Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
8:00 (upbeat music)
8:28 Two.
8:30 - Good morning, the August 25th, 2026 board meeting
8:32 is now in order.
8:33 I’m happy to welcome my fellow board members and the public.
8:36 I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public
8:38 of the appropriate places for communication
8:40 and public participation in the meeting.
8:42 - The meeting is during your individual public comment
8:44 opportunity as identified in the agenda.
8:47 Outside of your individual public opportunity,
8:48 your role in the meeting is as an observer.
8:51 Paul, roll call, please.
8:52 - Mr. Susan? - Here.
8:53 - Ms. Wright? - Here.
8:54 - Mr. Trent? - Here.
8:55 - Ms. Campbell? - Here.
8:56 - Mr. Thomas?
8:58 At this time, I would like to hold a moment of silence.
9:00 I invite the audience to join us.
9:19 Please rise for the pledge of allegiance.
9:24 I pledge allegiance to the flag
9:26 of the United States of America
9:28 and to the republic for which it stands,
9:31 one nation under God, indivisible,
9:34 with liberty and justice for all.
9:44 - That brings us to the adoption of the agenda.
9:46 Dr. Rendell.
9:47 - Thank you, Mr. Chair.
9:48 On this morning’s agenda, we have one presentation,
9:51 two recognitions, 29 consent items
9:54 and two information items.
9:55 Changes made to the agenda since it was released to the public
9:58 include the following.
9:59 Added was C1, presentation, revised for items F6,
10:03 administrative recommendations and F7,
10:05 instructional staff recommendations.
10:07 Pulled was item F23, resolution for disposal
10:11 of surplus property.
10:12 - Do I hear a motion?
10:13 - Move to approve.
10:16 - Paul, roll call, please.
10:17 - Ms. Campbell?
10:18 - Aye.
10:18 - Mr. Susan?
10:19 - Aye.
10:20 - Ms. Wright?
10:20 - Aye.
10:21 - Mr. Trent?
10:22 - Aye.
10:24 - I’d like to introduce Mr. Ethan Pache
10:26 to the podium for a brief presentation on the Melbourne
10:28 planning and zoning.
10:29 Thank you, Mr. Pache.
10:30 As many of you know that we had some individuals that
10:33 were on some of our zoning boards
10:35 that were not very involved.
10:36 Mr. Pache got involved and gives me
10:38 an update on a regular basis.
10:40 So I thought it was appropriate to give Mr. Pache
10:42 an opportunity to come today to speak.
10:44 So with that, Ethan, you have the floor.
10:46 Tell us what’s going on.
10:48 - Thank you, Chairman Susan.
10:50 I, once again, thank you for letting
10:52 me serve on representing you on Melbourne planning and zoning.
10:55 I want to say I’ve also attended many city council
10:57 meetings to have information from that site as well.
11:02 I do hear a lot of commentary in city council meetings
11:04 about how Melbourne is a mature community.
11:06 There’s not too much new housing going up.
11:09 But there is interest there, at least
11:13 in some of the newer members who are of parental age,
11:18 in getting mature neighborhoods redeveloped.
11:21 We want more families to come in.
11:22 We want to be able to continue to provide students
11:24 into our schooling system and building
11:26 the future of our community.
11:27 So that’s where the city is a lot on that.
11:30 We’ve seen and heard– well, at least I’ve heard.
11:33 I don’t know– it’s not been discussed in the city council
11:36 meetings that there have been a number of schools
11:38 in Central Brevard that got closed
11:39 for declining enrollment.
11:41 We would hope that will not be happening in Melbourne
11:43 if we can get more families to come and be
11:46 part of our community.
11:49 The main big item that I’ve seen recently
11:53 towards that end of helping get more development and more
11:55 families is the extension of a special business district
11:58 north out of downtown, and also questions
12:01 about whether there could be a similar development
12:03 effort as in downtown in Oak Alley for the midtown
12:06 area in Melbourne along Babcock and east of the airport,
12:10 where there’s a lot of older neighborhoods and potential
12:13 for some additional work.
12:16 But a lot of this is subject to what
12:19 happens in November with the property tax bill that’s
12:21 going to affect all municipal organizations.
12:23 But there is interest there.
12:25 We are hoping– or at least the city
12:26 is hoping some of the members to continue
12:29 to grow Melbourne’s population and have older neighborhoods
12:32 still be vital.
12:33 And that will, of course, affect school board
12:35 and your facilities there and our hope
12:36 to keep them full with young students and our growing
12:39 population.
12:40 Thank you, Mr. Packy.
12:41 I just wanted to reiterate part of your comments.
12:44 So there are no schools closing in Melbourne
12:46 or any of those areas.
12:48 The one that we did end up closing Cape View
12:50 was due to declining enrollment for multiple years.
12:53 And they were given the opportunity.
12:54 We even went to the city to ask them if they could help.
12:58 They obviously, as what’s happening in Cape Canaveral
13:01 right now, they were not able to do so financially
13:03 or anything like that to offset the costs of declining
13:06 enrollment to almost– it’s over half of the students
13:09 weren’t even inside there.
13:10 So we would always work with our city partners
13:13 prior to, like we did in the situation of Cape View,
13:18 to communicate, to plan, and everything else.
13:20 And we’re not there right now in Melbourne, just so you know.
13:23 But I do appreciate your work with the city
13:26 in trying to develop a plan to draw families back in.
13:30 Because what we saw was the opposite in Cape Canaveral,
13:33 where they were selling all of their properties.
13:35 And inside of their properties, they
13:37 were selling them to Airbnbs and all of these other groups.
13:41 So there were no families moving in.
13:43 And it was slowly declining to the point
13:45 where they could not sustain a school in that area.
13:47 And the city did not put anything in place
13:50 in order to offset that.
13:51 You guys are moving the other direction,
13:53 which is you are now bringing in business districts.
13:55 You’re trying to bring in single family homes and everything
13:57 else.
13:58 So we really appreciate your time.
13:59 Absolutely.
14:00 Does anybody else have anything for Mr. Packing?
14:03 No?
14:03 Thank you.
14:04 You’re awesome.
14:05 Thank you so much.
14:06 I appreciate you, sir.
14:07 Thank you.
14:08 OK, please welcome Ms. Danielle O’Reilly to the podium
14:10 to recognize the American Heart Association.
14:16 Good morning, Chairperson Susan, board members, Dr. Rendell,
14:20 and guests.
14:21 My name is Danielle O’Reilly, and I’m the district content
14:23 specialist for PE and health, K through 12,
14:26 also driver education and JROTC.
14:29 And this morning, we are pleased to recognize the American Heart
14:31 Association for the partnership and commitment
14:34 in providing 15 CPR in-schools training
14:37 kits for rhubarb-lupus schools.
14:39 Through this collaboration effort,
14:41 students across our district will
14:43 have the opportunity to learn hands-on CPR,
14:45 practice using an AED, develop life-saving skills,
14:49 and be better prepared to respond confidently
14:52 in an emergency.
14:54 These kits will also help support our schools
14:56 in supporting the CPR and AED instructional requirements that
15:00 are established in Florida statute.
15:02 And I do want to give a special thank you to Kelly Harrell,
15:05 the development director with the American Heart Association,
15:07 for bringing together the community partners who helped
15:10 make this initiative possible.
15:12 And now at this time, I’d like to introduce Mr. Mike Maloney.
15:15 He’s the president of the hospital division at Health
15:17 First, who will share a few remarks.
15:23 Good morning.
15:26 My pleasure to be here.
15:28 My name is, as stated, Mike Maloney.
15:30 I serve as the president of our hospital division
15:32 here at Health First.
15:34 I had the privilege of serving as the chair
15:36 of the American Heart Association’s 2026 Space Coast
15:41 Heart Walk, which was the first opportunity
15:43 to bring the Heart Walk back to Brevard County.
15:46 It’s an honor to be here today with the Brevard Public
15:50 Schools, the American Heart Association,
15:53 and our incredible community partners who
15:56 helped make today possible, many of which are here today.
16:00 At Health First, our mission is to improve
16:02 the health and wellness of the communities we serve.
16:05 So supporting this effort is a natural fit.
16:09 For more than a century, the American Heart Association
16:13 has worked to improve cardiovascular health
16:15 through research, education, advocacy, and community
16:19 programs.
16:20 Today’s presentation is one example
16:23 of that work in action, equipping kids and students
16:27 with the skills and confidence to respond
16:29 in a cardiac emergency.
16:32 As you all know, Florida requires students
16:34 to receive hands-on CPR training before graduation.
16:37 So when we learned that our local schools needed
16:40 additional training equipment and materials
16:43 to support that education, we made it our goal
16:46 to help provide those resources to them.
16:50 Working with the Space Coast Heart Walk executive leadership
16:54 team, many of whom are here today,
16:57 we secured 15 CPR in-school training kits
17:01 through the support of Health First, Parrish Health Care,
17:05 Sea Pines Rehabilitation Hospital, Community Credit
17:08 Union, W&J Construction, and Space Coast Credit Union.
17:13 Today, we’re proud to present those kits
17:16 to Brevard Public Schools, where they will support
17:20 hands-on CPR and first aid training at 15 middle
17:24 and high schools throughout our county.
17:28 And our work isn’t finished.
17:30 Through the 2027 Space Coast Heart Walk this year,
17:34 upcoming year, we hope to build on this momentum
17:37 and expand the reach of these lifesaving training
17:41 resources even further.
17:43 This is a great example of what can
17:45 happen when organizations across the community
17:48 come together to create a healthier community
17:51 and help students build skills they can carry on well
17:55 beyond the classroom.
17:57 To talk more about why these skills matter so much
18:00 in critical first moments of a cardiac emergency,
18:03 it’s my pleasure to introduce a friend and colleague, Dr. Thierry
18:07 Monplisir, an interventional cardiologist with Health First
18:11 and medical director of interventional cardiology
18:14 at Health First Heart and Vascular Institute.
18:17 Dr. Monplisir.
18:22 Good morning, everyone.
18:23 I’d like to take the opportunity to first of all
18:25 thank you, Mike, and take you to the school board
18:27 for the opportunity to be here.
18:29 As an interventional cardiologist
18:31 and the director of interventional health services,
18:33 I can tell you out of hospital cardiac arrest
18:35 is probably one of the leading cause of death for patients
18:38 presenting with acute myocardial infarction.
18:41 And the first few minutes immediately after this incident
18:45 plays a critical role in survival.
18:47 So CPR, to me, is by far one of the most essential skills
18:51 that our students and our community needs to have.
18:55 One of the first questions we asked
18:57 when a patient presented out of hospital cardiac arrest
18:59 is, did they receive bystander CPR?
19:02 Because that’s going to make a significant impact
19:04 on whether or not they recover.
19:06 Here at Health First, we have all the tools,
19:08 all the cardiovascular recovery tools
19:11 to help recover the heart and actually give someone
19:13 a chance of survival.
19:14 But the one thing we cannot recover
19:17 is irreversible brain injury.
19:19 And that’s what bystander CPR does.
19:21 By providing bystander CPR, you can actually significantly
19:24 reduce the risk for brain injury.
19:26 So I really would like to take this opportunity
19:28 to thank the school board and take the American Heart
19:31 Association for bringing this skill set to our students,
19:34 because they can actually make a significant impact, not just
19:37 in saving their colleagues, their family members,
19:41 but also bringing life-saving measures to our community.
19:44 So thank you.
19:45 Thank you.
19:47 [APPLAUSE]
19:51 Just– you want to say something?
19:53 I do.
19:53 I want to share a story.
19:54 So thank you all for being here.
19:56 This is such an important lesson that we teach our children.
19:58 And I had a real-life event that took place this past year
20:01 with a dear friend of mine, whose father went
20:04 into a cardiac event.
20:05 And he collapsed.
20:06 And their child– or grandchild, I’m sorry, was there.
20:08 And he was a ninth grade student and immediately started
20:11 administering CPR and was able to bring him, too,
20:13 to be able to get him to the hospital.
20:15 Unfortunately, he went on to be with the Lord.
20:17 But that time was so critical.
20:20 And I just thought, oh my gosh, how did he learn this?
20:22 So when I was asking my friend about that, she says, oh,
20:24 he learned it in school.
20:25 And I’m like, oh, praise the Lord.
20:27 So I just want to thank you.
20:28 It’s so, so important that our children know this skill.
20:30 Because like you said, minutes matter.
20:32 Seconds matter, especially when there’s a cardiac episode
20:35 to some degree.
20:36 So I’m grateful that we’ll be able to expand this out.
20:39 We work with Aquatics and Education.
20:41 They’re also another organization
20:42 who’s very, very good at teaching CPR.
20:44 And I’ve gone and partnered with them as well.
20:46 So I just appreciate all the different organizations
20:49 coming alongside to make sure our children have
20:51 this lifesaving skill.
20:52 Because it really does matter.
20:54 And these kids are the first ones on scene a lot of times
20:56 when these episodes do happen.
20:58 So I really, really appreciate you guys.
21:01 Ms. Campbell?
21:01 I love to tell this story.
21:05 Of course, the legislature made it mandatory for all high
21:08 school students to learn CPR just a few years ago.
21:11 But even before that, our students
21:12 who were going through their CTE programs,
21:15 getting their CNA certifications and things like that,
21:17 they were getting this training.
21:19 We were down at Heritage High School one year,
21:21 touring the CNA program.
21:26 And it’s just a certified medical assistant program.
21:28 Not even active patient care, but they were still
21:31 having the CPR training.
21:33 And the teacher pointed out a young girl, high schooler,
21:38 who had been driving to school and saw someone run off
21:43 the road and stopped.
21:46 First of all, she had the courage to do that.
21:48 Stopped, realized the person was in distress
21:52 and was unconscious, dragged the driver out
21:55 of the car on the ground, and started administering CPR
21:59 because she was trained.
22:01 Now, what a good Samaritan, right?
22:02 This wasn’t even a family member.
22:03 This was just a person that she came across
22:05 that she was actually able to administer that life saving,
22:09 that early intervention right at the beginning
22:12 because she was trained.
22:13 And so now to realize that we could
22:14 have every single one of our high school students trained
22:16 and with equipment that will make it more real.
22:18 It’s one thing to learn it from books and have lectures,
22:20 but to have the kits where you guys were able to really do
22:24 the more hands-on training, what an impact that will have.
22:26 And this wasn’t in Brevard.
22:27 I just heard a story this week about a younger child
22:30 than that who actually was able to do CPR on their grandparents
22:36 and to administer life saving measures in that case.
22:41 So what an amazing tool.
22:42 So I love seeing all these different partners in our room
22:46 and supporting our schools.
22:47 You guys have done that through the years.
22:48 But to do this in such an impactful way,
22:50 I so appreciate it.
22:51 But I wanted to share those stories with you
22:52 because I wanted to say, even in Brevard,
22:55 this kind of training is already having
22:56 a huge impact on our community, on our students,
22:58 and the people that they’re able to impact.
23:00 So thank you, thank you, thank you.
23:04 OK, I just want to say thank you.
23:06 I did want to take a second and give a lot of the credit
23:08 because I know that many of you know this,
23:10 but the CPR language and statutes that came out
23:14 to require students to do that came out of Brevard.
23:17 There’s a gentleman you all know, Sean Seema, I’m sure.
23:19 Sean was responsible when his daughter, Lexi,
23:22 went down right up the road off Viera Boulevard
23:24 at a workout center.
23:25 And they were able to bring her and CPR her
23:28 and bring her back to life.
23:29 And then what ended up happening is
23:31 is he went on this war path to try
23:32 to get the legislature and everybody to adopt CPR
23:35 to be a mandate.
23:36 Brevard Public Schools moved forward
23:37 ahead of the legislature to require our people to graduate
23:39 to have CPR.
23:40 And at that moment, this team came in and brought the devices
23:46 so that our students could do it.
23:48 But what was crazy was is that the day
23:50 that we were voting on it, that week prior,
23:53 we had three people go down in our county.
23:55 So the first one was a student at Viera who, when he went down,
24:01 it took eight minutes.
24:02 And Colonel Tim Thomas was standing over the top,
24:05 performing CPR, literally, for eight minutes
24:06 while they were trying to come in and save them.
24:08 They transported him over to Nemours.
24:13 Yes, it was Nemours.
24:14 And we did a prayer circle around there all night
24:16 long where he died three times, came back to life,
24:18 and now he’s still alive.
24:20 And it was one of the most intense moments I’ve ever had.
24:22 And then literally, a close friend of mine
24:24 went down who was a former student of mine who then became
24:27 a football coach at Cocoa High School, went down,
24:30 and they performed CPR and saved him.
24:32 In all those cases, none of those people, Lexi,
24:34 a student at Viera, or my friend that was the coach at Cocoa,
24:38 would have made it had not somebody came in and did CPR.
24:41 So to say that this is saving lives, it’s incredible.
24:43 And I want to say thank you for every one of you guys
24:45 to doing that.
24:46 I did have one question.
24:47 You guys said that there’s 15 and we’re going to schools.
24:50 Do we have enough to cover the schools?
24:53 Yeah, you’re in charge of it.
24:56 Because I mean, we got all the sponsors right now right here.
24:59 If we need to ask for some more kits,
25:01 I was going to do that right now.
25:03 [INAUDIBLE]
25:06 I know they share, and the program’s never had an issue,
25:09 and they’ve always been able to do it.
25:11 But I figure they were bragging about being
25:12 a part of this program, Mr. Riley,
25:13 so we can ask them right now for the rest of the kits.
25:16 Are you OK?
25:18 You got enough kits?
25:20 So this year, this upcoming year’s Heart Law
25:22 will be another focus on getting the remaining
25:24 balance of the kits.
25:25 So that’s [INAUDIBLE]
25:27 You guys are incredible.
25:28 We appreciate– I can’t tell you enough about Health First
25:31 Partnerships, about the American Heart Association.
25:34 And to say that you have somebody who looks like he
25:37 should be inside of an emergency room right now,
25:39 taking care of people.
25:40 We probably need to let him get back to work.
25:40 And he’s down here, and he’s giving speeches.
25:43 We really appreciate your time.
25:45 And thank you for being here for this great moment.
25:47 We really appreciate all that you guys did.
25:48 Yeah, thank you.
25:49 Can we get a picture?
25:50 Mr. Chair, if I could?
25:50 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, Dr. Endell.
25:52 So what the viewing audience can’t see
25:54 is there is two rows, 2 and 1/2 rows, of people
25:59 that are here to support this.
26:00 So I’m going to put either Kelly or Danielle, somebody
26:04 on the spot, to kind of describe the group that’s behind–
26:07 there you go.
26:07 There’s a good shot.
26:08 You guys are on camera now, by the way.
26:11 Yeah, to kind of describe who is that, what group is that.
26:15 And then you can get another plug for the event this spring.
26:19 OK, sounds great.
26:21 I love to speak like off the cuff.
26:26 So we have our executive leadership team here
26:30 from 2026, Heart Walk.
26:34 And they have all signed up pretty much for 2027
26:38 under the leadership of Dan Kelly, who is our incoming chair
26:41 for Heart Walk.
26:43 We will be focusing on securing at least 14 more kids for 2027
26:50 to cover the additional kids that we’re missing
26:53 for middle and high schools.
26:55 But I also want to recognize our wonderful sponsors that
27:00 stepped up to make this happen.
27:03 I was so impressed with the community
27:08 camaraderie in bringing these kids together
27:11 and making this happen.
27:13 So our 2027 Heart Walk is scheduled for April.
27:17 We’re still working on the exact date.
27:20 But we are looking for leadership.
27:22 We are looking for sponsors to help us
27:25 with the remainder kits.
27:26 So if anybody’s interested, please let us know.
27:29 And thank you so much for letting us be here.
27:33 Thank you.
27:33 I did do a disservice to not say nice things
27:37 about the community educators who are also there.
27:39 You guys have been a great sponsor
27:41 for almost every single event.
27:42 You guys have a logo on something.
27:43 And we appreciate your sponsorships
27:45 and your support of the schools.
27:46 And WJ Construction is also one of the biggest sponsors
27:50 of many events that we have.
27:51 They also have children that are inside of our schools
27:53 at Viera.
27:54 And we also have a lot of things that they’re involved in also.
27:57 So we appreciate their partnerships and everybody else.
27:59 So thank you.
27:59 Well, it’s a true partnership.
28:00 There’s also a parish–
28:01 Yeah, I was going to say parish medical.
28:03 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
28:04 All right.
28:05 I can’t forget parish either.
28:06 I’m sorry.
28:07 Is there anybody else?
28:10 Mr. Chair, if you would want to take a break for a picture–
28:12 Yeah, let’s take a break and take a picture.
28:14 All right, you’re going to lay on the ground.
28:15 We’re going to do CPR, all right?
28:16 Yeah, that’s fine.
28:17 We’ll pretend like we’re doing it in action.
28:19 In action, that’s fine.
28:31 [AUDIO OUT]
31:36 How many do we have?
31:38 [INAUDIBLE]
31:41 I can’t wait to say no people.
31:43 No people.
31:44 Yeah, I know.
31:45 I know.
31:45 We got Ms. Bennett.
31:46 I know.
31:46 I won’t forget my girl.
31:49 Are you ready for your big show?
31:51 All right.
31:52 We all ready?
31:54 Oh, OK.
31:55 All right.
31:56 Dr. Rendell.
31:58 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
31:59 At the last board meeting, you made a significant promotion.
32:01 So we want to recognize Dr. Roseanne Bennett
32:04 for her promotion to Director of Federal Programs.
32:07 [APPLAUSE]
32:12 Thank you so much, Chairman Susan, board members,
32:16 Dr. Rendell.
32:16 I truly appreciate the appointment.
32:19 I want to thank all of district leadership for belief
32:24 in my abilities, specifically the curriculum and instruction
32:27 team.
32:28 They’ve been very welcoming all year
32:30 as I transitioned into the position.
32:32 I have to shout out to my federal programs team
32:35 and Dr. Mella, who’s been specifically guiding me
32:39 and helping me, and my peer directors.
32:43 They have been nothing but supportive of this transition.
32:50 I would be remiss if I didn’t–
32:53 ooh, I can’t, I can’t.
32:55 So I’m just– Mrs. Harris, I can’t even turn around.
33:02 Your belief in me and willingness
33:05 to take a chance on my leadership,
33:11 I don’t have words.
33:14 Thank you so much.
33:15 And of course, I can’t forget my family.
33:18 My family is my unwavering support behind me
33:21 and have been for the last 30 years in Brevard County.
33:24 And I just am appreciative of the opportunity.
33:29 And I will do you proud, I promise.
33:31 [APPLAUSE]
33:33 Don’t go anywhere, Ms. Bennett.
33:34 Ms. Bennett, you got to get–
33:35 come on.
33:36 Anybody else have anything to say for Ms. Bennett?
33:38 Oh, congratulations.
33:39 I’ll start.
33:41 Congratulations.
33:41 Thank you.
33:42 I love to see your emotion reflected.
33:43 And I love to see the fact that you have an entire cheer
33:46 crowd back there, which means that obviously, this
33:48 is a wonderful promotion and well-deserved,
33:50 because everyone is supporting you and here to cheer you on.
33:53 And Ms. Harris and her team, they’re exceptional.
33:56 You guys are all very exceptional individuals.
33:58 And so we appreciate all the work that you guys do.
34:00 And we’re looking forward to your new position.
34:02 Ms. Campbell.
34:04 Now I’m good.
34:06 Well, I can always think of something to say,
34:08 because I don’t mind talking impromptu.
34:10 You know, this position was a collaboration
34:13 between several departments.
34:15 And it’s a testimony to the fact that we’re not
34:17 working in silos.
34:18 We’re working– because federal–
34:21 Real programming touches student services, it touches technology,
34:24 it touches opera, it
34:25 touches so many things and so to have a one point person who
34:29 basically becomes a resident
34:31 expert in all the things is such a big role and so I know that
34:35 if they chose you for this
34:37 that you are well equipped and that for what you’re not equipped
34:41 for you are a learner
34:42 and we want all of our employees to be lifelong learners just
34:44 like we’re teaching our students
34:45 to be so thank you for stepping up to the role and leading this
34:49 effort to keep the silos
34:50 down, right, the silo walls down and make sure that we’re all
34:54 working together in this
34:55 particular area so I appreciate you.
34:57 Thank you for the kind words, thank you.
35:00 Roseanne does have a whole cheering section back there so
35:03 definitely a popular choice.
35:04 Well so, Dr. Bennett, when I was a principal in my district and
35:10 worked very closely with
35:13 me on a variety of different issues I wanted to say thank you
35:16 for that time period and
35:17 I’m really really honored that you got this position, we’re
35:20 really honored to have you
35:22 be here a part of us in ESF and direct kids at a different level.
35:26 I also wanted to give you an apology because I constantly call
35:30 her on accident because
35:32 I have another friend named Dr. Bennett and I call her all the
35:35 time so I wanted to do
35:36 a public apology for that.
35:37 I told you, just put me in as Roseanne.
35:42 But I truly appreciate everything that you’ve done and look
35:44 forward to seeing everything
35:45 that you’re going to do.
35:46 Thank you.
35:47 Congratulations.
35:48 Thank you.
35:49 Alright.
35:50 You guys want to get a picture with her?
35:52 Let’s get a picture with Dr. Bennett.
36:12 Alright.
37:57 You ready?
38:14 Okay.
38:23 We are now on to the public comments portion of the meeting.
38:25 We have zero number of speakers.
38:27 We are now on to the consent agenda.
38:28 Dr. Rendell.
38:29 Thank you Mr. Chair.
38:32 There are 29 items on the agenda under this category.
38:35 Thank you Dr. Rendell.
38:36 Does any board member wish to pull any of these items?
38:38 I will entertain a motion to accept the consent items on tonight’s
38:44 agenda.
38:45 Roll call please.
38:49 Ms. Campbell.
38:50 Mr. Susan.
38:51 Aye.
38:52 Ms. Wright.
38:53 Aye.
38:54 We will now move on to the information agenda which includes an
38:57 item for board review and
38:58 may be brought back for action at a subsequent meeting.
39:01 No action will be taken on this item today.
39:02 There are two items under this category.
39:04 Does any board member wish to pull any of these items?
39:06 Nope.
39:07 Okay.
39:08 I did have one thing that I wanted to add prior to our
39:12 recognition reports.
39:14 Recently we’ve had an issue with our healthcare plan moving up.
39:19 So I’m not sure if you guys are aware but Dr. Rendell and Ryan Dufresne
39:24 have moved expeditiously
39:26 to increase all kinds of programs.
39:28 So our BEXA program that went off went off without a hitch and
39:32 had major participation
39:34 and was one of the best that they’ve ever had as far as and
39:36 those were the ones where
39:37 they were testing them for mammograms.
39:39 Our Lantern Care Cancer Care Direct finally came on on July 8th
39:44 so that we now have individuals
39:46 that are coordinating care for the best cancer programs in the
39:49 nation.
39:50 Our Lantern Care Cancer or I’m sorry, surgeries and everything
39:55 else that they cover inside
39:58 of there, the hips, the knees, all of that is now up even
40:00 further so we’re directing
40:02 more care that way.
40:04 So we’re saving millions on a lot of those things.
40:07 The issue that we’re running into is that our claims in the last
40:11 two months have increased
40:13 significantly.
40:15 We’re at about 130 to 125% for both the months.
40:19 So in doing so, we immediately went into why is this happening.
40:23 So we looked at Cigna and said hey, you just renegotiated a
40:26 contract, that may be the difference
40:28 between what was happening before and what’s happening now.
40:32 So I requested the contract from Cigna to get their rates.
40:35 Of course, Matt Susan wasn’t requesting it for himself, it was
40:38 requesting that our consultants
40:39 could get it to make the evaluation.
40:41 Cigna refused to give us the contract, which is by law 2017
40:46 passed by President Trump said
40:49 that we have the right to have those.
40:50 Now just to get a little bit deeper, each hospital puts those
40:55 rates per Cigna and other
40:57 contracts Cigna at UnitedHealthcare on their website, but they
41:00 use what’s called a JCON
41:01 file to do that.
41:02 It’s scrambled and it’s supposed to be for the public.
41:05 So what I was directed by Cigna was that I could go to the
41:08 hospital to get that but that’s
41:10 a coded file.
41:13 So what I am asking the board, which is just a suggestion, we
41:15 should do it anyway but I
41:16 wanted to bring it to your attention, I would like to give our
41:21 consultants the opportunity
41:23 to go back and not only get the files that we need per the board,
41:27 demand it, but then
41:29 also go back and do re-pricing before 1/1.
41:32 So it’s possible that we can do it.
41:34 We checked, we had a meeting with Ryan Dufresne yesterday and
41:36 them, they said they would love
41:37 nothing more than to get the board to agree to give them the
41:41 right to go back into negotiations
41:43 because inside of their contract, it states some things that may
41:46 give them the right to
41:47 block us from having their actual contracts.
41:50 So just so you know, it’s impossible to do an overall evaluation
41:53 with our own tools if
41:54 we don’t have those contracted rates.
41:56 And I don’t have to see it, you don’t have to see it, but our
41:58 consultants should see
41:59 it.
42:03 When I’m saying that I’m asking, I was asking on behalf to set
42:06 the tone and they refused.
42:08 Ms. Suhan was on the phone, Ryan Dufresne was on the phone, and
42:11 I think it’s time for
42:12 us to just kind of give them the opportunity and that’s all I
42:15 ask is to allow Fleet to
42:16 engage with them to re-price and get the contract re-written so
42:21 that we have transparency inside
42:23 of it.
42:24 That’s it.
42:25 I didn’t know what you thought.
42:26 Dr. Undell, you and your staff have a recommendation, is
42:29 everybody on board?
42:30 Yes, we would like to give Fleet the opportunity to renegotiate.
42:33 Yeah, I’m good with that.
42:36 I’m good with that as well.
42:37 So there was an issue that came up last week and I shared with
42:40 HR over routine, and I think
42:42 you guys probably all got the same email, which I’m like that’s
42:45 a bit frustrating, routine
42:47 preventative care for females that have now changed for some
42:51 reason.
42:52 It’s actually changed for a while and I won’t go into details of
42:55 that specific scenario,
42:57 but in my routine visits with doctors, it’s the doctor who’s
43:00 actually supposed to catch
43:01 that, how often you’ve done it.
43:03 They’re supposed to know.
43:04 It’s only supposed to be every three years, so that wasn’t a Cigna
43:07 thing, it was a provider
43:08 thing.
43:09 So I can speak a little bit to that and then give you guys an
43:11 update on the plan designs
43:12 and stuff like that that are coming.
43:14 The preventative care was adjusted, like you said, a couple of
43:17 years ago and relaxed some
43:18 of the requirements for all of the testing, right?
43:23 All the preventative care testing.
43:25 I don’t agree with a lot of those, so what I would like to do
43:29 after we get through this
43:31 thing with Cigna is relook at it and possibly give our people
43:34 the opportunity that if they
43:36 want to go take a preventative test, that it’s covered.
43:41 Having three years to do a Pap smear, I feel, is not in line
43:44 with what the majority of people
43:46 that get cancer is.
43:48 I’ll be honest with you, in almost every single one of those
43:52 that they moved away from, the
43:53 medical association doctors all came back and started screaming,
43:57 saying that there’s
43:58 no way, because now you’re going to have people that are walking
44:01 without testing that are
44:02 going to get it in between.
44:03 So to be continued for further discussion, I don’t want to have
44:06 it here, but I wanted
44:07 you guys to know that, that the preventative care measurements–
44:10 and Cigna will do whatever.
44:12 Cigna’s like, hey, if you guys want to do it one way or the
44:14 other, they’re just administering
44:15 our plan.
44:16 Right.
44:17 We have to consider the cost.
44:18 Because colonoscopies change too, because if you have one that
44:21 doesn’t show anything,
44:23 then they say you’re good for 10 years, and it used to be less.
44:26 So it’s just– I mean, I would want it– whatever aligns– it’s
44:30 for future discussion that you
44:32 guys will have without me, but I would just put this input here.
44:36 Whatever aligns with best practice across the medical
44:39 association’s best recommendations.
44:41 Well, and it’s probably worth exploring as far as the board goes,
44:44 because this is such
44:44 an area of expense for our district.
44:46 It’s a huge expense when it comes to our health care.
44:48 And we probably need to go ahead and look at this again on
44:50 bringing in– do we need
44:51 to have another workshop of some sort, bring in fleet?
44:54 Where are we with people one?
44:55 That was one of the things that we had talked about as a board,
44:57 and we were really excited
44:58 about that.
44:59 And so those are things I would just like to know, so that there
45:01 are services that are
45:02 available to our employees and should be amazing if we are able
45:05 to get that off the ground
45:07 and make that happen.
45:08 So then I would like to see an update that we can give public
45:11 health insurance.
45:13 That was going to be part of the off-site.
45:15 But we can do it real quick.
45:16 People One Health was awarded the RFP.
45:20 So they will start one one with four clinics.
45:23 The county is interested in coming in.
45:25 If the county comes in, that would be seven one, and then they
45:28 would have another three,
45:29 which would give us seven locations throughout the county.
45:31 The savings are between $12 and $17 million after the cost of
45:36 the clinics.
45:37 And the cost, it would significantly reduce the cost of our
45:39 health care and provide better
45:40 care with zero barriers.
45:42 That’s the People One Health piece.
45:44 The other piece is that Anthony and I are negotiating the ins
45:47 and outs of what we’re
45:48 doing.
45:49 And what that is is that we increase deductibles to drive people
45:54 to the health care clinics.
45:56 And if you go to the health care clinics, get checked in, do all
45:58 your vitals, and everything
45:59 else, then you can get a lower deductible on your health care
46:01 plan.
46:02 Well, and to be clear, just for clarification purposes, you and
46:04 Anthony aren’t specifically
46:05 negotiating that.
46:06 That would be something that would come before the board to make
46:08 a decision on.
46:08 But you’re into discussions is what that sounds like.
46:10 I just want to clarify that.
46:11 Yeah, because they were questioning– yeah, and what it is is it
46:15 always comes before the
46:15 board.
46:16 We did a formal evaluation at the off-site, because at that time
46:20 is the deadline for Anthony
46:21 to agree to something that he would bring before the board to
46:25 discuss.
46:25 But we brought all of the union leadership to Orlando to see the
46:29 People One Health facilities
46:31 last Friday.
46:32 And they were more than ecstatic after they met a lot of
46:35 skeptics.
46:36 But then after they met with the leadership there, went through
46:39 everything, we workshopped
46:40 afterwards inside of their office, their conference center, came
46:43 up with everything that they
46:44 were concerned about.
46:45 They were working through that process.
46:47 And they should have a recommendation coming back to you right
46:50 around September 15th when
46:51 we have the off-site.
46:52 So we should–
46:53 And then the other thing, too, just to ask for clarification.
46:54 This is probably good practice.
46:55 And Mr. Dufresne, this would probably fall in your department.
46:58 But Orange County has been using that model.
47:00 So I would like to get some feedback from Orange County on how
47:02 successful that has been
47:03 or challenges that they have faced so that we can maybe learn
47:06 from those that have gone
47:08 before us, right?
47:09 So if you could provide that for us, that would be wonderful.
47:11 But anyway, it sounds like a conversation that needs to happen.
47:13 Yep.
47:14 Orange County, just so you know, they refused to give people one,
47:16 the data, so that they
47:17 could give the evaluation.
47:19 The better one to look at is Putnam County or in West Palm Beach
47:23 County.
47:23 Who’s they?
47:24 They refused?
47:25 Yeah, Cigna.
47:26 Cigna.
47:27 Cigna refused to give the data over.
47:29 And they did not.
47:30 They went back and forth for a long time.
47:31 I think they just got it a month ago.
47:34 There’s a lot– I will tell you that Lantern Care requested the
47:38 data in November of ‘25
47:41 so that they could get to our cancer care people.
47:43 They did not receive that data until July 8.
47:47 Since those time periods of about seven months, Cigna had
47:50 provided all of our claims data
47:52 to Fleet and not to Lantern Care to contact our cancer care.
47:57 There is an issue that I’m trying to resolve through the support
48:01 that you guys just gave
48:02 to resolve this whole situation that they are doing.
48:06 But that is 100%.
48:07 The situation in Orange County is that they were not able to
48:11 give the evaluation that
48:12 they were supposed to at the time because Cigna was not going to.
48:15 They also– there’s a lot going on in Orange County.
48:18 So I just want to give you that update.
48:20 All right.
48:21 Everybody good?
48:22 Yeah.
48:23 Before we start the recognitions, I just wanted– could I have a
48:27 point of discussion?
48:28 I don’t want to mix it up.
48:29 And it’s not a– we had an item on our agenda about the Cape
48:33 View property.
48:35 And because it’s been such a topic of misinformation, and it got
48:37 pulled, and I don’t know really
48:39 the reason for it to get pulled, but it’s going to come back
48:41 around.
48:42 So I just want to take the point.
48:46 It’s easier for me to talk about it, one, because it’s not my
48:49 area, two, I’m going to
48:51 be gone soon, but I just want to speak freely.
48:54 These are not– I don’t think I’m going to say anything at this
48:56 point too much that I
48:57 have not said in public before, but I wanted to reiterate
48:59 because it’s going to come back
49:01 before the board.
49:02 The agenda item today was a resolution from the school board
49:07 saying that the Cape View
49:09 Elementary property is no longer needed as an educational
49:13 property.
49:14 And so it was the beginning steps, the beginning process of the
49:18 opportunity to sell that land.
49:20 Just like the other item that was on the– stay on the agenda
49:23 today, which is we’ve already
49:24 had bids, and Sue’s team and the realtor have been working with
49:27 selling an unused piece
49:28 of property on– what’s the name of the street?
49:33 Poinsettia.
49:35 We’re going to tell some other– what we’re going to do with
49:38 Gardendale after we move
49:39 those students into the new Riverstone School.
49:42 So I just want to encourage the board, when we closed Cape View,
49:46 when we made the decision
49:47 to close Cape View, we did it because we’re supposed to be good
49:52 stewards of our taxpayer
49:54 dollars.
49:55 And it’s not being good steward of taxpayer dollars to keep a
49:58 school open that is continually
49:59 dwelling population, and the truth is that area, and Mr. Susan
50:05 referred to it, there’s
50:07 not 300 or 400 more kids to be found.
50:09 They don’t exist in that area because it’s an aging population
50:14 and it’s the Airbnbs and
50:15 all of that.
50:17 And so it’s not a matter of we didn’t promote enough or the
50:19 charter schools are still in,
50:21 there’s one charter school student in the whole area.
50:23 There’s not a matter of all going home schooling, they’re just
50:25 not kids in that area.
50:26 And so because of that, and because there was a school that was
50:29 open really close to
50:30 that that was right next to those middle school, high school,
50:32 junior, senior high that they
50:33 were all going to be going to when they got out of elementary
50:36 school, we made the decision.
50:37 But there was a huge financial piece.
50:39 We need those operating dollars.
50:42 We like districts across the state are dealing with a financial
50:46 crunch, I’m not going to
50:47 call it crisis, but a crunch.
50:49 And so we need those operating dollars and it’s not efficient
50:53 and not good stewards to
50:54 have those schools run so under capacity.
50:58 And so we made the decision.
50:59 That’s operating expenses.
51:00 But we’re also, because we have made a decision to move as much
51:05 capital dollars as we can
51:06 into the operating fund that’s allowable by the state.
51:10 That is putting our capital budget into a crunch.
51:13 And Sue’s team has done such an amazing job through the years of
51:17 getting these schools
51:18 in good shape, making sure that they’re, you know, we’ve got not
51:21 just with the sales tax
51:22 but with other things that we’ve got our buildings in good shape
51:25 for technology, for, you know,
51:27 air conditioning, for adding extra improvements that new
51:30 furniture, when schools are using
51:32 furniture that’s like some of these kids’ grandparents used when
51:36 they were there and
51:37 I don’t think we have any more of that furniture, I think most
51:40 of that’s gone.
51:41 But if we slow that pace, then we’re really hampering what
51:44 facilities needs to be able
51:46 to do.
51:47 So in order to do that, we also needed to sell that property.
51:50 We need to sell that property so that we can infuse those
51:54 dollars into the facilities budget,
51:57 the capital budget to continue to do the good work that the
52:01 capital side of things is doing.
52:03 So I said as an encouragement to the board, for whatever reason
52:07 it was pulled, don’t slow
52:08 down.
52:09 But I’m going to say it in a public way.
52:10 I want to make sure they understand.
52:12 We need these capital dollars.
52:14 I would not want to see the district hold on to a piece of
52:17 property that we’re not going
52:19 to use anymore when we’ve already made that decision because
52:23 that population is not going
52:25 to reverse.
52:26 That is not a high growth area of our county.
52:28 We’re not going to sell property in Palm Bay and Vieira if we
52:30 might have it because we
52:31 know those are high growth areas and that would be foolish
52:33 because it would be so much
52:34 more expensive to buy it later.
52:36 But in our low, our shrinking child populations, not shrinking
52:41 child, our areas of shrinking
52:43 populations of children, let me correct that, it makes sense to
52:48 sell that.
52:49 And so we need to go ahead and do that because I feel like if we
52:51 don’t, then we’re kind of
52:53 going back on what we said the reasons were.
52:55 So encourage the board to go ahead and let’s move through that
52:58 process.
52:58 But I also want to say in a way so the public understands
53:01 because there’s been a lot of
53:02 garbage put out there and I try not to pay attention to the
53:05 garbage, but there’s people
53:06 saying things.
53:07 And also, let me say this as the board member who’s not a realtor.
53:12 We need to sell the property, all right?
53:14 And what I will say that I haven’t said publicly is I have
53:17 talked to this superintendent and
53:19 the superintendent previous about the potential of closing
53:22 schools.
53:23 This isn’t an under the table, the board members are going to
53:26 benefit.
53:27 We have to be good stewards.
53:29 Now I don’t think we need to close them.
53:30 Our committee loves our small schools.
53:32 They love our local schools and I do too.
53:34 We’re not going to close.
53:35 Let me just be very clear.
53:36 We’re not closing all the under enrolled schools.
53:41 We have only closed one school.
53:44 But we can’t say that that’s the last one.
53:47 So we have to be good stewards.
53:48 Board, you’re going to have some really tough decisions to make
53:50 in the next couple of years,
53:51 but I do encourage you in this decision, whether we do it
53:54 between now and November or not,
53:56 I feel like we need to fulfill the promise, the reasons for the
54:00 decision that we made
54:01 and go ahead and get K-View through the process with a realtor,
54:05 pass a resolution, do the
54:07 steps.
54:08 I know we can do it at the next board meeting, but I wanted to
54:09 go ahead and say that because
54:10 of all the garbage that’s going around, accusing people of all
54:13 kinds of ulterior motives, it
54:15 is what we said it is.
54:16 And that is speaking as the board member who’s going to be gone
54:19 in three months, who’s not
54:20 a realtor and doesn’t have any benefit at all.
54:23 It needs to happen so that we can tell the taxpayers we’re
54:26 making the best use of your
54:27 dollars.
54:28 Thanks for giving that moment.
54:29 And if nobody has anything else to say on that, I’ll continue my
54:31 resolution.
54:32 » I would like to respond to it just because I brought this
54:35 item up to Dr. Mandela in our
54:37 one and I said just I had some concerns about this being on the
54:39 agenda because I don’t feel
54:40 that as though there has been ample time for the community.
54:44 The lens I filtered this through is if we don’t sell this today,
54:47 does it cost us money
54:49 or does it lose value?
54:50 Because those two things would maybe expedite a decision, right?
54:53 But the real estate market in that community is not going down,
54:56 it is going up.
54:57 So it potentially makes us more money the longer we hold on to
55:00 it.
55:00 Now I know that that’s not necessarily the best philosophy, but
55:03 I’m just saying if we’re
55:04 looking at the grand scheme of dollar bills and how this shakes
55:06 out financially for our
55:07 district, it’s not going to financially hurt us.
55:10 To me, my thought on this was when I went to Dr. Rendell and
55:13 said hey, I have some concerns
55:14 about this coming up on here, I feel as though we need to give
55:17 the community a little more
55:18 time to heal.
55:19 And Jean, I might be speaking out of place here and I don’t even
55:22 really – I know this
55:22 is probably putting you in a situation, but that school just
55:27 recently closed.
55:28 That community still hurts from that closure.
55:31 And if we were to, as a board, not take into consideration the
55:34 people that are there and
55:35 say hey, let’s give this a minute for the dust to settle, let’s
55:38 let everybody breathe
55:39 for a minute, and then move forward with this, is it going to
55:43 financially hurt us?
55:44 I didn’t feel as though it did, and so to me it didn’t make
55:46 sense to jump right into
55:47 that.
55:48 The other properties that we passed the resolution on, I didn’t
55:51 have any issues with.
55:51 It was vacant land, it was – you know, at Gardendale, there’s a
55:55 whole bunch of land
55:56 in Gardendale that’s not used, there’s a massive field there, so
55:58 it’s like those make sense
55:59 to me.
56:00 But that one didn’t make sense just because of the fact of the
56:02 nature of what’s going
56:03 on here.
56:04 So my ask was, hey, do we have to rush this out the gate?
56:07 Is there a benefit for us to do that?
56:09 I can’t really see one other than infusing capital dollars that
56:12 we’re trying to recover
56:13 from selling it, but we’re not going to lose capital dollars by
56:16 holding off on this for
56:17 just a few minutes to give the community a little more time.
56:20 So in all fairness, when I went to Dr. Rendell and asked him
56:22 that yesterday, he said, oh,
56:24 Mr. Susan already pulled it.
56:25 I said, okay, well, that’s – I work, so I just want to give the
56:28 community more time.
56:30 There is healing that needs to happen from that whole entire
56:32 ordeal, and so that was
56:34 my thought process on it.
56:36 And again, filtering it through, is it losing us money or is it
56:38 costing us money?
56:39 And if it’s no to both of those, then I couldn’t see the reason
56:42 to just move this forward as
56:44 fast as possible.
56:45 » Thank you.
56:46 I can totally appreciate that perspective.
56:47 » And that’s why I said what I did.
56:49 And for the record, yes, I do have my real estate license.
56:51 None of us stand to financially benefit real estate-wise
56:53 speaking.
56:54 Like everyone said, oh, we are – no, none of that is true.
56:57 That is actually highly illegal and very false.
56:59 So just for clarity purposes out there, that having a license in
57:02 one field doesn’t have
57:03 anything necessarily to do with the property being sold.
57:07 So that’s my two cents on it, so sorry.
57:09 I wanted a little more time for the community.
57:10 That was what my ask was.
57:11 » No, absolutely.
57:13 And I was the one that pulled it, and the sentiments are the
57:15 same thing.
57:16 It is something that we are going to end up selling, but at the
57:19 same time, I think the
57:19 argument needs to be made inside of the community because there
57:23 are some people that are misunderstood.
57:25 The first thing is that that city never did anything to control
57:29 any of the Airbnbs and
57:31 everything else.
57:32 So what ended up happening is as those Airbnbs started coming in,
57:35 the student population
57:36 declined.
57:37 And there was no any which way we could figure out to actually
57:41 have more students come in.
57:43 Just like you mentioned, there was no charter, there was no this,
57:45 there was no that.
57:45 » And the people in those homes are staying in there, they’re
57:48 aging, and 70-year-olds
57:49 don’t have babies most of the time.
57:52 And just so you guys know, the operating expenses was incredibly
57:56 over-under, and we were paying
57:58 so much more than what we did.
58:00 And that all is great.
58:03 But when it comes down to closing a school, it was not that for
58:05 me.
58:06 And I think these are some of the things that people need to
58:08 understand is that the curriculum
58:09 and opportunities that are at Roosevelt significantly are better
58:12 than the curriculum and opportunities
58:14 that were at Cape View, period, no doubt.
58:17 You have more clubs, you have more opportunities, you have more
58:20 sports, you have everything.
58:21 It has a gym, indoors, it is incredibly a better school to get
58:26 to.
58:26 The other thing is is that many of the students that were
58:29 actually going to the school should
58:30 never have been going to the school because they were in the
58:34 city.
58:34 Mayor Capizzi lived in the zone of kids that actually, Mayor Capizzi,
58:38 the mayor of Cocoa
58:39 Beach, lived in the zone for Cape View.
58:42 So you had families that were a part of Cape, part of Cocoa
58:46 Beach that were not able to
58:47 go to the school that they had for their city.
58:51 And it was a major, major deal.
58:53 When I knocked on doors, because I did, I asked them, what do
58:56 you think about this?
58:57 They said, absolutely, we’ve been trying to say this forever.
59:00 So if you took the kids and just said, okay, we’re going to keep
59:03 the kids in Cape View
59:04 that are in Cape View and Cape Canaveral, and you just took the
59:06 Cocoa Beach kids out
59:07 that should have gone there, it would have significantly
59:10 decreased it by another third.
59:11 So there’s just, there was more than just, it was a community
59:15 request from individuals
59:16 there.
59:17 And there was a curriculum decision that I made, and that’s the
59:20 main reason.
59:21 So anybody that’s out there trying to capitalize on
59:24 misinformation and everything else, well,
59:27 they can do that.
59:28 But we needed to do a little bit of a better job of
59:29 communicating it.
59:31 So that’s what this is.
59:32 So we’re good.
59:33 We just did it.
59:34 And I’m going to say this publicly.
59:35 In the absence of information that supports your opinion, you’ll
59:38 make up trash.
59:38 And that’s what happened.
59:41 Let me speak freely, Mr. Cusick.
59:44 You got it.
59:45 All right.
59:46 You want to keep going?
59:47 I’ll give you a little bit more time.
59:48 Oh, you want me to do my recognitions?
59:49 No, no, no.
59:51 I was like, on that thread, you might want to just keep going.
59:52 You want me to come up with–
59:53 You started getting into trash, and–
59:54 I’ll do a soapbox every meeting about that by the last year.
59:57 We only got a couple more?
59:58 No.
59:59 I’ve got a–
1:00:00 Go ahead.
1:00:01 Move us into recognitions.
1:00:02 And so just have one.
1:00:04 Last Friday night at Heritage High School, we had a wonderful
1:00:08 ceremony dedicating the
1:00:10 football stadium.
1:00:11 I can’t call it football stadium.
1:00:12 They do soccer and all kinds of other stuff there.
1:00:14 Soccer’s football.
1:00:15 Right, there it is.
1:00:19 Dedicated to Mr. Tuttle.
1:00:22 And so we very proudly revealed the John Wayne Tuttle Stadium.
1:00:27 Mr. Link, the principal, and his staff did such a fantastic job
1:00:30 making it a memorable
1:00:31 night.
1:00:33 Mrs. Tuttle was there, and their children and grandchildren, his
1:00:38 sister, many staff
1:00:40 that were there from the very first days of Heritage back in
1:00:44 2009, students, people who
1:00:47 had graduated.
1:00:48 And then, of course, there were people who had served with him
1:00:51 at Bayside, which I–
1:00:53 There was a question.
1:00:54 He also was a founding principal of Bayside, maybe?
1:00:56 Anyway, he was there for a good long time.
1:00:58 And he was at Southwest.
1:00:59 He was at so many different schools.
1:01:01 And so it was such a wonderful night.
1:01:03 And even sitting in the gym for a very long rain delay, the
1:01:07 spirit was not sagging.
1:01:08 Congressman Herodopoulos came, because it was such a great
1:01:12 moment.
1:01:12 And Mrs. Tuttle got to flip the coin.
1:01:14 She had such a great time with the refs.
1:01:16 And they were so gracious, too.
1:01:18 So I just wanted to thank all the people, especially down at
1:01:20 Heritage, who made that
1:01:21 such a wonderful night for the family.
1:01:24 She was so touched.
1:01:25 And we’ve been– even on Facebook, she’s been continuing to
1:01:28 express her thanks to Mr. Link
1:01:30 and to the district for making this happen.
1:01:33 So it was an amazing night.
1:01:35 Wish you guys could have all been there.
1:01:37 We even had– when we came out after the rain delay, there was
1:01:39 this beautiful rainbow and
1:01:41 got pictures.
1:01:42 And so what a great night to celebrate an outsize legacy of an
1:01:47 amazing teacher, coach,
1:01:50 administrator, and all-around good human being.
1:01:53 So thank you.
1:01:54 Great job.
1:01:56 Well, we’ve had a busy week or so.
1:02:02 The schools opening up went off without a hitch.
1:02:08 I heard some of the board members talking about a typical first
1:02:14 week of emails from
1:02:16 car loop incidents.
1:02:17 And the kids didn’t– the bus drivers never picked up my kids.
1:02:21 That didn’t happen to me this time around.
1:02:23 So Mr. Wilson, back there, thank you for getting that team in
1:02:27 order.
1:02:28 It’s been great.
1:02:31 The exciting time– and thank you for your words on the KPU
1:02:34 communities.
1:02:35 And we have a community that is just down below there, it was
1:02:38 Cocoa Beach, that was
1:02:39 really suffering from the same disease, really, as the short-term
1:02:43 rentals.
1:02:44 And the two communities have been battling that for years,
1:02:48 unsuccessfully, to say the
1:02:51 least for the families.
1:02:52 Very successful if you’re an investor out there.
1:02:55 But even that’s turning now.
1:02:57 It’s kind of a strange issue out there.
1:03:00 Because just thank God that we had two schools that were just a
1:03:03 few miles apart suffering
1:03:05 from the same situation that we were able to merge them.
1:03:09 And I think very successfully, Ms. Wright, thank you for
1:03:14 correctly pointing out the feelings
1:03:17 of that community still.
1:03:19 I think that was a wise choice.
1:03:22 But on a positive note, first day of school, I was at Roosevelt.
1:03:28 And first off, it wouldn’t have gone off as successful if it
1:03:32 wasn’t for our newly constructed
1:03:34 car loop.
1:03:35 So Suhan, thank you so much.
1:03:37 That was the all-star of the day.
1:03:42 Zero traffic on Minuteman Causeway, that was one of the– or Minuteman–
1:03:46 yeah, they thought
1:03:48 that was going to be an issue.
1:03:49 It was not.
1:03:51 But it was very moving to see the two communities come together,
1:03:55 which they already do for our
1:03:57 junior, senior high school.
1:03:59 And to see it now K through 6, it was very nice to have the
1:04:04 support, parents rolling
1:04:07 down the windows thanking us for being there.
1:04:12 They were excited.
1:04:13 I did get some people at the Publix when I was out saying, hey,
1:04:16 I saw you at the Roosevelt.
1:04:17 I’m a KPU parent, thank you very much.
1:04:21 My kid likes it.
1:04:23 Believe me, when you’re out in the community, you hear this
1:04:25 stuff.
1:04:26 So that’s been very positive.
1:04:29 And that just shows the resiliency of our being on a beachside
1:04:33 community over there.
1:04:34 It really is bringing the two communities closer together.
1:04:37 So I sell it now as the number one– sorry, rest of the group
1:04:42 here– the number one educational
1:04:45 system K to 12.
1:04:47 We’re right there on one road.
1:04:50 And these kids are going to have the same classmates from
1:04:53 kindergarten till 12th grade.
1:04:55 They’re not going to zone out.
1:04:57 And that matters for community.
1:04:58 That matters for students.
1:04:59 It matters for the teachers.
1:05:02 So we’re very excited.
1:05:04 Something I’m going to turn in– I’m going to put my Matt Susan
1:05:07 hat on.
1:05:07 Now that we have a gymnasium for an elementary school, and we
1:05:11 have a thriving enrollment
1:05:13 of– I think it was 440 kids– we need to start filling that gym
1:05:18 with intramural sports
1:05:19 for those kids.
1:05:20 And I’ve already–
1:05:21 State championship elementary school basketball.
1:05:24 There you go.
1:05:25 You know, an in-house parent-run organization would be wonderful.
1:05:29 I’d like to fill that up a couple of evenings a week.
1:05:32 On Saturdays, we can do inter-squad games, bring in the coaches
1:05:35 from Cocoa Beach High
1:05:37 School to help.
1:05:38 I haven’t talked to them yet.
1:05:39 I just volunteered them.
1:05:40 But it would be a wonderful time for that to happen.
1:05:44 So thank you, board, for your understanding and the communities.
1:05:49 And we will be stronger because of this.
1:05:52 OK.
1:05:53 All right.
1:05:54 Ms. Wright.
1:05:55 All right.
1:05:56 So a lot has happened since we’ve been together.
1:05:58 One obviously went through re-election.
1:06:00 Yay.
1:06:01 Got that out of the way.
1:06:02 Congratulations, Ms. Wright.
1:06:03 Thank you.
1:06:04 So thank you to the community who has elected me to represent
1:06:06 for another four more years.
1:06:07 But I wanted to give a shout out to Suhan and her team because
1:06:10 one of my schools is
1:06:11 actually a polling location, which brings all kinds of unique
1:06:16 challenges to the school
1:06:18 day for children that are still sitting in the classrooms.
1:06:20 And so we had some fencing that was up, and it was like, oh, no,
1:06:23 where’s this fencing?
1:06:24 Her team, absolutely phenomenal.
1:06:26 I think I talked to you, Su, on Monday night at 4 o’clock.
1:06:29 And I think you had it removed or something by 7 o’clock.
1:06:32 And not only that, the grass cut as well.
1:06:34 So just want to give your team major, major kudos on being so
1:06:38 responsive and being able
1:06:39 to jump in there whenever we have a need.
1:06:41 And thank you to the Supervisor of Elections.
1:06:43 Obviously that’s a challenge when you’re talking about a school
1:06:44 site.
1:06:45 So very good there.
1:06:46 You guys did an amazing job, as always.
1:06:48 And we appreciate you and love all of you.
1:06:50 And that is the only one I have.
1:06:51 Thank you.
1:06:52 All right, thank you.
1:06:53 Dr. Rendell?
1:06:54 I just want to echo Mrs. Campbell’s comments about the stadium
1:06:58 dedication at Heritage High
1:06:59 School last week.
1:07:00 It was quite a good ceremony.
1:07:02 So thanks to Mr. Link, the principal and his staff, for putting
1:07:07 on a great show.
1:07:08 And I think the Tuttle family really appreciated it.
1:07:10 To one correction, Mr. Petty opened Bayside High School.
1:07:14 Oh, OK.
1:07:15 There we go.
1:07:16 Thank you.
1:07:17 Mr. Tuttle did get to open Heritage, and he chose Kentucky blue
1:07:22 for their colors because
1:07:24 that’s his school that he’s a big fan of.
1:07:25 So it was a great ceremony, and I’m sure the Tuttle family will
1:07:29 never forget.
1:07:29 That’s it.
1:07:31 Sounds great.
1:07:32 Does any other board member have anything to discuss?
1:07:34 No?
1:07:35 All right.
1:07:36 We’ll take a break.
1:07:47 [MUSIC PLAYING]
1:08:17 [END]