Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 We’ll be right back.
0:30 Good morning. I’m happy to welcome all of my fellow board
0:34 members and call the July 13th, 2021 school board meeting to
0:37 order. Pam, roll call, please.
0:39 Mrs. Belford, present.
0:42 Mrs. Campbell.
0:47 I think she may be muted and I can’t seem to unmute it.
0:54 Oh, I’m here.
0:56 You’ve got her. Thank you.
0:59 Mrs. Jenkins.
1:00 Present.
1:00 Ms. McDougall.
1:02 Mr. Susan.
1:04 Present.
1:05 We will now hold a moment of silent reflection in memory of one
1:08 of our BPS family members who has recently passed away. Andre
1:11 Hutchins, a student from Melbourne High School.
1:26 Thank you. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
1:28 Pledge of Allegiance to the Black of the United States of
1:36 America and to your Republic for which it stands, one nation
1:41 under God, individual, with liberty and justice for all.
1:46 At this time, I would like to offer my fellow board members and
1:50 Dr. Mullins the opportunity to recognize student staff or
1:54 members of the community would just remind the team this morning
1:57 that we are on a bit of a time crunch for quorum.
2:00 So, if we could keep our recognitions short, that would be
2:03 fabulous.
2:03 Who would like to get us started?
2:05 I can start.
2:05 Ms. Jenkins.
2:06 Yeah, I just want to give a shout out to Ms. Barbara Wilcox and
2:09 the students of Tropical Elementary.
2:12 I know currently right now, Congressman Posey has put a
2:15 resolution in the House.
2:17 I believe it’s 509 for their kindness symbol.
2:22 And so, I’m just encouraging everyone in the community to reach
2:24 out to the Education and Labor Committee.
2:26 Let them know that you support our students here in Brevard.
2:29 It’s a pretty amazing opportunity for them.
2:32 I have personally called a couple people and left some voicemails.
2:35 It’s really simple.
2:36 It’s super fast.
2:37 If you just go straight to the website and find their phone
2:39 number.
2:39 So, I’m encouraging anyone who can to please do that as well.
2:43 Thanks.
2:43 Thanks, Ms. Jenkins.
2:45 I’m good.
2:46 Ms. Campbell?
2:48 I just want to give a shout out to all the teachers and students
2:53 who are involved in the Summer Fine Arts Theater Workshop.
2:56 The musicals, Big Fish, and Singing in the Rain were fantastic.
3:00 The cast did such a great job.
3:02 And the orchestra, everybody involved.
3:03 So, great job, everyone.
3:05 It was another stellar performance year.
3:08 Thank you, Ms. Campbell.
3:10 Dr. Mullins?
3:11 Thank you, Ms. Belford.
3:13 I’d like to echo Mrs. Campbell’s compliments and kudos to our
3:17 staff for the Summer Performing Fine Arts Festival.
3:20 I had the privilege of attending both performances as well.
3:23 They were amazing.
3:25 Our kids, in less than three weeks, put on a full musical
3:28 production.
3:29 That’s only possible with amazing leadership.
3:32 There are several individuals across our schools who give up
3:36 their time to make us available for our kids.
3:40 I won’t go through the list of names, but just a huge thank you
3:44 to our staff for bringing their skills and talents to inspire
3:49 our kids.
3:50 And I’d be remiss if I didn’t do an acknowledgement of the
3:53 Phoenix Foundation, which ultimately funds the Summer Performing
3:58 Arts Program in the tune of about $100,000 each summer to put on
4:02 both of those productions.
4:04 So we are so appreciative of the Phoenix Foundation and their
4:07 partnership to make it possible for our kids.
4:10 I also want to highlight two first annual events that are coming
4:15 up.
4:16 You may be aware if you went by the school bus out front.
4:19 Tomorrow, or yes, tomorrow we have our first ever bus driver
4:24 career fair.
4:25 That was hard to get out.
4:28 As well as on Thursday, we’ll be hosting a substitute career
4:34 fair.
4:35 Struggling here today.
4:37 So very excited and appreciate our human resources team and
4:41 staff putting those opportunities available to really showcase
4:46 those opportunities across our community.
4:49 So if you know someone who is looking for a very flexible
4:54 schedule, either as a bus driver or a substitute, please
4:59 encourage them to come and be part of those employment
5:01 opportunities in the next two days.
5:03 Thank you Dr. Mollins I have just two quick ones this morning.
5:07 One, just want to thank our team members who were able to get
5:12 our substitute recognition funds out to our substitutes.
5:18 I saw in our LTP that that memo is going out to our subs this
5:21 week.
5:22 So I’m sure Dr. Thetty and Ms. Lisinski and probably Russell Cheatham
5:26 as well all had a hand in that.
5:28 So thank you for getting that going, getting it in place.
5:31 And then the second one, I’m assuming it’s probably going to be
5:34 some of the same team members, but was so excited to see in our
5:38 LTP this week that we are resolving the confusing issue of the
5:41 way that pay is presented on the pay stubs by putting all of
5:45 those different categories together.
5:46 So I know, Mr. Susan, we’ve had conversation about that for many
5:50 years, but super excited.
5:51 I think that’s going to eliminate a lot of confusion.
5:53 And so thank you to all who worked on making that happen as well.
5:58 And that is going to bring us to the adoption of the agenda.
6:01 Dr. Mullins.
6:02 Ms. Belford and members of the board, on this morning’s agenda,
6:04 we have administrative staff recommendations, one presentation,
6:07 23 consent items, two action items, and six information items.
6:13 Changes made to the agenda since it was first released to the
6:16 public on July 6th are as follows.
6:18 Item A7 on administrative staff recommendations, received revisions,
6:22 an attachment was added to item F11 on Brevard Schools
6:26 Foundation agreement, and a superintendent’s report on the 2021
6:30 FSA third grade data update and other data to be monitored has
6:35 been added under presentations.
6:36 What are the wishes of the board, seconded by Mr. Susan, seconded
6:41 by Ms. Jenkins, is there any discussion?
6:43 Ms. Escobar, are we going to need voice vote for Ms. Campbell?
6:47 She can’t vote online.
6:51 Oh, okay.
6:53 I have to hold up online if it’s, you know, if we can do that.
6:59 Me too.
7:02 There’s a quorum in person right now.
7:06 Yeah.
7:07 Is it not for you?
7:08 It looks up.
7:09 No, not for me.
7:10 Mm-mm.
7:11 You need us to refresh maybe?
7:12 Okay.
7:13 I just refreshed and it came up for me.
7:17 Okay.
7:19 I just refreshed and it came up for me.
7:22 Okay.
7:26 I just refreshed and it came up for me.
7:28 Okay.
7:29 So please vote.
7:30 It came up now.
7:31 All.
7:32 You guys both have it?
7:33 Yeah, buddy.
7:34 All right.
7:35 So all in favor, please signify by saying aye.
7:36 Aye.
7:38 All opposed.
7:39 Same sign.
7:40 Motion passes for zero.
7:43 Mr. Gibbs, we have a request for some changes.
7:46 in the order of the agenda.
7:47 Do we need to discuss that at this point in time or just as they
7:50 come up?
7:51 How would you like me to handle that?
7:52 Yeah, you would move to amend whoever’s amending it, whatever
7:55 your amendments you’re going to
7:56 make to the agenda, move it.
7:57 I’d like to make a motion to amend the agenda, to move the
7:58 public comment for individuals that
7:58 don’t have a specific to the agenda.
7:59 I would like to make a motion to amend the agenda, to move the
8:00 public comment for individuals
8:00 that don’t have a specific to the agenda.
8:01 I would like to make a motion to amend the agenda, to move the
8:02 public comment for individuals
8:02 that don’t have a specific to the agenda.
8:03 I would like to make a motion to amend the agenda.
8:04 I would like to make a motion to amend the agenda, to move the
8:15 public comment for individuals
8:21 that don’t have a specific to the agenda, to the end, along with
8:23 Dr. Mullen’s to the
8:23 end, along with employee use conversation and board presentation
8:27 to the end.
8:28 For those individuals that are not aware, the reason for this
8:33 was is that we didn’t have
8:35 a quorum, and I’d like to make that motion.
8:38 I have a motion on the floor for Mr. Susan.
8:41 Do I have a second?
8:42 Second.
8:43 Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
8:46 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
8:48 Aye.
8:49 Any opposed, same sign?
8:52 What?
8:53 We can do it in employee use, Dr. Mullen’s, and then public.
8:57 Okay.
8:58 All right.
8:59 Dr. Mullen’s, will you please let us know about our
9:00 administrative staff recommendations?
9:10 Yes.
9:11 There are six persons under this category for the board to
9:14 consider.
9:14 What are the wishes of the board?
9:15 Move to approve.
9:16 Second.
9:17 Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
9:19 Is there any discussion?
9:21 Hearing none, please vote.
9:28 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:29 Oh, there it’s up.
9:29 See if it works for you guys.
9:29 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:30 Oh, there it’s up.
9:31 See if it works for you guys.
9:33 All right.
9:34 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:34 All right.
9:34 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:35 Aye.
9:36 Any opposed?
9:37 Same sign?
9:38 Aye.
9:39 Motion passes 4-0.
9:40 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:43 Aye.
9:44 Any opposed?
9:44 Same sign?
9:45 Motion passes 4-0.
9:46 All right.
9:48 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
9:49 Aye.
9:50 Any opposed?
9:51 Same sign?
9:52 Aye.
9:53 Motion passes 4-0.
9:56 All right.
9:57 So we are skipping over Dr. Mullins’ superintendents’ report for
9:59 now as well as public comment.
10:03 So that is going to bring us to the consent agenda.
10:03 Dr. Mullins?
10:04 Ms. Belfort, just for a point of clarification, do we have any
10:05 speakers speaking specifically
10:05 to an agenda item?
10:06 Yes.
10:07 Okay.
10:08 All right.
10:21 So we are skipping over Dr. Mullins’ superintendents’ report for
10:22 now as well as public comment.
10:22 So that is going to bring us to the consent agenda.
10:26 Dr. Mullins?
10:27 Ms. Belfort, just for a point of clarification, do we have any
10:31 speakers speaking specifically to an agenda
10:33 item?
10:34 I believe those have to be heard.
10:35 Yeah.
10:36 That’s right.
10:37 All right.
10:38 Thank you, Dr. Mullins, for that clarification.
10:43 So we do have one speaker that is speaking to an agenda item,
10:48 and we are required to hear that speaker
10:50 before we vote on that item.
10:53 So Jody Hand, if you would please approach.
10:58 Good morning.
10:59 Thank you for your time this morning.
11:02 I’ll be jumping a little bit because I’ve noticed two board
11:09 members not physically present, and one not present at all,
11:15 which happens to be my district, and I find that unacceptable.
11:18 These meetings have been announced for over a year.
11:21 I understand family emergencies.
11:24 However, two in one meeting does not seem appropriate.
11:28 My voice counts, and I’m not happy about that.
11:31 I object to agenda item F.21, and this is the $20 student
11:40 technology fee.
11:42 That is a cost the school system should absorb.
11:45 If the school district has chosen to move toward a majority of
11:48 online teaching, requiring more computers, that cost is not the
11:52 responsibility of the taxpayer.
11:55 At $20 a student times roughly 73,000 students, that feels more
12:00 like a $1,460,000 money grab as a way to recoup financial losses
12:05 due to a reduction in enrolling students.
12:07 The individual school PTOs can fundraise should that be a way to
12:10 choose to find additional funds.
12:12 I do not believe this should be a requirement of the students to
12:18 pay.
12:18 Additionally, as the parent of three elementary-aged children, I’m
12:20 encouraged by the recent signing of HB 241 and SB 582 into law
12:26 on July 1st.
12:27 This is the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which will allow for fair
12:30 and accurate teaching of our country and state’s history while
12:33 providing parents their due rights as to their minor children.
12:37 I would like to volunteer for any working groups that are
12:40 created by this board and/or any committee within the school
12:44 district to ensure its speedy and accurate implementation into
12:48 the Brevard County school system.
12:50 Moving on, I’d like to know when the board will be deciding on
12:53 the role of parent volunteers for the upcoming school year.
12:56 I’ve been fingerprinted and I’m ready to volunteer to help our
12:59 teachers prepare for an open, mask-optional, and inviting school
13:03 year.
13:03 Additionally, why is quarantining even an issue up for debate if
13:07 there is no e-learning option available for kids?
13:10 We are no longer in a pandemic and the state of emergency has
13:14 ended.
13:14 Please stop with the scare-tastics.
13:16 Thank you for your time.
13:17 I look forward to hearing from you regarding the working group
13:20 for the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
13:21 My contact information is in the sign-up sheet and I’ll follow
13:24 up with each of you personally.
13:25 Thank you.
13:26 Thanks, Jody.
13:27 Okay, that is going to move us into the consent agenda.
13:34 Dr. Mullins.
13:36 There are 23 agenda items under this category.
13:43 Does any board member wish to pull any agenda item from the
13:47 consent agenda?
13:48 Hearing none, I’ll accept a motion to – or –
13:53 Move to approve.
13:54 I’ll accept a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.
13:58 And I have a motion on the floor from Mr. Susan and a second
14:01 from Ms. Jenkins.
14:02 Is there any discussion?
14:03 Hearing none, please vote.
14:05 All right.
14:06 Looks like we’ll go voice vote.
14:07 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
14:08 Aye.
14:12 All opposed, same sign.
14:13 Motion passes 4-0.
14:14 All right, moving on to the action agenda.
14:15 Dr. Mullins.
14:16 The first item on the action agenda is G-34 on department school
14:18 initiated agreements.
14:19 What are the wishes of the board?
14:20 Move to approve.
14:21 - All opposed, same sign, motion passes four zero.
14:24 All right, moving on to the action agenda, Dr. Mullins.
14:28 - The first item on the action agenda is G34
14:31 on department school initiated agreements.
14:33 - What are the wishes of the board?
14:34 - Move to approve.
14:36 - Moved by Mr. Susan.
14:37 - Second.
14:38 - Seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
14:39 Any discussion?
14:41 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
14:44 - Aye. - Aye.
14:45 Any opposed?
14:46 - Aye.
14:47 - Thank you.
14:48 Was that an aye for opposed or in favor, Ms. Campbell?
14:51 I think my timing was off there.
14:52 - Yeah, I guess there’s a delay.
14:55 That’s aye for approve.
14:56 - Thank you, I just wanted to clarify.
14:59 All right, Dr. Mullins.
15:01 - The next item on the action agenda is G35
15:05 on procurement solicitations.
15:06 - What are the wishes of the board?
15:07 - Move to approve.
15:08 - Second.
15:09 - Moved by Mr. Susan, seconded by Ms. Jenkins.
15:11 Is there any discussion?
15:12 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
15:16 - Aye. - Aye.
15:18 - Aye.
15:20 The motion passes four zero.
15:22 We’re now at the information portion of our meeting.
15:24 No action will be taken this morning,
15:25 but these items may be brought back at a later time.
15:28 Does any board member wish to discuss
15:30 any of the information items?
15:31 Okay.
15:35 Hearing none, we will go back to,
15:40 I believe the motion is bringing employee you items.
15:45 So Mr. Susan, I’ll turn the mic over to you on that.
15:48 - Ms. Linde, you have the floor at your,
15:51 either there or here.
15:52 Would that be appropriate?
15:53 I have to speak back there.
15:55 - Hi.
16:02 Can I say a real quick second?
16:03 - Sure.
16:04 - Employ you stepped up over about four years ago over,
16:08 along with Brevard Achievement Center
16:10 and other bridges and other groups
16:12 to create what would become
16:13 the largest jobs program in America.
16:15 And the spinoff that occurred because of this
16:19 is why Linde came to this board.
16:20 Because Dr. Mullins, along with the school board,
16:23 have been nothing but proactive and helping
16:27 towards getting our students who are in,
16:29 with disabilities and needs into the workforce.
16:32 We’ve done an excellent job.
16:34 And Ms. Linde wanted to come up here
16:35 and honor you guys for it.
16:36 So with that, Ms. Linde, you have the floor.
16:39 - Thank you, Matt.
16:41 We’d like to say thank you.
16:42 My name is Linde Sinka.
16:43 I’m the program director for a statewide program.
16:46 And we work with funding
16:47 through vocational rehabilitation
16:50 in a career exploration program
16:52 to help students that have IEPs and 504 plans
16:56 gain fundamental work experience
16:58 in in demand industries
17:01 to help them develop work ethic, work skills,
17:04 and help them figure out what career path
17:07 might be the best fit for them.
17:10 We’ve had a huge amount of success
17:12 in Brevard County in our construction,
17:14 our manufacturing, hospitality,
17:17 and other career fields
17:18 with the help of the Brevard County School District
17:21 and funding through vocational rehabilitation.
17:24 These programs have spread.
17:26 There are now specific industry work training programs
17:29 across the state in the Treasure Coast,
17:32 Jacksonville, Orlando.
17:34 And we hope to create additional programs
17:37 for students across the state.
17:39 Brevard has really been the birthplace
17:42 of some of these industry programs.
17:44 We started four years ago with our construction program,
17:48 and that turned into a manufacturing program.
17:51 Many students from the ages of 14 through 21
17:54 are participating in work training and work experiences.
17:58 And these connections for students are life-changing.
18:03 They are being hired in high-paying careers
18:06 right out of high school,
18:08 some of them even before they graduate.
18:11 Brevard County School District,
18:13 Dr. Mullins, Matt, Susan, board members,
18:16 these opportunities wouldn’t happen without your support.
18:19 We appreciate everything you do
18:21 to promote these opportunities for students
18:24 with IEPs and 504s.
18:27 And we hope to continue growing these opportunities
18:30 for students in your county.
18:33 The program is growing every year.
18:35 We have more opportunities,
18:37 more business partners,
18:38 and more students participating in these programs.
18:42 So we can’t thank you enough.
18:44 We appreciate everything you do for your students.
18:47 We’ve been honored to work so closely with you,
18:50 as well as Mr. Susan in promoting this program
18:54 and making sure that students and parents
18:56 are aware of these opportunities.
18:58 These are free programs for students
19:00 funded through state and federal funding.
19:03 And we appreciate all of your support,
19:06 your partnership and everything you do
19:08 to make these programs a success for your students.
19:12 We’d like to specifically honor Mr. Matt Susan
19:14 as one of our advocates of the year.
19:17 He’s really been working tirelessly
19:19 to bring businesses to the table
19:22 so that students have a variety of opportunities.
19:25 And that really started with the construction program
19:28 a few years ago.
19:29 So we appreciate you.
19:31 We appreciate Dr. Mullins
19:32 and everyone in the school district,
19:34 parents, students, teachers,
19:36 and everyone that works so tirelessly
19:39 to create these opportunities for students.
19:41 Thank you very much.
19:43 Thank you.
19:44 Can we all get a picture with him?
19:47 Let’s get a picture there.
19:48 Welcome back.
19:50 We’re going to put it on here.
20:49 You guys, I want to say if there’s one thing that you see in a
20:53 kid’s life when they make
20:54 that transition into the workplace where they get that job and
20:57 they realize that they can
20:58 do it, especially with students with disabilities, it’s an
21:01 entire group of individuals that
21:02 we, as a school district, have made one of our initiatives to
21:06 work hard.
21:06 Dr. Mullins has attended the graduations.
21:09 This is a team event, and you should be proud of your school
21:12 district and your school board members
21:14 for what they’re doing because, Lindy will tell you, we are
21:17 number one in the nation.
21:19 That doesn’t get out there too often.
21:21 That doesn’t get pushed out, but there are literally other
21:24 school districts trying to
21:25 figure out how we do what we do so that they can – and they’re
21:27 all nodding their heads
21:29 back there – so that they can replicate it because across the
21:32 nation, there are kids that
21:33 don’t have the opportunity that they have in Brevard.
21:36 That is an amazing thing, and Lindy, you are amazing in your
21:39 team, and the other providers
21:40 are also.
21:41 So I want to say thank you.
21:42 That’s it.
21:43 Thank you.
21:44 All right, Dr. Mullins, I think that is going to bring us to
21:52 your superintendent’s report.
21:54 Thank you, Ms. Belford, members of the board, if you give me
22:02 just a moment to get things loaded
22:05 here.
22:07 All right.
22:08 Well, I’m pleased to share with the board some student
22:12 achievement data that we’ve recently
22:15 received.
22:16 As just for everyone’s viewing reminder, the state of Florida
22:22 suspended the Florida student
22:25 assessment for school year 2020, as we experienced the closure
22:30 of in-person attendance in our schools
22:32 for the last nine weeks of the school year.
22:35 So that provided an interruption, if you will, to our ability to
22:39 track and monitor our students’
22:40 performance and their achievement, like we’ve been doing, not
22:44 just for Brevard, but across
22:46 the entire state.
22:48 Nevertheless, we’re back on track and pace with the FSA.
22:53 Our third grade students ELA, or English Language Arts, test
22:58 results came in about two to three
23:00 weeks ago from the state.
23:02 Very preliminary data.
23:04 The state has not formally published it on their website yet,
23:07 but it’s been released to
23:09 school districts.
23:10 So we’re in the process of disaggregating and breaking down the
23:13 results of our third grade
23:15 scores.
23:16 And it’s presenting, you know, the, the anticipated challenge of
23:19 bridging that gap from the last
23:21 year of 2019, when we had achievement data to 2021, you’ll see
23:26 in a moment that we did
23:28 experience some achievement decline, but not dissimilar to what
23:33 the rest of the state is experiencing.
23:37 And we also want to use this opportunity to let the board know
23:40 how we are continuing to monitor
23:41 in preparation for the release of other student achievement data.
23:45 All of our students participated in all of the array of
23:49 assessment this year from third grade
23:51 through eighth grade FSA, as well as end of course exams for
23:56 algebra, geometry, U.S. history.
24:00 Did I say biology?
24:02 So, but we haven’t received those results yet, but I want to
24:06 give the board and the community
24:08 an update on all of those test data points and how we disaggregate
24:13 our results in preparation.
24:16 Really right now as our schools anticipate those results in
24:20 beginning to work on their school
24:22 improvement plan for the 2022 school year.
24:27 Let me start by just outlining exactly who we are as Brevard.
24:33 We have approximately 61% of our students identified as white,
24:39 15% African American, 12% Hispanic, 9%
24:44 multiracial, and 3% Asian.
24:47 We have a very small American Indian Hawaiian Pacific Islander
24:51 population in Brevard, less than
24:53 1% cumulatively for those groups of students.
24:58 So they’re not represented in the pie chart there, but we do
25:02 have some.
25:03 We also look closely at additional subgroup or demographic
25:07 breakdown data that is free and
25:09 reduced lunch.
25:11 Those are our students who qualify for free and reduced lunch
25:17 services in our food service programs,
25:20 but also then for Title I funding from the federal government.
25:25 51% of our students are identified as free and reduced lunch
25:29 qualifying.
25:30 4% of our students are English language learners or emerging
25:36 English language students.
25:39 And almost 20%, a little over 19% of our students are identified
25:46 with an IEP or for ESE, Exceptional
25:49 Student Education Services.
25:51 So let’s start with the ELA English language arts grade three
25:56 preliminary data.
25:58 Here you see trend data over several years of how our students
26:03 performed.
26:04 And you’ll see that we did experience across these subgroup, the
26:08 ethnic subgroup areas, a decline
26:11 in achievement from 2019 to 2021, a decline of about 3.6% for
26:20 white students, 6% for Hispanic
26:24 students, and 6% for our African American students.
26:31 So when you look at the additional subgroups of students with
26:34 disabilities, emerging English
26:36 language learners, and economically disadvantaged, the ED stands
26:42 for economically disadvantaged for
26:44 those students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
26:47 We also saw a decline in achievement in those subgroups with our
26:52 emerging English language learners experiencing
26:56 the greatest decline in achievement with approximately 9.4%.
27:05 But also our economically disadvantaged students, 6.2%.
27:13 When we look, we have not received demographic or this breakdown
27:17 data across the state yet.
27:19 We were able to do this on our own.
27:21 We get what’s called an INDV file from the state.
27:25 We’re able to sort and categorize all of our students on how
27:28 they are identified and able
27:30 to produce this report on our own.
27:32 This is not state calculated.
27:36 So when the state calculates the subgroup data, it may shift
27:40 some, just for full transparency,
27:43 because they may have not included some students that we would
27:47 include.
27:48 But the state, the overall Brevard percent of students scoring
27:53 level 3 and above is 60% compared
27:58 to the state average of 54%.
28:01 So I’m pleased that Brevard continues to excel above the state
28:06 average.
28:07 But as most districts I anticipate will experience, there will
28:14 be a decline in achievement because
28:16 of the loss in learning through the closures.
28:19 So let’s take a look at some of the other data that we will
28:23 continue to monitor as we move towards
28:28 receiving data from the state.
28:31 And each of these slides, these next several slides you will see,
28:34 are actually pulled directly
28:36 from the DOE website.
28:38 So if the public would like to go to the Florida Department of
28:42 Education website, go to Testing
28:44 and Accountability, go to the Achievement Gap link.
28:48 All of these slides are taken directly from the DOE as they
28:51 monitor and hold us accountable
28:53 to not only our overall performance, but also all of our subgroup
28:57 performance, the performance
29:00 of our students by subgroup across all of these areas.
29:03 The first that you see here again is English Language Arts.
29:07 Keep in mind that this is in the aggregate now.
29:10 This is not just third grade.
29:11 This is English Language Arts across all grade levels, third
29:15 through 10th grade.
29:17 So you’ll see that our students who are economically
29:22 disadvantaged, as compared to the state, our non-economically
29:29 disadvantaged students are performing above the state at 72%,
29:33 where the state average is 69%.
29:36 The bar graph or the data you see at the bottom actually
29:48 identifies what is the achievement gap between the non-economically
29:56 disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged, at the state level,
30:01 as well as Brevard.
30:02 And you’ll see that our gap has pretty much remained on pace
30:08 with the state over time with some fluctuations, as you see.
30:14 When we look to our English Language Learners, again, our non-ELL
30:20 students perform above the state, and our ELL students,
30:26 particularly
30:27 in 2019, performed at the same percentage at the state.
30:32 But when we look or talk about closing the achievement gap,
30:37 where we want our ELL students to be performing at the same pace
30:42 as non-ELL students,
30:44 that’s why it is helpful to look at the gap data at the bottom.
30:49 So the state’s gap is a little narrower than Brevard’s gap, and
30:54 that’s the result of, ultimately, you see that the ELL students
30:58 are at 31%, but our non-ELL students are performing above the
31:02 state average.
31:03 We are absolutely committed to, there’s two ways to close an
31:07 achievement gap, if we’re honest about it.
31:09 One is to take your higher performance and lower their
31:12 performance to narrow that gap, which is not what we want to do.
31:15 Or, you raise the achievement of the students in the subgroup,
31:19 so that they are performing with their peers, and that is our
31:23 goal, and that is our priority, as we develop our school
31:28 improvement plans and our district’s strategic plan.
31:32 When we look at students with disabilities, we see again that
31:38 our non-students with disabilities, students are performing
31:43 above the state, and also in ELL students,
31:45 our students with disabilities are performing above the state
31:50 average of students with disabilities average, so, but again,
31:54 the gap is a little larger in Brevard, by virtue of such a
31:58 higher performance of our non-students with disabilities.
32:04 When we take a look at our ethnicity breakdown, compared to the
32:14 state, you’ll see that Brevard’s white students are performing
32:15 above the state average of students with disabilities.
32:15 They’re performing at, most recently in 2019, at 68% on grade
32:21 level, or achieving grade level or above, the state average
32:24 being 67%, but black students at the state average performing at
32:29 38%, in Brevard, 36% of our African American students performing
32:36 on grade level.
32:38 And you’ll see that that is reflected in Brevard’s achievement
32:43 gap, and you’ll see that that is reflected in Brevard’s
32:43 achievement gap being wider than compared to the state.
32:45 When we look at our breakdown of Asian, white versus Asian, Brevard
32:54 remains on pace, if you look at the state average 79%, compared
33:00 to Brevard’s white students at 80%, and then, so we’re up 1%, so
33:08 we’re up 1%.
33:08 But also, students identified as Asian are performing 1%, but
33:11 also, students identified as Asian are performing 1% better.
33:15 So, our gap is on pace, or consistent with the state’s
33:19 achievement gap with this subgroup.
33:22 Now, we take a look at our white versus Hispanic students.
33:29 Again, white students are about 1% above the state average, and
33:35 our Hispanic students in ELA performing 1% above, so the student
33:41 achievement gap is consistent in Brevard with the rest of the
33:48 state.
33:49 And as we look at, finally, at multiracial, we have the states.
33:56 Multiracial students 61% are on grade level or above.
34:01 In Brevard, 63% are on grade level and above.
34:05 So, ultimately, our gap closing is on pace with the state, and a
34:10 little ahead of the statewide peers as we look at it.
34:13 Now, when we move to math, again, this is in the aggregate.
34:20 Our students third through tested areas in high school.
34:25 The economically disadvantaged students are performing just
34:32 slightly better than the state from 49% to 50% in comparison.
34:39 Our non-economically disadvantaged students are performing at 74%
34:44 or 74% of those students scoring on grade level or above,
34:48 compared to the statewide average of 70%.
34:52 But you’ll see when you look at the gap at the bottom, our gap
34:55 is a little wider because our students, our non-identified
34:59 students for economically disadvantaged are performing better
35:03 than economically disadvantaged.
35:06 So, again, we’re focusing on raising the achievement of our
35:09 students who are identified as economically disadvantaged.
35:13 So, continuing in math, we look at our students, our emerging
35:18 English language learners.
35:20 Essentially, on pace, with the rest of the state, the gap is a
35:26 little bit wider in this area of math for our ELL students.
35:32 But our ELL students’ percent of on grade level or above is
35:37 consistent with their statewide peers.
35:41 Non-ELL learners a little bit higher, as we’ve seen in other
35:46 categories.
35:47 For students with disabilities, we have, again, in math, our
35:57 students with disabilities are performing a little bit better
36:00 than their statewide peers.
36:02 But so are the students with not identified with a disability,
36:07 performing considerably above their statewide peers, therefore
36:11 creating a larger gap for our students between these subgroups
36:17 than the state.
36:17 So, focusing on continually looking to raise that achievement
36:21 for our students with disabilities.
36:23 When we look at our ethnicity breakdown, white students compared
36:31 to African American students, the trends for our white students
36:37 from 2019 statewide, 69% of students on grade level.
36:45 And in Brevard, 70% of students on grade level.
36:49 But when we look at the performance of African American students
36:53 statewide, 40% of students performing on grade level statewide.
36:58 And Brevard’s African American students, 36% of them performing
37:04 on grade level and above.
37:06 If you look at the trends over time across the state from 2015
37:11 to 2019, you see a six percentage point increase in achievement
37:16 over time.
37:17 In Brevard, we’ve only experienced the 1% increase in
37:21 improvement over that time.
37:23 So, our gap remains larger than the state average because they
37:27 are closing that achievement gap at a more rapid pace than we
37:31 are.
37:32 So, certainly that has our attention and is a priority for us to
37:36 address, not only as we serve our kids, but also we’re held
37:39 accountable to the state.
37:41 When we look at our students identified as Asian, this is pretty
37:48 much on pace with the state in this area for our Asian students.
37:56 For our students, again, we’re still in the math, looking at
38:00 math performance.
38:02 When looking at white versus Hispanic, again, want to bring the
38:09 board’s attention, the community’s attention to what has
38:14 captured our attention as district leaders is the growth or the
38:18 improvement that the state has experienced in the performance of
38:22 their Hispanic students.
38:23 From 49% scoring on grade level to 55% over the last five years.
38:29 And we have maintained the same performance for the last five
38:33 years.
38:34 Again, a priority area for us as a school district, certainly as
38:38 we’re held accountable to the state, but also as each of our
38:42 schools identify their Hispanic students serving them and
38:46 developing strategic priorities in their school improvement plan.
38:51 And then finally, when we look at an area of math, our white
38:59 versus multiracial, you see that pretty much on pace currently
39:04 when you look at 2019 comparison from state to Brevard.
39:10 But again, the improvement at the state level over five years is
39:16 outpacing Brevard.
39:17 55% in 2015 to 62% in 2019 across the state, 7% increase, and
39:27 Brevard has experienced a 3% increase over those five years.
39:32 55% in 2015 to 62% increase over those five years.
39:33 55% increase over those five years.
41:43 56% increase over those five years.
41:44 55% increase over those five years.
45:06 56% for our Brevard’s kids, resulting in a larger gap in
45:12 achievement for Brevard’s kids.
45:18 Now we move on to social studies.
45:21 So I’ll go through these.
45:24 Then we’ll take a look at graduation rate.
45:26 And then I’ll share with the board a little bit more other data
45:29 that we build into school improvement plans.
45:32 And then also show what does a school improvement plan look like
45:35 and how we will utilize the data to then drive action.
45:39 So just to give you a sense of where we’re going here.
45:42 There are a few more slides to get through.
45:44 So our social studies assesses students in seventh grade, civics,
45:49 U.S. history, and so on.
45:52 So you can see here on this first slide, we are outpacing the
45:55 state in civics in U.S. history.
45:58 82% of our non-economically disadvantaged students performing on
46:03 grade level or above in social studies,
46:07 as well as our economically disadvantaged students performing
46:10 above.
46:11 And a pretty consistent increase in performance over time.
46:17 when we look at our ELL and non-ELL students, you can see that
46:24 pretty comparable across the state in this area of social
46:29 studies.
46:30 Gap widening a little bit as we saw a dip in performance with
46:35 our ELL students, but increase for our non-ELL students.
46:40 But we’ll see what that performance looks like this year.
46:44 Students with disabilities.
46:47 Again, our non-students with disabilities performing well above
46:53 their statewide peers.
46:55 And our students with disabilities performing just a little bit
46:59 better than their statewide peers.
47:01 26% scoring on grade level versus 25%.
47:08 And essentially the gap difference you see there is a result of
47:12 our non-students with disabilities performance being
47:15 considerably higher than the state.
47:16 So again, wanting to focus on the performance of our students
47:19 with disabilities.
47:20 And we can’t become too focused on the end result and not also
47:28 acknowledge the gap.
47:32 I mean, we’re still talking about almost a 40% achievement gap
47:36 between our students with disabilities and our students without
47:40 a disability,
47:41 which is the same across all of these areas, which in and of
47:45 itself garners our great attention and our priority.
47:51 But also looking at the trends to understand what is happening
47:54 and how have we been and how will we better serve our students.
47:59 Finally, as we look into the ethnicity categories, we have our
48:05 white students compared to African American students.
48:10 80% of our white students performing on grade level in social
48:14 studies.
48:16 51% for our African American students compared to their
48:20 statewide peers at 56%.
48:23 That certainly makes our achievement gap greater than the
48:27 statewide average and has our attention as a priority moving
48:31 forward.
48:32 For our Asian students, pretty much remains on pace with the
48:38 state.
48:39 You see that the percentage of performance is pretty close to
48:44 both the state as well as white versus Asian as well as our gap
48:49 is consistent with the state.
48:52 For our Hispanic students, again, white student performance
48:57 consistent with the state and our Hispanic students performance
49:01 just slightly below the state average.
49:04 But again, if we look at the trend data, that has our attention
49:07 and has our concern as the state has seen a 7% improvement in
49:10 student achievement over time with Hispanic students in the area
49:18 of social studies.
49:18 We have seen a 2% increase over time, but the state seems to be
49:28 outpacing us some in that area.
49:33 We have seen a 3% improvement in student achievement.
49:36 We have seen a 4% improvement in student achievement.
49:37 We have seen a 3% improvement in student achievement.
52:09 So we are certainly in the right trajectory with our students
52:15 with disabilities
52:16 and helping them earn their graduation diploma on time.
52:20 But the state is also experiencing quite a bit of improvement
52:26 there.
52:27 When we look at graduation rate with our student subgroups for
52:33 ethnicity,
52:34 the statewide graduation rate for white is 91.7 compared to 90.5
52:41 in Brevard.
52:42 And again, I’m pleased to say that by the time our African
52:46 American students are reaching graduation,
52:49 we’re helping close that gap.
52:51 In Brevard, that’s 88.1% graduation rate where their statewide
52:59 peers is 86.6%.
53:02 So our achievement gap is smaller than the state.
53:06 So we’re outpacing the state a bit for our African American
53:09 students by graduation.
53:11 For Asian, pretty much on pace, 98% white statewide compared to
53:20 96.1%.
53:22 Brevard, Asian students statewide at 91.7%, and in Brevard 90.5%.
53:32 For our Hispanic students, again, statewide and in Brevard,
53:41 non-Hispanic or white students is 91.7% graduation rate.
53:46 89.5% for Hispanic students across the state, and a little bit
53:54 better in Brevard at 90.9%.
53:57 So again, our achievement gap narrowing for our Hispanic
54:05 students by graduation.
54:09 And finally, for our multiracial students, 91.7% statewide for
54:14 white, 90.5% for Brevard, and 90.5% for students identified as
54:22 multiracial across the state.
54:24 And in Brevard, it’s 88.1%.
54:29 So our achievement gap is wider than the state achievement gap,
54:34 so certainly has our attention.
54:36 We’re focusing in on that.
54:38 I do want to provide just a slight disclaimer, because you’ll
54:41 notice that from one subgroup comparison, another white
54:46 graduation rate would be different.
54:47 You would think that they would remain constant across all of
54:50 those groups.
54:51 But we anticipate, we haven’t gotten a definitive answer from
54:55 the state, but we anticipate that as students are identified as
55:00 white/Hispanic,
55:01 they are counted in the white subgroup in some comparisons, and
55:05 in the Hispanic group in other comparisons, depending on what
55:09 the subgroup comparison is.
55:10 So there is some fluctuation in the data there, just to
55:13 acknowledge that, but that’s how the state calculates it.
55:17 Now I’d like to take the board on a little bit of a more recent
55:22 journey for Brevard Public Schools.
55:26 And as we continue to dive into our subgroup data, we also
55:30 wanted to understand how are we performing as a district, but
55:35 also by each of those subgroup categories.
55:39 So for a couple of years now, we have been looking at our
55:42 district wide student achievement performance as an overall
55:46 grade.
55:47 So we are very proud to be in a school district now for the
55:51 third or, or as of 2019, the third or fourth year in a row.
55:56 But when we look at the same criteria for calculating school
56:02 grade based solely on those different subgroups that we’ve
56:08 already taken a look at,
56:10 we get a better picture of how we are serving our different subgroup
56:15 students.
56:16 You can see American Indian Alaskan, their performance would
56:21 earn a B, Asian, and A over both years.
56:25 Our African American students’ performance would have earned a C
56:30 district wide.
56:31 It certainly has our attention, as that’s not acceptable, that
56:35 we need to help our African American students raise their
56:42 academic achievement and performance across our district.
56:48 And then you’ll see further down the performance of our students
56:52 with disabilities, English language learners.
56:55 I’m pleased that our students with disabilities improved from a
56:59 D to a C, but if you think back to that subgroup of performance
57:04 and where the trends were going, it continues to have our
57:08 attention.
57:09 Because quite frankly, the C that was earned in 2019 was a C by
57:14 the hair of our chinny chin chin.
57:16 So it’s a little misleading.
57:18 So that continues to be an area of focus and priority for us as
57:22 a district, as well as our homeless students as we continue to
57:28 experience more and more students who have identified as
57:32 homeless or in foster care.
57:35 So just to wrap up a couple, some other data points that we
57:41 continue to monitor as we develop our strategic plan and our
57:46 school improvement plans for the coming year.
57:49 A couple of years ago we went to, by direction of the board, we
57:53 went to universal screening for gifted services by third grade.
57:57 Here we have a most recent breakdown of our students who are
58:02 identified for gifted across the district.
58:05 Certainly under representation in our students who are African
58:10 American and Hispanic.
58:12 When you look back at the first slide of breakdown across the
58:16 district.
58:17 So continuing to look at that and evaluate how we can better
58:21 support our students ensure that we are giving them careful
58:25 consideration for gifted services.
58:29 And then we also know that GPA is an ultimate determination of
58:35 college access and college opportunity.
58:39 So looking carefully and closely at our students across
58:44 different subgroups for their district wide average GPA.
58:49 I will say that in all of these slides, this is district aggregated
58:53 data, but you’ll see in a moment in our school improvement plans.
58:58 All of our schools do a similar data analysis by subgroup broken
59:03 down by their school.
59:05 So they can better interpret where there are gaps, but where
59:11 there are also opportunities.
59:13 Capitalize on the opportunities and also prioritize minimizing
59:17 the gaps.
59:18 So each of our schools do this same type of exercise as well.
59:22 You can see that among our African American students holding the
59:27 lowest average GPA across subgroups.
59:30 So certainly continues to be an area of focus and priority for
59:33 us.
59:34 As we know that GPA again is a college access data point.
59:41 Attendance, we’ve certainly reprioritized attendance for our
59:48 students.
59:49 If they’re not with us, they can’t learn and they’re missing
59:52 quality instruction.
59:53 So as we look at the attendance of our students, raises some
59:58 concerns.
59:59 It’s a little misleading or you notice that the header is based
1:00:02 on absences.
1:00:03 So what you see represented in the bar graphs is the average
1:00:06 number of absences for those different types of students.
1:00:11 It does not represent actual attendance.
1:00:15 It represents the absences.
1:00:17 So the higher the bar, the higher the number of absences for
1:00:21 that student, whether excused or unexcused.
1:00:26 And again, seeing some of the largest rates of absentee among
1:00:33 our African American and multiracial students.
1:00:38 As well as you can see there, the American Indian students.
1:00:42 But again, we have a very small population, so that is a
1:00:47 percentage or an average of that student group.
1:00:52 So we break down literally by student who they are in our
1:00:55 schools and develop attendance recovery plans with our families
1:01:02 and students in these situations.
1:01:06 And then I think we’re just about toward the end here.
1:01:09 I just want to provide the board and the community a snapshot of
1:01:14 we also look at access and opportunity of our students by subgroup
1:01:19 and all of the different programs and services that we have
1:01:23 across our schools.
1:01:24 Whether it’s the performing arts, ROTC, advanced placement IB.
1:01:29 I don’t have on the slide or in the presentation our Cambridge
1:01:33 participation.
1:01:34 I will say that there is some representation concerns in these
1:01:39 areas across our subgroups when we look at total population.
1:01:44 But in the area of Cambridge quite frankly, it is very
1:01:48 representative of our district.
1:01:51 I should have included it so I apologize.
1:01:54 Our Cambridge schools are Heritage High School, O’Galley High
1:01:59 School, Rockledge High School.
1:02:03 doing a doing an admirable job of being inclusive of all
1:02:09 students in those
1:02:10 programs so now I want to take you just through a brief tour of
1:02:16 our continuous
1:02:18 school improvement plan and process we as a district three years
1:02:22 ago adopted the
1:02:24 state’s school improvement plan template or model for continuous
1:02:29 improvement so
1:02:30 what you see here Thomas Jefferson middle schools school
1:02:34 improvement plan thank
1:02:37 you principal Mira Trine for letting us put your school on the
1:02:41 on the presentation
1:02:43 today I’m not sure she had anything to say about that but but
1:02:48 really this will
1:02:48 this is the the school improvement plan for 21 22 it’s in
1:02:52 development so you are
1:02:54 they haven’t finalized this process they work through that with
1:02:57 their staff they
1:02:59 work through it with their community their school advisory
1:03:01 council and so on
1:03:02 but what I want the just the board to be aware of and our
1:03:05 community to be aware of
1:03:06 is all of the data you saw is broken down and populated actually
1:03:12 by the state in the
1:03:15 school improvement plan beginning with ELA math science biology
1:03:21 civics history some of
1:03:23 them aren’t applicable to some of the schools but you can see
1:03:27 that the 2019 data has
1:03:30 already been populated in the school improvement plan we’re just
1:03:33 awaiting the
1:03:34 2021 data from the state and then the school will move into
1:03:39 their strategic
1:03:40 priorities like also breaking down performance by
1:03:45 subgroups in each of the areas students with disabilities ELA ELL
1:03:55 Asian black Hispanic
1:03:56 multi-racial white free reduced lunch that all comes pre-populated
1:04:01 by the state and
1:04:02 then they use this to drive as you move down developing their
1:04:12 action steps working
1:04:14 closely with Janet Stevenson and each of our lead secondary and
1:04:22 elementary leading and
1:04:23 learning directors in developing the school improvement plans to
1:04:27 address how we move
1:04:28 forward so certainly I know this has been a little bit longer
1:04:33 presentation than
1:04:34 normally I provide but I think we’re all anticipating you know
1:04:40 how are our kids how
1:04:41 did our kids perform this year and I think this gets us a good
1:04:45 opportunity to get
1:04:45 refocused on where we’ve been where we will soon determine where
1:04:50 we are and then
1:04:51 ultimately where do we go and how do we begin tackling some of
1:04:54 the challenges
1:04:55 that we know are going to emerge from the last year and a half
1:04:59 that we’ve
1:04:59 experienced with our with our kids
1:05:03 we are I’ll close with we are also allocating additional dollars
1:05:09 through ESSER the
1:05:11 federal stimulus dollars to some of our priority schools to
1:05:15 identify and target
1:05:16 these these areas that we know need to be addressed most
1:05:20 immediately and most
1:05:22 significantly so we’ve already diverted some of those resources
1:05:26 and funding to
1:05:27 our schools although all of our schools have received federal
1:05:33 dollars for
1:05:33 addressing academic gaps in learning with our kids both last
1:05:39 year but also in
1:05:40 this coming year so all of our schools receive a portion of
1:05:44 funding to address
1:05:45 those and it gets built into their school improvement plan as
1:05:48 well as some of
1:05:48 our priority schools receive some additional resources namely in
1:05:52 staffing
1:05:53 additional staffing that they’ll have whether it’s a guidance
1:05:56 counselor social
1:05:56 worker instructional coaches and that type of thing so those
1:06:01 have more
1:06:02 information or update for the board as we get closer to the
1:06:06 start of the
1:06:07 school year and schools identify their specific needs so again
1:06:10 thank you for
1:06:11 the additional time to to walk through that and I’m happy to
1:06:14 answer any questions
1:06:15 thank you Dr. Mullins that was great data and certainly gives us
1:06:24 a lot to focus on moving forward any board member have any
1:06:24 questions or comments for Dr. Mullins
1:06:24 Dr. Mullins thanks Dr. Mullins I appreciate that very much
1:06:34 I have to say I’m kind of a little bit a little nauseous when I
1:06:38 hear all of that
1:06:39 information all at once I’m it’s things that I’m obviously aware
1:06:42 of things I’ve
1:06:43 experienced working for BPS
1:06:47 but I feel like you can’t look at that information and not have
1:06:53 some kind of
1:06:53 emotional response from it I’ve kind of said this I think I said
1:06:59 this to Dr. Mullins
1:06:59 before but one of my issues with this quote behind us here on
1:07:03 this dais is that
1:07:04 the wrong words are accentuated in my opinion and we need to
1:07:08 change it to
1:07:08 accentuate the word every and and I really wholeheartedly mean
1:07:13 that I think
1:07:14 we’re an amazing school district we have so much to be proud of
1:07:18 we lead in the
1:07:19 nation for so many amazing programs and opportunities but we
1:07:24 also need to
1:07:25 acknowledge the things that we’re not doing so well and I
1:07:28 appreciate this
1:07:29 presentation today because it puts you in a really vulnerable
1:07:33 place to finally kind
1:07:34 of put it all out there and talk about how not only does this
1:07:39 data exist but it
1:07:41 hasn’t changed over the past five years and/or it’s gotten worse
1:07:46 and so again I
1:07:49 just appreciate your your transparency there I think it’s
1:07:55 important to kind of
1:07:57 flip-flop some of that information you know sixty four percent
1:08:02 of our black
1:08:03 students are reading below grade level sixty four of our black
1:08:08 students are
1:08:09 performing below grade level in math those numbers are just not
1:08:15 okay we’ve
1:08:16 increased in some of those areas by one percent in five years
1:08:20 and I I appreciate
1:08:22 the data to where we’re looking at how we compare to the rest of
1:08:24 the state when it
1:08:25 comes to those subgroups because I think that’s really important
1:08:27 information I you
1:08:30 know obviously I believe we should be leaders no matter what no
1:08:33 matter what the
1:08:33 rest of the state is doing if they’re not doing a great job that
1:08:35 doesn’t mean it’s
1:08:36 okay for us to not do a great job but also unfortunately most of
1:08:40 those areas we’re
1:08:41 doing worse than the rest of the state and that’s just not okay
1:08:45 because we are an
1:08:46 amazing school district and we should be serving every single
1:08:48 child at the same
1:08:49 level of excellence you know lately there’s been a there’s been
1:08:55 a public
1:08:55 conversation about our diversity and equity our director of
1:09:01 equity and diversity and you
1:09:03 know why do we have somebody like that here and I think this
1:09:06 presentation really supports that
1:09:08 because that role is for all of those subgroups our students
1:09:12 with disabilities our ELL
1:09:14 students our black students and I feel like this presentation
1:09:20 just wholeheartedly supports yeah
1:09:21 that’s why that’s why we have somebody here in that role because
1:09:24 we realize there is a
1:09:25 problem and we’re ready to tackle it there’s a couple of things
1:09:29 I do want to
1:09:29 say that aren’t on that presentation because it wasn’t the point
1:09:31 of that
1:09:32 presentation but just to kind of bring it to the awareness of
1:09:35 the public so when I
1:09:41 meet with people in the community that are affected by this
1:09:44 information the things
1:09:46 that they care about and they they talk about being priorities
1:09:48 for them are reading
1:09:51 achievement gaps math achievement gaps parental involvement
1:09:57 workplace
1:09:58 diversity those are the things that they really care about and
1:10:03 one of the things that I want to kind
1:10:05 of put out there is I was reviewing some data last night and you
1:10:10 know within our workforce 15% of our
1:10:13 students are black like you presented and 5% of our teachers are
1:10:17 black and I think when you talk in
1:10:18 percentages it doesn’t sound that alarming so ten thousand four
1:10:22 hundred seven students are black
1:10:24 and two hundred forty three teachers are black and so when you
1:10:29 think about how many children don’t see
1:10:31 representation of themselves in a position of authority and
1:10:35 leadership that should be alarming for for all of
1:10:38 us and we can do better we can do better there it doesn’t it
1:10:41 doesn’t really matter why or or who made that happen
1:10:45 it really just matters what are we gonna do about it let’s
1:10:49 acknowledge it exists and let’s move forward
1:10:52 there’s some other information out there too that’s really
1:10:55 important for us to look at you know access to dual enrollment
1:10:58 and those numbers are very very very different the amount of
1:11:04 students that we disproportionately label as a student with
1:11:08 disability our black students are labeled with specific learning
1:11:12 disabilities and emotional behavior disorders far more often
1:11:17 than any other subgroup and again that’s that’s a data point
1:11:21 that’s alarmingly different from the rest of the state as well
1:11:25 access to technology and
1:11:26 technology. And one of those slides that really struck me too
1:11:32 was when you ranked our schools
1:11:34 by letter grade. And so, yeah, we’re an A district. That’s
1:11:38 really, really awesome. And
1:11:40 I’m glad we’re acknowledging that we’re not necessarily an A
1:11:43 district for every single
1:11:44 one of our students. And so I am hopeful that we can continue to
1:11:49 move forward towards progress
1:11:51 for everyone because when 10,400 of our seven of our students do
1:11:56 better, we all do better. Our
1:12:00 community does better. It doesn’t mean that those 10,000
1:12:03 students doing better is then going to
1:12:05 conversely make everyone else do worse. And I think as a
1:12:09 community, we need to kind of just
1:12:10 pump the brakes and realize this isn’t about creating more
1:12:14 divide and more difference. This
1:12:17 is about acknowledging we are amazing. We are so amazing. Let’s
1:12:22 be amazing for everyone so that our
1:12:25 community can continue to grow. We’re the largest for aerospace
1:12:29 and engineering, and we have more and
1:12:31 more major companies coming here. And in order for Brevard to
1:12:34 continue to boom economically, we need
1:12:37 everyone to be successful. And so, again, I just, I appreciate
1:12:44 this presentation. I truly hope people
1:12:49 don’t, I hope people take a minute to just kind of digest the
1:12:53 information. There’s always a spirited
1:12:59 debate lately, and I think it’s really important for us just to
1:13:02 acknowledge what’s going on and for what
1:13:04 students and how it impacts them and their families.
1:13:07 Unfortunately, we don’t have as many people in
1:13:10 person here today. I know you’re there, Katie. But I think it’s
1:13:14 really important for us as a board to
1:13:17 really prioritize bringing those communities to the table, too.
1:13:21 And I know that there’s, there’s
1:13:23 gatherings and meetings and organizations and groups that come
1:13:27 up here. But I think it’s important that
1:13:29 we make it a priority because the other thing that we don’t
1:13:31 address and talk about enough is how much
1:13:34 those communities work to improve that information themselves
1:13:40 without the support of BPS. And maybe not
1:13:44 by any wrongdoing, but they just, that connection hasn’t been
1:13:48 made. And so there’s amazing nonprofits out
1:13:51 there, there’s amazing faith-based, faith-based organizations
1:13:55 out there that are really taking
1:13:57 those students and producing such amazing results with really
1:14:00 unique opportunities. And I think we
1:14:03 really need to make an effort to bring it to the table, everyone
1:14:07 come together, have open, honest
1:14:09 conversations and forums about what’s going on and how we can
1:14:13 better support each other, but also learn from what
1:14:15 they’re doing so that maybe we can replicate that from a public
1:14:19 school standpoint as well. So thank you. I appreciate you.
1:14:24 Thanks. Thank you, Ms. Jenkins. Ms. Campbell, did you have
1:14:30 anything? Did you want to weigh in on the presentation?
1:14:33 Yes, I do. Thank you. First of all, you know, you guys know that
1:14:42 I would be there if I could. Unfortunately,
1:14:43 the Campbell family is all in quarantine again. But I, Dr. Monsa,
1:14:47 I want to start by just thanking you for
1:14:49 bringing this presentation at a board meeting. I know the board
1:14:53 has seen this data or data from years
1:14:57 past at workshops, but it’s not always at the more publicly
1:15:01 attended, publicly watched board meetings.
1:15:03 And I thank you for that. And I know it’s not, it’s not easy
1:15:07 information to share because actually, as Ms.
1:15:12 Jenkins said, you know, something that I had written down, jotted
1:15:16 down myself, that, that number of,
1:15:18 you know, 64% of our African American students are reading below
1:15:21 grade level. That’s something
1:15:23 community members have come to me before and said, hey, here’s
1:15:25 this number. What are you going to do
1:15:27 about it? And so I am, you know, when we look at that, we look
1:15:32 at, you know, 48% of our Hispanic students
1:15:35 reading below grade level, 50% of our free and reduced lunch
1:15:38 students below grade level in math,
1:15:40 52% below grade level in reading. You know, this, this is a huge
1:15:46 part of our work. And, you know,
1:15:49 we have committed to resources. We’ve committed, um, time and
1:15:54 energy. But one of the things that I’m
1:15:56 real excited to hear, um, as you know, as I’ve, as I’ve gotten
1:16:00 to hear our, our district leadership,
1:16:02 as far as how are we going to tackle this project is we’re not
1:16:05 going back to remediate.
1:16:07 I have heard again and again, especially in the last few months,
1:16:10 we’re going to put our foot on the
1:16:14 accelerator and, and, you know, and we’re going to put high
1:16:19 quality, high standard materials and
1:16:23 teaching in front of our students. We’re going to give them all
1:16:25 the help and support that they’re
1:16:26 going to need to be successful. But we’re going to put more kids
1:16:28 in Algebra 1. We’re going to,
1:16:30 we’re going to try to open more doors to, um, you know, higher
1:16:34 level classes, like our AP classes,
1:16:36 on our ACE classes, on our IB classes, on our CTE courses. We’re
1:16:40 going to, we’re pushing kids more
1:16:41 and more towards those advanced level courses and we’re going to
1:16:44 give them the support so they can
1:16:45 be successful. But we’re not, we’re not backtracking with those
1:16:49 students because the data has shown,
1:16:51 the research shows that when we do that, um, not, you know, that
1:16:56 every student succeeds and that,
1:16:57 and those that are farther behind have bigger learning gains.
1:17:01 And so I just appreciate that we’re doing,
1:17:04 we’re making decisions based on the data, based on the research,
1:17:07 um, you know, that we’re, that we’re
1:17:11 not, um, we’re, we’re wanting to see every level, every
1:17:17 demographic move forward. And, and I’m really
1:17:21 my, you know, I, what I want to do is I want to challenge the
1:17:24 community. Okay, here’s the data,
1:17:25 you’ve heard it. What are you going to do to help us? Are you
1:17:28 ready to step in? And I know I’m, I’m,
1:17:30 I love hearing that our volunteers are ready to come back in our
1:17:33 building. I, you know,
1:17:35 always like to recruit mentors. Um, I’m so excited that we’ll be
1:17:39 able to step up and, um, this coming
1:17:41 year back to our, um, with our fingerprinting, you know, things
1:17:44 like that. I, I mean, I’m just excited
1:17:47 to get people in the building to come and because that’s really
1:17:49 what it takes. It’s going to be high
1:17:50 quality education in the classroom, but also high support from
1:17:53 our community. And we really have a
1:17:55 wonderful community. And, uh, and I’m just going to put the
1:17:58 challenge out there to the people who
1:18:00 might be listening today. You know, what can you do to help to
1:18:04 step up and help us? Because we really
1:18:05 want to see a difference in the lives of all of our students. Um,
1:18:09 and it, I really think it’s going to
1:18:11 take the community jumping in to help us. Thank you. Thanks, Ms.
1:18:14 Campbell. Mr. Susan, did you have anything
1:18:16 you wanted to share? Absolutely. Thank you so much for those
1:18:22 comments, uh, Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Campbell.
1:18:25 Um, we’re both in the same direction. Uh, one of the ones that
1:18:28 hit my cord really is Ms. Jenkins.
1:18:32 When she’s talked about workforce, she talked about moving our
1:18:37 county to be able to respond to the
1:18:39 workforce that’s coming. And I really appreciated what Ms.
1:18:43 Jenkins said when she said that we have
1:18:46 faith-based organizations, not-for-profits and everybody else
1:18:49 out there that could be willing
1:18:51 to help us out. And I think as board members, that’s, that’s
1:18:55 where, uh, Ms. Belford was getting
1:18:58 us when we put together all the organizations was to call them
1:19:01 together. And I do want to give Dr.
1:19:03 Mullins a lot of credit for pulling together those groups. Um,
1:19:07 when he first became a superintendent
1:19:09 and he continues to work with them, um, a lot of the NAACP and
1:19:13 other organizations that are,
1:19:15 are specifically targeting those that we have the most needs for.
1:19:20 So I think that we have some of
1:19:22 the pieces moving in the right direction. I think there is a
1:19:25 call to action. I think, uh, Ms. Jenkins,
1:19:27 you’re a hundred percent correct. We need to pull everybody
1:19:30 together. And that’s our missing piece.
1:19:32 As elected school board members, we should be in the community
1:19:34 pulling those groups together
1:19:36 so that they’re not silos. It shouldn’t fall on the backs of our
1:19:39 district to be that. That should be us.
1:19:41 That should be us to call together the chambers, the, the, um,
1:19:45 all of the different organizations
1:19:46 that are inside of our community to start having that. For
1:19:50 instance, the O’Galley corridor. I’ve called
1:19:52 together faith-based organizations, um, the DOC. I’ve called
1:19:55 together the, um, a couple of the housing
1:19:58 developments. And we’re getting ready in the next 30 days to put
1:20:01 together a group that will address all
1:20:03 of the needs for the individuals inside that community. That’s
1:20:05 where it starts. And that’s our
1:20:07 job as school board members to put that together. So Ms. Jenkins,
1:20:11 I really appreciate your comments.
1:20:12 Ms. Belford, I appreciate all the work that you’ve been doing to
1:20:15 try to facilitate us putting those
1:20:16 groups together. Dr. Mullins, I really appreciate all of your
1:20:19 work on pulling together the groups
1:20:21 and communicating to them. And I think it’s just time for us to,
1:20:24 to step it up another notch.
1:20:25 And I truly appreciate it. That’s all I’ve got to say. Thank you
1:20:28 for everybody. Let’s get to work.
1:20:29 Ms. Thanks, Mr. Susan. Um, and I will, will not, uh, go at
1:20:35 length because I would certainly
1:20:36 agree with everything that’s been said by my peers this morning.
1:20:39 The, the one thing that I will say
1:20:40 is I am just so appreciative of you and your team and the amount
1:20:45 of digging deep and owning challenges
1:20:48 that I have seen over the past few years. Um, because I don’t, I
1:20:51 think we’ve always looked at our data,
1:20:53 but we’ve always publicly celebrated our wins and not always
1:20:57 publicly taken responsibility for those
1:21:00 areas where we have room to grow. And so I just very much
1:21:02 appreciate the path that we’re on on that
1:21:04 and, um, look forward to supporting it as we go forward.
1:21:07 Any, any other board members before we move on to our public
1:21:12 comment section? Thank you, Dr. Mullins.
1:21:18 All right. We are going to now circle back to our public
1:21:21 comments. Um, we have, uh, looks like 12
1:21:29 speakers left. Um, and since it’s already been moved to the end
1:21:32 of the, the meeting to meet our
1:21:35 quorum requirement, uh, we’re just going to jump right into
1:21:38 those 12. Each speaker is limited to three
1:21:41 minutes. We have a clock in front of me to help you keep track
1:21:43 of your time. When your time is over,
1:21:44 you will be asked to stop and allow the next speaker his or her
1:21:47 turn. Always keep in mind that reasonable
1:21:49 decorum is expected at all times and your statement should be
1:21:52 directed to the board chair.
1:21:53 As chair, I may interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s
1:21:57 statement. When time is up,
1:21:58 it’s personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.
1:22:01 Should an individual not observe
1:22:03 proper etiquette, I may request the individual leave the meeting.
1:22:06 Let’s all encourage an environment
1:22:07 appropriate for our children who may be present or are watching
1:22:10 from home. Please note that in order
1:22:13 to proceed with the business portion of the meeting, board
1:22:15 members will not have the opportunity to
1:22:16 respond to speakers during or immediately following public
1:22:19 comments, although we’ve done business.
1:22:21 We do have a tiny bit of business left in the board discussion,
1:22:24 which I, I realized. Um, I may,
1:22:28 however, request follow up. So we’re going to start with our
1:22:31 first three speakers,
1:22:33 Scott LaBeouf, Bernard Bryan, and Thelma Bryan. Scott, if you
1:22:38 would approach the microphone, please, sir.
1:22:43 Sorry. No problem. So this is my first meeting. So I just wanted
1:22:50 to thank you guys for letting me come
1:22:51 up here and talk. Um, I’ve had two kids through the public
1:22:54 school system. I’ve got one that’s still in,
1:22:56 one now that’s in private school. Um, I’ve had, we’ve been
1:23:00 really blessed to have really good teachers
1:23:02 throughout the last 11 years, primarily through elementary
1:23:05 school. So our teachers have all been
1:23:07 very involved. They’re communicating with us as parents. So we’ve
1:23:11 been very happy about that. Um,
1:23:14 up until recently, I haven’t felt like I’ve needed to really be
1:23:17 too involved with the public school
1:23:19 system and the administrative side and what’s going on like we
1:23:22 are here today. So I’ve had some pretty
1:23:24 good faith in the teachers and what’s been going on. So
1:23:26 everything that’s been said lately and
1:23:29 everything that’s going on has gotten me pretty concerned as a
1:23:32 parent. So I have to tell you,
1:23:33 you know, as educators and as parents, my job as a parent to
1:23:39 make sure my kids are good,
1:23:40 you know, law abiding citizens. They do what we teach them to do.
1:23:44 They’re respectful. They do what
1:23:46 they’re supposed to do as good human beings. As educators, it’s
1:23:49 your job and the school board’s job
1:23:52 to make sure that they have the tools that they need to succeed
1:23:55 in life. And that’s our job as parents
1:23:57 as well. So my big concern is that there’s a lot of, I feel, a
1:24:02 lot of biases and a lot of personal
1:24:04 beliefs. We’re all from different backgrounds. We all have
1:24:07 different beliefs. We all have different
1:24:08 fears and concerns. I just want to make sure that those aren’t
1:24:12 being brought into the classroom
1:24:14 and they aren’t being pushed from the top, from administration,
1:24:18 from the unions, down to the school
1:24:22 boards, down to the teachers and the principals, and then down
1:24:26 into the classrooms. I want to make
1:24:28 sure that as a parent, it’s my job to teach my kids what I think
1:24:30 is right. So I don’t think it’s,
1:24:33 if you’re a history teacher, it’s your job to teach my kids
1:24:35 about history, teach them the right, what’s
1:24:38 happened, what we’ve done as a country that’s been great, where
1:24:42 we’ve been, where we’re going, what
1:24:44 we’ve done. I don’t think it’s right for any of those biases to
1:24:47 be brought into the classroom if
1:24:49 people have a personal belief that’s not fitting for the
1:24:53 classroom. A few things that I’ve noticed as
1:24:56 well as me personally, I mean, like I said, I’ve been very happy
1:25:00 with the school system up through the
1:25:02 elementary levels. When my child got, when my oldest daughter
1:25:06 got to high school, we took her out of
1:25:08 the public school system. We put her in private school because I
1:25:11 didn’t agree with some of the things
1:25:12 that I was seeing from a social aspect and some other things. So
1:25:17 yeah, you know, everybody is a parent,
1:25:20 we all have to make that decision. I just want to make sure that
1:25:23 you guys are aware of the fact that now,
1:25:25 I feel like as a parent, I’ve been very, I’ve been very assumptive
1:25:32 that my child is in a safe place
1:25:34 or in a classroom. I don’t really feel that way anymore. So I
1:25:37 feel like I’m going to have to kind
1:25:38 of monitor every little thing that’s going on all the time. And
1:25:41 as a parent, that doesn’t make me feel
1:25:43 very good. So I shouldn’t have to feel that way. My kids should
1:25:46 go to school, they should be in a safe
1:25:48 place. They should be taught English, how to read, how to write,
1:25:52 history. Thank you, Scott. We appreciate you
1:25:54 joining us today. Unfortunately, your time is up. So I’m going
1:25:56 to go ahead and call the next speaker,
1:25:57 okay? Thank you. Bernard?
1:25:58 Bernard Bryan, welcome. Thank you very much. First, I want to
1:26:06 thank the school board for allowing me to
1:26:09 come and share with you today. My name is Bernard Bryan and I’m
1:26:13 a SAC member from University Park,
1:26:16 Stone Middle School, as well as Palm Bay High School. And Dr.
1:26:20 Mullins, thank you so much for working with
1:26:25 our community. Thank you for sharing the data that you shared
1:26:28 with us today. And we do understand your
1:26:31 heart. I would also like to thank Ms. Klein. I’m a SAC member at
1:26:36 University Park and we have our first
1:26:40 STEM lab starting. So I’m really excited about that. That’s a
1:26:44 start. But we know there are some
1:26:46 challenges there as well. Also, I’d like to thank Mrs. Hanz. Mrs.
1:26:51 Hanz dealt with a safety issue at Stone
1:26:53 Middle School and she basically got that solved. But the reason
1:26:57 why I’m here today, I’m standing before you
1:27:01 representing 5,000 kids. And I was really burdened back in 2000.
1:27:07 And now I’m listening to Dr. Mullins’ data,
1:27:11 I’m even more burdened. There are 5,000 students that I’m
1:27:16 standing before you that are behind in math,
1:27:19 that are behind in reading. And we as a community, we want to
1:27:24 work with the with the Brevard public
1:27:28 school system. We want to walk hand in hand with you. And we do
1:27:33 understand that a house divided does
1:27:36 not stand. And we want to be part of this actual solution. But I
1:27:41 challenge you though, these problems
1:27:44 will not be solved without a strategy. And I challenge you to
1:27:50 please ma’am and please sir, have a good solid
1:27:55 strategic plan. And I challenge you today, school board members,
1:27:59 to don’t get distracted. Please.
1:28:02 We know there are some cultural issues going on today. But these
1:28:06 5,000 kids need your help.
1:28:09 And I beg you to help them. Please help them.
1:28:12 I was one of those kids that basically couldn’t read, but the
1:28:17 school system helped me out.
1:28:19 I want to thank Ms. Klein. I want to thank Ms. Bowman. I want to
1:28:25 thank you so much for your investment
1:28:27 with Dr. McKinnon. She is a tremendous value. She understands
1:28:33 what we’re going through.
1:28:35 Dr. McKinnon: So that investment, I believe, is going to give a
1:28:41 tremendous return. So do everything you can.
1:28:44 Be detailed in your strategy. And the community is ready to help.
1:28:48 Call me to the table.
1:28:49 Dr. McKinnon: And I guarantee you, we can work this together if
1:28:53 we work together.
1:28:55 Dr. McKinnon: Don’t let anybody distract you out of this need.
1:28:59 Our children need your support. Our children
1:29:03 Dr. McKinnon: Do not need to be distracted by unnecessary issues.
1:29:08 So thank you so much. Call me if you need me.
1:29:10 Dr. McKinnon: Thank you, Mr. Bryan.
1:29:13 Dr. McKinnon: Thelma Bryan.
1:29:17 Thelma Bryan: Good morning. Thank you for allowing me a moment
1:29:28 to talk with you about an issue that I’m very much
1:29:31 concerned about. My name is Thelma Bryan. I am a retired
1:29:37 educator. I spent 32 years teaching
1:29:39 communications at Brevard Community College. And now I have
1:29:43 graduated to the position of mentor
1:29:46 Dr. McKinnon: And I work at University Park Elementary School.
1:29:49 And I also coordinate a program for students in grades
1:29:53 Dr. McKinnon: 9 to 12. It’s an academic and cultural enrichment
1:29:59 program called Act So.
1:30:00 Dr. McKinnon: I’m here today, however, to make an appeal on
1:30:05 behalf of 5,000 of Brevard County School students.
1:30:11 Dr. McKinnon: I recently learned that about 5,000 of our
1:30:15 students are reading and doing math below their grade level.
1:30:21 Dr. McKinnon: If this situation is not corrected, these students
1:30:26 are going to be
1:30:28 Dr. McKinnon: Derailed in their education and their careers. We
1:30:32 don’t want that.
1:30:33 Dr. McKinnon: All of our students deserve a fair chance for a
1:30:37 bright future.
1:30:39 Dr. McKinnon: My appeal to you then is to take a look at your
1:30:44 district, wherever it is,
1:30:47 Dr. McKinnon: And ensure that there is a solid plan in place for
1:30:52 all of our students to master those skills
1:30:56 Dr. McKinnon: that they need to be successful.
1:30:58 Dr. McKinnon: This might be a tough task.
1:31:01 Dr. McKinnon: But if we, parents, teachers, volunteers,
1:31:08 administrators, etc.,
1:31:10 Dr. McKinnon: If we support our students and work together, we
1:31:14 can help them to acquire the skills
1:31:18 Dr. McKinnon: that they need. It takes all of us working hard
1:31:23 and working together.
1:31:24 Dr. McKinnon: Our students need and deserve our help and support.
1:31:30 Dr. McKinnon: In closing, I want to add that I’ve had the
1:31:35 opportunity to meet and work with
1:31:37 Dr. McKinnon: with a few of Brevard’s very capable leaders, Mrs.
1:31:42 Bowman,
1:31:42 Dr. McKinnon: a few members of the teaching staff, Dr. McKinnon,
1:31:47 Dr. Mullins.
1:31:48 Dr. McKinnon: And I’m familiar with the work that they do.
1:31:53 Dr. McKinnon: And I thank them for the leadership that they
1:31:56 provide.
1:31:57 Dr. McKinnon: And I thank them for what they have done, but what
1:32:02 they are doing and will do
1:32:05 Dr. McKinnon: to close, to reduce that academic gap in math and
1:32:10 science especially.
1:32:12 Dr. McKinnon: We thank them for enabling and helping every
1:32:17 student in our district, in our county,
1:32:21 Dr. McKinnon: to be the best that they can be.
1:32:24 Dr. McKinnon: And we can do it.
1:32:26 Dr. McKinnon: We can do it if we work together.
1:32:29 Dr. McKinnon: Thank you, Ms. Bryan.
1:32:31 Dr. McKinnon: All right, next we have Kathryn Delaney, Gary Schifrin,
1:32:38 and then Peter.
1:32:39 Kathryn Delaney: Hi.
1:32:44 Kathryn Delaney: Today I wrote a speech, and after seeing those
1:32:51 Kathryn Delaney: slides I am kind of junking it, so.
1:32:53 Kathryn Delaney: I, for once, agree with you.
1:32:58 Kathryn Delaney: I think it’s every student should be
1:33:02 Kathryn Delaney: you know, recognized here.
1:33:05 Kathryn Delaney: The fact that 30 to 50 percent of our students
1:33:10 are below grade level,
1:33:11 Kathryn Delaney: regardless of their race, regardless of their
1:33:14 trouble,
1:33:15 Kathryn Delaney: is a problem.
1:33:16 Kathryn Delaney: We need to work together.
1:33:19 Kathryn Delaney: Stop talking about, well, you’re black, you’re
1:33:23 white, you’re Hispanic,
1:33:24 Kathryn Delaney: you’re this, you’re that.
1:33:25 Kathryn Delaney: We all have different stories, we all come from
1:33:27 a different place,
1:33:28 Kathryn Delaney: but we all need the opportunity to succeed.
1:33:31 Kathryn Delaney: And if some of us are failing, all of us are
1:33:36 failing.
1:33:36 Kathryn Delaney: And we need to work together
1:33:39 Kathryn Delaney: to one, close the gap, but also in what
1:33:42 universe is 70 percent,
1:33:43 Kathryn Delaney: even for white people, 70 percent is not
1:33:47 succeeding.
1:33:48 Kathryn Delaney: You know, that’s 100 percent, that’s succeeding.
1:33:52 Kathryn Delaney: We should all strive for 100 percent, not 70,
1:33:56 not 50.
1:33:57 Kathryn Delaney: You know, one of the things that
1:34:00 Kathryn Delaney: I feel is a big problem for us is that we are
1:34:06 focusing on
1:34:07 Kathryn Delaney: things that don’t belong in the schools,
1:34:09 bathroom issues.
1:34:11 Kathryn Delaney: We shouldn’t be talking about these things.
1:34:13 Kathryn Delaney: You know, the school board just brought a man
1:34:19 into
1:34:19 Kathryn Delaney: to talk to our administrators and our guidance
1:34:25 counselors
1:34:26 Kathryn Delaney: that believes white America has a deep
1:34:29 Kathryn Delaney: and thick appetite for black death and violence
1:34:33 against black people.
1:34:34 Kathryn Delaney: And I don’t know about anybody, any of you or
1:34:37 anybody in this room,
1:34:38 Kathryn Delaney: but I do not have an appetite for death or
1:34:41 violence against anybody,
1:34:42 Kathryn Delaney: regardless of their anything.
1:34:46 Kathryn Delaney: And then another person from the BPS wellness
1:34:52 conference,
1:34:52 Kathryn Delaney: they said there is no such thing as a non-racist
1:34:55 policy.
1:34:56 Kathryn Delaney: If there are administrators or guidance
1:34:59 counselors
1:34:59 Kathryn Delaney: that decide on disciplinary actions for our
1:35:03 students based on their race,
1:35:05 Kathryn Delaney: if that is a factor, that’s a problem, that is
1:35:08 racist.
1:35:08 Kathryn Delaney: And they should not be working in our schools.
1:35:13 Kathryn Delaney: You know,
1:35:18 Kathryn Delaney: going forward there needs to be more honesty
1:35:23 and transparency between
1:35:25 Kathryn Delaney: the board and parents.
1:35:28 Kathryn Delaney: The fact that we’ve had to fight tooth and nail
1:35:30 to get curriculums from you guys
1:35:31 Kathryn Delaney: is not okay. We deserve to see those things.
1:35:34 Kathryn Delaney: We want to work with you.
1:35:37 Kathryn Delaney: We are the biggest supporters of you, our
1:35:39 schools, our students.
1:35:40 Kathryn Delaney: We are here. I’m begging you, let us help you.
1:35:44 Please. Thank you.
1:35:46 Kathryn Delaney: Thanks, Katie.
1:35:46 Kathryn Delaney: Good morning. I’m here this morning to read an
1:36:00 op-ed that I wrote for our local newspaper.
1:36:04 Kathryn Delaney: The definition of fear mongering is the action
1:36:06 of deliberately arousing public fear or alarm
1:36:10 Kathryn Delaney: about a particular issue. Last week, that is
1:36:12 exactly what a state representative
1:36:15 Kathryn Delaney: and a local moms organization did in asserting
1:36:19 that the Brevard public school system
1:36:21 Kathryn Delaney: had a racist agenda. I understand people have
1:36:31 different perspectives
1:36:32 Kathryn Delaney: when it comes to interpreting reactions to
1:36:34 different issues. But I can state unequivocally,
1:36:37 Kathryn Delaney: based on personal knowledge and experience,
1:36:39 that the Brevard schools are far from racist.
1:36:42 Kathryn Delaney: In fact, over many years, our schools have
1:36:45 taken great strides to ensure that all
1:36:47 Kathryn Delaney: students are treated equally and with respect.
1:36:50 Programs have been implemented to address any
1:36:53 Kathryn Delaney: inequities that may exist, and achievement gaps
1:36:56 have been thoroughly studied to determine how
1:36:58 Kathryn Delaney: these gaps can be closed. Let the record show
1:37:02 that PBS is one of the highest rated school
1:37:04 Kathryn Delaney: systems in Florida, including a graduation rate
1:37:08 of over 90 percent, which includes students of all races.
1:37:11 Kathryn Delaney: Our students also excel in national
1:37:14 competitions for such activities as science research,
1:37:17 Kathryn Delaney: problem solving, advanced placement,
1:37:19 international baccalaureate, and so much more.
1:37:22 Kathryn Delaney: So for this state representative and the local
1:37:25 moms organization to put on a show to make outrageous assertions
1:37:30 was shameful and wrong.
1:37:32 Kathryn Delaney: Their sole purpose was to bring this credit to
1:37:35 our outstanding schools,
1:37:36 Kathryn Delaney: and to possibly cause parents to question
1:37:38 having their children attend our great public schools.
1:37:41 Kathryn Delaney: By the way, let it be known that this
1:37:44 representative sponsored a bill that provided yet further
1:37:47 options for school attendance,
1:37:49 Kathryn Delaney: including vouchers from the public schools. And
1:37:51 the fact that he invoked the name of Hitler,
1:37:54 Kathryn Delaney: and how he brainwashed the German population,
1:37:57 and comparing that to what has taken place in our schools,
1:38:00 Kathryn Delaney: was as insensitive and misguided as one can be.
1:38:04 Kathryn Delaney: I certainly hope the parents of our Brevard
1:38:08 public schools can see through this political stunt,
1:38:10 Kathryn Delaney: which is trying to stir up controversy. I was
1:38:13 honored to have served as a teacher and administrator
1:38:16 Kathryn Delaney: in our schools for over four decades, and what
1:38:19 this representative and the local mom
1:38:20 Kathryn Delaney: organization asserted does not exist in our
1:38:25 schools and should be dismissed for what it is.
1:38:27 Kathryn Delaney: And finally, as the current executive director
1:38:30 of the Brevard
1:38:30 Kathryn Delaney: Associated School Administrators, I have the
1:38:33 pulse of our administrators,
1:38:34 Kathryn Delaney: and I have not heard one concern that racism
1:38:37 exists in our schools as was asserted.
1:38:40 Kathryn Delaney: Parents, you will not find a better place to
1:38:43 send your students than the Brevard public schools.
1:38:46 Kathryn Delaney: Thanks, Gary.
1:38:47 Kathryn Delaney: Peter Fuskas. And as Peter’s approaching, the
1:38:52 next three after Peter will be Alex Goins,
1:38:55 Lindy, Lindy already spoke, and Josephine Hunter, and then James
1:39:00 Minas.
1:39:01 James Minas: Thank you for your time. Can you hear me?
1:39:10 James Minas: I received this document from a young lady, a young
1:39:16 mother with children about to enter school,
1:39:18 James Minas: my daughter, and she was concerned, and it’s
1:39:22 entitled “The Divisive Ideology of Critical Race Theory.”
1:39:28 James Minas: And I’m going to read from the document.
1:39:31 James Minas: I need some clarification. It is of concern to me.
1:39:35 James Minas: I’m not, uh, uh,
1:39:40 James Minas: Let me read it.
1:39:41 James Minas: Critical Race Theory is a world view rooted in Marxism.
1:39:46 James Minas: It separates individuals in groups based on race
1:39:51 and pits them against
1:39:53 James Minas: one another in order to overthrow societies with
1:39:58 race as the excuse for revolution.
1:40:00 James Minas: Its fruit is not redemption, reconciliation,
1:40:04 restoration, and unity,
1:40:06 James Minas: but rather division, intimidation, harassment, and
1:40:10 chaos.
1:40:10 James Minas: CRT is a threat to liberty, community, and
1:40:14 democracy.
1:40:15 James Minas: Racism is real, and it needs to be addressed.
1:40:18 James Minas: The solution
1:40:22 James Minas: To ending racism is not another form of racism.
1:40:27 James Minas: So,
1:40:28 James Minas: The ideas which CRT is derived from is a legal
1:40:34 scholarship called Critical Legal Studies,
1:40:38 James Minas: which is a branch of the School of Philosophy
1:40:41 called Critical Theory.
1:40:43 James Minas: These ideas, class warfare,
1:40:47 James Minas: sowing discord among neighbors is a classic Marxist
1:40:50 tactic.
1:40:51 James Minas: These tactics used by communists,
1:40:56 James Minas: Marx, Stalin, Mao, Holinsky, and others,
1:41:01 James Minas: is similar to critical race theory.
1:41:05 James Minas: And it goes on.
1:41:07 James Minas: How does it work?
1:41:08 James Minas: First, CRT purports that white supremacy is rampant,
1:41:13 James Minas: and its power is entrenched
1:41:16 James Minas: in our culture, our systems, our language, our
1:41:18 education, and our nation.
1:41:20 James Minas: Secondly, it purports that racial
1:41:24 James Minas: emancipation and anti-subordination must occur
1:41:28 James Minas: in transformation of our culture laws that address
1:41:33 racial power.
1:41:34 James Minas: You read the press, I mean,
1:41:44 James Minas: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’d like your comments.
1:41:53 James Minas: Florida.
1:41:55 James Minas: Is a pushback on the CRT curriculum in our state.
1:42:01 Our governor,
1:42:02 James Minas: Governor DeSantis, has directed that Florida
1:42:06 Department of Education,
1:42:07 James Minas: Oh, I’m running out of time.
1:42:09 James Minas: Thanks, Peter, for joining us today. We appreciate
1:42:12 it. If you’d like to reach out,
1:42:13 we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. Okay. We just
1:42:15 can’t do it right now.
1:42:16 James Minas: Yeah, I have, I have a ton of questions.
1:42:17 James Minas: Yeah. Reach out to us.
1:42:19 James Minas: Thank you.
1:42:19 James Minas: We’ll be happy to answer them. Alex?
1:42:21 James Minas: Good morning.
1:42:30 James Minas: First, I’d like to thank Dr. Mullins for all you
1:42:35 have done
1:42:35 for our county. And every time I call, you always answer. And I
1:42:40 appreciate that. Also,
1:42:42 I’m on the Cocoa City Council. So I understand the positions
1:42:46 that sometimes the board is put in.
1:42:48 And it’s very difficult. Sometimes you get cheers when you get
1:42:52 elected and you get yelled at when
1:42:54 you get on the seat. So I understand that process. The data that
1:42:59 was shown today is very discouraging.
1:43:02 James Minas: I think we’ve got a long ways to go.
1:43:05 James Minas: The disparities on academics and also economic, it
1:43:13 means something.
1:43:14 The data that you showed is facts. Numbers don’t lie. People do.
1:43:21 So we can go back and forth about
1:43:24 race and whatever the case may be that we’re going through in
1:43:28 our country right now. One thing I did
1:43:30 not see on that slide was Democratic or Republican students. So
1:43:36 we get caught up at times dealing
1:43:39 with R and Ds and strategies and different arguments. But these
1:43:43 are our babies.
1:43:44 It’s not about what party you are in and what. It’s not about
1:43:51 that. These are our children.
1:43:53 These are the kids that we see every single day. White, black,
1:44:00 Puerto Rican, whatever it is. They have fun with each other at
1:44:04 school.
1:44:04 Sometimes they argue and fight and fuss and deliberate. But they
1:44:09 are children.
1:44:10 And we got to understand that. We got to be careful what we say
1:44:14 to them at home.
1:44:14 So that’s when the racial divide happens, when you say things at
1:44:18 home. And now they see that black
1:44:21 student because my mom said something at the dinner table. That’s
1:44:25 where the racial divide comes.
1:44:30 The city of Cocoa is also working on citywide internet for our
1:44:36 students. That’s one of the things that
1:44:39 we’re talking about, economic disparities. A lot of these kids
1:44:42 are not eating at home. A lot of these kids,
1:44:47 mothers working two jobs. They don’t have internet like some
1:44:52 other people, but based on economic status.
1:44:56 Critical race theory is just simply a way to look at race. It’s
1:45:03 a way to look at how law contributed to
1:45:06 the subordinate status. That attempted to hold back blacks,
1:45:09 indigenous people, and quite frankly,
1:45:12 anyone that is non-white. That is not CRT. This is not about CRT.
1:45:20 This is a pushback rhetoric on
1:45:22 critical race theory. It is an effort to reverse the racial reckoning
1:45:25 unlike anything we’ve seen in our
1:45:27 lifetime. Attacking CRT is just an arrest for much-needed change.
1:45:33 So I appreciate you,
1:45:34 a school board for all the things you have done. We have to do
1:45:38 the things that you’re doing to deal with
1:45:40 the situations in our schools. So I appreciate you. Thanks, Alec.
1:45:43 Josephine Hunter.
1:45:58 I don’t know if it’s afternoon yet. Good morning. First, Dr.
1:46:02 Mullins, thank you for your work, your
1:46:05 service, the board. I am so encouraged by the statements that Ms.
1:46:10 Jenkins made. I stand before
1:46:13 you. I’m so full. After seeing the numbers, I’m so discouraged.
1:46:17 In the same instance, I know we have to
1:46:20 move forward. And I am also a SAC member with NAACP, meaning we
1:46:26 go with a university school elementary.
1:46:30 And so we go and try and make a difference and try and help. But
1:46:34 let’s be real. If we keep doing what
1:46:36 we’ve been doing and expect different results, that’s the
1:46:38 definition of insanity. You have got to do
1:46:41 something different to get something different. So when we sit
1:46:43 up and we realize, as Ms. Jenkins said, how many
1:46:47 students you have that are of color and the deficit in your
1:46:51 teachers, then we have to realize. And the
1:46:53 thing is, I have to believe that it’s not intentional, that you
1:46:57 really don’t know that it makes a
1:46:59 difference or we would be doing something different. And so
1:47:03 sometimes, as you heard her mention, they’re
1:47:06 labeled as, ours is labeled as disabled so quick. Maybe they
1:47:09 have, they’re full of energy. They say, oh,
1:47:12 they’re hyperactive. Put them on a medication. But others can
1:47:15 play and it’s no problem. So let me
1:47:17 point this out to you. We come from a culture that’s used to
1:47:20 colors and variations and music and things
1:47:22 like that. So maybe ours learn different. Maybe instead of just
1:47:26 sitting lecture style, they need
1:47:28 something to stimulate them. So sometimes we have to look a
1:47:31 little harder in what it’s going to take
1:47:33 to teach them. Not that they can’t be taught. So we have to do
1:47:37 something different. You can’t keep
1:47:38 doing what you’ve been doing and expect better results. So I
1:47:41 think we need to tailor some things and not
1:47:45 wanting to bring, and CRT is not in the schools. And this is a
1:47:48 push, but that’s to stop from
1:47:50 teaching history. History needs to be taught. If some of these
1:47:54 young kids knew that it was a, and look how
1:47:56 long it took for it to get out, that it was a black female who
1:47:59 did the calculations to put the first
1:48:01 man on the moon, some of them might think they could be
1:48:03 mathematicians. That they’re brilliant enough to
1:48:05 do some things. But if you only have them in history as being
1:48:09 slaves and building a country
1:48:11 and being whipped, then they don’t aspire to anything. There are
1:48:14 some excellent things. If they
1:48:16 knew that the first brain surgery, if they knew that you can’t
1:48:20 operate a week without dealing with
1:48:22 something created by a black. You can’t even drive because of
1:48:25 the red light. Just so many things.
1:48:27 I think that’s what the school meant. I put her on Hooked on Phonics.
1:48:29 For those who are having problems
1:48:30 reading, I had a teacher back here just said that seventh grade,
1:48:33 they have to show them pictures
1:48:34 they can’t read. Take them back to Hooked on Phonics, the
1:48:37 original. Let’s go back to basics. Because
1:48:39 they can’t move forward until they get the foundation. I’ll be
1:48:42 back because I’m on again to discuss.
1:48:44 Thank you, Josephine. We appreciate it.
1:48:46 James Minas, and then after James, we have Tammy Robinson and
1:48:53 Alberta Wilson.
1:48:57 And I’ll tell you after that, it’s hard, but I’ll do the best I
1:49:03 can.
1:49:04 Dr. Mullins, Madam Chair and members of the board, thank you for
1:49:09 the opportunity to address you this
1:49:10 morning. Thank you, Dr. Mullins, for your willingness to listen
1:49:15 to the need of our community
1:49:17 and for the courage to work alongside us and your staff to make
1:49:21 a difference for all students.
1:49:23 We appreciate your resolve to make changes so that we no longer
1:49:27 have an assistant superintendent of the
1:49:29 Office of Equity and Justice, which was a system created to
1:49:33 provide choice for those with an
1:49:35 advantage to access it. You have chosen to change that and
1:49:41 created a director’s job, costing the district
1:49:44 a lot less money and allowing Dr. McKenna to truly focus on
1:49:48 equity through the lens of inclusion.
1:49:51 This will help provide public schools, create new systems, which
1:49:55 will provide opportunities for all
1:49:57 children, not just children of color, but students with
1:50:01 disabilities and those that do not always have
1:50:04 a choice advocating for them. This is what equity is. It is to
1:50:08 free from bias, dishonesty or injustice.
1:50:11 I want you to know that we support any efforts to keep this
1:50:16 position and ask that you continue to move
1:50:18 forward with a clear focus on teaching the truth of our past to
1:50:22 all students. As a nation, we must educate
1:50:26 all our – we must all educate ourselves in the truth. We have a
1:50:31 history that is based on injustices to
1:50:33 human beings and we have not owned that reality and transparently
1:50:39 addressed our wrongs. Our responsibility is to
1:50:42 constantly improve and do right for all children. Lies create a
1:50:47 culture of division and distrust. Truth will
1:50:51 unite us. Don’t be afraid of those loud voices that speak from a
1:50:55 place of fear and hate. We must do
1:50:58 better for all our children. Take courage in the words of James
1:51:02 Baldwin who said, “Not everything that is
1:51:05 faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is
1:51:09 faced. This change is for the children
1:51:12 because they deserve better.” Thank you for this time. Thank you,
1:51:15 James.
1:51:20 TAMI ROBINSON. TAMI ROBINSON: Good morning, all. Thank you,
1:51:33 Superintendent Moens and Board.
1:51:36 TAMI ROBINSON: I will tell you, I’m up here not – I’m a member
1:51:39 of many things, NAACP, Neighborhood Brevard,
1:51:44 the DOC, other organizations, but I will ask you to see me as
1:51:49 part of the 20% willing to do 80% of the work.
1:51:54 I’m willing to put my hands to the plow. I believe in solution-based
1:52:00 efforts.
1:52:03 TAMI ROBINSON: If I allowed myself to be distracted by extremists
1:52:09 with CRT, or who
1:52:10 has infiltrated my precious BPS that was also a part of the
1:52:16 invasion on my capital,
1:52:18 I will be in lack of faith. But all I can do is pray, and
1:52:24 including praying for all of you,
1:52:27 because you make decisions that impact the education of our
1:52:30 babies.
1:52:33 TAMI ROBINSON: The data made me cry. Alex has cracked a joke on
1:52:35 me, said don’t cry.
1:52:37 TAMI ROBINSON: I served 23 years in the Air Force. I’ve been
1:52:39 through some tough situations,
1:52:40 and I come from a disenfranchised, low-income community myself,
1:52:44 so I know how to hold my own.
1:52:45 TAMI ROBINSON: But that data made me cry, because it’s a disservice
1:52:50 to all.
1:52:54 TAMI ROBINSON: I challenge you, board, and you actually touched
1:53:00 on, check at the door in order to focus on the facts,
1:53:02 and the numbers don’t lie. There are people that are willing to
1:53:08 help if they’re given the opportunity.
1:53:12 TAMI ROBINSON: A stronger connection with the community, as we
1:53:14 like to call it, the village.
1:53:16 TAMI ROBINSON: The nonprofits, the youth services.
1:53:20 TAMI ROBINSON: Capitalizing on them will help you bridge that
1:53:26 gap, because no, you can’t do everything.
1:53:28 TAMI ROBINSON: I’d like to say, if you’re committed, like Les
1:53:33 Brown, you shoot for the moon, and you miss your least end up
1:53:38 amongst the stars.
1:53:38 I am here to put my hands to the effort any day, and I’ll bring
1:53:44 some community people along with me.
1:53:45 I don’t mind pounding the concrete any time. God bless you all.
1:53:49 Thank you for your time.
1:53:49 TAMI ROBINSON: Thanks, Tammy.
1:53:50 TAMI ROBINSON: Alberta Wilson.
1:53:58 TAMI ROBINSON: To this board, this hardworking board, Dr. Mullins,
1:54:10 your staff, Dr. Sullivan, Mrs. Klein, and the like.
1:54:17 I just want to say thank you for all that you continue to do for
1:54:23 our students here in Brevard County.
1:54:27 TAMI ROBINSON: You continue to do was huge and problematic, but
1:54:31 today is very just discomforting.
1:54:33 TAMI ROBINSON: I got to say, though, that we cannot address one
1:54:40 issue while others linger out there.
1:54:44 TAMI ROBINSON: Disparity in discipline.
1:54:47 TAMI ROBINSON: Do you not know that children see this?
1:54:52 TAMI ROBINSON: We heard of this from the Department of Defense
1:54:55 some five or six years ago.
1:54:57 TAMI ROBINSON: Five or six years ago, the NAACP was contacted
1:55:01 and said, where’s this Brevard County?
1:55:05 TAMI ROBINSON: We got some numbers here that is disturbing on
1:55:08 how children of color are disciplined.
1:55:12 TAMI ROBINSON: Children can see.
1:55:13 TAMI ROBINSON: I’m not going to dwell on that.
1:55:16 TAMI ROBINSON: But I got to tell you.
1:55:17 TAMI ROBINSON: HB 245, the country in state’s history,
1:55:27 TAMI ROBINSON: God help us, is one in which it needs to be
1:55:31 addressed.
1:55:32 TAMI ROBINSON: We better pay strict attention to that.
1:55:34 TAMI ROBINSON: You guys.
1:55:35 TAMI ROBINSON: It continues to be important.
1:55:40 TAMI ROBINSON: Much of our history has been diluted,
1:55:44 TAMI ROBINSON: even false to some degree.
1:55:47 TAMI ROBINSON: For too long, our history has been
1:55:50 TAMI ROBINSON: covered up, dismissed, treated just as we are unimportant.
1:55:57 TAMI ROBINSON: No more.
1:55:58 TAMI ROBINSON: Though not enough,
1:56:00 TAMI ROBINSON: we welcome this step.
1:56:03 TAMI ROBINSON: And we promise to give the district all of our
1:56:07 support,
1:56:08 TAMI ROBINSON: all of the support that we can muster.
1:56:12 TAMI ROBINSON: HB 241 is long overdue.
1:56:17 TAMI ROBINSON: Hopefully, bills addressing this history
1:56:20 deficiency will be given more substantive
1:56:23 TAMI ROBINSON: teeth going forward.
1:56:26 TAMI ROBINSON: I love that mission.
1:56:28 TAMI ROBINSON: Every time I come into this room, I love that
1:56:30 mission.
1:56:30 TAMI ROBINSON: But like school board members said,
1:56:33 TAMI ROBINSON: every need to be accentuated.
1:56:37 TAMI ROBINSON: If you mean this, and I do believe that you do,
1:56:40 tell the truth.
1:56:41 TAMI ROBINSON: Are available as is Dr. Mullins.
1:56:44 TAMI ROBINSON: The, I’m sorry?
1:56:49 TAMI ROBINSON: You were signed up twice, is that what you said?
1:56:53 TAMI ROBINSON: I have you down only once.
1:56:59 TAMI ROBINSON: Typically, we don’t do, was it under another name?
1:57:04 TAMI ROBINSON:
1:57:20 TAMI ROBINSON: So yeah, typically we only allow each person
1:57:28 three minutes.
1:57:29 TAMI ROBINSON: Is there someone else that you would like to
1:57:32 speak on behalf of the other organization?
1:57:34 TAMI ROBINSON: He’s, okay.
1:57:37 TAMI ROBINSON: Or if you, if you would like to provide the
1:57:39 information to the board,
1:57:40 we can certainly do that as well.
1:57:46 TAMI ROBINSON: It’s beyond the timeline to sign up, so.
1:57:48 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay, so we.
1:57:50 TAMI ROBINSON:
1:57:51 TAMI ROBINSON: I’m sorry, what’s your name, sir?
1:57:56 TAMI ROBINSON: My name is Andre Green.
1:57:58 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay.
1:58:00 TAMI ROBINSON:
1:58:02 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay.
1:58:04 TAMI ROBINSON: All right, let me just look through the forms
1:58:08 real quick.
1:58:08 TAMI ROBINSON: I just want to make sure we’re not breaking
1:58:18 protocol, okay?
1:58:22 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay, I have only one form for Josephine Hunter.
1:58:35 TAMI ROBINSON: So unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to
1:58:37 take it.
1:58:38 TAMI ROBINSON: But as I said, if you would like to share the
1:58:39 information,
1:58:40 we can certainly make, is it, is it a printed speech that you
1:58:44 have?
1:58:44 TAMI ROBINSON: If you would like, we can get copies of it for
1:58:47 the board,
1:58:47 if you would like to leave it.
1:58:49 And we’ll make sure that the board members get it, okay?
1:58:51 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay.
1:58:54 TAMI ROBINSON: So, that brings us to the board discussion
1:59:03 portion of our,
1:59:05 agenda, and we have, we have one issue that we need to address,
1:59:11 and I don’t,
1:59:13 I think it’s pretty much already resolved, but we need to
1:59:15 address it publicly.
1:59:16 So FSBA is on a different timeline for appointment than the
1:59:20 board is.
1:59:21 So in November, when we did our organization of the board,
1:59:24 Ms. Campbell and Ms. Jenkins were going to be appointed to the
1:59:30 FSBA board of directors.
1:59:32 And when we submitted the information to, let me clarify, Ms.
1:59:36 Campbell was being appointed
1:59:37 to the board of directors, Ms. Jenkins was going to be her
1:59:40 backup, her secondary.
1:59:41 When we submitted that information to FSBA, they indicated that
1:59:46 Mr. Susan had to finish his term
1:59:48 on the board of directors prior to us appointing the new people.
1:59:53 But the board voted in November
1:59:56 or agreed when we did our, our appointments to all of the
1:59:58 committees, that Ms. Campbell and Ms. Jenkins
2:00:00 would be appointed to the board of directors. So, Paul, are you
2:00:04 comfortable with that being our
2:00:06 submission to FSBA now? I don’t think there’s any opposition
2:00:11 from any board member.
2:00:12 Are, are you asking for the board to approve that now? Because
2:00:16 without a quorum, you can’t…
2:00:17 TAMI ROBINSON: No, no, no. My point is, I believe it’s already
2:00:19 been approved, but…
2:00:20 Right. Originally, that was the board’s decision, yes.
2:00:23 TAMI ROBINSON: Right. And so it was, it’s just a timeline issue.
2:00:27 So Ms. Campbell and Ms. Jenkins were
2:00:30 to be appointed when Mr. Susan came off of the board of
2:00:34 directors. But because the FSBA changed their
2:00:37 timeline to align more with the legislative, I guess, calendar
2:00:42 than our reorganization calendar.
2:00:45 Yeah, I have no issue if you want to go on the board’s original
2:00:47 appointment.
2:00:49 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay. And then also in November, when we did the
2:00:54 reorganization of the board, I was
2:00:56 appointed to the FSBA advocacy committee.
2:00:58 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay. On the advocacy, I have a telephone
2:01:00 conference with Andrea Messina
2:01:02 tomorrow. TAMI ROBINSON: Okay. TAMI ROBINSON: To go over all
2:01:04 that. So if you want to wait
2:01:05 after, until after that, I’ll email the board what comes out of
2:01:08 that conversation.
2:01:09 TAMI ROBINSON: Okay. TAMI ROBINSON: On that. Because I know Mr.
2:01:12 Susan had raised an issue, and he had said that he got
2:01:14 the word that it was okay. I haven’t talked with her yet. So as
2:01:18 soon as I talk with her tomorrow at 9:00,
2:01:20 I’ll let the board. TAMI ROBINSON: So if I can, if I can chime
2:01:25 in, if it’s appropriate.
2:01:26 Everybody, I was, I was selected to be the advocacy chair, which
2:01:31 oversees in the past by the FSBA
2:01:34 organization. So I do know that it’s perfectly fine. And it
2:01:38 actually shouldn’t even take a vote,
2:01:41 a majority vote to do it. We just need to discuss that that’s
2:01:44 what our direction was going to be.
2:01:46 And continue down the same road. So if that helped, I’d be
2:01:49 willing to offer that up.
2:01:52 TAMI ROBINSON: Thanks, Mr. Susan. So once you speak with Andrea
2:01:58 tomorrow.
2:02:00 Yeah. I just want to understand everything that it entails. So,
2:02:04 and so I was going to talk with
2:02:05 Andrea about it. And then if she says it’s okay, I don’t care if
2:02:07 the board doesn’t.
2:02:08 TAMI ROBINSON: So I want to make sure it’s out. I just had
2:02:12 concerns like if the Brevard’s legislative
2:02:14 priorities are the same as FSBA’s and you guys are up there
2:02:18 talking together in unnoticed meetings,
2:02:22 and you guys start talking about, well, in Brevard, we propose
2:02:25 this for these reasons. And there’s some
2:02:27 discussion between two board members on issues that could still
2:02:30 come back to the board, then that
2:02:32 could be a violation of Sunshine. So I just want to run that
2:02:35 through Andrea and what was told to board
2:02:38 members and get the full story. TAMI ROBINSON: Okay. So do we
2:02:41 need to then
2:02:42 have that discussion again publicly after you speak with Andrea?
2:02:46 Or are you?
2:02:47 TAMI ROBINSON: The board said you guys were good with it if it
2:02:49 passed legal muster. So I mean,
2:02:51 if I’m satisfied, I’ll let the board know, hey, I’m good with
2:02:54 you guys going forward.
2:02:55 TAMI ROBINSON: That’s all I should take. TAMI ROBINSON: Okay.
2:02:57 All right. Super. So then I will wait for
2:03:00 you to follow up. TAMI ROBINSON: Yep. TAMI ROBINSON: Are there
2:03:03 any additional board member
2:03:05 discussion points? Mr. Susan, I know typically you wait, but did
2:03:10 you have anything since you’re on the
2:03:11 phone? TAMI ROBINSON: No, I’m good. TAMI ROBINSON: Ms. Campbell?
2:03:19 TAMI ROBINSON: No, I’m good. TAMI ROBINSON: Thank you. TAMI ROBINSON:
2:03:24 Okay. Ms. Jenkins,
2:03:25 did you have any additional discussion? All right. Dr. Mullins,
2:03:28 do you have anything more?
2:03:29 All right. There being no further business, this meeting is now
2:03:34 adjourned. Have a great rest of your day.
2:03:49 TAMI ROBINSON: Thank you so much. TAMI ROBINSON: Thank you.