Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 (upbeat music)
0:30 (upbeat music continues)
5:27 (gavel bangs)
5:28 - Good afternoon, the December 13th work session
5:31 is now in order.
5:32 Paul, roll call, please.
5:33 - Mr. Season.
5:34 - Here.
5:35 - Ms. Wright.
5:36 - Here.
5:37 - Mr. Trent.
5:37 - Here.
5:38 - Ms. Jenkins.
5:39 - Present.
5:40 - Ms. Campbell.
5:41 - Here.
5:42 - Please stand for the pledge.
5:47 - I pledge allegiance to the flag
5:50 of the United States of America
5:52 and to the Republic for which it stands,
5:54 one nation, under God, indivisible,
5:57 with liberty and justice for all.
6:02 - The first topic on today’s agenda
6:04 is Space Coast Junior Senior High School’s
6:06 additional construction management services.
6:08 Ms. Suhan, assistant of superintendent of facilities,
6:11 will be presenting.
6:12 Ms. Han.
6:13 - Good afternoon, everyone.
6:14 Thank you for the opportunity to walk you through
6:17 where we are with the Space Coast Junior Senior
6:20 High School track.
6:22 As you recall, the board approved
6:24 the construction management contract
6:26 for the resurfacing rubberization of the track in November.
6:29 However, there was an alternate option
6:33 that was noted on the agenda that was to widen the track
6:36 from six lanes to eight lanes.
6:39 And the board gave us an opportunity
6:41 to go ahead and explore that a little bit more
6:43 and provide some research to you
6:45 as to how we’ve progressed through the track capital program.
6:49 And so just very briefly, as I mentioned previously,
6:53 we have been working on renewal and rubberization
6:57 of all of our high school tracks
6:59 with the exceptions of West Shore and Edgewood
7:02 who don’t actually have functioning tracks.
7:05 So what I’m about to say applies to the other 14 tracks.
7:10 We have gone through the program on the theory
7:15 of renewal of the track assets that we have.
7:19 And then while we are doing that
7:21 as part of the sales surtax program,
7:23 also going in and rubberizing the tracks.
7:25 And so that was a big ask from our athletic directors
7:28 a couple of years ago,
7:29 and we were able to combine those two things
7:32 while we’re on site.
7:34 So we’ve gone through several projects already,
7:38 and I just wanna let you know,
7:40 we have eight that are finished,
7:42 three that are under contract, two that are under design,
7:46 and one satellite high school that was done back in 2017.
7:50 And that was done largely with community funding.
7:53 Some district funds were involved in that project.
7:56 And that’s really the case for most of these.
7:59 So as we have progressed through the track program,
8:02 the parameters around which we have done them is,
8:05 we, the district, will be renewing the track
8:09 and rubberizing the track.
8:11 We’ll do the interior curbing and exterior curbing
8:14 because those are aspects of the project
8:18 that will preserve the life of the track.
8:21 So from the perspective of the building of the track itself,
8:26 that’s what we have included.
8:28 But we’re basically putting back what is there.
8:32 So in the case of a couple of schools,
8:36 they went from seven to eight lanes via striping.
8:39 The footprint of the track was wide enough
8:41 to be able to do that.
8:43 Melbourne High School is the one exception.
8:45 They are constrained at six lanes.
8:48 We didn’t look at widening the Melbourne High School track
8:51 because they’re also constrained by the turf field
8:54 that they have and the grandstand bleachers
8:57 that they have.
8:58 And so there really was no physical way to do that
9:00 without a fairly significant project.
9:03 In the case of Space Coast Junior Senior High School,
9:06 they have six lanes.
9:08 And our normal protocol would have been
9:11 to just simply resurface what’s there
9:13 and then rubberize the six lanes that they have.
9:17 The width of the track was not sufficient
9:20 to give them any more lanes.
9:21 So they asked for an alternate to widen the track.
9:25 So we designed it so that it could be done.
9:28 And our construction manager gave us a price for it.
9:31 And that’s what we presented at the last board meeting
9:33 at 183,000 to do that work.
9:36 The unique aspect of the Space Coast track
9:39 is that the grandstand bleachers, coincidentally,
9:44 were failing at approximately the same time.
9:47 And so the grandstand bleachers are no longer in the way
9:51 because we had to tear them down.
9:53 So the opportunity to widen the track
9:55 at Space Coast Junior Senior High School
9:57 is present basically now.
9:59 And so the ability to do the widening is really now
10:06 if we are going to make that leap.
10:09 In terms of how we’ve treated other schools,
10:12 the way that we have framed this is that, as I said,
10:15 the district funds, the basic track renewal and rubberization
10:18 and the schools have been fundraising
10:20 for some of their additional track assets
10:23 that they’d like to have.
10:25 And those included field events.
10:26 So we did very few field events as part of the project
10:31 unless the school wanted to fund those.
10:34 And we had several schools
10:35 that did do a fairly significant amount of fundraising.
10:38 And certainly some of them to contribute resources
10:41 to doing the field events.
10:43 So in looking at our track inventory,
10:47 I believe that there are seven of them
10:49 that can actually host regional meets,
10:51 meaning they have the track,
10:53 they have correct number of lanes,
10:55 correct distance and all of that,
10:57 and they have the field events.
10:59 So that is not the case with all of our tracks.
11:01 So some of them have been improved
11:03 and are not slated for hosting regional meets.
11:06 Like O’Gally is probably an example of one of those.
11:10 So we’re kind of all over the board
11:11 with our track situation.
11:12 So what you have before you today
11:14 is a summary of what I’ve just said.
11:18 And there is $183,000 cost to widen the track
11:24 if we do that concurrently
11:26 with the rubberization and renewal contract.
11:29 So the board also asked me to take a look
11:31 at how we could fund the $183,000.
11:34 And so I took a look at our capital plan.
11:38 And we have a project in our capital plan
11:40 that relates to Myla Elementary School.
11:42 And we’ve been talking with the principal,
11:44 and this goes back a year or so,
11:46 probably a little bit more than a year,
11:48 about serving the ESE students better at Myla.
11:52 And the current building in which those students are served
11:56 really could use a significant upgrade
11:58 and potentially a replacement.
12:00 But we really have to take a look
12:02 at what is the best way to deal with that situation.
12:06 Is it constructing a new building?
12:08 Is it trying to do rehabilitation
12:11 and renovation of the existing building?
12:14 Our initial thinking was around probably a new building.
12:18 But we really need to do an RFQ process
12:21 to bring in an architect to take a look at that situation.
12:24 And we just hadn’t quite gotten around
12:26 to doing that part yet.
12:29 So in looking at the capital program,
12:31 I was pretty comfortable that we could proceed with the RFQ.
12:37 We could proceed with the initial phase
12:40 where we bring in an architect to do that analysis
12:42 of what is the best way to serve those students.
12:45 And then we backfill the remainder of the funding
12:49 in the fiscal year ‘24 capital plan.
12:52 So we actually have $250,000 that was slated,
12:56 100,000 from last year,
12:57 150,000 from this year’s capital plan for that project.
13:02 We could use a portion of those resources for the track.
13:05 And then when we do the FY24 capital plan,
13:08 we would simply request that money be replenished.
13:11 And at that time, we’d probably have a better idea
13:14 of exactly what project we would be doing,
13:15 what the scope would be.
13:17 So we’d have a better sense of what the design fees would be
13:20 and what the ultimate project would be
13:22 and whether that’s an impact fee type of project
13:25 or whether it’s a capital project
13:27 to serve those students better.
13:30 So that was the option I looked at
13:32 for potentially funding that widening of the track.
13:36 And so with that, I’ll be happy to entertain any questions.
13:39 If the board had, whatever the consensus of the board is,
13:42 if we choose to move forward,
13:44 then I would bring that as a formal change order request
13:48 at the January board meeting,
13:49 but the contractor is prepared to move ahead
13:51 if that’s the will of the board.
13:53 - Thank you, Sue.
13:54 So what Sue’s asking is do we,
13:56 first off, if there’s any discussion,
13:58 but then also if we can approve and give direction.
14:00 So are there any discussion?
14:02 Does anybody wanna talk about it?
14:03 - Can I ask Sue a question?
14:05 - Absolutely.
14:06 - Just to be clear on the Myla project,
14:09 the timeframe for that has not been established yet.
14:11 It sounds like you’re at the very beginning phases of that.
14:13 So we don’t, do you know what that project
14:15 is gonna potentially cost us?
14:18 - So yes, we’re at the very beginning stages.
14:21 No on what it potentially would cost.
14:24 A classroom addition for an elementary school,
14:28 five to 7 million, depending on what we would be,
14:31 what we would actually do for an addition.
14:34 The renovation’s probably about the same.
14:37 - Okay.
14:39 So right now, if I’m hearing you correctly,
14:41 it sounds like $250,000 is what’s been
14:44 kind of carved out for that project.
14:46 So we’re still a ways off from what we’re gonna need there.
14:49 - Right, and the intention was just to get started
14:52 because we really need to do a lot of work
14:54 on the scoping of the project.
14:55 We have a similar project at West Melbourne Elementary
14:57 where we’re not quite sure what the answer is,
15:01 but we know we need some additional student stations there.
15:05 So that’s how, we’re gonna pursue it very similarly
15:08 to what we’re doing at West Melbourne.
15:10 - Gotcha, okay.
15:13 - Ms. Campbell.
15:15 - So this is a unique situation.
15:18 I, you know, I have a few just hesitations
15:22 and then a suggestion.
15:23 You know, hesitation is, you know, we,
15:26 as much as we would like for every high school
15:28 to have the same facilities,
15:30 the fact is that they just don’t,
15:31 they weren’t all built at the same time,
15:32 they weren’t all built in the same,
15:34 each high school has a different footprint
15:38 on their property.
15:40 You know, and I, you know, it’s not lost on me
15:43 because I’ve had community reach out to me multiple times
15:46 about Mill High has zero field events facilities,
15:50 and then we look at our two, you know, Heritage and,
15:53 not Heritage, West Shore and Edgewood,
15:54 all they, although they don’t have tracks,
15:56 they do have track teams, correct?
15:59 So those are having to use other schools’ facilities.
16:02 Unfortunately, those two schools are closed by
16:04 other schools that they can use,
16:06 but it does create a potential problem.
16:10 My other hesitation is that, you know,
16:13 in the description on the second page,
16:16 it says the cost to widen the track is $183,000.
16:19 The school has indicated they’re not capable
16:21 of this level of fundraising.
16:22 I totally believe that because, you know,
16:25 Space Coast Junior Senior High is situated geographically
16:28 in a place where they’re not in a city.
16:32 You know, even some of our, you know,
16:33 COCO has been a high need school
16:35 that we’ve prioritized funding for
16:37 because of the percentage of free and reduced lunch
16:41 and all that, but COCO is very supported in their community
16:43 because they’re right in the middle of COCO,
16:46 and they have, you know, I know Ms. Jenkins
16:47 has shared with us before, you know,
16:49 community, county, even state and, you know,
16:51 international, but national recognition and help.
16:54 Space Coast Junior Senior High being in Port St. John,
16:56 it’s just not really, it’s not a city.
16:58 They don’t have the same kind of support
17:00 like a Viera or a COCO or a MEL or some things like that.
17:04 So I understand, but I do feel like,
17:06 because we have this process of fundraising,
17:08 that there should be some buy-in from the school,
17:13 even if it’s not this level.
17:14 So for our new board members, we have a process
17:17 that Ms. Han’s area oversees called the School Improvement,
17:23 no, I don’t know, what’s it called?
17:24 - The School Initiated Project Fund.
17:25 - Yeah, we have two SIPs.
17:27 One of them is this one, School Initiated Project Fund,
17:29 which is a matching fund, and we have priority schools,
17:32 which are Title I schools and schools that have different,
17:35 you know, like I said, higher ratios of free, reduced lunch.
17:39 They can get a bigger match.
17:41 So if a school wants to, up to 37,500,
17:44 up to 25,000 for other schools.
17:46 So if a school wants to do a big playground thing,
17:48 we’ve had this for years, they can raise whatever,
17:51 they want a new marquee, it’s gonna cost 14,000,
17:53 they raise 7,000, the district matches at 7,000.
17:56 If they’re a priority school, they raise 7,000,
17:58 the district matches at like a 75% match.
18:01 I feel like Space Coast is one of the ones
18:03 that can get the 75% match.
18:05 I’m not saying they need to raise up to 183,000,
18:08 but I just feel like the school
18:09 needs to have some buy-in here.
18:11 It would be, and I’m not willing to set an amount
18:15 right this minute, but I just feel like it would be,
18:17 it would be perceived by the rest of the schools
18:19 in the district to be more fair.
18:22 And because they have done the hard work
18:24 of doing some fundraising, like I said,
18:26 I don’t believe they’re available,
18:28 able to do this level of fundraising,
18:29 but I think it would be helpful
18:31 to have some kind of buy-in at this level.
18:34 And I don’t know, Miss Hannah,
18:35 if you’ve talked to the school leadership there
18:37 to see if they would be willing or able to do that.
18:41 - I am sorry, Miss Campbell,
18:42 I had not talked to the school leadership about that,
18:44 but we’ve been talking with them
18:47 about some other athletic facilities.
18:50 And so I feel like a nominal type of contribution
18:54 is probably within their reach.
18:56 - Okay. - I think–
18:58 - Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Susan, go ahead.
18:59 - No, go ahead, I’m sorry, I didn’t,
19:00 I thought you were finished.
19:01 - And we would certainly work with them
19:03 to be able to move forward with the contract
19:07 while they were doing their fundraising.
19:09 - Right, yeah, right, ‘cause you said the time is now,
19:12 and I don’t wanna necessarily put a hold on it,
19:13 but just some kind of skin in the game, I guess.
19:18 - So I agree with you, Miss Campbell.
19:21 Many of our facilities are in equity, right?
19:23 So Mel High received a, you know what I mean,
19:27 over a million dollars for their football field.
19:30 And Palm Bay’s the same way, and school districts don’t.
19:33 Many schools have auditoriums.
19:35 Many schools have many, you know what I mean?
19:38 So there’s inequities out there, unfortunately.
19:40 Vieira High School doesn’t have
19:41 a baseball and a softball field.
19:43 They have to go other places.
19:44 So I wanted to just tell a story from my perspective.
19:48 So I taught at Space Coast Junior Senior High School
19:50 for six years, and I loved that school.
19:53 Loved, I coached, I played, coached football,
19:55 I coached wrestling.
19:56 One of the issues that Space Coast Junior Senior High School
19:59 has is it was built as a middle school.
20:01 And so your track and many of the other facilities
20:05 were built to become middle school facilities.
20:08 So when you didn’t have a large auditorium,
20:11 they don’t have a lot of the things that a high school needs.
20:14 And one of the things that you pointed out,
20:16 which I agree with you 100%, is port’s not a,
20:19 they’re not a city.
20:21 So they literally have the bagel shop
20:23 and a couple other places that fund
20:25 every single rec league and everything else.
20:29 And it’s a unique situation in that
20:30 it’s a bedroom community cornered off
20:34 by basically forests, and you don’t have it
20:38 connected to others.
20:39 But at the same time, where I was coming across is,
20:43 is there’s inequities across.
20:44 Like Mel High has the field, Palm Bay has the field.
20:49 There’s certain ones there.
20:50 But I would say that I would be comfortable moving forward
20:53 with not making them go in because the other piece is,
20:56 is that we would be taking away from
20:58 one of those Title I schools,
21:00 ‘cause there’s only a certain amount of money
21:01 that’s inside that fund that they fund those with.
21:04 So if another school was to present a funding source
21:09 and they did not get it,
21:11 so like if your Title I schools all apply
21:14 and Space Coast comes in, they’ll get bumped
21:16 because they’re not on the priority list.
21:18 So then we have a problem where we’re like,
21:20 well, what are we gonna do?
21:22 So I feel, and this is, I understand 100%
21:25 where you’re coming from, Ms. Campbell,
21:27 but the fact that it was built as a middle school
21:29 to service for a while, then a high school,
21:31 the track was never built out.
21:32 Every single facility they have is like
21:35 not big enough for the next.
21:37 And the fact that it would take away from possible Title I
21:40 schools for the fundraising, I would say that,
21:43 you know what I mean?
21:44 That would be my thought process
21:45 that we would just move forward with allowing them to do it.
21:48 But I’m open to the board.
21:49 I just wanted to say that
21:50 since everybody had had their part of the conversation.
21:52 Any other comments?
21:54 - Please.
21:57 I would hope that this board uses this moment
22:04 to recognize and reflect the fact that inequity
22:08 is rampant throughout the district.
22:11 And I think it would be advantageous of us
22:14 to actually educate ourselves on where that inequity lies.
22:19 And if we’re gonna talk about athletics,
22:20 like let’s stick there.
22:29 I’m not against these students getting
22:31 what they deserve and need in their community
22:33 that can’t fundraise, I acknowledge that.
22:35 I’ve always said, you know, there was a line that I read
22:38 that stuck with me forever where equal means
22:41 everyone gets the same,
22:43 equity means everyone gets what they need.
22:45 And so I believe in our school district,
22:47 there’s no way we could fund all these projects
22:49 for every single school, right, of course.
22:51 And I think it’s okay and right as a society
22:55 and a community for us to help those schools
22:57 and communities that probably can’t fund it themselves.
23:00 But I just want to highlight and make it very clear
23:03 to everyone that this is an issue we’ve had for a while.
23:08 And I wanna make sure that we’re going to,
23:10 if we start this precedent,
23:12 that we carry forward to all of our schools.
23:15 And that’s a precedent that we’re gonna be setting.
23:18 And I’m okay with that, but we need to recognize
23:20 that that’s the precedent we’re setting.
23:22 And I hope we follow through with it
23:24 because I know it’s easy to mention our schools
23:27 like Title I’s and stuff that we say get more funding
23:29 and all that.
23:31 But when I was participating in that COCO project,
23:34 the only thing I was aware of, and correct me if I’m wrong,
23:38 that they were getting at the time was the track
23:40 like everybody else.
23:41 And there’s a lot of need.
23:44 There’s a lot of need in some of our schools
23:46 who can’t do it themselves.
23:48 And so again, I’m not against this by any means,
23:51 but if this is gonna be a precedent,
23:53 then we better follow through.
23:54 We better be doing this for all of our students
23:56 who have those deficits and those needs.
24:00 That is my only hesitation.
24:03 I don’t know if we’re going to do that.
24:06 And that’s expensive.
24:08 Let’s be realistic about it too.
24:09 And I understand the timeline here.
24:11 I understand that this is the right time
24:14 to do this project, so I acknowledge that wholeheartedly.
24:18 But I think if we’re gonna have that conversation,
24:20 again, we need to educate ourselves
24:22 and take a real hard look about where those inequities lie.
24:29 - I might remind the board and we may be able to do that,
24:32 but I think Ms. Su, didn’t you spend some aggressive time
24:36 to identify all the inequities inside the district,
24:39 athletic facilities and other places?
24:41 - I wouldn’t say all of them,
24:43 but we have been trying to look at that
24:45 as in fact the field events is one area
24:47 where we have surveyed our schools.
24:49 So you saw the results of that.
24:51 Not all schools have all field events.
24:53 Space Coast is one where there’s another piece
24:56 of the potential ad alternates
24:58 that’s $143,000 or so worth of improvements
25:02 to the field amenities that are not part of this contract.
25:07 And that would typically be something
25:08 that the school would fund
25:10 and schools have funded those improvements.
25:14 So yes, we are trying to get there
25:17 and we’ve looked at all of our playgrounds.
25:20 We know who has two and who has eight.
25:24 We’re trying to get a handle on that.
25:27 And so as we’re looking at conditions of assets we do have,
25:30 we’re also comparing what assets are missing from schools.
25:36 So it’s kind of an ongoing work
25:38 and it’s a little bit of art and a little bit of science,
25:41 but we’re trying to get a much better handle
25:43 on at least the data so that we can make good decisions
25:46 about these types of things.
25:47 - Can I just clarify that real quick?
25:49 ‘Cause I didn’t want that to come across
25:51 like the district and the staff isn’t doing that.
25:54 I genuinely mean that us as board members
25:56 have a responsibility to be educated about it
25:58 and to make sure we understand it
26:00 because we’re the ones who are gonna set that precedent.
26:02 So we need to understand it.
26:03 So I didn’t mean that you’re not looking into it.
26:06 - No, I understand Ms. Jenkins.
26:07 - I know you’re on it.
26:10 - There’s a lot of data that we don’t have.
26:14 And so in addition to what you said,
26:17 we are trying to gather more data about those issues
26:20 so that we can present you with,
26:22 okay, who has what tracks
26:24 and who has what field facilities
26:27 and who has field houses and who has turf fields
26:30 and be able to make good capital decisions,
26:33 capital programming decisions about our athletic facilities
26:36 and our ancillary facilities at our schools.
26:40 - And I think, I’m sorry, Ms. Campbell, you go ahead.
26:42 - I was just gonna make a suggestion.
26:45 Ms. Hahn, you just very recently sent us
26:50 the report from the school initiated projects
26:52 for the fall round.
26:53 We do a fall round and a spring round.
26:54 And I believe there was about $100,000 left over
26:56 because every semester we don’t always have
26:58 all the requests and all that money gets rolled over
27:00 and added to the funding for the spring.
27:02 We traditionally have money left over
27:04 just about every time, if I recall.
27:07 So what I would suggest is,
27:09 I’m just gonna toss out an amount
27:11 and I’m gonna keep it low, keep the bar low.
27:13 We asked the school to raise $5,000.
27:16 They would qualify for $7,500 match
27:18 because they are a priority school.
27:20 That’s $12,500 that doesn’t have to come out
27:24 of Milet and Capital, but I think it’s manageable
27:29 for a school to put that kind of fundraising effort.
27:31 And it just shows good faith.
27:33 Hey, we’re gonna at least put our part.
27:35 I don’t know if the rest of the board
27:36 would be in agreement of that.
27:37 We just asked them, would you contribute that much?
27:40 And then some of that funding could come,
27:42 rather out of a capital, come out of that school
27:44 initiated project funding mechanism.
27:47 - Ms. Han, are you allowed to apply for that one time
27:51 per season?
27:53 - One time per cycle.
27:54 So the next cycle opens in February
27:56 and they would be able to apply.
27:58 And if they’re successful,
27:59 that would allow the $12,500 to be used.
28:04 And if they’re unsuccessful,
28:05 their $5,000 could still be a contribution
28:08 to the cost of the track.
28:10 - Another question real quick,
28:12 and then I’m sorry if I have other people that would like.
28:14 The question is, if they’re going,
28:17 does it behoove us as a school district
28:20 to if they’re fundraising for the other amenities
28:22 that we spoke of, to have them,
28:25 that built at the same time as the track,
28:28 as they’re there if they’re fundraising for it?
28:30 Is that something that some of the other schools
28:31 are getting added on later?
28:34 - Most of them are getting them added on
28:36 at the end of the track project.
28:39 So they’re still, while they’re still under construction.
28:42 But we work with our vendors on that
28:44 and try to match the timing with the fundraising
28:47 so that we can support what the school is doing.
28:49 - And if they apply to pay for what Ms. Campbell’s saying
28:54 in February, they would not be able to reapply
28:57 to fundraise for the internal components to their track
29:01 until August of the next year,
29:03 which would then become available
29:04 in like November of next year, so a year from now?
29:07 - So yes, so the cycle will open in February
29:11 for the balance, which is around 100,000.
29:14 And then if the board appropriates another 300,000
29:17 through the capital cycle, that cycle opens in October.
29:20 And again, if we know the schools are doing this,
29:23 we will work with them on the funding
29:25 to make sure that we finish their project
29:27 and not let the cycle affect the project execution.
29:32 - Can I ask a question just to be clear?
29:34 ‘Cause I like what you’re saying, Ms. Campbell,
29:35 about them having skin in the game and investing in it.
29:38 I understand that.
29:38 It’s just the amount of the project is so much
29:41 that they can’t come up with that.
29:42 So I don’t necessarily oppose that.
29:44 I just, to be clear though, the 12,500 doesn’t get us there.
29:47 We’re still a long way off, right?
29:48 - Right, no, but it’s a matter of where it’s coming from.
29:52 Oh, sorry, wherever it’s coming from.
29:54 So 5,000 is coming from the school.
29:55 7,500 is coming from this school initiated project grant.
29:59 Then that’s $12,500 that’s not going to come
30:02 from our capital budget, which leaves more in the capital
30:06 to put towards Myla and things like that.
30:09 So it’s not a matter of we’re not gonna do it.
30:10 It’s a matter of letting them, and even if they don’t,
30:13 as Ms. Han said, even if they don’t do it
30:15 through the matching, if they just say, you know what?
30:16 We’re gonna raise our 5,000 and put it towards it.
30:19 That’s, you know, it’s still a contribution,
30:21 but it’s not slowing down the process.
30:23 It’s just a matter of where the funding’s gonna come from.
30:25 - Okay, I understand, and I agree.
30:27 I mean, there are schools that need additional attention
30:29 and help, and I don’t think that that’s wrong
30:31 to say that these schools that are underprivileged
30:33 that need additional help that we should step in
30:35 and help in those aspects, so yeah.
30:39 - I just, just so everybody knows, I kind of feel,
30:42 you know, I used to do the car washes,
30:44 and we would work all day for $240,
30:47 and then we would go hit up all of the local bagel stores
30:51 in the Pizza Hut’s, and we would get $500,
30:54 and then, you know what I mean?
30:56 And unfortunately for them, they get hit all the time,
30:58 and it’s unique in the fact that Titusville,
31:01 like you said, has the Titusville,
31:02 an astronaut has Titusville, Cocoa has Cocoa,
31:05 and you start running all the way down,
31:06 there’s many of our high schools have a city
31:09 that they’re a part of, and Port St. John’s a unique thing,
31:11 so with that and the knowledge that I had,
31:14 I would like to move on just letting them receive it,
31:18 but if there’s more direction to go,
31:20 Mr. Trent, you’ve been kind of quiet on this,
31:22 you got something?
31:23 - So if you were going to build a, Ms. Hunt,
31:27 if you were gonna build a new track for a high school,
31:29 would you build it at six lanes,
31:31 or would you build it at eight lanes?
31:32 - Eight lanes. - Eight lanes.
31:36 It just seems like the timing is perfect
31:38 that you were there doing work.
31:40 It’s almost a bare minimum at this space,
31:43 and it would allow us to get the eight lanes in.
31:48 I would suggest, it looks like we have the money
31:51 from somewhere, and the time is of essence,
31:55 they’re there to do it now.
31:56 Raising $5,000, that’s great for the schools,
31:59 I think, having skin in the game,
32:01 but it looks like they’re gonna be doing some fundraising
32:03 down the road for the other part of the project.
32:07 So, and again, not having that downtown,
32:11 not having businesses abundant in the area,
32:15 I would move towards, let’s just get it done and move on.
32:19 Inequity’s a part of, in fact, the life here in the county,
32:23 and I know we’re gonna have this conversation
32:25 again and again, but in this instance,
32:27 I just would like to get this done for that school.
32:32 - I can, oh, sorry, I have a follow-up question,
32:34 so, or two questions.
32:36 So, the school-initiated projects,
32:38 just to clarify and confirm, if they were to apply for that,
32:42 they’re allowed to do partial project.
32:44 - Correct. - Okay.
32:46 Just wanna make sure, and then, Mr. Susan, Mr. Trent,
32:50 I know that you foresee them fundraising
32:54 for the next part of that project,
32:56 which would be those field, I don’t know, I don’t know.
33:00 - Shot put discus. - Thank you.
33:02 - Long jump. (laughing)
33:04 - You know me when it comes to sports.
33:06 But the reality is, they’re not gonna be able to fundraise
33:10 and fully fund that either, right?
33:12 So, how much does that typically cost?
33:15 - So, in aggregate, the number was about 143,000,
33:19 and the events were about 25 to 60 each.
33:24 - Okay.
33:25 - And they’ll have to look at the condition
33:27 and what is more important to upgrade, that type of thing.
33:29 So, I’ll work with Mr. Flora,
33:31 and when I bring this back to you in January,
33:33 I’ll have a little better feel for what capacity they have
33:38 and how we might handle their share, so.
33:42 - The reason I’m asking that question
33:44 is not to say that we’re funding all those projects
33:46 by any means, but the reason I’m saying that
33:48 is because the likelihood of them then going
33:52 to fundraise for that when they can’t fundraise for this
33:54 is honestly slim, right?
33:57 So, by applying for the school-initiated project,
34:00 it doesn’t inhibit them for those projects,
34:03 because again, the reality is that’s a really costly project
34:08 that they would also need support in.
34:09 And so, I see no harm in the game for them building
34:12 some pride and some buy-in to it,
34:15 setting the bar at an achievable level,
34:17 and then again, using the funds we already have set aside
34:21 in a different categorical instead of going into capital.
34:23 So, I agree with Ms. Campbell on that one.
34:27 - So, Ms. Hand, what I’m seeing from the direction
34:31 of the board, and if you want to speak again,
34:33 but it’s, hey, there’s some sort of ask for some of it,
34:36 but you think you could go back to Mr. Flora
34:38 and come back to us with a better suggestion
34:39 of what they can do, rather than us trying
34:41 to figure that piece out?
34:43 - Yeah, I mean, I think you’ve given me some parameters,
34:45 and so I’ll work with Mr. Flora,
34:47 and then when I present the change order,
34:50 I’ll just disclose what we’ve worked out with Mr. Flora
34:53 as part of the board action in January.
34:56 - Right now, it’s 2-2, so if you had something
34:58 you wanted to say.
34:59 - I just want to also declare this is not going
35:01 to hurt Myla, correct, with moving this.
35:03 I don’t want to do this kind of hinder, okay.
35:06 I want to be clear and make sure that’s clarified.
35:09 I like the skin in the game.
35:10 I think that that makes it fair,
35:11 and I think that the schools that have invested currently
35:13 into their tracks, that they would appreciate the fact
35:16 that we are trying to raise something.
35:18 So, I think that that school should be able to come up
35:19 with a little bit of the money, and I’ll help initiate
35:22 some of that.
35:23 If they need some help knocking on doors
35:24 and asking for money, I’ll get out there
35:26 and do it with them, so.
35:27 But yeah, I think that that’s a good directive to go.
35:30 - Perfect, I think you got direction,
35:31 unless Ms. Campbell wants to say something.
35:33 Anybody else?
35:34 We’re all good.
35:35 - No.
35:36 - Dr. Thede.
35:36 - Can I just provide one little point of clarification?
35:38 Space Coast is a tier one school.
35:40 It’s not one of our priority schools,
35:42 and I think I heard that in the discussion,
35:43 so I just wanted to provide that point of clarification.
35:46 - Right, I– - Thank you.
35:46 - Yeah, but I think when it comes to the SIPs,
35:49 I think they are–
35:51 - So, it’s Title I in priority schools,
35:54 and they may meet the Title I requirement.
35:57 I’m not positive off the top of my head.
35:59 - They’re not a Title I school.
36:00 - They don’t.
36:01 - But I can’t remember, I don’t know.
36:02 - No, they’re not.
36:03 - They’re not a, okay, so that would be a 50,
36:05 so it would be a one to one match.
36:08 - Yes, that’s why I wanted to point,
36:10 provide that clarification, thank you.
36:11 - Thank you.
36:12 - I think Ms. Han’s gonna go meet with them
36:13 and come back with a proposal,
36:14 but I think you’ve got what you need.
36:15 - Yes, sir.
36:16 - All right. - Thank you.
36:17 Thank you for all your hard work.
36:18 - Thank you, Ms. Han.
36:19 Next up is the topic, is the middle school financing,
36:22 presented by Ms. Han.
36:24 - Oh, sir, thank you.
36:26 So you might notice that foot high stack of paper
36:30 sitting there in that green folder.
36:31 We’ve been working on this for a while.
36:34 And so the board had taken several previous actions
36:39 on the middle school that will be…
36:42 built next – I’m sorry, I’m no longer in my office.
36:46 Where are we?
36:47 » That way.
36:49 » Next to Vera High School to the north.
36:52 And so we have – we’ve done a number of things to bring us to
36:56 this point.
36:57 More recently, we have engaged an architect to use a prototype
37:02 design,
37:03 and that has been ongoing for several months.
37:05 And they’re just about finished with their design documents, so
37:08 ready to go.
37:10 We concurrently engaged a construction manager.
37:14 And so the construction manager has been working alongside the
37:17 architect
37:18 as the design has been developed to try to make sure that we are,
37:23 you know,
37:24 we are managing our costs, we are working with our stakeholders
37:28 to make sure
37:29 that we’re delivering the middle school that meets our needs
37:32 here in the district.
37:34 And so that process has been ongoing.
37:36 And we realized a while back that our impact fee revenues are
37:42 not sufficient in terms of cash
37:44 on hand to be able to fund the project with cash.
37:48 And so we met with the board on two occasions in workshop
37:52 session talking
37:53 about we believe we’re going to need some gap financing in order
37:56 to start construction
37:57 when we’re ready to start construction.
37:59 And we are ready to start construction basically now.
38:03 We have an early works guaranteed maximum price proposal that
38:07 will be before you this evening
38:09 that is about $8 million, and that is to cover things like
38:13 buying mechanical equipment,
38:15 electrical equipment, early lead time items,
38:18 and also that will allow the site work to get started in January.
38:22 And so what we have previously told the board, and it remains
38:26 true,
38:26 is that if we start the project now, we’ll be able to open in
38:31 August of ‘24.
38:33 If we delay, we will not be able to open in August of ‘24.
38:38 So that was really the impetus for talking with the board
38:42 about needing some very short-term gap financing.
38:46 So the board gave us direction to proceed down those lines, and
38:50 we issued an invitation
38:53 to negotiate for certificates of participation, basically short-term
38:58 financing,
38:59 and framed it in about a $30 million need between the cash that
39:05 I estimate having on hand
39:06 and the total cost of the project.
39:09 So in order to issue a purchase order for $50-something million
39:13 project,
39:14 we have to have the cash in hand to be able to do that.
39:18 So we can’t issue a purchase order for $55 million if we don’t
39:22 have $55 million available.
39:24 So that was really the key point.
39:27 So we issued the invitation to negotiate, indicated we wanted
39:31 short-term financing,
39:33 and we wanted to be able to pay it back as soon as possible.
39:37 That was one of the strong directions we received previously
39:41 from the board,
39:42 is we want to be able to have that early payback if at all
39:45 possible.
39:46 Well, several banks gave us some very good proposals, but one
39:52 allowed us to use a line
39:54 of credit, which is a little bit unique in the certificates of
39:58 participation realm,
39:59 but the line of credit allows us to borrow substantially less,
40:04 because as we are proceeding
40:06 through the construction of the project, basically spending
40:09 money,
40:09 we’re also receiving quarterly impact fee payments.
40:13 And so because we have that in and out, we actually will be able
40:17 to borrow much less than the total gap.
40:21 So having the line of credit out there allows us to issue that
40:24 purchase order,
40:25 but we don’t actually need to draw down the same amount of
40:29 resources that we would have
40:31 under traditional financing structure.
40:35 So with that, we have put together a structure that Mr. Ford I
40:44 think could probably elaborate
40:45 on a little bit better, but the terms for engineers is that we
40:50 basically have a line
40:51 of credit, and we will draw down that line of credit when we
40:55 need to.
40:56 My estimates at this point is that we probably won’t even need
40:59 to make a draw
41:00 for about another year, because we do have about half of the
41:04 cost
41:05 of the project cash on hand ready to go.
41:09 And so the cost of borrowing is significantly less
41:13 than what we had previously presented to the board.
41:16 So we are ready to move forward.
41:19 What we have on your agenda this evening is basically the
41:24 analysis that I’ve just articulated.
41:27 That will be considered by the board.
41:29 There are implementing documents that go along with that that
41:32 are attached to the resolution,
41:34 and then the board will recess, will convene the leasing corp.
41:38 The leasing corp will act on a similar resolution.
41:41 And then following that, the board will reconvene and then
41:45 potentially act
41:46 on the early works proposal.
41:49 So that is where we are with the middle school financing,
41:52 and I’d be happy to answer any questions.
41:57 » Thank you, Sue.
41:58 Is there anybody up here that has any questions?
42:01 » I have a side question, because you just sparked my memory of
42:07 something.
42:08 We’ve been over this like 100 times, so thank you.
42:10 Thank you for rearticulating that for the public as well.
42:13 But you just reminded me of something.
42:15 The cost per student station, and this is more of a Russell Broom
42:18 question,
42:19 but was that part of our legislative initiatives that we were
42:24 going
42:24 to discuss this year about changing?
42:26 Okay, I just wanted to – I don’t remember.
42:28 » Yes, and just so you know, FSBA also made it part of their
42:31 platform initiative too.
42:32 » Okay, awesome.
42:33 And for people listening, what that really means is the state
42:36 sets an amount
42:36 that we can technically fund to build new schools.
42:40 And it is nowhere near the appropriate amount.
42:43 And so then it leaves this gap in order for us to finance and
42:45 figure out ourselves.
42:47 So and there’s many, many other laws constraining that, but we
42:49 won’t get into that.
42:50 So anyway, thank you.
42:52 And just want to reiterate too, not only do we want to open the
42:59 school as soon as possible,
43:00 because the need has been here for years and years and years,
43:03 and the community has been crying out.
43:05 But just to remind everybody, it also saves us money in the long
43:08 run,
43:08 because the cost of goods has dramatically increased and will
43:11 only continue
43:12 and is projected to only continue to do so.
43:14 So the faster we can do this, the better.
43:17 So thank you so much for all your hard work.
43:19 » Thank you.
43:20 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
43:21 » I just want to jump in there and say thank you, because when
43:25 I was one of the people
43:26 who was adamant about let’s borrow as little as possible, pay it
43:29 off as fast as possible,
43:30 I couldn’t have imagined this.
43:32 So thank you, Mr. Fore, thank you, team, for helping us come to
43:35 this solution,
43:36 because I think this in the long run is going to be the very
43:38 best for Brevard as far
43:41 as financially and getting this done in a timely way.
43:45 So I just wanted to express my appreciation.
43:48 » Ms. Wright.
43:49 » I just have a few questions.
43:50 So when you calculated the impact fees and realized they were
43:54 not going to be sufficient enough
43:55 to cover the cost of this bill, what time frame specifically did
43:59 you calculate those fees?
44:01 How recently has it been looked at?
44:03 » Oh, about a week ago.
44:05 » Okay, all right, so it’s very recent.
44:07 Okay, good.
44:07 » Yes, ma’am.
44:08 » All right, is it possible for you to let us know what the
44:14 total limit is of the line of credit?
44:17 » The total limit we’re proposing as of today is 30.1 million.
44:22 » Okay.
44:22 » We have one opportunity, Mr. Fore, to downsize that, and we
44:26 intend to do
44:26 that when the construction contract is before the board in March.
44:31 My guess is that we’re going to downsize that to around 22
44:35 million.
44:36 » Okay, and then the other question I have is in regards to
44:40 coming from the private sector
44:41 and lines of credit usually are adjustable rates.
44:43 This is not, correct?
44:45 » It is adjustable.
44:47 » Okay, and what does that rate look like for us right now, and
44:51 I’m sure it’s tied to crime.
44:52 » Did you calculate that?
44:55 » Yes, ma’am.
44:55 The interest rate right now is between 3.6 and 3.7%.
44:59 It’s based off of what’s called the Bisbee index, which is a
45:02 rate published by Bloomberg.
45:04 » Okay, and what is our margins for the rate to rise?
45:12 I guess that’s, is it?
45:14 » There’s no limitations as to how far the rate can rise,
45:17 although I believe that there’s a statutory maximum of 12% in
45:20 Florida.
45:21 » Okay.
45:21 » I would have to double check that figure, but I think that
45:23 applies.
45:24 The floor on this rate is zero.
45:26 » Okay.
45:26 » So no events could the interest rate go negative.
45:29 » Okay, all right, thank you.
45:30 » I think we’re going to see that as well.
45:31 » Yeah, that would be great if it did.
45:35 » How can I make that happen?
45:36 » The other piece of data that you may want, Mrs. Wright,
45:39 is that we anticipate paying the note off July of 25.
45:44 So it’s pretty short-term financing, and that will depend upon
45:48 the impact fees that come in,
45:50 of course, so that rate can also fluctuate, so there’s a lot of
45:53 variables,
45:54 but based on a pretty conservative estimate, I feel pretty
45:57 confident
45:58 that we’ll be able to pay this off in a couple of years.
46:04 » So I just know that building with a line of credit is so much
46:10 better
46:10 than building with a straight loan, so for you to be able to
46:13 secure even someone allowing us
46:15 to have this opportunity is – I can amend you for doing that,
46:21 so I know it’s going to save the district lots of money, so I
46:24 appreciate the effort.
46:26 » Thank you.
46:27 » I have one more question, if that’s okay.
46:29 » Yeah.
46:29 » In regards to where these students are coming from, can you
46:33 talk a little bit about that
46:34 on the schools that these students would be pulled from,
46:37 possibly?
46:37 » Yes. So that is going to be a process that we kick off in
46:42 January with a board workshop,
46:43 because there are a number of different options as to where
46:47 those students can pull from,
46:48 and the middle school will affect potentially adjacent schools,
46:53 and that would include Delora, Kennedy, and McNair, and so that
46:58 is a conversation we are going
46:59 to need to have as to how to balance the enrollment.
47:04 The flip side of that is that we looked at the growth
47:07 projections in the Viera area,
47:09 in fact we look at it countywide, but there is a tremendous
47:12 amount of growth projected
47:14 for Viera specifically, like due west of where we are, and so I
47:19 think over time,
47:20 this will stabilize, but that is a very important issue, and we
47:25 are going
47:26 to be spending some quality time on that after the first of the
47:32 year.
47:32 » Thank you.
47:33 I think we have everybody in full support, a couple extra
47:36 questions, and I think that’s good.
47:38 » I just have one, I do have one question now that you say that.
47:41 I know, I know that we’re constantly in talks with Viera and the
47:45 growth and where they’re heading,
47:47 but I do know there was a weird flip and change, or flip and
47:54 change, for when there was supposed
47:58 to be growth happening west of 95 in Pineda, and then it kind of
48:02 shifted,
48:03 their plan shifted a little bit, and so I just, I want to just
48:06 reconfirm,
48:07 I mean they’re continuously having these conversations with us,
48:10 correct?
48:11 » Correct.
48:11 » Okay, and so obviously they’re going to be a part of this
48:14 conversation at the table
48:15 when we do talk about boundary changes, because in case they
48:18 decide to flip again
48:19 and start developing somewhere different, okay, and I know, you
48:24 know, they’re booming so fast
48:26 that they literally have a lottery system for new builds within
48:29 their developments
48:30 that are a year, year and a half out, and so it’s pretty easy
48:33 for them
48:33 to project where these things are going to happen, so thanks.
48:36 » Thank you.
48:37 » I think you have direction.
48:38 Everybody okay?
48:39 You good to go, Miss?
48:41 » Yes, thank you, appreciate it.
48:43 Thank you very much.
48:45 So it’s now 2.43, right?
48:48 We have, normally we finish these up at about 4.30, and I didn’t
48:54 know,
48:54 we have a pretty packed agenda, I didn’t know if you guys wanted
48:58 to possibly bring some
49:01 of those other items up, or at least I wanted to get kind of a
49:05 survey from you guys,
49:06 if you’re okay to go to like 5 o’clock or something like that on
49:09 the back end,
49:10 so first I’d like to discuss are you guys okay to move it to 5 o’clock
49:15 as a stop
49:15 so that you guys can get enough food and stuff like that and
49:17 come back,
49:18 or is there a need to finish up at 4.30?
49:21 I’d just like to kind of discuss that.
49:23 Miss Campbell, since you made the motion the last time.
49:26 » Just, I guess, I, you’re anticipating–
49:28 » I just want, look, I’m just trying to take care of you, I’m
49:31 trying to take care of you.
49:32 » No, I would just suggest that we potentially could have a
49:35 long board meeting tonight,
49:36 so I think getting some, a break, one, mental break and some
49:41 dinner is going to be very important.
49:43 5 to 5.30 is kind of tight, but let’s, you know, let’s plow
49:48 through.
49:50 I think we’ve talked about the public comment policy is
49:54 something that we can, you know,
49:56 even if the meeting doesn’t go long, I’ll be an optimist for a
49:59 minute tonight,
50:00 and we have some time, we could even bump that discussion to
50:03 this evening,
50:04 but clearly the next two items are a high priority for us, so.
50:10 » I–
50:11 » You want to meet in the middle and say, you know, Chick-fil-A
50:13 only takes five minutes,
50:14 but I think we need a mental break as much as we need a dinner
50:19 break.
50:20 » I think what we can do is we can, about 4.20 make that
50:23 decision, and then the other thing is,
50:25 is that if you guys wanted to, we could go, so I think that’s
50:29 good on time, the next one is,
50:30 is that we could go to bring back the interim and regular
50:35 superintendent search and move
50:37 to the other items, or we can start here.
50:40 Does anybody want to move some of the other items up and move
50:43 this?
50:44 I, the only reason I was mentioning that was the superintendent
50:47 search,
50:48 there’s going to be a lot of people watching tonight, and I
50:50 thought in my mind, I was like,
50:51 what would people in the evening want to watch, and that would
50:54 probably be
50:54 that one over anything here, so that’s why I was saying if you
50:57 wanted to move it up,
50:58 but I am open to any ideas.
51:01 Makes no difference.
51:02 Let’s roll.
51:02 » I would say just go in the order that the superintendent is
51:04 on, and let’s see.
51:05 » All right.
51:05 Here we go.
51:06 Thank you very much.
51:07 The next topic is the interim superintendent search.
51:11 So, everybody understands from the public, we were, I asked Mr.
51:17 Gibbs to submit,
51:20 to ask the board members to submit the, their rankings for the
51:25 interim superintendent search.
51:26 So, just for the public to understand, we had 12 rankings.
51:30 I think four of them were former superintendents.
51:33 One of them was a director over 22 schools in Orange County, so
51:37 we had 12.
51:39 A couple of them were from the state of Florida, a couple of
51:42 them were from outside the state.
51:44 We had interim superintendent rankings, and I’ll just read them
51:48 real quick.
51:49 Ms. Katie Campbell had James Larson, Mark Rendell, Robert Schiller,
51:55 James Herholz, and Cheryl Baker.
51:58 Jennifer Jenkins had James Larson, Mariah Poosh Conister.
52:03 Megan Wright had Robert Schiller, Mark Rendell, Michael Ahern.
52:08 I had Mark Rendell, James Larson, Robert Schiller, and Jean
52:12 Trent had Mark Rendell.
52:14 So, after all of the points, because you give 12 points to first
52:18 place,
52:19 11 points to second place, the total that came out was Mark Rendell,
52:25 46 points,
52:27 James Larson, 35 points, and Robert Schiller, 32 points.
52:32 So, we have 11 points lead, and then we have three people that
52:37 made the top three.
52:39 James Larson and Robert Schiller are a little bit closer.
52:42 So, with those interim superintendent rankings, I think the
52:46 first thing we wanted
52:47 to do was see if we wanted to bring back five, three, or make a
52:52 decision today based
52:54 on what we’re doing and just kind of discuss where your guys’
52:57 minds are on that.
52:58 So, I’ll open up the floor to discuss how many we may want to
53:03 bring back and also
53:04 if the opportunity is that you guys wanted to bring back five,
53:09 three, or make a decision today.
53:10 So, I’m going to leave the floor open.
53:13 Anybody want to discuss?
53:17 » Ms. Wright.
53:21 » I would love the opportunity to be able to speak with each
53:25 one
53:25 of these individuals before we move forward.
53:27 So, I don’t know if that’s – I like the idea of the top three
53:30 being, okay,
53:31 these are our three that we kind of all collaboratively agree
53:34 that they scored the highest.
53:35 Do we get the opportunity now to speak with them
53:37 and interview them before making any decisions on the
53:41 superintendent?
53:42 » Okay.
53:42 » The interim superintendent.
53:44 » Ms. Campbell.
53:44 » Yeah. I think this was a good process for us to, you know,
53:48 just get to see if we can get kind of a numerical consensus.
53:53 I will reiterate what I said last Monday as far as the process.
53:58 I think if we – I think we need to do our due diligence as much
54:03 as it’s added
54:03 to our schedules over the next week.
54:06 I think we need to do the interview process and be transparent,
54:10 although it would, you know,
54:11 maybe save us some time to go ahead and pick someone today.
54:15 I personally don’t feel comfortable enough having just seen
54:18 intent letters and resumes
54:20 and a few letters of recommendation and doing, you know, quick
54:23 Google searches to make
54:24 that decision today.
54:25 I think this is really important.
54:27 It gives our community some time to, you know, to give their
54:31 input as well.
54:32 Some of them are already reaching out to us, but some of them
54:35 don’t even know who’s
54:36 on the list yet, so this will give us some time.
54:37 So I think I would be in agreement that we just take these three
54:43 and ask, you know,
54:45 staff to set up interview times.
54:48 It sounds like you would like to have a private conversation in
54:50 addition to group interview.
54:51 Is that what you’re suggesting is right?
54:53 We’ve done that before with –
54:55 » I would, if that’s an option.
54:57 I would prefer that if we’re, you know, I know we’re up against
55:00 the wire on time.
55:01 So if time is of the essence and we can only do group, then we’ll
55:03 do group.
55:03 That’s fine.
55:04 But if we only have three, it makes it much more feasible.
55:08 » So what we did in the past, just so you guys know, if the
55:10 direction is that we take
55:12 in the top three, is that they come in kind of like what Paul
55:15 did, where there’s a roundtable
55:16 of three people and we interview each one of them separately and
55:20 they just kind of move
55:21 between us.
55:22 So like they get up and run to the next room and meet with you.
55:24 » It’s like speed dating only or virtually.
55:27 » We can do that or there’s an – and Paul, you may want to chime
55:30 in on what that experience
55:31 was like.
55:32 » And then the other thing you can do is we, being the fact
55:35 that there’s only three,
55:36 we may want to just reach out to them and have a conversation
55:39 with them one-on-one on
55:40 our own and then come back as a group to discuss.
55:43 » Are we allowed to do that, Paul, to reach out to them
55:45 individually?
55:46 » If it’s individual, you can.
55:48 We have Thursday reserved and Friday reserved with school board
55:51 meetings, so you could always
55:53 schedule three one-hour interview groups, so bring them in one
55:58 at a time as a group
55:59 and then take an hour break, so let them go down and get lunch
56:02 and everybody kind of relax
56:04 for an hour and then set them up for a rotation.
56:07 And the way it looked with me was I don’t remember how many
56:10 total attorneys you guys
56:12 had, but the board members moved from room to room and so there
56:16 were always three meetings
56:18 going on at the same time.
56:19 » Right, we made us move and not them move because that wouldn’t
56:24 be nice.
56:25 We moved and they got to stay in the same place.
56:27 We only had three at the time, so it actually worked pretty well.
56:29 » And we didn’t do hour-long each.
56:31 We did like 15 to 20 minutes.
56:33 » Yeah, I think it was 45-minute, like one-on-ones, and then
56:36 there was like 15-minute break, so
56:38 you could run to the bathroom or grab a snack.
56:40 » Yeah.
56:41 I’m not very clear on – one of these applicants, I’m not sure
56:45 that they’re in state, so that
56:47 would be phone interviews, so we would need to look at that.
56:49 » Yeah.
56:50 » And let’s go – let’s slow that piece down real quick because
56:53 we have some other – let’s
56:54 – I hear the first two people saying that they want to bring
56:56 back the next three.
56:57 Ms. Jenkins, did you want to comment on that?
57:00 » Yeah.
57:01 I think we told the public that that’s what we’re going to do,
57:04 and so we need to stick
57:05 with it.
57:06 So I am definitely in agreement with that.
57:07 I think we need to bring the top three back and have real
57:10 conversations.
57:11 This is – you know, we’re the 49th largest school district in
57:15 the United States of America,
57:17 and I don’t think we hire someone to run it based off of simply
57:20 a resume.
57:21 So I think it’s our due diligence to invite them here or via
57:24 Zoom, obviously, and at least
57:26 have further conversations.
57:28 » All right.
57:29 And, Ms. Jenkins, are you – okay, so that’s a –
57:32 » We’re good.
57:33 » Right?
57:34 » Mm-hmm.
57:35 » So let’s – now that we have the top three, are we all okay
57:38 with the top three that were
57:40 chosen between the points?
57:42 Is that fair enough to you guys?
57:43 » Fair enough.
57:44 » Yeah, absolutely.
57:45 » We’re good to go.
57:46 Ms. Jenkins?
57:47 All right.
57:48 So we have that set up.
57:49 And then one of the things that we have is – it’s Tuesday now,
57:54 and one of the problems
57:56 we may have is, is one of those, just like you said, is from out
57:59 of state.
57:59 So do we want to move to do one of them virtually, or do we –
58:03 you know what I mean, to allow
58:05 them to interview virtually so they don’t have to move, travel,
58:08 and all that stuff?
58:09 And then the other one is, do we want to do this on, like,
58:12 Friday and then make the decision
58:14 Friday?
58:15 Or do we want to take Thursday and Friday together?
58:18 So the first thing would be, are you guys wanting them to fly in
58:23 and be in person, or
58:24 would you want them to be on virtual?
58:28 » I’m completely fine with virtual.
58:30 That’s fine for me.
58:31 » Yeah.
58:32 In fairness to the one who’s –
58:33 » Let them make the decision.
58:34 » Yeah, yeah.
58:35 I mean, if he’s on vacation and –
58:36 » Yeah.
58:37 » – going to Disney World and they can just drive over for the
58:37 day, that would be great.
58:38 You know, and we have no idea.
58:39 There may be some life event that would prevent them from
58:39 interviewing on Thursday.
58:40 I think staff can take care of it if we have those days reserved.
58:41 But I would really like to do back to back to back as a group.
58:53 I think for fairness, so we’ve got all fresh in our mind, we do
58:56 those back to back to back
58:58 together.
58:59 And then in the same day, if we can, if everybody’s – the three
59:01 candidates –
59:02 » Do the group.
59:03 » – to do the round robin individual times with them in the
59:07 same day, I think we can
59:09 get that done in a –
59:10 » All right.
59:11 » The reason I was asking was a couple of things, is if you –
59:14 if we decided to do it
59:15 all on Friday, then that gives them an extra day to travel, tell
59:18 their families, tell everybody
59:19 that they’re going to be moving, right?
59:22 But the other issue that we have is, is that in the event that
59:25 we decided to have the interviews,
59:26 do the group, and then make a decision that day, it only gives
59:30 us Saturday, Sunday, and
59:32 Monday to negotiate a contract that we then rectify on Tuesday.
59:36 So just so you guys know, there’s a little contract timing.
59:40 And I don’t know, of course, these individuals, what their, you
59:44 know, contracts are.
59:45 But you know what I mean, it might be a little bit tight.
59:48 But I think that that’s doable.
59:49 I think if they’re coming in as an interim, they understand that.
59:53 And we could do that possibly on Monday.
59:55 Paul, what are your thoughts on that?
59:58 » On the negotiating part?
59:59 Yeah.
1:00:00 I mean, a lot of it can be done over internet, just paper, you
1:00:02 know, if I’ll have a template
1:00:04 ready for them for interim.
1:00:06 » Okay.
1:00:07 » And then I’ll shoot it to them, let them red line it in, and
1:00:09 if we need to sit down
1:00:10 with the chair and me on a phone call to hammer out the finer
1:00:13 details that are still up in
1:00:15 the air, we’ll do that.
1:00:16 » Sure.
1:00:17 Okay.
1:00:18 So –
1:00:19 » If I can go ahead.
1:00:20 So, we advertised Thursday and Friday and Tuesday to be such a
1:00:25 way that if we made a
1:00:27 decision that we could go ahead and vote.
1:00:30 » There were interviews or school board –
1:00:32 » On any of those days.
1:00:33 » There were school board meetings to interview and/or select
1:00:36 an interim school board.
1:00:38 » Okay.
1:00:39 Okay.
1:00:40 So, if we, you know, I understand, you know, we make it, we need
1:00:42 to really kind of need
1:00:43 to make a decision by the end of day Friday so that staff can
1:00:47 negotiate and we can vote
1:00:48 on the meeting at the latest on Tuesday.
1:00:50 So, then suggestions that we go ahead and try to do, unless
1:00:55 there’s some reason why
1:00:57 one of the candidates can’t, that we do all the interviewing on
1:01:01 Thursday and that leaves
1:01:02 us Friday, but I hate to make the decision on Thursday because
1:01:05 honestly I just need a
1:01:06 little time to breathe in between and pray and think and
1:01:09 whatever, but then we make the
1:01:11 decision on Friday if it’s possible, but like I said, if it’s
1:01:14 not, we have to do it all
1:01:15 Friday, we’ll do what we can.
1:01:18 But –
1:01:19 » Okay.
1:01:20 » I have a question.
1:01:21 » If we can have everybody kind of have a conversation wrapped
1:01:23 around it.
1:01:24 Go ahead.
1:01:25 Go ahead, Ms. Jenkins.
1:01:27 » So, first, I think we’re all in consensus that virtual is
1:01:30 totally fine, but just to
1:01:32 point out, you know, it’s customary if we were to ask them to
1:01:34 travel here that we would
1:01:35 pay for it.
1:01:36 So, let’s avoid that.
1:01:40 I just want to remind everyone that we’re in this position of
1:01:44 feeling pressured and
1:01:45 rushed for time because we put ourselves here.
1:01:49 And so, Mr. Gibbs, can you please just explain to me and explain
1:01:54 to the public why we would
1:01:55 have to make that decision so quickly?
1:01:59 » On an interim?
1:02:00 » Yeah.
1:02:01 » Dr. Mullins is still officially superintendent through
1:02:04 December 31st.
1:02:05 That’s when his contract ends, and he will officially be gone,
1:02:09 and we will not have a
1:02:11 superintendent come January 1st to run the district.
1:02:13 So if something happens, there is nobody to call staff, shut
1:02:18 down schools, or make those
1:02:20 decisions day to day.
1:02:21 » And just for conversation piece, I think, Dr. Thede, how long
1:02:25 were you deciding to stay
1:02:27 here in the event that we need?
1:02:29 » January 6th.
1:02:30 My last day in district is January 6th with my final date
1:02:34 January 20th.
1:02:36 » Gotcha.
1:02:37 So those are the pieces.
1:02:40 So Ms. Jenkins, do you have anything else you’d like to say?
1:02:42 » Yeah, no, I appreciate Mr. Gibbs for just readdressing that
1:02:46 because I think it’s important
1:02:48 for the public to understand because there’s going to be
1:02:51 confusion.
1:02:52 But again, we put ourselves here.
1:02:53 So I think we need to do our due diligence and make sure we’re
1:02:56 taking this seriously
1:02:58 and do it right and do it transparently, apparently, as much as
1:03:01 possible.
1:03:02 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
1:03:03 Anybody else want to move in?
1:03:05 Right now we have top three.
1:03:06 If they want to stay virtual and call in for their interviews,
1:03:10 they can.
1:03:11 And then Ms. Jenkins had mentioned pay for their travel.
1:03:17 That is customary.
1:03:18 And if you look in many of the, you know what I mean, proposals
1:03:22 from the other associations
1:03:24 on the travel, maybe something that we decide to do to pay for
1:03:29 them to come.
1:03:31 If we should stay on it, does anybody have anything else to say
1:03:33 about the top three or
1:03:34 virtual?
1:03:35 If not, we can move on to the thing.
1:03:36 Okay.
1:03:37 » I think if we can have them in person, the travel – two of
1:03:40 them are local.
1:03:40 I mean, they can be here.
1:03:42 I would just say give them the option and see what they say.
1:03:46 I would – the one that’s not local, obviously, is probably not
1:03:50 going to travel.
1:03:51 That’s very short notice to be able to get on the plane and come
1:03:54 down here.
1:03:54 So it makes sense for that one to be virtual.
1:03:56 But I guess we probably need to offer the same to all three.
1:03:59 We can’t offer one of them virtual and the other two say we want
1:04:02 you in person.
1:04:03 So I think I would – yeah.
1:04:05 » Are you okay with paying for their travel if they do to get
1:04:08 reimbursed?
1:04:09 Because that’s what the other ones do.
1:04:11 » If we offer – » We’re going to be offering the superintendents
1:04:14 that come from around the state possibly or the nation.
1:04:18 I don’t know.
1:04:19 That’s another conversation.
1:04:20 Let’s – I think in order to save the money, maybe do – give
1:04:25 them all the virtual option
1:04:26 first.
1:04:27 » But if they want to travel themselves, then they can come on
1:04:29 their own dime.
1:04:30 » Yeah.
1:04:31 » Is everybody else okay with that?
1:04:32 » I’m not okay with that.
1:04:35 If we’re putting them as a candidate for this and we’re going to
1:04:38 not offer to pay for it,
1:04:39 we’re inhibiting one of those candidates for having the same
1:04:42 opportunity that candidates
1:04:43 nearby have.
1:04:44 So if we were going to open this search nationwide, then we need
1:04:46 to do what we said we were going
1:04:47 to do, and we need to offer the money if they want to fly here.
1:04:51 I think that’s the right thing to do.
1:04:52 Otherwise, we’re inhibiting them, and they’re not – that’s not
1:04:54 a level playing field.
1:04:55 They may not have even been applied then.
1:04:56 It doesn’t make any sense.
1:04:58 » So you’re saying that you would like to – what is your
1:05:00 direction?
1:05:01 Reimburse?
1:05:02 » Reimburse.
1:05:03 » Okay.
1:05:04 Mr. Gibbs?
1:05:05 Mr. Gibbs, do you have a say on it?
1:05:08 » Yes.
1:05:09 » I’m sorry.
1:05:10 Mr. Trent?
1:05:11 Sorry.
1:05:12 » I don’t know.
1:05:13 Ask Mr. Trent.
1:05:14 Extending the offer is fine.
1:05:16 » I mean, I read his resume.
1:05:19 I’m sure he could afford to do it.
1:05:20 » He’s probably got the e-mail ready to go right now.
1:05:24 [ Laughter ]
1:05:25 » He’s a rock star.
1:05:26 » And I would be surprised if he doesn’t take us up on that and
1:05:29 get on a plane and
1:05:30 get here.
1:05:31 » Yeah, I think looking at his resume, he’s somebody that will
1:05:33 be coming.
1:05:34 » Okay.
1:05:35 » He will be here Friday.
1:05:36 » All right.
1:05:37 So we’ve got top three virtual, and we’re willing to pay for the
1:05:40 opportunity if they
1:05:41 do come.
1:05:42 I think we have a majority on all of that.
1:05:43 Is that good?
1:05:44 So the top three are the points, just to reiterate, Mark Rendell,
1:05:48 James Larson, and Robert Schiller.
1:05:51 Do you need anything else, Paul, from the interim piece?
1:05:54 » No.
1:05:55 » Okay.
1:05:56 All right.
1:05:57 We’re good on that one.
1:05:58 The next one that we want to move to is – let me just get rid
1:06:02 of all of these – the superintendent
1:06:04 search.
1:06:05 And there’s a couple of layers to this one.
1:06:07 The first one is selecting, possibly, a superintendent search
1:06:12 firm.
1:06:12 And then sort of setting direction for what that looks like from
1:06:18 the perspective of how
1:06:20 long we may want to make that search and some of the input.
1:06:23 So if you guys have a second, the first thing is, in each one of
1:06:25 your folders, you should
1:06:27 have a copy.
1:06:28 And you should have received this – I think it was last Friday
1:06:31 we received these so that
1:06:32 we could review them.
1:06:34 Each one of the proposals, I’ll be honest with you, I want to
1:06:36 thank the firms that actually
1:06:38 did this in such a short amount of time, even though it is
1:06:40 something that these organizations
1:06:42 do on a regular basis.
1:06:44 It does take a second to do.
1:06:47 And there was four firms that brought it forward.
1:06:49 There was the Florida School Board Association, Ray and
1:06:53 Associates, McPherson and Jacobs,
1:06:56 and Hazard, Young, Atia and Associates.
1:07:00 I want to say all four, when I looked at them, are very
1:07:04 qualified firms.
1:07:05 I think that it’s – they all kind of niche into a different
1:07:09 area.
1:07:10 So depending on how you guys perceive it, maybe the conversation
1:07:14 is not more about what’s
1:07:16 here, but more about what you guys see as a search, and then
1:07:18 maybe dwindling it down
1:07:20 to what we decide based on that.
1:07:23 So I’m going to leave the floor open.
1:07:25 One of the things I would like to do is hear, when we do a
1:07:27 search, what are you looking
1:07:29 for?
1:07:30 National, state, you know what I mean?
1:07:32 And then we’ll go from there.
1:07:33 Does that sound good?
1:07:34 All right.
1:07:35 I’ll leave the floor open.
1:07:36 Anybody?
1:07:37 And Ms. Wright is on the mic, so go ahead.
1:07:41 Just to be clear, so with the interim superintendent, is there a
1:07:45 time limit on how long they can
1:07:46 serve as the interim?
1:07:49 My contract proposal would say until the new superintendent is
1:07:52 in place.
1:07:53 Okay.
1:07:54 So does this decision about hiring a firm need to be made right
1:07:57 now, or is this something
1:07:58 that we can look back on in 60 days once we’re moving past this
1:08:02 a little bit and stabilizing
1:08:03 things?
1:08:04 Or do we need to start a firm search right now?
1:08:07 It’s really up to the school board’s timeline, so there is no,
1:08:10 it has to be done before we
1:08:11 break for holiday.
1:08:12 It can be something that you guys considered after the holidays,
1:08:15 if you wanted.
1:08:16 Okay.
1:08:17 And my thought process on that is, if one of these interim superintendents
1:08:20 is here and
1:08:21 they are amazing and we love them, do we need a firm?
1:08:23 And now we’ve hired a firm, and we’re spending money that we
1:08:25 maybe don’t necessarily need
1:08:26 to spend if that ends up being that way.
1:08:30 Yeah.
1:08:31 I think there’s an argument to be made there.
1:08:33 I think that if we were to select an interim and they did a good
1:08:36 job that you could make
1:08:37 that selection.
1:08:38 I think the other issue that you would see is that there’s going
1:08:41 to be a lot more applications
1:08:43 that would come in and give us some more options from the
1:08:47 perspective of a national search.
1:08:49 I do want to remind everybody that Collier, Charlotte, Manatee,
1:08:55 Sarasota, and Broward
1:08:57 have all decided, and there’s some more that are coming.
1:09:00 Osceola just retired, right?
1:09:02 So there’s an opportunity to wait, to make sure that we do
1:09:06 things, and then there’s the
1:09:08 other opportunity that the pool will go and become smaller as we
1:09:11 get further down the
1:09:13 line.
1:09:14 So just with those two things, I’m open to suggestions, but
1:09:16 those were the two concerns
1:09:17 with both sides.
1:09:18 I completely understand where you’re coming from is right, and I
1:09:20 can see both sides.
1:09:21 So anybody else?
1:09:23 Yes.
1:09:24 I, too, have no interest in jumping in quickly on a search,
1:09:31 especially where we’re coming
1:09:35 up on a holiday that gives us ample time ourselves to look at
1:09:40 the companies that have put forth
1:09:42 – or these firms that have put forth the proposals, and it’s
1:09:48 money.
1:09:49 It’s something that we have to take very serious to not jump in
1:09:53 some kind of agreement.
1:09:55 We have time.
1:09:56 I believe we have – this is where we have time.
1:09:57 Interim?
1:09:58 No.
1:09:59 We don’t have time.
1:10:00 We need to get – we need to get somebody in here.
1:10:01 This, I think we have – we have time.
1:10:04 Okay.
1:10:05 Either of you would like to speak?
1:10:08 Yeah, please.
1:10:09 Ms. Jenkins.
1:10:10 So, if we don’t make this decision, we’re sending a message to
1:10:18 the public that can be
1:10:21 construed any which way they want to.
1:10:26 Again, we had this conversation previously, and I believe we
1:10:30 have an obligation to the
1:10:31 community and the public to continue to do what we said we were
1:10:34 going to do.
1:10:35 One of the things to consider if you don’t do it, yes, there’s
1:10:39 the potential that you
1:10:40 can like your interim superintendent, absolutely, but these
1:10:43 timelines, the shortest one I think
1:10:45 is like almost four months, up to six months.
1:10:49 And so, if you delay it, then you’re going to delay having a
1:10:52 full-term superintendent.
1:10:54 And then, at what point do you decide you don’t like your
1:10:56 interim superintendent enough
1:10:58 to open up the gate and then have that kind of a public
1:11:01 conversation?
1:11:02 That’s kind of a weird – a weird thing to do.
1:11:06 Mr. Trent, you bring up a good point, you know, it’s money and
1:11:11 it’s something we need
1:11:12 to think about, and Mr. Susan listed all of the school districts
1:11:17 that have vacancies.
1:11:18 We’re going to have to pay the superintendent a lot more money
1:11:21 than we paid the last one,
1:11:23 and the longer we wait, the more we’re going to have to pay that
1:11:27 superintendent as the
1:11:28 pool gets smaller and smaller.
1:11:31 That’s just – that’s just a reality.
1:11:34 And so, if we’re concerned about dollars, then the smartest
1:11:36 thing to do would be to
1:11:37 jump on this.
1:11:39 It’s going to be the most cost effective.
1:11:42 We’re going to secure one of these companies who may not be
1:11:46 available anymore when we make
1:11:48 that decision two months from now.
1:11:52 They may raise their cost because their burden might be a little
1:11:54 bit higher.
1:11:55 And again, those candidates that are in that pool are absolutely
1:11:58 going to be requesting
1:12:00 a much larger salary than they probably would have requested a
1:12:05 couple of months prior.
1:12:08 Lastly, I just – I just think it’s important for my fellow
1:12:18 school board members to be honest
1:12:24 about where we’re heading, because I also agree.
1:12:30 If we have an idea of what’s happening, then no, let’s not waste
1:12:33 $50,000.
1:12:34 So I want you to take a minute and think about that, too.
1:12:40 Thank you.
1:12:41 » Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
1:12:43 Ms. Campbell.
1:12:44 » Mr. Gibnott – if Christy Rodriguez is in the room, do we
1:12:47 have any indication that
1:12:49 these quotes will be – this is their typical – or do you have
1:12:56 a lock-in for a certain
1:12:57 time?
1:12:58 » Yeah, I haven’t gotten anything saying it’s only good for 10
1:13:01 days or 30 days, right?
1:13:04 » Okay, good.
1:13:05 Good to hear.
1:13:06 So I – it sounds like there’s not anybody who’s ready – I don’t
1:13:10 know if you were, Ms.
1:13:12 Jenkins, ready to put your preference in for these four.
1:13:15 You didn’t speak to that.
1:13:16 » Oh, yeah.
1:13:17 I’m sorry.
1:13:18 I just wasn’t speaking to that.
1:13:19 Did you want to do that?
1:13:20 » Yeah.
1:13:21 » First?
1:13:22 Okay.
1:13:23 Sorry.
1:13:24 » It’s okay.