Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 To share that Brevard has reduced the number of schools that are under this state identified status. So you will see for the school year 2425, we reduced the number of schools significantly with underperforming subgroups. This is a collective effort not only at the school level, but with our student services team doing wraparound services to students with disabilities, students in our ELL population, really ensuring that all students are making learning gains. The schools in front of us at this time, they all exited ESSA status so they had some type of identification and they were able to improve their subgroups across their campus and no longer are identified with ESSA status.
0:53 So now we’re going to switch gears to talk about acceleration. So you will see when we look at Brevard’s data in comparison to the state for the 2324 school year as well as the 2425 school year, you will see we maintained at 70%. We talked earlier at the workshop about some strategic plans in identifying and making sure that students are in the right place to be successful.
1:19 And so we expect to see an increase in this data. The columns on the right that represents our college and career readiness. Again, we’ve been very strategic with making sure we are setting students up for success with those acceleration opportunities.
1:36 So again, lots to celebrate and also opportunities to accelerate. This next slide, it reflects the progress of students performing in our CTE programs. So the information on the left that speaks to our industry certifications.
1:55 So those are certifications that allow students opportunities to go into the workforce or go on to career pathways in a post secondary setting. The columns on the right, this represents our digital tools. So we’re looking for programs that demonstrate readiness moving forward as well as in our sixth grade last year, this represents our sixth grade STEM students that participated in the digital tools process and we had more students earn digital tools than we have in the past.
2:29 One of the items as we reflect data from year to year is we know with legislation moving into the 2526 school school year that our data will be impacted by the no longer offering this in sixth, seventh and eighth grade, that we’ll be moving some to the high school and some to the fourth grade. This data is hot off the press. So this represents our students in our dual enrollment programs both in the OR in the fall, spring and in the summer.
3:01 So you will see we had more students have access to these courses, they took more courses and we were able to even bump up our percent of tests or courses passed. This is significant because sometimes when you are having more Opportunities and you’re increasing access for all students. It becomes more challenging to maintain or exceed data.
3:25 And in this data point, Brevard is continuing to excel. Now we’re going to move to our advanced Placement. Again, you will see a trend.
3:36 More students had access, and so we had more students take tests, more students passed. That increased our overall pass rate to 75%. As we move forward with this trend, you’re going to see even with our IB results.
3:57 So we had more IV tests taken, more tests were passed, and you see we maintained right at that 79%. So we’re looking at the numerator being the test taken or test passed and the denominator being the test taken. Now we’re moving to our Cambridge results, which were just recently released.
4:20 And we are thrilled to say again that we have more tests were taken, more tests were passed, and guess what the answer is. Increased outcomes for students. So we continue the trend of more opportunity and higher rates.
4:39 Our graduation data. Remember, this is lag data, but since we were doing an overview of everything, we included this data for comparing Brevard to the state. We showed a slight bump, but we have some strategic moves that have occurred.
4:54 And we know when we get this data because it’s lagging, we should have this by the end of the semester, possibly. And we expect that it will be significantly improved. And any questions? I know that was a fast and furious.
5:10 But we spent some time together this afternoon going into this with great detail. I don’t have any questions other than just to say that, excuse me, this didn’t happen by accident. It happened because Dr. Rendell put together a great team, you guys, his leadership team has done a great job setting a plan and driving the goals forward.
5:35 And then obviously the students and teachers doing the hard work of getting it all done. So I just want to commend you guys. You’ve done a phenomenal job and looking forward to even improved results next year.
5:48 Well, I appreciate that, but I just want to echo for everyone to hear it is what happens in the four walls of the classroom. And so I appreciate that and I know my team hears it, but I want all of our students and our teachers and our school leaders to hear that message as well. Thank you.
6:04 Absolutely. Exactly. Dr. Mindel echoed that hit the nail on the head earlier today.
6:11 It is exactly what you just said. I mean, you can have all the plans in the world, but if it doesn’t get put into play, they don’t run the right play, you know, in the play, on the field, in the classroom, it doesn’t. It doesn’t work.
6:23 So, you know, shout out to all of our teachers, our students, and our parents. But this is just great news. I mean, this was just an overview.
6:31 We had a little deeper overview earlier. It was wonderful. Repeat, though.
6:38 What did you say we’ve done two years in a row? We are an A district two years in a row. And this year, even a higher A. Yes, I did want us to repeat that again. I wasn’t paying attention.
6:50 What’d you say? I believe they said that we were an A district two years in a row. Yeah, that’s right. So congratulations.
6:57 But out there, teachers, congratulations for doing that. So you make us proud once again. So, Dr. Rendell, do you want to add anything? Just a couple things.
7:06 Number one, the last few slides were about increased access to challenging curriculum. We had more students take AP courses and AP tests. More students take IB courses and IB examinations.
7:15 More students take dual enrollment. More students take ace. And in almost every one of those cases, we increased our performance.
7:26 Usually when you add more access, you see a dip in performance. So the fact that our students were able to perform so well, including students who weren’t exposed to that kind of challenging curriculum before, is a testament to the teachers in the classroom that they prepared those students to do that, and they succeeded. There’s an old mentor of mine used to say, more good stuff for more kids, and we did that.
7:50 And that’s an incredible amount of more students taking challenging academic coursework and performing at a high level. So we should be really proud of those results. But to thank, you know, really the people in the classroom, you know, none of us took a single test.
8:06 None of us delivered a single lesson plan. You know, they’re the ones that did all that. So kudos to them and thank them for their hard work last year.
8:13 Now, Mr. Thomas said, better results this year. Well, we’ll see. We’ll do our best.
8:17 But, yeah, it was a great year. Great accomplishments, and we should celebrate. Great.
8:23 Thank you. Thank you. All right, we are now at the public comment portion of the meeting.
8:32 Paul, how many do we have? Eight. Eight. Eight.
8:35 We have eight speakers. Each will receive three minutes. Our attorney will call speakers in order which they have signed up to speak.
8:42 Mr. Gibbs? We’ll call the first three speakers. Gina Derringe. Bernard Bryan.
8:46 Christopher Higinboth. Good evening, school board. I just want to say to Tara.
8:59 Yeah, girl, we did it. I spent the past March and April on the phone to our legislators and our finance people talking to them about my journey as AP teacher. An IB teacher and a Cambridge teacher and the change that I saw in students who ended up going to college, who would have never gone to college, and the first in her families go to college and the first in her families, in many instances, to graduate from high school.
9:29 And a lot of our legislators are not familiar with this program at all. Their aides were. When I would talk to their aides, they would go, oh, they want to gut the program.
9:38 And I went, yeah. So I graded this year for College board. I graded 500 essays for AP World, and the scores were great.
9:51 And the kids are. I think they’re using the digital classroom. It’s a game changer.
9:55 Anyway, one I’m here to talk about is the student progressive plan for Brevard County. I sent it out to the members of my civics group that I am the education chair with, and one is Fran Baer, who was my union president when I started teaching in 1997. And I said, fran, just anything you want to look over, comment on? And she said something interesting.
10:19 She said that there’s a information of the forward talks about the parents, the teachers and the principal and the students and their obligation for this plan, but there’s nothing about the school board and you guys are the ones who fund and make things happen. So Fran could not make it tonight, but she wanted to say, please keep in mind that you should be part of the forward as well of this plan of your responsibility to the teachers in Brevard county and the students of Brevard County. Just wanted to state that.
11:00 I’m also concerned by House Bill 1105, which basically is gutting certificates of attendance for students who are special needs. I am the mother of a ESE teacher. My daughter has taught for 15 years.
11:18 She was a best buddy. And I’m concerned about this program and what we’re going to do to supplement this new law that’s passed. Students show up and they get a certificate of attendance.
11:32 And yes, it’s not a diploma per se, but it shows to future employers that the student had the tenacity and the grit to show up every day at high school. So I’m hoping that you keep those students in your minds and your thoughts when you are thinking about the alternative to this plan. Thank you.
11:57 Bernard Bryan. Christopher Higginbothan. Shelby Bottomley.
12:04 Good evening. My name is Bernard Bryan and I’m representing the South Brevard branch of the NAACP as well as the concerned citizens of South Brevard. I want to comment on your student progressive plan.
12:21 And first of all, I Would like to thank Dr. Rendell, Dr. Tara Harris. Adrian McDonough. When I reviewed part of that plan, I see a lot of information of improving VPK students instructional participation and I was so excited to see that.
12:43 And I want to just continue to thank this team because Dr. Rendell put together a wonderful video that recruit and educated our communities about how important VPK is and that really went off pretty good. We’re not quite there yet, but we have seen some increase in participation and I would just like to encourage the staff to continue to do that because we understand early learning is critical in reference to closing the achievement gap. And then one other thing I’d like to bring up.
13:19 I notice in your student progressive plan that the certificate of completion has been eliminated. So one of the things I’m asking when I read through your plan, how is the parents notified that my child is not there yet? So I’m hoping you would add to your plan a communication strategy so the parent grandparent wouldn’t be surprised when they get to graduation period that the child does not meet the criteria to graduate. So I’m asking if you will to add to your plan those steps, those communication steps so that no child will have the remediation plan to recover.
14:07 So if you would do that, we really would appreciate it. Again, thank you so much. In terms of the VPK video, I thought it was excellent.
14:16 If you haven’t seen it, I’m still impressed with it and matter of fact, I was at a church this past Sunday and they were magnifying getting your children in the vpk. So you know, continue to push that communication path and we will appreciate that a lot. So thank you very much.
14:39 Christopher Higinbothan. Shelby Bottomley. Julia Cohen Pensley.
14:46 Good morning. I’m sorry, Good evening. Chris Higginbotham.
14:51 I just want to say I’m a parent of three. All three kids here go to Brevard Public Schools. I want to talk about i2, which is the school improvement plan.
14:59 I wanted to draw a specific part of it. It has to do with culture. I think all school improvement plans should involve some sort of culture in the school I’m currently at it’s positive learning environment.
15:17 We spent a lot of time on that. Mr. Thomas, you were at my school today. Hopefully you got welcomed and it was an enjoyable experience.
15:28 Also, I wanted to speak about the progression plan specifically my son. I love my son. He’s a good kid, but normally would not be an AP student.
15:41 He struggles with discipline and studying. So when we talk about the pushing for students to take more Advanced Placement classes and A classes or IB classes, depending on what school they go to. That’s the kind of culture that we have.
16:00 I spoke to. I don’t know if I can say somebody’s name. I spoke to Mr. Rush and he convinced me that juniors should try that class.
16:09 And he’s doing well in that class. So that’s the kind of culture that we want. And that’s why on i2 we should be building that.
16:18 With that being said, even this board, you guys have a culture, whether or not you think you do or not you do. And I think it’s a testament to you guys that you went to the workshop and altered something that I view as a win win. I like that we kept the cell phones out of the school during the school hours from bell to bell, but I feel like you guys went back and thought intelligently and said there is some educational value in the laptops, tablets, E readers and stuff like that.
16:53 And the school principals and the school teachers, they know their school best. And I like that you guys gave them that autonomy. So I think that was a good job and I want to thank you guys for that.
17:08 But that’s all I have and thank you for your time. Shelby bottomley. After shelby, we have julia cohen pensley and jennifer hopkins.
17:33 Good evening, members of the board, Dr. Rendell and members of the community. I am here to speak on item number seven, instructional staff recommendations, specifically the 21 resignations. I want to speak to why those educators may have resigned.
17:49 Like myself. My name is Shelby Bottomley. I am a former BPS student and former BPS educator.
17:56 I taught AP and Honors English at Satellite High School for four years. During this time, my AP scores were well above the national average. With this past year being a 94% pass rate.
18:08 You might be asking yourself, why would such an effective educator quit? The reason is, unfortunately, incredibly simple. As a teacher, I no longer felt supported, respected, or safe within my classroom. The actions of this board and the manner in which they have treated the public and educators have made it abundantly clear that they choose to serve themselves and their politics over what’s best for their students.
18:35 This has created a toxic culture of fear rather than one of collaboration and respect. When teachers are not empowered in the classroom, this has a direct impact on the students. For example, I felt like I couldn’t connect with my students for fear of saying something that could get me in trouble.
18:52 Because of this toxic environment. I felt as if my students were not getting an instructor. They deserve.
19:00 Students deserve to have a teacher that is solely focused on giving the best instruction. The environment that the school board has created has made this nearly impossible, as now teachers have to worry about how every word they say could get them fired. It is my belief that the job of the school board is to trust and empower its teachers because this has a direct impact on the students and the classroom.
19:23 Until this board can treat its teachers with the respect and trust they deserve, then I think we can count on the fact that those resignation numbers will continue to rise. It’s my only hope that BPS can get its act together for the 67 newly appointed educators before it’s too late. As Richard Ingersoll said, 44% of newly appointed educators quit within the first five years.
19:47 Unfortunately, we also know that the most effective educators are those with at least five years under their belts. Please understand that you have the power to create a positive environment where teachers want to be so that they can reach their full potential for our students. Thank you.
20:14 Julia Cohen Pensley, followed by Jennifer Hopkins and Xander Colangelo. Good evening, Superintendent Rendell and members of the board. I’m here tonight to speak on agenda item F1.
20:29 At the last meeting, I stood here frustrated because students, teachers and parents were shut out. Sorry, one second of the decision making process. The vote felt decided before the community even had a chance to speak.
20:47 That was not leadership. But I want to start tonight by saying thank you. The policy was amended.
20:54 Students are now allowed to use laptops. That might seem like a small shift, but it proves something big that when you listen, change happens. When you take voices seriously, solutions improve.
21:08 That is why this moment matters so much. Because if one amendment can happen after one meeting, imagine what could happen if students, parents and teachers were included from the start. Imagine how much stronger and smarter policy would be if the people most impacted were treated as partners, not problems.
21:29 Yet let’s not ignore the reality phones are still banned. And in today’s world, the they are not just distractions, they are lifelines. In a lockdown, a medical emergency or a threat, every second counts.
21:42 Students may need to call 911. Parents may need updates. Teachers may need fast communication to keep us safe.
21:49 Until schools can guarantee safety, removing access to phones removes a basic line of protection. Safety must come before control. So let’s be honest.
22:01 The laptop change only happened because this board finally listened. That’s proof of why listening must be the rule, not the exception. That’s proof of why this community needs a town hall.
22:15 A town hall would mean parents, teachers and students can speak directly to you before policies are finalized. It would mean trust built on transparency, not secrecy. And it would mean avoiding unnecessary conflict because voices were included from the start.
22:34 You showed tonight that you can hear us now. Prove you can lead with us. Hold a town hall.
22:41 Make transparency the standard, not the compromise. Choose trust over control. If schools are meant to prepare us for the real world, let this board be the standard for true leadership.
22:54 Leadership rooted in service, trust, and integrity. Thank you. Jennifer Hopkins.
23:09 Mr. Gibbs. Mr. Chair, before we continue, can I just clarify one thing? And I want to just address this, because this was spoke about today at the workshop, and I’m sure that most of you had not had the opportunity to go back and watch that, but we were very clear that your phone is allowed to remain on your physical body. It just cannot be turned on.
23:25 And you cannot. I mean, it can be turned on silent. It can’t be out.
23:28 You can’t take it out. So we were clear on setting that perimeter. And then if the phone is used for medical purposes, again, you’re allowed to have it.
23:36 So there’s certain parameters that go around that if you go back and listen to the workshop today, we talked about it in depth. But I just want to clarify that for any future speaker who might be concerned with the fact that we’re going to take their phone physically away from them, that is not what we’re doing. And that was always the case, right? Correct.
23:49 Right. And we still teach civics in high school, right? Yeah. Okay.
23:54 Just wondering. All right, so it’s Jennifer Hopkins, followed by Xander Colangelo and Quinn Dykis. Good evening.
24:02 My name is Jen. I’m here to speak on agenda item F1. I recognize that this board already passed a flawed policy with the stated intent to revisit and revise it.
24:12 Thank you for acknowledging the valid concerns of students, teachers, and the community. Truly, we do appreciate it. I want to acknowledge that managing cell phone use in school is a valid concern.
24:25 Even with the changes, this policy is overly broad and deeply insufficient. It prioritizes control over education. And in the high school setting, it fails our students.
24:35 Taking away students access to phones limits the ways in which they can complete assignments and communicate with their teachers, parents, and peers. Empowering teachers to make the decision about when these devices are beneficial is the right thing to do. Let’s be honest.
24:49 Banning phones at lunchtime is unnecessary. It is a misguided approach to managing autonomy and trust, and it undermines the student’s ability to make responsible decisions. At the last meeting, we heard from a parent who wondered what could have happened to their child if it weren’t for Snapchat.
25:05 There is no question that access to a phone enhances safety and communication. How many times have we heard stories about students texting or calling their parents while emergencies were happening at their schools? How often, if we had have emergencies been avoided because of ready access to a device? Do the benefits of an all out ban outweigh the drawbacks of having no access? Several parents and students have already given excellent examples of how a complete ban of cell phones is detrimental to both the educational experience and the development of essential digital skills. Mrs. Campbell and Mr. Thomas, the two members that Mr. Trent does not consider to really be part of the board, heard the pleas to reconsider and are possibly able to see why public comment should be heard before you decide how you’re going to vote.
25:53 Passing a flawed policy with the promise to revise it later can be a signal of poor governance. It shows a lack of due diligence, suggesting that you didn’t fly fully vet or analyze it before approval. The resulting consequences that will affect students, teachers and parents could have been avoided with more thorough planning.
26:09 We all rely on this board to make decisions that are well considered and impactful. Not doing so undermines confidence in the board’s ability to lead effectively. The promise to revise later means that harmful effects are felt immediately, creating frustration among those affected.
26:23 At the time of the vote, you indicated that you needed to act quickly and that further discussion was not an option. I don’t know that very many of us understood why that was the case. Communication is key.
26:33 A clear explanation of why the decision was made, followed by a concrete plan for provision, could make the process more understandable to the public. I would like to take this opportunity to again invite you all to participate in a town hall. The Brevard Public Schools Policy Manual Policy 0123J Standards of boardmanship Code of Ethics states, as a member of the board, each board member shall promote the best interest of the school district as a whole and that e.
26:58 And to that end, each board member shall adhere to the following educational and ethical standards. Encourage the free expression of opinion by all board members and seek systematic. I apologize.
27:08 Can I just finish the sentence? You too, xander. Xander colangelo. Xander colangelo.
27:36 After xander, we have quinn dykas. Esteemed members of the board. Superintendent Rendell.
27:49 My name is Xander Colangela. I’ll be Speaking on Island 28. I’m a student at Salad High School and also an honor to be a member of our cross country team coached by the 24 time state winner and nationally recognized coach, Coach Doug Butler.
28:05 First, I’d like to thank you for your support for our upcoming trip to Huntsville, Alabama where we’ll compete in the Southern Showcase. This is one of the premier meets in the Southeast and gives our team a chance to run against the best runners in the nation. For us, it’s not just about racing.
28:22 It’s about learning, discipline, commitment, accountability. Under Coach Butler’s guidance, we’ve also learned teamwork and leadership and how to push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible. Those lessons reach far beyond the pre dawn practices and shape us as the people we are today and will be in the future.
28:41 At Satellite, we’ve learned what happens when a leader like that steps away. Last year, Coach Butler retired from high school coaching after 25 years. The void he left was so deep and so wide that no one could truly replace him.
28:55 And yet, because of his passion for supporting us and preparing our young minds for their future in the real world, he chose to step back in and return as our coach. That kind of leadership goes far beyond the stopwatch and the finish line. It’s about life lessons that stay with us long after the race is over.
29:13 In the same way, I’ve had another irreplaceable coach from mock trial. Like cross country, mock trial requires long hours, teamwork and mental toughness. I was coached not just to argue a case, but to think critically, to speak clearly and to carry myself with integrity.
29:34 But when she wasn’t able to coach anymore, I wasn’t just losing a coach, I was losing the very opportunities that prepare me for the challenges of the real world. Just as cross country wouldn’t be the same without Coach Butler’s mentorship, mock ride wouldn’t be the same without Ms. Kalhu’s guidance. I know there have been.
29:51 There’s been a controversy about her not being retired even though she kept her teaching license, had a record of strong evaluations. Whatever the policy considerations may be, I ask the board to remember how students experiences with coaches and teachers drive our daily lives. Some positions can’t be replaced.
30:11 In closing, I urge you to reflect on your mission to serve excellence as a standard. Excellence comes not only from the opportunities you support, like our trip to the Southern Showcase, but also from the people who guide us. Our coaches, our teachers and mentors.
30:27 Both Coach Butler and Ms. Calhoun represent the standard of excellence. And I hope we will continue to value the irreplaceable impact they have on our lives. Thank you.
30:41 Queen dykis. Good evening. I did want to say really quickly if someone lost a hat, I put it over there.
30:53 Just want to get that. I’m sure they left already, but okay. Good evening, board members.
30:59 Superintendent, my name is Quinn and I’m here to speak on item F16, the investment performance review. I was looking forward to seeing the budget hearing this afternoon in the workshop. I know it got pushed.
31:11 I’ll look forward to the next workshop to look at that. But I’m speaking on this item because the performance our investments directly affects how our severe our budget shortfall will be and how that shortfall impacts classrooms, staff and services. We know Brevard, like other districts in Florida, they’re facing a serious shortfall this year.
31:29 That means we do not have the funds to cover everything our students need and cuts are on the table. When the board reviews investments performance, the numbers may seem abstract, but to me, to the community, those numbers represent real consequences. Strong earnings could help ease the shortfall.
31:45 Weak earnings could make the gap larger. Either way, the public deserves to understand what this review means for the financial decisions that lie ahead. So I want to ask three questions.
31:55 First, what is the current size of Brevard’s projected shortfall? Second, how much do the investment returns being reviewed tonight reduce that shortfall, if at all? Third, if the gap remains, how will the district decide what to cut? And how will you protect classrooms, essential student services, and essential positions? These questions matter because budget choices are not just about accounting. They are about whether students will have enough teachers, whether support staff will stay in place, and whether programs that give children opportunity will continue. As you discuss item F16 tonight, I urge you to explain clearly how the results of this investment report connect to our budget crisis and what priorities will guide Brevard in navigating it.
32:35 Families, staff, and students deserve transparency in a plan that keeps learning at the center. Families, staff, and students deserve transparency and a plan that keeps learning at the center. While each of you might understand the policies you are creating and navigating, much of the community does not.
32:51 The idea of hosting a town hall has gained support not because extra policy discussions sound important, enjoyable at all, but because a back and forth conversation that builds real understanding is necessary. I do want to take the time to thank you two for responding to my emails this past weekend, and I do look forward to hopefully hearing from the rest of the board. Just thank you for your time and for your work.
33:10 Thank you, Paul. Is that it? Yep, it is. All right, that concludes our agenda items only.
33:26 Public comments. We thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to address the board with your Concerns and suggestions. I would like to remind the public that the board is accessible for further conversations outside of our business meetings.
33:37 Through scheduling a meeting, we’re now at the consent agenda portion of our meeting. Dr. Rendell. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
33:45 There are 35 items on the list under this category. Thank you, Dr. Rendell. Does any board member wish to pull any items? No.
33:57 Okay, I’ll entertain a motion to accept. Second. Any discussion? Paul, roll call, please.
34:03 Mr. Thomas. Aye. Ms. Campbell.
34:05 Aye. Mr. Trent. Aye.
34:06 Mr. Susan. Ms. Wright. Aye.
34:11 The public hearing is now open to public comments. We will, in accordance with the Florida law, accept the speakers student progression plan for Brevard Public Schools. Is there anyone present who wishes to address this item? Is there anyone present that would like to address this item? Do I hear a motion? Move to approve? Second, any discussion? Paul, roll call, please.
34:33 Mr. Thomas? Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
34:35 Mr. Trent? Aye. Mr. Susan. Aye.
34:37 Ms. Wright. Aye. G2 contract amendment for Pineapple Cove.
34:43 Is there anyone present who wishes to address this item? Is there anyone present who wishes to address this item? Do I hear a motion? Second. Any discussion? Follow Roll call, please. Mr. Thomas.
34:53 Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
34:55 Mr. Trent. Aye. Mr. Susan.
34:57 Aye. Ms. Wright? Aye. We will move on to the information agenda, which includes two items for board review and may be brought back for action at a subsequent meeting.
35:06 No action will be taken on these items today. Does any board member wish to discuss this item at this time? I would like to offer my fellow board members and Dr. Rendell an opportunity to recognize students, staff, or members of the community. Mr. Chair.
35:22 Yes? A couple things I’d like to first recognize. AT&T. They just presented a check to the Brevard Schools foundation today.
35:33 Dan Pollock with AT&T presented a check for $30,000. So very much appreciated that contribution and just want to make sure they were acknowledged publicly. And also, I had the opportunity to go to the Astronaut Palm Bay football game the other night, and there was a injury that could have been very significant.
35:54 A player had to be airlifted out. And I just wanted to commend Principal Miller and Principal Kaminski from both schools, their trainers, their staff, Dr. Pinsky, who was not even an official doctor on the field, but he was a parent of a player came down. They all did an exceptional job.
36:14 And one thing I’d just like you guys to be aware of. And, Ms. Wright, you should be proud of Astronaut, because all the players came together from both schools, all the student athletes that came together and said a prayer at midfield for. For the player.
36:27 It was very cool just to watch that Happen. So great sportsmanship, great move by both those schools to come together. I would like to point out though that I don’t know all the facts yet, but I do know that there’s talk to Dr. Rendell about some of the trainers positions.
36:45 We have full time training positions for trainers at our school and was made aware today that the Palm Bay Bayside football game won’t even have a full time trainer present. We have positions open, but they’re just not all filled. So if anybody in the community knows of a full time trainer that is interested in working at a school full time, it wouldn’t just be for football, it would be for all sports.
37:07 You know, please let the district know because we’re in a need. And especially in the middle of football season, having a football game without a trainer is not a good thing. So that’s all I have.
37:22 I wanted to start out by thanking our state representative for this southernmost part of the county, Monique Miller, who joined me for a couple of school visits last week. It was exciting to show her our new programs at Heritage, our electricity program we talked about today, as well as some other CTE programs and Cambridge classes. And also we went over to Bayside and showed her the new construction that’s about to happen as well as some CTE programs and different things.
37:48 And I just, I just public want to publicly want to appreciate her because she walked into every conversation with a notepad and a pen asking the teachers and principals, what’s your biggest struggle? So just very much appreciate her participation in that and also want to thank Congressman Mike Caridopoulos. In my time on the board, we’ve not had any senators or, you know, from the, from the federal level or congressman come and visit school. And he just was very engaged with that process and appreciate him and his team for coming to let us show off some amazing CTE programs.
38:22 He also popped into and I think scared half to death. Civics political science teacher. She was so excited to get that visit because she had his name, she had the pictures of all our federal representatives up on her board.
38:37 And she’s like, look, there’s a picture of him right there. So it just really appreciated his visit last week. On Thursday, I believe, board we were invited, but it was very last minute.
38:47 So I understand nobody else was able to come. I happened to have the day free, but Commissioner Altman invited us to come across the street to the reveal of the county’s new initiative about opioid abuse in our county. And Brevard has had just more than, you know, per Capita what we, you know, than a lot of the other areas in the state when it comes to opioid abuse deaths and overdoses.
39:15 And so they have a new campaign that we’re going to start seeing around. They’re wrapping the county buses with it. It’s called Space for Recovery.
39:23 And I know they would really like for us to partner with initiatives, education initiatives. There’s a couple, couple people I talked to that, you know, I know we talk about those kinds of things, but it’s such a big problem in the nation. I was just listening to the news today about, you know, we talk about how bad fentanyl is and they’re talking about the next thing ISO and how terrible, like it’s even more powerful.
39:47 And so just, it’s such a danger. And so we want to, if we have a way that we can partnership with the county to partner with the county on these initiatives so that, that make sure we’re starting from when they’re young to show them the dangers of drug use. You know, we gotta go back to the 80s when I was, when Ms. Wright wasn’t born yet.
40:05 But we were doing, you know. Yes, I was. Thank you.
40:08 We were wearing, you know, say no. Just say no. Right, Just say no.
40:13 There are all kinds of, you know, it’s so dangerous and we want our kids to be aware of the things that might be lurking even in a vape pen, you know, or something else. And so. But I would like for us to join in whatever way that we can on Friday, the Early Learning Coalition that we got to hear from at our.
40:35 When Dr. Mandel did the State of the Schools event, they hosted a community conversation and we had representatives from our own Early Learning Department, Ms. McDonough and their team. And I just wanted to thank them for being a part of the Early Learning Coalition. Have that conversation.
40:56 It was a great conversation we had a representative from Representative Tramont’s office came and talked about a bill that he passed to try to get more eligibility for our low income families to do childcare. But also VPK falls under that. And so it was just, it was a good conversation.
41:15 I wanted to share with you guys about, about that. And one of the things that they are dealing with is the federal, some of their funding is federal funding and it’s looking like it’s going to be cut significantly next year. And so they’re trying to figure out how do they, how do they operate to make sure that our families have, that continue to have access to BPK and childcare so they can, you Know, go to work.
41:37 You know, it’s hard to go to work if you can’t find someone to take care of your children. So that was. It was a good and very informative meeting.
41:44 And then I just wanted to thank the board and thank the public who reached out to us about the wireless communication device policy. We did good work today. Board and I very much appreciate that.
41:55 Finally it’s just a topic of conversation because it has come up in the public and Cofield will ask about it tonight. I was. Can Dr. Rendell, can you have someone send to us? I want to do a clarification about certificates of completion.
42:09 There’s been some news in there and a lot of the. You’d see like a picture of a child who has down syndrome and say they’re not going to get. And that’s not accurate.
42:19 We have some students who have the severest disabilities who are actually getting a diploma through our access points. And we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about the students who.
42:29 They haven’t been able to pass the time tests and it’s still a sad situation but. Or they haven’t had the GPA. They haven’t had the 2.
42:42 0 minimum GPA. But what we. And I listened to the state representative who really.
42:45 And I just. I’ve been thinking about her name all day and I forgot it. I can’t remember it.
42:54 But she. Who pushed for this piece of legislation, introduced it. Her thoughts were like, we’re handing people a piece of paper that gets them.
43:02 No, they can’t get a job with it. It’s not equivalent to a ged. It’s, you know, so it’s a.
43:12 In her words, a meaningless piece of paper. This is not our most severely handicapped students because they have access points. They have another route into possible workforce jobs for them.
43:21 And we continue. We can put them in the BLAST program and do all kinds of things. But I did want to know, just for my information, for people who might ask if you could have someone send us what is the normal.
43:35 The average number of students certificates of a completion that we issue. Someone asked tonight like, how are we going to communicate that to the families? But if we. It would help me to have a better idea of how many of those are we talking about every year? Ballpark.
43:40 Yeah. So we can put together that data. I think a really good suggestion would be to put an FAQ together.
43:49 Yeah. What does the new change really mean? How many students does it affect that kind of thing? Because there are students who qualify for alternative assessment. Are still going to qualify.
43:52 Right. So it would be good for us to put an FAQ together. Yeah.
44:20 And I think it’s important for families to understand that this point in the year we talked about our academic achievement today, schools and the district leadership and support are doing everything they can from the first day of school, starting Aug. 11, all the way up until May and even really into the summer to get these kids across the finish line. If it’s a gpa, if their GPA is not high enough, they’re trying to get them into course recovery.
44:30 We have grade forgiveness. If you made a D or F in a class, you can retake the class and replace it. We’re trying to get them to take all the options of tests so they can get that concordance score.
44:47 So that is what our high schools in particular are doing to try to get every kid across the finish line that we possibly can. We now have Riverside Charter School, that a lot of the schools in the south area are sending kids who are. Are severely behind or have super low GPAs where they can access it.
45:03 Our adult ed has a high school diploma. We have all these ways that we are continuously trying to get kids across the finish line. So I don’t want people to think that because this is eliminated, this piece of paper that really doesn’t get them anything, that we are giving up on these students because we absolutely.
45:20 Every year, the staff are working so hard to get every student across the faculty finish line and preferably on time. And if we can’t get them across the finish line on time, we’re going to try to get them across the finish line in their own time. But I just wanted to say that word, but if you could get that data to us, I think that would be helpful.
45:26 Thank you. Yeah, not just the data, but I think an FAQ definitely would be good. Good idea.
45:39 Yes. Thank you, Ms. Campbell. I actually had a conversation earlier today with Ms. Vega about this very thing because I’ve been approached from the community as well, and it was touted as though this was going to be our most vulnerable population, our ESE students or students that are born with developmental disabilities.
45:51 And that’s not the population that this is pertaining to, from my understanding. So when that information comes out, that would be helpful for us all to have so that we can share it with everyone. All right, so we are off to school.
46:03 School is running very well, and I just keep holding my breath going. If we can make it through week three and not get sick, we’re doing okay. So kudos to all you teachers out there and all the students that are, you know, immune systems are working and.
46:10 And they’re not catching any germs. Appreciate that. I had the opportunity to attend our kindergarten roundup, and that’s always a fun, fun moment.
46:19 And I just want to give a shout out to South Lake and how special they were with what they do have. Really special thing which I was laughing. None of the moms were crying until they handed them a boo bag.
46:26 And the boo bag was so sweet. It had tissues and it had Hershey kisses and a little saying in it. And it was just a very personal touch that a mom got from their little child.
46:33 That was a going into kindergarten, and immediately tears started being shed. So I said, I think that’s counterproductive to what you were trying to do. But it was still a very nice personal touch.
46:43 So thank you so much to that school and all the wonderful things they’re doing. Been in all the schools lately, visiting lots of them, so had the opportunity to attend. Mr. Trent, your school, Merritt Island.
46:47 Looks like wonderful things are happening there. I’ll let you talk about that. Ribbon cutting.
46:55 Had time to visit with our new. Our new principal at Space coast, and she’s off to running start doing amazing work work there. Spent time with our new principal at Coquina.
47:06 She’s off to a running start doing amazing work there. Been to Mims Elementary. Just really trying to make sure that I’m hitting as many schools as possible and really trying to hear from our staff what we need, what our vacancies are.
47:21 And I want to say this, and I’m trying to figure out how to say this tactfully, because one of the things that I always like to go and see is our littles that are in there. So our kindergartners vpk, if they have a unit there as well. But there seems to be a trend that keeps happening and it’s getting worse every year since I’ve been on this board.
47:33 And so I’m like, I don’t. I’m not sure where this originates from, but walking into kindergarten classes and asking, I asked the teachers, are all your kindergarteners potty trained? Which used to just be a standard when I had kids. And it’s not happening.
47:40 And these are not ESC students. So they’re having several that are coming in board and they’re not potty trained. And this is a huge burden on that classroom.
47:47 And so I’m just saying this publicly, like to parents, hey, if you need help in that. That arena, as far as there’s got to be resources out there. Make sure your kids are potty trained.
48:05 That used to be just a basic standard of make sure they can tie their shoes, they know their phone number, they’re potty trained, those things going into kindergarten. But we’re seeing kindergartners show up now and they’re not potty trained. And that, you know, trying to figure out how are you going to change a diaper on a five year old when there’s 20 more of them right here? That becomes very difficult for our schools.
48:11 So whatever we can do to help our communities there. Parents, you are empowered. Please, please, please help in that arena.
48:19 Had the opportunity to attend the Space coast symposium that took place last week. Thank you so much for that invitation. There were so many brilliant people in the room.
48:31 And Ms. Rutledge, I think, was able to make some meaningful partnerships that will help our students find job placement in the career and technical education world. So very, very excited about that. Other than that, I don’t think I have anything else.
48:34 That’s it. Great. Mr. Sue.
48:45 Yeah, thank you. I wanted to go through a couple of things and I might take a little bit of time just because, you know, I didn’t talk much today during the workshop. Yeah, you can go see that too.
49:08 First thing is, is that we were in Merritt island and we went to that opening of the new career and technical program that’s there. And I was able to catch up with some of my really good old friends, like people that I taught with at Space coast and some of the other people that have been in my life way back in 2005, 6. And the passion that they have inside of those classrooms is still the same as the day that they were there.
49:34 And I said it a little bit earlier in today’s speeches earlier, but they had said like our classrooms are in a better place because of the cell phones and what was unique. And the only reason I sat, sat there, one of them said that she has all of her classes are actually filling out all of their worksheets and form and stuff like that and engaging inside the classroom and having conversations. So I wanted to say thank you to the board for taking that decision that we did.
49:43 It was a strong decision and I appreciate you. But the reason it reminded me was because you were talking about athletic trainers. And two of the individuals I spoke to used to be athletic trainers.
49:51 One of them still is for Merritt Island. The other one used to be one for Space Coast. And I think one of the things that we’re being inhibited on which we Might want to bring up.
49:56 We doubled the supplement. We cleared a bunch of stuff. We went through a whole overhaul.
50:03 But one of the things that tagged back and you may be talking. You want to talk? No, you go ahead and talk about the requirement to teach. All right, you can do it.
50:13 There’s a requirement to teach on the back end of it. And a lot of our athletic trainers are athletic trainers. They work inside of other organizations and stuff like that.
50:26 So we might want to take a look at that as far as removing that requirement so we can fill that position. It’s a different type. We have like, career and technical programs that don’t require the teaching certificate, just a certificate from the area.
50:38 You know what I mean? So there’s some work there that I think could help. But you’re 100% right. Like I. By coaching and you coaching, you realize how much that support for those coaches is through that athletic trainer and protection of those kids.
50:47 Because sometimes a coach will turn around and put a kid in that is questionable and it’s not good. And those trainers are on the line. So good point, and thank you for bringing that up.
50:54 I did want to bring up the fact that there were some football games. I’m not sure if somebody caught that Merritt island cocoa game. Yeah.
51:02 Holy cow. And then what is being benched? I’m not kidding you. It was the known as the golf cart boys were beat.
51:06 The Rockledge. I don’t know if you heard the Arab. There was literally a.
51:12 A meme that came out and said the golf cart boys because they have their golf carts parked. I was laughing so hard at it. But.
51:33 But Coach Gallo, with all kidding assigned, has run a hell of an organization over there at Viera. And you’re seeing our other teams that normally were like in the mid level are starting to compete at that top level with some of those coaches that had already been winning. Now the other teams are winning, and that’s going across the board in career and technical and sports and everything else.
51:43 So I just wanted to throw a shout out there. Harding is the lady that Mr. Congressman Heridopoulos went to at Eau Gallie. She was very vocal on the cell phone issue.
51:55 Another individual and somebody that I hold dear, near and dear. She has all of our information and she talks about us all the time in her political science class in a very positive way. And I want to give her a shout out for that one thing.
52:08 I needed some feedback from you guys on the value adjustment board that I honorably sit on that you guys, everybody didn’t like it. So I took it like four years ago, and I actually love it. There was a thing that came through.
52:23 We pay 2/5 of the budget for the Value Adjustment Board. Not many people know that, but our budget pays for a portion of the Value Adjustment Board. That’s all the lawyers, the people that are involved in everything else.
52:23 There’s an opportunity for us to increase, and I’m not asking for a vote right now. I’m just going to throw it to you guys. You guys can look at it and we’ll come back to it.
52:42 There’s an opportunity to increase the application fee from $15 to $50. There’s a new law that came out that allowed us to do it. The increase might offset some of our costs.
52:47 The only issue that I asked for is I said, let me see the budget. Let me get it. Bring it back to my school board members.
53:07 I still haven’t received it yet, but once I do, I’ll bring it back. But the idea is that if we increase the cost, not because of the increase, to save money for the school district, the main one would be less people might not frivolously not show up because a lot of people file, there’s a lot of work done and everything else. And then they just never come to the actual thing.
53:24 They’re thinking that that may help that situation. But I’ll get you guys some of that information. I also wanted to tell you guys, I got selected officially to be the chairman of the Presidential Youth Physical fitness for all 67 school districts in the state of Florida through the Florida School Board Association.
53:42 The indication the looks like Mr. Gallo out of Miami Dade will end up being my vice chair or Al Hernandez from Pasco. But what we’re going to do is kind of set a standard and then, you know what I mean, work through that legislation for the president. But I did want to give a shout out to somebody very special.
53:57 Here is Rachel Winston. Rachel. And the main reason I wanted to bring it up is that she’s the vice president of the organization that basically oversees for all of our coaches and health teachers and everything else, and gym teachers and everything else in the state of Florida.
54:08 So she’s going to work very closely with me to oversee a lot of those metrics. So I wanted to give a big shout out to Rachel Winston. She’s an amazing individual who was so excited to be a part of it.
54:15 So now all I have to do is say, go, oh, Rachel, go. And then we come out on the back end. But thank you, Rachel, for all Your hard work.
54:35 And then the last piece is that I just. Going through today, I came to the realization of how much I appreciate you guys. And one of the things that we run into is that many times when we’re in the tussles of battling and we’re arguing over certain things, and we’re back and forth, and we don’t get a chance to say how much we appreciate each other.
54:47 And, Ms. Campbell, there’s some times where you and I get into it, but I did want to say I appreciate you so much and what your dedication to this board, Mr. Thomas. The same thing. You guys.
54:58 You guys put in your worth and your effort, and you try very hard. And we may not always see eye to eye on every issue, but we always. I always appreciate you guys and what you do, so thank you for that.
55:02 Yeah. And I. Dr. Rendell, you do an amazing job, too. You know, you.
55:15 You put it. You hit my heart when you talked earlier about how we’re not the ones that put together the lesson plans, and we’re not the ones that, you know what I mean, are in the classroom, and those are the people that make deserve all the credit. And you always say that.
55:22 So thank you for all your dedication and work and keeping it real, man. So thank you. I appreciate you guys.
55:26 All right. Yeah. You don’t want to give me a hug now? Well, you know, we’ll hug it out.
55:33 This is what. This is the mad Susan I get when he eats dinner before. So thank you for that.
55:42 And you guys covered a lot. So I will talk about the ribbon cutting that we had at Merritt Island High. It was astronautics.
55:43 I’m getting that. That’s a new word. That’s correct.
55:52 I haven’t seen that. What a wonderful program. And I did find out that I will never be a pilot.
55:59 They have flight simulators there. It’s amazing. Those kids, what they’re doing right now, they’re taking off.
56:16 They’re landing. What was so cool about it was, if you’ve ever been on a golf simulator, you can be like, I’m at this course in Scotland. Well, they were at the airport in Merritt island on the screen, and they were taking off, and they were going over to Cocoa beach, and it was absolutely amazing.
56:22 I didn’t even think about that, that they could be that specific. And it was. It was wonderful.
56:37 You know, you hear people say, you never work a day in your life, if you go to work, happy. But it also is the same for children and students when they’re in the classroom. I thought the doors were just open and it was voluntarily coming in.
56:57 That was a class and they are so excited to be there. So with our partners with FIT that helped put that together, it is going to be an amazing, amazing program. So shout out to Merritt island, shout out to this board and any other elected official that had anything to do with getting funding, getting that program in there.
57:14 I know Dr. Rendell can talk about it more. He knows more of the details, but there was a lot of excitement in that room, so that was exciting. Also, going around the schools with Congressman Mike Hieridopoulos, you could really tell he was not.
57:23 It didn’t take a lot of convincing for him to come here. He really enjoyed himself at our schools. He was a former history teacher, so he’s very comfortable in the schools.
57:35 It won’t be the last time we see him. We’re actually with him for the next couple days at some of our schools. But he’s got a lot of things going on in Washington that’s directly affecting Brevard county and our schools.
57:54 So a lot on the horizon. And he knows this is a shining star not only in Florida, but in the country, this area, and a lot of opportunities for our students in the future. So it’s great just to be around him with the amount of knowledge that he has of what’s coming.
58:08 Some of the money that was in some of these bills that are coming directly back to Brevard. It was amazing. So also, beginning of the school year, I know, Mr. Wright, you had mentioned about not getting sick and all that, but also a shout out to a few people.
58:27 One is Rashad Wilson, because usually by this time we have loads and loads of emails about bus routes and late kids and wrong bus stops and nothing. Zero. So congratulations in your area.
58:34 Working on it. All right. And I have not checked my spam folder, so.
58:50 But no, good job on that. Also to the administration because I also have not been having those emails in District 2 about the beginning of the school year. So shout out to all the administrators and again, echo the same thing Dr. Rundell said.
59:20 Matt, you said aid two years in a row and all the improvements that we have here in Brevard, it’s just a shout out to our teachers that, you know, people don’t leave jobs because of money, for example, they leave when they’re not supported. So I will say our staff, that’s a testament that they feel supported. That’s why we have an A district two years in a row.
59:27 That’s why we’ve improved in so many areas. In our district. So from top to bottom.
59:34 But again, starts with the students, the parents, the staff, administration. Then it comes to us. But we couldn’t do it without you.
59:52 So thank you so much there. Also, students, you had some fast testing today, right? I believe so. So I already got the phone call from my daughter that no, she didn’t like it when she went to school, but when she came home and she’s like, look what I got.
59:57 And I’m like, great, that’s awesome. But that’s just PM1. We’ll get there.
1:00:05 But again, great start to a great year. We’re looking for another wonderful year in Brevard. So that’s all I got.
1:00:23 Dr. Rundell, I really don’t have anything to add. The APHEX program, Astronautics and Flight Exploration is a new program at Merritt Island High School. And it’s really just an idea that I hatched with Dr. Nicolo from FIT and then we said, go do it.
1:00:45 And then his staff and Rachel Rutledge and the CTE department and the staff at Merritt Island High School made it happen. So it’s a program designed for people who want to be an astronaut or learn how to design spaceships and become an aeronautical engineer or a mechanical engineer or something like that. That’s the program for you.
1:00:56 If you are looking to design rockets or flight flying a rocket, that’s the program. If you want to build rockets, we have other programs for you. But it’s a great, exciting new program at Merritt Island.
1:01:09 First year, as the students get into the upper level courses, there will be dual enrollment with fit. They’ll even be able to go to FIT and participate in the zero gravity Lab and things like that. So it’s a really cool program.
1:01:25 But Dr. Nicolo at fit and I kind of had an idea and then we told people to go do it and they did it. So it’s pretty cool. Other than that, we did have a lengthy dive into the data today at the workshop.
1:01:39 So if you want to know more about how our students performed last year, you can go back and watch the tape. It’s a really deep dive into the data, not as surface like we did tonight. So lots of good data for you to go look at if you’re interested.
1:01:49 So it. Okay, we are now at the non agenda items public comment portion of the meeting. How many speakers? Eight. We have eight. All right, we’re going to take a short break while we get ready for those speakers. Sam, It.