Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 that we all have a thumbs up on moving forward with that we’re
0:22 all comfortable with with
0:24 the late edition of the item we did have public comment at the
0:33 workshop thank you so much all
0:44 right so i will now turn it back over to miss enval for reading
0:47 of the resolution whereas the
0:50 surgeon general of the united states public health service has
0:52 issued an advisory on e-cigarette use
0:54 among youth which emphasized the importance of protecting our
0:57 children from a lifetime of
0:58 nicotine addiction and associated health risks by immediately
1:01 addressing the epidemic of youth
1:02 e-cigarette use and emphasized that the recent surge in e-cigarette
1:07 use among youth which has
1:08 been fueled by new types of e-cigarettes that have been recently
1:11 entered into the market as a cause
1:12 for great concern and concluded that we must take action now to
1:16 protect the health of our nation’s
1:18 young people and whereas the surgeon general united states
1:21 public health service has further concluded
1:23 that e-cigarette use among us middle and high school students
1:27 increased 900 percent during 2011 to 2015
1:30 and current e-cigarette use increased 90 78 percent among high
1:35 school students during the past year
1:37 from 11.7 percent in 2017 to 20.8 percent in 2018 and in 2018
1:44 more than 3.6 million youth including one in
1:48 five high school students and one in 20 middle school students
1:51 currently use e-cigarettes and nicotine
1:54 exposure during adolescence can impact learning memory and
1:58 attention and using nicotine in adolescence can
2:01 also increase risk for future addiction to other drugs and we
2:04 must take aggressive steps to protect our
2:07 children from these highly potent post products that risk
2:09 exposing a new generation of young people to
2:11 nicotine and whereas the surgeon general of the united states
2:16 public health service has specifically urged that
2:16 educators have an important role to play in addressing this
2:19 public health epidemic
2:20 and whereas the former commissioner of the united states food
2:25 and drug administration
2:27 fda scott gottlieb has concluded that teen use of e-cigarettes
2:30 is now an addiction crisis and an epidemic
2:32 and has identified jewel labs as having primarily response
2:35 primary responsibility for the epidemic
2:37 further concluding that the problem has been created and has the
2:40 problem that’s been created has been
2:43 created largely by their product and whereas the former
2:45 commissioner of the united states food and drug
2:48 administration fda david kessler has stated that the jewels e-cigarette
2:52 is facilitating initiation to
2:54 nicotine use and addiction by teens and the blueprint for that e-cigarette
2:58 could easily have been taken
3:00 straight out of the tobacco industries playbook and whereas the
3:03 committee on oversight and reform of
3:05 the united states health of representatives following review of
3:07 55 000 non-public documents of jewel labs
3:10 inc found that jewel deployed a sophisticated program to enter
3:13 schools and convey its messaging directly
3:15 to teenage children and jewel also targeted teenagers and
3:18 children as young as eight years old
3:21 in summer camps and out of school programs and jewel recruited
3:24 thousands of online influencers to market to
3:27 teens and whereas a national survey of youth found that nearly
3:31 one in five middle and high school students
3:33 between 12 and 17 years old had seen a jewel e-cigarette used in
3:37 school and whereas a national survey of
3:39 more than 1500 teachers and administrators of middle schools and
3:42 high schools across the u.s found that 88
3:44 percent of high school staff and 77 percent of middle school
3:47 staff were somewhat or very concerned about
3:50 e-cigarette used by students in schools and whereas it has been
3:53 widely reported that jeweling has become a
3:55 nightmare for school administrators throughout the united states
3:58 and whereas the school board of bevard
3:59 county florida has and continues to experience significant
4:02 problems with the use of student
4:04 jewel student use of jewel e-cigarettes which use among other
4:08 things one has created a substantial and
4:11 ongoing interruption of and disturbance to its educational
4:13 mission two has resulted in the diversion of
4:16 substantial resources in an attempt to abate and prevent such
4:19 use and three poses a significant risk to the health and well-being
4:23 of its students
4:23 and whereas the school board of bevard county florida has
4:26 determined that student use of electronic
4:28 cigarettes and vaping products continues to adversely affect
4:31 educational outcomes and that such use has
4:33 resulted in student suspensions truancy and absenteeism
4:37 requiring additional resources from teachers and
4:39 staff in an attempt to compensate for such issues and resulting
4:42 in significant costs the district
4:44 whereas the school board of bevard county florida is a leader in
4:47 education excellence whose faculty
4:49 administrators care deeply about the education and well-being of
4:52 its students and which is committed
4:53 to leading and not following now therefore be it resolved by the
4:56 school board of bevard county florida
4:59 that the school board of bevard county florida authorizes the
5:01 law firms of wagstaff cartmel and the mayor
5:03 law firm and others to initiate litigation and file suit against
5:06 any appropriate parties to compensate the
5:09 district for damages suffered by the district and its students
5:12 as a result of the manufacture marketing sale and use of
5:16 electronic cigarettes and vaping products
5:18 and to seek any other appropriate relief
5:20 thank you miss involved what are the wishes the board
5:24 go to approve
5:25 second moved by mr susan seconded by miss campbell
5:30 any discussion
5:30 i have one question uh miss emball said the names of the firms
5:42 and others but that’s not the words i see
5:44 in front of me um did you based on this morning’s uh addition to
5:50 others uh i thought that i added that myself
5:54 because the agreement is actually going to be the mayor law firm
5:56 wagstaff and others
5:59 so would you like to just to take out the and the others oh i it
6:02 doesn’t affect my vote i just want
6:05 to make sure everyone knows what they’re voting on and if it
6:07 makes a difference if it says and others
6:10 or not i mean this isn’t a contract this is just a resolution so
6:12 i’m guessing it doesn’t matter
6:14 i just want to clarify does it matter if it’s written in there
6:17 and our agreement itself actually
6:19 includes the others okay this is involved in the action it doesn’t
6:24 have and others should that be added
6:27 we can either add it or i can amend my resolution to remove and
6:32 others would you would you like me to
6:34 amend the resolution to include and others no no so we have a
6:43 motion to approve the resolution do we need to
6:48 have an amended motion to approve my question miss unball is are
6:53 we approving the recommendation
6:56 or are we approving the resolution you’re approving the
6:59 resolution at this point okay so we are um
7:03 would it be easy enough for us to approve the resolution
7:07 including the and others as presented
7:11 to the board so do we need an amended motion or simply just move
7:15 forward with the motion that we have
7:17 you can do an amended motion to include and others if you’d like
7:20 okay would anyone like to offer an amended
7:22 motion or can stay the way it is um the way that you stated or
7:30 the way that it is as attached to the
7:32 agenda whichever you would prefer ha can we have discussion
7:36 after the motion yes i also moved
7:40 and is there a second sure move by miss campbell seconded by mr
7:45 susan to approve an amended
7:50 resolution including and others and i will turn it to you miss
7:53 campbell since it was your motion for
7:56 discussion i am just taking a look at the email that ms enval
7:59 sent us this morning that says the final
8:01 version adds the two local law firms as collective counsel so
8:05 does the contract list the
8:08 list that just as counsel or does it list the law firm
8:14 specifically it lists each law firm specifically so
8:18 we can um do and others or list each law firm specifically i
8:22 mean the resolution is a is a
8:24 resolution it’s just a public proclamation but the contract
8:27 specifically would cause problems if we
8:29 need to engage others um so i as far as the the resolution i’m
8:37 good either way but i just want to make
8:39 sure we get to the contract that we’re not tying the hands of
8:42 the people we’ve asked to represent us
8:44 um or ourselves the contract is specific to those four law firms
8:50 okay but it it it does miss campbell
8:53 leave room if for whatever reason we decided um that we didn’t
8:57 want to work with that set of law firms
9:00 it does leave room for us to cancel that contract and work with
9:03 a different law firm uh one of the
9:05 things that miss enval and i discussed this morning was there
9:08 are some other firms out there working on the
9:10 case and in the in if there were a situation where the potential
9:15 um return um were to be more favorable
9:21 for the district with a different set of of law firms um we
9:24 could certainly potentially make that switch
9:27 but it sounds as though the 25 75 split is pretty much standard
9:31 with the firms um so we do have we do
9:34 have room to get out of that contract should we decide we need
9:37 to for a whole number of reasons including
9:39 that okay so would that be the only would that be the only
9:41 reason why i would want to leave the and
9:43 others on there i think that would capture the intent of the
9:47 board moving forward with the resolution
9:51 to leave others on there okay then my motions i’ll let my motion
9:57 stand okay so we have a motion on the
10:00 floor to approve the amended resolution to include and others um
10:05 do you need a voice vote pam or no okay
10:09 then please vote if there’s no additional discussion yes ma’am
10:12 two things do it’s appropriate to approve the
10:20 resolution before you approve the legal contract yes yes you’re
10:26 doing the resolution to say that it’s a
10:30 it’s an epidemic and that’s what we’re that’s what the board’s
10:32 doing is joining and and the second thing
10:35 is it appropriate do they have to vote on the original motion
10:40 first and then go to the amended the
10:43 amended i believe we had an amended motion so is that correct
10:46 all right so do we need to vote
10:52 time to discuss our vote now or should we discuss after the
10:57 amended
11:00 i think we’re just voting on the resolution right now resolution
11:02 on the contract we are amending
11:04 right now the resolution we vote on that then we come back to
11:07 discussion for right before we vote for
11:11 the resolution that has amended if it’s amended right right got
11:15 it any additional questions on the process
11:18 okay then um if any additional discussion on the amended motion
11:27 okay okay then if the board would please vote on the amended
11:30 motion
11:31 it says adopting the resolution yeah this is all right pam can
11:40 we do a voice vote on the amended
11:41 motion will that make your life easier wait on the actual
11:45 amendment the amendment to the resolution we
11:48 need a voice vote yes you’re actually amending the resolution
11:52 okay you want a voice vote on that one all in
11:55 favor aye aye aye aye aye aye all opposed aye the motion carries
12:02 four to one so we now have an amended
12:06 resolution um we will take a motion to approve the amended
12:11 recommended resolution move to approve second
12:15 move moved by mr susan seconded by miss campbell and open for
12:18 discussion
12:18 um i just wanted to share after we had our our meeting with our
12:30 uh our workshop last week and we
12:33 got into discussion with some of the students afterwards and i
12:36 believe one of them miss desk but shared an
12:38 e-mail that um that was sent um so that we could hear that
12:43 student’s input and one of the the concerns was are we
12:47 And getting involved in a lawsuit, are we getting away from our
12:49 mission?
12:49 And I think that is exactly the point, is that the JUUL, the vaping
12:56 and epidemic that we’re involved in, takes us away from our
13:00 mission.
13:00 It is taking our staff away from the mission.
13:05 And so I just feel like this is so important as much as, you
13:09 know, we all want to stay out of legal hairiness, for lack of a
13:14 better word.
13:16 We’re already in it.
13:17 We’re here.
13:19 And it’s causing a huge problem, not to mention just the fact
13:22 that part of our job is protecting students.
13:24 And so I feel like if we’re going to protect them in other ways,
13:27 that it’s appropriate for us to do it in this way.
13:29 And so that’s why I’m continuing to support our decision to move
13:35 forward with this.
13:37 Additional discussion?
13:40 Ms. McDougall?
13:43 After our meeting, I certainly had students come up and question
13:47 why we might get involved.
13:49 And it was an interesting conversation because she shared with
13:52 me, she has a friend who vapes at her school for anxiety.
13:56 And she has talked to her friend about stopping and how
13:59 dangerous it is.
14:01 And so, and that hasn’t stopped this friend.
14:04 So I am concerned that it is an epidemic.
14:07 And so that was one person I talked to.
14:09 And then I talked to a mother who is in the medical profession,
14:13 who has seen this firsthand and also in her family.
14:18 And she, I talked to her at length about this.
14:22 What do you think about us joining this?
14:23 And she says, Juul purposely targeted our youth.
14:28 Purposely.
14:29 Somebody needs to hold them accountable.
14:31 Even if we get nothing compensated from this, it needs to be
14:37 somebody to hold them accountable for what’s happening in the
14:41 epidemic to our children going forward.
14:43 And unfortunately, our other lawmakers are not, at this point,
14:49 willing to do that.
14:51 Let’s hope nothing happens to their children.
14:53 But she has seen firsthand some of the devastation to people who
14:57 are vaping and how prevalent it is.
14:59 So I want to move forward with this.
15:03 Thank you, Ms. McDougall.
15:05 Additional discussion?
15:06 Ms. Deskovich.
15:07 I’ve said most of this at our workshop, but I just want to
15:11 reiterate why I’m voting against this today.
15:15 And it’s not because I don’t think we don’t have a problem.
15:18 Obviously, our numbers show that nicotine use is up.
15:22 And we know firsthand that vaping is up.
15:25 And I have friends and family members that have been affected by
15:29 their students’ vaping.
15:30 And so I understand the problem.
15:33 But I can’t get past our role and where we belong in this and
15:36 what we should be doing.
15:38 And so for me, I think it’s out of our scope.
15:40 I think that there’s more than just Juul that are – I have a
15:45 problem with going after just one vendor when there’s – I
15:47 guess they’re not our vendor.
15:49 One company when there’s multiples that are probably doing the
15:54 exact same thing, but the research hasn’t been put in front of
15:57 us.
15:57 And so therefore, I’m going to stick with my nay vote.
16:00 Thank you, Ms. Deskovich.
16:04 Any additional discussion?
16:05 All right.
16:07 Then I will call from my vote.
16:19 Is there anyone who hasn’t voted?
16:35 Because I’m not getting a –
16:36 Oh, it might – I did vote, but it didn’t like it.
16:39 Come on.
16:40 Come on, McDougal.
16:41 I’m so sorry.
16:42 Oh, wait.
16:45 Mine didn’t – it looks like mine didn’t go through either.
16:49 Okay, good.
16:49 I want to call for a voice vote.
16:50 I think we got it.
16:53 Okay, motion carries four to one.
16:55 It was me.
16:57 And I will just say that’s – one of the reasons that I’m so
17:03 very proud of this board is that you all are very principled in
17:05 your votes
17:06 and that regardless of where we fall on a vote and any
17:09 disagreement, you know, with the other board members,
17:11 we all have committed to forge ahead and do the good work.
17:17 So thank you, Ms. Deskovich, for sticking to your principles on
17:19 that.
17:20 I appreciate that, as well as to the rest of you that carried
17:23 forward your principles as well.
17:25 Dr. Mullins, will you please walk us through the action items?
17:30 Yes, Ms. Belford, item G7 is to approve the appointment of Paul
17:34 Gibbs to the position of general counsel to the school board of
17:37 Brevard Public Schools,
17:39 effective January 6, 2020, pursuant to the terms of the attached
17:44 employment agreement.
17:45 What are the wishes of the board?
17:47 Move to approve.
17:47 Second.
17:49 Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
17:52 Board members, before you go forward, the job description is not
17:56 attached as – the job description on the document you have is
18:00 not attached.
18:00 That will have to be attached, but it’s your job description
18:02 that you already approved.
18:04 It was just not attached to the attachment you have now.
18:08 Got it.
18:09 Is there any discussion on the item?
18:10 I’m just – we haven’t discussed much about the contract, so I’m
18:15 just kind of going through it here for a second time.
18:19 The salary – was that negotiated by –
18:23 It’s there.
18:24 The salary was negotiated by Dr. Thetty.
18:28 She worked diligently throughout the weekend.
18:30 She and I spoke several times.
18:32 We gave her the initial range that we had discussed at our
18:36 meeting last week, and she ran with that and worked through.
18:41 There were several questions that came up, but she worked
18:44 diligently with Mr. Gibbs to resolve those issues and bring it
18:48 forward.
18:49 So, he’s starting out just slightly higher than Ms. Envel’s
18:53 current salary.
18:54 Is it – is there a reason for that, years of experience, or is
18:58 there a way for us to – if you would, Dr. Thetty.
19:03 Thank you.
19:03 Yeah, why is he starting higher than you?
19:15 We worked through a process this weekend of years of experience
19:19 times a percent increase at 1.5 percent, assuming that every
19:24 year over, the minimum would be the person coming in with seven
19:26 years’ experience, which is the minimum required for the
19:29 position.
19:30 It actually came out to a little bit of a different number, but
19:34 we stuck with the 155.
19:36 Mr. Susan.
19:40 I would also like to remind the board that this individual is
19:43 coming on with more responsibility than Ms. Envel did, carrying
19:47 on a new staff.
19:48 It’s more responsibility possibly with our public records
19:52 requests and other things that we’re thinking, so there’s a
19:56 little bit more responsibility, and I think that also justifies
19:59 it for me.
20:03 Any additional question, discussion, concern, Ms. Campbell?
20:09 After our five-hour ordeal on Thursday, I think it’s important
20:13 to share with the public, who was certainly welcome to attend,
20:17 but was not there with us, that this was a really difficult
20:20 decision.
20:21 Thank you, Ms. Envel, for doing some – beating the bushes.
20:25 And I’m thankful to the three candidates who came and spent
20:29 their morning with us, so I know it’s a long morning for them,
20:33 doing individual interviews with all the board members.
20:35 This was – I don’t know if I can say it was the most difficult
20:40 decision that we’ve made, but I think it took the longest amount
20:44 of time.
20:46 But I’m glad to move forward with someone who has – who has
20:51 had this role before, and – but can’t replace you, Ms. Envel.
20:57 I have a couple more.
21:01 Ms. Tuskovich.
21:02 Oh, okay, hang on.
21:04 And Dr. Thetty, thank you, because we didn’t give you very much
21:08 time to get this work done, from the beginning to the end,
21:13 not just this last weekend, but getting the applications
21:16 processed and – and sitting in with us on the marathon
21:21 meetings and calling references.
21:24 And thank you, Ms. Escobar, as well, for your role in helping
21:28 get us organized so quickly.
21:30 I don’t know if this goes to Ms. Envel or Dr. Thetty, but the
21:36 – the new section – so the General Counsel is responsible
21:39 for the recommendation.
21:40 This is Section 5A. Is that – that’s a brand-new section, I’m
21:43 assuming?
21:44 That actually was in mine, as well.
21:45 It was in yours.
21:46 It was.
21:46 So we already established that the General Counsel would –
21:49 okay.
21:49 We just didn’t quite get that far.
21:50 We were close, though.
21:52 Very close.
21:52 Okay.
21:53 And the – the language on the parliamentarian certification
21:59 coverage, is that new?
22:01 No, that was there, too.
22:02 Interesting, because he specifically said he wanted to go get
22:05 that certification.
22:06 So, okay.
22:07 I just want to second what Ms. Campbell said about our deliberation
22:11 on our three top candidates.
22:13 They were all remarkable.
22:15 And, you know, I just want public record to show that we would
22:18 have been well-served with any one of the three.
22:21 It was – it was very challenging.
22:26 Five hours of us, and we weren’t fighting.
22:28 We were weighing the pros and cons and the experience that each
22:33 one had and what Brevard’s needs were.
22:35 And I think – I think we did a good job coming to the final
22:39 conclusion.
22:39 Thank you.
22:40 Any additional discussion?
22:45 I will just add, absolutely, it was – really, this was an
22:50 absolute team effort from start to finish with crunch time from
22:56 the get-go for staff, for the board, for – certainly for our
23:01 candidates who are very flexible with their schedule.
23:03 And Ms. Duskovich couldn’t have said it better.
23:06 We would have been very well-served by any of those three
23:08 candidates.
23:09 And we – we are – are blessed.
23:12 Thank you, Ms. Enball, for going out and recruiting to bring us
23:16 such great candidates and to – to all of the staff who – who
23:20 made it possible for us to get through this in a speedy manner
23:22 and – and get someone in here to – to try to take the place
23:26 Ms. Enball as she leaves us.
23:28 So – with that, I will call for a vote.
23:31 Come on.
23:40 Your computer’s too cold.
23:42 And the motion passes 5-0.
23:46 Congratulations to Mr. Gibbs, and we look forward to welcoming
23:49 you to the board – or to the district, I should say.
23:52 Do we have a start date?
23:53 January 6th.
23:55 Okay.
23:56 January 6th.
23:57 Yes, and – and Dr. Thede did a great job negotiating that as
23:59 well.
24:00 Now she needs to become a real estate agent.
24:03 Right.
24:04 Okay, Dr. Mullins, I think we are back to you.
24:09 Item G-8 is for the board to approve the legal services
24:12 agreement regarding electronic cigarettes vaping litigation.
24:16 What are the wishes of the board?
24:18 Move to approve.
24:18 Second.
24:19 Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
24:22 Any discussion?
24:23 All right.
24:26 Please vote.
24:27 And the motion passes 4-1.
24:39 There being no further business, this meeting is now adjourned.
24:44 All right.
24:46 Thank you.