2019-09-24 - School Board Meeting

0:00 - Good evening.

0:00 I’m happy to welcome all of my fellow board members

0:14 and call the September 24th, 2019 School Board Meeting

0:18 to order.

0:18 Whether you are in attendance here

0:20 or watching from another location,

0:21 my colleagues and I are pleased you took time to join us.

0:24 We appreciate and applaud your commitment

0:26 to partnering with us in support of our schools,

0:28 students, our staff and our community.

0:30 While the board and the Brevard Public School staff members

0:32 are fully committed to doing our best to ensure excellence

0:35 in Brevard Public Schools,

0:37 we know that our success depends heavily on an engaged

0:39 and committed community to work alongside us

0:42 and help us to continually improve.

0:44 Thank you for being active participants in the process.

0:47 Pam, roll call please.

0:49 - Mrs. Belfer.

0:52 - Present.

0:53 - Mrs. McDougall.

0:54 - Present.

0:55 - Mrs. Deskovich.

0:56 - Present.

0:57 - Mr. Susan.

0:58 - Present.

0:59 - And Mrs. Campbell.

1:00 - Present.

1:01 - The board will now hold a moment of silent reflection

1:04 and invite you to join us.

1:05 Thank you.

1:17 Matt Reed, Assistant Superintendent of Government

1:20 and Community Relations will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:22 - I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States

1:34 of America and to the republic for which it stands,

1:38 one nation under God, indivisible,

1:41 with liberty and justice for all.

1:44 - At this time, I would like to offer my fellow board members

1:53 and Dr. Mullins the opportunity to recognize students, staff,

1:55 or members of the community.

1:57 Ms. McDougall, would you like to start us off?

2:00 - Sure. - Thank you.

2:01 - I have a couple things.

2:04 I just wanted to say that Brevard Schools Foundation

2:08 needs some mentors at Ugali and at Heritage.

2:12 So they’ve got mentors at a lot of our schools.

2:14 So if anyone is interested or knows anyone who would like

2:17 to be a mentor to any of the students at that school,

2:19 that would be a great thing.

2:21 I also want to give a shout out to Lieutenant Neal.

2:25 Is he in here?

2:26 I don’t know if he’s here tonight.

2:27 Oh, there you are, way back there.

2:28 Thank you very much for presenting to the social workers,

2:33 the social worker group, about how to be safe on home visits.

2:36 So I appreciate that, which I’m very thankful that we did that.

2:41 Let me see.

2:43 Also, I want to say in that meeting, several of the social

2:48 workers

2:48 are doing really phenomenal things as one has restorative

2:53 justice,

2:53 I think, at Coco High School, which I think is a great program.

2:56 And yay, Coco.

2:57 And also we have, I think I want to make sure I get the right

3:03 school.

3:03 Shoot.

3:05 It was Stone.

3:06 Stone’s, the social worker at Stone has a great,

3:10 she’s developed a whole program where she is now,

3:14 it’s a class where the kids kind of run a store

3:18 and they go out into the community,

3:19 they talk to Chamber of Commerce,

3:21 and kids can come in during their lunch to buy things.

3:23 We’re talking not just pencils and paper,

3:25 but we’re talking about food, products that they might need

3:30 and that can’t get to the store to have.

3:32 So it’s, it sounds like a great program and kudos to her.

3:37 Also, I, the districts, I have to say this, just so we get

3:40 credit,

3:41 the district school health advisory council met,

3:44 and they are going to go for gold this year.

3:47 Looking at the sheet, it’s unbelievable.

3:49 I, kudos to them and it’s a lot of work.

3:53 So I know that you all are part of that and our teachers

3:58 and our community supports are just wonderful.

4:01 So, let me think, and I think everyone,

4:05 well, maybe not everybody knows,

4:06 but Brevard Cultural Alliance.

4:10 I don’t know if you’ve been following that,

4:12 but Mr. Levine, who has been there for seven years,

4:16 has resigned and he’s moving on.

4:18 And he said he’d give us five and they gave us seven.

4:22 And so he, there were some funding issues

4:25 that we were concerned about and how it would affect

4:27 some of the programs here at our, at the schools

4:29 and some of the art programs that are funded.

4:31 And I just want to say that the contract

4:34 with arts and education will not be affected.

4:38 That’s still going to be going on.

4:39 And also the, the at risk art programs

4:44 will still be able to be funded.

4:45 So that’s all I have at this point.

4:48 Thank you, Ms. McDougall.

4:49 Ms. Belford.

4:51 Thank you, Ms. Tuskevich.

4:55 One, Dr. Moulins and I had the opportunity last week

4:58 to visit Mims Elementary as part of our regularly scheduled

5:01 school visits.

5:03 And it was just ironic timing because the,

5:05 the scheduling of it all was completely unrelated.

5:08 Tammy, of course, scheduled our school visit.

5:11 But on the day that we were out there,

5:14 Tara Harris, I still struggle to call her Harris,

5:17 but Tara Harris was there doing some meeting

5:22 with the principal and reviewing some data

5:23 and, and working on goal setting and that sort of thing.

5:26 And Skinner, one of our resource teachers,

5:28 was out there working on instructional development

5:31 with teachers and had been there throughout the day.

5:35 And Mims has, is one of those schools

5:39 that has been working really hard.

5:41 Saw great gains two years ago coming out of DA status

5:46 and, and certainly turning things around there.

5:48 But it was really great not only to, to be there

5:50 and feel the energy at Mims,

5:51 and I commend them for all of the hard work that they have done.

5:54 But it was also really great to see the district supports

5:57 and hear the feedback from the teachers,

6:00 from the, we had the opportunity to speak with the,

6:02 the social worker with their counselor

6:05 from Lifetime Counseling Center stopped in to see us,

6:09 as well as one of their Title I IAs.

6:12 And we got to have some really great dialogue around the

6:15 supports

6:16 that are being provided from the district

6:17 to help our schools be successful.

6:20 And so absolutely kudos to Mims and their team

6:22 for working so hard and so,

6:24 in such a focused way to bring that success.

6:26 But also thanks to our leading and learning team

6:29 and our student services team,

6:30 who are, are really reaching in and seeing what the needs

6:34 of those schools are and making sure that we’re doing our best

6:36 to meet those needs.

6:37 We appreciate them immensely in all the work that they’re doing.

6:39 And then I just wanted to throw one more thing out there.

6:42 I believe it was Miss McDougall,

6:44 maybe at the last meeting,

6:46 that recognized Virginia Hamilton

6:48 with the Canine Commandos program

6:50 for being recognized as volunteer.

6:51 That was me.

6:52 Was it you, Miss Tuskevich?

6:53 I apologize for not giving you credit for that.

6:57 But I did want to throw out there,

6:58 there was an article in today’s paper.

7:00 The Canine Commando program is a program

7:01 that has been around for, I want to say,

7:03 nine or ten years now in Brevard County,

7:04 actually started by one of our gifted teachers.

7:06 She was recognized, if you didn’t catch it at the last meeting,

7:09 for her community service impact on her teaching role.

7:13 And there was an article in today’s paper

7:15 that it looks like there is a chance

7:17 that Canine Commandos may have to cease operating,

7:20 potentially because of fundraising issues.

7:23 Apparently, typically, they get several grants

7:25 from different organizations

7:26 and at least a few of those grants

7:28 that they applied for this year have been denied.

7:31 And so they are, at this point,

7:33 eligible to function to Christmas.

7:36 And then beyond that, they’re going to have to consider

7:38 what they can do.

7:40 As you know, especially up in the North area,

7:43 a lot of our schools are Title I schools.

7:45 And so coming up with the funds to pay for the busing

7:48 to get the kids to the shelters is a challenge.

7:50 So about $16,000 is what they’re looking for.

7:54 If anyone knows any businesses

7:56 that might be willing to sponsor organizations

7:59 that are pet friendly or people that are big pet advocates,

8:02 I think it really is a win-win program.

8:04 So that is all I have for today.

8:07 - Thank you, Ms. Belford, Mr. Susan.

8:09 - Oh.

8:10 First, I want to say thank you for everybody

8:13 that’s here today, our current teachers.

8:16 I also wanted to say thank you

8:17 for our possible future teachers over in the back.

8:20 Many of you guys see that whole group back there,

8:23 but they’re our Eastern Florida State teachers.

8:25 - Can you raise your hand if you’re from–

8:27 - Yep, yep, one more round of applause.

8:28 Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

8:32 Okay, raise your hand if you’re from the Coco campus.

8:36 Raise your hand if you’re from the Melbourne campus.

8:39 Raise your hand if you’re from the Palm Bay campus.

8:42 Raise your hand if you’re from the Titusville campus.

8:44 There’s one, good, all right.

8:46 - Way to represent.

8:49 - But thank you so much for taking an opportunity

8:51 to look at this profession.

8:53 I found it to be the most awarding profession I ever had,

8:57 and I still say that today,

8:58 and I probably will say that on the day of my deathbed.

9:01 It was the most amazing opportunity I had to give back,

9:03 and thank you for taking that.

9:04 Thank you for all of you who are here today,

9:06 as our current teachers,

9:08 and I wanted to say thank you to who we play for,

9:10 who has a policy that is literally national groundbreaking

9:13 that’s happening tonight.

9:14 So I wanted to say thank you first to all of those.

9:16 Also, Gabriella from Coco, who,

9:19 raise your hand, Gabriella, raise your hand.

9:20 Okay, she asked me earlier, she said,

9:22 “Mr. Susan, why is it that the school district

9:24 does not do as much as the college for trades

9:28 and current programs for manufacturing and stuff like that?”

9:31 And I had to correct her that we actually have done more

9:33 over the last decade for trades and manufacturing programs

9:36 than the college did,

9:38 and that we right now have a possibility

9:40 of arguably the best program to ever come to Brevard,

9:43 and we are for the first time shifting that back

9:46 into the college level,

9:47 so that kids can dual enroll to that where it should be.

9:50 Many of the arguments are is that we take over a lot of the

9:53 respect,

9:53 the responsibility of the trades programs,

9:55 but the problem is is that we can only do

9:58 pre-apprenticeship programs at our high schools.

10:01 The true apprenticeship programs where they work 40 hours

10:04 and then they go to school at night once a week

10:06 can only truly be performed at a college and university

10:09 or a night school GED program.

10:11 So we have created our infrastructure at a stronger rate,

10:16 also building out our adult ed to compensate for that,

10:19 but I did want to say thank you to Gabriela for bringing that up

10:21 and I wanted to clarify it.

10:22 The next thing is is that we had an opportunity to go

10:24 to drone racing this Saturday for the first time.

10:28 We had drone racing in Brevard County,

10:29 and it was an official one where we had three schools competing,

10:33 and since then three other schools have contacted in,

10:35 and we are going to officially have a drone race league in this

10:38 county

10:38 where at the end is going to go out to NASA to the NASA Memorial

10:42 Foundation

10:43 for the Astronaut Foundation,

10:44 and they’re actually going to race through the Memorial

10:47 Foundation

10:48 in order to have the final race.

10:49 And Thad Altman, get this, is trying to allow them,

10:52 since they’re the little drones you guys,

10:54 they’re not the big bricks that go 200 miles an hour,

10:56 they’re the little ones,

10:57 then he’s going to try to get them to race out at the Rocket

10:59 Garden.

11:00 And I will tell you that if those kids race those drones at the

11:02 Rocket Garden,

11:03 that it will be, it will go viral with them racing there.

11:06 So we’re looking forward to that race league,

11:08 and I wanted to say thank you to Bill McGinnish

11:10 for starting that whole process over there at O’Galley High

11:12 School.

11:12 Okay, I wanted to say thank you, I already did,

11:16 but here’s one that I wanted to hear from the audience today.

11:19 Next week is, you know, Cancer Awareness and Real Men Wear Pink,

11:24 and Dr. Mullins is going to show up some ties here in just a

11:27 second,

11:27 and he’s going to say this is what he’s going to do for next

11:30 month.

11:31 And I’m always the type that says go big or go home, right?

11:34 So I want to build on what we’ve done in the past, which is ties.

11:37 And I think, I shot it over to Dr. Mullins,

11:40 that possibly him and I could come in pink suits

11:42 at the next school board meeting.

11:44 So I didn’t know, can I get a raise of hands who might

11:46 appreciate that?

11:48 All right, okay, that’s a majority, I counted it.

11:50 It’s a majority, Dr. Mullins.

11:51 So I think if you can take that into your consideration,

11:54 I will find something like maybe a lighter shade,

11:56 so it’s not so pronounced.

11:58 So anyways, again, thank you everybody for being here.

12:01 I really appreciate it.

12:02 Thank you.

12:02 - Thank you, Mr. Susan.

12:05 Ms. Campbell?

12:07 - All right, well, a few Saturdays ago was the Take Stock

12:12 and Children Reach for the Stars gala

12:15 that the Brevard Schools Foundation puts on to raise money

12:18 for the Take Stock and Children program.

12:20 It goes along with the mentors that Cheryl,

12:22 Ms. McDougall was talking about, but this is the scholarship

12:25 side.

12:25 So all of the students who go through the mentoring

12:27 through their high school years, then they’re guaranteed a

12:29 scholarship to college, which is matched by the state.

12:32 And I don’t know what the total was.

12:34 We’ll have to ask Ms. Kershaw to give us an update

12:35 if they have the final number.

12:37 But I know that just from the reservations and the table

12:39 sponsorships, they raised more than $90,000.

12:41 And so, and again, there was more, that was before the auction

12:45 and all the fun later in the evening.

12:46 But thank you to the Brevard Schools Foundation for putting

12:49 on a wonderful evening and for bringing people from the

12:54 community in to invest in our schools who may not be connected

12:58 any other way.

12:59 I want to thank Sarah Allmond from Government and Community

13:02 Relations.

13:03 She works with our PI team under Deborah Foley for her work

13:09 at the CityServe training that we had a week ago Monday.

13:14 It’s, you know, there were lots of church leaders and community

13:17 and nonprofit leaders who gathered.

13:19 And I highly anticipate in the coming months an increased number

13:23 of PI’s partners in education and an increased number of

13:27 volunteers

13:27 because there was a room full of people, especially pastors

13:32 and ministry leaders who are going to go back to the churches

13:34 and say, hey, the schools need people in their classrooms.

13:36 They need people to donate things.

13:38 They need people.

13:38 So look for those volunteers and partners coming soon.

13:42 Ms. McDougall and I got to go to one of Cocoa High School’s

13:45 choir rehearsals.

13:46 And it was really fun to be back in the choir room.

13:50 They’re going to represent us so well next month in New York

13:53 City.

13:54 So we’re cheering them on.

13:56 I want to thank Malak Hamad, who has been my representative

14:03 or actually the representative from District 5 on the audit

14:06 committee for several years.

14:07 I don’t know exactly how long, but several years.

14:10 She is stepping down because she has a new job.

14:12 But I am so thankful for her experience.

14:14 And for you guys who don’t know what the audit committee is,

14:16 they’re the ones who oversee pretty much everything we do.

14:23 We have extra eyes on to make sure that everything is going

14:26 smoothly and they identify the problems that we have and what

14:29 we need to work on, what we’re doing well, what needs to be

14:31 fixed.

14:31 And I just thank you for her.

14:32 I’m thankful for her time.

14:34 And now I have big shoes to fill, just like someone else.

14:37 All right.

14:38 The week of our next school board meeting is National School

14:41 Lunch Week.

14:41 And since we’ve been challenging each other as a board,

14:44 I’m going to challenge my fellow board members to find some time

14:49 to work in the cafeteria in

14:52 your schools in your schools.

14:53 I know Ms. Neskiewicz has already done it before.

14:55 But find some time to work in the school cafeteria.

14:57 Because I found out that on National Smile Day, which will be

15:01 during that week,

15:01 they’re giving us Happy Face French Fries.

15:03 So maybe you could go on the Smile Day and get some Happy Face

15:07 French Fries.

15:08 But go volunteer in the cafeteria.

15:10 I’m going to be signing up.

15:11 October 12th through 15th.

15:13 That’s National School Lunch Week.

15:14 Who signed us up for the marathon that we’re supposed to run?

15:17 Okay.

15:18 You’ve got this working inside here.

15:19 We only have one request.

15:21 Books?

15:22 Oh, and I have that going too.

15:23 I’m doing that with my daughter.

15:24 How many of you read them?

15:25 The budget.

15:26 I read the budget one time.

15:27 Just checking.

15:28 So that counts as my first book.

15:29 Oh, my goodness.

15:30 I forgot one thing, though.

15:31 I have six.

15:32 I’ll be back to you after Dr. Mullins.

15:34 Are you finished, Ms. Campbell?

15:35 Yes.

15:36 Thank you.

15:36 Dr. Mullins.

15:37 Thank you, Ms. Tescovich.

15:38 I want to start with a shout-out to Mr. James Kirk, the

15:43 principal at Melbourne High School.

15:45 He just announced yesterday is the 2020 Florida Music Education

15:53 Association’s Administrator of the Year.

15:57 So he was nominated by the music staff at Melbourne High School.

16:01 He actually is a Melbourne High graduate and a member of the

16:06 Marching Bulldogs.

16:07 Went on to Florida State, went on to Florida State, go Knowles,

16:10 was part of the Marching Chiefs, just has been a champion for

16:15 the music programs at Melbourne High School and was awarded by

16:17 the FMEA by his staff.

16:19 And just a phenomenal program.

16:21 And the reality is our music programs across our district

16:25 championed by our music teachers is, bar none, the best in the

16:32 state.

16:33 And I would do additional shout-out to Cindy Johnson, our

16:36 resource teacher for music, K-12.

16:38 He supports our music programs.

16:39 And congratulations to Brevard being the recipient of the FMAA

16:45 Administrator of the Year Award.

16:48 We also just received yesterday confirmation from the state,

16:53 from the DOE, that we have several schools that qualify for the

16:59 new Best and Brightest Teacher Award Program.

17:02 We have 37 Brevard schools and five charter schools who qualify

17:07 for the Best and Brightest Retention Award Program, where

17:11 teachers, if they qualify, there’s additional criteria in terms

17:15 of length of service at the schools that are recognized.

17:18 Highly effective teachers would receive $2,500 and effective

17:22 teachers would receive $1,000.

17:25 So that’s the first component of the state’s new Best and Brightest

17:29 Program built on retention, recruitment, and recognition.

17:34 So that kicks that off.

17:36 And finally, I do want to give recognition to the fashion design

17:41 students at Vieira High School.

17:44 I got over there this morning, and in fact, I am participating

17:49 in this year’s Real Men Wear Pink campaign.

17:52 And if you’re not familiar, it is the American Cancer Society’s

17:56 Breast Cancer Awareness, engaging men in this cause.

18:00 And if you’ve read my Facebook post from the past, very near and

18:07 dear to my heart is my mother was a breast cancer survivor as a

18:12 teen, and I did lose my mother to the recurrence of metastatic

18:18 breast cancer this last year.

18:20 So championing this cause is very near and dear to my heart, and

18:23 I’m proud to do that, and just pleased that I have three ties to

18:27 start the month of October, and I’ll be sporting a pink tie and

18:31 maybe a pink suit.

18:34 So special thanks to Miss Carrie Humphries, the fashion teacher

18:39 at Vieira High School, and her students, Josephine, Kylie, and

18:42 Alicia, for getting me started.

18:44 So nice, other schools, yeah.

18:51 So Rockledge, Palm Bay, Satellite, and I know I’m missing one,

18:53 and I can’t think of it, but they’re also going to be

18:55 contributing to new ties for the month of October.

18:58 Thank you.

18:59 Thank you, sir.

19:01 Mr. Susan, did you have another question?

19:02 I just wanted to say thank you to Michelle Gaynor and the other

19:06 Dan Bennett.

19:07 We’re getting together tomorrow to start what will become the

19:10 lobbying efforts for the pre-K teachers up in Tallahassee, and I

19:14 just wanted to say thank you to them.

19:16 It’s not the Dan Bennett that we know.

19:17 It’s another Dan Bennett that’s exactly the same name, but they’re

19:20 fired up, and they’re wanting to help our legislators become

19:23 educated as to the problems that pre-K teachers have currently.

19:26 So I’m going to say thank you to them, and I wanted to say thank

19:28 you to Manatee and O’Galley’s faculties for having me come to

19:31 the schools and speak.

19:32 And that was it.

19:33 Thank you, Mr. Susan.

19:36 Dr. Mullins, is there a place where I’m imagining the teachers

19:40 that heard you speak of the best and brightest, is there a place

19:44 where they can find this list pretty easily, if their school is

19:47 on the list?

19:48 I’ll work with Leading and Learning, and we’ll find out and get

19:51 that out.

19:52 I’m not sure.

19:53 It just literally came out yesterday, so.

19:55 Okay.

19:56 Yeah, if we can put that somewhere and get it out all in place.

19:59 We’ll forward it to Mr. Colucci as well.

20:00 Thank you.

20:01 I just want to give a shout out to our Leading and Learning

20:04 teams.

20:05 I know it’s nobody specific, but Ms. Jane Klein and Dr. Sullivan

20:09 today presented the culmination of their work over the last

20:12 couple years.

20:13 They’ve really – the word I keep thinking of is disruptive.

20:16 They’ve done some things to really dig down and change the way

20:20 we’ve done things.

20:21 And I know it’s been difficult for some throughout the district,

20:24 the new way they want to do some things with digging down into

20:28 our subgroups and help serving our African-American students and

20:31 some of our Hispanic students that maybe haven’t been getting

20:33 the services and the level of education they should in the past

20:37 from our district.

20:38 And we’re starting to see great results from those students.

20:41 So I’m proud of them.

20:42 I’m proud of what they’re doing.

20:43 It’s not easy.

20:44 They’re constantly pushing against the grain.

20:46 And so I just want to say we appreciate them.

20:48 I wanted to give a shout out to ET.

20:50 We learned today that – it’s IT in the rest of the world, but

20:54 our technology department – for going out into the community

20:57 and holding these groups where they’re training parents in some

21:01 of our communities that may not be familiar with the Focus app

21:03 and teaching them how to check in on their kids, like maybe

21:07 obsessively, like some of us do with their children’s grades.

21:10 So thank you, Mr. Cheatham and your team for doing that.

21:14 And last, just a shout out to a community partner, Northrop Grumman.

21:16 They did a food packing this weekend and they packed 40,000

21:20 packages, which was 240,000 meals.

21:24 It’s not like the Children’s Hunger Project.

21:26 It wasn’t for our students necessarily, but those will be

21:29 shipped out around the world, including the Bahamas.

21:30 And just a great, strong community partner doing good in the

21:33 community.

21:34 And that is it for me.

21:36 Oh, the school cafeteria worker – I just wanted to comment on

21:40 that because out of all the jobs I’ve done around the district

21:44 for my Deskovich duty days, the cafeteria worker was one of my

21:47 favorite jobs.

21:48 The kids are happy to see you.

21:50 Our kitchen, at least the one at Hoover that I worked in, was

21:53 spotless.

21:54 And the food is good.

21:56 Yeah, the food is good.

21:58 Some better than others.

22:00 But the food is good, yes.

22:02 But the kitchen is – you know, it was a fun place to be.

22:05 The ladies back there were fabulous.

22:06 The kids were happy to be there.

22:08 Even the mopping of the floors was – I mean, it wasn’t any

22:10 worse than mopping my floors at home.

22:12 So I am going to back her challenge on that.

22:15 And, you know, and the shifts are only – some of them are only

22:18 three or four hours.

22:19 So it’s not like you have to block out, you know, ten hours to

22:21 go do this.

22:22 Hairnet.

22:23 Oh, you do have to wear the hairnet.

22:24 That’s probably the downside.

22:26 But get pictures and we’ll get them up.

22:28 I did it last year.

22:29 Whenever I have the chance, they offer me the hairnet, and that’s

22:32 actually very affirming to suggest that I still need one.

22:34 I like that a lot.

22:38 Okay.

22:39 Let’s get on with the more serious business of the evening.

22:42 This brings us to the adoption of the agenda.

22:45 Dr. Mullins.

22:46 Ms. Deskovich and members of the board, on tonight’s agenda, we

22:53 have administrative staff recommendations, one recognition, 16

22:57 consent items, one action item, one information item, and one

23:00 staff report.

23:01 You also have the yellow supplemental agenda, which are changes

23:04 made to the agenda since being released to the public.

23:07 Item A7 on administrative staff recommendations and F13 on

23:10 instructional staff recommendations receive revisions.

23:13 Item F11 on student expulsions and I-35 under staff reports are

23:18 additions.

23:19 What are the wishes of the board?

23:20 Move to approve.

23:21 Second.

23:22 Motion by Mr. Susan.

23:23 Second by Ms. McFugal.

23:24 Any discussion?

23:25 Please vote.

23:26 Motion passes 5-0.

23:27 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about the

23:38 administrative staff recommendations?

23:42 Yes, Madam Chair.

23:43 There are four persons on this agenda item for the board to

23:45 consider.

23:46 What are the wishes of the board?

23:48 Move to approve.

23:49 Second.

23:50 Motion by Mr. Susan.

23:51 Second by Ms. Campbell.

23:52 Any discussion?

23:53 Please vote.

24:02 Motion passes 5-0.

24:03 Dr. Mullins.

24:04 I would like to welcome and recognize the administrative staff

24:12 persons here with us this evening.

24:15 We will start with a congratulations to Sarah Keller on her reclassification

24:21 and transfer from

24:22 the position of teacher at Meadow Lane Elementary School to the

24:24 position of assistant principal at Turner Elementary School.

24:28 Congratulations to this college.

24:33 Thank you very much.

24:34 I want to thank Mrs. Schwab for all the support that she’s given

24:36 to me as an educator and also the encouragement she’s given to

24:40 me as a leader.

24:41 And I want to thank Dr. Toll for the opportunity to serve the

24:44 students of Turner Elementary.

24:46 Thank you so much.

24:54 And now I’d like to ask you to please join me in recognizing Ms.

24:59 Cindy Whalen on her pending retirement from the position of

25:02 principal at Port Malabar Elementary.

25:05 Thank you very much.

25:06 And I want to thank you, Dr. Mullins, personally for the long

25:09 mentoring that you’ve done for me here at Brevard Public Schools.

25:13 Thank you to the board, Ms. Deskovich especially.

25:16 Thank you to Mrs. Klein in the last few years.

25:19 And my wonderful husband of 44 years.

25:22 We’re retiring together.

25:23 And we’re traveling.

25:25 We’re going to be having a good time.

25:28 So fight the good fight.

25:30 Education is the way to go.

25:32 And you make a difference every single day.

25:34 Thank you to my beautiful school.

25:36 Port Malabar rules.

25:38 I’m sorry for everybody else.

25:40 Best staff.

25:41 Best support.

25:42 Best students.

25:43 Best parents.

25:44 Thank you again for a wonderful, fun trip.

25:47 And that concludes our administrative staff recommendations.

26:06 I just want to – Ms. Whalen.

26:09 Thank you for your service.

26:10 It’s been a pleasure working with you, you know, the last three

26:14 years for me.

26:15 I know you’ve been around a lot longer.

26:17 Your school’s amazing.

26:18 You bring such a sense of calm.

26:19 I’ve enjoyed your graduations with you, your sixth grade graduations

26:22 for the last three years.

26:23 Thank you, ma’am.

26:28 Dr. Mullins, would you please provide us information about our

26:34 recognition item?

26:36 Item B8 is to acknowledge the programs and teachers recognized

26:41 by the Florida Department of Education

26:43 and the Florida Alliance for Arts Education at the FAAE

26:47 Leadership Summit, held on June 20th through the 22nd, 2019, in

26:55 Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

26:57 Introducing our presenters is Ms. Molly Vega, Director of Secondary

27:01 Leading and Learning.

27:02 Ms. Vega.

27:04 Good evening.

27:05 Tonight we are honoring exemplary dance, music, theater, and art,

27:10 visual art programs in our district who have received the

27:13 Florida Art Model Schools designation for 2018 through 2021.

27:18 We are very proud to announce, since the inception of this award

27:22 five years ago, 18 of the 47 designated schools statewide are

27:26 Brevard County Schools.

27:28 Assisting with the presentation of awards is Christina Latreverse,

27:36 our K-12 visual arts and theater content specialist.

27:43 Thank you, Ms. Vega.

27:44 Dr. Mullins, Ms. Dekovic, members of the school board, award

27:48 recipients, and audience members, it is a great honor to stand

27:51 before you tonight to recognize our Florida Arts Model Schools.

27:55 The Florida Department of Education supports a complete and

27:59 comprehensive education, which includes dance, music, theater,

28:04 and visual arts for all Florida students.

28:07 To help achieve this goal, the Florida Department of Education,

28:10 in partnership with the Floridans Alliance for Arts Education,

28:14 seeks to identify strong arts education programs throughout the

28:18 state of Florida.

28:19 The Florida Arts Model Schools program recognizes schools that

28:23 offer exemplary programs in the four disciplines, and partners

28:27 them with underserved or emerging schools desiring to enhance

28:31 their existing arts program or implement a new arts program.

28:35 This is the fifth year for the FAMS program.

28:38 It has replaced the FAMS program.

28:39 It has replaced the Music Demonstration School Award and the

28:42 Visual Arts Demonstration School Award.

28:44 Dr. Mullins and Ms. Dekovic, would you please come forward to

28:47 shake hands with our honoree.

28:49 Please remain standing in front for a group photo.

28:52 Receiving the FAMS designation for visual arts is Edgewood

28:56 Junior Senior High School Principal Jackie Ingrada, here on

29:01 behalf of visual arts teachers, Marisa Flint and Crystal Ingleton.

29:05 Thank you.

29:21 You beat them all there.

29:24 Here comes Mike with his camera.

29:27 This is where I dug up.

29:28 I hope he stands up so he’s not in the pictures.

29:29 He’s running from the pictures.

29:30 I hope he stands up so he’s not in the pictures.

29:34 I hope he’s running from the pictures.

29:35 I hope he stands up so he’s not in the pictures.

29:40 I’m not always running from the pictures.

29:41 He’s running from the pictures.

30:30 And he’s running from the pictures.

30:31 He’s running from the pictures.

30:54 And he’s running from the pictures.

30:55 He’s running from the pictures.

31:07 And he’s running from the pictures.

32:18 For many years, I’ve watched teachers try to receive fair

32:21 compensation with little to no success.

32:23 I’ve seen the up and down roller coaster of contract

32:26 negotiations.

32:27 And honestly, the teachers have never won.

32:29 Our county as a whole has seen tremendous economic impact over

32:33 the last several years.

32:35 Everywhere you look, you see new companies coming.

32:38 Roads being built to sustain our infrastructure for projected

32:41 growth.

32:42 But one thing I continue to see is lack of support for educators

32:45 who play a vital role in this growth.

32:47 When people look to purchase homes, schools are always a factor

32:50 in a final decision-making process.

32:52 When companies are looking to locate their headquarters in our

32:54 county, they are looking at schools to sustain their family

32:58 needs for their employees.

32:59 It is hard for me to overlook the way this board, with the

33:03 exception of Mr. Susan, spoke when delivering the votes at the

33:06 end of the last negotiations.

33:08 It is frustrating to see elected officials deliver a message in

33:11 such an egocentric manner, without facts, without documentation,

33:15 without enough information,

33:16 to make an informed decision, and then assume the trust of the

33:18 community to support yet another he said she said round of

33:22 negotiations for this year.

33:23 I still have visions of teachers defeating, walking out in droves

33:28 as you spoke and delivered your votes, only to find that due

33:31 diligence was not performed and the district actually had

33:34 funding that it claimed it did not have.

33:35 Yet, not one public apology from this board.

33:42 The only factual thing that happened was a few weeks later when

33:44 the teachers once again crushed the expectation and delivered

33:46 top scores for testing in a large list of A schools.

33:48 That’s right.

33:49 The people behind me deliver, regardless of the amount of money

33:51 you pay them, for them it really isn’t about the money.

33:54 As trust is lost, I find myself questioning more decisions.

33:58 Why my son rode a bus for two years, and one week before school

34:01 started, we were told he couldn’t ride the bus this year because

34:04 we lived 1.9 miles from the school,

34:06 yet the bus stop he walks to still exists and still picks up

34:09 kids.

34:10 I was then told I could pay an additional $80 a semester out of

34:13 pocket in addition to the $1,300 a year I pay in property taxes

34:17 to get him on a bus that already stops.

34:20 While I pay for other kids to ride the bus by choice to whatever

34:23 school they want to go to.

34:25 Why it took me three weeks to get a parking pass for my son to

34:28 drive to school after being denied service for a service,

34:31 I pay tax dollars for him to provide.

34:33 Concerns with the qualified teachers that are leaving in the

34:37 current vacancies.

34:38 Having students in intensive reading classes without a teacher

34:41 going into the seventh week of school.

34:43 How Melbourne High School was given a $280,000 loan for turf on

34:47 a football field,

34:48 yet the air conditioning of my wife and daughter’s schools have

34:51 had major issues for two years.

34:53 Having a wife that is a teacher has provided me an opportunity

34:57 to have many teachers in my life,

35:00 often referred to them as my village.

35:03 I love them as they were my family.

35:05 As I stated, they are the backbone of our community in so many

35:08 ways.

35:09 These are the most passionate, dedicated individuals you find on

35:11 this earth,

35:12 and they’re dedicated to you.

35:14 They work well past their contracted hours, including many hours

35:18 on the weekends,

35:19 create countless meal plans for families with sicker children or

35:22 family illness,

35:23 volunteer numerous hours for fundraising,

35:26 attend sporting events involving students,

35:28 drive to Arnold Palmer to visit children having surgeries,

35:31 take shifts for a child in hospice while they battle cancer,

35:35 and lastly, stand by the family when that battle is lost.

35:39 As these negotiations continue, I hope, regardless of the

35:42 outcome,

35:42 that they can be treated with respect.

35:43 Mr. Jones, your three minutes is up. I’m sorry.

35:46 Thank you.

35:47 Mr. Colucci, followed by Ms. Skipper.

36:05 My name is Anthony Colucci. I’m the president of the Brevard

36:23 Federation of Teachers.

36:24 On June 25th, at the Budget Workshop, you were told there would

36:30 be $8,279,000 for recurring funding.

36:34 When you received your budget in September, that number jumped

36:38 to $14,953,000.

36:41 Did any of you wonder how in the world that happened?

36:45 Based on the public records that I finally received today, I’ve

36:49 come to an astonishing conclusion.

36:53 The raise last year that you projected to cost over $6 million

36:58 actually cost less than $300,000.

37:02 That surely seems to be supported by the $6 million jump

37:07 available for raises.

37:10 For the sake of trying to move forward from last year, I’ve been

37:13 biting my tongue on a few things.

37:15 Now it’s time to get those things out into the open.

37:18 The Brevard Federation of Teachers was correct about the attrition

37:22 money last year.

37:23 We were the ones who found that money, not some hired gun.

37:27 Also, the Brevard Federation of Teachers was correct about your

37:30 fund balance.

37:31 It was not running dangerously low, like some of you claimed

37:34 during the legislative hearing.

37:36 The Brevard Federation of Teachers was correct about over

37:39 budgeting teachers.

37:41 The Brevard Federation of Teachers was right about money falling

37:44 to the bottom line due to vacancies.

37:46 When I spoke at the budget hearing last time, I was right about

37:49 double counting teachers.

37:51 As a matter of fact, we learned on September 20th that you were

37:54 over budgeting a 1% multiplier by $500,000.

37:58 The Brevard Federation of Teachers was right when it said

38:01 teachers were going to overwhelmingly vote down the contract.

38:06 96% of teachers rejected the contract.

38:09 So let’s be perfectly clear.

38:11 The Brevard Federation of Teachers has found millions and

38:14 millions and millions of dollars for salary.

38:17 And instead of a thank you from this board, we returned to

38:21 negotiations to the same old garbage with a sprinkle of betrayal

38:25 added to fuel some fire.

38:27 Let’s talk about betrayal for a second.

38:30 We met as a work group several times about a retention longevity

38:33 supplement and all walked away on the same page,

38:36 only to be blindsided at the table with a different target year,

38:40 a different structure,

38:41 and in classic BPS fashion, an increase in number of teachers

38:45 who would qualify even though you rolled the year back by two

38:49 years.

38:50 Only in BPS is that acceptable.

38:53 You wanted us to negotiate with all the documentation needed to

38:56 make a solid estimate, only in BPS.

38:59 You were going to have expedited negotiations and only accepted

39:02 one out of 12 proposals, only in BPS.

39:05 Is that acceptable?

39:06 My challenge for you has been the same as it was last year.

39:10 Instead of digging in to prove us wrong, try digging in to prove

39:14 us right.

39:15 At this point, we’ve demonstrated over and over again that we

39:20 are the most accurate and reliable source of information

39:23 you have.

39:24 But regardless of how many times we show that, you still think

39:27 you know better.

39:27 I’m sorry, Mr. Colucci, your time is up.

39:29 Once again, stop letting your pride get in the way of progress.

39:32 Ms. Skipper.

39:33 I just have some folders that need to come down.

39:39 Also, I’m going to be referring to something that is on the

39:41 agenda later, which I’m fine with talking now.

39:45 But just want you to know, I’m responding to something that’s

39:57 already on the agenda.

40:02 But has not been presented yet, I should say.

40:16 Okay, go ahead.

40:17 Vanessa Skipper, Vice President of the Brevard Federation of

40:20 Teachers.

40:21 I have often said, you don’t have a recruitment problem if you

40:25 don’t have a retention problem.

40:27 I did notice there is a presentation later.

40:30 And I just want to thank Mike Alba for the time he obviously put

40:33 into that presentation.

40:35 I’m excited to join him for one of the night ed talks that he’ll

40:37 talk about in November,

40:39 presenting part of our professional development program.

40:42 But I do want to say in there, there were 11 slides for

40:46 recruitment, five slides for retention,

40:48 and all those five slides that were on retention were focused on

40:52 new teachers.

40:53 You don’t have a recruitment problem if you don’t have a

40:56 retention problem.

40:57 It’s often like when you’re driving down 95 and you see the

41:01 sheriff’s car in the middle of the median.

41:04 Right?

41:05 That’s a proactive approach.

41:06 They want you to slow down.

41:08 And the majority of the time, you slow down.

41:11 When do you stop slowing down?

41:13 When the car hasn’t moved from that spot in a long time and the

41:17 grass is growing up over the wheels.

41:19 The grass is growing up over the wheels of any effort of BPS to

41:24 retain quality educators.

41:27 So we need to mow down some grass.

41:30 In your packet, I included our proposals.

41:33 I don’t have time to go through it, so I highlighted some stuff.

41:36 I think everything obviously is important.

41:38 But also in there is Ron DeSantis from his actual website, his

41:43 declaration of a state of emergency.

41:46 We asked a simple request that probably would help you retain

41:51 some teachers,

41:52 that if the governor declares a state of emergency for counties

41:55 and include Brevard County,

41:56 teachers can go home when students go home.

41:58 That’s not saying school’s out the next day.

42:00 That’s saying they leave 15 minutes early and maybe they grab a

42:04 case of water and throw a shutter up.

42:06 And when they come back to the school the next day,

42:08 they’re in the right frame of mind to teach their children that

42:11 will be in front of them

42:12 and not thinking about all the things they still have to do in

42:15 case that cat five pummels us.

42:17 I have more to say on that, but I’m running out of time.

42:21 Talking about the back of our proposal page.

42:25 Our salary request, including the longevity supplement.

42:29 It’s not just about money, it’s about respect.

42:33 And I didn’t sit in a work group and talk about a BOGO or a two-for-one

42:39 supplement

42:40 that would both help to start correct the wage compression

42:43 issues

42:44 and retain educators to come back to the table and have it

42:48 completely changed.

42:49 We can’t talk dollars, but we talked structure.

42:52 And the structure bought back with only teachers hired before

42:55 2007 with 550,

42:57 completely different than what we talked about.

42:59 The supplement we proposed would not only start to correct the

43:03 wage compression gaps

43:04 we have in this county from all those teachers who suffered

43:08 through pay freeze after pay freeze after pay freeze,

43:10 but it also would say to any teacher in the audience that might

43:14 reach year 12 or those teachers who want to be teachers,

43:17 when I get to year 12 I’m going to get that longevity supplement.

43:20 Retention.

43:21 You don’t have a recruitment problem if you don’t have a

43:24 retention problem.

43:25 I have so much more to say.

43:27 Obviously my time is up.

43:28 I’ll talk again at letter I if you’ll let me.

43:31 and I’d also love to sit down with each and every one of you to

43:35 discuss exactly how every single one of our proposals,

43:39 including the money, it’s not just about the money, including

43:43 the money will help you retain the teachers we so desperately

43:47 lead.

43:47 89 openings, 45 read advertisements.

43:50 Our next three speakers are Jonathan Hillard, Kevin Bowman, and

44:08 Bill Perlman.

44:09 Follow by the office.

44:10 Jonathan Hillard, fourth grade teacher at Apollo Elementary

44:26 School and second vice president of Brevard Federation of

44:29 Teachers.

44:30 I am dumbfounded as to why this district cannot do right, be

44:34 right, and act right when it comes to compensating its teachers.

44:38 I don’t understand how a district that a neutral party magistrate

44:42 determined that they could pay their teachers $2,300 last year,

44:47 but said that they didn’t have enough money, now have enough

44:50 money,

44:51 but put an offer on the table with a straight percentage and

44:54 call that doing right by their teachers.

44:57 Not only that, but a straight percentage that would only give

45:00 the top earning teachers that earn $62,000 a year a raise of

45:06 only $2,101.

45:09 Really?

45:10 Whereas a median teacher making only $43,900 before our last

45:16 raise would only get a raise of $1,537.

45:22 This is not a game, folks.

45:24 The teachers of Brevard County schools have earned a raise.

45:28 They have earned a fair and reasonable raise.

45:31 This is not a game.

45:33 This is not a game that you’re playing with our teachers.

45:37 These are our teachers that have been working their hearts off

45:40 all year, year in and year out.

45:43 This is not a game.

45:45 Our school district is the number one employer of families in

45:48 our county.

45:49 These are our families.

45:51 This is not a game.

45:52 These are our neighbors, our fathers, our mothers, our grandfathers,

45:56 our grandmothers, our sons, our daughters.

45:58 This is our community.

46:00 This is not a game.

46:02 I have heard that negotiations are supposed to be a back and

46:05 forth, like when you buy a car.

46:07 Well, guess what?

46:08 Our teachers, our students, our community is not a car.

46:13 Our teachers are not bargaining chips in a game.

46:16 This is not a game.

46:18 Be bold.

46:20 Make a bold move.

46:21 Direct your staff to show the community how much money is set

46:24 aside for teacher compensation.

46:27 No games.

46:28 Just the exact amount.

46:30 Be bold.

46:31 Show the community how much money the district’s plan will cost.

46:35 No games.

46:36 No more games.

46:38 This union, time and time again, has demonstrated that we can be

46:42 trusted with our figures.

46:44 Because we get our figures from the Department of Education and

46:48 your payroll.

46:49 We can be trusted.

46:54 The community is fed up with the way you are conducting

46:56 yourselves.

46:57 We are a community that demands more from our stewards.

47:01 This is not a game.

47:03 BFT is no longer just the voice of the teachers in our county.

47:07 We are the voice of the families in our community.

47:10 And the community has resoundingly said, no more games, pay our

47:15 teachers.

47:24 Thank you.

47:25 Mr. Bowman.

47:26 My name is Kevin Bowman, and I’m a teacher at Satellite High.

47:40 And I’m here representing myself, but also other teachers who

47:44 are in the same situation

47:46 as veteran teachers here in Brevard County.

47:49 As the district and board consider their offers for employee

47:52 contracts and salaries for the

47:54 2019-2020 school year, I would like to give some perspective as

47:59 a 23-year mid-career teacher

48:01 and a 13-year employee of Brevard Public Schools.

48:04 My wife and I both went to work for this district in August of

48:08 2006, both having master’s degrees

48:11 and 10 years of previous experience.

48:13 In August of 2006, the salary for those of us with 10 years of

48:17 experience in a master’s degree

48:18 supplement was $41,825.

48:22 In August of 2019, our current salary, including master’s, is $53.5.

48:28 However, those salary numbers are what economists call nominal

48:31 salaries.

48:32 In other words, they don’t take inflation into account.

48:35 It is instructive for us to look at what economists call real

48:38 dollars or dollars adjusted for inflation.

48:41 That $41,825 figure from 2006 put through the Bureau of Labor

48:44 Statistics Consumer Price Index calculator gives us a figure of

48:49 $52,625.

48:51 Consequently, I need $52,625 to purchase the same amount I could

48:55 at $41,825 in 2006.

48:57 Or to put it another way, in real dollars, I’ve had an increase

49:00 in purchasing power of only $875 over the 13 years I’ve worked

49:04 for the district.

49:05 For a family with two teachers, the situation is, of course,

49:08 doubled.

49:09 As a point of contrast, in 2006, a master’s level teacher with

49:13 21 years or more of experience, the same level experience my

49:17 wife and I now have, was being paid, excuse me, $57,175.

49:23 That 2006 nominal salary is higher than the actual salary we are

49:28 being paid today.

49:29 However, in real inflation-adjusted dollars, that $57,000 in

49:34 2006 is currently $71,940.

49:37 That’s $18,000 more than I’m currently earning, 36 if you count

49:40 both of us.

49:41 In other words, inflation has created a huge deficit in real-world

49:45 buying power for teachers,

49:47 especially veteran teachers, who have been hit the hardest and

49:51 who have been committed to the students and the profession.

49:54 I urge you to keep these figures in mind as you consider how to

49:57 proceed with your offers this year.

49:59 It is real dollars that matter and real people like us.

50:03 Thank you.

50:05 Thank you, Mr. Bowman.

50:19 Mr. Perlman.

50:22 Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the school board, Dr. Mullins.

50:26 I’m Bill Perlman.

50:27 I’m a resource teacher here at Brevard Public Schools.

50:30 I began my employment here in 1983.

50:34 I’m here to talk about the contract.

50:36 You know, this year everything looked great.

50:38 Everything seemed to point to that we would have quicker and

50:43 more collegial negotiations.

50:45 It seemed that you were really ready, able, and willing to make

50:49 progress on our low wages,

50:51 those low wages that contribute to your recruitment and

50:54 retention problems.

50:56 I was present last Monday and Tuesday for the bargaining

50:59 sessions because I also serve on the BFT bargaining team,

51:03 and I really believe that no one in this room today, including

51:06 yourselves and all of these teachers in our red shirts,

51:09 no one in this room today is happy about the current situation

51:13 with our negotiations.

51:15 We all entered the bargaining year with very high expectations,

51:19 but I believe the district presented a low-ball offer, and I

51:24 think that contributed to the breakdown.

51:27 And really, if your offer was designed to gauge whether BFT was

51:31 inclined to accept a considerably lower offer than our original

51:36 proposal, you got your answer.

51:40 And that’s why all these red shirts are here tonight.

51:42 You found out that there’s danger in a low-ball offer.

51:46 Too many of us, too many of us felt disrespected.

51:51 So let me just say, I really believe that this board, your board,

51:57 our board, has never fully embraced its responsibility as board

52:02 members as it relates to teacher compensation.

52:04 Let me explain.

52:06 Florida Statute 1001.42 speaks to the powers and duties of the

52:11 district school boards, and it says, “You must,” and I quote,

52:17 “Caused to be prepared the annual school budget, such budget to

52:20 be prepared and executed as to promote the improvement of the

52:24 district school system.”

52:26 So let me explain why I think you’ve never fully embraced that

52:30 responsibility.

52:32 I pay attention to your work.

52:34 I don’t ever recall, not once, anyone on this board making a

52:39 motion to direct staff to bring you a budget with very specific

52:44 goals of compensation, and that’s your job.

52:47 You’ve not asked for that, you simply wait, and you let staff

52:51 bring you the amount of money that they have left over for

52:55 teacher salaries.

52:57 Why haven’t I heard anyone make a motion to direct staff to

53:02 bring the budget that you want?

53:05 How about one that allows for the district to increase highly

53:09 effective teacher pay by $2,300, which, by the way, is the

53:14 amount that the independent special magistrate said we deserve

53:18 and that you can afford?

53:20 And how about a recurring $2,000 longevity supplement, FRS

53:23 eligible for all teachers in year 12 or higher with BPS service,

53:28 because that’s really what BPS has requested.

53:30 So that, ladies and gentlemen, that is what we want.

53:35 That is what we deserve.

53:37 That is what we came here today to rally for.

53:42 Anyone willing to make a motion tonight?

53:44 Anyone on the board willing to make a motion tonight?

53:46 In front of all of us, request staff bring you the budget that

53:50 fairly compensates your teachers.

53:53 Tell your staff what you want.

53:55 Without that request, without telling staff what you want, you’re

53:58 simply waiting for staff to tell you what scraps are left over

54:03 for your teachers.

54:04 And we are tired of scraps.

54:08 We deserve to be prioritized.

54:11 Thank you for your time.

54:13 Our next three speakers are Ms. Poyer, Mr. Savage, and Nancy Yates.

54:32 Go ahead.

54:43 Dr. Mellons and Mrs. Deskovich both already know me.

54:47 But to those of you that don’t, my name is Arzu Poyer, and I

54:51 teach first grade at Indy Atlantic Elementary School.

54:54 I have been a teacher for 15 years.

54:57 In the past, I have represented Columbia Elementary School twice

55:00 as their Reading Teacher of the Year.

55:02 I have been Reading Teacher of the Year at Indy Atlantic,

55:05 Teacher of the Year.

55:07 And this year I hold the title of Brevard County’s Literacy

55:11 Teacher of the Year.

55:13 In a nutshell, I am an incredible teacher, along with every

55:17 other person in this room and across the county of Brevard.

55:23 I have a master’s degree and I make $48,000 a year.

55:28 The crack in my voice and in my smile is because I am ashamed of

55:33 that number.

55:34 I’m going to say something about myself that teachers don’t say

55:37 enough.

55:38 I am a very intelligent woman.

55:45 On paper, I am far too intelligent to put up with a career that

55:49 offers so little pay and even smaller amount of respect.

55:53 The fact of the matter is that you all should be ashamed of that

55:57 number also, except for you, of course, Matt.

56:00 Two of you should be especially ashamed of your actions,

56:04 particularly in front of a teacher that works at the school that

56:07 taught your children to read and write,

56:09 and who gave them a lasting, lifelong love of learning that has

56:15 lasted them through elementary school and adulthood.

56:19 Indy Atlantic has a very special connection to you, too.

56:22 And as the BFT rep at my school, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback

56:26 and it’s not good.

56:27 We feel let down.

56:29 We feel disregarded, disrespected.

56:32 I’d like to take a moment to put a number with the word

56:36 disrespect.

56:37 $550 for teachers with 11 years of experience or more.

56:43 $550 is a slap in the face.

56:46 I never knew a number could hold so much disrespect.

56:50 You sit up there with your board members getting paid a teacher’s

56:54 salary for a part-time job.

56:56 And your fellow co-workers making six figures.

57:00 And all you have to offer those of us that stuck in the worst of

57:06 times is $550.

57:09 People at Indy Atlantic, teachers and parents, we don’t like

57:13 what’s going on.

57:15 And we don’t like being used in your smile and handshake tours

57:18 and publicity stunts anymore.

57:20 Thank you.

57:22 Indy Atlantic used to be the prized possession.

57:28 Teachers all over the district wanted to work there.

57:31 When I interviewed for my spot, there were over 40 applicants.

57:35 And now there are none.

57:37 There is an open third grade position at Indy Atlantic and we

57:40 have had zero applicants.

57:42 And, you know, I will admit that from one of you I’m not very

57:46 surprised, but Dr. Mullins,

57:49 you surprised a lot of people at my school.

57:52 I had an amazing, extremely talented queen of a teacher come to

57:58 me last week with tears in her eyes,

57:59 saying that she had your children.

58:02 How could you do this to us?

58:04 Thank you, Ms. Poirier, you’re telling me that.

58:08 Thank you for listening to me.

58:10 And next time I will come with more Indy Atlantic parents and

58:14 teachers.

58:15 Thank you.

58:19 Mr. Savage.

58:22 Go ahead, Mr. Savage.

58:35 Thank you, Ms. Desvich.

58:36 Dr. Mullins, member of the board.

58:38 My name is Kyle Savage.

58:40 I’m a teacher at Cape View Elementary.

58:42 Why are we here again?

58:43 I sat in the front row of the in-pass here in the summer and

58:47 heard every one of you state we didn’t want to do this again.

58:50 This isn’t comfortable for anybody.

58:52 No one is winning.

58:53 I’m already starting to hear that Anthony or BFT doesn’t

58:57 represent all teachers.

58:59 Teachers voted down the contract by 96%.

59:03 I think it’s very, very clear that BFT represents teachers.

59:08 There’s no doubt about that.

59:10 BFT needs a partner.

59:13 The community needs a partner.

59:15 Brevard Public Schools should be that partner.

59:17 However, over and over BPS has not acted in the best interest of

59:21 the public.

59:22 The neutral arbitrator clearly stated that it may.

59:25 We got it that voted against us.

59:28 Brevard Public Schools has stated they want to pay out teacher

59:31 raises by Thanksgiving.

59:33 And guess what?

59:34 Teachers want their raises by Thanksgiving too.

59:37 At the final budget hearing for the 2019-2020 year, I spoke

59:42 about the increase in instructional salary was a little bit more

59:45 than $800,000.

59:48 This information came from documents that are filed with the

59:51 state of Florida.

59:52 Furthermore, this afternoon, BPS released their salary for

59:56 physical year 2019, the BFT.

59:59 Using that data, when we compared it to physical year 2018,

1:00:03 payroll salaries increased for instructional staff represented

1:00:06 by our bargaining unit.

1:00:07 The whole unit.

1:00:08 Not leaving out media counselors.

1:00:10 Not leaving out guidance counselors.

1:00:12 The whole bargaining unit increased by $300,000.

1:00:16 Where is the $6.2 million that you guys approved?

1:00:20 Well, I appreciate the efforts of Dr. Green and Dr. Thetty to

1:00:24 provide answers and information to me consistently over the last

1:00:27 two weeks.

1:00:28 Every time I email them, I get a response, and I am very

1:00:31 grateful for that.

1:00:32 However, I have still not received any information regarding the

1:00:36 questions I posed two weeks ago at the salary hearing.

1:00:41 We have talked about it.

1:00:42 They have listened to me.

1:00:43 And they are very – I appreciate their help.

1:00:46 However, every time we ask for data, it hasn’t been brought yet.

1:00:50 I was in the work group.

1:00:52 I was there for the discussion.

1:00:54 I was in a meeting before we went to bargaining where we

1:00:56 represented the cost of a 1% raise.

1:00:59 Immediately, within 10 minutes, I looked at it and said

1:01:02 something’s not right.

1:01:03 Six hours later, I got an email that afternoon.

1:01:06 Well, that was 1% of all funds.

1:01:08 The 1% from the general fund is less.

1:01:11 We need a partner.

1:01:12 We need to be able to agree on the facts and move forward.

1:01:14 Nobody’s winning.

1:01:15 Thank you.

1:01:17 Thank you, Mr. Savage.

1:01:29 Nancy Yates.

1:01:30 Go ahead.

1:01:33 Good evening.

1:01:34 My name is Nancy Yates.

1:01:36 I’m a 23-year teacher at Provide Public Schools.

1:01:39 I’m currently the GSP or Testing Coordinator at Jefferson Middle

1:01:42 School.

1:01:43 As you know, Jefferson’s a wonderful school, and I believe it’s

1:01:46 very representative of schools

1:01:48 in Brevard County.

1:01:49 I’m here today to talk about how the teacher shortage within BPS

1:01:53 is affecting our students,

1:01:55 not just for the short term, but in ways that will impact them

1:01:58 throughout their lives.

1:01:59 Sorry, I have pneumonia.

1:02:02 I’d like to use a few examples close to my world, but I know the

1:02:06 same things are happening

1:02:07 throughout our district.

1:02:09 I’m currently spending four periods a day acting as a temporary

1:02:12 math teacher for eighth-grade

1:02:14 pre-algebra classes that haven’t had a teacher since the start

1:02:18 of the school year.

1:02:19 They had rotating substitute teachers until I stepped in to try

1:02:23 to give them a bit of consistency.

1:02:26 But let me be clear.

1:02:27 I am in no way qualified to teach math.

1:02:30 So these students who already struggle with math, these are some

1:02:34 of our lower-performing students.

1:02:35 Many of them are ESE students.

1:02:37 So they haven’t had a math teacher for two months, and there’s

1:02:40 no applicants for the job.

1:02:42 Even though the position has been advertised since July, we

1:02:46 haven’t had one single qualified applicant,

1:02:48 which means that there’s not a teacher even in the foreseeable

1:02:52 future.

1:02:53 Okay, now for the bad news.

1:02:55 This same cohort of students spent much of last year in the same

1:02:58 situation without a qualified math teacher.

1:03:01 They had a teacher who quit and couldn’t be replaced for many

1:03:04 months because no applicants.

1:03:07 Again, those students, so they’ve come to me, a non-qualified

1:03:13 math teacher,

1:03:15 with lacking a lot of the seventh-grade math skills that they

1:03:19 needed for the eighth-grade math class.

1:03:22 Now they’re stumbling along with me, and next year they’ll be

1:03:26 asked to go into an algebra class

1:03:29 without the eighth-grade skills that they need.

1:03:32 It’s really important to keep this in mind, too, to think about

1:03:34 this from these students’ perspective.

1:03:36 As many of you know, many of you don’t know, algebra is probably

1:03:40 the most difficult class they’ll take in their high school

1:03:43 careers.

1:03:43 Not only do they have to pass the algebra class itself, they

1:03:46 have to get a level three on that algebra

1:03:49 and, of course, exam to pass the class and to get a high school

1:03:53 diploma.

1:03:54 So they’re lacking seventh-grade math skills, they’re lacking

1:03:57 eighth-grade math skills,

1:03:58 and then they’ll be lacking those algebra skills.

1:04:01 So how can we expect these kids to overcome that deficit?

1:04:11 Those kids are not going to be able to overcome that deficit is

1:04:13 the answer.

1:04:14 Now, I know that this issue at the school isn’t an isolated

1:04:16 experience.

1:04:17 We’re not the only school suffering from this.

1:04:19 My own personal daughter, who’s in 10th grade at another Brevard

1:04:22 school,

1:04:23 last year she had substitutes in biology for 25% of the school

1:04:26 year.

1:04:27 Substitutes, not short-term teachers, substitutes.

1:04:30 She currently is going on her second month of substitutes in

1:04:34 chemistry.

1:04:35 These are honors-level classes.

1:04:38 These are kids who want to go be doctors and engineers and

1:04:42 nurses.

1:04:43 They’re missing their education.

1:04:46 Thank you, Ms. Yates.

1:04:48 Your time is up.

1:04:49 I know my time’s up.

1:04:50 I have one more thing to say, though.

1:04:51 Okay.

1:04:52 My daughter came with me tonight, and as we were sitting here

1:04:54 waiting,

1:04:55 and like I said, this is the daughter I was just talking about,

1:04:58 she looked at that plaque on the wall back there and she said,

1:05:00 but they’re not serving every student with excellence as a

1:05:04 standard.

1:05:05 If you’re not going to do better for the teachers,

1:05:08 you need to do better for the students.

1:05:11 Our next three speakers are Fred Kilgain, Ron Bradley, and Aaron

1:05:22 Parr.

1:05:30 Dr. Mullins, Ms. Deskovich, members of the board.

1:05:38 My name is Fred Kilgain.

1:05:40 I’m a teacher at Melbourne High School,

1:05:42 and I’m here to ask a few questions about negotiations.

1:05:46 I really shouldn’t be here.

1:05:47 I have a grandson on his last day visiting,

1:05:50 and I’ve been at work all day.

1:05:52 So I really shouldn’t be here.

1:05:55 But here I am.

1:05:56 Like the chair said back in August, I was hoping we would not

1:06:00 have a year like last year.

1:06:02 Like you all, I’d really rather work cooperatively, not adversarily.

1:06:06 Like you, I’d like amiable relationships instead of hostile ones.

1:06:10 Like you, I’d like to see a productive use of our time instead

1:06:15 of useless wrangling.

1:06:17 I thought for a brief, hopeful moment that that was where we

1:06:20 were headed.

1:06:21 So I know how this works.

1:06:23 You can’t comment now on our remarks.

1:06:25 Although I could probably goad you into it.

1:06:28 I’m not going to try tonight.

1:06:29 I’m not.

1:06:30 Really.

1:06:31 I’m simply going to ask some questions that I hope Ms. Deskovich

1:06:34 can address publicly at a later time.

1:06:36 Interestingly, the number one question I’ve gotten this year

1:06:40 from people who are not teachers is,

1:06:42 why is Ms. Zerker still working for BPS?

1:06:50 If we had performed like she had, we’d have been fired.

1:06:55 Question number two.

1:06:56 Is the attitude, language, and strategy at the bargaining table

1:07:01 the result of board instructions?

1:07:03 Or has the board given their team free reign to conduct

1:07:07 negotiations however they will?

1:07:09 Number three.

1:07:13 You can’t be unaware of the terrible morale extant among the

1:07:17 teachers.

1:07:18 Why?

1:07:19 Knowing that, would you allow negotiations to be conducted in

1:07:23 such a negative tone?

1:07:24 In case you weren’t sure, it’s not raising morale.

1:07:29 And no good thing can come from it.

1:07:32 The shortage will only get worse, I think.

1:07:34 So that’s it.

1:07:35 Those are my questions.

1:07:37 I left my grandson to come here because I am committed to doing

1:07:41 whatever is necessary,

1:07:43 making sacrifices of a deeply personal nature to compel you by

1:07:47 all civilized and legal means available to me

1:07:51 to treat the teachers of Brevard County like the dedicated,

1:07:55 effective, and second-to-none professionals that they are.

1:08:01 Good evening.

1:08:06 Mr. Bradley?

1:08:07 Let’s have a little fun.

1:08:07 Y’all need to write this down now.

1:08:07 Okay?

1:08:08 Mr. Bradley?

1:08:09 Mr. Bradley, I need you to talk into the room.

1:08:10 Mr. Bradley, I need you to talk into the microphone, please.

1:08:23 My name is Ron Bradley.

1:08:24 I come here quite often.

1:08:24 And I want to thank my daughter for staying with my wife so I

1:08:27 can come to the board meeting.

1:08:33 I’m 81 years old, and I enjoy every day of it.

1:08:34 Thank you, board members.

1:08:34 Will you please listen to me?

1:08:34 I know you think – I know you think – understanding what you

1:08:35 thought I said is –

1:08:35 I know you think – I know you think – understanding what you

1:08:36 thought I said is –

1:08:36 I think that’s the right thing.

1:08:39 And I think that’s the right thing.

1:08:41 I think that’s the right thing.

1:09:04 But I’m not sure.

1:09:05 I’m going to start all over again.

1:09:09 Get your pencil.

1:09:11 I know you think you understand what you thought I said.

1:09:19 But I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I

1:09:25 meant.

1:09:30 Alan Greenstrand, he used to be the head of the federal

1:09:41 committee.

1:09:42 Now, another thing.

1:09:46 Good teachers never teach anything.

1:09:49 What they do is create conditions under which learning takes

1:09:54 place.

1:09:55 By implementing the high performance practices, including within

1:10:00 these guidelines.

1:10:01 He will take a significant step forward in creating the physical

1:10:07 conditions in which the learning process can drive.

1:10:11 Now, I’ve never got an answer.

1:10:16 I got a little sheet here.

1:10:19 I’ve done a lot of work on this.

1:10:22 Why we got a school in West Melbourne that the other two schools,

1:10:33 their utilities was $143,000, $299.

1:10:41 The other school was $66,769.

1:10:48 But there’s one school, their utilities is $437, $685.

1:11:02 That’s a big difference.

1:11:05 Now, we also have two schools that are identical schools.

1:11:11 One school has got a hundred more students than the other.

1:11:15 But for some reason or another, the identical air conditioning

1:11:20 systems, everything, is $50,000 more.

1:11:25 Now, I would think I’d be looking at these things.

1:11:29 You’ve got people that are supposed to be watching out over

1:11:34 these schools in the summertime.

1:11:37 And when they start up in the fall, they have a terrible time

1:11:42 getting them running.

1:11:44 Now, another thing at this school, the chiller went down very

1:11:51 early in the year.

1:11:54 It seems though they went down with a problem, but it wasn’t

1:11:58 looked after.

1:11:59 The last five days at the school, they finally had to put a

1:12:03 temporary chiller in.

1:12:05 Probably, I don’t know whether they leased the chiller went or

1:12:08 what, but if they have to lease it, it’s costing about $12,000

1:12:13 to $15,000 a month.

1:12:15 Why wasn’t it addressed this summer when they could have worked

1:12:18 on it?

1:12:19 Now, there’s a lot more in here that I’ve got.

1:12:26 So, I’ll be back at the next school board meeting.

1:12:28 Mr. Bradley.

1:12:40 If you want to look to the back, Ms. Han, our Assistant

1:12:43 Superintendent of Facilities is back there.

1:12:47 She can discuss some of the utility bills with you.

1:12:51 Ms. Han, can you raise your hand again, please?

1:12:54 He didn’t see you.

1:12:55 He knows what Sue looks like.

1:12:56 He’s looking for her.

1:12:57 Do you see her back there?

1:12:59 I know who she is.

1:13:00 Ms. You can go back and talk to her now.

1:13:01 I bet she’d be willing to chat with you.

1:13:03 I’ve heard her on the white flavor on the phone.

1:13:06 Ms. Oh, okay.

1:13:07 Absolutely.

1:13:08 All right.

1:13:09 Mr. Susan, did you want to add to that?

1:13:10 Ron, I wanted everybody to give you credit for what you did the

1:13:13 last time you were here

1:13:14 at a board meeting.

1:13:15 What we’re doing is we’re retrofitting LED lights into the new

1:13:18 schools, and this is going

1:13:20 to show not only energy savings, but it’s also going to show

1:13:23 longevity of the light bulb.

1:13:25 What Ron did with his extensive background in air conditioning

1:13:28 is he pointed out the fact

1:13:30 that a lot of these are called plenum return, which means that

1:13:33 the return air goes across

1:13:34 the top of your ceiling, and some are not.

1:13:37 So, he brought the point to, why aren’t we replacing the ones

1:13:40 that have plenum air with

1:13:41 the LED to show the reduction in energy off the bat?

1:13:44 So, I wanted you guys to understand we already started that

1:13:46 process.

1:13:47 Ms. Suhan already put somebody in place, and I wanted to give

1:13:50 you, Ron, a round of congratulations

1:13:52 for what you brought forward for us, and if everybody can give

1:13:54 him a round of applause.

1:13:55 Hold on, Ron.

1:13:57 Hold on.

1:13:58 No.

1:13:59 Hold on, Ron.

1:14:00 No.

1:14:03 Just hang on.

1:14:04 I’m sorry.

1:14:06 What was presented was completely different than what I said,

1:14:09 because just like I said, what I said is what I said is what I

1:14:14 said.

1:14:14 Oh, gosh.

1:14:15 Ron.

1:14:16 Okay.

1:14:17 And I understand.

1:14:18 Stay after, and then if I can work with you on those schools.

1:14:19 I told you that after we did the LED lights, I’d drive to those

1:14:21 schools with you, too.

1:14:22 So, thank you.

1:14:23 I just wanted to give you credit, Ron.

1:14:24 Just let it go there, man.

1:14:25 Thank you, Ron.

1:14:27 Oh, come on, Ron.

1:14:28 We’re going to break.

1:14:29 Mr. Parr.

1:14:30 You’re paying for breakfast next month.

1:14:31 That’s for sure.

1:14:32 I don’t know how to follow that.

1:14:34 But I’ll start first by saying I’m Aaron Parr.

1:14:49 I’m the athletic trainer, assistant athletic director at Bayside

1:14:52 High School.

1:14:53 I wanted to change the topic for a brief moment.

1:14:56 Serving as the athletic trainer at Bayside High School, we have

1:14:58 had a student athlete pass through

1:15:00 our school participating in athletics, in which we are very

1:15:03 fortunate this student athlete’s

1:15:05 still with us today.

1:15:07 We are operating under – we were operating under the status quo

1:15:11 at that time.

1:15:12 This student athlete went on to participate with the intention

1:15:14 in athletics at the higher

1:15:16 level, and a simple heart and a heart condition was caught by a

1:15:20 simple heart screening.

1:15:23 This student athlete has since undergone multiple surgeries, and

1:15:26 we are fortunate still to have

1:15:27 Xavier Hendricks, whose mother is here in attendance with us –

1:15:31 here with us today.

1:15:34 I want to stress he’s not able to be here because he’s currently

1:15:39 in a lab, actually working on his own education.

1:15:44 Today we are in a different position.

1:15:46 We know of this test that can save lives.

1:15:49 To myself and the athletic director at Bayside High School,

1:15:52 Brandon Sherrill, we believe an EKG is a very important

1:15:55 piece of serving every student athlete with excellence as a

1:15:59 standard, if I can borrow that mission statement.

1:16:02 So much so, we have gone into our community, secured other

1:16:06 locations that will provide this EKG test alone for a student

1:16:10 athlete for the same $20 that the organization vendor who we

1:16:14 play for is doing it for us as well at.

1:16:16 Furthermore, we have gone into our community, secured a funding

1:16:20 source to help offset the continued cost of EKGs for our student

1:16:24 athletes at Bayside High School into our future.

1:16:27 This is how much this is important to us, and this is how much

1:16:30 today is very exciting times for Brevard County Schools.

1:16:34 At Bayside High School, we will continue to do everything we can

1:16:38 to ensure the safe participation by ensuring the accessibility

1:16:43 of EKGs to our student athlete population.

1:16:46 Lastly, I want to bring a great mentor of mine in my past, once

1:16:51 told me you don’t do anything TWATI.

1:16:54 That’s an acronym he taught us that stands for That’s the Way We’ve

1:16:58 Always Done It.

1:16:59 In medicine, in school safety, if you’re staying the same or

1:17:04 staying stagnant, you are behind.

1:17:07 I am excited about this night to moving forward in Brevard

1:17:10 Public Schools with EKGs and athletics, and let’s keep moving

1:17:14 forward.

1:17:15 Thank you.

1:17:16 Thank you, Mr. Parr.

1:17:18 Our last two speakers of the evening are Steven Vilgatz and

1:17:30 Kelly Way.

1:17:31 Steven Vilgatz: Good evening.

1:17:52 building rep from Mogolli High. Please imagine me along with the

1:17:56 following that I’m about to state.

1:17:57 Picture your best employee standing outside, alone, at his feet,

1:18:02 is a white line running

1:18:03 perpendicular to the direction he’s facing. His toes are

1:18:07 touching the line, the side of the line

1:18:10 where he stands is the current reality. The other side is

1:18:12 everything his current reality is not.

1:18:14 The other side is a relief from whatever is causing him distress

1:18:18 on this side, his side of the line.

1:18:21 It could be his boss, his job. It could be a pile of unread

1:18:24 emails in his inbox.

1:18:26 Something’s wrong and it’s gotten so bad that he’s standing with

1:18:30 his toes on the line.

1:18:31 At this moment, he’s vulnerable. The next problem, request, or

1:18:36 needless meeting is going to push him

1:18:38 over the line. He doesn’t know if life on the other side of the

1:18:43 line will be better or worse. He doesn’t

1:18:46 care. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is the other side of

1:18:49 the line is different from his

1:18:50 current reality. The moment is to start the journey of a new

1:18:54 destination. He doesn’t get to the line

1:18:57 because someone dangled more money in front of him. He hasn’t

1:19:00 even talked to a recruiter or applied to

1:19:02 a job. He has no idea what he wants to do. He doesn’t hate where

1:19:07 he is. He has gotten to the point where

1:19:09 some days when he steps to the line, he can find a reason to

1:19:15 step away. Some days he isn’t even at the

1:19:19 line. He’s far from it and wouldn’t entertain the idea of doing

1:19:22 something different. But on the days when

1:19:25 he’s on the line and at the line, something new might catch his

1:19:29 eye. He might return that recruiter’s message.

1:19:31 He might respond to that email just to learn more about the role.

1:19:36 He might do a search for his current

1:19:38 subtitle on LinkedIn based on his experience just to see what’s

1:19:42 out there. At that moment, he’s ready

1:19:45 to step across the line. At that first step, he might take

1:19:48 another, then another. And at the end,

1:19:51 he’s telling his co-workers he’s leaving for something new. He’s

1:19:54 too far over the line to come back.

1:19:56 His managers and leaders say they will offer more money. They

1:20:01 say they aren’t competitive with our

1:20:03 benefits. They’ll fret about what they can do to keep others

1:20:07 from leaving. Meetings will be scheduled.

1:20:09 The analysis will be done. If they’re lucky, his co-workers will

1:20:13 reap the benefits of his departure

1:20:15 in the form of retention agreements. There aren’t planning to

1:20:19 leave anyway, but they’ll take extra

1:20:22 money. They’ll do what they can, what they have done anyway.

1:20:25 Eventually, they get pushed to the line

1:20:28 too. They’ll all be asked to take on too much. They’ll be asked

1:20:31 to respond to the fire drill. They’ll

1:20:33 be voluntold to do one more project because it’s a business need.

1:20:37 No other work will be put on hold

1:20:39 or taken off the project list. It all needs to be done. And the

1:20:43 one-off requests for one more

1:20:46 analysis or a list of information will keep rolling in their

1:20:50 boxes. Maybe she’s next. She knows how she

1:20:53 got to the line. She had never been there herself, but once he

1:20:57 left, she took his work. She stepped up

1:21:00 to the line more lately. She stepped back, gone to the office

1:21:03 happy hour, laughed with her co-workers,

1:21:05 gone home feeling better about things. The next morning when she

1:21:09 opened her inbox, there were more

1:21:11 things than she could do by the end of the day. She tries to

1:21:14 prioritize and delegate, but everyone is

1:21:16 approaching the line. She looks around and can see on all their

1:21:20 faces. They all have enough. They’re all

1:21:23 vulnerable. If they get that call or email that moment, they

1:21:26 might step over the line and start the

1:21:28 journey. It happens every day. It happens to everyone. Do you

1:21:31 notice when you are on the line

1:21:33 or at the line? Do you notice when your employees are at the

1:21:36 line? Can you step back? Can you help

1:21:39 them step back? If you can’t, you’re done, and so are they. This

1:21:43 was read tonight with permission from

1:21:45 Mr. Gregory Roach, the author, What Happens Right Before the

1:21:48 Best Employee Quits, originally published

1:21:50 August 22, 2019. I leave with one question. This question is for

1:21:55 Dr. Mullins and all school board members.

1:21:57 Your bargaining team actions in the coming weeks will dictate

1:22:00 how many teachers step

1:22:02 over the line without looking back. Thank you, Mr. Roach.

1:22:05 Thank you, Mr. Roach.

1:22:07 Thank you.

1:22:09 All right. I’m going to change the subject as well. My name is

1:22:21 Kelly Way. I’m the director of the athletic

1:22:23 training program at Parrish Medical Group. I’m speaking on

1:22:27 behalf of Eric Nason, who is the president of the

1:22:31 Athletic Trainers Association of Florida, as well as who we play

1:22:34 for. So this entire statement is from

1:22:36 Eric Nason. So he has lived in Brevard County for over 21 years.

1:22:41 He’s been a certified and licensed

1:22:43 athletic trainer for over 23 and currently serve over 3,000

1:22:47 athletic trainers as the president of the

1:22:49 Athletic Trainers Association of Florida. He’s a father of three

1:22:53 Brevard County school kids with his oldest

1:22:57 daughter playing sports in high school. He’s very sorry that he

1:23:01 can’t be here today. He has

1:23:02 a lot of other duties as assigned, but he wants to share

1:23:09 professional and personal thoughts on cardiac

1:23:11 screenings. So the best way to prevent something from happening

1:23:14 is to have a complete understanding

1:23:16 through evidence-based knowledge, allowing individuals to take

1:23:20 an educational and informed decision on best

1:23:22 practices. Cardiac arrest and overall cardiac complications are

1:23:27 the silent killer with heart

1:23:28 heart disease in general being the number one cause of death in

1:23:31 the U.S. as of 2017. Pre-participation

1:23:34 sports physicals only touch the surface of evaluating the heart.

1:23:37 Sports physicals screen for common

1:23:39 abnormalities and create a referral pathway for more thorough

1:23:42 evaluations and care, but we need to take it one

1:23:45 step further. Not all cardiac conditions can be evaluated during

1:23:48 sports physicals and would require an ECG to

1:23:51 be detected. With many more sports physicals, there are not as

1:23:55 much attention to cardiac screenings other than the brief

1:23:58 of listening to a heartbeat by a physician who, in some cases,

1:24:01 has not touched a stethoscope since med school,

1:24:04 since their career as is in orthopedics, or by a chiropractor

1:24:08 who has never been trained and does not listen to

1:24:11 the child’s heart. The heart is the only is the one muscle that

1:24:14 is demanded in every sport, every day and in every

1:24:17 life. Why is it so neglected? Why does it take children to

1:24:21 suffer cardiac arrest or even die from cardiac complications

1:24:24 before someone will do something? In the medical field, we

1:24:27 screen dozens of complications to prevent

1:24:30 to treat early and effectively manage a potentially serious

1:24:34 complication before it becomes deadly,

1:24:36 like mammograms, prostate screenings, when cardiac conditions

1:24:39 actually kill more people. Why would we

1:24:42 ignore an opportunity to screen a potentially deadly complication

1:24:45 in our children? It is our responsibility as

1:24:47 healthcare professionals and providers as a school district

1:24:51 responsible for sports programs to protect

1:24:54 the children in our community in all aspects.

1:25:00 So, his daughter received an ECG screen through who we play for.

1:25:04 They came to her middle school and tested her.

1:25:06 It’s meant a lot to him. As a parent, they helped fill a void in

1:25:10 her medical screening that would have been

1:25:11 overlooked in the typical physical. They went the extra step,

1:25:14 extra step for his daughter at no cost to the family. With only

1:25:18 about 3% of those being tested even being flagged for having a

1:25:22 cardiac concern and only

1:25:24 half of those needing any further treatment, false positives are

1:25:27 few and far between and definitely not a reason to abandon

1:25:30 testing all athletes. These cardiac screens are low cost, non-invasive,

1:25:35 quick, and professionally monitored. And for those that simply

1:25:39 cannot afford it, our community has contributed to allow those

1:25:41 children to also have an ECG. Why would we prevent this from

1:25:45 being a mandated part of our sports physical?

1:25:49 Programs such as who we play for come to the school, cutting out

1:25:52 transportation issues, providing low cost or free screenings and

1:25:55 making a pathway with no restrictions to create a safer and

1:25:58 healthier environment.

1:25:59 Why would any school district deny this opportunity?

1:26:02 Thank you.

1:26:02 Thank you for your time.

1:26:04 That concludes our public comment section. We’d like to thank

1:26:04 all the speakers this evening.

1:26:04 It moves us on to the consent agenda, Dr. Mullins.

1:26:08 Oh, I’m sorry. Dr. Mullins, if you could please hold. Is there

1:26:19 any board member that would like to respond to any of the public

1:26:20 comments?

1:26:20 Ms. Belford? I think Ms. Campbell has her hand up as well.

1:26:24 Ms. Campbell?

1:26:25 That’s okay, you can go first.

1:26:26 That’s all right, you can go ahead.

1:26:27 Ms. Campbell, why don’t you start and we’ll go down the line.

1:26:30 Yeah, I just actually, if I could kind of combine a few, Mr.

1:26:35 Hilliard, Mr. Savage, and I’m sorry, Dr. Mullins, Dr. Mullins.

1:26:36 I just want to let you know, I hear you, and first to Mr. Savage,

1:26:39 you are correct. Mr. Colucci does represent the teachers, and

1:26:44 the teachers.

1:26:45 I just want to let you know, I hear you. And first to Mr. Savage,

1:26:51 you are correct. Mr. Colucci does represent the teachers.

1:26:53 And it’s a privilege, but a difficult position to be in. I don’t

1:27:00 know if I can see you nod your head back there, Mr. Colucci.

1:27:14 I know it’s a difficult position to be in, because you represent

1:27:20 a very diverse population. Diverse in background, diverse in job

1:27:25 assignments, diverse in experience, and that’s difficult in this

1:27:33 role of negotiations as well.

1:27:34 But Mr. Hilliard, I hear you when you say things are not a game.

1:27:38 One of the things that you mentioned, I don’t know where you

1:27:40 went. Back there, thank you.

1:27:43 You talked about straight percentage being a game. I want to

1:27:48 challenge that a little bit, because I think, you know, there’s

1:27:52 two ways to do this.

1:27:52 There’s the flat way that we’ve always done it, or at least

1:27:56 since 2013. That’s kind of the way I picture it, everybody

1:27:59 moving up together.

1:28:00 Or there’s the percentage, which is kind of a proportional

1:28:03 spread things out. And then there’s the longevity thing that has

1:28:08 been talked about. And Mr. Colucci, in his difficult

1:28:12 privilege role, has the opportunity to have that voice to say,

1:28:16 let’s do it this way, let’s do it that way, because he

1:28:19 represents such that diverse population.

1:28:21 I don’t think that’s a game. I don’t think that’s a game. I

1:28:23 think that’s a decision. And that’s input that our BFT

1:28:27 leadership has. That’s one of the main voices at the table.

1:28:30 But you can only have those conversations at the table. And so I,

1:28:39 you know, so come to the table.

1:28:39 I just encourage you to come to the table and stay at the table,

1:28:42 because at the beginning, you know, just seriously, when we left

1:28:48 it, hang on.

1:28:49 I’ll be, I’ll be done in a minute. I’ll be done in a minute.

1:28:54 When we start things off, when we left things off last year, I

1:28:59 think the last word from Dr. Mullins was that we were looking

1:29:03 forward to this school year, starting with a 2-plus percent

1:29:06 raise.

1:29:06 And then we came to the first offer, and it was 3.5. And Mr. Velgaso,

1:29:11 I was going to say to you, to those teachers who are sitting on

1:29:13 the line, I just want to say, hold on, just hang in there.

1:29:16 Just stick with it. Stick with the process, the process, because

1:29:23 Mr. Colucci will continue to have this influence of how does he

1:29:28 represent you guys at the table. But you’ve got to be at the

1:29:33 table. And so I’d encourage you to get there and stay there.

1:29:35 Thank you, Ms. Campbell. Ms. Belfort?

1:29:40 Thank you, Ms. Deskovich. First, thank you to all the teachers

1:29:45 that came out tonight and spoke. Your input is important in this

1:29:49 process. And I’m going to echo a little bit of what Ms. Campbell

1:29:54 referenced. And that is, you know, we, when we wrapped up last

1:29:59 year, it was a tough year for everybody. I don’t think any of us

1:30:02 really enjoyed it.

1:30:02 Looking forward to be able to do more for our teachers this year.

1:30:05 There’s been some discussion through the work groups. We came

1:30:11 out to the first meeting with a first offer. And we have said

1:30:18 that all along, that it is a first offer.

1:30:21 We have a conversation because last year, last year, if I may,

1:30:26 we came out with a final offer at the first meeting, and we were

1:30:31 chastised for doing so. And so we came out this year with a

1:30:35 structure to discuss. And I think that’s important to understand

1:30:41 the importance of collaboration in this process as a whole.

1:30:42 In looking at the ways that we can address the disparity in pay,

1:30:46 one of the ways to look at is the percentage raise. We’re not

1:30:50 saying it has to be that way by any means. We’re saying let’s

1:30:54 discuss it and see where we want to go with it.

1:30:55 And the same thing holds true for the language offers. There

1:30:59 were several pieces of language that were passed across. And yes,

1:31:03 on day two, our team brought responses to that language.

1:31:08 There were a couple of rejections. Most of them were counters,

1:31:12 which basically said, we get where you’re trying to go with this.

1:31:16 We have some concerns with the language. So here’s the language

1:31:20 that we propose.

1:31:21 But what should happen at that point is we should come together

1:31:25 and discuss how we can achieve the outcome that we’re looking to

1:31:29 achieve, because that truly is the goal.

1:31:31 It’s not a matter of us winning on language or BFT winning on

1:31:35 language. It’s a matter of us coming together and crafting

1:31:39 language that allows us to achieve the outcome that we are

1:31:42 looking to achieve.

1:31:43 And by we, I mean collaboratively, because as Mr. Colucci has

1:31:47 referenced, they brought forward some pretty reasonable requests

1:31:51 with regard to outcome.

1:31:52 And the direction from the board was, we want to say yes to as

1:31:57 many as we can. So let’s figure out a way if there’s an issue

1:32:01 with the language that has been presented.

1:32:03 Let’s figure out a way that we can get to yes. And let’s present

1:32:07 that. And then let’s work collaboratively with the BFT

1:32:10 negotiating team to come up with language that works for all of

1:32:14 us.

1:32:14 And so that was the goal going into it. Ms. Skipper? I can’t, I

1:32:19 can’t hear you guys while I’m talking. What’d you say?

1:32:24 Ms. Belford, let’s, let’s not do the shouting from the room. The

1:32:27 people on the television watching from home can’t hear unless

1:32:30 people have microphones.

1:32:31 That’s a good point. Thank you. So the, my, my point in sharing

1:32:35 this is that we are eager to get back to the table. And I thank

1:32:39 you, Mr. Colucci.

1:32:39 I understand. I believe we are scheduled to go back to the table

1:32:43 on Monday. Is that correct?

1:32:44 Um, so we are looking forward to getting to that point and to

1:32:49 continuing to work together.

1:32:51 As the superintendent has said, we want to make the language

1:32:55 work in as many ways that we can.

1:32:56 We are eager to bring forward a very competitive salary offer,

1:33:00 but we have to be at the table to do it.

1:33:02 We can’t do it in this room. Um, we, we have to be at the table

1:33:07 to make, have those conversations.

1:33:08 And work it out in the way that’s going to be in the best

1:33:11 interest of our teachers.

1:33:12 So we thank you for your time tonight. We thank you for the

1:33:15 energy that you’re putting into the issues.

1:33:16 We, you know, commit to continue to have those conversations.

1:33:20 And hopefully we can wrap this up in a fashion that will allow

1:33:24 us to get dollars into your hands and good dollars into your

1:33:27 hands by Thanksgiving.

1:33:28 And that’s our goal. So have a great evening.

1:33:31 Thank you, Ms. Belford. Anyone else have anything they would

1:33:38 like to add?

1:33:39 Ms. Deskovich, may I?

1:33:41 Dr. Mullins.

1:33:42 So I, I’d like to provide just some, some clarification.

1:33:46 Um, I asked staff what the status of reports or public records

1:33:53 requests that have been, uh, received to date and what the

1:33:56 status was.

1:33:57 Because it’s been, it’s been suggested that information has not

1:34:00 been provided.

1:34:01 And, uh, by the report given to me earlier this afternoon,

1:34:06 approximately 15 to 18 reports have been provided.

1:34:10 There is one outstanding, and then there were some additional

1:34:13 requests made, I believe, today.

1:34:15 We are absolutely committed to providing whatever information is

1:34:20 requested and will respond with whatever questions come out of

1:34:26 it.

1:34:26 And I’ll come back to that in a few minutes.

1:34:28 I just want to clarify, it was, it was suggested by a speaker

1:34:33 that we, it was continually heard $550, $550.

1:34:38 I want to clarify because it has come out from others that there

1:34:42 was some misunderstanding of that.

1:34:45 The raise proposal presented was 3.5% or $550 for teachers 12

1:34:54 years away.

1:34:55 It was 3.5% for all teachers and the additional $550.

1:35:01 I just wanted to provide the clarification.

1:35:04 I do want to mention, I do want to, um, clarify, Ms. Belford

1:35:11 commented that the only time and the only place that discussions

1:35:16 can be had relative to bargaining have to be at the bargaining

1:35:19 table, not by choice.

1:35:20 That’s not, that, those are collective bargaining rules and

1:35:25 guidelines.

1:35:26 Those are the rules that both BFT and BPS have to abide by.

1:35:30 So I just wanted to clarify that.

1:35:32 And then finally, I, I appreciate Mr. Savage’s information and

1:35:37 suggestion of what the, reviewing information is suggesting, um,

1:35:44 as well as Mr. Colucci.

1:35:45 I would invite you to sit down with me tomorrow afternoon.

1:35:48 I’d be happy to go through the reports you have and understand

1:35:51 where that information is, if, if at all you’re available.

1:35:55 And I’d be happy to meet you in a, wherever we can, wherever we

1:35:59 can find a place to meet.

1:36:00 Okay.

1:36:01 Thank you.

1:36:02 Thank you, Dr. Mullins.

1:36:03 There was only one other, uh, piece of information I think we

1:36:09 should, uh, clarify.

1:36:11 And one of the speakers, uh, mentioned that we didn’t have the

1:36:16 money to give this amount of a raise last year.

1:36:20 And somehow we found it over the summer and now we’re able to

1:36:23 give, we’ve offered a 3.5% raise.

1:36:25 Uh, the reason for that is the state funding per year.

1:36:29 Last year, the state funding was 47 cents per student.

1:36:32 And the, and then their state budget came out and it’s $75 per

1:36:37 student.

1:36:39 And I knew you’d know the number off the top of your head, uh,

1:36:42 which obviously opens up the, the pot of money for, uh, a higher

1:36:46 teacher raise this year.

1:36:47 Okay, we are now ready to move on to the consent agenda, Dr.

1:36:57 Mullins.

1:36:59 There are 16 agenda items under this category.

1:37:02 Thank you, Dr. Mullins.

1:37:03 Does any board member wish to pull one of these items?

1:37:06 Um, yes, Ms. Escovich, I would like to pull F-22.

1:37:10 Pam, would you please pull item F-22 for discussion?

1:37:21 I’ll entertain a motion to accept the consent items with the

1:37:24 exception of F-22.

1:37:25 So moved.

1:37:26 Second.

1:37:27 Motion by Ms. Belford.

1:37:29 Second by Ms. Campbell.

1:37:30 Any discussion?

1:37:31 Please vote.

1:37:33 Motion passes 5-0.

1:37:34 Need a motion on F-22.

1:37:35 Uh, move to approve.

1:37:36 Second.

1:37:37 Motion by Ms. Campbell.

1:37:38 Second by Mr. Susan.

1:37:39 For discussion, Ms. Campbell.

1:37:40 Um, I just didn’t want this, uh, historic moment to go by

1:37:52 quickly unnoticed.

1:37:57 Um, back in 2014, we as a county voted to approve the half of

1:38:01 the vote.

1:38:02 To approve the half-cent sales surtax, um, that was to go

1:38:07 towards, um, facility renewal,

1:38:09 um, security and technology infrastructure.

1:38:12 And, um, there was an amount tied to that, a projected amount,

1:38:17 of $198 million.

1:38:19 We’ve all been here for the last six years and seen that the

1:38:24 economy’s been pretty good.

1:38:26 And so over the last year, um, that we’ve heard the projection

1:38:30 that somewhere around September or October of this year,

1:38:33 we would meet that and then we would have a year plus of surplus

1:38:38 income.

1:38:39 And I just wanted to make note that that, that goal was reached,

1:38:43 if I read my notes correctly, in August.

1:38:45 And so we have reached the $198 million mark.

1:38:48 And I’d like to just give a little woo-hoo we got there.

1:38:50 But I want to clarify something because I think, um, there might

1:38:54 be the perception moving forward that,

1:38:57 wow, the district had all that money and now they’re rolling in

1:39:00 dough because we’re going to get another $70 million

1:39:02 or however much is projected to go for the next year and four

1:39:06 months.

1:39:07 Um, so I just was taking a look at some of the things, um, of

1:39:11 course all that just,

1:39:12 I just wanted to take a little education moment, if I could,

1:39:16 just to explain how that works.

1:39:18 When we passed that as a county back in 2014, there was

1:39:23 something called attachment F,

1:39:24 which I have gotten to learn so much about in the last year,

1:39:27 which was basically the Bible for that money.

1:39:31 The money had to be spent in a certain way. It couldn’t be spent

1:39:34 any, you know, outside of that.

1:39:35 It had to be spent at those schools for those projects.

1:39:38 Um, and so when we’ve had other things come up in the last six

1:39:42 years,

1:39:42 other things that have broken that weren’t on that list, money

1:39:46 to deal with those things,

1:39:47 like air conditioning systems that have gone down and things

1:39:50 like that, has to come from somewhere else.

1:39:51 And so a lot of times I hear, “Oh, they have sent sales tax

1:39:54 money.

1:39:54 Why don’t they just use this? Why don’t they just use it for

1:39:57 that?”

1:39:57 But we’re restricted by the rules of, by that attachment F Bible.

1:40:02 And so, and I just wanted to, I asked, I checked with Dr. Mullins

1:40:07 and Ms. Hand this morning, or this afternoon, about the number.

1:40:10 And when they did the evaluation back in 2013, in order to fix

1:40:13 everything that needed to be fixed in all of our facilities,

1:40:17 the number was a staggering $757 million.

1:40:22 So I’m so excited that we reached the 198 million.

1:40:26 But that’s a lot of money, a lot of things that, that we’re not

1:40:29 able to get done.

1:40:30 And that’s just for facilities.

1:40:32 Um, that’s not for security and for the education technology.

1:40:36 Um, it funded about 22% of that.

1:40:40 Um, if you’ll look on the, if you get into the agenda tonight,

1:40:43 one of the things that, um, that they’re asking to use,

1:40:47 I think $500,000 of the next $500,000 extra that comes in is

1:40:52 towards, um, computer renewal.

1:40:53 Correct, Mr. Cheatham?

1:40:55 Um, just another staggering number is that across our district,

1:40:59 we have 80,000 computers.

1:41:00 And that 65% of them are beyond their seven year life, uh, life

1:41:06 cycle.

1:41:07 Sad computers, right, Mr. Susan?

1:41:09 Um, as your daughter says.

1:41:11 Um, and that the money that we’re, that we’re asking to, or we’re

1:41:15 voting on in this, with this motion,

1:41:16 is only a third of the money that’s needed to transition to a 10

1:41:19 year cycle.

1:41:19 Um, so while I’m excited that we met that, I just want everybody

1:41:23 to understand that the rest of what comes in is,

1:41:26 is really, um, needed and will continue to have to be supplemented

1:41:32 by our facilities funding.

1:41:34 And so as we move forward, we still have a lot of projects to

1:41:38 fix.

1:41:38 And I’m sad that Mr. Bradley already left, because maybe some of

1:41:42 the things that we’ve been talking about,

1:41:43 air conditioning not working, we’ll be able to, to make the,

1:41:46 make the list as we move forward.

1:41:48 But again, just an, another point of educating ourselves and the

1:41:53 public.

1:41:53 Those things will have to continue to go before our oversight

1:41:57 committee,

1:41:58 because they are the ones who have to approve all those things

1:42:02 before they even come to us.

1:42:03 And so that is continuing to be held accountable every dollar,

1:42:07 um, by our, by our commission.

1:42:09 And I’m thankful for that.

1:42:11 Um, Ms. Andy, do you want to, you were jumping forward, do you

1:42:14 want to add anything to that?

1:42:15 All right.

1:42:16 You want to tell us what’s next on the list or no, no, I’m just

1:42:19 kidding.

1:42:20 But I just, I want to take that moment.

1:42:22 I’m happy to vote positively on this motion, but I want to take

1:42:26 that moment not to let it slip by unnoticed.

1:42:28 Can I just add to that, I think, of course, Ms. McDougall, go

1:42:33 ahead.

1:42:33 I, I think, um, and thank you Ms. Campbell for bringing that up.

1:42:35 And, and I don’t know if everyone remembers, but most of our

1:42:38 schools are over 50 years old.

1:42:41 So they are going to need, in your home, if you have an air

1:42:44 conditioner, you know it’s not going to last 50 years.

1:42:47 Um, the piping may not last.

1:42:50 There’s so many things in upkeep in your own home.

1:42:53 And so I want us to be cognizant of that, that yes, this is

1:42:56 money well spent and we need to keep going renewal wise.

1:43:01 So I really appreciate you bringing it up because we do have

1:43:04 aging schools and they’re not going to get any younger at this

1:43:07 point.

1:43:07 So it’s very needed.

1:43:08 And thanks to Ms. Han, Han, whose department is pretty fabulous,

1:43:13 um, for all the work that she does in our schools.

1:43:17 Thank you, Ms. McDougall.

1:43:18 Are we ready to vote on F-22?

1:43:23 Pam, do we need a voice vote or can we, nope, okay, please vote.

1:43:32 Motion passes 5-0.

1:43:34 Move on to the action agenda, Dr. Mullins.

1:43:45 Ms. Tescovich, there are a total of eight action items for us to

1:43:48 go through.

1:43:48 Six of them are on policies which will provide the public second

1:43:52 opportunity for comment on the revisions, followed by board

1:43:55 action.

1:43:55 Item G-26 is on board policy 65-10.

1:43:59 Is there anyone present this evening who wishes to address the

1:44:03 revisions and board action?

1:44:03 Board policy 65-10 payroll authorization?

1:44:07 Is there anyone present this evening who wishes to address the

1:44:12 revisions and board policy 65-10 payroll authorization?

1:44:16 Any board members have any comments?

1:44:19 What are the wishes of the board?

1:44:21 Move to approve.

1:44:22 Second.

1:44:23 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. McDougall.

1:44:26 Any discussion?

1:44:32 Please vote.

1:44:35 Motion passes 5-0.

1:44:36 Dr. Mullins.

1:44:37 Next is item G-27 on department school initiated agreements.

1:44:41 What are the wishes of the board?

1:44:43 Move to approve.

1:44:44 Second.

1:44:45 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford.

1:44:46 Any discussion?

1:44:47 Second.

1:44:48 Motion passes 5-0.

1:44:49 Dr. Mullins.

1:44:50 Next is item G-28 on purchasing solicitations.

1:44:51 What are the wishes of the board?

1:44:52 Move to approve.

1:44:53 Second.

1:44:54 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford.

1:44:55 Second.

1:44:57 Motion passes 5-0.

1:44:58 Dr. Mullins.

1:44:59 Next is item G-28 on purchasing solicitations.

1:45:03 What are the wishes of the board?

1:45:05 Move to approve.

1:45:06 Second.

1:45:07 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford.

1:45:09 Any discussion?

1:45:10 Please vote.

1:45:11 Motion passes 5-0.

1:45:21 Dr. Mullins.

1:45:22 Ms. Deskovich and members of the board, the next five action

1:45:27 items are on the policy revisions

1:45:29 for 31-20, 2260.01, 2431, 5310, and 5517.

1:45:36 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 31-20,

1:45:41 employment and staff?

1:45:42 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 31-20,

1:45:47 employment and staff?

1:45:49 Second.

1:45:50 Wishes of the board?

1:45:51 Move to approve.

1:45:52 Second.

1:45:53 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Campbell.

1:45:55 Any discussion?

1:45:56 Please vote.

1:45:57 Motion passes 5-0.

1:46:02 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 2260.01,

1:46:08 non-discrimination grievance procedure?

1:46:15 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 2260.01,

1:46:18 non-discrimination grievance procedure?

1:46:19 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 2260.01,

1:46:30 non-discrimination grievance procedure?

1:46:33 What are the wishes of the board?

1:46:34 Move to approve.

1:46:35 Second.

1:46:36 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. McDougall.

1:46:39 Any discussion?

1:46:40 Please vote.

1:46:43 Motion passes 5-0.

1:46:50 Is there anyone here who’s come to address board policy 2431,

1:46:54 interscholastic athletics?

1:46:56 What are the wishes of the board?

1:46:57 Move to approve.

1:46:58 Second.

1:46:59 Motion by Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford.

1:47:01 Any discussion?

1:47:02 Yes.

1:47:03 Mr. Susan, second by Ms. Belford.

1:47:04 Any discussion?

1:47:05 Yes.

1:47:06 Mr. Susan.

1:47:07 Well, I was going to give everybody else a chance to speak

1:47:08 before my energy gets a little

1:47:08 out of control.

1:47:09 Why don’t you take this one?

1:47:10 We defer our energy to your energy, Mr. Susan.

1:47:11 I agree.

1:47:12 You guys, I’m proud of you.

1:47:13 Evan, when you started this process years ago, like, what was it,

1:47:13 a year and a half,

1:47:13 two years ago, when we drove all the way to FSBA and tried to

1:47:14 pitch it to a couple of

1:47:14 employees and tried to pitch it to a couple of employees.

1:47:15 I’m proud of you.

1:47:16 Evan, when you started this process years ago, like, what was it,

1:47:16 a year and a half,

1:47:16 two years ago?

1:47:17 When we drove all the way to FSBA and tried to pitch it to a

1:47:18 couple of employees.

1:47:18 I’m proud of you.

1:47:19 Evan, when you started this process years ago, like, what was it,

1:47:20 a year and a half,

1:47:36 two years ago?

1:47:37 When we drove all the way to FSBA and tried to pitch it to a

1:47:40 couple of employees.

1:47:41 We tried to pitch it to a couple of our school board members and

1:47:43 all your involvement, man.

1:47:44 I mean, your dedication to this cause and for your friend has

1:47:47 been tremendous.

1:47:48 And I’m absolutely – yeah.

1:47:51 Kurt, thanks for coming on.

1:47:57 Everybody else, pushing it the way that you guys came out and

1:48:00 really supported this.

1:48:01 There’s not many.

1:48:02 I would say this is probably, arguably, the best – my most

1:48:06 favorite policy that I have

1:48:08 passed and might be the one that I ever do.

1:48:11 You know, it means a lot to me to be able to change somebody’s

1:48:14 lives and to defend them.

1:48:15 So I put together a little speech, if you guys want to hear it.

1:48:18 I’m excited.

1:48:19 Do we have a choice?

1:48:20 Yes, you do.

1:48:21 Do you want us to vote first and give me your speech?

1:48:23 No.

1:48:25 We sit here tonight before an organization founded by former

1:48:28 students that has committed

1:48:28 itself to the insurmountable cause, a school board that dared to

1:48:31 be bold while others have

1:48:32 given up in the face of adversity, and a school district who

1:48:34 stood committed to its community

1:48:36 and leadership to enact this policy with fidelity.

1:48:39 We sit here tonight to correct state and national organizations’

1:48:42 failed attempts to lead in the

1:48:43 way which their founding principles were once established, whose

1:48:47 fidelity of policy has

1:48:47 subsided and rather become rubber stamp protections from

1:48:50 liability for school boards, whose organizations

1:48:52 also find themselves spending less time driving policy and more

1:48:58 time supporting Tinker Tock fundraisers

1:49:00 in efforts to stay afloat because the relevance has faded with

1:49:03 their major donors.

1:49:04 Tonight, I’m proud to stand together with so many amazing people

1:49:07 who have committed to saving

1:49:08 the lives of our students and give the Rafe family one more

1:49:11 instance as to why their child

1:49:12 did not pass in vain.

1:49:13 Rafe, this one’s for you.

1:49:15 Here we go, Brevard.

1:49:16 One more time, we are serving students with excellence.

1:49:19 Thank you.

1:49:20 Do I see some tears you gave her?

1:49:27 No.

1:49:28 That’s the best speech you’ve ever given, Mr. Susan.

1:49:32 I’m telling you, you’re the shortest and the best.

1:49:35 You guys, I’m proud of you.

1:49:37 Dr. Mullins, thank you.

1:49:38 Thank you for giving direction like you did to tell staff, and

1:49:42 thank you to staff for giving

1:49:44 everything that they had to make that happen.

1:49:46 This was phenomenal.

1:49:47 And I know we still got a little work to do, and we’re going to

1:49:50 be there, but I’m proud,

1:49:52 and proud of everybody here for everything that you guys have

1:49:55 done.

1:49:55 And I just don’t want the moment to end, so I’m going to

1:49:57 continue to talk, and I can’t

1:49:57 stop.

1:49:58 No, I’m just kidding.

1:49:59 All right, that’s it.

1:50:00 Mr. Susan, just so we’re clear, the true thanks certainly to who

1:50:05 we play for and folks

1:50:07 that have provided that support, but there’s an army of folks

1:50:13 who have worked like champions

1:50:15 in a very short period of time to work through so many logistics.

1:50:21 Ms. Moore, assistant superintendent of student services.

1:50:24 Mr. Bill Meharis, assistant director of, I never get it right,

1:50:28 athletics and student activities.

1:50:30 Our athletic directors across our campuses, this was one more

1:50:34 thing that we put on your plate,

1:50:35 but you accepted it because you knew the value and the cause and

1:50:40 so on.

1:50:40 So, Mr. Parr, thank you for your voice.

1:50:43 Thank you for your leadership and across all of our schools, the

1:50:47 support staff and our schools

1:50:48 to help manage the process.

1:50:50 And we’re just beginning, but it has taken a tremendous effort,

1:50:54 so the true, true thanks.

1:50:57 You directed it this way, but I send it all back to the folks

1:51:01 who have done the real work.

1:51:02 So, thank you.

1:51:03 Mr. Right?

1:51:04 Right?

1:51:05 We?

1:51:07 We directed it.

1:51:08 Yes.

1:51:09 I can’t do it by myself.

1:51:10 Let me try.

1:51:11 I do want to add this.

1:51:12 The speed in which it was done was remarkable.

1:51:13 Three years on working in a bureaucracy of this size is

1:51:16 sometimes frustrating, but this,

1:51:18 this moved, may not seem quick to you all, but for the average

1:51:22 pace of things around here,

1:51:23 it was speedy.

1:51:24 So, I think we’re all pretty excited to vote for this this

1:51:29 evening.

1:51:30 Everybody ready to vote?

1:51:31 Yes.

1:51:32 Please vote.

1:51:33 Motion passes 5-0.

1:51:34 .

1:52:08 The bathroom is not in.

2:18:07 The bathroom is in.

2:18:37 The bathroom is not in.

2:19:07 The bathroom is in.

2:19:37 The bathroom is not in.

2:21:07 The bathroom is in.