Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
12:46 Sam. Good evening. The November 18, 2025 regular school board meeting and organization of the board is now in order. I would like to welcome the board members and the public.
13:40 I’d like to take this opportunity to remind the public that the appropriate place for public participation in the meeting is during your individual public comment opportunity as identified on the agenda. Outside of your individual public comment opportunity, your role in the meeting is as an observer. Paul? Roll call, please.
14:02 Ms. Wright. Here. Mr. Trent.
14:05 Here. Mr. Thomas. Here.
14:10 Mr. Susan. Here. Ms. Campbell.
14:15 Look at the funnies. Remy. Down there.
14:17 I know. I like random. The board will now hold a moment of silent reflection.
14:23 We invite the audience to join. Now please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
15:10 So we will now proceed with the organization of the board. The first order of business is the election of the chairperson. Upon election, the chairperson will immediately assume responsibilities of the role.
15:22 Following this, the board will elect additional officers and appoint representatives to various committees, organizations at both the county and the state level where board representation is required or expected. Before we begin the nomination process, I’ll ask Mr. Gibbs, General Counsel to provide an overview of the procedures in accordance with Robert’s Rules. Board.
15:55 Thank you, Dr. Rendell. Pursuant to Robert’s Rules of Order, the superintendent will serve as the presiding officer of the election of the chairperson. The process will begin with a call for nominations from board members.
16:07 Any board member wishing to nominate a candidate should do so verbally. I will assist the superintendent in identifying the first member to make a nomination, particularly in the event of simultaneous responses. Once nominations are received, the superintendent will recognize each nominator and the order determined.
16:23 We will then proceed to vote on the first nominee. If the nominee receives a majority vote, three votes, they will be declared chairperson and the process will conclude. If the first nominee does not receive a majority, we will move to the second nominee and so on.
16:38 Please note that nominations do not require a second under Robert’s Rules. I’m available to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. Gibbs.
16:49 As Mr. Gibbs will be assisting me in identifying the first nominator, I will now open the floor for nominations for. I nominate Mr. Susan. Mr. Gibbs, it sounds like everybody nominated Susan.
17:02 That spoke up. That I heard. I’ll give it to Mrs. Wright.
17:09 Mr. Susan has been nominated. Any other nominations? Do I hear a motion for nominations to be closed? Move to approve nominations to be closed. Second motion was made by Mrs. Wright.
17:26 Second. Seconded by Mrs. Campbell to close nominations. Is there any discussion? Paul, roll call.
17:38 Vote to close nominations. Mr. Trent. Aye.
17:41 Ms. Wright. Aye. Mr. Susan.
17:43 Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
17:45 Mr. Thomas. Aye. So we will now have a roll call vote on the motion of matt susan as chair for the 2627 school year.
17:56 Paul, roll call. Vote. Mr. Trent.
17:58 Aye. Ms. Wright. Aye.
18:00 Mr. Susan. Aye. Ms. Campbell.
18:03 Aye. Mr. Thomas. Aye.
18:06 Congratulations, Mr. Susan. Mr. Susan will now take over as chairperson and will continue with the organizational proceedings for the selection of the vice chair. First, we’ll call for a short recess to have the technology reconfigured to accommodate the needs of the new chairperson.
18:27 So we’ll take a short recess. All right, Welcome back. At this time, I’d open the floor.
23:25 I nominate Megan Wright for vice chair. Okay. Vice chairman, Chairperson.
23:30 Nominations. We have a motion on the floor for Megan Wright. You got a nomination.
23:36 Nomination. Any other nominations? Okay. Move to close nominations.
23:43 Yeah. Motion was taken by. Okay.
23:45 Yep. Is there any discussion? Poll, Roll call. Vote.
23:50 Ms. Wright. Aye. Mr. Trent.
23:53 Aye. Mr. Susan. Aye.
23:55 Ms. Campbell. Aye. Mr. Thomas.
23:57 Aye. Okay, now we have to go do another vote on that. All members of the board in support of Megan Wright’s nomination as vice chairperson of the board, please indicate by saying opposed.
24:12 You don’t want to roll call. We were going down the line, so I was waiting for him. There’s a lay eye.
24:19 Oh, we’re good. Five, zero. All right.
24:20 Okay. Next is to adopt the dates, times, and locations for the year 2026. Work sessions and school board meetings.
24:29 Okay. Do I hear a motion move to approve? Second. Is there any discussion? Poll roll call, please.
24:38 Ms. Wright. Aye. Mr. Trent.
24:40 Aye. Mr. Susan. Aye.
24:41 Ms. Campbell. Aye. Mr. Thomas.
24:43 Aye. That brings us to board authorization. Dr. Rendell.
24:53 It is a requirement to authorize the superintendent to have signature facsimiles made of the chairperson and superintendent to be used for signing checks and also approve the continued use of the current signature facsimiles for district checks until new facsimiles are received. A motion and vote of the board are required for this issue. What are the wishes of the board? Do I hear a motion move to approve.
25:17 Second. Are there any discussion? Poll, roll call vote, please. Ms. Wright.
25:22 Aye. Mr. Trent. Aye.
25:23 Mr. Susan. Aye. Ms. Campbell.
25:25 Aye. Mr. Thomas. Sorry.
25:28 Next, we need to appoint board representatives and alternates to various committees for the upcoming year. We’ve already had the discussion during the workshop. All in favor of the predetermined workshop list? Yep.
25:41 May I have a motion? Second. All in favor? Signify by saying aye. No.
25:50 You want me to run it or no? You want to run it, Ms. Wright? I’ll be quiet. Aye. Mr. Trent.
25:55 Aye. Mr. Season. Aye.
25:57 Ms. Campbell. Mr. Thomas. Aye.
26:00 That brings us to the adoption of the agenda, Dr. Rendell. Thank you, Mr. Chair. On this evening’s agenda, we have administrative staff recommendations, 43 consent items, 0 action items, and 2 information items.
26:14 Changes made to the agenda since it was released to the public include revised was A7 designated dimes, designated dates, times and locations A9 Board of Representatives, 2026 C2 15th anniversary of the Children’s Hunger Project recognition proclamation D1 administrative staff recommendations, F9 support staff recommendations and added was F1 expulsions. Do I hear a motion? Second. Any discussion? All in favor, signify by saying aye.
26:49 Ms. Wright? Aye. Mr. Trent? Aye. Mr. Susan? Aye.
26:53 Ms. Campbell? Aye. Mr. Thomas? Aye. @ this time, I’d like to welcome Danielle Lavelle, Director of the TLC Fellowship Program and Assistant Principal of Sherwood elementary, to the podium for the Teacher Leadership Council Fellowship pinning.
27:08 Give her a round of applause. I’m going to let Danielle speak for just a second, but I wanted to just briefly introduce you to this program. I’m Janice Kershaw with Brevard Schools Foundation.
27:23 And as many of you know, Brevard Schools foundation continues to lead the way in helping fill educational funding and opportunity gaps by supporting innovation, engaging our community, and changing lives. Several years ago, as we explored new and meaningful ways to cultivate teacher leaders in alignment with the district’s strategic priority of building an exceptional workforce, we launched the idea of a research based fellowship program. What began as a bold new concept has now grown into a model initiative.
27:58 The Teacher Leadership Council not only championed the program early on, but has helped nurture its evolution, creating a thriving teacher leadership ecosystem that is now embedded within the Council’s culture. Today, the Fellowship stands as one of our signature teaching quality initiatives. Its impact has reached far beyond Brevard, drawing attention from state leaders who recognize it as a promising strategy for elevating teacher leadership and strengthening teacher retention.
28:29 This evening, Fellowship Director Danielle Leavell will share more about the program before we introduce our current fellows. Thank you so much, Ms. Kershaw. Good evening, Dr. Randall and members of the board.
28:42 It is an honor to be here tonight to express our recognition and support of these teacher leaders I have behind me. I want to begin by thanking you for our continued support that you provide the fellowship program and the ability to recognize our educators in this important work. The mission of the fellowship program remains at the heart of what we do to cultivate strong teacher leaders and elevate student learning through purposeful and meaningful inquiry.
29:16 This would not be possible without the support of our sponsor, Community Credit Union. I would like to recognize Ms. Sharon Farrelli and her team for seeing the value of the Fellowship program. This evening.
29:36 You have before you both our newest cohort of teacher leaders and our educators who have been accepted into our continuation program. Here stand teachers who have committed themselves to exploring their own practice through inquiry and reflection. Each Fellow has identified an area of curiosity within their classroom or school community and has taken thoughtful steps to transform that wondering into action that impacts students.
30:08 Teacher inquiry serves as both a process and a mindset, a way for educators to collaborate, question, and grow together through their individual wonderings. Our Fellows examine what drives their teaching, set intentional goals, and engage in research and collaboration to uncover new insights. They collect and analyze data, reflect deeply, and adjust their practices in ways that directly support student achievement.
30:39 This ongoing cycle of reflection and refinement is what strengthens not only their instruction, but also the collective learning community within our schools. We are incredibly proud of their dedication and commitment to continuous growth. Their work represents the power of curiosity and the impact of teachers leading from within.
31:05 This program continues to thrive thanks to the steadfast guidance and support of our amazing leadership team. At this time, I’d like to introduce our TLC Fellowship Coordinator, Ms. Mickey Corvo from Endeavor Elementary. Good evening.
31:29 The Fellowship Leadership Team remains deeply committed to strengthening teacher retention by building the capacity and the confidence of teacher leaders across Brevard Public Schools. We believe that when teachers are empowered to lead, reflect, and innovate, our entire district benefits. But most importantly, our students thrive.
31:48 Each year, our program continues to grow as we welcome new cohort of fellows carefully selected through a rigorous and competitive application process. Candidates are recommended by their administrators and peers. They respond to reflective questions centered on their understanding of teacher inquiry, their leadership experiences, and how their growth and positively influence their school improvement.
32:13 Through this process, we seek educators who demonstrate not only strong instructional practice, but also commitment to continuous learning and collaboration. Our Fellows represent schools from across Brevard county, yet they are united by a shared belief that through dedication, curiosity, collective effort, anything is possible when it comes to achieving excellence for our students. When it they believe anything is possible when it comes to achieving excellence for our students.
32:43 Our efforts would not be successful if it were not for incredible group leads. We would like to recognize our group leads. Ruby Rivera from Discovery elementary, Alex Stewart from West Shore Junior Senior High, Jenny Laham from Professional Development Learning.
33:05 Who’s off doing wonderful learning today? Rhonda Ripger from South Lake Elementary. I would like to invite Dr. Rendell and Mr. Susan down. Will you please join us at the podium? We would like to begin presenting our fellows who are being recognized as having successfully completed a full year within the program and are currently returning participants in the continuation Fellowship program.
33:44 Jessica Spicer. Yes. From Discovery Elementary.
33:50 Sarah Jolliffe from Sherwood elementary. We also have three of our continuation that some illness has hit. Megan Belset from Bayside High School, Alexandria Robertson from Discovery elementary and Michelle Fitner from Quest Elementary.
34:11 We would now like to recognize our year one fellows who will receive their pin from their administrators. Shawn Johnson from Edgewood Junior Senior High who is with the principal Jackie Ingrata. Carly Butler from Endeavor elementary with her principal Catherine Murphy.
34:40 Jean Askew from Jefferson Middle with her principal, Mira Trine. Camilla Luis from Melbourne High with principal James Kirk. Michaela Irby from Rivera elementary with principal Beth Myers.
35:01 Victoria Godwin and Kelly Milton from Sherwood elementary with their assistant principal, Danielle Lavelle. Annabel Knowles from Stone Middle with their principal, Lauren Ferrante Williams. Leanne Preston from Sunrise elementary with her assistant principal, Allison Murlaska.
35:32 Jamie Antonor from Westside elementary with her principal, Stephanie Woodbury. And Maria Cruz Martinez, also from Westside elementary with principal Stephanie Woodbury. At this time, administrators, please pin your fellow as a recognition of their commitment to leadership towards their future action research.
36:14 Again, this is your idea. Okay. And we’re going to be pausing for pictures.
38:14 Welcome back, everybody. We’re going to take a real quick break and come back at time certain 6 o’ clock so that we can do Leasing Corporation. I will now call a recess to the leasing corporation is now called in order.
41:45 Dr. Rendell. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The item for the board to vote on is to elect the following officials to the Brevard County School Board.
41:52 Leasing corporation president is the chair of the school board. Matt. Susan, vice president is the vice chair of the school board.
41:58 Megan Wright, secretary of superintendent Mark Rendell. Treasurer’s chief financial officer Cindy Luszynski. Do I hear a motion so moved.
42:07 Second. Any discussion? Poll roll call, please. Ms. Wright.
42:13 Aye. Mr. Trent. Aye.
42:15 Mr. Susan. Aye. Ms. Campbell.
42:18 Aye. Mr. Thomas. Aye.
42:21 The leasing corporation time certain meeting is now adjourned. Here we go right back to it now. The organization of the board.
42:29 School board meeting is back in session. Okay, we have two proclamations this evening. Ms. Yvette Cruz.
42:36 Can you please come to the podium? Veterans Recognition Month. Whereas the United States of America owes its freedom, freedom, safety and enduring strength to the courageous service and sacrifice of our veterans, men and Women who have honorably worn the uniform of our armed forces. And whereas Brevard county is proud to be home to thousands of veterans who continue to serve our community beyond their military duty, demonstrating leadership, resilience and commitment to our schools.
43:11 And whereas veterans play an invaluable role in Brevard Public Schools, inspiring our students to to strive for excellence, embrace responsibility and respect the values of duty, service and patriotism. And whereas Brevard Public Schools is committed to strengthening student understanding and appreciation of military service and history, ensuring that the contributions of our veterans, past, present and future will never be forgotten. And whereas our strong partnerships with Patrick Space Force Base, various veteran organizations and community leaders strengthen educational opportunities, support student success and encourage pathways to military careers and civic leadership.
43:54 Now, therefore, be it resolved that the school board of Brevard County, Florida proudly recognizes the month of November to honor all veterans across our community for their outstanding service, sacrifice and continuing contributions to our schools and the lives of the students we serve. Be it further resolved that Brevard Public Schools expresses its deepest gratitude to our local heroes and upholds our commitment to supporting military connected students, families and staff and the values for which our veterans served. Adopted by the members of the Brevard County Public School board, Brevard County, Florida at the regular board meeting thereof held the 18th day of November 2025.
44:35 So tonight we have Don Weaver and various other veterans in the audience. I’d like to invite him. He’s the president of the Good Deeds foundation and part of so many veteran organizations and initiatives within our schools.
44:52 Thank you, Yvette. It is indeed the best place to be a veteran in Brevard county. You mentioned numbers.
45:00 77,000 veterans according to the VA live in Brevard County. 16,000 active duty and defense contractors, I mean and direct DOW hires live in Brevard County. So it is the highest percentage of veterans and military to the local population of any county in the country.
45:23 It’s an amazing place. We thank you very, very much for this award. We gave you an award a little while ago and I’d like to mention that if it’s okay.
45:32 The Good Deeds foundation and Military Officers association of Cape Canaveral Chapter, the largest in the country, over 1,000 members held a Veterans Recognition Dinner on 8 November and Brevard Public Schools, along with the Education and Citizenship Armed Forces Coalition of the Space Coast. I got that. All right.
45:56 ECAC awarded to. They were awarded. The BPS ECAC combo was awarded.
46:03 Our high recognition for conducting last year the first Space coast military enlistment ceremony where over 160 young men and women from Brevard were inducted into the armed forces and so recognized this year. We expect to give it a bigger one, but no award next time. I’d like at this time for all veterans, all veterans in the audience to please join me up front for this recognition.
46:35 Thank you, Mr. Chair. You still. Now.
46:48 And then we’ll vote on it after. Yeah, how about. How about we do a vote real quick to approve second.
46:55 Yeah. Move to approve second. Stay right there.
46:59 I got it. All right, let’s go. Got it.
47:01 Paul, roll call, please. Megan Wright. Aye.
47:04 Jean Trent. Aye. Mr. Season.
47:06 Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
47:08 Mr. Thomas. Aye. All right, let’s go get that photo.
48:59 All right. Good evening, board, and everyone who’s joined us this evening, I’d like to ask. I’m very privileged to serve not only on this board, but on the board of the Children’s Hunger Project.
49:08 And we have several members of our board of directors here, and I’d like them to come join. Stand behind me while we read the proclamation. While they’re coming.
49:14 I have to tell you, board, I know you are very familiar with what this organization does to feed hungry children in Brevard. It is such an amazing organization, and we can’t do what we do without the army of volunteers and business partners and donors who give so that we can feed children on the weekend. And just so you know, because of the government shutdown over the last month, our board, this board, decided that we wanted to make sure because most of the students who get our weekend meal packs are on snap.
49:45 They said, you know what? We want to do something to meet the needs of those families. And. And so it’s $20,000 extra a week to double the amount of meal packs.
49:53 And so the board, our part was easy to say yes. And then the community came around and packed extra. Gave donations of extra dollars, and volunteers came and packed extra meals.
50:07 And for the last three weeks, we have been sending home twice the amount of food for all those kids. And I don’t do that to praise the board, but to praise the community who helps us to get that done. So with all that in mind, the Children’s Hunger Project 15th year anniversary.
50:22 And I have to say that also one more thing, we’ve been really careful not to use the word celebration because we do not want to celebrate that we have hungry kids to feed, but we want to commemorate and be thankful for all the work that’s been done through the years. Whereas the Children’s Hunger Project was founded in 2010 by Bob Barnes, Johnny Clark, Sam Jones and David Cohen with the mission to ensure elementary school children in Brevard county do not go hungry over the weekends when they may lack access to school meals. And whereas.
50:55 What began as a small volunteer led effort to provide weekend food packages to a single school has grown into a county wide program serving thousands of children each week. And whereas. The Children’s Hunger Project has built partnerships with Brevard Public Schools, schools, faith based organizations, businesses, civic groups and community volunteers to identify children in need and provide consistent nutrition support.
51:05 And whereas. The organization currently provides over 4800 weekend food packages each week and during times of crisis such as natural disasters, pandemics and government shutdowns, has expanded efforts to ensure no child goes without food. And whereas.
51:34 Over the past 15 years, the children’s Hunger Project has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the health, education and well being of Brevard County’s children, serving as a model of compassion, collaboration and community action. And whereas. The continued success of the Children’s Hunger Project is made possible through the dedication of countless volunteers, donors, staff board members and community partners who embody the spirit of service and generosity.
51:59 And whereas. Brevard county recognizes the profound impact the Children’s Hunger Project has made in the lives of children and families and appreciates its 15 years of service to our community. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the school board of Brevard county does hereby proclaim December 9, 2025, which we can’t attend because we have a school board meeting that night as the Children’s Hunger Project day.
52:20 And be it further resolved that throughout our district, we encourage our schools and community to thank them on their 15th anniversary and join us to honor their ongoing impact of Fight Fight Child Hunger, adopted by the members of the Brevard County School Board, Brevard County, Florida, at the regular board meeting thereof held 18-11-2025. Mr. Chair? Yeah? If you guys get a second, do I hear a motion move to approve? Second. Is there any discussion? No.
52:52 Poll roll call, please. Ms. Wright? Aye. Mr. Trent.
52:55 Aye. Mr. Susan? Aye. Ms. Campbell? Aye.
52:57 Mr. Thomas? Aye. To the Children’s Hunger Project. Can I just thank you profoundly? I’ve gone there and served alongside you, packing meals, and my heart just goes out when you pack each one of those bags and you know they’re going to go home with a child.
53:10 It is so impactful and I just thank you because you’re meeting a need. And to our business partners, to our families, Ms. Campbell invites us every year to the luncheon. I pick up A new child every single year.
53:21 I’ll do it again this year, but I just thank you so, so much for seeing a need and meeting a need and finding a solution to a problem that is real and it exists all over Brevard county, unfortunately. So we appreciate you and love you so much. That’s good.
53:34 All right. Are we gonna take a picture? Take a picture. I think she’s out.
53:38 Our executive director, Cheryl Kaminski, we’ve invited her to say a few words. Sure. Hello.
53:44 Thank you. Good evening, members of the school board. Dr. Rendell, on behalf of the Children’s Hunger Project, thank you for this proclamation commemorating 15 years of impact here in Brevard County.
53:56 Your recognition means so much because it reflects our shared commitment to ensuring no child goes hungry. When our founder, Bob Barnes, began this mission, he believed feeding children was not just an act of kindness, it was an investment in their future. Bob passed away a year ago, but his vision continues to guide us every day.
54:18 Today, we honor his legacy and the thousands of children whose lives have been touched because of his dream. What started at one school 15 years ago, helping 27 children, has grown to provide weekend nutrition, as Katie mentioned, to 4800 Brevard county children every week. That impact is only possible because of countless individuals who volunteer their time to pack food, food, deliver to schools, host events, and financially support our efforts.
54:46 You are the heart of our mission. I also want to recognize our board members in attendance tonight. Your leadership and dedication have been instrumental in sustaining and growing this organization.
54:58 And an extra special thank you to our teachers. We all know they have plenty to do, yet they take the time to identify students in need, distribute our weekend food packs, and show incredible compassion for the children of our county. We could not do this without you.
55:23 I am personally humbled to have served this organization for almost 10 years and to witness what we can accomplish together. I have heard so many stories of how our simple package of food can bring a smile to. To a child’s space, change a child’s day, and sometimes their life.
55:41 None of this would be possible without the support of our schools, volunteers and community partners. Together, we have built something extraordinary as we honor these 15 years. We look forward to continuing this work with all of you.
55:54 Thank you for standing with us to fight childhood hunger and for helping us to keep Bob’s vision alive. Thank you. Just real quick, and I’m echo.
56:08 What a few people have said at this mic. My name is David. I’ve been on the board for seven and a half years.
56:12 I am the current vice chair And Brevard county is such a beautiful place. When we say that, it’s not a cliche thing, you know? Yeah, it’s a. It’s a testament to the resilience of present and past board members and staff members that we’ve been around for 15 years.
56:25 But more so, it’s the county. During that seven and a half years that I’ve been part of the organization, we’ve gone through some pretty wild things. And to have present and past board members at the school board, the administrators and the teachers at the school get behind us and just regular Brevard county folks who show up to pack or give money to be able to feed these kids, it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing that we get to experience the love that you guys have going back out to these kids.
56:49 So it’s a group effort for the whole county, and I think this goes out to everybody, not just us. That is exactly what I was going to say before you walked up to the mic, because as big as Bob Barnes was and what he did, the only reason that you are the most successful group that supports our schools year in and year out is because of that. You guys are amazing.
57:12 And it’s because of your dedication and the community that you’ve built inside that does it. You took the words out of my mouth, man. Thank you.
57:19 Let’s get a picture. Do I hear a motion so moved move to approve. I mean, yeah.
58:38 Second. Who is the second? Second. Okay.
58:41 Is there any discussion? Paul, roll called, please. Ms. Wright. Aye.
58:45 Mr. Trent. Aye. Mr. Susan.
58:47 Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
58:49 Mr. Thomas. Aye. Dr. Rendell.
58:52 Mr. Chair, I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the following individuals who are in attendance and have been promoted. Congratulations to Aretha Vernette on her promotion to the position of Director of Performance Data Analyst and Special Programs in CNI and Student Services. Congratulations, Aretha.
59:05 Come onto the. Thank you. Good evening, board, Dr. Rendell and everyone.
59:19 My name is Aretha Vernette. I am truly humbled and grateful to accept the appointment of Director of Performance Data Analyst and Special Programs. I want to sincerely thank our superintendent, Dr. Rendell, and assistant Superintendents Harris and Dampier for their confidence and trust in me.
59:47 I also want to recognize and thank our school board members for their vision, leadership, and unwavering commitment to students, staff, and the community. Your guidance shapes the direction of this district, and it’s an honor to help carry out that vision, to help carry that vision forward. This opportunity is not one I take lightly.
1:00:18 The enormity of this opportunity is not lost on Me. Brevard Public Schools has a powerful mission and I am excited to contribute by ensuring that our data not only informs our decisions, but also drives meaningful action for every student and every school. Most importantly, I give all glory to God for opening this door and guiding every step of my journey.
1:00:52 It is by his grace that I’m able to serve, lead and learn alongside such dedicated professionals. Thank you again for this incredible opportunity and I look forward to the work ahead. Thank you.
1:01:26 Beach junior senior high school. Congratulations. Good evening, Superintendent, members of the board and stakeholders, it is with sincere gratitude and appreciation that I address you tonight.
1:01:43 I would like to acknowledge the many individuals who have spoken supported me throughout my career as an educator and as an administrator. Your guidance and support have contributed to shaping me into the professional I am today. As I prepare to take the next steps in this journey, I have learned the importance of effective systems.
1:02:00 The necessity of consistency and the continuous learning is essential. Equally important is the ability to listen and learn from diverse and unexpected sources. Superintendent, members of the board, Mr. Ramer, Mr. Pruitt, Ms. Wybell, Ms. Bowman, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Flora, or Ms. Stewart, excuse me.
1:02:20 And Mr. Flora, thank each of you for seeing the potential in me. You each played a significant role and developed me into the administrator I am today. With your guidance, I have found what it takes to lead with grace, dignity, and the humility to keep learning.
1:02:33 Dr. Connor, thank you for your encouragement to continue on my journey. It is a bittersweet moment to leave Space Coast. Under your leadership.
1:02:43 I’m confident that the school will continue to thrive and grow. Mr. Powers, I am honored to have the opportunity to serve at Cocoa Beach Junior Senior High School where I look forward to continuing my growth and contributing to the success of our students, faculty, staff and stakeholders. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support and steadfast presence which has been my foundation throughout this journey.
1:03:07 Thank you. Congratulations, Mr. Chair. We’re going to take two more pictures.
1:03:16 Yeah, let’s go. Yeah. Still at.
1:05:39 We’re there. Yeah. How many? Six.
1:05:41 We’re at 40 something right now. Six, 32 agenda. 32 agenda.
1:05:46 Is that where you checked out there? Yeah, we’re good to go. Okay. Yeah.
1:05:51 32 agenda. 10 non agenda. And then non agenda.
1:05:55 We don’t worry about 10 non agenda. Yeah. How many? 32.
1:05:58 32 agenda. Thank you. We are now on to the public comments portion of the meeting.
1:06:10 We have 32 number of speakers and we’ll be with it. We’ll receive three minutes. Our attorney will call the Speakers in the order that they are signed up for.
1:06:19 Mr. Gibbs, please call the first three speakers. Gina Derringe. Bill Pearlman.
1:06:26 Ravi Sankar. Rajesh. Board.
1:06:31 Thank you for listening to my concerns. I’m a retired teacher. I’ve been in this district 25 years.
1:06:38 I’m now volunteering for a civics organization. And I did some research the past year on conversion bills, and I was very alarmed at what I saw. I’ve spoke to this board about these conversion bills, have warned you about it back when I read them in February.
1:06:56 They are poorly designed. They will cause problems for administrator, and they will cause problems for the district. The ability to put is about the rezoning of boundary changes.
1:07:11 Boundary changes. The concern is with Cape View, which is down in enrollment, as many other schools in the district are. Basically, this bill says that if there’s an empty seat or classroom, if you read the original bill, a charter school can go into that school as an administrator.
1:07:31 That would be a nightmare to try to figure out whose students. Whose students. The second thing is there are a couple districts that have had this conversion that went on, and the school, when it was first given as a conversion, was worth 200,000.
1:07:48 And then five years later, when the charter went under, the Property is worth 2.9 million. And that happened in Duval.
1:07:55 Same case in Leonard County, Leon County. So I’m talking about a concern about this. The Air Force is going to be getting 600 more people assigned to the base.
1:08:07 They’re moving their training from Colorado Springs. If you talk to anyone, if you talk to the bartender at the marina, he will tell you all the changes they’re doing to entice people to move here. My concern is planning on this.
1:08:19 My concern is we shut down Cape View, a community school, move the kids to Roosevelt. 600 people come from the Air Force, plus more vendors, more people who are contractors. And then we have Roosevelt.
1:08:37 That’s overcrowded. It’s not fair to the administration. It’s not fair to the kids.
1:08:39 It’s not fair to the teachers. It’s not fair to anyone. So I implore you to have a game plan.
1:08:50 So far, 690 letters have gone out to 22 counties in the state of Florida for interest in schools that are underserved. Thank you, Mr. Bill. Bill perlman.
1:09:09 Ravi sankar. Rajesh. Christopher higginbotham.
1:09:18 Hang on, hang on, hang on. There you go. Good evening, Dr. Rendell, members of the board.
1:09:23 I’m Bill Perlman. I’d like to address item I2 on tonight’s agenda. Proposed Boundary changes.
1:09:28 But first, I really want to congratulate you on passing the proclamation for. For the Children’s Hunger Project. A very worthy cause.
1:09:37 But you should be ashamed of yourselves because tonight you impeded and harassed our efforts to do a food drive for the community of Cape View. You forced us to move it to the protest area. It wasn’t a protest.
1:09:50 It was a food drive. Can you. All about control.
1:09:53 Mr. Perlman. Mr. Perlman, hang on a second. Mr. Perlman, hang On a second.
1:09:57 Mr. Perelman, hang on a second. Mister Perlman, hold on a second. Yeah, if you could speak to the agenda item, please.
1:10:03 I am. First of all, the agenda item. You passed.
1:10:06 Mr. Perlman, I’m asking you just to speak to the agenda item. If I’m gonna have a problem. There we go.
1:10:14 And I’m talking about proposed boundary changes now. Talking about protests. So let’s get back.
1:10:19 I talked about the Children’s Hunger Project. Let’s go. You owe me about 10 seconds.
1:10:24 Go ahead. School closures are major decisions. Boundary adjustments and school closures, not the same thing.
1:10:32 And you know this calling it a boundary change, which is what it says on tonight’s agenda, that just disguises the true impact of this proposal. Families deserve direct, visible notice when their school is at risk of closure. Placing a school closure on tonight’s agenda, but calling it a boundary proposal proposal minimizes public awareness, obscures the true nature of the decision and it damages public trust in the board’s decision making.
1:11:02 Tonight you’re also setting school board meeting times. You actually did it. Set school board meeting times and dates for next year.
1:11:08 Eight out of the 19 school board meetings, that’s 42% of your meetings are set for 9am A time where working families cannot attend. Now you might be okay that 57% of your school board meetings will be held at a more reasonable time of 5:30. But in every school in this district, 57% is a D.
1:11:31 You know, you know, you know the impact of morning meetings. You know working families can’t attend morning meetings. You know teachers can’t attend morning meetings.
1:11:44 You know hourly workers lose payments if they attend morning meetings. You know morning meetings reduce public turnout. 43 seconds.
1:12:00 Mr. Trent. You were a no show for your community at the so called town hall where Mr. Rendell discussed Cape U elementary district meeting. No matter how hard the Office of Communication tries to spin it, you earned an F.
1:12:14 Cape View is a school in your district, Mr. Trent. I’m almost done. And your community will not forget that you failed to show up for them.
1:12:22 Brevard deserves better. Do better. Ravi sankar rajesh then we have christopher higginbotham, bruce robertson and aurora susko.
1:12:47 Ravi sankar rajesh. Hello parents, children and taxpayers. I’m here speaking as a private person.
1:13:01 Do not represent any groups organization including including Marks of lunacy. I am directly addressing the agenda item I2 boundary change that is disguised. That was it’s an information so at the meeting that Mark held at cape view on 11th or 10th November, he mentioned two reasons for potential consolidation.
1:13:23 One, decline in enrollment. Two aging population decline enrollment is the main reason is a voucher program, not short term rentals. As for the statement put out by Airbnb now what is the board act doing actively to stop this? There’s no incentive for families to enroll in public schools.
1:13:43 If you know, if I was to, if I were to get a voucher that pays me, what’s the incentive? And 2 aging population. The population of Cape Canaveral that are elementary school age is 7%. 10,000 is the population of Cape Canaveral out of 7% math 4U 700 kids.
1:14:03 How many are enrolled in the voucher program? Do we have the data? How many are homeschooled? And again, what is the board doing to attract students enrolling in public school? The last time I checked it is now the job description of a teacher to attract enrollment numbers. Let’s move on to underutilization of schools that is causing the boundary change I2 on the agenda underutilization of schools Brevard Public schools. This has failed the the board has failed to address the loss of students every year in the last 10 years.
1:14:36 And Mark got a raise as well. 10,000. $10,000 not allowed to get that money.
1:14:41 And why has BPS not taken any action to address that before now? And transparency, that’s the word of the day. I don’t think I need to spell it but the board definitely needs to, you know, improve on being transparent. Mark’s meeting at Cape U SAC was not let in.
1:14:58 The mayor was not let in. The mayor and parents were not informed about the mater Charter Academy showing interest until, you know, bunch of volunteer groups brought it out. And when we brought that up to Mark at the meeting, he said like this was not part of the study.
1:15:14 Again, it doesn’t cost anything to communicate. Janet all right, solutions something that the board should do that the parents are doing what you can do to, you know, not make KPU as a real estate affair. Someone wanted to debunk this the last time but again, if that goes to you know, making dollars over public education, then we don’t know what it is.
1:15:37 So make Northern Brevard a gifted hub, special ed hub, specialist, STEM Choice School. And also in closing, I stand with Ms. Calhoun. Do better, William Brevard.
1:15:46 And Brevard deserves better. Three seats are up for reelection. We deserve change.
1:15:52 Thank you. Good luck. Christopher Higginbotham.
1:16:00 After Christopher Higginbotham, we have Bruce Robertson, Aurora Sesko, Melissa Bass. Hello, I’m Chris Siggenbotham. I am a father of three.
1:16:16 All three kids attend BPS schools. I’m going to speak on i2, the potential rezoning. I do.
1:16:28 No matter what decision you guys make, I do think it’s going to be a tough decision. It’s going to make a decision for community school. That’s going to be tough, no matter what decision you make.
1:16:40 Because I do see some schools potentially closing. With that being said, I’m sitting here thinking to myself, are there any potential rezonings that would have less effect? And what comes to mind is Westshore and Edgewood, if we would potentially close those schools and those students have to go back to their home school, that could potentially raise enrollment. Frees up teachers, frees up administrators.
1:17:16 And I’m not saying this is a good choice. I’m just trying to give you guys an alternative. I hear the social media going crazy about all these decisions, but no one’s offering alternatives to you guys.
1:17:29 You guys are highly intelligent people. You guys, in my opinion, make pretty good decisions. With that being said, if no one’s offering you an alternative, then you can only make the decision that lies in front of you.
1:17:42 So I would encourage everybody, if they don’t like what is happening, to give you guys some alternatives. I consider myself of average intelligence. I try to raise my kids.
1:17:53 Come to these meetings, have your voice heard. If you have a better solution to the deficit we are finding ourselves in, then contact the board members. But you got to give them an alternative.
1:18:06 You can’t just say, keep my school open, because no matter what decision is made, somebody’s going to be here saying, keep my school open. And I get it. Because if you closed Manatee, I’d be upset.
1:18:16 If you closed Viera High School, I’d be unemployed and upset. But that’s what’s going to happen. Some schools have to close if that’s the path we’re going to find ourselves.
1:18:27 And it is going to be a scary path because of the new bill that, you know, the previously the previous lady spoke about that is coming up and I do fear for that. But thank you for your time and I do respect and hope you guys make the great decisions. Thank you.
1:18:46 Thank you, Mr. Bruce Robertson. After Bruce Robertson, we have Aurora Susko, Melissa Bass, Clifford Smith. It’s getting some news tonight.
1:19:02 It is. Good evening. I’d like to thank Dr. My name is Bruce Robertson.
1:19:05 I’d like to thank Dr. Rundell and the board for this opportunity to speak before you. I’m. I’m a bit of a school board virgin.
1:19:17 This is the first time I’ve spoken before the school board. As I said, my name is Bruce Robertson. I’m here to speak on the Agenda Item I2, which I found out just when I got here was a sort of a euphemism for the possible merger of our school, Capeview elementary with Roosevelt elementary, involving over 540 students in both schools, the possible busing of 200 and the closing of Cape View elementary and the busing of 270 of our children 7 miles to Cocoa Beach.
1:19:57 I’m a 30 year resident of Cape Canaveral. I went to Cape View Elementary. I fell off the monkey bars there in 1965 and got my first bloody nose.
1:20:06 My daughter went to Cape View Elementary. My granddaughter Charlotte is currently enrolled in Cape View elementary in the fourth grade. So to us, Cape View elementary is more than a line on your budget.
1:20:22 It’s closing of the only community school in our town should not be a business decision. I know I may be idealistic about that. Cape View elementary is integral to our community.
1:20:39 It’s as vital to Cape Canaveral as our churches. It’s the heart and soul of our community. It’s our ability for me to walk Charlotte, my granddaughter in her neighborhood to her neighborhood school.
1:20:52 It’s the dedication of our award winning teachers who have served our community for decades. It is the promise that Cape Canaveral is a place where young families can put down roots. You know we recognize your duty, this board’s duty to be efficient with the taxpayers dollars.
1:21:15 Our request to the school board is simple and we think it’s reasonable. As our mayor Wes Morrison said, let’s take the time to do this right. We ask you to partner with Cape Canaveral, partner with our city council, partner with our teachers, partner with our parent teacher organizations at Cape View over the next year to help us implement strategies.
1:21:45 Let’s devise strategies to increase enrollment at Cape View, create program enhancements at Camp Cape View, develop shared use solutions for the facilities at Cape View and then in 12 months lets the board re Evaluate the results and then we can make our decision. You can make your decision. Thank you, Mr. Robinson.
1:22:07 We appreciate your time. Thank you for your speech. Aurora.
1:22:16 Aurora sesko, melissa bass and clifford smith. Hi, I’m Aurora Seska and I’ve been going to Cape Pugh since I was in Pre K. And it’s a really, really good school and all the teachers are really nice.
1:22:48 Melissa Bass, followed by Clifford Smith and Taylor Ponder. Hi, I’m Melissa Bass. I’m a Cape View mama and I was here last time.
1:22:57 Back again. I wanted to say thank you to those of you who spoke with me over the phone and over email. I’ve appreciated the communication.
1:23:03 It’s helped a lot. I just want to speak again about Cape View. It’s an A rated school where children.
1:23:13 Let’s not do this again. Sorry. It’s an A rated school where children are deeply valued and supported by their community.
1:23:22 And we want to keep this good thing going. It’s the only school we’ve got. And as Dr. Rendell confirmed for us, the consolidation would lose something really important to us.
1:23:31 It would lose our Title 1 status. And that is a vital part of what makes our kids be able to do school. It would take away, from what I understand from our title one coordinator, two staff members who spends tons of time working with children in small groups and individually to help them thrive.
1:23:48 We would also lose device funding as well as several special programs that help our children do their best. And in addition to the title one loss, the hardship of busing these young children, what turns out to be a really long way for it just. Just feels like too much.
1:24:11 I don’t know how we make that part of it. Okay. The logistics of getting the kids there just feels too much.
1:24:19 I’m here speaking again because I just. I don’t think it can be overstated the negative effects that this will take. I don’t want our children’s ability to thrive in these formative years to just be focused in and reduced to these dollar signs and efficiencies.
1:24:21 I just. I need there to be something else we can do. These kids are whole human people and this.
1:24:44 They don’t deserve to suffer from this change. They deserve better from us, from all of us. I don’t know what to do, but I feel like there’s gotta be something we can do different because I can’t find an upside for these kids.
1:24:55 It just. I went to Roosevelt, I toured it. It’s a great school, but it’s not what our Capeview kids need.
1:25:01 So please, I’m asking you to continue to work with us, give us some time. Let our city leaders get here on a night when they don’t have a conflicting council meeting. Let us try to do something together.
1:25:13 I just, I need this to not be the end for these kids. I have to look at them every day all around town and at the library and it’s just. It’s heartbreaking to think about how many of them will fall through the cracks.
1:25:26 Thank you for your time. Thank you. Clifford Smith, followed by Taylor Ponder, Jennifer Hopkins.
1:25:41 Good evening, school board. My name is Clifford Smith. I’m here to talk About Agenda Item I2 as well.
1:25:52 Oh, okay. Sorry about that. So I’m going to speak basically about our own personal experience with Cape View.
1:26:01 Our daughter has epilepsy and she used to have very severe grand mals. Unfortunately, the private school that she went to was not able to handle that and it was understandable. We left very amicably.
1:26:14 However, Cape View very much embraced her during her iep, during her big struggles when she was highly mismedicated. And they did so very willingly and enthusiastically. We’ve worked through.
1:26:27 You know, she was very far behind from the school time she missed and they helped walk us through everything and get her where she is coming caught up with her peers. The staff and administration there has been excellent. They really listen and care about the needs of the kids and that’s just very different than most places with this consolidation.
1:26:47 While I understand the objective is to potentially save money with the idea, and this was very heavily conveyed in our city council meeting, that charter schools are trying to come in, they’re going to take that exact same funding and use it, which does no good for anyone. So that is the part that’s kind of confusing about this. But the main focus really needs to be on the kids who, who have benefited so much from the presence of this school.
1:27:12 And it is a small town community and it is odd for such a tourist community to be so tight knit and for everyone who lives there to know each other, support each other and help each other. And really I think all the frustration that’s coming out of this is just the lack of transparency. There’s things like the W Y X study that has not been released, things like that.
1:27:36 Like if we could just get those things. There was nothing sent through Focus, which is often sent, you know, there’s fundraisers, there’s all sorts of other notices that are sent through things like Focus. And none of those things have come through any of those avenues.
1:27:48 So most parents still don’t know about this. And there’s a lot of people in Cape Canaveral who, who can’t physically attend here. They’re low income, they can’t get here.
1:27:56 And while I understand that that’s what these meetings are for, there’s a lack of representation for the school. And again, I just don’t think it’s being conveyed well. And that’s really, I think the biggest thing that we’re all looking for is just some more transparency, some more information.
1:28:12 And that’s all I’m asking from you guys. And I think that’s what most of the people here are so angry about. So thank you guys so much for listening and I hope you guys all have a good night.
1:28:21 Thank you. Taylor Ponder. After Taylor Ponder we have Jennifer Hopkins, Mindy McKenzie and sorry for the mispronunciation, but Sule Prado.
1:28:40 Good evening. My name is Taylor Ponder and I’ve been a resident of cape canaveral for 30 years. I’m here tonight because what you guys, what is being considered is not a routine operational change.
1:28:51 It’s a decision that could permanently damage our community. I’m talking about the I too and Cape Canal, Cape Canaveral. We are a small, tight knit community and our elementary school isn’t just a building.
1:29:04 It is the heart of our city. And I don’t feel like the heart of our community. Ripping that out is called progress.
1:29:14 The school is the backbone that keeps the families rooted in businesses alive, our neighborhood safe. And removing it is not just shortsighted, it’s irresponsible. Let’s be honest.
1:29:27 When you close an elementary school, you take away the reason families stay, families leave, businesses suffer, safety declines, investments dis. And you can’t bulldoze the community’s backbone and expect it to stand upright. And for what? The consolidation holds up.
1:29:49 Okay, excuse me. The consolidation doesn’t even hold up under basic scrutiny. And the opportunity to sell the potentially sell the property for financial gain is not what’s for the best interest of the children.
1:30:07 So my daughter goes to Cape U and she is on this spectrum as well as many other children that rely on the stability they depend on the routines, familiar environments and long term trust of their teachers. You don’t pull stability away from these children and call it equitable or in the best interest of the children because it’s not, it’s harmful. And the class sizes are already at, you know, 21, 20 to 21 to, you know, 22 children, bringing them together, you know, this is going to be 28 to 30 children in a classroom.
1:30:50 There’s no way that we can, you know, put that on these teachers to give them a reasonable education, you know, in such young years, give them this appropriate education. And, you know, all these children are commuting back and forth to school, you know, within a two and a half mile radius. Half of these children are biking and walking and riding their bikes to school.
1:31:18 You know, our children are not for sale. Our community. Community is not a real estate opportunity.
1:31:24 Education before profit. Children before politics. Cape Canaveral is not just a tourist stop.
1:31:31 It’s a real home for real families. Tourism comes and goes, visitors come and go, but our children stay. They should come first having lived here for 30.
1:31:41 Thank you. Jennifer Hopkins. Jennifer Hopkins.
1:31:54 Jennifer. She left. Mindy McKenzie.
1:32:00 After Mindy, we have Sule Prado, Sean Marie Cook, Tylan Billings. Hi, good evening, Board. My name is Mindy McKenzie.
1:32:12 I’ve been here before, once before to talk about book bans, but Today it’s item I2 on the agenda. So as everybody else here is probably thinking the same thing, I’m worried about how the closure of Cape View elementary was kind of put into the agenda in a convoluted manner. As a BPS parent, I feel like this may have been intentional.
1:32:40 I feel like placing something this important as a school closure without proper visibility kind of leads the parents and community members to read between the lines. And that hasn’t always worked out so well for us in the past. I’ve been left to do my own research on things, and I feel like the transparency here has failed.
1:33:05 Cape View closure is not just an isolated event. I don’t think. I think probably we are wondering which school is next.
1:33:15 I think it’s pretty fair to say that it does raise further questions regarding deeper systemic failures in planning, enrollment, management, communication, and community engagement. Families should not have to attend the work sessions or search through a bunch of attachments to find out that their kids school is closing. I just.
1:33:37 I don’t. I’ve had to learn so much about how you guys operate. I don’t see the mission being fulfilled for the Cape U students, faculty or parents to serve every student with excellent as a standard.
1:33:51 I’m not sure what we’re missing here. I feel like that. Sorry.
1:34:00 I just. I feel like the teachers, they’re not going to have an opportunity to go elsewhere in the district. What if we don’t have enough openings in the district? What do those teachers do? Where are they left to go? I mean, and we are in a teacher shortage, are we not in Brevard county, we need teachers, right? My daughter’s a teacher.
1:34:21 My oldest daughter, she would never come back here to be a teacher. And it breaks my heart because we’ve made roots here now and I want to stay here. All my kids have graduated from bps and it’s sad and I just want to know, like, where we’re going from here.
1:34:37 And again, I had to leave work early and rush to get here. And then, you know, I was so happy about the children’s hunger project. You know, I volunteered there many, many hours of my time.
1:34:50 But then we did a food drive for Cape View parents to and I and we got told to move. So it’s like, are we feeding kids? Do we really care or do we not? This is. Do better.
1:35:02 Please help. Help us. Shut me down.
1:35:04 Help you guys. And this is like the time to make it work. Thank you, ma’.
1:35:09 Am. Just. Just for clarification, I want everybody to understand that there is no vote tonight to close Cape View.
1:35:20 Just so you know, that vote will not come until January. It’s just an informational session. Just wanted to make sure everybody understood that.
1:35:25 That’s all. Prado, followed by Sean Marie Cook, Tyn Billings, Carrie Smith. Hi, I am Sule Prado.
1:35:36 I. I represent Cape Canaveral as well. And I am the consequence. Basically.
1:35:43 I am a disabled veteran. I cannot go to school and pick up my child during school to take them to the therapies. Both my kids are twins.
1:35:56 They’re both on the spectrum. I have to take them to therapy twice a week, all the way down to Melbourne. So the consequences is that I cannot, I don’t have transportation to come during school and then take them all the way down there.
1:36:13 So my kids who are actually in fourth grade now will actually be missing two days of school. They have to be at school five days a week, so there’d be no attendance. Like, we need to be at school five days a week.
1:36:28 Not two, not three, five. Yes, they went to school since VPK and pre K, which was great because back then and until now we’ve always had title one. And guess what? I also represent the low income community.
1:36:48 I would not be able to afford food for my kids to our twins. $4,000 a year? Really? That’s too much. I don’t make that much money as a veteran.
1:37:02 No way. And yeah, no, no, no, no. I would have to take my kids out of school and homeschool them.
1:37:12 That’s not a good idea. There’s no such thing as homeschooling. No such thing.
1:37:19 Please help Me get my kids to school. I don’t want to take them out of school. I really don’t.
1:37:32 Sean marie cook. Sean marie cook. Then we have tylan billings, carrie smith, cassandra tudor.
1:37:47 Hello. I am new to these issues at hand as my grandsons have moved in with me me recently and are attending Cape View once again. Many of you are a parent, maybe a grandparent or a guardian.
1:38:05 If you have had or know any special needs child, you would want them to stay in a Title 1 school such as this school. I’m sorry, hang on. I’ll pause it for a second.
1:38:18 Oh, thank you. It offers critical resources which sets up the children for success. Ms. Campbell, I saw you on a video recently and you said that you support our beachside schools.
1:38:35 This is one of them. Closing the only Title 1 elementary school here is not supporting our children and families. Have any of you thought of cost effective ways to keep it operating? I’ve seen office staff have dual roles such as having a principal teach music as well.
1:39:02 In many small towns, not in the state, but in others, doing so helps keep draining funds from other schools. Displacing our low income families and cognitively challenged students will have lifetime effects. Many of these families do not own vehicles due to finances and rely only on public transportation.
1:39:26 Therefore would cause many absences. As Ms. Sule said, they wouldn’t get specific resources and support that their teachers have given and built with them over the years. Mainstreaming them would only cause more disruption in their lives.
1:39:43 After school tutoring would be lost. After school tutoring would be lost. Parental involvement as well as after school activities.
1:39:52 This is not advocating for the future generation of Cape Canaveral. Our teachers go in every day to make a difference, as do many others. This is not easy.
1:40:02 Many kids come to school upset from things out of their control. They do not have a place to sleep or food to eat. This is the stage for their entire day as well as their teachers.
1:40:15 Can any of you say that you’ve come to our school? When students are dismissed? Going and watching the students walk home will tell you a lot about our parents. And the faces tell quite a story. As do the cognitive challenges for many of these parents.
1:40:34 Precious children. Yet still they are lovely people. Lovely.
1:40:40 And they make the best of each day. Ignoring these issues will not make them go away. There are priorities on this board that don’t seem right.
1:40:51 Buying a bunch of furniture, for example, for the board’s administration offices. Huge rages. Thank you ma’.
1:40:58 Am. Thank you for your time. We appreciate you.
1:41:00 Thank you. Thailand Billings After Thailand Billings. We have Carrie Smith, Cassandra Tudor, Christopher Tudor.
1:41:17 My name is Tylan Billings. I appreciate this opportunity to address all of you regarding the Cape canaveral school. Item I2 on the agenda.
1:41:26 I’m going to come at this from a slightly different angle. In 1962, my parents moved here to work for NASA. They lived in Cape Canaveral initially, I know the area very well.
1:41:40 My parents did something later in my life while I was in college that meant a lot to me for communities and politically. Cocoa beach was ready to close and defund the 50 meter public swimming pool and they went to bat. Even though they had no children swimming anymore, no children in the schools anymore, they went to bat to save that swimming pool because they knew how important it was for all of us who grew up as competitive swimmers.
1:42:07 There I was drown proof there after drowning once as a five year old. And so my parents doing something that supported other people who couldn’t afford to come to meetings in Cocoa beach meant a lot to me. So when I moved back to Cocoa Beach, I started going to city council meetings to be able to speak up on behalf of parents with kids who couldn’t afford to be at these meetings all the time.
1:42:33 I eventually joined the planning board in Cocoa beach and spent seven to eight years there helping Cocoa beach reinvigorate itself, which I think now shows. Now, as far as the school goes, if we want to attract more engineering families here and all the other people associated with the new space race and all the other business that’s obviously coming to the port of Canaveral, if you don’t have a school in the area, families don’t want to move there. And having a good school in the area is one way that people choose houses when they buy real estate.
1:43:08 It’s very important. Cape Canaveral is fairly unique and then it has a lot of undeveloped land yet that could still be built out as housing. So Cape Canaveral has a lot more room for expansion than even Cocoa beach does.
1:43:22 As far as housing, if I’m correct, there’s a piece of land on the river behind our savior’s school that’s very large, very beautiful. I think it’s owned by the county, maybe the school board that could be sold to help support the schools. I just think it’s really important to support the future of the space program and everything else by keeping Cape View open.
1:43:53 And I think it’s really important that kids be able to bicycle to and from school or walk with their families to and from school. That was important to me. I started riding a bicycle to school in third grade and they kept it up.
1:44:06 I just think it’s real. It’s good for the community. It’s important.
1:44:13 Thanks. What number are we looking at? We’re on 15. 15.
1:44:22 Carrie Smith. After Kerry Smith, we have Cassandra Tudor, Christopher Tudor, Amy Roud. All right, first, I want to say thank you for letting us all speak tonight.
1:44:34 As you can see, our community is extremely important to all of us. And as many of others have said already, Cape View is like the heart of our community. I live about three blocks away with my five year old son.
1:44:47 And to see all the families walking to and from school, it’s just hard to explain. Like, it’s such a beautiful thing. And sorry, Roosevelt takes me 20 minutes to get there.
1:45:02 I’m a working single mom. I have to work in Merritt Island. It’s not feasible to be able to drop my son off and get to work on time in the mornings.
1:45:11 And also with the buses, I get that that would obviously be an option. But having kids get up for the bus, they’d have to be to the bus stop. So, so early to make it to Roosevelt on time.
1:45:23 And I don’t know if you guys are familiar with where Roosevelt is. There’s one road to it. It’s already so congested when the schools get out in the afternoon that I can’t even imagine what that would be like if Cape Canaveral was also a part of that school.
1:45:42 Plus, not to mention Gate View itself is what an A rated school. It’s extremely highly rated in our area. It’s got an amazing special education program which is super important to a lot of families around here.
1:45:55 Plus just the fact that small schools in general like it brings in more of a community feel. There’s just something very special about our school. And I just.
1:46:07 Before you guys make the decision in January, I want you to see how it affects, like, hundreds of us, if not thousands of our families who love our community and love our school so much. So with all my respect, I just ask that you please consider that when you make the decision. And thank you so much.
1:46:27 Thank you, Cassandra Tudor. After Cassandra, we have Christopher Tudor, Amy Raub, Killian Ladigan. Good evening, members of the board and community.
1:46:47 My name is Cassandra and I’m a parent educator and advocate for inclusion. I’m speaking on agenda item I too. At the last board meeting, Dr. Rendell spoke about how every sixth grader in Brevard Public schools is reading the Coffee Bean, a book about how we respond to adversity.
1:47:05 So When I got home after speaking to you that night, I went on Amazon and I bought the book. It’s a quick read. In it we learned that when life puts you in hot water like a carrot, you can become weak like an egg, you can become hard or like a coffee bean.
1:47:19 You can transform the water around you. You can change your environment instead of letting it change you. Right now, Cape View elementary is that pot of hot water.
1:47:30 Our enrollment is low and our future is uncertain. But what I’ve seen in this community is from teachers stepping up when others left to parents organizing and always available to lend extra hands to students who thrive in our smaller classrooms. This all proves that Cape View is a coffee bean school.
1:47:49 Instead of giving up hope, we’ve come together to share with you how Cape View is more than just a school. We’re a family. We’re presenting ideas to the board that can help encourage enrollment at Cape View.
1:48:00 I stand with the idea I shared at the last meeting about creating a special education hub at Cape Fear View. We all know that schools get more funding for special education kids. Alternatively, we could look into making Cape View a choice school for all of Brevard’s students.
1:48:16 I’d also like to add that I’m a 33 year old mom. I’m not sure what your age standards include on the young families moving to Cape Canaveral, but I moved into the city three years ago. My husband and I just bought a house here this past year.
1:48:29 We have a five and a half year old and a one and a half year old and perhaps more to come. We bought in the Cape specifically to send our high support needs disabled daughter to Cape View. There’s at least seven toddlers I know of in my neighborhood, plus the 40 year old mom who just gave birth and my 35 year old friend who lives across the street that just announced she’s pregnant with twins.
1:48:50 You don’t see young families statistically moving in because we’re mid age range. Now I’m questioning where your data was collected because clearly none of us were involved in it. So tonight I ask you, when it comes time to vote, don’t be the carrot that softens under pressure.
1:49:06 Don’t be the egg that hardens and shuts out. What’s possible be the coffee bean, the one that transforms the whole pot. And if our cup of coffee is not up to your tasting standards, give us time to add in some cream and sugar for you.
1:49:19 Because saving Cape View isn’t just about one school. It’s about showing every student in Brevard. That we live the same lessons that we teach.
1:49:28 Thank you. Christopher Tudor. Christopher Tudor.
1:49:40 After Christopher, we have Amy Raub, Killian Ladig, Nicole Briggs. Can you guys hear me? All right. First of all, I’d like to thank the board for allowing me to speak and thank you for your public service.
1:49:50 I wrote all this down because I’m not good at freestyling when it comes to public speaking. Like many people have spoken before me, I’m here to express my concern about the potential closer of KPU Elementary. I’m the father of a daughter and as many parents of a child.
1:50:02 Sending your school kid off to school could be nerve wracking for obvious reasons. But KPU has been incredible for her. Her teachers and staff have given my daughter daughter confidence, stability in a place where she finally hits educational milestones.
1:50:14 That is not something that could be easily replaced. At the last meeting, Dr. Rendell presented a clear and comprehensive explanation explanation of the financial decision leading to this consideration. I understand finances and I understand that the numbers point in a certain direction.
1:50:28 I am a capitalist and I like to think I understand money. But this is more than the closing of a school. This is a death of a community.
1:50:37 We all see the pattern happening in small coastal towns like ours. The data shows that 80% of short term rentals in Brevard county is concentrated in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. I believe in a free market.
1:50:48 I don’t think the government should tell property owners what they can and can’t do with their homes. But we also have to ask where do we draw the line? Right. When do we acknowledge that the impact of out of state investors buying up entire neighborhoods and slowly draining local families, the children and enrollment numbers that our schools depend on.
1:51:05 At what point do we just don’t sell the barrier islands, the Carnival Cruise Line and allow them to drill a lazy river going down A1A right closing cape Fee wouldn’t just affect our children. It would be a signal of a slow death to Cape Canaveral as a community. It is a place with real families and not just visitors.
1:51:24 Thank you for your time. Amy Raub. After Amy Raub, we have Killian Ladig, Nicole Briggs, Katie Ledig.
1:51:40 Hi. Okay, so I want to know what does Mater Charter school see in our schools that you guys don’t? They’re a for profit company and they know that they can fill those seats. Why and where.
1:51:56 Where are you with that? Because we all know you’re very resourceful when it comes to other things. Things like silencing the public Whose idea was it to send the cops out to move the food drive? Ms. Ra, if we can. I’m talking about your resourcefulness.
1:52:13 We’re working together. Okay? All right. Hey, can you.
1:52:16 I wish you could put that in. Just stop your time just because I’m taking notes. What.
1:52:21 What grade is your child in at? Cape View. At Cape View. All right, we’re good.
1:52:26 Okay. Listen, that was embarrassing, right? Ms. No, please, please go. I’m not allowed to fight for.
1:52:34 To keep a school. No, you absolutely could. I was just taking notes.
1:52:37 What was the point? We’re good. I’ve never seen you ask that question in all these years. Ms. Ra.
1:52:41 What was that about? I’m going to ask. You didn’t like me saying that you moved the food drive. I’ve stopped your time.
1:52:47 If you can, please. He needs to apologize to me. No, we’re not doing.
1:52:50 I asked you a question. Okay? Ms. Ra, I’m going to ask you to get back. Or you can speak later on.
1:52:59 You wouldn’t know if I had a kid there, would you? You don’t even show up. If we can get back to the top. So Cape View is the first one on your chopping block.
1:53:11 During today’s workshop, I heard a lot of you did a workshop on Schools of Hope. And I heard a lot of board members acting like this was a new idea, and you just caught on. And you didn’t know this was coming at you like a freight train.
1:53:28 But we knew. How. How did.
1:53:31 How did we all find out and you didn’t know? What have you been doing to prevent this? You can’t stay. And if you’ve done literally anything, why aren’t you communicating that with your constituents? Jean Trent, some things that I don’t think have been helping you with putting butts in those seats in Cape View are, you know, scaring teachers away. Lowest teacher pay in the country, some of the lowest reading scores in the country.
1:54:04 You don’t think families are moving here, like, trying to get Jean Trent as their board member and allowing yourselves to be aligned with Moms for America and Moms for Liberty, who are actively taking. Tearing down public schools. This was their goal.
1:54:18 If you go on Moms for America website. Please just get back to the topic. This has to do with it.
1:54:24 I’m telling you, this was their plan and they endorsed you. Okay, please get back to the topic. That is.
1:54:30 That is the topic, Matthew. No, it’s not. Listen, please stop funneling public school dollars out of public schools, okay? Brevard deserves better.
1:54:48 Way better. Way better. Killian Ladig.
1:54:58 Killian Ladig. After Killian, we have Nicole Briggs, Katie Ladig, and Quinn Dykis. Lower point.
1:55:07 Just hang on, bud. He’s going to help you. Lower it so we can see you.
1:55:13 I think it’s good. A little bit more. Little bit more.
1:55:22 That’s good. Little bit. Yeah, we’re.
1:55:28 As soon as he starts talking, son, I’m going to go ahead and. Hello. I am Killian Laddick.
1:55:35 I’m a student of Cape View Elementary School. And we’ve been here for about two years, me and my family. The only reason we kind of moved here in the first place was to go to this school.
1:55:53 This is an A rated school. We went to this school because it’s a good school. It’s an A rated and now we’re trying to shut it down.
1:56:14 What I’m trying to say is this is multiple things that have been mentioned before, but a lot of the people who go to this school are walkers. And Roosevelt, as we’ve discussed, is really far away. So to take that away and make multiple students have to go on a bus they want.
1:56:51 Listen, we go to this school, please. We go to this school because it’s an A rated school and it’s close. We.
1:57:04 I just want to say this school is more than just a school. It’s the only school in this community. And to shut it down means there’d be none left.
1:57:22 So just. Just know that all the students of the school want to stay here and so do the teachers. We don’t want this to happen and I bet you don’t either.
1:57:41 So just attempt. I’m not done yet. I. So I’m just gonna say we’re gonna try whatever we can to keep the school open.
1:57:53 And I just hope that we are here next year for another year of Cape View. Good job, young man. Gillian Killian.
1:58:12 Killian, Good job, son. Yeah, you did a. I mean, I’ll be honest with you.
1:58:18 He moved through all the topics. You did a great job. You reiterated everything everybody’s saying and you did amazing, man.
1:58:24 I just wanted to congratulate you. Good job. Thank you, Nicole Briggs.
1:58:32 After Nicole Briggs, we have Katie Ladig, gwen Dykis, Aiden McFadden. Yeah, we’re good. Okay.
1:58:38 Hello, board neighbors. I’m a keep you mom for three years now. That’s barely making it to drop off work and pickup living only five blocks.
1:58:48 So this change would currently just wreck that. Literally the reason I chose the house I live in. But Speaking on the i2 so basically again, Cape View is the heart of our little community.
1:59:06 We’ve heard proposals on consolidation and closure framed as necessary savings for efficiency measures. But I’m here to argue that these proposals are deeply shortsighted and that closing our elementary school would be a profound mistake. We must say no to consolidation and yes to investing in the future of our small towns, including Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.
1:59:32 Our small town schools are not just buildings. They are anchors of our community. They’re a place where lifelong friendships are forged, local history is taught and every child is known by name.
1:59:46 This personal and intimate environment fosters a level of attention and parental involvement that cannot be replicated in a consolidated setting. When a school closes, it loses its the town loses its central gathering place, the hub for family events and civic life. The result is undeniable erosion of community identity and spirit.
2:00:14 The argument is that bigger is better and education is so often false. Studies consistently show smaller class sizes and smaller school populations lead to higher student engagement and better academic outcomes. Our students are thriving in this nurturing, familiar setting.
2:00:36 Consolidation means longer bus rides, fewer resources per student and the stress of adjusting to an entirely new and potentially overwhelming environment for a lot of these students. We owe it to our children to provide an education that is not only excellent, safe and accessible, but right in their own hometown. Closing a school is an economic below.
2:01:03 It’s going to remove young families that will choose to move elsewhere. This creates a vicious cycle of decline. Keeping our school open is not an expense.
2:01:14 It is an investment in the economic stability and long term survival of our small towns. We cannot afford to prioritize short term savings over long term health of our communities and the well being of our children. I urge you to consider that.
2:01:31 Thank you. Katie Ladig. Where are we at on number 21? After Katie Ladig we have Quinn Dykis, Aiden McFadden, Rachel Teneo.
2:01:50 Hi, my name is Katie. I’m here to speak on the i2 item. As my son has proudly stated, we moved to this community just to go to Cape View.
2:02:00 My husband has a degree in space science and his dream was to live this close to the Space center. And it’s pretty amazing. We come from.
2:02:10 I’ve been to many schools in the area in Orange county and we have never felt more at home here. It’s absolutely an amazing community. Just rallying the troops.
2:02:23 As I said, we’ve just found out about this. We’re going to call it a closure because that’s how we see it is the closest closure of this school, of this amazing school. And the city of Cape canaveral is known throughout the world.
2:02:38 We’re known for our space program. We’re known for this port that just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And the fact that the only school in the whole community, in our community could be closed is absolutely devastating.
2:02:50 I was quoted recently because I didn’t write anything as I did this time, but I could not come up with a better word than devastating. And I understand that there is a big deficit. Like many parents here, I’ve learned way too much about this that I didn’t, you know, in a very short period of time.
2:03:06 And I just. I know that there’s got to be options. I just, I think that this process we just found out in August, as I said, I know there’s been some discussion since you said about 2019 in the last meeting that the school closures were coming.
2:03:20 And I just feel like, as you see, our community could come together. We have Mayor west on our side as well as the whole city of Cape Canaveral. They have supported us in the short period of time just to be here to speak with us and to have our backs.
2:03:34 And I think if you work closely with the city of Cape Canaveral and Mayor west and the rest of the community, I believe we can come up with some kind of better solution. I don’t know what the solution is. That’s up to you guys.
2:03:46 But I think that there’s got to be a better solution. This is got to put our children first. And there’s got to be another option.
2:03:52 We are a rated school, title one. And it’s just, it would be devastating to the community to get rid of that. And I think we need a sustainable multi year plan.
2:04:02 We understand that right now it looks like we’re low enrollment, but give us, give us a year. We talked to Mayor West. Mayor west said that he will do anything possible to work with you and work with the community to increase the numbers and keep the school open.
2:04:15 And we really just want to make sure that you understand that we’ll be back in December, we’ll be here in January, and we’re not going anywhere. And it’s really important to come up with another plan. And we look forward to working with you and our mayor as well on this.
2:04:28 Thank you. Quinn Dykis. After Quinn, we have Aiden McFadden, Rachel Teneo, Ethan Teneo.
2:04:44 Good evening, school board members. I’m a little taller than the last guy, so I appreciate that. And Dr. Rendell, my name is Quinn and I will be speaking on F2 and i2 tonight I want to firstly give you all credit for the last work session and today’s work session in regards to the conversation surrounding Schools of Hope.
2:05:01 All of your objections, both verbally about Schools of Hope and those that were sent in regards to the four for schools targeted, including Cape View, or objections I’ve been waiting to hear. With the discussion around Cape view tonight and November 11th being the start of when Schools of Hope could officially express intent, I wanted to offer collaboration to solve the issues of Schools of Hope that will quite frankly decimate our schools, which I know you all know, mirroring what was said today in the work session. I don’t think anyone on either side enjoys having these conversations, but I do believe they are necessary in order to come to a resolution that protects BPS schools, students and resources before their operations become an issue.
2:05:39 The protection of our public schools is more important than anything and we must do so in a timely, transparent and collaborative effort. To be most effective, I work with a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that has been partnering with school boards, even ones that we have historically organized against, in order to protect against Schools of Hope problem. The issue is bigger than party lines and it is my belief that an issue this big requires collaboration.
2:06:01 We are currently partnering with districts across Florida, two of which are Sarasota, Sarasota and Broward, to assist in putting forth resolutions and protections against School of Hope operators who are trying to overreach into these schools. School closures, consolidations and cooperations impacts will be felt so deeply not only in Cape View, as we see tonight, but in Brevard as a whole. It’s important to continue to see presentations like the ones I saw today in the Work work session in an accessible way for the community and in a timely manner so the community can understand what’s going on and have an opportunity to participate before it’s too late.
2:06:34 Again, I thank you for your objection towards the first attempts of Schools of Hope entering bps in the work sessions. It is a step in the right direction, but we have so much work to do to protect BPS schools like Cape View. I would love to offer any resource that we can collaborate on to protect Brevard schools from similar fates as Cape View in regards to Schools of Hope.
2:06:51 I think we can all agree Brevard deserves better than what School of Hope are trying to offer in Florida. And a solution requires that we work together. Thank you, Aiden McFadden.
2:07:05 After Aiden, we have Rachel Teneo, Ethan Teneo, Jane Grashik. Hello, I’m Aiden McFadden. And consistently creating adversarial relationships with different communities that you harm is not a good example to set for the next generation.
2:07:26 The closing of Cape View, the firing of Melissa Calhoun, and the constant disregard for informed ideas are some great things to think about when you reflect on your decisions this coming January. The ideal representative of a community does not throw aside some’s ideas because they’re different or opposing to theirs. You are elected representatives meant to represent the people of your community, but instead you’ve chosen to swear us as your enemy.
2:07:52 Brevard deserves better. Capeview deserves better. Thank you.
2:08:00 Rachel tineo after rachel, we have ethan teneo, jane groschik, suzanne slater. Hi, my name is Rachel Tineo and I’m a Cape View parent. I had the pleasure of meeting with Jean this weekend and I will say that I genuinely do understand the reasons for the School board wanting to consolidate.
2:08:23 However, I think that we can try to change the situation before we shut the school down. I am pro Keep Cape View open. It is a true hidden gem.
2:08:31 This is about what’s best for the student. The BPS mission is to to serve every student with excellence as the standard. I would like the school board to keep in mind that once we close the doors to Cape View, this is a permanent decision and we can never go back.
2:08:45 We can’t tell the future and this is a risky move. I understand that over the past 10 years there has been a downward trend in enrollment. However, I don’t believe this is permanent.
2:08:54 At some point it’s likely that the enrollment is bound to exceed the number of seats packing Roosevelt to 93% is way too close for comfort. We need to consider the hundreds of young children currently living in these two cities that will need somewhere to go to school. City Council has confirmed that many of these rental units are being converted into affordable long term rentals which will attract more families.
2:09:15 I encourage the School board to think about what is the Plan B if and when this happens. We don’t want to put ourselves in a situation where the long term cost of this closure will be more than the short term gain. We can’t put a price on public education.
2:09:29 I believe there are other ways we can bring the high cost of Cape View down instead of simply closing the doors to such a beloved and special school. We deserve a chance to try. We have the support and partnership of the City of Cape Canaveral.
2:09:43 We also need to keep in mind that Cape View is not just a school to these families, it is a sanctuary. It is a place where they have provided breakfast and lunch, food, pantry Items and clothing. It will be a significant burden to the Cape View families having to travel across the town.
2:09:57 It seems as if the Cape Feu population at Roosevelt will have a disadvantage. Many of these students and their families will not be able to participate in after school activities, attend family luncheons, attend award ceremonies. Parents won’t be able to volunteer.
2:10:10 It’s unfair that the Cape View families would carry this burden on them while the Roosevelt students will not. Solutions? I believe turning Cape View into a STEM magnet is an excellent idea. Cape Canaveral is famous all over the world and it makes sense sense to have a STEM magnet school here.
2:10:25 Both of our choice school schools are highly enrolled and have a wait list. Our goal would be to appeal to the 8,000 homeschooled families and 9,600 privately schooled children in the county. Cape Feu would become a highly sought after school.
2:10:38 I could go on and on about the challenges these children will face in the upcoming years, but my time here is limited. I will end by saying, please give us a chance. Let us try to save the school before you choose to close the doors forever.
2:10:51 This doesn’t have to happen now. The closure of Cape Field will have negative effects that will last generations. Brevard deserves better.
2:10:59 Thank you, Ms. Teneo. Ethan Teneo. After ethan, we have jane groschik, suzanne slater, richard weber.
2:11:18 Hi, my name is Ethan. I am a graduate of Cape View and I’ve been going there since I was three. I’ve watched it grow for all my time there.
2:11:28 While there I haven’t. I don’t have many cons I can name but I have a great amount of pros that make it a great school. Starting off, the first one I can name is the teachers.
2:11:39 They are very good at their job, enjoy it and also have been there for a long time time making them very skilled. Also I don’t have many problems I can name with the school such as bullying has never really been a problem there. I barely ever hear mentions of it.
2:11:58 Also, the building itself is very high quality despite being very old and old and I never hear any problems with that. The other good thing is the students. They seem to be very smart as a lot of students I know that come from there have very good grades and even if they don’t, they usually do not have.
2:12:15 These are Fs. I don’t have much else to say besides that, but I think it’s enough to prove my point. Good job, Mr. Tineo.
2:12:28 Jane Groschik. After Jane, we have Suzanne Slater, Richard Weber, Tyler Campbell. Hi, my name is Jane Grashik and I think that we should keep Cape U open.
2:12:44 Cape U makes our community a home to many students and families. It brings our community together. And I concerned for the teachers who work there.
2:12:57 I know some of them might get jobs at Roosevelt or go somewhere else, but I know the activity teachers will have to find their own jobs. And I don’t want my younger sister to be riding the bus by herself. I would like to keep the school open and I would like to walk through those halls again when I graduate.
2:13:22 Just please consider keeping it open long enough for this cat to happened for me and my other friend. Thank you. Thank you.
2:13:35 Suzanne Slater. After Suzanne, we have Richard Weber, Tyler Campbell, Chris Pelletrue. Thank you.
2:13:47 Just give me a sec. Good evening. My name is Susie Slater and I, like all the other families before me, am here to speak on item I2.
2:14:00 And thank you to everyone that showed up tonight and said something. You may not be voting on closing us tonight, but I think we are all going to take every opportunity to speak before you do make that decision in January. My other half already spoke earlier for my family, but I’d like to take take this opportunity to reiterate that as the school board, it is literally your job to provide accessibility and transparency for the decisions you are planning on making.
2:14:30 Cape View is a vital and integral element of our community and to put us in a hidden corner of your agenda does not do us justice. The closure of any school deserves at the very least its own agenda item. It also deserves more accessibility, not less to all the families involved.
2:14:50 This community deserves more than numbers as an excuse to close. It deserves solutions which I know personally have been presented to you. But we would need some time to try to implement anything and you have not provided that to us.
2:15:07 We don’t have time to do anything to fix this problem before you decide in January whether our kids have have to commute to Roosevelt. And as it has already been pointed out, and I don’t need to say it again, is a huge problem for our community. Because what you’re planning on doing to us is not an isolated event.
2:15:28 It reveals a deeper systemic failure in planning, enrollment, management, communication, community involvement and transparency. As I already mentioned, I would encourage you to try and build trust in a world that needs so much more of it. Our children are not just a number.
2:15:47 They are literally our future. And they deserve better. Thank you, Richard Baber.
2:16:01 After Richard, we have Tyler Campbell, Chris Pelletro and Julia Anton. Are you you want to not your non agenda. Hi.
2:16:21 Well, these kids and these parents in Cape View, they made me smile. Make me sad is them being uprooted. Go someplace else, disrupting their routines.
2:16:32 You know, handicapped. The ones that are handicapped, particularly. And I always go back to these signs where we had a duplicate one.
2:16:41 I’ve been coming here for three years now and I almost look at that second sign as a mockery because I didn’t think that the students, every student was treated with the excellence as a standard. I’ve watched money being squandered. This is another mistake, hiding this.
2:17:07 Well, let’s just say I hope you don’t work on any changes in any boundaries until you consider them deeply. You need to talk with community. Better.
2:17:23 More. I think you need to listen to them, not talk at them. That’s been missing so far.
2:17:31 We need to quit hiding these agenda items. You know, when I came here three years ago, the first thing I saw was the consequences of a. Now, you weren’t here, Mr. Thomas, so you’re absolved.
2:17:45 But three of you @ least were needed to undertake the removal of Mark Mullins. And that was the first night I came here. I said, oh, no, what are they doing? Backroom politics? Start focusing on the agenda item.
2:18:00 If we could, sir. Okay. Let’s just continue elsewhere.
2:18:08 We need to manage our resources. We have not done the best job and I don’t think getting rid of this school is going to help anything. And you will have transportation, more transportation issues and probably more liability issues also.
2:18:32 But more importantly are these families and these peoples. Where’s the kid? Did he already leave the one that said the. In a school? I didn’t know that, but the kid knew it.
2:18:47 And think about it long and hard before you do any moving of any lines for attendance and give it some time and use the space you have. Try to develop the early schooling for the. What was item F3? You know, that you made the.
2:19:11 You congratulate them for early childhood learning and do what you can for making classes there. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
2:19:19 Have a great night. Tyler Campbell. After Tyler, we have Chris Pelitro, Julia Anton, Sandra Sullivan.
2:19:35 Thank you, Lord, for having me. Today I’m going to be addressing i2. I just want to take a moment.
2:19:41 All the families here. I think we can all agree that it would be very difficult for everybody to be making not only the transportation, but everything would become very difficult. The teachers would be moving.
2:19:56 Sorry. Let me. My disability that I go through is not only what I. Sorry.
2:20:03 My epilepsy is very impactful. My wife works two jobs to take care of me and my child. My child is autistic.
2:20:11 He works or he is at the school and the teachers at the school do an amazing job to take care of him. So then how the location of the school is great for me and my family. The teachers go tenfold to do that.
2:20:27 They helped me on top of that. So for the school to get closed down, it would hurt my family and I could only imagine the other families that it would hurt here. I would just want you guys to take and put that into consideration today.
2:20:43 I know that the votes not today, it’s not until January. But please just put that in mind. Thank you guys very much.
2:20:47 Thank you sir. Chris Pilatro, Julia Anton, Sandra Sullivan. I’m not as tall as I used to be.
2:21:02 I want to talk about the i2 situation. I want to thank you because the last time I was here, your last meeting, I talked about the neglect and abuse for the children in the school. Everybody’s asking for a solution and, and you guys know what’s inevitable? The, let me think, you have transportation for the schools to ship them over with the buses.
2:21:32 Not everybody’s happy about that. I get it. The schools, it’s a good school.
2:21:40 I’ve been around 28 years. They tried. But the other solution is find some property.
2:21:50 Like somebody just said there’s some property somewhere they can put another move Cape View, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s in close in range. That would be better solution. Because everybody’s asking you please do this, please do that.
2:22:06 And then it threatens you with ah well, we’ll just wait for the next, you know, election, we’ll get rid of you guys. That’s not an option. But the solution is find another property for them, help them out.
2:22:21 I’m not agreeing with what is going on in the school. But as for having the school, yeah, they need a school. But I want to thank you very much and I’d like to look forward into that food drive that you have for the kids because I believe in the no hungry kid should be left behind.
2:22:38 Thank you. Julia Anton, Sandra Sullivan. I’ve heard a lot of good reasons against the closing of Cape View and I’m going to approach it from a totally different direction.
2:23:02 And you may question, is this i2 or is this Schools of Hope? It’s both and it is i2. So there’s more than one issue surrounding Cape View closing. This whole Schools of Hope thing says if your school is underperforming, blah blah blah, they can come in and use the County’s facilities.
2:23:25 The county pays for the facility, the county pays extension expenses. They’re making money even though they claim to be nonprofit. They are feeding into for profit and they’re making money at taxpayer expense off of our facilities.
2:23:40 Now my question is, if we close Cape View and then Schools of Hope comes in and takes over the facility, where’s that dollar saving? And Gene is shaking his head, which means either I’m wrong or else that he just blanket disagreements, disagrees with me. I’m not sure which I agree with you. I could be wrong on some things because I started researching this recently.
2:24:03 But regardless of where the line draws, when Schools of Hope could come into Cape View and when they could not, I did find out some very important things about this whole Schools of Hope thing that has to do with our facilities. Now they claim to be nonprofit, but the fact is they are really just a revenue stream. A cash cow for a profit organization called Academica.
2:24:32 Academica makes big bucks, big, big bucks off of supposedly managing the Schools of Hope. Now why do we need somebody to come into our facilities and we pay their bills and then they turn around and pay somebody else to manage. Who are you? Aren’t you the school board? Don’t you manage Brevard Public Schools? Why do we need to be giving them our facilities so they can pay Academica to manage them? No, there’s, you know, it’s just a revenue stream is all that Schools of Hope and Hope operators are.
2:25:16 So my call of action to you in these few seconds left is do everything you can to push back against the School of Hope takeover. Including finding a way to use Cape View for meaningful use so they can’t come in and co locate or whatever at Cape View. Find a way to do that.
2:25:38 Charge every single person, Rendell, your entire staff. This has to be a full blown effort to keep them from funneling taxpayer dollars for their profit. Sandra sulliv.
2:26:16 Good evening. Sandra Sullivan. So I heard about Schools of Hope and did records requests.
2:26:23 I would have liked seen more transparency by the school board. You knew about this on the 8th of October. And even to just the meeting before.
2:26:37 Ms. Sullivan, can you. I too talking about boundary changes. Okay, boundaries.
2:26:41 But it doesn’t have anything to do with Hope. To the last person I would say I would ask the school board to do what other school boards are doing and that is write your legislators. Okay.
2:26:54 And request to repeal this because this does affect the school closures. There is a bill by Daryl Rosen, St. Pete. Just one second, Ms. Sullivan.
2:27:10 I just. To repeal the Law. So I would ask for your support for that.
2:27:14 Yeah. Pertaining to Cape View. Okay.
2:27:16 As we heard today at the workshop, you’re looking at not just Cape View as community school schools. You are looking at the school in my community, which is Sea park and others. That school was mentioned specifically today.
2:27:34 There has been a lack of transparency on the schools that you intend. I would like to add that you lost almost 2100 students this year, and this is an ongoing pattern that you’ve lost 18,000 students. Students between charter and BPS.
2:27:54 And Orange county has taken action to pay a consulting company $1,000 per student to bring them back into BPS. I think that’s a bigger issue that we’re facing because I looked at work plans going back for years. This is not a new issue.
2:28:14 I want to also add from your workshop today on the process I had posted about the interlocal agreement and the process for the five year work plan. The five year work plan. Ms. Sullivan, if I can.
2:28:31 It’s my time, please. Yeah, but you have to speak to an agenda. The five year work plan is not part of the agenda.
2:28:40 Change requires a work plan. Your last work plan, approved in March of 2025, stated that there are no plans for close any schools. Now you’re looking at closing a school.
2:28:57 Now, Cape Canaveral government has objected and written a resolution to not close schools. So when that work plan goes to them, they have 15 days to respond. But your work plan said no schools being closed.
2:29:15 So. Thank you, Ms. Sullivan. I appreciate you.
2:29:18 Thank you for coming out. Ms. Sullivan, we appreciate. Thank you so much.
2:29:21 We appreciate you. Thank you, ma’. Am.
2:29:28 Thank you. Thank you, Miss. Miss Sullivan, please, Please.
2:29:32 Thank you. We have other people to speak. Thank you.
2:29:36 Okay. Is everybody okay? Do you guys need to take a break? Are we okay? We’re good to go. Rock and roll.
2:29:46 Okay. That concludes agenda items on public comments. We thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to address the board with your concerns and suggestions.
2:29:57 I would like to remind the public that the board is accessible for further conversations outside of our business meeting. Through scheduling, a meeting, email and other forms. That moves us on to the consent agenda.
2:30:06 Dr. Rendell. Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are 43 items on the agenda under this category.
2:30:12 Thank you. Dr. Rendell. Does any board member wish to pull any of these items? Are we good? All right.
2:30:20 I will entertain a motion to accept the consent items with. With a motion. So moved.
2:30:28 Second, any discussion? Paul, roll call, please. Ms. Wright? Ms. Wright. Oh, sorry.
2:30:36 Hi. I thought you said Mr. Trent. I’m sorry.
2:30:38 I know we got to wake up. It’s okay. I did the same thing.
2:30:40 This thing was reading off. Did you say aye? Aye. Aye.
2:30:42 Mr. Trent. Aye. Mr. Susan.
2:30:45 Aye. Ms. Campbell. Aye.
2:30:46 Mr. Thomas. Aye. Dr. Rendell.
2:30:48 Which please let us know about the items under the action portion of Today. Today’s agenda. Mr. Susan, there are no action items today.
2:30:54 Nice. Okay. We will move to the information agenda which includes items for the board to review and may be brought back for an action at a subsequent meeting.
2:31:02 No action will be taken on these items. There are two under this category. Does any wish board member wish to speak on any of these Items? Yes.
2:31:09 Okay. Ms. Campbell, does anybody else want to speak on anything? Anybody else? No. Okay, Ms. Campbell, you have the floor.
2:31:14 Thank you, Mr. Chair. I. I did because. Because we have so many people here.
2:31:19 I just want to never want to miss the opportunity to just correct misinformation. Just make sure I did want to talk about the Cape you thing. First of all, I am not surprised at all that you guys have come out because you support your school.
2:31:34 Don’t expect anything less that you and I love to hear that you love your A rated school. You love your community school. School.
2:31:42 And I’m so glad that you’re here. I did want to address. And also I said it in the workshop today.
2:31:49 I’m going to try not to repeat what I said because I want you guys to go back. They’re all on YouTube. And guess what the great thing about watching on YouTube is you can put them on 1.
2:32:05 5 speed and listen faster. That’s the way I do it. But one thing I will repeat that I said this afternoon is none of us want to be here.
2:32:15 No school board across the country ever wants to be in the position where we have to consider closing school. It is. It brings no pleasure and it brings a lot of heartache.
2:32:18 And we understand that. But I hope that you will go back. There were some questions.
2:32:31 I want to address a couple things. There were some questions about transparency and about how the item was on the agenda. I want to make sure that, you know, this is addressed.
2:32:39 It’s listed as an attendance boundary change because that’s where we have to list it. But it’s not. It wasn’t a matter of hiding it.
2:32:51 This is the process. The process is we put it on an agenda item as information to make sure it gets out there. We have public meetings, which we’ve already had some.
2:33:03 And to say that it’s not being transparent that people didn’t know as soon as we Started really in the process of the board of hey, let’s explore this. Let’s get this community input. Dr. Rendell went out, we’ve got an open survey to the public.
2:33:09 Staff have been out to city council meetings. They had a meeting with the teachers. They had a meeting with parents of both schools.
2:33:24 This is the process. And then in December we advertise for a hearing and then in January we have the hearing and we vote. So I know it was act like we’re going to sneak this in and vote on it tonight.
2:33:32 I hope that it was clear obviously we’re not voting on it tonight. This is the process. And we did start start this earlier if people want lacked information.
2:33:36 I want to make sure you know, you don’t have to attend the workshops. That’s okay. You don’t usually get to speak at one.
2:33:47 So here’s some of the ones if you want to go back and listen to these and if you don’t have to write them down right now, you can go back and listen to this meeting in 1.5 speed December. It’s on the page too.
2:33:59 Yeah, it’s on the page but December 10, 2020, 2024, we had our first work session where WXY shared the reports. Someone said they hadn’t seen the report or wasn’t being transparent. That report is attached at the minutes of that meeting.
2:34:26 December 10, 2024, where WXY came and shared with us the condition of our buildings and what their suggestions were, some of the solutions that we might need to consider considering the age of our buildings, the shrinking population in some of these schools and the increasing population in other areas of the county. So that’s December 10, 2024 work session all on the BPS YouTube channel under live videos. On April 18, 2025 of this year, we had a work session.
2:34:43 It was one of the Items on there May 6, 2025. I’m sorry, April 8, not April 18. And then again on May 6 we talked about it on September 23 we had gave board direction to go ahead and start pursuing this avenue which meant pursuing public participation and comment.
2:34:59 And that’s around that time was when the portal opened the for people to give their comments. And our staff member, Ms. Han has continued to give us that community feedback as we’re getting it. I just wanted to also clarify a couple things and I hope I can nip this one in the bud.
2:35:15 Overcrowded classrooms is not going to be a thing. I just, I think the people who say it don’t understand. State law requires us to have an average of 18 students in the kindergarten through second grade age range.
2:35:29 An average of 18 students per class. An average of 22 students per class in the third grade through sixth grade or maybe fourth grade through sixth grade. I can’t remember where the cutoff Is, but that 18 and 22, that’s required by state law.
2:35:38 We’re not talking about taking Cape View and dumping them in the existing classes. We would have teachers enough. We’d have added teachers.
2:35:45 So I just want to make sure people understand you’re not going to like it. I get it. Nothing I’m saying is going to make you think that this is a good idea.
2:35:53 But I want to make sure you understand if it happens. I don’t want you to be upset and freaking out because you think your child’s going to be in a classroom full of 32 kids. That’s not a thing.
2:36:03 That’s not a thing. They will be in the same class as a ministry required by state law to do that. Also, it’s been addressed a few times about the ESC population.
2:36:26 Wherever the children are in any school, they’re at where they have those needs and they have an iep. We are required again by law and because we want to do it because it’s best for students to meet the needs of those IEPs and those students will be served at any school where they are with whatever their IEP says. As far as I know, people have dressed food.
2:36:29 We have free and reduced lunch. And I want to make sure. I hope.
2:36:37 Please stick around. I’ll make sure we connect you with a staff member because you mentioned some concerns. I want to make sure that we understand so that if this happens, we can address that.
2:36:46 But I just wanted to make sure just people understand that it was mentioned. It’s not a financial transaction. It is not.
2:37:04 Even though there’s finances involved. Ultimately the board has to decide what’s going to be best for the whole the district and serving every student. And we appreciate you coming out, but I just wanted to make sure again because those couple things keep circulating and every time someone says about over cloud classrooms, I’m probably going to say something again because that’s.
2:37:10 Yeah, that’s just not a thing. We want to make sure we communicate because I don’t want that fear to be out there. We will abide by state law.
2:37:17 We are going to do what’s best for kids and make sure that if this happens that we are. We are going to meet those standards. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
2:37:21 Thank you, everybody. I wanted to take A second. And I think he just, just left.
2:37:40 The individual that was talking about the XYZ affair was going to have him just check in with sue and just get the information on the link, you know what I mean? But he’ll come back in. I also wanted to just kind of walk through a couple of things that were said that it would all of a sudden create a large overabundance on the road. Our school times are varied.
2:37:48 Just so everybody knows there’s elementary, middle and high. So it’s not like all the kids are going to be coming at the same time. The teachers will more than likely follow.
2:38:05 If this was the vote, and this is what it was, understand that the teachers from Cape View more than likely would be the teachers at Roosevelt that would also be there. I also wanted to say that there was a comment about closing Cape View would then all of a sudden automatically go to the schools of hope. That’s not correct.
2:38:14 That’s not the process and stuff like that. I wanted to take Ms. Campbell and say thank you because you got rid of like three quarters of things that I had on here. You always do a great job.
2:38:29 And I do want to say that this board’s committed to trying to make the right decision. We’re actively looking for things. I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who came here to speak tonight and actually took the time to speak to this item in a very well thought out and respectful way, including our kids.
2:38:38 So thank you very much. Anybody else got anything? Did you want to add anything? All right. Even though I may.
2:38:46 Yeah, go ahead. Repeat some of the things as well. Is again, absolutely, we want you here.
2:38:56 This is again part of the process. We expect you here now. We expect emails to keep coming, voicemails, conversations, coffees.
2:39:19 This is part of the process, is to get solutions, to hear your solutions. Many times it’s actually just wanting more information, you know, that, you know, the fear factor of if this happens or can we, can we change this or we stop this from happening. And many of the conversations I’m having is, you know, we have a customer issue and those are the amount of students.
2:39:39 So I haven’t heard much about, well, if we offer more services, kids are just going to appear. We get most of all students in the Cape Canaveral, in the Cape View area to come to Cape View. So an idea to take students from other schools.
2:39:54 That’s not necessarily what we’re looking at. That’s not long term. But something I wanted to mention is we have two cities that are struggling right now and that’s Cocoa beach and Cape Canaveral and we really can’t save one without the other.
2:40:10 The attendance issue is in both, both cities, both city councils have been struggling with how to stop the progress if they can. You know that if you live in those communities, you’re talking about transparency. You know what we’re up against.
2:40:16 You know it, you know the Airbnbs. That’s not a school board issue. We can’t stop that.
2:40:40 And I’m not blaming the city councils, but they have not been able to stop the tsunami of the short term rental problem which is driving our families away. When you have two schools that need to have 500 students and we have 250 students, please come up with a viable solution that we can add a couple hundred students to both schools. Other than that, the students will suffer.
2:40:53 They’re going to suffer with programs that’s coming. The state is not giving us enough money that we can spend 40% more on student speech side when the rest of the students across the county are getting. Not that.
2:41:06 So, you know, we have 86 traditional schools, 100 schools all together. It is not a good situation overall. The School of Hope is, you know, it’s a parasite coming into our schools.
2:41:18 Please take some time, watch the presentation that Suhan had given us today, this afternoon. It was very informative. That is nothing that we want to be a part of.
2:41:28 So we’re open. That’s why we are there. I will say the district did their part presenting to the Cape View and the Roosevelt families.
2:42:02 That wasn’t a school board situation there, but now it’s our turn. You know, if you’re concerned, reach out to us, come back again at the next board meeting, come up with some ideas, look at the possibility of if this does happen, then what? You know that that’s part of this and you know, that’s a whole other conversation that we probably, I’m going to say could be the best situation in the county of Brevard to be able to have. If this happens, to have a K through 12 where kids are going to school together, that same group of kids for 12 years.
2:42:21 I’ve had two kids graduate from Cocoa beach and I have one there now and they been through Roosevelt. I’ve been around Cape View, I’ve been a baseball coach in those baseball fields right behind Cape View in Little League. I mean, I’m familiar with the areas and it is not something that we want to talk about.
2:42:26 But we can’t just continue to kick the can down the road. It’s not fair for anyone. It’s not fair for our students.
2:42:38 So I thank you, Cape Canaveral parents and concerned citizens to come out and talk like this. Yes. You’re going to get some people that just want to agitate, and I apologize that you had to sit here and listen to that.
2:42:50 But continue to reach out to us, and we promise. I know these guys. They’re going to continue to listen, and they’ll take time to, you know, return phone calls and talk to you about possible solutions.
2:42:53 So thank you. Very good. Very good.
2:43:02 We’re now at board member reports, discussion points. Anybody have anything? I’ve got a couple recognitions. Yeah, recognitions.
2:43:05 Yes, sir. So just. I’m gonna do something.
2:43:16 Start doing something a little different. I’m gonna have reaching out to my schools in my district and then just ask each one to give me some things that they would like to acknowledge. So this.
2:43:22 This. This week is gonna be Stone Middle School. And so there’s two things I’d like to.
2:43:41 To bring up. One is they were having an event on December 4th called Ignite the Night. Ms. Ferrante Williams has provided this information to me, the principal, and Ignite the Night is showcasing science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math activities at Stone Middle School.
2:43:48 She’s inviting anybody and everybody. You don’t have to be a district person. You can be from outside the district, come attend and check out Stone Middle School.
2:44:03 And then the last thing is she wanted to acknowledge Lana Colon, who is a social studies instructional coach. She was Educator of the Month in October. And I just like to read something about Ms. Colon real quick.
2:44:17 This is from Ms. Ferrante Williams. Ms. Colon is nominated for Gopher Educator of the Month because from day one, she has made the teachers feel confident in teaching students. As a social studies coach, she consistently goes above and beyond what is expected.
2:44:33 She models lessons for teachers to teach throughout the day and always ensures all teachers have the materials needed to succeed. Even after hours, she continues to upload valuable resources to help teachers have a successful day in the classroom. We truly appreciate her dedication, support, and guidance.
2:44:48 She has made such a positive impact on the entire social studies team. I honestly don’t know where we’d be without her. So I just would like to congratulate Ms. Colon, and I’d like to thank Ms. Ferrante Williams for all of her efforts in making Stone Middle School the best it can be.
2:45:05 Thank you, Mr. Thomas. All right, first of all, a couple Saturdays ago, we had the elementary school soccer jamboree, and it was really fun. To see all the schools out there even had cheerleading teams, and they did a great job.
2:45:20 The Veterans Recognition Dinner that was mentioned during our Veterans Recognition, it was such a wonderful event. But later that night, it got even better. We have Space Coast Honor Flight now that’s flying out of Melbourne Airport.
2:45:29 And they’ve had three this fall. They’re having three again in the spring when they pick it back up. We’re getting those emails from Ms. Judy asking for letters and things like that.
2:45:44 But I didn’t think we’d be able to do it because we had this veterans event. And while we were there, they shared that Congressman Herodopoulos was actually going to be leaving the event and going down to the airport to recognize our veterans. And so we said, let’s just go.
2:45:55 For me, it was on the way home. I have to recognize Ms. Wright, who drove all the way down to Melbourne Airport and then had to turn around and go back to Titusville when we were in Cocoa, I think. Or no, we were in Vera at the time.
2:46:14 So I just have to tell our community that that Space Coast Honor Flight was one of the most amazing things that I’ve ever been a part of. There were hundreds of people at the Melbourne Airport at 9:15 and then 9:30 and then 9:40 and then 10 and then 10:15. By the time the veterans got off the airplane, it was pretty late, but it was just so amazing.
2:46:25 There was music, cheers. Veterans from recent, you know, conflicts, but plenty of veterans from the Korean War. And the veterans, excuse me, the Vietnam War.
2:46:33 And it was just such a touching event. I’ve had several of them say something to me since then. Then we had an amazing story and I just.
2:46:51 This is not school board related, but it’s related to that because I want our schools to get involved. There was a story that Ms. Judy shared about a Vietnam veteran who, since he came home from the war so many decades ago now, had night terrors every night. And ever since he got to participate in Space Coast Honor Flight in September, he’s not had a one.
2:46:57 That’s a miracle story. And our community has that kind of. I know it doesn’t just make you just get chills.
2:47:07 So I want to continue. I threw an idea out at Dr. Rendell that actually Principal Woodbury from Westside mentioned that because we’re Purple School. Oh, my gosh.
2:47:15 I can’t even talk tonight. Purple Star School District. That would be a great thing for our schools to participate in, writing some of those letters.
2:47:29 So as things I want to continue to challenge us. Dr. And I’ll get that message out to the schools that in the spring they love to have those cards and letters. It would be so amazing to have our students send those letters because then they give them to the veterans when they take off to have some of those from our schools.
2:47:48 I was thinking it would be great to have schools perform, but they leave at 4 o’ clock in the morning, so I’m not sure that that would be so easy to do. But it was such a great event and I encourage our community, if you’re not aware, now you’re aware. And if you are aware, you know, get down to the airport, find out the dates and just welcome these heroes home because it’s such a touching moment.
2:48:18 And we have, as already mentioned tonight, we have such a high population of veterans in our community and it was well worth the hours spent in the airport to see the smiles on their faces as they came through the crowd. And then finally today this month, November is national adoption month. And it was my pleasure and joy to be a part or to be an audience today for the adoption ceremony that was across the the street around the corner at the USSSA Space Coast Stadium.
2:48:33 There were 12 families blessed by adoption today and 14 children blessed by adoption today. And the judge just did a fantastic job. And many of those students are either already with children, already with us as students or will be one day, very likely.
2:48:50 And it’s just an amazing thing for our community to surround them. Thank you to Family Partnership of Brevard and all the other organizations that coordinated that. I know our family and my husband was blessed by adoption and so many of our students are, and it was great to be invited.
2:49:01 Thank you. Ms. Diana Adams, who is one of the families who is blessed by adoption today. But for the invitation to make sure, yes, they were the first family to invite us as school board members to be a part.
2:49:05 It was a great day. And that’s all I have. All right, Ms. Wright.
2:49:16 All right. I’m going to piggyback on what you said about the honor flight. I have to tell you, I agree that was one of the, the coolest events I think I have been to.
2:49:24 I don’t know, maybe this year. I told Judy, I sent her an email and I said, I will never miss another one of these. I will prioritize attending that.
2:49:34 I want to give a huge shot to fit. Their entire lacrosse team came and those kids kept the atmosphere, just pumped up. I mean, it was so much fun.
2:49:49 Everyone was waiting and there was just a lot of really neat things that were happening there. And it was a moment where everyone kind of unified and are just really supporting these heroes that have come back through and had a special day. So thank you to Space Coast, Space Force jrrtc.
2:50:09 Their JRTC program wrote letters, handwrote letters to all of the veterans that went on that flight. So again, I challenge all of us, when we get that email from Judy, let’s send it to our schools and ask them to please participate in writing those letters because the mail call is just so important when they’re on that plane. That’s something to let them know that we appreciate them and the sacrifice that they have made for our country.
2:50:21 Want to just draw highlights to a couple things because some of this stuff just gets overlooked in the midst of like, hey, we’re doing all these things. We approved these things that are on the board agenda. And so tonight one of the things that we always get is our Head Start updated programs.
2:50:36 And I love seeing those since, you know, we’re, we’re right now, we’re kind of early stages. But Head Start did 402 vision and hearing screenings in the month of September. They did 134 dental exams to our pre K students.
2:50:48 So that’s an entryway to just teaching these kids that they don’t have to be scared of the medical system, of getting their teeth checked, their eyes checked, their ears checked. And I just think that’s such a huge initiative. So thank you, thank you to Head Start for doing that.
2:51:09 One of the other things that’s very exciting and I don’t know, board members, I get this a lot, but issues around we’ll hear about buses that are running late. Right? That’s something that comes up. But our board tonight approved the bus attendance job description, which means that will be a position that will help alleviate some of the bus issues we have with having certain people that need to ride the buses for some of our special needs kids in those situations.
2:51:22 That’s very, very exciting for our school district. Want to thank Titusville High also Rachel Rutledge and doing the CD tour at Titusville High. We had a lot of great business partners that came alongside and really wanted to see some of the different things we had.
2:51:38 Nothing makes me happier than when they come in and I see them passing out cards to their instructor because I know that they’re going to actually link our kids to a job. So thank you so much to all those business partners that participated and to Rachel and her team for coordinating that. I’m going to obviously let you defer to the Eau Gallie Diesel ribbon cutting.
2:51:45 That was another fun event. There’s been like weeks since we got together, so it’s been a lot of stuff Fair Glen, best day ever. Thank you so much for inviting me to that.
2:51:49 That was so much fun. It was the best day ever. So I appreciate what you’re doing there.
2:51:58 Then the other thing. Also board, we know that we have our teacher of the year, employee of the year, I believe breakfast tomorrow. So just make sure everyone.
2:52:04 I think everyone’s got on their calendar. We’re all going to be there. The last thing I want to do is I want to say thank you so, so, so much.
2:52:18 The Brevard county agricultural awareness tour took place last week and we got to go tour two different farms and they come for a farm and then the Deseret. Deseret? Is that how you say it? Deseret? Yeah. Anyways, just absolutely eye opening.
2:52:36 This is the first time that tour has taken place since 2000 and since 2020, since COVID And I just want to thank them for opening up their doors, letting us see a different way of living, a different line of work that a lot of times people don’t get to witness and see and experience. But it was very informative. A lot of our elected officials in Brevard county were there.
2:52:45 So I was happy to see them learning all the things that they’re doing out there that are absolutely wonderful. And thank you to those families and individuals that open that up. And that is all that I have.
2:52:51 Mr. Trent, I am going to give up my time. These nice people that have come here needs to. They probably need to get home.
2:53:05 And you guys have covered lots of it, so I’ll be real fast. I appreciate you talking about the elementary school sports, which I just want everybody to know. We are the only county in the state of Florida that has elementary school sports.
2:53:23 And that’s our commitment to these kids in health and athletics and everything else. It was amazing. And we’re getting word that like NFL, flag and others are going to be coming in to support us for the upcoming flag football that we have inside of elementary school, middle school and high school this year.
2:53:35 So many people don’t know, but the female sports for flag football is just increasing at rates that we’ve never seen before. And the girls are all excited about it. So lots of really good things to come in the spring there.
2:53:42 Lots of great things were at the soccer. People were. I also, like you said, they had cheer captains and squads.
2:53:56 And I felt like I was at a literal football game because they were cheering across and there was so much competition. I may have yelled so loud that the guy next to me’s watch went off a couple times saying that it was too loud around him, and he showed me. So that was pretty funny.
2:54:03 But I did want to say it was exciting to be a part of it. My son played goalie and look forward to it next year. You’re right.
2:54:29 The Eau Gallie ribbon cutting, that’s a big thank you not only to the board, but also to Dr. Endell. As we talk about many of the things that we talk about, it takes a superintendent to take his time to go through and actually prepare and do these things the right way, because we can come up with the ideas, but it takes the initiative to get it done the right way, and it’s flawless. The Eau Gallie ribbon cutting for the diesel programs is probably one of the best programs we have.
2:54:40 We cut the tape for it. And what it does is it builds kids for Caterpillar diesels. It builds kids for, you know, Canaveral ships and stuff like that that are inside there, all their diesel engines.
2:54:49 There’s so many opportunities for kids with diesel that we did not have in our automotive program. So this was a great opportunity for them. It also supports our agricultural centers and stuff like that.
2:55:01 I did want to say one last thing. I made an announcement about our raceway at the race league, but at the Eau Gallie thing, which is not an official thing with the schools, but it’s a bunch of kids that are racing. Right.
2:55:14 But I did want to say that we heard today, and that’s one of the reasons I kept walking outside, that McLaren racing is. Is going to come in and sponsor our teams like you’ve never seen before. And if anybody knows what F1 McLaren racing is, it’s not a joke.
2:55:22 It’s not even NASCAR. It’s like something you’ve never seen before. So there is going to be stuff that’s going to be happening in this county in that regard that is going.
2:55:27 It’s going to send some shockwaves across the country. So I just want to say thank you to everybody. Appreciate it.
2:55:34 And that’s all I’ve got. Do any other board members have anything else to discuss? Mr. Chairman? Oh, yeah. I’m so sorry, Dr. Rendell.
2:55:40 This is my first night. This is my first night. Appreciate it.
2:55:52 So I do want to follow up with a couple things that were talked about. Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Wright both talked about the honor flights. And so, as Mrs. Campbell requested, I Did reach out to the officials that run the honor flights, and I already have the dates for next year.
2:56:08 So we’re already working on ways we can participate and support that. So already got plans in action for that. Something that’s happened since we last met is some of our schools have retained and some schools have earned for the first time, Purple star school status.
2:56:23 We are one of only five districts in the state of Florida to be a purple Star district. There are 67 districts in Florida, so we’re one of five that is a purple Star district. That means we have at least 80% of our schools as purple Star schools.
2:56:44 Well, what is a purple Star school? What is a Purple Star district? That’s a school that supports military families, that has concrete ways that they operate to make sure that they welcome these families into their community and into their schools. Military children move around the world a lot. They face a lot of transitions when they move.
2:57:02 And so we want to make sure we do everything we can to welcome them into their new home, their new school, and then also value the service members that are serving in our area, in our community. So we now have a total of 93 Purple Star Schools in our district. So all but one of our traditional schools and several charters.
2:57:15 And we also have a couple private schools. They’re not in the 93, but so it’s three schools that were our first. Cocoa Beach, Holland and Quest, renewed for the first time because you get a three year designation.
2:57:34 And then Discovery elementary and Lockmar for the first time, Purple Star schools this year. So great job by all these schools and all the people involved to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by our military families and our military children. It’s great to be recognized for that by the state. All right, we’ll take a brief recess and reconvene. Thank you, Sam.