Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
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5:03 Thank you.
17:32 So, first of all, I haven’t gotten a chance to get out and see
17:37 them but my kids have gotten
17:38 to participate in some of the summer activities going on.
17:41 So, kudos to all our host sites and district and school staff
17:45 who are doing the summer enrichment
17:48 programs for our secondary and our summer school programs and
17:51 their strings camps and band camps
17:52 and all kinds of things.
17:53 The schools are busy.
18:23 And then, yeah.
18:53 I don’t know, I don’t know.
19:23 All those challenges.
19:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, I don’t know.
20:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know.
21:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
21:50 know.
21:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know.
22:23 I don’t know.
22:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know.
23:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
23:50 know.
23:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know.
24:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
24:50 know.
24:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
25:14 know, but I don’t know.
25:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
25:50 know.
25:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
26:20 know.
26:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
26:44 know, but I don’t know.
26:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know.
27:53 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t
28:14 know, but I don’t know.
28:23 I don’t know, but I don’t know, but I don’t know.
29:23 Because it’s making an impact in a really positive way, I think,
29:27 as far as building relationships
29:28 with schools and expanding talents and those types of things.
29:32 So I also want to give a shout out to, I know, Mr. Susan, you
29:37 mentioned mental health, and
29:40 the last time that we were together, we mentioned the mentoring
29:45 program that is being put together
29:47 through our student services department to develop.
29:49 So we have a district-wide mentoring framework, which I’m super
29:54 excited about.
29:55 The other thing that Ms. Moore was kind enough to share with me,
29:58 if you recall, when we were
29:59 talking about our parent survey results, I asked about the
30:02 resources, and Youth Truth, when
30:04 we had that conversation as well, I asked about the mental
30:06 health resources that I felt like
30:07 it was kind of another best kept secret in our district, and we
30:11 didn’t want it to be that
30:12 way.
30:13 And at the last meeting, Ms. Moore mentioned to me that they
30:17 have compiled our mental health
30:20 resources so that our parents will have access to that
30:23 information, as well as mentors and
30:26 teachers and staff members who come across a student that is in
30:29 need.
30:30 And so thank you, Ms. Moore, and all of your student services
30:33 team.
30:34 You guys have done some enormous work in addressing some really
30:38 big issues for our kids, and I just
30:40 want to say, so.
30:43 All right.
30:44 With that, we are going to move into the adoption of the agenda.
30:47 Dr. Mullins.
30:48 Ms. Belford and members of the board, on this morning’s agenda,
30:52 we have administrative
30:53 staff recommendations, one presentation, 23 consent items, three
30:58 action items, and nine information
31:00 changes made to the agenda since release to the public include
31:04 the revision of items A7, administrative
31:07 staff recommendations, B8, community conversation report, F19,
31:12 cabinet reappointment nominations
31:14 for 2022-2023, F23, 2022-2023, memorandum of understanding with
31:23 municipalities for school resource officers,
31:26 and I-43, board policy 72-50, commemoration of school facilities.
31:33 What are the wishes of the board?
31:34 Ms. McDougall.
31:35 Moved by Ms. McDougall.
31:36 Seconded by Ms. Campbell.
31:37 Is there any discussion?
31:39 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
31:41 Aye.
31:42 Any opposed?
31:43 Same sign.
31:44 Motion passes, 5-0.
31:46 And I am going to take just a moment.
31:50 I forgot a recognition, and I want you guys to know that the
31:53 resource is here.
31:55 So, later on the program, we are under project management.
31:59 We are voting on a Tule Community Development Group concept, and
32:04 we have the representatives
32:07 from Tule Community Development Group here with us this morning,
32:10 wanted to be available
32:11 to answer any questions.
32:12 But I’ll just tell you all, you know, we talk a lot about the
32:16 community groups that come together
32:17 to support our kids and our community, oftentimes, and they’re
32:20 doing some phenomenal work in
32:23 East Mims, which is vacant of many supports, unfortunately, and
32:29 they are really doing a lot of work
32:31 and providing a great summer STEM program.
32:33 So, thank you, Ms. Curry, Mr. Boston, for the work that you all
32:35 are doing, and thank you
32:38 for joining us today as well.
32:40 With that, Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about the
32:43 administrative staff recommendation?
32:45 Yes, Madam Chair, and members of the board, there are 19 items
32:48 for your consideration.
32:49 Do I hear a motion?
32:50 I so move.
32:51 Moved by Ms. McDougall.
32:52 Seconded by Ms. Campbell.
32:53 Is there any discussion?
32:54 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
32:55 Aye.
32:56 Any opposed?
32:57 Same sign.
32:58 Motion passes, 5-0.
32:59 Dr. Mullins.
33:00 Well, it is always a wonderful opportunity and privilege to
33:09 introduce new candidates, new
33:11 members to the leadership team for our schools and across the
33:15 district, and we have quite
33:17 a few on the list this morning.
33:19 So, we want to celebrate and congratulate several individuals
33:22 who will be joining administrative
33:25 ranks.
33:26 First is Paulette Brancaccio.
33:30 Did I get that right, Paulette?
33:32 All right.
33:33 Congratulations, Paulette.
33:34 She is being reclassed from the position of Title I teacher at
33:37 Columbia Elementary School
33:39 to the position of assistant principal, 10-month at Ralph
33:42 Williams Elementary, effective August
33:44 2nd.
33:45 Congratulations, Paulette.
33:46 Thank you, Dr. Mullins, and to the school board.
33:55 I’m really excited about this opportunity to work with Ms. Melendez
33:58 and serve the students
34:00 and families at Ralph Williams.
34:02 Just a quick thank you to Ms. Julian for the past year.
34:05 Thank you for your support all year.
34:07 And Ms. Roberts, she should be in here somewhere.
34:10 There she is.
34:11 Without her pushing me, I probably wouldn’t be here today.
34:16 So, thank you for being my mentor and the last seven years just
34:21 being my principal and helping
34:23 me out with everything.
34:24 And, of course, I have my beautiful children here.
34:28 Sorry.
34:29 I hope I’m making you proud.
34:31 And thank you to my husband.
34:33 So, when I said to him, I want to be an act man and I want to go
34:36 back to school, he said,
34:38 whatever you want to do and just do it.
34:40 So, I did.
34:41 And I really appreciate your support.
34:43 And he still makes me lunch every day.
34:46 So, that has been the best part of it all.
34:49 So, thank you.
34:50 Again, thank you, everyone.
34:52 Next, we have Ms. Lauren Ciccoli, reclassed from the position of
35:01 teacher at Quest Elementary
35:03 School to the position of assistant principal at Surfside
35:06 Elementary, effective August 2nd.
35:09 Congratulations, Lauren.
35:10 Thank you.
35:13 Thank you, Dr. Mullins and the board and Ms. Klein for this
35:16 opportunity.
35:17 Thank you to my Quest administration, Kristin Boyd and Tonna
35:20 Phillips for your encouragement
35:22 and guidance all the way.
35:25 Thank you to my Quest family and friends for cheering me on
35:28 every step of the way.
35:30 I wouldn’t be here today without the love and support of my
35:32 family.
35:33 I have my husband, John, here.
35:35 Two of my three boys, Joe and Jake.
35:38 My sister, Chrissy.
35:39 And Kathy Ernstoff, thank you for believing in me.
35:42 I look forward to serving the students, staff, and community at
35:46 Surfside.
35:47 Next, we have Karina Johnson-Blackwell, reclassed from the
35:54 position of teacher on assignment
35:57 at Johnson Middle School to the position of assistant principal
36:01 at Tropical Elementary School,
36:03 effective August 2nd.
36:05 Congratulations, Karina.
36:06 Good morning, everyone.
36:06 I want to thank the school board for giving me the opportunity
36:14 to serve at Tropical.
36:18 Thank you, Dr. Marshall.
36:19 I am very excited to be on board.
36:21 Nice meeting you all this morning.
36:23 To my new family, I brought with me my wife, Precious.
36:27 I brought my daughter, Madison, my mom, my aunt, my mother-in-law,
36:32 my sister-in-law.
36:33 Thank you, guys, for taking off of work to be here with me.
36:36 I have some mentors in the room.
36:38 Thank you, guys.
36:39 I also want to say thank you to my Johnson and Stone family.
36:43 I came back to Brevard.
36:45 They welcome me with open arms, and they let me do what I do
36:48 best, and that serves students.
36:50 So thank you, everyone.
36:51 We also have Jessie DeLeon, appointed to the position of
37:01 assistant principal at Freedom 7 Elementary School,
37:05 effective August 2nd.
37:07 Congratulations, Jessie.
37:11 Good morning, everyone.
37:12 It’s such a pleasure to be here with you today.
37:15 I come to you from Miami, Florida, with most of my work in Miami-Dade.
37:20 And I’ve spent the last 10 years at Ascension Catholic School in
37:24 the Diocese of Orlando.
37:26 And it’s just a pleasure coming to the public schools here in
37:29 Brevard County.
37:31 I’ve been a resident now for about 12 years, and I’ve had the
37:34 support most of all of God.
37:36 I thank God for this opportunity, and my family.
37:40 My husband, Giannis, is here with me, and my mom, who has been
37:44 the wind beneath my wings.
37:46 And my daughters, Ariana and Estefania.
37:51 And then I’ve got Rolando, Abby Rose, Christian, and AJ.
37:56 Thank you for your support.
37:57 My son, Jacob, was unable to be here.
38:00 He’s working on his thesis at UNF right now.
38:03 I’ve got my friend, Jen Reneau, who surprised me here today.
38:07 Thank you so much for your love and support.
38:09 And I look forward to pushing the family at Freedom 7 forward,
38:15 especially as we live on the Space Coast,
38:17 with stream education and international studies in baccalaureate,
38:23 international baccalaureate.
38:24 Thank you so much for your support.
38:33 We also have Julie Sanders, reclassed from the position of
38:36 teacher at adult and community education
38:38 to the position of assistant principal at adult and community
38:42 education, effective July 1st.
38:45 Congratulations, Julie.
38:46 Thank you.
38:48 That’s a mouthful.
38:49 I know it is.
38:50 Thank you, Dr. Mullins and Dr. Sullivan, the school board, and
38:53 many of you in this county
38:55 who have been with me over the years.
38:57 It’s been a road.
38:58 Don’t cry, Ms. Benjamin.
39:01 I do have to thank Ms. Benjamin, because if it wasn’t for her
39:05 faith in me to lead and her leadership,
39:07 I would not be here today.
39:09 So thank you, Ms. Benjamin.
39:11 Thank you.
39:12 Next, we have Heather Legate, transferring from the position of
39:21 assistant principal at Titusville High School
39:24 to the position of assistant principal at Vieira High School,
39:27 effective July 1st.
39:29 Congratulations, Heather.
39:31 Thanks, Dr. Mullins on the school board.
39:34 I want to thank Sarah Robinson and Heather Smith, and obviously
39:38 Lena Weibel, Dr. Sullivan, for the opportunity.
39:41 I’m really excited to join the Hawk family.
39:44 To my mentors, Ms. Molly Vega, Mr. Solomon, they’ve been the
39:49 ones that kind of pushed me into leadership from the get-go.
39:53 My principal this year, Ms. Jennifer Gonzalez, who couldn’t be
39:56 here today, but I owe her a lot for the exponential growth from
40:00 this past year.
40:01 So I’ve had a really good time working with her, and I want to
40:04 thank my family.
40:06 My husband, Frankie, is here with me.
40:08 Without their love and support, I would never be where I am
40:10 today.
40:11 So thank you, guys.
40:13 Thank you.
40:18 Next, we have Mark Zehler, reclassed from the position of
40:21 assistant principal at Rockledge High School to the position of
40:24 assistant principal now at Coco High School, effective June 15th.
40:28 Congratulations, Mark.
40:29 So I’m sure that Gandhi would agree that a central calling in
40:36 leadership is to inspire the best in others and to leave this
40:42 world a better place.
40:44 After all, he was one of the most inspirational leaders in
40:48 history.
40:49 You think about the impact he had and the lives that he enhanced
40:53 and the wrongs, all of the wrongs that he made right.
40:58 When I taught, I had a poster in my classroom, and it was of a
41:01 quote we’ve all heard.
41:03 “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
41:07 And Gandhi didn’t just say those words.
41:09 He lived by them.
41:11 Among his long list of inspirational leadership miracles, if you
41:14 read about it in history, some of the most impressive
41:17 accomplishments in leadership is leading a nonviolent movement
41:22 that eventually helped India gain independence from the British
41:25 Empire.
41:26 He was a beacon of virtue and inclusivity.
41:30 He waged war against inequality and injustice.
41:36 And he did not do it with guns or violence.
41:40 He did it with education and with peaceful acts of civil disobedience.
41:49 Emphasis on civil.
41:52 Inspired by the writings of great minds, Socrates, Tolstoy, and
41:58 Thoreau, the same principles that Gandhi used to cultivate these
42:02 leadership miracles later inspired other inspirational leaders
42:06 after him, including the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
42:09 Nelson Mandela and Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.
42:14 But here’s the thing.
42:16 Even when he wasn’t busy changing the world, he just had this
42:19 tranquil and transformative approach to life.
42:24 One day he was boarding a train that had already started moving,
42:29 and as he stepped onto the train, one of his shoes slipped off
42:31 and fell onto the track.
42:33 And without hesitation, he calmly reached down, he grabbed his
42:36 other shoe, and he tossed it close to where the first shoe had
42:39 landed on the track.
42:41 And when a fellow passenger asked him why he would do such a
42:45 thing, Gandhi replied, “The poor man that finds his shoes on the
42:51 track will now have a pair that he can use.”
42:56 Think about this.
42:57 You know, just like that train is moving, we all know the world
43:01 is changing.
43:03 Educators feel the effects of these changes firsthand, and
43:06 unfortunately, social media is not exactly coming to the rescue.
43:13 Suffice to say, popular platforms like Snapchat and TikTok have
43:18 not been the most helpful partners in education in terms of
43:21 inspiring kids to make positive and productive choices and, you
43:26 know, promote kindness and good deeds.
43:28 And most of all, to embrace education as an educational value, a
43:34 life value, a driving force of their lives.
43:39 But again, kids aren’t the only ones dealing with these complex
43:43 changes in a digitally consuming world.
43:47 I know this, during the pandemic, everyone lost a shoe.
43:53 Some of us lost a pair of shoes.
43:55 Others lost a closet full.
43:58 Many people out there, and children are chief among them, are
44:02 still wandering around barefoot, having lost their way.
44:06 Desperate.
44:07 Desperate to reconnect to something more purposeful than what an
44:11 internet connection can provide.
44:14 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:14 connection can provide.
44:15 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:15 connection can provide.
44:16 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:16 connection can provide.
44:17 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:17 connection can provide.
44:18 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:18 connection can provide.
44:19 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:19 connection can provide.
44:20 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:20 connection can provide.
44:21 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:21 connection can provide.
44:22 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:22 connection can provide.
44:23 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:23 connection can provide.
44:24 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:24 connection can provide.
44:25 Desperate to something more purposeful than what an internet
44:25 connection can provide.
44:26 Oprah likes to say.
44:27 A trusting connection that affirms
44:31 everything’s going to be okay
44:32 regardless of whatever challenges
44:34 or setbacks come our way.
44:36 A meaningful connection
44:38 that reinforces the immense individual value
44:42 kids have as part of our collective society.
44:45 I’m talking about a deep, powerful connection
44:51 like no other
44:52 that stays with them for the rest
44:56 of their lives.
44:58 Constantly whispering encouragement
45:02 that echoes in their soul
45:03 so that they can always hear
45:05 no matter what’s going on in their life
45:07 you are loved.
45:09 You are worth it.
45:12 You can do it.
45:15 I believe in you.
45:17 I know your future’s bright
45:19 and I see you are destined
45:22 to make your biggest dreams come true.
45:26 And the universe will be better off for it
45:28 when you do.
45:28 And that’s why we’re here guys
45:34 because that is where educators come in.
45:36 Educators understand
45:40 it’s not just what we teach kids
45:43 that matters most.
45:43 It’s how we make kids feel
45:46 and what we inspire kids to do
45:49 as a result.
45:51 Educators make sure
45:55 those who struggle
45:57 always have a pair of shoes to wear
46:00 on the track to finding fulfillment and success
46:02 at school, yes,
46:04 but also in their careers
46:06 and in their lives.
46:08 I’ve never been a big title person
46:12 regardless of your title,
46:14 of your position,
46:16 your background.
46:17 Everyone in this room,
46:20 everyone in our school district,
46:23 and everyone in the field of education
46:26 like Gandhi did
46:28 has the opportunity
46:29 to inspire the best in others
46:32 and to leave this world
46:34 a better place.
46:35 Just real quick,
46:40 I wanted to thank Dr. Mullins,
46:42 the board,
46:43 Dr. Sullivan,
46:44 the directors,
46:45 and so many others.
46:47 Thank God for the abundance
46:48 of blessings in my life,
46:49 especially the blessing
46:51 of our family.
46:52 Really wish
46:53 our little boy Landon
46:55 could be here in his red wagon,
46:56 but didn’t trust
46:57 that he could stay quiet.
46:58 But I did want to thank
47:00 Rockledge High School
47:01 because you have no idea
47:03 how unbelievable
47:04 this school is.
47:04 I know the ship
47:05 sailing forward
47:06 is going to be in better hands
47:07 than ever before,
47:08 and I just have so many
47:10 colleagues
47:11 turned lifelong friends
47:12 to thank at Rockledge.
47:13 I have to reflect a little bit.
47:16 Back when Star Wars
47:17 was debuting on the big screen
47:18 and you could go to the gas pump
47:20 and fill up your tank
47:21 without having a heart attack
47:22 at the pump,
47:22 Robert Greenlee
47:24 published this book
47:25 and it introduced
47:26 a new management paradigm.
47:27 So he proposed
47:28 that leadership
47:29 should be most defined
47:30 by the selfless act
47:31 of serving others.
47:32 Rockledge High School
47:34 principal Bert Clark,
47:35 this gentleman
47:35 in the red polo,
47:36 he lives those principles
47:37 and servant leadership daily.
47:39 With humility and honor,
47:41 there’s literally
47:41 no hat he has not worn.
47:43 There’s nothing he hasn’t done
47:44 to serve his students,
47:45 his staff,
47:46 and his school community.
47:47 Our head custodian,
47:48 Mr. Patrick Swinton,
47:49 and his team,
47:50 just equal parts class
47:52 and commitment
47:53 to his stakeholders.
47:54 It’s unbelievable.
47:55 Our cafeteria manager,
47:57 Ms. Sarah Lane,
47:57 I wanted to give her
47:58 special recognition
47:58 because we were fortunate
48:00 to hire her
48:00 at really the peak of COVID.
48:02 Positive,
48:04 can-do,
48:05 never-say-never attitude.
48:06 She’s overcome
48:07 a million and one problems
48:08 to just revamp
48:09 the cafeteria experience
48:11 for students and staff alike.
48:12 She’s been tremendous.
48:13 I want to thank
48:15 my friend and colleague,
48:15 Mr. Michael Waller,
48:16 the facilities AP.
48:17 He’s come in,
48:18 led an impressive number
48:19 of ambitious projects,
48:21 just rejuvenated
48:22 the look,
48:22 feel,
48:23 safety of campus.
48:24 Ms. Lauren Franti
48:25 is a curriculum AP.
48:26 She’s been here
48:27 almost a year.
48:27 Came right in,
48:28 made a remarkable impact
48:30 with the relationships
48:31 that she built.
48:31 She started this
48:33 Lady Raider League
48:33 to teach citizenship
48:34 and amplify student voice.
48:36 And I also wanted
48:38 to thank my fellow dean,
48:39 Mrs. Ashley Cross.
48:40 So just a quick context,
48:42 we have almost 1,600
48:43 students at Rockledge
48:44 and will typically
48:45 break the alphabet
48:46 in half by
48:47 students’ last name
48:48 to address any
48:49 discipline issues.
48:49 So I like to keep
48:51 things light.
48:52 I would sometimes
48:52 joke with her and say,
48:53 hey, I’d be happy
48:53 to handle any discipline
48:54 problems today
48:55 for students whose last
48:56 name begins with a Z.
48:57 As long as you handle
48:58 everything else,
48:59 I have no problem with that.
49:00 But it turns out,
49:01 I’m not the only one
49:02 with a sense of humor.
49:02 She got the last laugh.
49:04 So she went on maternity
49:05 leave, left me with
49:06 students A through Z
49:06 the last two months
49:07 of school year.
49:08 So thank you for that.
49:09 That was great
49:09 for my blood pressure.
49:10 So any case, guys,
49:12 inspire the best in others,
49:13 leave the world
49:14 and I’ll be happy.
49:15 All right.
49:20 Next, we have
49:22 Ms. Stephanie Booth,
49:23 reclassed from the
49:25 position of teacher
49:25 at Jefferson Middle School
49:27 to the position
49:28 of assistant principal
49:29 at Cocoa High School,
49:30 effective August 2nd.
49:32 Congratulations, Stephanie.
49:33 Thank you.
49:34 And good morning.
49:36 I just want to say
49:37 thank you to my family
49:38 who’s here.
49:39 My husband, Joshua Booth,
49:41 and my son, Gabe,
49:42 who are out of town,
49:42 but that’s okay
49:43 because I got my girls
49:44 Farrah and Maisie Booth.
49:46 If it wasn’t for you,
49:47 I wouldn’t be here.
49:48 Your love and your support
49:49 and girls,
49:50 I want you to know
49:50 when you dream big
49:51 and you work hard
49:52 and you sacrifice,
49:53 this is what happens.
49:54 I want you to always
49:55 remember that.
49:56 My mom and my dad here,
49:57 Jay Bailey
49:58 and Lietta Bailey,
49:59 thank you for instilling
50:02 in my brother and I
50:03 the value and the value
50:04 and our success
50:09 is because
50:10 and directly
50:11 of the effect
50:12 of the sacrifices
50:13 you and mom made for us
50:14 and I want to thank you
50:15 for that
50:16 and I love you for that.
50:17 To Ms. Mira Trine
50:19 who has been there
50:20 since the very beginning
50:21 who saw leadership
50:22 in me
50:23 even before I ever
50:24 saw it in myself
50:24 who has been
50:26 such an inspiration
50:27 for me
50:27 both personally
50:28 and professionally
50:29 and I want to thank you
50:31 from the very,
50:32 very bottom of my heart.
50:34 You’ll forever be my mentor.
50:35 To Ms. Lena Weibelt
50:37 for her encouragement
50:39 and her high expectations
50:41 of those that she leads
50:42 for being an example
50:43 of a leader
50:44 and leading so well.
50:45 So Ms. Weibelt,
50:47 thank you for that.
50:47 For Mr. Mike Alba
50:48 and Ms. Lisa Hayam,
50:50 they took an entire
50:52 school year
50:53 to develop this leadership
50:54 academy
50:55 and to
50:56 for their commitment
50:57 to the recruitment,
50:58 development and growth
51:00 in the leadership capacity
51:01 of teacher leaders
51:02 throughout this entire district.
51:03 I’ve grown so much
51:04 as a leader this year
51:05 because of them
51:06 so I want to thank them
51:07 for that.
51:07 I want to thank
51:08 Dr. Stephanie Sullivan
51:10 who is just truly
51:12 an inspiration
51:13 for always
51:15 turning the conversation
51:17 around to number one
51:18 and that’s what’s
51:20 in the best interest
51:20 of our kids.
51:21 She’s truly an inspiration
51:23 and every time
51:24 I hear her speak
51:24 or dress a room
51:25 I always leave feeling
51:27 inspired and driven
51:28 to do better,
51:29 serve better
51:30 and be better.
51:31 Thank you
51:31 for your leadership.
51:32 I want to thank you
51:33 Dr. Mullins.
51:34 I want to thank this board.
51:35 I am so
51:36 completely humbled.
51:40 thank you for entrusting
51:41 for entrusting me
51:42 with this new position
51:42 and awesome responsibility
51:44 as the assistant principal
51:46 of Coco High.
51:46 I commit to you
51:48 and my promise
51:49 is I will serve
51:50 every student at Coco High
51:52 with every student
51:53 with excellence
51:54 as the standard.
51:54 Thank you for that
51:56 and lastly I’d like
51:57 to thank Ms. Stewart.
51:58 The students, parents,
52:00 all the faculty
52:01 and staff
52:02 and stakeholders
52:03 and the Coco community.
52:04 I am deeply honored
52:07 and truly humbled
52:09 at this opportunity
52:10 to serve you
52:11 and this community
52:13 to this capacity.
52:14 I cannot wait
52:16 to get to work
52:16 for you
52:17 and I promise
52:19 I will not let you down.
52:20 Thank you very much
52:21 and go Tigers.
52:22 We also want to congratulate
52:30 Ms. Christina Donahue
52:31 reclassed from the position
52:32 of assistant principal
52:33 at O’Galley High School
52:35 to the position
52:36 of assistant principal
52:37 at Madison Middle School
52:38 effective July 1st.
52:40 Congratulations, Christina.
52:42 Good morning.
52:47 Thank you so much
52:47 board and Dr. Mullins
52:49 as well as Dr. Sullivan
52:50 all of the directors
52:52 my current administrator
52:53 Mr. Salmon
52:54 and all of the mentors
52:56 that have built me
52:57 and made me
52:58 the leader I am today.
52:59 I look forward
53:00 to going back home
53:01 to Titusville
53:02 serving my community
53:04 with love and support.
53:06 You’ve created
53:07 a dream team.
53:08 We’re going to take it off
53:09 and have a great year.
53:10 Thank you.
53:11 applause
53:13 Next we have
53:17 Ailea Trahan
53:18 reclassed from the position
53:20 of teacher
53:20 at Madison Middle School
53:21 to the position
53:22 of assistant principal
53:24 at Madison Middle School
53:25 effective August 2nd.
53:26 Congratulations.
53:27 applause
53:27 Thank you, Dr. Mullins.
53:33 Thank you to the board.
53:34 Thank you to everyone
53:36 who has helped me
53:37 to get to this position.
53:38 There’s been a lot
53:39 of names and faces
53:40 that have been there
53:41 to support me,
53:42 to give me feedback.
53:43 Dr. Theddy,
53:44 Ms. Trine,
53:45 Ms. Wybo,
53:46 Sherry Bowman,
53:48 Molly Vega,
53:49 Dr. Sullivan.
53:50 The list goes on
53:51 and on
53:52 as I’m sure
53:52 you can imagine.
53:53 This district
53:54 has a lot of
53:55 really, really great people.
53:56 Today I have
53:57 my husband
53:58 and my son
53:59 and my daughter
54:00 and my mother-in-law
54:01 here with me
54:02 to support me.
54:03 Honestly,
54:04 I would definitely
54:05 not be here,
54:06 standing here
54:06 without their support.
54:09 Honestly,
54:09 my husband cooks
54:10 dinner for us
54:10 more nights
54:11 than he doesn’t
54:12 because I’m often
54:13 late at work
54:14 doing various tasks
54:15 as I’m sure
54:16 you can imagine.
54:16 So thank you
54:17 for all of your
54:18 love and support.
54:18 I love you guys
54:19 very, very much.
54:20 I want to thank
54:21 my parents
54:21 who are unfortunately
54:22 no longer with us
54:23 for all of their
54:24 love and support
54:24 when I was growing up
54:25 and just making me
54:27 always believe
54:28 that I could put my mind
54:28 to something
54:29 and accomplish it.
54:30 They were my biggest
54:31 cheerleaders growing up.
54:32 I want to thank
54:33 Dr. Leps
54:34 for this opportunity.
54:35 I really appreciate you.
54:36 I’m excited to see
54:37 everything that you’re
54:38 going to accomplish
54:38 at Madison
54:39 and my new teammate,
54:41 Ms. Donahue.
54:42 As she said,
54:43 we are excited
54:44 to hit the ground running.
54:45 I know this is going
54:46 to be a great team
54:47 and I’m really excited
54:47 for this opportunity.
54:48 Thank you so much.
54:49 We also want to
54:56 congratulate Ms. Sarah Perry,
54:58 reclassed from the
54:59 position of teacher
55:00 at Palm Bay Magnet High School
55:01 to the position
55:02 of assistant principal
55:03 at Rockledge High School
55:05 effective August 2nd.
55:06 Congratulations, Sarah.
55:08 Thank you.
55:09 I want to thank the board
55:14 and Dr. Mullins
55:15 for this opportunity.
55:16 Thank you to Ms. Benjamin
55:20 for her support
55:21 at L. Ed.
55:21 I want to thank
55:22 Mr. Kaminsky,
55:23 Ms. Owens,
55:25 and the leadership team
55:25 at Palm Bay
55:26 for their unbelievable support.
55:28 And I’m very excited
55:30 to join the team
55:31 at Rockledge,
55:31 particularly after
55:33 your fabulous introduction.
55:36 I’m very, very excited
55:37 to join the team
55:37 at Rockledge.
55:38 Thank you.
55:39 And last for now
55:46 but certainly not least,
55:47 congratulations
55:48 to Richard Fleschler,
55:49 Jr., reclassed
55:51 from the position
55:51 of teacher
55:52 at Bayside High School
55:53 to the position
55:54 of assistant principal
55:55 at Vieira High School
55:56 effective August 2nd.
55:58 Congratulations, Richard.
56:03 Thank you very much.
56:04 I did prepare
56:06 a little something.
56:06 I’m very excited
56:07 to take this next step
56:08 in my career.
56:09 I would like to thank
56:11 the interview committee,
56:12 the directors,
56:13 school board,
56:14 Dr. Mullins,
56:15 Dr. Sullivan
56:16 for entrusting me
56:17 with this position.
56:18 It is a responsibility
56:20 that I don’t take lightly
56:21 and I will not let you down.
56:23 I would like to thank
56:26 Ms. Zander
56:26 for providing me
56:27 with the experiences
56:27 and guidance
56:28 to take this next step.
56:29 There have been
56:31 countless administrators
56:32 from Mr. Johnson
56:33 and Ms. Zander,
56:33 directors,
56:34 Ms. Vega,
56:35 Ms. Weibel,
56:35 Ms. Bowman,
56:36 Dr. Bronstein,
56:38 teachers,
56:39 Ms. Peebles,
56:40 Ms. Whitfield,
56:40 Ms. Washington,
56:41 and Ms. Tarji
56:42 that encouraged
56:43 and supported me
56:45 throughout my leadership journey.
56:46 And to them,
56:48 I am grateful.
56:48 I would also like
56:50 to thank some others.
56:51 First,
56:51 I would like to thank
56:52 my wife, Nicole,
56:53 who has supported me
56:54 through my grad school
56:55 and long hours at work.
56:57 Without her,
56:58 I would not be here.
56:58 I would also like
57:00 to thank my son,
57:01 Peyton,
57:01 for keeping me grounded
57:03 and making me try
57:04 to be better every day.
57:05 And my mother-in-law
57:08 who supports us
57:09 no matter what.
57:10 My mother would have
57:11 been excited
57:12 to be here today,
57:12 but she passed away
57:13 in October.
57:14 She always told me
57:15 that it was okay
57:16 to make a mistake,
57:17 but it mattered
57:18 what you did afterwards.
57:19 And that’s something,
57:20 a mantra I want to bring
57:22 to my office
57:22 and the dean’s office.
57:23 All our students
57:26 deserve every opportunity
57:28 to succeed,
57:29 and I want to provide
57:30 that to them.
57:30 I’m very excited
57:31 to be a hawk
57:32 and really thank you
57:33 for this opportunity.
57:34 Ms. Belford,
57:41 if I may,
57:42 along with my sincere
57:44 congratulations
57:45 to all of our
57:46 newly appointed administrators,
57:48 I also want to
57:49 add my own thanks
57:50 to the families
57:51 that are here
57:52 this morning
57:53 to continue
57:55 the recognition
57:56 of support
57:57 and the sacrifice
57:59 that has been made
58:00 as families
58:00 to help the individuals
58:02 who we’ve recognized
58:03 here today
58:05 go to the next step
58:06 and to serve students,
58:08 to serve our kids,
58:09 our community
58:10 with excellence
58:11 in their roles,
58:12 and we know
58:13 that that takes a sacrifice.
58:14 And we thank you,
58:15 we commend you
58:16 for lifting them up
58:18 and helping
58:19 your loved one
58:20 serve in this new capacity
58:22 and we appreciate
58:23 you very much.
58:24 And last,
58:24 I want to commend you,
58:26 you heard a host,
58:27 a legion of leaders
58:29 being recognized
58:30 as mentoring
58:31 and providing opportunities
58:32 to these newly
58:34 appointed leaders.
58:35 I put our leadership team
58:37 up against anyone
58:38 in the state
58:39 and the country.
58:39 We train them up,
58:41 we support them up,
58:42 and we give them
58:43 the professional
58:44 growth opportunities
58:45 to make them ready
58:45 for the next step
58:46 and I commend
58:47 our leadership team
58:48 for continuing
58:48 to do that
58:49 and investing
58:50 in our future
58:50 as Brevard.
58:51 Thank you.
58:51 All right,
59:00 we are going
59:01 to be moving
59:02 into our presentation
59:03 for this morning,
59:04 but do we want
59:05 to take just
59:05 a brief recess
59:06 to allow people
59:07 who don’t want
59:08 to stay
59:08 for our entire meeting
59:09 to get on
59:10 with the rest
59:10 of their day.
59:10 I know there’s
59:11 some kids
59:11 that have a date
59:13 with the swimming pool
59:13 and some other fun
59:14 stuff back there,
59:15 so we’ll take
59:16 about a five-minute
59:17 recess.
59:17 Congratulations.
59:35 Thank you.
1:06:05 All right.
1:06:32 We are back in session.
1:06:34 Dr. Mullins,
1:06:34 would you please tell us
1:06:35 about this morning’s
1:06:36 presentation?
1:06:37 Yes.
1:06:38 Ms. Melissa Erickson,
1:06:40 Executive Director
1:06:41 for the Alliance
1:06:41 for Public Schools,
1:06:42 is here to present
1:06:43 an overview
1:06:43 of our recently held
1:06:45 community conversations
1:06:46 and the subsequent report.
1:06:49 Ms. Erickson,
1:06:50 thank you for joining us
1:06:51 this morning.
1:06:51 Thank you,
1:06:52 Dr. Mullins.
1:06:53 Thank you,
1:06:53 board members.
1:06:54 I’m really excited
1:06:55 to come here
1:06:56 because I’ve kind of
1:06:57 had this to myself
1:06:58 for a period of time.
1:06:59 You guys haven’t known
1:07:00 what we’ve been talking about and doing
1:07:02 in the over the month that we were here.
1:07:05 So I’m gonna go over some of the high-level
1:07:08 things in the presentation today.
1:07:11 You also have a written report
1:07:12 that’s a little more extensive.
1:07:15 If any of you won’t have questions about that today
1:07:17 or if you have questions at another time
1:07:18 that you wanna ask me about,
1:07:19 I’d be happy to answer those as well.
1:07:21 So a little bit about us first.
1:07:23 We are the Alliance for Public Schools.
1:07:25 We just turned 10 years old.
1:07:27 We were founded 10 years ago.
1:07:29 Starting in Hillsborough County
1:07:30 and working our way across the I-4 corridor,
1:07:33 finally making it now over here to Brevard.
1:07:35 So we’re from Pinellas.
1:07:36 We skip Polk, but that may change soon
1:07:38 and all the way over through Brevard County.
1:07:41 We have one mission and that is to support
1:07:44 the students who attend public schools
1:07:47 through raising stakeholder voice.
1:07:48 And so we were excited to come here
1:07:51 and have the opportunity to do that in Brevard.
1:07:55 We, a little bit about, like I said,
1:07:58 where we do our work.
1:07:58 We go across the I-4 corridor.
1:08:00 We work in several statewide organizations
1:08:03 with other statewide organizations.
1:08:05 We also have a list of parents from across the state,
1:08:08 not just in the counties that we work with
1:08:10 that use materials on our website
1:08:12 or take advocacy actions in support of public schools.
1:08:14 And we do a little bit of work with national partners,
1:08:18 including America’s Promise Alliance,
1:08:19 which we’ve been working with them for about eight years now
1:08:22 on the Grad Nation campaign,
1:08:24 raising the national high school graduation rate.
1:08:26 So that’s just a little bit about who we are.
1:08:27 That’s just a little bit about who we are.
1:08:28 Both principals in the organization had prior experience.
1:08:33 I am an educator for longer than I’m going to admit right now
1:08:36 before I changed to doing parent engagement full-time.
1:08:40 And we embarked on our community conversation report project
1:08:45 here,
1:08:47 and this is the report.
1:08:47 I’m going to tell you what I told every group that was there,
1:08:51 and there are some people here who were in those groups.
1:08:54 I was incredibly dedicated to the quality of this report.
1:08:59 I wanted to make sure that it really rose,
1:09:01 had the voices rise up that we heard,
1:09:03 and that there was usable information in it.
1:09:06 I was completely agnostic as to what the content was
1:09:09 because my only goal was to make sure that it was the voice
1:09:12 of the people who were in the room
1:09:14 and then who participated online after we were in the room.
1:09:17 So that was kind of our goal for the project.
1:09:19 So who participated?
1:09:21 We had people invite.
1:09:23 We had school-level leaders invite people
1:09:25 to one of the 10 conversations that we held
1:09:28 over a three-week period of time.
1:09:30 We did have 167 individuals come in person.
1:09:35 They were across the spectrum as far as many identified as
1:09:40 multiples.
1:09:41 They were an educator and a parent
1:09:43 or that business owner and a parent or something.
1:09:46 We also used three online tools
1:09:48 with which over 919 people participated.
1:09:53 And so one of the things when I do these projects
1:09:55 is people always say, well, is that enough?
1:09:57 I don’t know exactly what enough is.
1:10:00 I mean, if we really could listen to 75% to 100% of your
1:10:03 stakeholders,
1:10:03 that would be awesome, but that would take years.
1:10:07 What I say is when we stop hearing new information,
1:10:12 that’s when we have the snapshot of what this time right now is
1:10:15 happening.
1:10:16 And we stopped hearing new information about two weeks ago.
1:10:19 Now, 919 is the number of participants I had last Tuesday when I
1:10:24 did this report,
1:10:25 but I literally get alerts every single day because once those
1:10:29 people who were at the community
1:10:31 conversations, were in the conversation, we ask them to spread
1:10:34 it to their network.
1:10:35 Then when they take the survey and participate online, we ask it
1:10:38 to spread to their network.
1:10:40 And so it’s still going out there in the community.
1:10:42 So it can be an ongoing dialogue for you.
1:10:45 We had people from all levels participate with the highest
1:10:51 participation was from elementary.
1:10:53 And 9% of the respondents identified themselves solely as a
1:10:57 community member.
1:10:58 They didn’t give themselves the parent or the educator
1:11:01 designation.
1:11:03 So we did start with a pre-engagement survey.
1:11:05 This part, I’m not going to go over in depth, but it is in your
1:11:08 report.
1:11:08 Basically, they were asked to rate your school district on a
1:11:12 three-point scale,
1:11:14 things that rarely happen in Brevard Public Schools, things that
1:11:17 regularly happen.
1:11:18 It’s the norm or that there’s an opportunity to do better or is
1:11:22 the standard.
1:11:23 And you had surprisingly high ratings.
1:11:26 I say surprisingly high because we’ve had a really difficult two
1:11:31 years.
1:11:33 And so the fact that you’re still getting twos and high twos up
1:11:36 toward those threes where
1:11:38 people are saying that best practices around curriculum and
1:11:41 school safety and educator professional
1:11:44 development are very close to the standard every day was very
1:11:48 positive.
1:11:49 There were slightly differentiated results, I’ll let you know,
1:11:53 that once the first wave of
1:11:55 people took it, who were the people who were most connected to
1:11:58 the schools that got that
1:11:59 personal invitation, there was a slight drop in some of your
1:12:02 parent engagement numbers, which
1:12:04 was to be expected because these are people who are less engaged
1:12:07 in the school and see engagement
1:12:08 as more of a challenge and a difficulty.
1:12:10 So that was the biggest difference that that did drop a little
1:12:13 bit when we started to have
1:12:14 that go out to the public in general.
1:12:16 Please stop me if you want.
1:12:19 Because I’m used to being a teacher where people, you know, stop
1:12:22 me at any point.
1:12:23 So I do have my speech prepared, but stop me if you have
1:12:25 questions as I go.
1:12:26 So we had lots of different modes.
1:12:29 We had both the quantitative and the qualitative piece.
1:12:32 We did the data analysis.
1:12:33 I have personally read every single one of the 919 surveys that
1:12:39 were submitted.
1:12:41 They were coded using a qualitative method, and we created an
1:12:45 ethnography from that.
1:12:47 And overall, the themes, you’re going to see the themes, and
1:12:51 there’s, again, more detail
1:12:52 in the written report, but overwhelmingly, people want your
1:12:57 focus to be on students.
1:12:59 There was some dissenting opinions on certain things.
1:13:03 And when we were in the rooms together, I would say, we’re here
1:13:06 to reach an overall vision.
1:13:08 We’re not going to hit consensus or agreement on every single
1:13:11 issue, but we’re going to agree
1:13:13 to disagree, and if you have an opinion that’s different from
1:13:16 others in the room, we’re going
1:13:17 to express it, but we’re not going to debate it.
1:13:19 That wasn’t the point of the conversation.
1:13:22 And so there was some, a little bit of dissenting voices on the
1:13:25 things that I don’t have to
1:13:27 reiterate to you, but I’m going to for the record.
1:13:29 Things like the role, the recently passed legislation around
1:13:34 LGBTQ identities.
1:13:36 There were both sides of that were presented.
1:13:41 Things around what happened or didn’t happen with school closures.
1:13:46 Things around books and curriculum in general.
1:13:49 And then very specifically, we had two conversations that had a
1:13:54 number of people who had differing
1:13:56 opinions on what role faith-based organizations should play and
1:13:59 what faith-based organizations
1:14:01 should be engaged in the school.
1:14:03 So those were things where there was not overall agreement, but
1:14:07 everything else there really
1:14:08 was.
1:14:08 And so I’m going to go forward with that.
1:14:10 So are there any questions at this point on kind of the process
1:14:14 or how we came to these
1:14:16 results?
1:14:16 Okay, good.
1:14:20 We’ll just keep going then.
1:14:21 So I’ve kind of broken things down into considerations,
1:14:24 aspirations, and recommendations.
1:14:27 So the considerations are just some things that there seems to
1:14:29 be a little bit of angst in
1:14:31 the community about what was going on at schools.
1:14:35 One thing was educators leaving the profession.
1:14:37 You guys know that this happens.
1:14:38 You know, they want to make sure that you’re not only
1:14:41 competitive with salaries, where there
1:14:44 seemed to be some concern about that compared to like districts,
1:14:48 but also offering the supports
1:14:49 that educators really need.
1:14:51 They wanted, they value the diversity that are in Provide County
1:14:56 public schools, and they’d
1:14:59 like to see more supports for those families who are new to the
1:15:02 community, whether they’re
1:15:03 coming from another country, which we had a number of people at
1:15:08 the, we do not have people
1:15:09 identify themselves or the school that they came from, because
1:15:13 they’re not there to represent
1:15:14 the school, although they were invited by the school.
1:15:17 We want their voice to come out in the room.
1:15:19 We want them to feel comfortable talking.
1:15:20 So we didn’t go through and do specific introductions, but
1:15:25 people did share pieces about their life
1:15:28 history, so we had a very kind of diverse group and a diverse
1:15:31 set of experiences that came
1:15:32 into the room, and they want that diversity celebrated, and they
1:15:36 really want families who are
1:15:37 not possibly familiar with the American education system to be
1:15:42 able to navigate it more easily.
1:15:44 They haven’t felt, many stakeholders talked about the fact they
1:15:48 hadn’t really felt like they
1:15:49 were vital partners in the last couple of years.
1:15:52 They understood it at the beginning, but they haven’t felt that
1:15:54 schools are, they’re ready
1:15:55 for schools to be back open to parent volunteering and
1:15:59 participation, and they haven’t felt that,
1:16:02 and they’ve also felt that it’s different school-based
1:16:05 administrators had different policies,
1:16:07 and it was very confusing as to what was allowed and what was
1:16:10 not allowed.
1:16:13 So we got a lot of comments, especially online, about Brevard
1:16:16 Virtual School.
1:16:17 There’s a lot of frustration about Brevard Virtual School, that
1:16:22 they don’t feel it has the kind
1:16:24 of flexibility.
1:16:24 Some families chose to stay virtual for either it worked better
1:16:29 for their kid overall, or they
1:16:31 still had concerns about sending their child back.
1:16:33 They also would love to see Brevard Virtual use to provide
1:16:37 access for programs that people
1:16:40 can’t access because of transportation.
1:16:41 So things like looking at some innovative things of the kind of
1:16:45 hybrids that we did during COVID
1:16:48 breakdown where you have a school, you have a program, say in
1:16:52 North Brevard, that a child
1:16:53 in South Brevard can’t get to, but one period a day that class
1:16:56 is available virtually for them.
1:16:58 That was one of the suggestions.
1:17:00 So fingerprinting, we got a lot on fingerprinting for volunteers,
1:17:04 that it’s very difficult to
1:17:06 get the fingerprinting, that prior to COVID you would move it
1:17:09 around the district at times,
1:17:10 but even when you did that, the time slots would fill up very
1:17:13 quickly.
1:17:14 And so they think that if the time slot fills up, that’s an
1:17:18 opportunity to put another time
1:17:20 slot in that community.
1:17:20 So fingerprinting was also a big consideration for families.
1:17:24 So the aspirations are kind of where they’d like to see the
1:17:26 district going.
1:17:27 So they really want supports for struggling students to be a
1:17:33 little more easy to navigate.
1:17:37 And they want to make sure that it’s not an adversarial
1:17:40 relationship when a parent brings
1:17:42 up a concern, but that when a parent’s asking a question, that
1:17:44 they know where to get the
1:17:45 resources to get their question answered and get the services
1:17:48 for their kids.
1:17:48 They want to make sure that all students have access to the
1:17:53 opportunities provided by career
1:17:56 and technical education and choice.
1:17:57 This was a huge thing, the lack of transportation.
1:18:00 And so a lot around your STEM schools and things like that, that
1:18:05 people wanted their children
1:18:06 to be able to go to, but were not able to access because of
1:18:09 transportation.
1:18:09 And we had a lot of conversations.
1:18:12 It was interesting, Mr. Susan, to hear about your thing about
1:18:14 sports facilities, because we
1:18:16 heard a lot about the inequity in sports facilities and making
1:18:20 sure that one team shouldn’t go to
1:18:22 another team’s sports facility and feel like they’re in a palace,
1:18:26 whereas when they go home, they don’t
1:18:28 feel that it’s as well-maintained.
1:18:30 They really, a lot of people wanted a person or someone they
1:18:36 knew to go to at their school
1:18:38 site that was the family person, that the person who could help
1:18:42 them understand what was going
1:18:43 on, answer their questions about the district.
1:18:47 And then there was a lot of discussion about not having partisan
1:18:52 politics dominate the conversation.
1:18:54 And this was not a one party or the other party.
1:18:58 This was frustration with the fact that partisan politics has
1:19:03 seemed to take over a lot of the
1:19:05 conversation, and they would like to see the focus come back on
1:19:09 kids.
1:19:09 Recommendations.
1:19:11 I would consider, I didn’t know anything about your internal
1:19:16 independent PTOs or your internal
1:19:18 PTOs and how your boosters run, but that was quite a
1:19:21 conversation about the differences in
1:19:24 rules and how that restricts some parent organizations at some
1:19:27 schools compared to others.
1:19:28 So just taking a look at that and looking at the equity issue
1:19:33 about that.
1:19:34 I do not know the name of the workshops that you used to hold at
1:19:38 this building, but lots of
1:19:40 people loved them and would love to see them come back.
1:19:42 So there was some kind of parent workshop where people came here
1:19:45 all day and got fantastic
1:19:46 information.
1:19:46 They also would like to see them more accessible and move
1:19:49 throughout the district, but they
1:19:50 would like to see those back.
1:19:51 I have no idea what they were called.
1:19:52 They just would call them the parent workshops.
1:19:54 This is the negative of having not been in your community before.
1:19:57 They really want to know about, there was a lot of questions
1:20:01 about what happened with your
1:20:03 last tax referendum.
1:20:04 That at the time that you ran that, that you had a lot of
1:20:07 information out there about what was
1:20:09 going to happen even at each school level.
1:20:10 And the families didn’t kind of know even where the status was.
1:20:14 They have questions about whether projects have happened at
1:20:17 their school or if things have
1:20:19 been delayed because of COVID and supply chain.
1:20:21 They just really didn’t feel that they kind of knew what the
1:20:24 status was with the projects
1:20:26 that had been promoted for their school communities.
1:20:30 So I would suggest, and this is a suggestion because this is my
1:20:34 wheelhouse, I give to every
1:20:36 district that I do this, is provide professional development and
1:20:39 best practices around family
1:20:41 and community engagement.
1:20:42 That this should really, family and community engagement, I
1:20:45 always talk about when you make
1:20:46 the shift about what the parents want to know from what the
1:20:50 school wants to tell them,
1:20:51 you can revolutionize how your family’s engaged.
1:20:54 And we use something called a dual capacity framework, which we’re
1:20:57 building up the capacity of both families
1:21:00 and educators to build those student-centered relationships.
1:21:03 You have, I heard a lot of positive things about your parent
1:21:07 leadership team.
1:21:08 And I would utilize them more not to just have them come here
1:21:12 and get great information,
1:21:13 but to have a responsibility to bring that relation, bring that
1:21:16 information back to their school
1:21:18 community because it seems to stop with the people who come in
1:21:21 the room for those.
1:21:23 And then I would better publicize and explain your career and
1:21:27 technical education pathways
1:21:29 and programs.
1:21:29 There was a lot of confusion as to what is open and what is
1:21:33 choice and what is a magnet and
1:21:35 what is, what are your, your, your, you know, your IB programs
1:21:39 or your, um, just CTE programs
1:21:41 and what CTEs open to everyone.
1:21:42 Lots of confusion around that.
1:21:44 And a lot of things that families were asking for, I can go onto
1:21:47 your website and see that
1:21:48 you have them, but the families didn’t know you had them.
1:21:51 So that was another recommendation and that’s, that’s it.
1:21:55 So now I’ll take questions if you have any.
1:21:58 Thank you, Melissa.
1:21:59 Anybody have questions or comments?
1:22:02 Ms. Campbell?
1:22:03 So back in December, uh, Ms. Belford and I were sitting at the
1:22:10 breakfast, the FSBA conference
1:22:12 for the Central Florida School Board Association and you did a
1:22:14 presentation and we looked at each
1:22:17 other and said, this is, this is what we need right here.
1:22:19 And so, first of all, I want to thank Dr. Mullins and your team
1:22:23 because it was a matter of just
1:22:25 a few months between the time of the germination of the idea and,
1:22:29 and it’s, I won’t say completion
1:22:31 because I think this is a process, but the launch and, and going
1:22:33 through this initial, initial
1:22:35 steps.
1:22:35 So thank you.
1:22:37 Um, it’s exciting to see this, you know, move so quickly.
1:22:39 I know Mr. Uh, had a big part of getting this coordinated too.
1:22:43 So I, um, it’s, it’s good.
1:22:48 I think we’re hearing some things that reiterate things that we’ve
1:22:51 heard from other places,
1:22:52 the parent survey and, and, and other that other things.
1:22:55 I think it’s good to be reminded from the top down, especially
1:22:59 us that we want our focus
1:23:00 to be on students.
1:23:01 That has been a recurring theme over the last week of different
1:23:03 places that I’ve gone.
1:23:04 Um, I wonder when you have worked with other school districts,
1:23:12 what is kind of the, I know
1:23:14 it’s up to us what we want to do as far as engagement, but what
1:23:17 is the usual next step in relationship
1:23:20 with your organization?
1:23:21 So usually what we do is, is we kind of stay in the wheelhouse,
1:23:24 and you’ll see that a lot
1:23:25 of the recommendations that we give you are in the wheelhouse of
1:23:27 family and community engagement,
1:23:29 because that’s where we’re, we consider ourselves expertise.
1:23:31 I’ve been doing this for over 15 years.
1:23:33 Um, and so it’s really about, are there things that you’re
1:23:37 already doing that could just be
1:23:39 tweaked a little bit?
1:23:40 And are there some, is there some technical support that we
1:23:42 could give the, give you to
1:23:43 reallocate resources or things that you’re doing?
1:23:46 Are there new projects that we may want to discuss launching
1:23:49 together, um, because we do some
1:23:51 things that you haven’t thought of before or, you know, things
1:23:54 like that.
1:23:55 Are there things that you want to, you know, kind of design on
1:23:58 your own or, or go out to other
1:23:59 organizations that are in your community that you know of?
1:24:02 But usually it’s now, what do we do about it?
1:24:05 And then specifically kind of drilling down on the pieces of
1:24:08 parent and family engagement,
1:24:10 um, and how, you know, you can put some of this in the practice,
1:24:13 um, by really, again, flipping
1:24:15 it about what parents want and not what you want to tell parents.
1:24:18 I think that was one of the things I remembered from your
1:24:21 presentation December too, is sometimes
1:24:23 we get out the information that we think parents and community
1:24:26 members want, but it may not
1:24:27 necessarily be that.
1:24:28 And that was the whole purpose of, I think that one of the
1:24:32 biggest opportunities to hear
1:24:34 is because we do hear from people who come to board meetings.
1:24:37 We do hear from, from people who send us emails or call us, but
1:24:40 there’s a lot of people out
1:24:41 there who really have an, an, an opinion to express and a, and
1:24:45 an interest in our schools
1:24:48 who just, they don’t want to be the one to, you know, say
1:24:51 anything until the opportunity presents itself.
1:24:53 So I’m glad that you were able to provide it.
1:24:55 Well, and I do want to comment that I don’t think I’ve ever gone
1:24:59 through this process in
1:25:00 a district before and been thanked so overwhelmingly at every
1:25:03 meeting.
1:25:04 Um, and it really was a thanks that’s deserved to you as a
1:25:07 leadership to be brave enough to
1:25:09 allow us to come in and, and not control the conversation, but
1:25:13 let us have the conversation.
1:25:15 But people were so incredibly thankful to get into a room and
1:25:19 talk about what they thought
1:25:21 was important.
1:25:22 Um, and so I really wanted to put that out there.
1:25:24 And you’ll see in some of the quotes that I’ve put in the longer
1:25:26 report, you know, that the,
1:25:28 the kudos that they gave to you about your leadership over the
1:25:30 last few years and about what’s happening.
1:25:32 Um, but they were just incredibly thankful, um, that you wanted
1:25:36 to kind of drill down and look
1:25:37 at a forward motion for the district.
1:25:39 Anybody else?
1:25:40 Yeah.
1:25:41 So all the questions, all the responses, all that, you got a
1:25:43 database full of them you can
1:25:44 give to us, right?
1:25:45 So I can give you coding.
1:25:46 So I can give you the coded responses.
1:25:47 So I can give you the percentages of people who said, you know,
1:25:57 this, that, and the other
1:26:01 thing.
1:26:02 I can, I can give you what I have.
1:26:04 Send over whatever you got.
1:26:05 Yeah.
1:26:06 Okay.
1:26:07 Yeah.
1:26:08 Thank you.
1:26:09 Anybody else?
1:26:11 Just because some of it is on, I’m just letting you know, like
1:26:13 it’s on sticky notes.
1:26:14 And it was, so it, I have all of the, everything that I’ve coded
1:26:18 and how I’ve put it into like
1:26:20 the percentages of people who said this and whatnot.
1:26:22 Yeah.
1:26:23 Whatever the process.
1:26:24 You know what I mean?
1:26:25 That way we can effectively, you know.
1:26:26 Yep.
1:26:27 Send over what you got.
1:26:28 Thank you.
1:26:29 Well, I would just add my thanks, Melissa.
1:26:32 Um, I, we received very positive feedback on your facilitation
1:26:35 of the conversations and,
1:26:38 uh, creating a receptive, uh, environment and culture.
1:26:42 Uh, so parents could, and community members could feel at ease,
1:26:45 participating and contributing
1:26:47 to the conversation.
1:26:48 So, uh, thank you for, uh, your facilitation skills and, and
1:26:52 collating this for us.
1:26:54 Um, back to yesterday’s strategic plan session, I referenced
1:26:58 this work to the leadership team
1:27:01 yesterday and that this would be another lens through which we
1:27:04 would look at data.
1:27:05 Uh, we, uh, we embarked on unpacking all of our survey data
1:27:09 information, uh, whether it
1:27:12 was youth truth or insight survey from teachers, our new
1:27:16 employee, uh, survey through insight
1:27:19 as well, parent surveys and so on.
1:27:22 And then, uh, I, I shared with the leadership team that we’d
1:27:26 have this additional resource of
1:27:28 information to continue to strategically consider and then
1:27:32 prioritize our work moving forward.
1:27:35 So, uh, the, the team is anticipating the, the report.
1:27:39 We didn’t try to dive into it yesterday cause we’d only gotten
1:27:42 it a week or so ago.
1:27:44 And, and, uh, one more layer.
1:27:46 So they will be, we will be, uh, unpacking, if you will, the
1:27:49 feedback that we’ve gotten and
1:27:51 building the appropriate things into the strategic plan moving
1:27:53 forward.
1:27:54 So just as next step, so thank you.
1:27:58 And I would echo the appreciation, Melissa.
1:28:00 I think you did a phenomenal job in, um, you know, as Ms.
1:28:04 Campbell referenced, it was,
1:28:05 it was quick turnaround.
1:28:06 You were incredibly responsive and, um, feedback about the
1:28:09 experience to us was also very positive.
1:28:11 So thank you for just the, you just handle the, I don’t know,
1:28:17 all of the moving parts incredibly well.
1:28:19 And so I, I appreciate that very much.
1:28:22 And, um, Melissa and I had a minute to talk as we were walking
1:28:25 in this morning about, you know, next steps.
1:28:27 Where do we go from here?
1:28:28 So, um, I think, you know, factoring it into the strategic
1:28:31 planning and looking at those opportunities to continue to
1:28:34 partner will be important.
1:28:35 And I should have, at the beginning, thanked my partner in crime
1:28:39 who got me into each building and brought water and snacks.
1:28:42 And thank you so much.
1:28:43 It was a joy to spend three weeks with you, Mr. Byrne.
1:28:48 Okay.
1:28:49 Thank you.
1:28:50 Thanks for coming this morning, Melissa, and for all your work.
1:28:53 All right.
1:28:54 That is going to move us into the public comment portion of the
1:28:57 meeting on agenda items.
1:28:59 Uh, we have two public speakers.
1:29:01 Therefore, they will each get three minutes.
1:29:03 Please note that the time is per speaker, not per agenda item.
1:29:06 Topics not specific to agenda items will be moved to the non-agenda
1:29:08 portion of the meeting.
1:29:10 We have a clock in front of me to help you keep track of your
1:29:11 time.
1:29:12 When your time is over, you’ll be asked to stop in on all the
1:29:14 next speaker, his or her turn.
1:29:16 Always keep in mind that reasonable decorum is expected and your
1:29:20 statement should be directed
1:29:21 to the board chair.
1:29:22 The chair may interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant’s
1:29:24 statement when the time is up,
1:29:26 is personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant.
1:29:29 If an individual not observed proper etiquette, the chair may
1:29:31 request the individual to leave the meeting.
1:29:35 For the audience, please remember that outside of your personal
1:29:37 public comment period,
1:29:38 your role is as an observer.
1:29:40 Therefore, I would ask that you please not disrupt the meeting
1:29:42 by interjecting comments
1:29:43 or noises during public comments.
1:29:45 Our two speakers this morning are Mr. Kolucci and Katie Delaney.
1:29:49 Mr. Kolucci, whenever you’re ready.
1:29:50 My name is Anthony Kolucci.
1:29:51 I’m the President of the Brevard Federation of Teachers.
1:29:54 Recently, the Florida Department of Education updated their
1:29:58 average teacher salaries by county for the 21-22 school year.
1:30:03 Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this was not good news for
1:30:06 our teachers.
1:30:07 Last year showed that teachers in Brevard have taken a step
1:30:15 backwards.
1:30:17 Our teachers, the third most experienced teachers in the state,
1:30:20 are now $1,607.98 behind the state average.
1:30:22 And their average pay decreased by $212.97 from the previous
1:30:35 year.
1:30:37 Once again, Board, this decrease is more undeniable evidence
1:30:52 that the raises you give never cost what you project them to
1:30:54 cost due to retirements and resignations.
1:30:56 This statistic about average pay should be alarming to all Brevardians,
1:31:02 but especially to this board as Florida teachers ranked 48th in
1:31:07 the nation in average pay.
1:31:10 Now, with even more evidence behind it, let me repeat the fact I
1:31:14 stated last time I spoke here.
1:31:17 Brevard’s teachers are amongst the worst paid teachers in the
1:31:21 entire country.
1:31:23 Brevard’s teachers are amongst the worst paid teachers in the
1:31:26 entire country.
1:31:28 This is a systemic problem, not only at the state level, but
1:31:31 here at the local level.
1:31:33 Year after year, board after board, and superintendent after
1:31:36 superintendent, the decision to choose to fund programs over the
1:31:43 teachers that run the programs is made.
1:31:45 And the result is that undeniable, our teachers are woefully
1:31:50 underpaid.
1:31:52 Today, teachers have countless employment opportunities in the
1:31:56 space industry and other school districts, and they are taking
1:32:00 advantage of them.
1:32:02 There are at least 810 teachers that left last year, and I
1:32:05 believe that number will be greater this year.
1:32:08 I fear that we will be in a position where we may not be able to
1:32:12 open certain schools due to the number of teacher vacancies.
1:32:17 Frankly, teachers are in a position where the boss needs us more
1:32:21 than we need the boss.
1:32:23 It’s in the best interest of our community for this board to
1:32:26 critically look over the financial statements on today’s agenda
1:32:31 and address the systemic devaluation of our teachers and move to
1:32:35 change that when we return to negotiations on July 11th.
1:32:40 Thank you.
1:32:41 Thank you, Mr. Colucci.
1:32:42 Ms. Bellini?
1:32:53 So, members of the board, I’d like to first speak on item D8,
1:33:00 the community conversation report.
1:33:05 I don’t understand why we had to hire somebody to tell you guys
1:33:09 what we have been saying for two years now.
1:33:14 I know I personally have been saying it at every meeting.
1:33:18 I’m sure you’re sick of me saying it.
1:33:22 Parents do not feel welcome in this school district.
1:33:25 We don’t feel welcome.
1:33:27 It’s unfortunate that we had to pay somebody to tell you what we’ve
1:33:34 already been telling you.
1:33:38 Secondly, I would like to speak on the financial statements.
1:33:43 I’m going to again request a forensic audit since one has never
1:33:47 been done.
1:33:48 Don’t tell me that there’s no money to pay our teachers.
1:33:52 Don’t tell the public that.
1:33:54 It’s not true.
1:33:56 We need a forensic audit.
1:33:58 We need every line item looked at.
1:34:01 We need to see who is involved in certain contracts.
1:34:05 Who’s paying more than what they, who’s getting paid more than
1:34:08 what they should be getting paid.
1:34:10 How many people do we have in this district building when our
1:34:14 students have decreased close to 10,000 students since COVID?
1:34:23 You guys have now added charter school students into your
1:34:27 numbers to make the numbers look higher.
1:34:30 This is not okay.
1:34:35 We need a forensic audit.
1:34:39 We need transparency with the finances.
1:34:44 You just heard the teachers union president tell you that our
1:34:49 teachers are some of the least paid teachers in the country.
1:34:53 We have a, we build rockets.
1:34:56 Our teachers should be, should be getting paid some of the most
1:35:01 in the country.
1:35:02 Our students are suffering.
1:35:08 Our teachers are suffering.
1:35:10 You guys want to talk about mental health?
1:35:12 Why, why do you think that we have such a mental health crisis?
1:35:17 Maybe because we tell children it’s okay.
1:35:20 You know, that they identify as cats.
1:35:23 That’s not love.
1:35:28 Thank you.
1:35:29 Thank you, Ms. Delaney.
1:35:31 Dr. Mullins, did we pay anything for Alliance for Public Schools
1:35:36 to come and do the work in our community?
1:35:40 No, it was a memorandum of understanding.
1:35:42 That was a philanthropic contribution.
1:35:45 There was no cost to the district for that community
1:35:47 conversation process at all.
1:35:49 Super, thank you.
1:35:50 All right, that is going to conclude our public comment on
1:35:53 agenda items.
1:35:54 We thank you for your willingness to address the board and we’ll
1:35:56 be moving into our non-agenda speakers after we finish the work
1:36:01 of the board.
1:36:03 Moving us to our consent agenda, Dr. Mullins.
1:36:07 There are 23 agenda items under the consent agenda.
1:36:10 Thank you.
1:36:11 Does any board member wish to pull any item from the consent
1:36:14 agenda?
1:36:15 Hearing none, I’ll entertain a motion to approve the consent
1:36:17 agenda as presented.
1:36:19 So moved.
1:36:20 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:36:23 Is there any discussion?
1:36:24 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:36:27 Aye.
1:36:28 Any opposed?
1:36:29 Same sign.
1:36:30 Motion passes 5-0.
1:36:31 Dr. Mullins, will you please let us know about items under the
1:36:34 action portion of today’s agenda?
1:36:37 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:36:38 Aye.
1:36:39 Any opposed?
1:36:40 Same sign.
1:36:41 Motion passes 5-0.
1:36:42 Dr. Mullins.
1:36:43 Next is item H35, procurement solicitations.
1:36:44 What are the wishes of the board?
1:36:45 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. McDougall.
1:36:46 Is there any discussion?
1:36:47 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:36:48 Aye.
1:36:49 Any opposed?
1:36:50 Same sign.
1:36:51 Motion passes 5-0.
1:36:52 Dr. Mullins.
1:36:53 Next is item H35, procurement solicitations.
1:36:54 What are the wishes of the board?
1:36:55 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:36:56 Is there any discussion?
1:36:57 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:36:58 Any discussion?
1:36:59 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:37:00 Aye.
1:37:01 Any opposed?
1:37:02 Same sign.
1:37:03 Motion passes 5-0.
1:37:04 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:37:05 Is there any discussion?
1:37:06 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:37:07 Aye.
1:37:08 Any opposed?
1:37:09 Same sign.
1:37:10 Motion passes 5-0.
1:37:11 Dr. Mullins.
1:37:12 Item H36 is contract for outside legal counsel by and between
1:37:18 Jeffrey E. Mandel, Esquire,
1:37:22 and the school board of Brevard County.
1:37:23 What are the wishes of the board?
1:37:24 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:37:25 Is there any discussion?
1:37:26 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:37:27 Aye.
1:37:28 Any opposed?
1:37:29 Same sign.
1:37:30 Moved by Ms. McDougall, seconded by Ms. Campbell.
1:37:31 Is there any discussion?
1:37:32 All in favor, please signify by saying aye.
1:37:33 Aye.
1:37:34 Motion passes 5-0.
1:37:35 All right.
1:37:36 We will move on to the information agenda which includes items
1:37:39 for board review and may be
1:37:41 brought back for action at a subsequent meeting.
1:37:44 No action will be taken on these items today.
1:37:46 Dr. Mullins.
1:37:47 There are nine items under the information category.
1:37:49 Does any member wish to discuss any of the information items?
1:37:53 All right.
1:37:54 Then we will move into board member reports and discussion
1:37:58 points.
1:37:59 The first discussion point, we received notification from the
1:38:02 Florida School Board Association requesting
1:38:06 that we update our appointee to the advocacy committee.
1:38:11 They’re on a calendar changes in July for those appointments.
1:38:16 And so we need to determine if we want to make any changes to
1:38:20 that.
1:38:21 If you recall, Mr. Susan was the chair of the advocacy committee
1:38:25 last year and I was our board representative on the committee.
1:38:29 I’m open to input if you all would like to make changes.
1:38:34 Mr. Susan?
1:38:35 Do you want to be the chair?
1:38:37 I’ll be on the advocacy if you guys would like.
1:38:40 I turn, I’m not going to do the chair this year.
1:38:43 We’re going to give it to Tim from Okaloosa County.
1:38:45 I’m going to be working on a special assignment with the
1:38:47 president over combining, you know what I mean, some social
1:38:51 media stuff and stuff like that.
1:38:52 But we’d love to serve as the advocacy on the advocacy committee
1:38:55 if it’s open to you guys.
1:38:57 Ms. Campbell, I think is still doing the board of directors for
1:39:00 next year.
1:39:01 Yeah, I’m not asking to take on anything else right now.
1:39:04 Sure.
1:39:05 And then we can switch it if you want to do alternate.
1:39:07 Because I have another year.
1:39:08 Yeah, I have another year to serve in that role.
1:39:10 So I think that’s good if you want to do something like that.
1:39:13 I’m fine with that.
1:39:15 Thank you.
1:39:16 So we’ll, we’ll submit Mr. Susan as the, now the only thing Mr.
1:39:20 Susan is the advocacy committee person.
1:39:22 Will you please volunteer for legislative and federal relations?
1:39:25 Because we don’t have recommendation on those.
1:39:27 And I, I can, you have to be on the advocacy committee to be on
1:39:29 the legislative and the federal relations.
1:39:32 You got it.
1:39:34 No, she’s exactly right.
1:39:36 She is.
1:39:37 And the momentary, I’m just looking at what I’m about to end up
1:39:39 doing.
1:39:40 Because now Kim went from telling me what to do all day, like as
1:39:43 the advocacy chair, to
1:39:45 now being able to really tell me what to do.
1:39:48 And she’s an animal.
1:39:49 So yeah, definitely.
1:39:50 That’s it.
1:39:51 Okay.
1:39:52 Yeah.
1:39:53 State, right?
1:39:54 Not federal.
1:39:55 I don’t want to do federal.
1:39:56 Both.
1:39:57 Okay.
1:39:58 We’ll do federal.
1:39:59 You got it.
1:40:01 Beth does a good job with that.
1:40:05 Slough from St. John’s.
1:40:08 She does.
1:40:09 She, she’s the one that travels.
1:40:11 I just don’t want to travel with them.
1:40:12 I’ll do that.
1:40:13 I’ll do it all.
1:40:14 I’m just not going to go to DC with them.
1:40:15 I think it’s a waste of our money.
1:40:16 If they’re doing it.
1:40:17 Okay.
1:40:19 Sounds good.
1:40:20 Um, any additional board discussion points?
1:40:23 Ms. Campbell, you had an FSBA update, I think.
1:40:25 Yeah.
1:40:26 We had, as part of the conference last week, we had our board of
1:40:28 directors meeting.
1:40:29 As I represent you guys on that.
1:40:30 I just wanted to give you a quick update.
1:40:32 Um, the, the new national organization, COSPA, the consortium of
1:40:37 state school board associations,
1:40:39 is moving forward.
1:40:40 Um, the website is active.
1:40:42 It’s COSSBA.org.
1:40:44 There are 22, uh, member states, uh, not member states, founding,
1:40:49 founding member states.
1:40:51 And just, you know, I, it’s kind of, um, you know, good to see
1:40:56 the, um, the variety of states
1:40:59 that they’re coming from because it’s, um, you know, we’ve got
1:41:02 some in the south area, Florida,
1:41:04 Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota.
1:41:08 There’s just really a broad spectrum of states.
1:41:11 And of course, they’re, they’re continuing to grow.
1:41:12 We don’t have Texas yet.
1:41:13 I’m not sure what their problem is.
1:41:15 Maybe some of them were waiting, I think, for their summer
1:41:17 association meetings to take
1:41:19 that vote.
1:41:20 And so, cause every state operates a little differently, but we
1:41:22 are one of the founding members.
1:41:24 And so, um, Bev Slough is our representative on the steering
1:41:26 committee to get everything started.
1:41:28 And I think it’s going to be a really good organization cause
1:41:30 they’re really trying to
1:41:31 focus on it being a nonpartisan organization or nationally.
1:41:36 So, uh, they’re, they’re looking at, uh, developing a conference.
1:41:40 I think it’s earliest next spring.
1:41:42 And, um, we have some great representation with, with Bev and
1:41:47 with Andrea Messina as well
1:41:48 to help kind of steer that ship.
1:41:50 So, um, also while we were there, one of the things that we, um,
1:41:54 our new FSBA president,
1:41:57 um, Thomas Kennedy was, um, took his oath.
1:42:00 And I think it’s going to be a good year under his leadership.
1:42:03 Uh, FSBA also offers, they highlighted this at one meeting,
1:42:07 something that will be good
1:42:09 as we look, you know, we’ve had our, our wonderful, um, Miss Pam
1:42:12 retire in January.
1:42:14 And Tammy has been doing such a great job taking care of us and
1:42:17 Dr. Mullins over the last several
1:42:18 months.
1:42:19 Um, but for Tammy or for such a time as we get a new
1:42:21 administrative assistant, they have
1:42:24 a new program called at your service and Pam may have already
1:42:26 been doing it, but they’re
1:42:28 really trying to focus on supporting the staff that support the
1:42:31 support us as a school board.
1:42:34 And so they are doing regular trainings.
1:42:37 Um, and so we want to make sure that whoever is supporting us
1:42:40 has access to that, you know,
1:42:42 as far as, you know, it would just be a good insight for them,
1:42:44 professional development.
1:42:45 And they put all of the past trainings cause they’re all virtual
1:42:49 on Vimeo so they could
1:42:50 actually go back.
1:42:51 So if we have a new person, it would be really informative for
1:42:53 them.
1:42:54 So I, um, so Tammy, if you want to, sorry, no, he’s going to
1:42:57 listen, make note to make sure
1:42:59 that whoever our new person is gets connected with that resource.
1:43:02 Um, one of the thing, one of the sessions that I was able to
1:43:06 attend last week, um, was the
1:43:08 Florida Department of Education updates.
1:43:10 And we didn’t have, um, Jacob Oliva, but we had Dr. Burns.
1:43:13 And if you’ve probably seen him, he does a lot of the things
1:43:15 side by side with, um,
1:43:18 cancer Oliva.
1:43:19 Um, he presented statewide data on the third grade, um, FSA
1:43:23 scores and kind of what that
1:43:25 means.
1:43:26 And, you know, there was, um, you know, we had our own drop in
1:43:29 the state, had their own
1:43:31 drop, but one of the things he pointed out was that what was
1:43:34 different from this year’s,
1:43:36 um, testing compared to last year’s, this year we had 99% of
1:43:40 third graders statewide who
1:43:42 actually took the test compared to last year.
1:43:45 It was a much lower percentage because we had a lot of people
1:43:47 who did the e-learning across
1:43:49 the districts that decided not to come in for testing.
1:43:52 And so he really, they really feel like the scores that we’re
1:43:55 seeing this year are really
1:43:57 our first true glance at learning loss because of the three
1:44:00 month shutdown at the end of 2020,
1:44:03 um, school year.
1:44:04 um, school year and because of all the, you know, the e-learning
1:44:07 and the different challenges
1:44:08 that we’ve had.
1:44:09 And so I, I guess the message there was kind of, it could have
1:44:12 been a lot worse.
1:44:13 So, but it’s good.
1:44:14 We need data.
1:44:15 We need to know where we are and where we stand and, um, and
1:44:18 what work we have to do from here.
1:44:20 And of course, he also pointed out that those third graders, um,
1:44:23 in that first really challenging
1:44:25 year where they didn’t have an end of the school year, they were,
1:44:28 um, in first grade or kindergarten?
1:44:30 First grade.
1:44:32 Right.
1:44:33 So really, you know, to lose that really essential time at those
1:44:36 important grades.
1:44:37 So I’ll be, I’m really looking forward to getting our data for
1:44:40 other grades and seeing, um, if
1:44:42 it’s consistent.
1:44:43 But that was some good information.
1:44:44 He also gave all of the information he gave.
1:44:47 He’s going to send, they’re going to have access.
1:44:49 We have access to an FSBA website related to the conference.
1:44:52 So if you want to take a look at that, his whole slide deck was
1:44:54 on there.
1:44:55 Um, and, uh, so anyway.
1:44:59 One of the things that was mentioned in our board of directors
1:45:02 meeting, um, the state department
1:45:04 of education has decided to pull out of the CDC’s youth risk
1:45:08 assessment, um, tool.
1:45:10 And so there was a lot of conversation around, you know, are we
1:45:13 at risk then of losing federal
1:45:15 dollars because for certain grants, they require your data.
1:45:18 And I know for Brevard up until this year, we’ve been an active,
1:45:21 we had to be an active
1:45:22 consent rather than a passive consent.
1:45:23 And so we didn’t really have, I know Ms. Morris told us before,
1:45:26 we didn’t really have great
1:45:28 data coming out of that for Brevard specifically in previous
1:45:30 years.
1:45:31 Um, but for other districts, it was really concerned.
1:45:33 So they’re going to come back with more information.
1:45:36 But, um, we did ask the question, um, because Chancellor Oliva
1:45:39 has mentioned that Florida would
1:45:41 develop their own, not the CDC’s, but it would develop our own.
1:45:45 And what would that look like?
1:45:46 And could it be used for, would the questions be similar enough
1:45:50 that it could be used for those
1:45:51 types of programs?
1:45:52 So they’re going to get more information out there, but Dr.
1:45:55 Burns did share with their
1:45:56 collaborating with the department of health on that and to
1:45:59 develop our own youth risk
1:46:01 health survey.
1:46:02 Um, and just for longitudinal purposes that they are going to
1:46:06 try and include some of the
1:46:07 same types of questions, but maybe not quite so invasive as what
1:46:10 is concerning, um, parents
1:46:12 quite often.
1:46:13 And we experienced that when we have that this year, um, on a
1:46:15 broader scale.
1:46:16 So, um, I think that’s it.
1:46:19 Thank you, Ms. Campbell, for your service on the, on the board
1:46:24 and for the updates.
1:46:25 Dr. Mullins, do you have, I’m sorry, is there another?
1:46:28 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:46:29 Um, uh, there’s just a couple of things.
1:46:32 I didn’t want to get into it during our beginning.
1:46:34 Uh, with mental health, I did want to say the majority of the
1:46:37 individuals had this round
1:46:39 table.
1:46:40 It said that our district’s doing a great job.
1:46:42 Um, they said, do a little bit better in PD, but we can always
1:46:44 do that.
1:46:45 Right.
1:46:46 Have more mental health counselors.
1:46:48 You can always wait for that.
1:46:49 Um, but a lot of the work was wrapped around policy and for the
1:46:54 most part wrapped around the
1:46:57 infrastructure that exists around mental health.
1:46:59 And we know that it’s a exacerbated problem that hit a, you know
1:47:03 what I mean?
1:47:04 Underfunded and under structural, uh, mental health, I don’t
1:47:08 know, facilities across the
1:47:10 county.
1:47:11 Right.
1:47:13 And I wanted to do a better job, but just take a minute and do
1:47:15 it is that, um, for instance,
1:47:17 if you have try care, there’s only three facilities in the state
1:47:20 of Florida.
1:47:21 You can bring your kid for long-term care.
1:47:23 Right.
1:47:24 Um, if you have Cigna, say for instance, or one of the Bucas,
1:47:27 right?
1:47:28 Blue Cross Blue Shield or whatever it is, your child may go to
1:47:31 Devereaux and only be able
1:47:33 to receive level two when they need level six.
1:47:36 Um, the providers, the networks of the amount of providers is
1:47:40 extremely low and overtaxed.
1:47:43 So like they’re trying to do as much as they can.
1:47:46 So just like our teachers, um, and group and therapeutic foster
1:47:50 homes are like nonexistent.
1:47:52 So what I had mentioned to, and I called the county commissioners
1:47:55 and I called a couple of our state
1:47:57 reps and said, look, this is, we’re trying everything we can to
1:48:00 do it for provide county schools.
1:48:02 And we’ve got a couple of things that we could tweak.
1:48:04 But like, as you said, Ms. Moore’s on top of it, right?
1:48:07 We’re going light speeds ahead, but this is a community problem
1:48:11 and it can’t be fixed by the schools.
1:48:13 And a lot of these entities and institutions look to the schools
1:48:16 and they’re like, well,
1:48:17 what are you doing for mental health?
1:48:18 What the hell are you doing?
1:48:20 You know what I mean?
1:48:21 And so the issue is, it’s not what we can do because we’re doing
1:48:24 it very well.
1:48:25 The county’s doing a good job, but how can we all get together
1:48:28 and really knock it out of the park?
1:48:30 Because what I feel, and many of you seen in this is your
1:48:33 background, is that where we’re going
1:48:36 right now is a really tough place.
1:48:38 And if we don’t try to do something a little bit more.
1:48:41 So that’s what I was doing.
1:48:43 So just met with some parents and providers and stuff like that.
1:48:45 We talked about it.
1:48:46 But I think the overall is Brevard Schools is doing a good job.
1:48:49 A couple areas to help, but then overall we need to get with the
1:48:52 rest of the infrastructure
1:48:53 and get moving.
1:48:54 So just want to tell you that.
1:48:55 There’s been indication that the county might have some funds
1:48:58 they can free up.
1:48:59 They can institutionally look at some of the things that they
1:49:01 fund currently.
1:49:02 You know what I mean?
1:49:03 So I think it’s going to be good.
1:49:04 That’s all.
1:49:05 Can I jump in?
1:49:06 Thank you.
1:49:07 Absolutely.
1:49:08 Thanks, Mr. Susan.
1:49:09 I think part of the problem is that there’s a very big shortage
1:49:13 of providers.
1:49:15 Oh, I know.
1:49:16 I mean, it’s incredible.
1:49:17 I mean, we have openings all the time and we cannot fill them
1:49:20 because no one’s applying.
1:49:24 And I don’t know if we want to reach out to some of the national
1:49:27 organizations, social work
1:49:30 organizations to see our schools, that recruitment.
1:49:35 I don’t even know.
1:49:36 I’m not sure what school around here has social work problems,
1:49:40 the programs, problems, programs
1:49:42 for.
1:49:43 Like which college?
1:49:44 Yeah, what college?
1:49:45 Absolutely.
1:49:46 I’m not sure which one has, that’s close by.
1:49:48 I don’t know.
1:49:49 Does Eastern State?
1:49:50 Well, they were saying that the, it requires a master’s degree.
1:49:53 Mm-hm.
1:49:54 So many of the, only the universities are able to provide that.
1:49:57 So your UCFs and all of that stuff.
1:49:59 But I wholeheartedly agree with you in that this is not like,
1:50:02 like we look at us to be the
1:50:05 ones that are doing the recruitment retention.
1:50:07 But this is recruitment and retention for our community because
1:50:10 the parents need mental
1:50:11 health.
1:50:12 Because they’re dealing with their students who need mental
1:50:13 health.
1:50:14 You know what I mean?
1:50:15 So, um, just, you know, anyways.
1:50:18 Yeah.
1:50:19 Well, and the reality on that is it’s not, um, it’s not just us
1:50:23 that doesn’t have providers.
1:50:25 Like the, it is a desert when it comes to especially pediatric
1:50:28 mental health support.
1:50:30 Um, I’m also told, and I hesitate almost to say this because I
1:50:33 haven’t verified it personally,
1:50:35 but I’m told that, um, we have individuals who are spending like
1:50:41 24 plus hours in an ER because
1:50:43 there are no Baker Act facilities available.
1:50:46 Oh yeah.
1:50:47 Um, and that, you know, our, our long-term care is deplorable as
1:50:53 far as those supports community,
1:50:55 in the community, not, not, you know, completely separate from
1:50:58 our schools.
1:50:59 So, um.
1:51:00 And there are kids who get Baker Acted, Baker Acted, Baker Acted,
1:51:03 Baker Acted.
1:51:04 Because they can’t get to a facility to get to care.
1:51:07 Mm-hmm.
1:51:08 So they’re in a serious cycle.
1:51:10 And, you know, I, I think that this is something that we can
1:51:13 really do a good thing on.
1:51:15 And we can really come together as a community on, um, and, and
1:51:18 solve a problem.
1:51:19 And I’ll just be honest with you.
1:51:21 There’s enough, um, revenue sitting around at the state, the
1:51:24 county.
1:51:25 You know what I mean?
1:51:26 That they might be able to do something here.
1:51:28 Um, and of course I’m not the mental health genius, but I’m just,
1:51:31 you know, get them, get them together.
1:51:33 You know what I mean?
1:51:34 And figure it out.
1:51:35 So I wanted to say that.
1:51:36 And then I had a couple other ones afterwards.
1:51:38 Go ahead.
1:51:39 And then I got emails.
1:51:40 I couldn’t, I locked out a page password or else I would have
1:51:42 sent you guys the thing.
1:51:43 Um, there’s another thing.
1:51:44 So we really, really focused on getting intramurals for all of
1:51:47 our schools and it’s doing great.
1:51:49 Like it’s gotten so great that, um, I’m getting calls from
1:51:52 parents saying, Hey, we’re being told that, um, that we can’t
1:51:56 compete between schools at the end or something like that.
1:51:59 So I was going to say, Dr. Mullins, I might just get with you.
1:52:02 And we had spoken before if we did the intramurals, that there
1:52:05 would be an opportunity at the end for the schools to kind of
1:52:07 play each other in some sort of a, um, competition between the
1:52:11 schools.
1:52:12 Right.
1:52:13 So we wanted to bring athletics back to the middle school.
1:52:15 We brought it only on intramurals to begin with, to see how the
1:52:18 level of excitement would be.
1:52:20 And now I’m getting called.
1:52:21 I’ve got called from three schools that say they want to play
1:52:23 each other.
1:52:24 Right.
1:52:25 So if it’s okay with you guys, I might just ask Dr. Mullins to
1:52:27 take a look at that.
1:52:28 Make sure that’s something we can do at the end.
1:52:30 You know, we could even have a private company come in and do it
1:52:32 as a championship at the end or something.
1:52:34 If that’s okay with you guys.
1:52:35 I didn’t want to go to Dr. Mullins with it, but I thought it was
1:52:37 part of the agreement originally.
1:52:39 Honestly, I’m not prepared to, I have no update for the board at
1:52:44 this point on intramurals, but I can certainly look into it and
1:52:48 provide the board more information.
1:52:49 I should say if the board’s okay with it, I’ll come to you and
1:52:51 then we’ll talk about it.
1:52:53 That’s all.
1:52:54 Okay.
1:52:55 Yeah.
1:52:56 All right.
1:52:57 That’s it.
1:52:58 That’s all I got.
1:52:59 Awesome.
1:53:00 Dr. Mullins.
1:53:01 Well, I just wanted to.
1:53:02 I’m sorry.
1:53:03 No, no.
1:53:04 I have one question.
1:53:05 I want to.
1:53:06 Okay.
1:53:07 And I want to help us just more.
1:53:09 Go ahead.
1:53:10 I was just going to add, Ms. Campbell referenced third grade ELA
1:53:13 scores.
1:53:14 We did, you know, I know the board knows we received those just
1:53:17 for the community.
1:53:18 You know, we’re in the, the state is committed to releasing
1:53:21 those first and early so we can get
1:53:23 students aligned for third grade reading camps across the
1:53:26 district, but we are digging into
1:53:28 it.
1:53:29 We don’t have this aggregated data yet on our third grade.
1:53:32 I am pleased to share that Brevard rose four places in Rankin
1:53:37 state in with our third grade
1:53:39 scores.
1:53:40 So, uh, we ranked, uh, from 16 to 12.
1:53:42 So we still have work to do, but very pleased that we seem to be
1:53:46 kind of accelerating, uh,
1:53:48 through the last couple of years faster at a faster pace than,
1:53:51 than, uh, some of our colleague
1:53:53 districts.
1:53:54 Uh, we’re working diligently to support our kids.
1:53:57 And of course we will provide more data to the board and to our
1:54:00 community.
1:54:01 As soon as we receive it, we’re anxiously awaiting.
1:54:03 We’ve been reassured by June 30.
1:54:05 So we’ll see.
1:54:06 Okay.
1:54:07 So Ms. Moore, I hope I’m not jumping the gun here, but, um, you
1:54:14 sent us a link about mentoring
1:54:17 and I know you mentioned it before and is that up and running?
1:54:21 I’m so sorry.
1:54:22 No.
1:54:23 It’s not.
1:54:24 We’re launching at the beginning of the year.
1:54:25 That’s great.
1:54:26 Yeah.
1:54:27 Thank you for asking.
1:54:28 Um, the, we want to present to the principals first.
1:54:31 Okay.
1:54:32 So that before, uh, parents start calling them and saying, hey,
1:54:38 when is, when is your meeting?
1:54:41 When is your training?
1:54:42 The principals have had a chance to look at it, understand it,
1:54:45 work through it, and then we’ll
1:54:47 be pushing it live out to the public.
1:54:49 So if my fellow board, thank you.
1:54:51 Thank you, Ms. Moore.
1:54:52 If my fellow board members have not looked at the email that Ms.
1:54:54 Moore sent us and looked
1:54:56 at some of the modules, I encourage you to do that.
1:54:59 It’s pretty phenomenal.
1:55:00 So well done.
1:55:01 Thank you very much.
1:55:02 I’m very excited about this rollout.
1:55:05 So then would it be a good idea if someone is interested, but we
1:55:09 don’t have them all fleshed
1:55:11 out to go ahead and be thinking about getting their fingerprinting
1:55:13 done?
1:55:14 Because just like you can’t travel internationally without a
1:55:17 passport, if you want to be involved
1:55:19 in a program, you’ve got to be fingerprinted.
1:55:21 So that would be an action step that people could take this
1:55:23 summer, correct?
1:55:24 That’s absolutely the first step.
1:55:26 And it’s free to BPS parents.
1:55:30 So now while it’s free, you know, that’s a good time because we’ll
1:55:35 need – and while we’re
1:55:36 on this, I’m going to plug volunteers at our media centers, just
1:55:39 all kinds of volunteers.
1:55:41 Mentoring is a – that’s a time commitment.
1:55:44 And we recognize that not every community member or volunteer
1:55:46 parent who wants to, you know,
1:55:49 serve in our schools can do that kind of service.
1:55:52 But for all volunteers across the spectrum, the summertime is a
1:55:55 great time to do it, you
1:55:58 know, while the security office is – while they’re busy onboarding
1:56:01 the employees too.
1:56:02 But, you know, take advantage of the time that you have to come
1:56:04 get fingerprinted so you’re
1:56:05 ready to go.
1:56:06 Good plug to Campbell.
1:56:07 All right.
1:56:08 Anything else for discussion?
1:56:09 All right.
1:56:10 Then we are going to move into our remaining speakers.
1:56:15 We have three speakers signed up for non-agenda.
1:56:18 Each speaker is limited to three minutes.
1:56:21 We have a clock in front of me to help you keep track of your
1:56:23 time.
1:56:24 When your time is over, you’ll be asked to stop and allow the
1:56:25 next speaker his or her
1:56:27 term.
1:56:28 We’ll hear from the speakers in the order in which they signed
1:56:29 up, including those who
1:56:31 may be waiting outside, but clearly not anyone today.
1:56:34 Stated earlier, reasonable decorum is expected at all times, and
1:56:37 your statement should be directed
1:56:38 to the board chair.
1:56:39 Should audience participation interfere with speakers being
1:56:41 heard or hearing me, I will
1:56:43 be forced to clear the room.
1:56:45 When I call your name, please line up along the east wall of the
1:56:47 boardroom to facilitate
1:56:49 the smooth transition of speakers.
1:56:51 Our speakers in order this morning are Olivia Williams, Katie
1:56:54 Delaney, and Jessica Walker.
1:56:57 Ms. Williams, if you’d like to approach the podium, and then Ms.
1:57:00 Delaney and Ms. Walker, if
1:57:01 you wouldn’t mind lining up on the east wall.
1:57:04 Before speaking, please state your name, the organization you
1:57:07 represent, if any, and identify the topic
1:57:10 you’ll be discussing.
1:57:11 Yes, ma’am.
1:57:12 You’re welcome.
1:57:13 Good morning.
1:57:14 My name is Olivia Williams.
1:57:16 I was a substitute for Brevard County Schools.
1:57:17 I would like to address the board about the concerning nature of
1:57:17 continuous bullying I witnessed at Southwest
1:57:32 Middle School, and how those same bullies were not being kept
1:57:34 away from both new and old victims.
1:57:37 Furthermore, neither the victims or the bullies seem to be
1:57:40 getting the counseling, the care,
1:57:42 or the follow-ups they needed.
1:57:44 I have concerns that the school is not following proper Florida
1:57:47 statute laws or the Brevard public
1:57:50 school laws on anti-bullying and feel like it should be looked
1:57:53 into.
1:57:54 Parents should be aware fights are frequent at the school, and
1:57:58 these repeat bullies are not
1:57:59 closely monitored when they leave the classroom.
1:58:02 Not only could a student be victimized by being beat up, but
1:58:04 they could be pushed through a
1:58:06 second-story window or killed by being thrown off a walkway that
1:58:09 leaks the second stories
1:58:10 of the buildings, since these walkways have no bars on them.
1:58:14 Schools are supposed to be an anti-bullying environment for both
1:58:16 students and staff, and
1:58:18 this is not happening.
1:58:20 This bullying problem is growing into group bullying and even
1:58:23 mob mentality against individuals
1:58:25 and staff where other students will support and back up the
1:58:28 bully and their agenda instead
1:58:30 of the victim.
1:58:31 I heard that a large mob of approximately 200 students chased
1:58:34 the single student between
1:58:36 classrooms and it was them too many to try to round up, so they
1:58:40 were allowed to go to class
1:58:42 late instead without teachers being given knowledge of what had
1:58:46 occurred.
1:58:47 This could have been taken care of by having a lockdown with
1:58:51 teachers being directed to refuse
1:58:53 any students that were late into their rooms.
1:58:58 This would have allowed the needed time and organization for
1:59:05 admin to round up the 200
1:59:07 students involved and process them.
1:59:09 Allowing bullies to get away with these actions with few, if any
1:59:13 consequences, is not a safe environment
1:59:16 for victims.
1:59:17 When authority figures allow bullies to continue aggressive
1:59:21 behavior against others, it sets a
1:59:22 standard for both teachers and students that bullying is to be
1:59:26 expected and allowed.
1:59:29 Thank you.
1:59:31 Ms. Delaney?
1:59:35 Ms. Williams, if you would connect with Dr. Sullivan in the back
1:59:40 of the room for me, please.
1:59:42 Thank you.
1:59:43 Ms. Delaney?
1:59:46 Thank you.
1:59:47 Ms. Delaney?
1:59:49 Thank you.
1:59:50 I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but again,
1:59:51 here’s a substitute teacher coming
1:59:55 to the board telling you all about the issues that parents have
1:59:59 been bringing to you for over
2:00:02 two years now, and we have – we’re – not dealing with these
2:00:09 issues and sweeping them under the rug,
2:00:14 is not going to stop these issues from happening.
2:00:18 We need to work together as a community, as the board, parents,
2:00:21 community members, faith leaders, whoever is willing to help the
2:00:27 situation that’s going on in our schools.
2:00:29 We need to work together to do this.
2:00:31 And part of that is this public comment.
2:00:36 You know, even though that woman who came here to talk about the
2:00:40 community relations wasn’t paid by the board, it was still our
2:00:45 tax dollars.
2:00:47 I’m not saying that it came out of the school board budget, and
2:00:56 the fact that there is no, you know, commenting back and forth,
2:01:04 and you wait for us to sit down to then talk amongst yourselves
2:01:06 to try to make us look like liars, that’s not okay.
2:01:09 And I’ll say it again, just like I said at the last board
2:01:15 meeting, every other government, local government meeting that I’ve
2:01:20 been to, there is communication in the sunshine between the
2:01:24 members of the board and the public.
2:01:27 And that’s how it should be run.
2:01:29 Imagine a new parent coming to this meeting and being threatened
2:01:34 with arrest.
2:01:34 And I know that you have now changed your intro, probably
2:01:41 because of Sheriff Ivy’s letter.
2:01:46 It’s not right.
2:01:48 The reason why there are so many issues is because parents are
2:01:53 being cut out, community members are being cut out, and it’s not
2:01:59 okay.
2:02:00 The last board meeting, the live stream was paused.
2:02:06 I public record requested the logs.
2:02:09 They said it was a glitch.
2:02:11 It was not a glitch.
2:02:12 It was paused.
2:02:13 How is that operating in the sunshine? If you guys have nothing
2:02:21 to hide, then why are you not operating in the sunshine? Thank
2:02:25 you. Thank you, Ms. Delaney. Ms. Walker.
2:02:34 Hello. I’m Jessica Walker. I’m a parent. My daughter is going to
2:02:39 be in eighth grade at Edgewood Junior/Senior High.
2:02:44 So after the horrible events that happened last month in Texas,
2:02:49 I think a lot of parents feel the same way as I do, you know,
2:02:53 just sort of terrified, hopeless, just wondering if enough is
2:03:00 being done.
2:03:01 And, you know, as just a normal citizen that doesn’t know a lot
2:03:05 about the school board and, you know, what there is to do or how
2:03:10 to ask for help or just even understanding, I decided to come
2:03:13 here today.
2:03:14 And so thank you for the opportunity. So basically, I’m
2:03:20 wondering, are we doing enough in our schools?
2:03:24 I know that we have SROs in the schools and I’m grateful for
2:03:27 that, but I sometimes wonder, is that enough? Like when I go to
2:03:32 my daughter’s school, I walk in the office and I’m presented,
2:03:37 you know, I see women, you know, secretaries, administration,
2:03:43 and then they buzz you in once you give them what you need.
2:03:46 And I sometimes think, God, if something were to happen, who is
2:03:50 protecting these people, you know? So that is a concern. You
2:03:55 know, the SRO can only be in one place at one time.
2:03:58 So who’s protecting them if something happens? It’s just like
2:04:01 all these different questions that I know parents have, but we
2:04:04 don’t know who to ask them to and we don’t know the protocol and
2:04:10 what is being done.
2:04:11 So maybe there is things in place that are keeping our kids safe
2:04:14 and we should feel protected, but we don’t know what those are.
2:04:19 And maybe I’m not looking in the right place, but I was hoping
2:04:22 that the board could help parents like me feel just a little bit
2:04:29 safer in this crazy time.
2:04:33 So hopefully I will hear back or something. Thank you. Thank you,
2:04:37 Ms. Walker.
2:04:48 Yeah, Ms. Belford, I’d be happy to follow up with Ms. Walker or
2:04:53 have Mr. Novelli or Mr. Wilson or Lieutenant Neal.
2:04:58 And if I may just take the moment to I’ve had a handful of
2:05:02 parents reach out to me directly through email and, you know,
2:05:07 anytime we’re faced with confronted with the vulnerabilities
2:05:13 that we have, not just in our own schools, but obviously across
2:05:16 the country, it causes us all pause.
2:05:19 And, uh, you know, that, that what happened in Uvalde is we
2:05:23 consider part of our educational family.
2:05:26 I had, um, as part of a superintendent cohort, I’m, I’m
2:05:30 fortunate to be a part of across the country.
2:05:34 One of, uh, one of the superintendents in that cohort is
2:05:37 literally the neighboring district to Uvalde.
2:05:40 And, um, we had an opportunity to be together by zoom and he
2:05:44 shared.
2:05:49 Um, as best he could the challenge that that community was
2:05:52 facing that the neighboring communities were facing and so on.
2:05:57 And I don’t mean to focus on that. Um, but, um, we’ve, if you’ve
2:06:03 listened to any of the news and any of the, um, feedback.
2:06:10 Um, it appears, and I, I’m not going to cast judgment, but it
2:06:13 appears some things went wrong.
2:06:15 Um, but as difficult as it is, as part of the education
2:06:21 community to process what happened, I did also have a tremendous
2:06:25 amount of reassurance.
2:06:27 Because of the relationship, the partnership and the involvement
2:06:30 we have with not only our Brevard County Sheriff’s office, but
2:06:34 all of our law enforcement agencies across Brevard.
2:06:39 Um, I had the opportunity to talk to Sheriff Ivy within the last
2:06:42 week or so, and I, and I, I shared that with him.
2:06:45 And I, I thanked him for the confidence that we can have in
2:06:48 knowing that his men and women in green and those in blue or
2:06:53 black uniforms are trained, prepared to go in immediately.
2:06:58 And he said, no question, unequivocally, it is part of
2:07:04 everything we do and the training of our officers and Miss
2:07:09 Walker.
2:07:11 I appreciate your, your concern and your heart and, and, uh, we
2:07:14 share it with you.
2:07:16 Uh, I assure you the safety of our students and the safety of
2:07:20 our staff is our, our top priority.
2:07:23 This board and prior boards have prioritized literally millions
2:07:28 of dollars to the security and safety of our, our campuses.
2:07:32 Uh, we have been a state leader in the development of the school
2:07:36 emergencies operation plan.
2:07:38 Every school, every school has a customized school emergency
2:07:42 operation plan.
2:07:44 It’s reviewed and reconsidered every year, uh, in conjunction
2:07:49 with law enforcement.
2:07:51 They look through all, it includes protocols and processes that
2:07:54 are filed in the case of an emergency.
2:07:57 Every time we run a drill, we have an after action report
2:08:03 process.
2:08:04 Our school leaders, our law enforcement come together and they
2:08:07 talk through what went well, what did not go well.
2:08:10 What do we need to tighten up?
2:08:11 What do we need to be attentive to in making sure that we are as
2:08:15 responsive and as attentive to every aspect of the safety of our
2:08:19 campuses.
2:08:20 Um, so in the, in the difficulties of processing what’s happened
2:08:28 yet again to one of our school family across the country, uh, I,
2:08:37 I do find some solace in knowing the relationship and the
2:08:41 partnership we have with our law enforcement is strong.
2:08:45 It is, it is, it is living and breathing every day.
2:08:49 Um, our new COO right now is at the state, uh, district security
2:08:56 specialist training required training every year, along with our
2:09:00 law enforcement representatives.
2:09:02 They will bring back new best practices.
2:09:05 They’ll bring back, um, any new requirements that we may have
2:09:09 across the state.
2:09:10 And the board knows we dive into it and we take that very, very
2:09:13 seriously.
2:09:15 And we present to the board every fall.
2:09:18 The culminating outcome of our, the review of the Florida state
2:09:23 school assessment, uh, surveys.
2:09:27 That’s another process we go through every year.
2:09:29 Our schools go through a survey that the state publishes and it
2:09:32 is required completion.
2:09:34 It’s, it’s a, it’s an enormous, uh, process, but it’s invaluable
2:09:38 in evaluating and analyzing all aspects of safety across our
2:09:43 schools.
2:09:44 And we have to submit to the state the completion of that and
2:09:47 any actions that the organization that the district may need to
2:09:50 take in response to that.
2:09:52 So for the sake of preserving the safety and security, the, the,
2:09:58 the levels of, uh, security that we have, we, we don’t disclose
2:10:04 all of the measures that we have, um, to not inadvertently, uh,
2:10:13 present any vulnerabilities.
2:10:15 But I can assure you that we take this very seriously and our
2:10:19 district security team is, is attentive and responsive to any
2:10:23 concerns that come to us.
2:10:25 I would, uh, remind our community that we currently, uh, also
2:10:31 employ two full time, uh, sheriff’s analysts who scan and review
2:10:38 all social media and, and web conversations.
2:10:43 And those, if they, if they, if they tend to lead to anything
2:10:46 that needs to be followed through, our law enforcement follows
2:10:50 up on it.
2:10:51 Uh, that’s ongoing, um, across the district and all throughout
2:10:55 the years.
2:10:56 So, um, I, I, I hope that provides you some of the reassurance
2:11:02 and provides our community some of the reassurance, um, at this
2:11:06 time.
2:11:07 And, uh, just the reiteration of our priority to the safety and
2:11:10 security of our kids across our, our, our, our great district.
2:11:14 Thank you, Ms. Belford.
2:11:15 Dr. Mullins, I can tell you that your guidance and Ms. Belford
2:11:18 and the people that have been here since the most recent one has
2:11:22 been the reason that we have the first, to Ms. Wilson, the first
2:11:25 four things that went wrong in that school district, we already
2:11:28 have addressed and would not happen in this district.
2:11:31 We can’t speak publicly to things.
2:11:33 We’re always going to not have a hundred percent will be, but I
2:11:36 will tell you that never would have happened.
2:11:38 So thank you.
2:11:39 Ms. Walker, may I speak?
2:11:40 Um, Ms. Walker, I also just want to say to you as a mom and a
2:11:46 board member, um, but mostly as a mom, um, I also share the same
2:11:51 fear and concern that you have like many other parents across
2:11:54 the district, even, even, even knowing all that we do here.
2:11:57 Um, the following day, I was just as concerned bringing my five-year-old
2:12:02 to school.
2:12:03 She’s on an open campus.
2:12:05 Um, I think about all of those things all the time.
2:12:09 Um, being in a middle school campus, I thought about those
2:12:13 things all of the time during class changes, during the start of
2:12:16 school, during dismissal, all the time.
2:12:19 And so if it gives you any reassurance to know that everyone up
2:12:23 here shares your concerns, it’s a priority to them.
2:12:27 Um, I just wanted to speak to you as a mom to let you know you’re
2:12:29 not alone.
2:12:30 Um, and I just want to double down on something that Dr. Mullen
2:12:33 said, but there’s a lot of conversation coming out of the state
2:12:35 now about changes that are going to be happening.
2:12:37 And if this offers you any reassurance, um, I just skimmed over
2:12:41 it, but I can say wholeheartedly, most of that already is
2:12:45 happening here in Brevard Public Schools and has been happening
2:12:48 for years.
2:12:49 Again, it’s not things that we can always kind of put out there.
2:12:52 Um, so again, as a mom and a board member, just to give you some
2:12:55 reassurance that, uh, you’re not alone in your feelings.
2:12:58 So, thank you for coming.
2:13:00 Okay. See you.
2:13:04 No further business. This meeting is now adjourned.
2:13:22 We’ll see you next time.