1:27:35 Mr., Dr. Saidi, could you get contact information
1:27:38 on that for me, please?
1:27:39 - Ms. Reagan.
1:27:40 - I’m gonna reach out to Dr. McKinnon.
1:27:41 Just let me know.
1:27:42 - And then, I’ll mix that up, too.
1:27:44 - Ms. Reagan, Ms. Moore’s behind you.
1:27:47 She’ll talk.
1:27:49 - The lady who’s walking in the back.
1:27:52 All right, Jody Hand.
1:27:54 - Can you clarify that that’s not Dr. McKinnon’s role?
1:28:07 - Hi, thank you for your time today.
1:28:09 I’m here on behalf of Moms for Liberty in Brevard County.
1:28:13 To clear the air, Moms for Liberty
1:28:15 has no desire to ban books.
1:28:17 Should we wish to ban books,
1:28:18 we would be attacking publisher, not the school board.
1:28:21 Our mission is to ensure all of the reading appropriate,
1:28:25 excuse me, available in the libraries is age-appropriate.
1:28:29 That is all we’re asking for.
1:28:31 Some of you may know the book “Gender Queer”
1:28:34 was in our school libraries.
1:28:36 Had Moms for Liberty not brought that book to your attention
1:28:39 it might still be there.
1:28:43 There are many other books that follow in the same pattern,
1:28:46 which is why this list has been sent to you.
1:28:48 It is just the beginning.
1:28:50 There are many more books that are inappropriate,
1:28:52 whether they be age-appropriate
1:28:54 or inappropriate for any age level.
1:28:57 Property is not acceptable on any level.
1:28:59 And I’m not sure who thinks the description of sex
1:29:02 in any way, shape, or form is appropriate.
1:29:05 Thank you very much for your time today.
1:29:06 - Thank you, Jody.
1:29:08 Ms. Delaney, as she’s approaching our next three speakers
1:29:12 will be Michael Bloom, Wyatt Stumbo,
1:29:14 and then Jabari Hosey.
1:29:18 - I am here to speak with you all again
1:29:21 about the changes to your public comment policy.
1:29:25 Tonight, you heard from a student of yours
1:29:28 and she didn’t even get to finish her speech
1:29:30 because of your policy changes.
1:29:33 We had a mother fighting for her multiracial child
1:29:38 who’s getting bullied at school
1:29:40 and she had a minute to speak with you.
1:29:43 And that was her last recourse here.
1:29:46 She has reached out to her school board member
1:29:49 who’s not even paying attention.
1:29:50 She has reached out to Dr. McKinnon
1:29:54 and they basically have said, well, what support?
1:29:58 What support do you need?
1:30:00 And this is wrong.
1:30:04 This is wrong.
1:30:05 It’s not inaccurate.
1:30:06 I have the emails.
1:30:07 - Ms. Delaney, are you done or you have–
1:30:10 - Public input is important
1:30:13 and we do not have enough time to tell you our grievances.
1:30:17 It’s our First Amendment right.
1:30:21 - Hold your applause, please.
1:30:22 Michael Bloom?
1:30:27 You waving, Michael?
1:30:29 Mr. Wyatt Stumbo.
1:30:37 - Missed any chance of a one minute extension to this.
1:30:40 It’s about school hour comparatives to our private schools
1:30:44 that our kids are getting educated.
1:30:45 It’s a lot of data and if I rush through,
1:30:47 it’s just gonna be confusing.
1:30:48 - Yeah, unfortunately I can’t give you an extension
1:30:50 but I’ll be happy to get with you offline
1:30:52 if you wanna wait and talk to me after the meeting
1:30:54 or if you wanna send data, I can–
1:30:56 - I’ll hang out afterwards.
1:30:57 All right, here we go.
1:30:58 - So between February 6th and March 11th,
1:31:02 the five weeks of school period,
1:31:04 our kids have four full days and three early releases.
1:31:07 Being a working parent, my wife stays home.
1:31:11 She’s telling me, oh yeah, they’re off Friday,
1:31:12 they’re off Monday, how are we off four out of five weeks?
1:31:16 We have four day weeks.
1:31:17 Doesn’t make sense to me.
1:31:18 So I looked at her calendar thinking
1:31:21 there’s gotta be a mistake and then I realized no,
1:31:24 the calendar’s correct.
1:31:25 We aren’t filling days that we had potential to fill.
1:31:28 So before we came back to this area,
1:31:32 we checked out Calvary Chapel Academy.
1:31:35 And so they have a different schedule.
1:31:36 And what I did is compared in-school hours versus schools.
1:31:40 Calvary Chapel educate their kids, we’ll have them in school,
1:31:44 roughly an extra 133 hours, which is equivalent
1:31:47 to my kids at Longleaf, five full weeks in school.
1:31:51 And their kids get our stuff.
1:31:53 So I think we should evaluate our early release days.
1:31:57 We need to evaluate how many weeks we can have
1:32:00 in a five week period where they do four day weeks.
1:32:03 - Thanks, Ryan. - That’s what I want
1:32:03 to talk about.
1:32:06 - Jabari Hosie, and as Jabari’s approaching,
1:32:08 Erin Dunn, Laura and Nicolette Figueroa,
1:32:13 and then Karen Colby.
1:32:23 - Okay.
1:32:32 Mr. Hosie, whenever you’re ready, sir.
1:32:34 - All right, hi, my name is Jabari Hosie.
1:32:36 I’m speaking on behalf of Families for Safe Schools.
1:32:39 And I’m here to speak on book banning.
1:32:41 Not that book banning is coming to our district,
1:32:44 but the influence from the outside
1:32:45 to implement such activity is.
1:32:48 I’m asking that the district holds firm
1:32:49 with their current policies and procedures
1:32:51 and strengthens them to prepare for such activity.
1:32:54 And that we continue to follow these procedures
1:32:56 as like when many spoke on mask infringing
1:32:59 on parental rights and choosing what they have the right
1:33:02 over their kids wearing a mask.
1:33:04 I don’t want their home beliefs to infringe
1:33:06 on what my kids read in order to become a well-rounded human.
1:33:10 That learning from history, so it’s not repeated,
1:33:14 learning about the people that are around them
1:33:16 and how they interact with them respectfully.
1:33:18 If certain people fear these books,
1:33:21 then go and read another book as an alternate assignment.
1:33:24 If you fear your child would check out a book
1:33:26 from a library that you don’t feel is appropriate,
1:33:29 opt your student out and they cannot check
1:33:30 that library book out.
1:33:32 But please don’t try and force your children,
1:33:34 my children, our children, to follow what is deemed best
1:33:38 for your household.
1:33:39 - Thank you, Mr. Hosie. - Thank you.
1:33:39 - We appreciate you, Karen Dunn.
1:33:44 Oh, you have to be right, thank you, Campbell.
1:33:51 - Every child in Brevard Public Schools
1:33:53 deserves to see themselves represented
1:33:55 in the books in our school libraries.
1:33:57 Every LGBTQ child, every black and brown child,
1:34:01 every child deserves to read about families
1:34:03 like there is in books as well.
1:34:06 Children must know that the diversity they bring
1:34:08 to our schools is not just tolerated, but celebrated.
1:34:11 And not only our students, but our school staff as well,
1:34:15 feel free to be their true best authentic selves
1:34:18 in an environment free of hate and discrimination.
1:34:21 As a school board, your primary focus
1:34:23 should be putting books into the hands of children,
1:34:25 not taking them away.
1:34:27 When books in our libraries are threatened,
1:34:29 I believe that you will make decisions
1:34:31 that keep all of our children represented.
1:34:33 Thank you.
1:34:36 - Ms. Colby, I apologize.
1:34:37 I had written your name on the list,
1:34:39 not realizing that you already signed up on the non-agenda,
1:34:41 so you won’t get another one, okay?
1:34:43 - Thanks.
1:34:45 - Lara and Nicolette, are you both speaking,
1:34:48 or are you?
1:34:50 - Okay. - Your form.
1:34:53 - Yeah.
1:34:56 Nicolette, whenever you are ready.
1:34:58 - All right.
1:35:00 Hello, my name is Nicolette.
1:35:02 I am a junior out of Galley High.
1:35:03 I’m with SWOT, for Students Working Against Tobacco.
1:35:06 We are empowered students
1:35:07 fighting against nicotine addiction.
1:35:10 Today, I will address the school vaping crisis
1:35:12 and the opportunity you have to protect youth
1:35:14 from the detrimental effects of nicotine.
1:35:17 As board members who support mental health,
1:35:19 social, and academic success,
1:35:20 I know that you care about this issue.
1:35:23 Nicotine harms part of the brain
1:35:24 responsible for learning, memory,
1:35:26 impulse control, and mental health.
1:35:29 One in six were brought youth ages 11 to 17 vape,
1:35:32 or use another toxic tobacco product,
1:35:34 and one in 15 vape on school property.
1:35:38 A common response to this is suspension or expulsion.
1:35:41 However, research shows that this does not help kids quit,
1:35:44 and may actually increase the likelihood
1:35:46 of nicotine use within a year.
1:35:48 A local eighth grader said the following about suspension.
1:35:51 It made me wanna do it more,
1:35:52 because I didn’t have much else to do.
1:35:54 The same student was provided education and resources
1:35:56 that helped them quit.
1:35:58 Consider this.
1:35:59 What if instead of suspension,
1:36:00 students were given the opportunity to stay in school
1:36:02 with tobacco education and direct support to help them quit?
1:36:05 - Thank you, Nicolette. - Thank you.
1:36:06 - We appreciate you joining us.
1:36:07 Great work.
1:36:08 (audience applauding)
1:36:11 - All right.
1:36:14 Anyone have anything else
1:36:15 before I gavel us out for the evening?
1:36:17 - Yeah, I feel the need to clarify.
1:36:20 So there was a statement made by somebody in the public
1:36:23 that I was reached out to about a racial issue,
1:36:26 and that is a completely false statement.
1:36:30 It is a school in my district.
1:36:32 It’s a school that my husband works at.
1:36:33 It’s a school that I’m closely speaking
1:36:35 with the principal on a regular basis.
1:36:37 And so for that parent, if they want to reach out to me,
1:36:40 absolutely, I am your advocate,
1:36:42 and I will absolutely do that for you.
1:36:44 But I’m not gonna be quiet when people make false statements.
1:36:47 Thank you.
1:36:49 - Anyone else have anything else?
1:36:51 All right, hearing no further business,
1:36:54 this meeting is adjourned.
1:36:56 (gavel bangs)
1:36:59 (upbeat music)
1:37:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]