Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 Thank you.
20:59 build functional communication skills needed for peer
21:02 interactions, classroom participation,
21:05 and real-world social situations. Students also have access to
21:09 sensory tools, calming spaces,
21:11 and flexible seating within the Homebase classroom. These
21:13 supports help students regulate their
21:15 emotions, manage stress, and remain engaged in learning
21:18 throughout the day. Another key component
21:20 of Homebase is support facilitation. Students receive support
21:23 from the Homebase teacher and a
21:25 paraprofessional within their general education classes,
21:28 ensuring access to rigorous instruction
21:30 while promoting inclusion, independence, and success across
21:33 settings. Homebase is more than a classroom.
21:36 It is a model of support that builds communication, confidence,
21:39 and skills to help students succeed
21:41 in school and beyond. The Homebase is a wonderful program which
21:46 kind of allows the students to not
21:47 only be in the ESC classroom but as the gen ed population as
21:50 well. In the Homebase program,
21:52 I teach a social-emotional class and an independent functioning
21:55 class. So in our social-emotional
21:57 class, we teach our students how to interact with other students,
22:00 how to make friends, how to regulate
22:02 emotions, and just socialize in total. And then in their seventh
22:07 period class is our independent
22:09 functioning class and that’s when our students kind of learn
22:12 whether it’s skills to study for a test,
22:14 how to understand routines, how to do things of that nature. My
22:20 favorite thing about being a Homebase
22:22 teacher is my students. They make this job so much fun. I love
22:25 every single one of them and just the
22:28 positive attitudes they bring to the classroom and then watching
22:30 them succeed not only in the
22:32 in the ESC classroom but in the gen ed population as well. Hello,
22:36 my name is Diana Pittenger. I work here
22:38 at Central Middle School. I am the ESC Homebase teacher. I teach
22:42 the learning strategies and the
22:44 social-emotional classes which are both ESC courses. I also am
22:49 the co-teacher for their math and their
22:52 language arts courses. So I go into those classes every day and
22:56 we also have a paraprofessional that
22:58 works with them and she goes into their science and history or
23:01 civics classes. We start off the year
23:03 by learning about emotional regulation and that’s where we learn
23:07 to identify our emotions and develop
23:10 tools that we can use to help us be regulated in the correct
23:13 zone for the situation we’re in. We move on
23:16 to working on social communication skills in a variety of
23:19 different situations like today we’re going to be
23:22 talking about how to give somebody directions. I have the
23:25 benefit of time. I get to be with my students
23:28 pretty much all day long. I get to learn their tells so I can
23:32 see when they’re starting to get
23:33 dysregulated and I can introduce a tool there. The goal is for
23:37 them to ultimately be able to regulate by
23:40 themselves. Sometimes that happens more often what happens is
23:43 their classmates come alongside them
23:45 and co-regulate with them and it’s a really really cool thing to
23:49 see them helping each other.
23:50 My students I love them they are the absolute highlight of my
23:54 day. We do have challenging moments
23:56 of course but I expect that. I love the fact that I’ve been able
23:59 to create a sensory friendly environment
24:02 for them. We have a variety of tools for a variety of sensory
24:05 needs so that we can do.
24:06 My name is James Kenta. I’m Micah Franson. I am here at Central
24:13 Middle School. I am inside the
24:15 Eagles program. I’m Gabriel Ro and I am at Central Middle School.
24:19 Hello my name is Nathan and I’m here at
24:22 Central Middle School. Yo I’m Jordan. When you’re like getting
24:31 angry you can learn how to calm down
24:34 and stuff. Self-control for like anger issues talking with other
24:38 people if you’re scared to or just
24:41 communicate in general some simple stuff. Like emotional like
24:45 self-regulation and stuff like that
24:48 like learning how to get like adverse attentions and stuff. My
24:50 favorite thing to learn about is just
24:52 learning about other people.
24:53 Mostly the fidgets because they help me a lot by like focusing
25:03 and keeping myself
25:04 keeping myself entertained. Probably the zen zone you know.
25:08 Taking breaks and sometimes draw. Music.
25:13 I just put on my headphones and just listen to a music of my
25:16 choice.
25:17 It’s our community and that’s exactly what it is.
25:20 Thank you so much for the time and sharing that. Central Middle
25:32 School in Jefferson we didn’t visit
25:33 all of them but they did amazing and then in collaboration like
25:37 Asoba GCR so thank you for that.
25:39 So our Autism Awareness Awareness Month proclamation whereas
25:42 April is recognized as Autism Awareness Month,
25:45 a time to honor and raise awareness about individuals with Autism
25:49 Spectrum Disorder,
25:51 a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by a range of socialization,
25:55 communication, and behavioral
25:56 challenges. And whereas the symptoms of Autism are typically
26:00 present before age three and often
26:02 accompanied by abnormalities in cognitive functioning, learning
26:06 attention, and sensory processing. And whereas Autism can
26:10 impact any child regardless of race, ethnicity, or other socioeconomic
26:15 factors with an estimated one in 31
26:17 children in the United States being diagnosed with Autism
26:21 annually with the condition being more prevalent
26:23 in boys than girls. And whereas there is no current cure for Autism,
26:28 early intervention and appropriate
26:29 support can significantly improve outcomes providing individuals
26:33 with the tools they need to thrive while
26:36 reducing the level of funding services needed later in life. And
26:39 whereas Brevard Public Schools recognizes
26:41 the importance of Autism Awareness and the need to support
26:45 individuals with Autism along with their
26:47 family members, teachers, physicians, other care professionals,
26:50 as well as support the funding of Autism
26:52 Research. And whereas all individuals living with Autism should
26:56 have the opportunity to accomplish their goals,
26:58 dreams, dreams, and ambitions. Now, therefore, be it resolved
27:01 that Brevard Public Schools calls upon all
27:04 students, staff, and community members to learn more about the
27:07 condition, recognize the importance of their
27:10 inclusion, and respect the unique abilities of those with Autism.
27:13 Adopted by the members of the Brevard Public
27:16 School Board, Brevard County, Florida, at the regular board
27:20 meeting thereof held the 31st day of March 2026.
27:25 I have the honor of introducing our guest this evening, an
27:28 individual whose leadership and advocacy have
27:31 made a profound impact on families throughout Brevard County. In
27:34 2011, Mary Reed established SOC, which
27:38 stands for Supporting Our ASD Kids, as a parent-led initiative.
27:42 Her goal was simple, yet powerful,
27:45 to ensure that no family would face the challenges of Autism
27:48 alone. She also works tirelessly as a Family
27:51 Resource Specialist for Space Coast Early Steps. Mary collaborates
27:55 with other community agencies,
27:57 supporting families with resources to fit their individual needs.
28:01 Under Mary’s guidance, SOC has
28:02 grown into a network of more than 5,000 members, offering
28:06 monthly meetings, educational programs,
28:08 family events, and resources. Today, as Brevard County presents
28:12 this proclamation and recognition of
28:15 Autism Awareness, we proudly acknowledge Mary’s extraordinary
28:19 contributions and her unwavering
28:21 commitment to our community. Please join me in welcoming Mary
28:24 Reed to the podium to accept this proclamation.
28:26 Wow, thank you so much for those kind words. That was lovely and
28:36 unexpected.
28:37 And thank you so much for the honor of accepting this proclamation
28:41 on behalf of SOC, Brevard families,
28:44 and individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We hope
28:47 that the upcoming Autism Awareness Month will
28:50 encourage community members to embrace neurodiversity. Autism is
28:53 a spectrum of hopes, dreams, abilities, desires,
28:57 thoughts, and possibilities, and we appreciate BPS and their
29:00 recognition. Thank you. Thank you.
29:02 Ms. Bias, what we’re going to do is, at the end, we’re all going
29:10 to come up for pictures after we go
29:12 through them, so we’ll take them then. Thank you so much. Please
29:15 welcome.
29:16 We have to approve it, yeah. What’s that? We have to approve it.
29:20 Oh yeah, that’s right. All right. Do I
29:22 hear a motion? Move to approve. Second. Any discussion? I’m
29:26 hearing none. Paul, roll call, please. Mr. Trent? Aye. Mr. Susan?
29:30 Aye. Ms. Campbell? Aye. Mr. Thomas? Aye.
29:33 Mr. Thomas? Aye. All right. Please welcome Dr. Jaina Jenkins to
29:37 the podium for, to read the second proclamation, Child Abuse
29:41 Prevention Month.
29:42 Dr. Jaina Jenkins: Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board,
29:47 Dr. Undell, and BPS family. Thank you for
29:49 joining me in this proclamation for Child Abuse Prevention Month.
29:54 Whereas children are our nation’s
29:56 most vulnerable members, as well as our nation’s most valuable
30:00 resources helping to shape the future of
30:02 Florida, and whereas positive childhood experiences like loving
30:06 caregivers and safe, stable, nurturing
30:09 relationships can help mitigate trauma and the negative impact
30:13 of adverse childhood experiences to promote
30:16 the social, emotional, and developmental well-being of children.
30:19 And whereas childhood trauma can have
30:22 long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects
30:25 throughout an individual’s lifetime, and in
30:28 fact, future generations of their family. And whereas childhood
30:33 trauma, including abuse and neglect, is a
30:36 serious problem affecting every community in the United States.
30:39 Finding solutions requires input and action
30:42 from everyone. Whereas children who live in families with access
30:46 to concrete economic and social supports
30:49 are less likely to experience abuse and neglect. And whereas
30:53 prevention is possible because of the
30:55 the partnerships created between families, prevention advocates,
30:59 child welfare professionals, education,
31:02 health, community, faith-based organizations, businesses, law
31:07 enforcement agencies, and local, state, and national
31:10 governments. And whereas we acknowledge that in order to solve
31:14 the public health issue of abuse and neglect,
31:16 we must work together to change hearts and mindsets through
31:21 storytelling and sharing, centering the needs of
31:24 families, break down bias and barriers, and inspire action from
31:29 expected and unexpected partners in
31:31 prevention. And whereas we are committed to advancing equitable,
31:35 responsive, and effective systems that
31:37 ensure all children and families are healthy and thriving. And
31:40 whereas we recognize the need to
31:42 prioritize kids and invest more prevention initiatives like home
31:47 visiting, family strengthening policies,
31:49 and economic supports, and community-based child abuse
31:53 prevention programs at the national,
31:55 state, and local levels. And now therefore, be it resolved that
32:00 the school board of our county
32:01 does hereby proclaim that April as child abuse prevention month
32:06 urges all citizens to recognize this
32:08 month by building a narrative of hope for children and families
32:11 through collaboration and the creation of an ecosystem
32:15 of primary prevention. Adopted by the members of the Bavard
32:19 School Board, Bavard County, Florida, at this regular
32:22 board meeting held on the 31st day of March, 2026. And now I
32:26 would like to invite Devine Vincent from
32:30 Captive, our partner, to receive this proclamation.
32:37 Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for taking the time to
32:44 honor this with us. I know there’s many
32:47 great initiatives for the month of April, and child abuse
32:50 prevention is one of those. So we appreciate your
32:52 recognition. For the month of April, we will be doing pinwheel
32:56 plantings throughout the month. And with just
32:59 thinking of what the pinwheel represents, you know, we want to
33:02 make sure that all of the children in our
33:04 community, that they have that right to a safe, happy and
33:08 healthy childhood. And we plant those pinwheels
33:12 in honor of that. And the fact that there are kids,
33:15 unfortunately, who didn’t have that right fulfilled,
33:19 but we plant those also in hope, and with purpose and intention
33:22 that in our community,
33:24 collectively, we can all take part in making sure that our
33:27 children have that happy, safe, healthy
33:30 child that they all deserve. So thank you so much for
33:32 recognition, and we appreciate your support.
33:35 Thank you so much.
33:36 Do I hear a motion?
33:42 So moved.
33:43 Second.
33:43 Any discussion?
33:45 Hearing none, Paul, roll call, please.
33:47 Mr. Trent?
33:48 Aye.
33:48 Mr. Susan?
33:49 Aye.
33:50 Ms. Campbell?
33:50 Aye.
33:51 Mr. Thomas?
33:51 Aye.
33:52 All right. We have three proclamations this evening. Please
33:56 welcome Yvette Cruz to the podium to read the
33:58 third proclamation, the month of the military child.
34:03 Whereas thousands of brave Americans have demonstrated their
34:10 courage and commitment
34:12 to freedom by serving in the armed forces of the United States
34:15 of America in active duty posts around
34:17 the world, and whereas we recognize that many of the Patrick
34:21 Space Force base’s youth have been
34:23 directly affected by the frequent changes in permanent station
34:27 causing them to move several times
34:29 during their childhoods, military deployments or separation of
34:33 at least one parent, and the
34:35 difficult reintegration period that follows all deployments. And
34:38 whereas these children are a
34:40 source of pride and honor to us all, and it is only fitting that
34:44 we take the time to recognize their
34:46 contributions, celebrate their spirit, and let our men and women
34:50 in uniform know that while they are
34:52 taking care of us, we are taking care of their children. And
34:55 whereas the recognition of the
34:57 month of the military child first established in 1986 by Defense
35:02 Secretary Caspar Weinberger will
35:05 allow us to pay tribute to military children for their
35:08 commitment, their struggles, and their
35:10 unconditional support of our troops, because when parents serve
35:14 in the military, their kids serve too.
35:16 Whereas everyone is encouraged to wear purple on Wednesday,
35:20 April 15th as a visible sign,
35:22 to thank military children for their strength and sacrifices,
35:25 and whereas a month-long salute to
35:28 military children will encourage the local community to provide
35:32 direct support to military children and
35:34 families and reinforce the strong partnership that we have
35:38 cultivated between Brevard Public Schools and
35:41 Patrick Space Force Base. Now, therefore, beer resolved that Brevard
35:45 Public Schools recognizes and celebrates
35:48 April 2026 as month of the military child and April 15th,
35:53 2026 to be the purple up day for military kids in Brevard County.
35:58 Adopted by the members of the Brevard Public School Board, Brevard
36:02 County,
36:03 Florida at the regular board meeting there of held the 31st day
36:07 of March 2026.
36:09 And tonight we have a special guest.
36:11 So please welcome from Patrick Space Force Base,
36:14 the commander of Space Launch Delta 45 Colonel Chapman.
36:18 I want to say thank you very much to Brevard County for adopting
36:29 the month of the military child here for the month of April.
36:31 Since 1986, the month of April has been the month of the
36:34 military child where we focused on the diversity of the children
36:38 of military members around the world.
36:40 We’ve got about 1.6 million military kids that are currently
36:44 serving with their parents around the world
36:46 that move every two to three years.
36:48 That’s six to nine different schools that they will be in before
36:51 they graduate high school.
36:52 And focusing on the kids helps bring resiliency to the base.
36:56 So on behalf of Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral
36:59 Space Force Station,
36:59 we love the partnership with Brevard County Schools.
37:02 And thank you very much.
37:03 Thank you very much.
37:05 Do I hear a motion?
37:11 Any discussion?
37:13 Paul, roll call, please.
37:15 Mr. Trent?
37:16 Aye.
37:16 Mr. Susan?
37:17 Aye.
37:18 Ms. Campbell?
37:18 Aye.
37:19 Mr. Thomas?
37:19 Aye.
37:20 Good.
37:22 Mr. Chair, it might be appropriate now to take our first break
37:25 for a round of photos.
37:26 So we’ll do the three proclamations.
37:27 Take a brief recess.
37:56 Thank you.
38:56 Take a brief recess.
39:17 in the Committee of the room.
39:18 Take a brief recess.
39:47 Thank you.
41:21 My name is Sue Hamm and I’m very excited and especially honored
41:24 to be here tonight on behalf
41:26 of the district’s financial services team.
41:28 So this is kind of a new role for me, but it’s really an honor
41:32 for me to be able to introduce
41:33 to you our new director of financial planning, cost analysis and
41:38 innovation.
41:39 And this is to me one of the most strategic and impactful roles
41:44 that we are going to have
41:46 in the district.
41:46 It’s a new role and it will allow us to be forward thinking in
41:50 terms of our financial work at Brevard
41:52 public schools.
41:53 So we are going to be moving from, you know, more of a reactive
41:59 like responding to financial
42:01 situations, responding to our revenues and expenditures as they
42:05 happen versus being proactive and being
42:07 able to do projections, dashboards, transparency, all of the
42:11 great things that we come to expect
42:12 in Brevard, we are going to bring to our financial services team
42:17 to the board and the public.
42:17 So it’s really, really with great honor and excitement that I
42:21 introduce to you, Ashley Smith, our new director.
42:33 Good evening, chair, board members and superintendent.
42:36 It is a privilege to step into the role of director of financial
42:39 planning, cost analysis and innovation.
42:41 And I am grateful for the trust that you have placed in me.
42:44 I am committed to strengthening the rigor, transparency and
42:48 accountability of our financial practices.
42:50 I also want to recognize the team’s willingness to move beyond
42:54 legacy approaches and adopt more
42:56 disciplined data driven methods as it makes this real progress
43:01 possible.
43:01 Together we’ll be, we are building a framework that delivers
43:05 clear financial visibility, sharper cost insight
43:09 and innovation that produces measurable results, not just ideas.
43:14 Moving forward.
43:15 My focus is simple.
43:16 Ensuring every dollar is understood, justified and aligned to
43:22 student outcomes and organizational priorities.
43:24 You can expect clarity, consistency and follow through.
43:28 Thank you.
43:35 Miss Ann.
43:36 New deputy superintendent.
43:38 Hmm.
43:39 Please welcome Miss Terry Barlow to the podium for the headstart
43:42 region for teacher of the year recognition.
43:46 Thank you.
43:51 Good evening, Dr. Rendell and board members.
43:54 It is my honor to recognize Celeste Rotan, a dedicated educator
43:58 with over 30 years of experience in early childhood education
44:02 and a true champion of the headstart mission.
44:04 She has been with our headstart program since 2017 and currently
44:09 teaches at Saturn elementary school.
44:11 Celeste is deeply committed to supporting the developmental
44:15 academic and social emotional growth of young children while
44:19 also fostering family engagement and mentoring fellow educators.
44:22 The region for headstart association.
44:23 The region for headstart association teacher of the year award
44:27 is a prestigious regional recognition representing headstart
44:31 programs across eight southeastern states, making this honor
44:36 especially meaningful and competitive.
44:37 Celeste professionalism leadership and unwavering dedication to
44:42 children and families truly represents the very best of headstart.
44:46 start she was recently awarded this honor in atlanta at the
44:50 region forehead start association
44:52 annual conference and gala and we are proud to recognize her as
44:56 the region forehead start
44:58 association teacher of the year so i just want to say thank you
45:07 very much for this and my friend
45:14 told me to say this so i’m going to say it but also thank you
45:17 for allowing me to continue
45:18 to work with these children every day it is it’s a blessing and
45:21 it’s what i love to do so thank you
45:23 very much thank you for serving our students we’re good miss barlow
45:37 would also like to recognize the
45:40 recipient of the national edward ziegler innovation award the
45:44 brevard zoo for over a decade head start
45:48 has partnered with brevard zoo to deliver nature-based hands-on
45:52 learning experiences
45:53 that expand access to high quality education including offering
45:57 one-time free annual memberships
45:59 to headstart families to ensure equitable access we are proud to
46:03 share that our program in partnership
46:06 with the zoo has been selected as the national winner when we
46:09 put this on the agenda we knew we were the
46:12 regional winner but we just found out right before spring break
46:15 that we’re the national winner of the
46:17 edward ziegler innovation award and will formally be recognized
46:20 in minneapolis this may this innovative
46:23 partnership has resulted in measurable gains in school readiness
46:27 social emotional development and family
46:29 engagement and serves as a strong example of an equity driven
46:33 model aligned with the spirit of this
46:35 prestigious national award we are proud to have our zoo partners
46:38 here this evening and would like to
46:40 recognize them for their continued commitment and impact on our
46:43 children we have andrea aubert and sky
46:47 collier please come on up i just wanted to say um we’re very
46:57 honored with this award and we hope to
47:01 continue working with headstart and the school district in many
47:05 years to come don’t go no no no no don’t sit
47:09 out i wanted everybody to know um you guys do a phenomenal job
47:13 and i’m sorry i didn’t speak to everybody
47:16 else but this one hits my dear heart you guys are doing some
47:19 amazing work at the zoo on multiple
47:21 levels all of my children have at one point gone through an
47:25 educational program and currently i have
47:27 one daughter who is there who she is the number one teacher in
47:32 the world who my is known as the mud princess
47:35 because she gets into the mud and she tears stuff up is because
47:39 of you guys she knows more about animals
47:41 when we travel than anybody else in the car or anybody else in
47:44 the world and she’s only five years old
47:46 so although she’s not a part of the headstart program she’s part
47:49 of another program we really
47:50 appreciate what you do for our children and i appreciate as a
47:53 dad what you’ve done for my family
47:55 so i just wanted to say thank you for that that’s all thank you
48:00 mr chair i was just going to say we we like to talk a lot i know
48:10 i mean i just have to point
48:12 out our head start program at brevard this is like the second
48:15 national record because we just got
48:17 noticed a couple years ago with the dental program you guys are
48:20 putting brevard headstart on the map so
48:22 thanks to our whole head start team i mean i’m pretty sure i’m
48:27 pretty sure and you this this is
48:31 right up your alley mr shoes and i’m pretty sure two national
48:33 awards and one large regional award in
48:35 the last couple years means that we’re the best head start in
48:38 the country yeah well i was wondering
48:40 yes yes and i was wondering why minneapolis gets to host this
48:45 thing why is it they don’t start hosting
48:47 it in brevard being the fact that i mean we might not have the
48:50 facilities but i mean well we’re building
48:53 one we’ll try to build one we’ll put them in our gyms you know
48:56 what i mean on cots but the bottom line
48:58 is is that you guys are amazing i know we have miss dale and
49:00 over here one of the past winners and stuff
49:02 like that and support and what you guys are doing is phenomenal
49:06 and it’s in an area of extreme need for
49:09 our district and couldn’t be more proud of you guys for what you’re
49:12 doing but yeah intergalactic national
49:15 everything winners of the world for head start absolutely dr mendoe
49:18 i know you’ve been itching to
49:20 say something no mr chai i just think it’s time for round two of
49:24 the photos all right let’s do it let’s take a recess
49:30 Thank you.
1:01:00 So, we went to the Bamboo Labs printer and had anywhere from a
1:01:04 printing time of 50 minutes
1:01:06 to 14 hours.
1:01:07 And that is our software.
1:01:10 This is our problem solving side where we’ll talk about the
1:01:17 problems we face and what we
1:01:20 did to solve them.
1:01:21 To start off, we were flying the drone manually as mentioned
1:01:25 before, which was very time consuming.
1:01:27 Embry-Riddle representatives came to our school and introduced
1:01:31 us to automatic drone flying.
1:01:32 This allowed us to speed up our process and get all the pictures
1:01:36 that we needed to make our 3D models.
1:01:39 Another problem we ended up facing was related to our 3D
1:01:42 software, where we had issues with the computer crashing and our
1:01:45 processing stopping midway.
1:01:47 To solve this, we utilized what we had at our school and our
1:01:50 computer labs using a better computer that could render the
1:01:53 model.
1:01:54 A final issue that we had faced was communication and staying in
1:01:57 contact with flying the drone across our campus.
1:02:00 To handle that, we got handheld radios.
1:02:04 This helped us communicate easier with each other and helped us
1:02:08 keep track of the drone.
1:02:10 Good evening, everyone.
1:02:14 This is our results slide.
1:02:15 So this was a 12-week process.
1:02:17 Over the time, we collaborated as a team, as you see in front of
1:02:20 us, to help us print our
1:02:21 3D model.
1:02:22 We learned different 3D software.
1:02:24 This is the first time for some of us and for people like
1:02:27 Mueller and Nice, this was actually
1:02:29 their experience with it.
1:02:32 We each learned how to fly a drone.
1:02:33 I personally didn’t know how to fly a drone, so that was pretty
1:02:35 exciting.
1:02:36 With the overall of zero crashes.
1:02:39 And lastly, we were able to represent and present a model for
1:02:45 you guys.
1:02:47 So that says any questions, but before we get there, I would
1:02:56 like to show you our models so you can see them better.
1:03:03 But this was our first model.
1:03:04 It’s very tiny.
1:03:06 It was of a small area of our school.
1:03:12 It was a guggable pit.
1:03:14 It didn’t turn out as great as we had hoped, but it turned out
1:03:19 okay.
1:03:20 Then Mueller over here decided to take it upon himself and 3D
1:03:26 print something at his house.
1:03:29 It looks okay.
1:03:31 It’s very wide, which we didn’t really want to be this thick,
1:03:39 and we learned that we could thicken the buildings more.
1:03:43 So on here, the green and red 3D print we got right here.
1:03:54 We thickened the model, the buildings just a tad.
1:03:58 Obviously, we had to thicken them a little bit more.
1:04:02 And then we move over to this 3D model right here.
1:04:08 This 3D model was our first go around at 3D printing at the
1:04:14 school, I believe.
1:04:16 Yeah.
1:04:17 This was done by the robotics team, 3D printer.
1:04:22 And it turned out pretty good.
1:04:23 However, we wanted it to be a lot bigger.
1:04:26 And so we made it a lot bigger.
1:04:31 We had to split it into four chunks.
1:04:34 The smallest chunk right here was the one that took probably 50
1:04:38 minutes to do.
1:04:39 It did not take that long.
1:04:41 And the biggest one was probably this one.
1:04:44 I think this one was our 14-hour print.
1:04:46 It took a lot of filament, and you can see a lot of cars on this.
1:04:55 So I’m very proud of our 3D printing.
1:05:05 Yeah, so I’m not sure if everybody caught it, but these
1:05:09 individuals basically 3D scanned
1:05:11 their entire school, and then 3D printed that multiple times
1:05:15 until they could get one.
1:05:16 And then because it wasn’t big enough, created multiples to glue
1:05:20 together, which is impressive
1:05:23 because they’re dealing – were you guys on a bamboo printer?
1:05:25 Is that what it was?
1:05:26 Mm-hmm.
1:05:26 And you guys are printing back and forth.
1:05:28 What they did is incredible.
1:05:30 And the reason that they were able to accomplish this is because
1:05:34 for many years we’ve been looking
1:05:36 for teams to actually 3D model and print exactly what they’re
1:05:40 doing.
1:05:41 So I wanted to say thank you so much, you guys.
1:05:43 That was incredible.
1:05:44 I know the board members are going to ask you questions.
1:05:46 Any time you bring tech up here, we start getting real excited.
1:05:48 No, I just want to come down.
1:05:49 So are we going to take a picture because I want to see it.
1:05:50 You want to get down?
1:05:51 Well, wait, wait, does anybody have any questions?
1:05:53 Joe, do we have any – do we have any questions for them while
1:05:56 we’re here?
1:05:56 I don’t have any questions.
1:05:58 I do.
1:05:58 Oh.
1:05:59 What would you have done differently with reflecting on the
1:06:02 panel?
1:06:02 What was – what would you have done differently?
1:06:08 I’m going to say definitely get some more outside help
1:06:10 from other professionals that have used 3D software, whether it’s
1:06:15 talking
1:06:16 with representatives from Blue Origin, because they have a lot
1:06:18 of high-quality 3D printers
1:06:20 there as well, or just using a whole lot more Dr. Google.
1:06:22 Dr. Google.
1:06:23 Do you guys have any questions?
1:06:27 I have one.
1:06:29 Oh, really?
1:06:30 All right.
1:06:32 That sounds wonderful.
1:06:33 Hey, guys, Mr. Thomas, board member Thomas has a question for
1:06:36 you.
1:06:37 I just have a – when you were talking about the programming, I’d
1:06:40 just
1:06:40 like to know what language you were speaking, because I really
1:06:42 didn’t understand anything.
1:06:45 So when I mention a OBJ file, it’s basically a flat file.
1:06:51 So it’s a bunch of code that stores an object, but it’s all one
1:06:57 layer.
1:06:59 So you have to use a different kind of file.
1:07:02 So that G-code file I was talking about, that gives the file,
1:07:08 like, depth and –
1:07:11 Mr. Thomas, I’m sure, understands it so much better now.
1:07:15 You’ve already lost me, so –
1:07:16 Mr. Thomas, I want to know, how many of you are seniors?
1:07:20 None of us.
1:07:21 Mr. Thomas, none.
1:07:22 That is fantastic, because that means you can come back next
1:07:25 year and do it again with a new project.
1:07:28 That’s awesome.
1:07:29 And what people may not understand is that this is one of the
1:07:33 competitions that we’re bringing to the innovation games.
1:07:36 And they should destroy everybody in the competition across the
1:07:41 nation.
1:07:41 Because Northrop Grumman’s bringing installations from around
1:07:44 the country.
1:07:45 We have Brazil.
1:07:46 Their teams are coming.
1:07:48 Like, this is going to be real, and this is going to be one of
1:07:51 the events.
1:07:51 So the fact that you guys got across the finish line is amazing.
1:07:55 And Mr. Roger and Lori have been working with Mr. Pavone and
1:07:58 some of the other organizations, like Embry-Riddle,
1:08:02 to bring what you guys did in a smaller capacity so that we can
1:08:05 compete and do it on the innovation games.
1:08:07 It’s phenomenal.
1:08:08 And when you were talking about those codes, the only reason I
1:08:10 know what you’re talking about is because my son 3D prints on
1:08:13 bamboo.
1:08:14 And he does all kinds of designs.
1:08:16 So he started saving the other day, and I got my laptop or my
1:08:19 iPad, and I was like, “What is this?”
1:08:20 He goes, “Oh, just save it as the whatever code you said,”
1:08:23 because there was a couple options there.
1:08:24 And that’s what he was doing because he was designing stuff.
1:08:26 So it’s really cool, and it’s something that’s really neat.
1:08:30 And if people don’t know, what they’re able to do here in 3D
1:08:33 model and print is something inside of the workforce that is
1:08:36 severely needed.
1:08:38 And you guys will do real well when it’s there.
1:08:39 So we’re glad you’re all coming back because I want to see you
1:08:41 whip up on everybody at the innovation games.
1:08:43 You guys want to take a picture?
1:08:44 Yes.
1:08:44 Dr. Endo?
1:08:45 Okay.
1:08:46 Thank you.
1:08:47 Thank you very much.
1:08:48 Thank you.
1:12:06 The comments portion of the meeting, we have 19 speakers, which
1:12:13 will receive three minutes.
1:12:14 Our attorney will call the speakers in order, which they signed
1:12:17 up to speak.
1:12:17 Mr. Gibbs, please call the first three speakers.
1:12:19 Bill Perlman, Gina Derring, Bonnie Ida.
1:12:24 Dr. Randall, do we need to make a comment?
1:12:26 Yeah, I just want to make a comment.
1:12:28 This is agenda public comment.
1:12:30 Some of you signed up for items that are not on the agenda.
1:12:34 So some of you already moved to non-agenda public comment.
1:12:38 Some of you, we may ask, is this really an agenda item?
1:12:41 If it’s not, we will move you to non-agenda.
1:12:44 Good evening, Board and Dr. Randall.
1:12:49 I’m Bill Perlman.
1:12:50 Tonight, I wish to address agenda items I-1 and I-2 on the
1:12:56 information agenda.
1:12:57 I-1 is the procurement information report from February, and it
1:13:02 contains an expenditure of $40,000
1:13:05 $48,000 by Dr. Rendell for state and federal lobbying services.
1:13:11 So you’re spending this money while cutting back on literacy
1:13:15 coach positions in our schools.
1:13:19 Spending decisions should reflect student needs, not a political
1:13:26 agenda.
1:13:28 While speaking in Tallahassee about Senate Bill 1296, Dr. Rendell
1:13:32 said a union should
1:13:33 represent all of the workers in their employee group and that,
1:13:37 quote, “If the union can’t
1:13:39 earn the support and trust of 60% of the people they claim to
1:13:43 represent, then it’s not doing
1:13:45 its job effectively,” end quote.
1:13:49 I guess he believes that none of you are doing your jobs
1:13:52 effectively because not one of you
1:13:55 received 60% of the vote of the eligible voters in your
1:13:59 districts.
1:14:00 Are we still speaking to – Dr. Rendell also bemoaned the money
1:14:03 waste legislation.
1:14:06 Are we still speaking to the –
1:14:07 He has overseen the waste of hundreds of dollars –
1:14:10 Hang on a second.
1:14:11 Just hang on a second.
1:14:12 Hang on.
1:14:13 Hang on a second.
1:14:14 Hang on.
1:14:15 We’re speaking –
1:14:16 I’m trying to see the correlation between elections and that,
1:14:22 but we’ll let it go.
1:14:23 Just start –
1:14:24 Thank you for not violating my First Amendment rights again.
1:14:26 Stop bringing it back.
1:14:27 Please.
1:14:28 Dr. Rendell also bemoaned the money wasted on litigation while
1:14:33 he has overseen the waste
1:14:35 of hundreds of thousands of dollars on defending you, Mr. Seusson,
1:14:39 your unwillingness to comply
1:14:41 with public records laws.
1:14:43 I, personally, would prefer a superintendent focused on
1:14:46 protecting student learning outcomes
1:14:49 and ensuring that every employee is treated with dignity,
1:14:51 fairness, and due process.
1:14:53 Let’s talk about I-2.
1:14:54 I-2 deals with the student code of conduct for next year, and I
1:14:59 noticed quite a few changes
1:15:00 that limit students’ First Amendment rights.
1:15:02 The updated code of conduct increases punishment levels, and it
1:15:07 includes really vague categories.
1:15:10 Your goal appears to be to classify student walkouts and
1:15:12 demonstrations as very serious offenses,
1:15:16 and that would lead to more severe punishment so that you could
1:15:19 potentially expel even more
1:15:21 students.
1:15:22 The current count of students you have expelled this year, 46,
1:15:26 including the seven that you’re
1:15:28 going to expel tonight.
1:15:30 And now you’ve added other misconduct and other serious misconduct
1:15:35 to the code of conduct.
1:15:37 These are vague and unclear.
1:15:41 Everyone wants schools to run smoothly, but attacking students’
1:15:44 First Amendment rights and creating
1:15:46 even more serious punishments is not the answer.
1:15:50 Unfortunately, expensive litigation is something you have become
1:15:54 very accustomed to.
1:15:56 Students deserve to be heard, not punished, for exercising their
1:16:00 rights.
1:16:01 Protecting students’ voices is part of protecting students.
1:16:05 Do better.
1:16:06 Brevard deserves better.
1:16:08 Do better.
1:16:36 yes millage does not include so i have to wait to open con we
1:16:40 weren’t sure how i could
1:16:42 use it but yeah it wouldn’t fall under agenda items if you have
1:16:45 an agenda item you want to talk
1:16:47 to you can certainly talk to but millage doesn’t cover
1:16:50 construction that’s surtax i i can wait but
1:16:53 thank you on the 6th of april just thank you thank you man all
1:16:58 right so it’s bonnie ida and
1:17:00 followed by haley dish hello i’m speaking in response to what i’ve
1:17:07 observed and read about
1:17:09 the student walkouts there’s an important point that i believe
1:17:14 that the board has overlooked
1:17:15 in the knee-jerk opposition can you check to student walkouts
1:17:20 okay i find that condemning the students
1:17:23 and teachers is a distraction from education rather than an
1:17:27 effort to protect it
1:17:30 i’m a retired teacher who is well versed in tinker versus des moines
1:17:34 i taught in a conservative
1:17:36 farming community out of state but student protests were met
1:17:40 with intelligence instead of opposition
1:17:43 the district was aware that such student actions are in
1:17:47 themselves a teaching moment a civics lesson
1:17:51 in our country’s proud tradition of free speech and non-violent
1:17:55 protest it’s an opportunity to show how
1:17:59 words in a textbook play out in real life it’s called learning
1:18:04 by active engagement
1:18:06 and yes we could not ignore the emotional need for students to
1:18:10 express themselves
1:18:12 in solidarity we teachers don’t like anything that takes away
1:18:16 our classroom time so demonstrating during
1:18:19 lunchtime after school whatever is preferable and i’ve seen
1:18:22 demonstrations after school but the peaceful
1:18:25 demonstration itself should not be condemned the other point
1:18:29 that i want to make and that you seem to be
1:18:32 unconcerned about is the disrespect shown toward the students
1:18:35 you can do them the courtesy of letting them
1:18:39 exercise the right to free speech which includes allowing them
1:18:43 to consult whatever adults including teachers that
1:18:46 they wish that would also give them respect for that would also
1:18:50 give them respect for the causes that
1:18:54 they are espousing that is the purpose of their protest it’s not
1:18:58 a strictly performative exercise
1:19:00 whether they are crying out for justice toward a beloved teacher
1:19:04 kicked out for no apparent reason
1:19:06 for demanding that the meaningful and classic books be restored
1:19:10 to library shelves for defending the right
1:19:13 to be different for opposing the genocide in gaza and the brutal
1:19:18 dehumanizing abductions of immigrants
1:19:22 debating these issues is what democracy is all about
1:19:26 it’s about actually a branch of education that we call character
1:19:36 building along with civics and social
1:19:38 studies it’s what education is all about hear their voices they
1:19:47 are our future
1:19:52 Haley Dish. After Haley Dish it would be Dean Padereckis. Mr.
1:20:02 Padereckis, are you here? You signed up for F-13. F-13 was
1:20:09 pulled from the agenda tonight.
1:20:12 It’s Haley Dish followed by Dean Padereckis and then Jennifer
1:20:33 Hopkins. Ms. Hopkins, you signed up for literacy coaches. There’s
1:20:38 no literacy coaches under F-5. What item are you speaking to?
1:20:42 It’s under what? It’s the instructional materials development. F-5.
1:20:55 Yeah, I don’t see anything on literacy coaches. No. Just have to
1:20:59 move in. It says school-based literary coaches will meet monthly.
1:21:03 It’s a stretch. If it’s not about the instructional materials.
1:21:06 It’s not a decision on it. No, it’s not a decision on literacy
1:21:10 coaches. Just because they’ve mentioned the word. It’s not a
1:21:12 decision.
1:21:12 All right, Ms. Dish. Hello again, board. I am Haley Dish. I’m a
1:21:18 17-year-old Vera High School junior, and I’ve been before this
1:21:21 board several times before, but this is my first time addressing
1:21:25 an agenda item.
1:21:27 I’m here to discuss the F-2 meeting minutes regarding I-2’s
1:21:30 student code of conduct policy change. Before this policy change,
1:21:34 the walkout policy made sense. Walking out of school for
1:21:37 activism purposes was punished similarly to walking out of
1:21:40 school to cut class.
1:21:41 This, as my music teacher would say, doesn’t just make sense. It
1:21:45 makes dollars.
1:21:46 The crime of walking out matches the ISS, or detention
1:21:50 punishment. In the new policy, punishments are off the rails.
1:21:55 With suspension and expulsion mentioned, the policy is littered
1:21:58 with offensively vague language, such as other misconduct.
1:22:03 Policies with punishments as severe as suspension and expulsion
1:22:06 should have very clear and precise guidelines and borders, not
1:22:11 clauses like other misconduct.
1:22:12 It’s completely inappropriate and sets students up for failure.
1:22:16 I ask the board, how do you plan on clarifying or revising the
1:22:20 vague language presented in the policy so as to make it better
1:22:24 understood with the general public?
1:22:28 Protecting student voices is a part of protecting students, so
1:22:32 to see the closest form of government to us, students, try to
1:22:36 limit our expression and suffocate our voices is incredibly
1:22:39 depressing, and it breeds distrust and discomfort throughout the
1:22:43 student body.
1:22:44 We strive to trust and respect you as you do us, but it seems
1:22:47 you harbor very little trust and respect for your staff and your
1:22:51 students.
1:22:52 Thank you.
1:22:59 Hi, my name is Dean Padarakis.
1:23:16 I recognize some of you from about eight years ago when I ran
1:23:20 for school board.
1:23:21 The last time I spoke here about that time was about a teacher
1:23:27 who showed a picture of his manly thing, and I was arrested, and
1:23:36 he was a teacher who showed it in class.
1:23:38 And I asked the question back then, why is this teacher still
1:23:43 able to teach?
1:23:44 Why is he still an employee?
1:23:46 We have a situation, and back then, Dan Bennett was our teacher,
1:23:53 union teacher president.
1:23:55 And now I understand he’s gotten himself in trouble.
1:23:59 Does it matter if it’s an item that arrived?
1:24:02 Yes.
1:24:03 Okay.
1:24:12 Well, I’m just going to continue to speak, because now I see.
1:24:14 So what I would like to see, if you haven’t, what I hope to see,
1:24:19 because it concerned me back then how he started to call me
1:24:24 names after I exposed his teacher.
1:24:26 And so.
1:24:27 At the end, we have three minutes that you can speak.
1:24:31 Well, this is on agenda 14, which is in termination and lose.
1:24:35 So I’m.
1:24:36 That’s a different individual.
1:24:38 It’s a different individual.
1:24:39 Well, it’s still an agenda item, and I’d like to speak upon that
1:24:42 really quick.
1:24:43 I’ll be done.
1:24:44 You should be holding my minutes and seconds.
1:24:47 I know.
1:24:48 Go ahead.
1:24:49 My point, and I’ll move on.
1:24:50 I’ll just walk right out unless you guys want to arrest me again.
1:24:52 Please don’t use the wrong name.
1:24:53 That’s all.
1:24:55 What’s that?
1:24:56 Please don’t use the wrong name.
1:24:57 That’s all.
1:24:58 It’s not.
1:24:59 Okay.
1:25:00 Don’t you see what I mean?
1:25:01 Okay.
1:25:02 So anyway, so I’m concerned because it’s birds of a feather.
1:25:06 And, and, and as a union president, he knows good and bad and,
1:25:10 and now he’s a teacher.
1:25:12 Well, he’s a teacher.
1:25:13 So I’m just going to ask you if you can just, we have speaking
1:25:16 at the end.
1:25:16 You’ll have your time to speak.
1:25:17 We’re going to move you to the non agenda item.
1:25:20 We can’t speak specifically to an item.
1:25:22 That’s not on the agenda so that we can get through that.
1:25:24 And then at the end, there’s three minutes that you can have.
1:25:26 I’ll give it to you then.
1:25:27 Thank you, sir.
1:25:30 Thank you.
1:25:31 Ms. Hopkins.
1:25:46 Good evening.
1:25:47 My name is Jen.
1:25:48 I am a community member and a former BPS parent and student.
1:25:51 I’m speaking about agenda item F5, Brevard instructional
1:25:55 materials plan for the school year, 2026, 2027.
1:25:58 At the February 3rd school board meeting, I spoke about the
1:26:02 budget and the recent announcement of cuts.
1:26:03 I was happy to hear from your own data at a work session how
1:26:06 literacy coaches were having a positive effect on outcomes in BPS.
1:26:10 I said I hoped that budget cuts and laying off 7% of employees
1:26:15 at the largest employer in the county wouldn’t touch these
1:26:18 programs that are making a proven difference in the education of
1:26:21 our kids.
1:26:21 I saw head shakes.
1:26:23 I heard you say you were eliminating open positions and district
1:26:26 positions first.
1:26:27 I saw and heard you mislead the community, and everyone else can
1:26:31 see it too if you go back and watch the meeting.
1:26:33 There have been a few times this board has made a small positive
1:26:36 difference, but many more times that have left me disappointed.
1:26:39 This issue is really touching a nerve for me.
1:26:42 Tonight I’m asking that you reconsider including literacy
1:26:45 coaches in your cuts.
1:26:46 Employing fewer coaches and spreading them out amongst multiple
1:26:49 schools takes away the support that has already been proven
1:26:52 effective.
1:26:52 Instituting a plan for them to meet only on a monthly basis will
1:26:58 very likely erode the progress that has been made.
1:27:00 Please plan to move forward, not backward.
1:27:03 Please plan to share information honestly and clearly with the
1:27:07 community.
1:27:07 Students before profit, students before politics, we freaking
1:27:12 love transparency.
1:27:13 Brevard deserves better.
1:27:14 Thank you.
1:27:16 .
1:27:23 Keith Schachter.
1:27:24 And here are the next two.
1:27:29 After Mr. Schachter, we have Bernard Bryan and Quinn Dyke.
1:27:33 I’m going to speak to item I-1 and I-2.
1:27:40 I-1 has to do with the expense, the $48,000 expense for lobbyists
1:27:49 in federal and state lobbyists.
1:27:53 I feel like this board has articulated on many occasions its
1:27:58 commitment to fiscal conservatism.
1:28:01 I’m not going to pass judgment on that expense, but I would like
1:28:06 the board to respond in writing and hopefully present to the
1:28:15 public what the foundational reason why we’re spending $48,000
1:28:18 for lobbyists.
1:28:20 Fundamentally, I think it’s a problem when we intertwine
1:28:27 politics and students and we should during a time when our
1:28:34 school system is in great peril.
1:28:35 We have schools that were closing, we have jobs that are being
1:28:42 cut, we have programmatic cuts, all of these things that are
1:28:47 happening are happening because of major problems with our
1:28:51 school system.
1:28:52 Declining enrollment being one of those things.
1:28:55 I hope, although I think it would be difficult, but I’m sure an
1:29:00 argument could be made why $48,000 is going to be spent.
1:29:04 Hopefully it’s to address some of those issues, but we all know
1:29:09 that lobbyists are paid to serve certain interests.
1:29:15 And this $48,000 is use of public money.
1:29:22 And I asked the board whose interests are we serving by spending
1:29:28 $48,000.
1:29:30 That is a teaching unit.
1:29:32 That is somebody who’s not going to have a job next year.
1:29:35 That is programs that help support what we saw earlier, which
1:29:40 renewed so much faith.
1:29:42 It was awesome to see the kids parts, you know, the robotics
1:29:46 program was awesome.
1:29:47 It was awesome to see that, I’m sorry, the drone program.
1:29:49 So I think that we need to do a better job of being fiscally
1:29:56 conservative and practicing what we preach.
1:29:58 Perhaps this is a new assignment for congratulations to Miss
1:30:02 Wright and Miss Han for their new role.
1:30:04 We’re talking about financial transparency.
1:30:09 Well, we would like, as the public, we would like to know
1:30:14 transparency.
1:30:14 We want to know what that money is being used for and how is it
1:30:18 going to serve the collective interests of all students.
1:30:22 Not just certain students, but all students.
1:30:25 And so I would love to have a little bit more clarification on
1:30:31 that.
1:30:32 We need more transparency.
1:30:34 Thank you.
1:30:35 Bernard Bryan.
1:30:41 After Mr. Bryan, we have Quinn Dykus, Cynthia Najame.
1:30:44 Thank you so much, board.
1:30:47 Again, my name is Bernard Bryan.
1:30:49 And I’m representing the South Brevard community.
1:30:52 And I was so excited today based on what I heard.
1:30:56 I heard that Brevard Public School, Head Start, was rated number
1:31:02 one in the state.
1:31:03 Their early learning program was rated very, very high.
1:31:07 And I want to commend Dr. Harris and her team, Ms. Barlow and Ms.
1:31:14 Myers and Ms. McDonough.
1:31:16 So the reason why I’m so proud of that, I’m standing here
1:31:20 telling you that every child in Brevard County should have those
1:31:25 experiences.
1:31:25 Every child should have the ability to attend some of the great
1:31:31 opportunities that are in Brevard Public School.
1:31:35 I had an opportunity this week to walk through some government
1:31:42 housing.
1:31:43 And I tell you, I almost broke down in tears.
1:31:46 I ran into some families that were in poverty.
1:31:49 I ran – I’m talking about accommodations, student accommodation.
1:31:56 So I ran into some children that were – that looked like they
1:32:01 couldn’t really feed themselves, how their parents wasn’t
1:32:04 feeding them.
1:32:04 They were in poverty.
1:32:06 They were, you know, just economically not in good shape.
1:32:10 And I believe that based on the data that’s coming from this
1:32:14 district, that if early learning is not in place for our
1:32:18 children, every child.
1:32:20 And I think the poverty level will not change.
1:32:23 Our communities will not change.
1:32:25 Behavior will not change.
1:32:26 So I’m just hoping – I’m praying that this – this team will
1:32:30 look at investing in that.
1:32:32 You know, just seeing kids – and I asked a couple of parents,
1:32:37 you know, have you heard of VPK?
1:32:39 And a lot of them say no.
1:32:40 So that is – that is not good for our community.
1:32:44 And I’m just praying and hoping that this board will invest in
1:32:48 this area.
1:32:48 Because it’s going to save us in the long run in terms of
1:32:51 poverty.
1:32:51 So I just wanted to throw that again up to you based on what I
1:32:55 heard today.
1:32:56 The high level of respect that’s in Brevard County.
1:33:00 And I believe every child should have that experience.
1:33:02 So – and then when I looked at the information today, again, on
1:33:07 students’ accommodation.
1:33:09 And when I look at the amount of students that are – the amount
1:33:15 of parents that are receiving family empowerment,
1:33:17 scholarship, private school money, vouchers money, that’s a lot
1:33:22 of money.
1:33:22 My math came out to around $130 million that is not being
1:33:28 grabbed by the Brevard Public Schools.
1:33:29 I don’t quite understand all the ins and outs of that, but it’s
1:33:33 my quick math.
1:33:34 So I’m really saying that that money really should be in the Brevard
1:33:38 Public Schools system.
1:33:39 Like I said, I do believe in parental rights.
1:33:43 But, you know, if anything that we can do to fight to help keep
1:33:50 our kids in Brevard Public Schools, I’m willing to do it.
1:33:53 And I’m willing to sacrifice my time.
1:33:56 Right now I’m getting older.
1:33:58 But I’m still willing to fight, okay, for our public schools.
1:34:02 So that’s kind of where my heart is.
1:34:04 And I hope one day that we can see a plan on how we’re going to
1:34:08 recover that.
1:34:09 And, you know, just looking at the data, you know, where
1:34:14 students are actually going from, you know,
1:34:16 leaving our schools, going to different private schools, the
1:34:19 data is there.
1:34:20 The areas are there where we can really fight to really recapture
1:34:23 those students.
1:34:23 So that’s kind of where my heart is today.
1:34:26 And I hope you will consider my plea.
1:34:29 Thank you.
1:34:33 Jane Dykus.
1:34:35 After Ms. Dykus, Cynthia Najemi, Maxwell Yates, Pamela Castellana.
1:34:41 All right.
1:34:43 Good evening, school board members and Dr. Rendell.
1:34:46 I hope you all had a restful spring break.
1:34:49 I will be speaking on agenda item F-39.
1:34:52 First, thank you to Ms. Black for presenting the student
1:34:55 accommodation plan.
1:34:55 It’s something you all know I’ve been looking forward to
1:34:58 reviewing.
1:34:58 One point Ms. Black made that stood out to me was the gap
1:35:02 between available students in Brevard and those enrolling in BPS
1:35:05 is the lowest it has been since 2002.
1:35:08 To better understand that I compared the elementary and middle
1:35:11 school from two charts from the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school
1:35:16 years.
1:35:16 I actually have some charts printed for you all so you can see
1:35:19 what I’m talking about and not have to visualize it yourselves.
1:35:21 All right.
1:35:28 So this data highlights 20 elementary and middle schools where
1:35:32 charter enrollment is at least one third of the students
1:35:34 choosing the public school option.
1:35:36 While that number is concerning, I believe it is manageable with
1:35:39 a good game plan.
1:35:40 I did want to note that this does not include homeschooling or
1:35:43 private school families.
1:35:44 So it’s not a complete picture, but it is a strong starting
1:35:47 point.
1:35:47 Schools highlighted in yellow, I’m sorry, schools highlighted in
1:35:51 yellow show increasing charter enrollment year over year.
1:35:53 Orange indicates a slight decrease, but still above the one
1:35:56 third benchmark.
1:35:57 The remaining schools have dropped below one third, but remain
1:36:00 close to the one third benchmark and should still have an eye
1:36:04 kept on them.
1:36:04 I put together this data because I think it gives us a clear
1:36:07 snapshot of where in the district families may be hesitant to
1:36:11 choose BPS.
1:36:11 But the key question is why?
1:36:13 What are the families experiencing that make them choose another
1:36:16 option?
1:36:16 Is it programming, experience, awareness, or maybe something
1:36:19 else?
1:36:19 Something Ms. Black said was that the students are here, we are
1:36:23 just not closing the gap on capturing them.
1:36:24 I would love to see outreach specifically in the areas around
1:36:28 the schools on my list, like canvassing or community forums so
1:36:31 these families can provide honest feedback on their own why.
1:36:34 Maybe the board could even split up the list of 20 and make it a
1:36:37 competition on who can lower their number the most.
1:36:39 I hope we will hear more about how we can tackle this ever
1:36:42 growing hurdle.
1:36:42 Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
1:36:46 Thank you.
1:36:52 We have Maxwell Yates, Pamela Castellana, Jack Apatzis.
1:36:56 Good evening, board.
1:36:57 Good evening, everybody.
1:36:59 If I were still teaching, I just want you to know.
1:37:02 Thank you.
1:37:03 Good evening, board.
1:37:04 I was just going to say good evening to you.
1:37:07 And if I were teaching, you’d be moving up to the front.
1:37:10 I am speaking on the new walkout policy.
1:37:14 My motivation to be here this evening is that I was genuinely
1:37:19 excited for the opportunity to recognize some of your high
1:37:21 school students.
1:37:22 Young people that I had the privilege of meeting just a few
1:37:25 short months ago.
1:37:26 I met these students through a Sunday non-denominational
1:37:29 gathering of sorts where I witnessed their thoughtfulness,
1:37:32 integrity, and deep concern for others.
1:37:35 I am aware that some of these students participated in a walkout
1:37:39 to protest policies related to U.S. immigration and customs
1:37:43 enforcement.
1:37:43 Regardless of where one stands on those policies, it is
1:37:46 important to recognize that young people are directly affected
1:37:50 by them.
1:37:50 Many of these students cannot yet vote, and peaceful protest is
1:37:55 one of the few meaningful ways they can make their voices heard.
1:37:59 My concern lies in how consequences for such actions are
1:38:02 determined.
1:38:03 After 40 years in education, holding a Bachelor of Science, a
1:38:08 Master’s in Guidance and Counseling, and a six year in Educational
1:38:12 Foundations, I find it difficult to reconcile how an act of
1:38:17 peaceful, civil disobedience could be treated with the same
1:38:20 level of severity as offenses such as fighting, harassment, or
1:38:25 physical aggression.
1:38:26 Such equivalence raises serious questions about fairness,
1:38:30 proportionality, and certainly subjectivity.
1:38:33 As both an educator and a taxpayer, I believe we should be
1:38:37 investing in students who demonstrate leadership, civic
1:38:40 engagement, and moral courage.
1:38:42 These are qualities we strive to cultivate, to risk excluding
1:38:46 these students from their school community, potentially placing
1:38:50 them in alternative educational settings at additional cost,
1:38:54 seems not only counterproductive, but contrary to our
1:38:57 educational mission.
1:38:59 Whether a student is getting on or off a school bus, playing at
1:39:03 recess, or engaging in peaceful protest, I urge staff and
1:39:07 administrators to respond with support and creativity, working
1:39:11 with students not against them to build the kind of respectful
1:39:14 and supportive school culture we all want to see.
1:39:17 I urge the school board and the school board and administration
1:39:20 to set aside personal political perspectives and approach this
1:39:23 situation with care.
1:39:24 This is an opportunity here to guide rather than punish, to
1:39:28 affirm students’ voices while reinforcing the values of
1:39:31 respectful and responsible civic participation.
1:39:34 When students choose to protest peacefully and thoughtfully,
1:39:39 they are not turning away from education, they are putting it
1:39:44 into practice.
1:39:45 Thank you.
1:39:50 Maxwell Yates.
1:39:51 After Maxwell Yates, we have Pamela Castellana, Jack Apotsis,
1:40:03 Cecilia Trotter.
1:40:06 Hello and good afternoon, school board.
1:40:08 My name is Maxwell Yates.
1:40:09 I am currently a student, a senior, at Melbourne High School.
1:40:13 And I am here today speaking on agenda item F2.
1:40:16 More specifically, I am here to talk about the new unfair and
1:40:20 potentially dangerous policies that have been added to the
1:40:24 student code of conduct.
1:40:26 The new policies set out by the board say that students who
1:40:29 organize, plan, coordinate, promote, encourage, or facilitate
1:40:34 disruptive conduct can face more severe punishment like
1:40:37 suspension or worse.
1:40:38 This is a clear overstep by the board as it discourages a
1:40:44 ridiculously wide range of action being considered as disruptive
1:40:50 activity.
1:40:51 The wording implies that a student who talks about going to say
1:40:56 a walkout or encourages a friend to go to a walkout could be
1:41:01 punished with detention or even out of school suspension.
1:41:04 This decision crushes a student’s first amendment right to speak
1:41:08 their mind.
1:41:08 The new policies also use vague language like other misconduct
1:41:12 as many others have stated.
1:41:14 The use of this language allows for teachers and staff members
1:41:18 to punish students unfairly for actions that do not deem such
1:41:24 drastic punishments.
1:41:26 And vague language is dangerous as it will cause students to
1:41:33 have – and if students are punished by this vague language and
1:41:36 these unfair punishments, then they will have less respect for
1:41:40 the rules themselves and it will encourage more students to
1:41:43 disregard them and to be more unruly.
1:41:45 Anyway, that is all I have to say. Thank you so much for your
1:41:54 time.
1:41:56 Pamela Castellana, followed by Jack Apotsis, Cecilia Trotter,
1:42:01 Karen Hattie.
1:42:05 Good evening. I’m here to talk about labor relations and your MOUs.
1:42:09 Recently, Superintendent Rendell testified before a state
1:42:12 congressional committee stating that unions cost counties
1:42:15 hundreds of thousands of dollars, direct quote, in lawsuits.
1:42:19 He specifically said he could speak to this fact as the
1:42:22 superintendent of Brevard County Public Schools.
1:42:24 While I wait for the results of a public records request of
1:42:27 March 4th that I’ve made to this body, with the dollars that
1:42:31 Rendell claims the Brevard Federation of Teachers has cost our
1:42:34 county in lawsuits,
1:42:35 and as we are facing yet another uneven distribution of
1:42:38 discipline in our county involving the expulsion of some
1:42:41 students for an unexcused absence,
1:42:42 which will undoubtedly lead to yet more costly lawsuits.
1:42:46 At the expense of Brevard County parents and all Brevard County
1:42:50 taxpayers, I have to remind you that if you just uphold the
1:42:54 Constitution in the first place, you won’t have those lawsuits.
1:42:57 I hope every union member scrutinizes the MOUs mentioned and
1:43:03 every other document that comes from this board.
1:43:05 With a frankly defamatory anti-union sentiment publicly
1:43:08 expressed by Mr. Rendell, it is clear that no union member can
1:43:11 both support their professional union and the superintendent.
1:43:15 Just a second.
1:43:16 This MOU is about CTE teachers.
1:43:17 It doesn’t have anything to do with that.
1:43:18 Yeah.
1:43:19 It’s about any labor relations.
1:43:20 Hang on.
1:43:21 I stopped your clock.
1:43:22 Hang on.
1:43:24 Paul, want to give us an overview?
1:43:25 I’m not seeing anything about this topic under the CTE.
1:43:31 We have work-based learning, CTE, and we have a comprehensive
1:43:35 support grant, MOU.
1:43:36 It has to do with Title I.
1:43:39 It doesn’t have anything to do with it.
1:43:40 Right, yeah.
1:43:41 I don’t see anything about discipline on here.
1:43:42 Is there any negotiations involved in our labor unions?
1:43:44 No, no, no.
1:43:45 It can’t.
1:43:46 You can’t.
1:43:47 That’s a stretch.
1:43:48 Listen, I don’t mind giving you the opportunity to speak
1:43:50 afterwards.
1:43:50 It’s not a big deal.
1:43:51 It’s not on the agenda.
1:43:52 It’s just we need to get to the agenda item.
1:43:53 So if that’s the opportunity that you need, then wait until the,
1:43:56 okay, thank you.
1:43:57 Thank you.
1:43:58 Thank you, ma’am.
1:43:59 We appreciate you.
1:44:00 Thank you.
1:44:12 Jack Apatzis, followed by Cecilia Trotter and Karen Hattie.
1:44:15 Thank you.
1:44:20 Hi.
1:44:21 In the implementation of instructional material plan, it says
1:44:33 communication of the newly adopted
1:44:34 instructional material will be presented to all stakeholders
1:44:38 beginning in May, 2026,
1:44:39 with a focus on supporting teachers with professional learning
1:44:42 and coaching strategies to increase
1:44:43 student achievement, best practice to close achievement gaps,
1:44:46 and methods to increase family engagement.
1:44:48 I think the last part of this paragraph is very important
1:44:51 because it’s missing one word, respect.
1:44:53 I’ve been in Bovard Public School since kindergarten.
1:44:55 I’m now a senior accepted into college and feeling prepared for
1:44:58 the next leg of my life.
1:44:59 I owe this entirely to Bovard Public School teachers.
1:45:02 Because of this, I ask that something be added to this list,
1:45:05 with a focus on supporting and respecting our teachers.
1:45:08 I ask this because without your support, but most importantly,
1:45:12 your respect, they can’t fully meet students’ needs.
1:45:14 And we see teachers come in with so much fire to teach and
1:45:17 connect with students on a deeper level, just for them to burn
1:45:21 out and at worst case, leave.
1:45:23 I, as a student, have seen great teachers leave this county.
1:45:27 Yes, because I think it highlights a broader systemic issue.
1:45:33 I know it’s hard to see, and I’m glad you brought this up.
1:45:36 It’s fine, it has to be right on the thing.
1:45:37 It’s not a big deal.
1:45:38 You can speak at the end.
1:45:39 It’s not a big deal.
1:45:40 But right now, that’s not on the agenda.
1:45:42 You can’t stop the clock.
1:45:43 Yes, so I understand where you’re coming from.
1:45:45 I think it can be hard to see, but I think this is highlighting–
1:45:48 If you continue to go down it, we’re going to ask you to stop.
1:45:50 But just, if you can get back to something, that would be great.
1:45:52 Thank you.
1:45:53 I’m going to continue my–
1:45:54 We’ll just give you my three minutes at the end.
1:45:56 Yeah, we’ll give you three minutes at the end.
1:45:57 It has to be about instructional materials.
1:45:59 Something about instructions.
1:46:00 I believe almost all teachers came into the profession.
1:46:02 Stop.
1:46:03 Because they saw the impact they could have on future
1:46:05 generations.
1:46:05 All right.
1:46:06 Look, man, hey, just come back at the end.
1:46:07 You want me to come back?
1:46:08 Yeah, come back.
1:46:09 We’ll give you three more minutes.
1:46:10 Yes, sir.
1:46:12 Cecilia Trotter, followed by Karen Hattie and Ezekiel Edwards.
1:46:26 Good evening, Dr. Rendell and School Board members.
1:46:29 I’m talking about agenda F7.
1:46:32 At the March 10th work session, you presented a slideshow outlining
1:46:36 proposed changes to the district’s organizational structure.
1:46:40 The presentation suggested eliminating the chief financial
1:46:45 officer
1:46:45 position and redistributing those responsibilities across other
1:46:49 departments as a cost-saving measure during which you described
1:46:54 as a challenging budget time.
1:46:56 You also noted that Miss Sue Han, who is widely respected,
1:47:00 was willing to take on additional responsibilities and Miss Han
1:47:05 has been
1:47:05 reclassified to the position of deputy superintendent.
1:47:09 It was also stated that the only new position added would be an
1:47:14 executive director.
1:47:14 However, the presentation included no actual financial data to
1:47:20 demonstrate
1:47:20 that this restructuring would save money.
1:47:23 According to public records, the former CFO, Miss Lysinski,
1:47:28 earned $156,000 in change.
1:47:32 The newly posted executive director position is listed at $112,000
1:47:37 to $128,000.
1:47:40 If additional raises are being provided to compensate other
1:47:44 departments for absorbing CFO-level duties,
1:47:46 then the public deserves to see what this restructuring produces,
1:47:52 if this restructuring produces any real savings at all.
1:47:55 Brevard Public Schools is a $1.6 billion organization.
1:48:00 In a moment when transparency and accountability are more
1:48:04 important than ever,
1:48:05 and when the voucher system is already straining our budget and
1:48:10 enrollment,
1:48:10 this district needs a qualified, dedicated chief financial
1:48:15 officer.
1:48:15 A CFO is not a luxury.
1:48:18 It is a safeguard.
1:48:20 It is the person who ensures that every dollar is accounted for,
1:48:24 that financial decisions are strategic,
1:48:27 and that the district remains stable in a time of shrinking
1:48:31 resources.
1:48:31 The CFO is the one who steers the financial ship in the right
1:48:36 direction.
1:48:36 Eliminating that role does not strengthen our district.
1:48:40 It weakens oversight at the exact moment when oversight is most
1:48:45 needed.
1:48:45 Tonight, I’m asking this board to reconsider this restructuring
1:48:49 and restore the CFO position.
1:48:51 Our students, families, staff, and taxpayers deserve a budget
1:48:56 that is managed with expertise, transparency, and integrity.
1:49:00 Thank you.
1:49:01 Karen Hattie.
1:49:09 After Karen, we have Ezekiel Edwards, Paul Raub.
1:49:15 Hello, my name is Karen Hattie, and I’m a junior at Vera High
1:49:22 School.
1:49:22 I’m here to talk about F2.
1:49:24 The policy before this made sense.
1:49:26 The walkout punishment was similar to just leaving school just
1:49:30 to skip.
1:49:30 As you know, Brevard students have a history of walking out.
1:49:33 Back in 2022, I went to the “Don’t Say Gay” walkout.
1:49:36 It was simple and easy, and there was no punishment.
1:49:39 In 2018, there was a walkout for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
1:49:44 School shooting.
1:49:45 There was no punishment.
1:49:46 But why now is this different?
1:49:48 The Brevard School’s motto is to serve every student with
1:49:52 excellence as the standards.
1:49:53 You are not serving every student with excellence if you’re not
1:49:57 encouraging students to use their First Amendment right to
1:50:00 protest.
1:50:00 Walking out is a form of protest, and our students need to learn
1:50:04 how to stand up for our rights and not be discouraged.
1:50:06 Be the example we want to see and stand up for students’ rights.
1:50:10 Thank you.
1:50:15 Ezekiel Edwards.
1:50:25 After Ezekiel Edwards, we have Paul Raub, Christopher Gibson.
1:50:32 Good morning, Board Mem– I’m so sorry.
1:50:34 Good afternoon, Board Members and Dr. Rendell.
1:50:36 My name is Ezekiel Edwards.
1:50:38 You may recognize me from the last Board meeting at the
1:50:41 beginning of this month.
1:50:41 I came to you with concerns of the school walkout and wanted
1:50:45 clarity of the policy and proper disciplinary action and how
1:50:48 that would be carried out.
1:50:49 Brevard students stressed about unwarranted long-term suspension
1:50:53 and even expulsion.
1:50:54 I was reassured by three different Board members that– pardon I–
1:51:01 I was reassured by three different Board members that students
1:51:05 in Brevard didn’t need to worry about their freedom of speech or
1:51:08 their right to protest being infringed upon.
1:51:09 Yet that was a lie.
1:51:11 Not even a week later, you, the school board, proposed a new
1:51:15 policy update to punish any student who organized, planned,
1:51:17 coordinate, promote, or even encouraged their peers–
1:51:20 Oh, my God.
1:51:22 Or encouraged their peers to join in on what they personally
1:51:25 believed in to be just.
1:51:26 This affects people like me and– sorry.
1:51:30 And any students who want to make change with the little support
1:51:34 and resources that–
1:51:35 And little–
1:51:38 And little support, resources, and right that they have to do so.
1:51:43 The original walkout policy was functional and simply needed to
1:51:47 be executed honestly and properly.
1:51:48 Rather than using vague language inscribed with misconduct.
1:51:51 So I’ll ask you again.
1:51:52 Is it not the district’s responsibility to ensure fairness to
1:51:55 those affected by the rules you push without fair bias?
1:51:58 The students in Brevard are stumped by your threats, your inconsistency
1:52:01 across topics, and your clear, closed-minded focus on what you
1:52:04 want.
1:52:04 Thank you.
1:52:05 And have a good rest of your night.
1:52:07 Paul Raub.
1:52:10 After Mr. Raub, we have Christopher Gibson and Derek Matheson.
1:52:18 Hey, Mr. Raub.
1:52:19 If we can get the speakers to come up and sit up in the front,
1:52:22 that way we– you know what I mean, we can get moving.
1:52:24 That’d be great.
1:52:25 Thank you.
1:52:26 Derek Matheson is last.
1:52:29 Thank you for doing that.
1:52:31 Here we go.
1:52:32 Sure.
1:52:33 Evening board.
1:52:35 I’m speaking on item F5.
1:52:37 On behalf of a reading coach in Brevard schools who is asked to
1:52:41 remain anonymous.
1:52:42 Quoting now.
1:52:44 For over a de– I’ll describe it, sorry.
1:52:47 For over a decade, she has dedicated her life to one school,
1:52:50 pouring everything she has into teachers, students, and the
1:52:52 success of her campus.
1:52:53 She built relationships.
1:52:54 She strengthened instruction.
1:52:55 She did exactly what this district asked of her and more.
1:52:57 And now she’s being discarded.
1:52:59 This is not about budget cuts.
1:53:00 This is about mismanagement and the failure of leadership.
1:53:03 F5, literacy coach, as mentioned in the item as someone else
1:53:06 spoke on earlier.
1:53:08 It has to be about instructional materials.
1:53:10 It’s fine.
1:53:11 You can come back at the end and speak for three minutes.
1:53:13 I know it’s fine for you.
1:53:14 This doesn’t–
1:53:15 No, it’s the rules, Mr. Raub.
1:53:17 Mr. Raub, it’s the rules.
1:53:18 So if you can bring it back to instructional materials, that’s
1:53:21 great.
1:53:21 If not, you can wait until the end and you can speak then.
1:53:23 It’s not a big deal.
1:53:24 All right, I’ll just get back to the little bit at the end where
1:53:26 I was going to talk about F2, the new discipline policy, and
1:53:29 just suggest perhaps treat the walkouts the way you do locker
1:53:32 room assaults, suspend them for one game, and then come and
1:53:35 cheer them on.
1:53:39 Christopher Gibson.
1:53:44 Hello, board.
1:53:49 I’m speaking on agenda item F2 and as well as I2, once again, on
1:53:54 the student walkouts and the repression they are facing.
1:53:56 I’ll keep my remarks brief because I intend to– don’t smirk, Mr.
1:54:00 Susan.
1:54:00 I’m not done yet.
1:54:01 I’ll keep my remarks brief because I intend to revisit this
1:54:06 topic at the April 14th board meeting
1:54:08 when the agenda– when items actually come up for vote and
1:54:11 because multiple speakers before me have already made some
1:54:14 excellent points.
1:54:14 So instead, I will emphasize something that has not been talked
1:54:17 about yet.
1:54:17 In my correspondence with students from groups such as Brevard
1:54:21 Youth for Democracy, I have been told repeatedly that authority
1:54:26 figures insinuate that they have not formed these opinions on
1:54:30 immigration or walkouts on their own and that they are actually
1:54:33 being put up to it by adults.
1:54:34 I consider this not only insulting to the community who also
1:54:38 wishes to speak out against immigration issues but also to the
1:54:41 students themselves.
1:54:42 These students are– are young adults.
1:54:45 Some of them are already enrolling in college.
1:54:46 Some of them are already 18 years old.
1:54:48 They can form their own opinions.
1:54:49 Some of them have opinions.
1:54:50 The fact that their opinion– the fact that their opinions run
1:54:54 contrary to yours and– and– and– and– and often provoke them
1:55:01 to take action you do not approve of does not make them– does
1:55:04 not make them any less valid.
1:55:06 Oh, and since– and since the topic of budget has come up so
1:55:10 often in discussions at this board, I would like to point out
1:55:13 that the lawsuits you are going to receive if you begin– if you
1:55:16 begin suspending students– if you begin expelling students en
1:55:19 masse is going to really wreak havoc on the budget.
1:55:23 Thank you.
1:55:27 Derek Matheson.
1:55:29 Hi.
1:55:30 My name is Derek.
1:55:32 I’m a BPS alumni and parent to a soon-to-be grade school age
1:55:38 child.
1:55:39 I’m here to speak on your attack on First Amendment rights via
1:55:43 agenda items F2 and I2.
1:55:44 Is the mic on?
1:55:45 That’s a good question.
1:55:47 Anyways, I’ve taken the liberty to print out a copy of the full
1:55:52 Tinker v. Des Moines decision for your lawyer, as this board
1:55:56 seems dead set on wasting taxpayer dollars in constitutional
1:56:01 court with a student v. Brevard Public Schools trial.
1:56:03 Believe me, there will be a trial if you are ignorant enough to
1:56:07 truly pass these rules and then unlawfully apply harsher punishments
1:56:11 against peaceful and silently protesting students.
1:56:13 The main points in Tinker v. Des Moines is that a student cannot
1:56:17 be punished more harshly for engaging in First Amendment
1:56:21 expression and demonstration compared to non-engaged peers.
1:56:24 So long as a demonstration does not, quote, cause a material and
1:56:29 substantial disruption, end quote.
1:56:31 I do not see how students who silently leave campus with written
1:56:35 parental permission while having available absence days qualifies
1:56:39 as material and substantial disruption.
1:56:41 Furthermore, we pay a hefty amount for school resource officers.
1:56:45 I’m sure those well-paid individuals can handle overseeing a
1:56:49 silent group of 30 to 40 students holding signs if they were to
1:56:52 remain on campus and demonstrating.
1:56:54 Again, an absence from class is not a material or substantial
1:56:57 disruption, especially if they complete any missed work.
1:57:00 I have no doubt that students smart enough and brave enough to
1:57:03 engage in First Amendment demonstrations would happily complete
1:57:05 their assigned work.
1:57:06 Again, we have assigned money to these officers.
1:57:09 We have a limited county budget.
1:57:11 Let’s not waste it on a constitutional court battle, especially
1:57:14 as budget waste from a board that just voted to close Cape View
1:57:17 Elementary and which previously announced the 7% job cuts across
1:57:22 the board back in January would be a rather pathetic look.
1:57:23 Your cited reasons for the school closure was lack of student
1:57:27 enrollment.
1:57:27 I failed to see how eliminating your students’ God-given
1:57:30 constitutional rights as U.S. citizens will help to curb the
1:57:32 lack of enrollment in DPS.
1:57:33 Just hang on just a second and you can stop.
1:57:35 Bring it back.
1:57:36 Okay.
1:57:37 In fact, it’s actually doing the opposite.
1:57:39 School closures.
1:57:40 As I said, I am a parent of a young child, soon to be grade
1:57:43 school age.
1:57:43 I’ve had this conversation with other parents and we came to the
1:57:46 conclusion that we do not trust this board’s current objectives
1:57:48 and past stated beliefs as being good enough to entrust our
1:57:51 children’s future education too.
1:57:52 Okay.
1:57:53 Furthermore, BPS is ranked first in the state according to U.S.
1:57:56 News and World.
1:57:57 However, being first at the county level in a state that is
1:58:00 ranked 21st out of 50 by Wallahawk is still a failing grade of
1:58:03 48%.
1:58:04 Can you bring this back to protests?
1:58:08 I would recommend that this board try refreshing themselves on
1:58:12 its constitutional civic duties before embroiling yourselves in
1:58:16 constitutional court against children.
1:58:17 Fund our teachers and support staff by making BPS a safe place
1:58:21 that upholds the Constitution.
1:58:23 Okay.
1:58:24 One that parents will actually want to send their kids, stop
1:58:27 being feckless failures, and actually do your job.
1:58:28 All right.
1:58:29 Thank you.
1:58:36 I’m good?
1:58:38 Yeah.
1:58:40 Mr. Chair, I do intend to address a couple of things that were
1:58:43 mentioned at the end.
1:58:44 And so if people want to stick around, I do plan to address a
1:58:47 couple of those things during our board discussion time.
1:58:49 Yeah, me too.
1:58:50 Absolutely.
1:58:51 And just to summarize, Mr. Petarakis was added to the non-agenda.
1:58:55 Paul Raub was already on the non-agenda.
1:58:58 Pamela Castellana, I added you to the non-agenda.
1:59:03 And Jack Potsis, I added you.
1:59:05 And Gina Drench.
1:59:06 And Gina.
1:59:07 Gina was already on the non-agenda.
1:59:09 Oh, okay.
1:59:10 Okay.
1:59:11 Did I miss anybody who got moved?
1:59:15 All right.
1:59:17 That concludes agenda items.
1:59:18 Only for public comments.
1:59:19 We thank you for the time out of your schedule to address the
1:59:22 board with your concerns and suggestions.
1:59:23 I would like to remind the public that the board is accessible
1:59:26 for further conversations outside of our business meeting
1:59:29 through scheduling a meeting.
1:59:30 We are now at the consent agenda.
1:59:31 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
1:59:32 There are 48 items on the agenda under this category.
1:59:37 Thank you, Dr. Rendell.
1:59:38 Does any board member wish to pull any of the items?
1:59:40 No.
1:59:41 All right.
1:59:42 I will entertain a motion to accept the consent items on today’s
1:59:45 agenda with the exception of those pulled for discussion.
1:59:48 Move to approve.
1:59:49 Second.
1:59:51 We got Jean on the move on the first motion.
1:59:54 Any discussion?
1:59:55 Paul, roll call, please.
1:59:56 Mr. Trent.
1:59:57 Aye.
1:59:58 Mr. Susan.
1:59:59 Here.
2:00:00 Yes.
2:00:01 Ms. Campbell.
2:00:02 Aye.
2:00:03 Mr. Thomas.
2:00:04 Aye.
2:00:05 We move the information agenda, which includes an item for board
2:00:09 review and may be brought back for action at a subsequent
2:00:11 meeting.
2:00:11 No action will be taken this item today.
2:00:13 There are two items under this category.
2:00:15 Does any board member wish to discuss these items?
2:00:17 Yes.
2:00:18 Actually, this will be a more appropriate place, probably since
2:00:21 two of the particular things that I wanted to address that the
2:00:25 public commenters mentioned are here.
2:00:26 So let me start with the first one.
2:00:29 I won, which is the procurement item.
2:00:32 Great question.
2:00:33 It’s certainly something we want to be transparent about.
2:00:36 We want people to understand why we would do procurement
2:00:41 services for a lobbyist.
2:00:42 First of all, people need to understand that we have had a lobbyist
2:00:46 for many years prior to me being on the board.
2:00:48 I know for sure.
2:00:49 I think we had a big conflict about it one year before.
2:00:53 I think you’re right after you got on the board.
2:00:56 Mr. Susan.
2:00:57 It is when we have a lobbyist.
2:01:01 The work that those lobbyists do that they have done are things
2:01:05 like securing funding for the airplane hangar O’Galley High
2:01:10 School, the firefighter academy at Palm Bay High School.
2:01:12 The most recently we had the Cocoa Beach, the aquaculture
2:01:17 program.
2:01:17 We just secured funding from Congressman Herodopoulos at a
2:01:22 federal level to replicate the aviation program at O’Galley to
2:01:26 put it at Space Coast Junior Senior High.
2:01:29 So when people talk about, yes, $48,000 is a lot of money.
2:01:34 But when it talks about just this year in one program having
2:01:37 brought in, what, $2 million?
2:01:39 Over $2 million.
2:01:40 $2 million to help us build a program that is super expensive.
2:01:44 So, and just to make sure, again for the transparency sake, when
2:01:49 we have a lobbyist, the board develops, in addition to appropriations
2:01:53 ask, which are always for programs in schools, mostly over the
2:01:56 last couple of years they’ve been CTE.
2:01:57 We have also had appropriations requests for adult ed, which has
2:02:01 allowed us to build a CDL training program.
2:02:03 If you go by Southlake in Cocoa, you’ll see the track was turned
2:02:09 into a training facility and we’re working on our mechanics, you
2:02:14 know, to turn that whole area into a technical college.
2:02:17 So, mostly it’s those kind of financial appropriations.
2:02:21 If there is anything policy wise that we use our lobbyists to do,
2:02:26 it is the platform that the board develops together in open
2:02:30 public meetings.
2:02:31 This year the board did not have our own separate platform
2:02:35 besides those two lobbying requests.
2:02:39 We did develop platforms that we, items that we presented to FSBA,
2:02:44 our Florida School Boards Association, as well as the consortium
2:02:49 of the greater Florida consortium of school boards.
2:02:51 I’m going to miss out a letter in there somewhere.
2:02:53 So, we were a part of that.
2:02:54 We talked about those items through the fall in federal and
2:02:59 state.
2:03:00 So, those are the kinds of things.
2:03:01 If there is any lobbying going on, you need to understand those
2:03:04 are the platforms.
2:03:05 Those had to do with making sure that teachers can get
2:03:09 certification and hang on to it more easily.
2:03:12 There were several other things.
2:03:14 I can, if anybody wants those public available documents, we
2:03:17 talked about them in public meetings.
2:03:18 I’m happy to send them to you.
2:03:19 Or you can go to either the consortium’s website or FSBA’s
2:03:23 website and see the legislative platforms.
2:03:25 Those are the things that this board was lobbying for, that we
2:03:28 used lobbyists for.
2:03:28 But primarily, it is for those appropriations, the funds that we’re
2:03:32 trying to secure.
2:03:33 Because we have great support from Congressman Herodopoulos.
2:03:36 He’s been so supportive since he took that role on this, you
2:03:40 know, what a year and a half ago.
2:03:42 But Congressman Herodopoulos cannot move that by himself.
2:03:45 So, the lobbyist job in the federal level is to make sure that
2:03:49 that appropriation can make it to the finish line.
2:03:51 We’re very happy to announce that it did and to approve it.
2:03:53 And we’re really excited to see those funds.
2:03:55 And that’s what our lobbyists do every single year.
2:03:58 So, I just want to make sure that’s clear.
2:04:01 I also wanted to address the code of conduct.
2:04:03 Can we stay on the lobbyist piece?
2:04:05 Yeah.
2:04:06 Anybody else want to talk a lobbyist?
2:04:07 I just wanted to also mention, for instance, not only the
2:04:10 revenue that we receive,
2:04:10 which the ROI is one of the best ROIs you’ve ever seen.
2:04:13 The money that we spend towards the money that we gain is 10, 20,
2:04:18 30X sometimes.
2:04:19 The other piece to it is, is just like I was speaking to Ms. Dampierre
2:04:23 today.
2:04:23 We need support in the federal government for all of the other
2:04:26 – we have millions and millions of dollars
2:04:29 that come in through programs through the federal government
2:04:32 that we need support and help for.
2:04:33 We also need support for some of our teachers.
2:04:35 One of the things we were talking about is the rules and
2:04:38 regulations that come down from the federal government
2:04:39 relating to students that are being pushed into classrooms and
2:04:43 stuff like that with some of those rules
2:04:44 where there’s some of those are some problems that we’re dealing
2:04:47 with right now.
2:04:47 We can’t even deal with it locally.
2:04:49 We can’t deal with it statewide.
2:04:50 We need to go to the federal government.
2:04:52 So the fact that somebody – we went and got a federal lobbyist
2:04:55 for the first time, which I’m
2:04:56 really excited about in a long time, has got ROI that’s
2:04:59 incredible.
2:05:00 And I just wanted to mention that at the end of it.
2:05:02 Right.
2:05:03 And there may – there may – I know we’ve talked in the past
2:05:06 before about the potential
2:05:07 of using a federal lobbyist to secure funding for other kinds of
2:05:11 facilities needs.
2:05:11 So those are the kinds of things.
2:05:13 And again, all that’s happened in public meetings.
2:05:15 Yep.
2:05:16 I did just jump to the – to the code of conduct.
2:05:19 And I’ll just be really honest with you guys.
2:05:22 I am disappointed when it seems that even people who have come
2:05:27 to the podium seem to have gotten
2:05:29 more information from a social media post than from the actual
2:05:32 document.
2:05:32 So I’m going to take you to the actual document because I want
2:05:35 to make sure that we’re addressing your concerns.
2:05:36 So I’m looking in the red line draft.
2:05:39 That’s my favorite one to look at because the red line draft
2:05:42 shows you all the things that change.
2:05:43 The clean draft’s great and that’s what’s going to go out to the
2:05:45 students.
2:05:45 But the red line draft is so important because it shows you
2:05:48 everything that’s changed.
2:05:48 And if you’ll go down, I’m going to address a couple of things
2:05:51 that were mentioned.
2:05:52 One is having to do with walkouts.
2:05:55 Now I think that there are some people, to me, clearly from what
2:06:00 they said, got their information
2:06:02 not from the actual document but from a social media post
2:06:05 because we – and maybe from something
2:06:08 that a board member, Ms. Wright, did bring up a proposal for a
2:06:12 new policy.
2:06:12 We did not have discussion about that.
2:06:14 She presented it to us.
2:06:15 There has been no movement on that.
2:06:16 What is right now, in our code of conduct, there was something
2:06:20 that was added and it’s
2:06:22 on the red line copy.
2:06:23 It’s on the bottom of page 30 and the top of page 31.
2:06:26 I’m just going to read it.
2:06:27 Disorder and demonstration.
2:06:29 So we’re very clear.
2:06:30 This is already pulled out of our policy that we already have.
2:06:33 The school board recognizes the right of each student to attend
2:06:36 school for the purpose of
2:06:37 receiving an education.
2:06:39 However, the disruption of the educational program of the
2:06:42 schools by disorder or any other purposeful
2:06:44 activity will not be countenance.
2:06:46 For further information, please see school board policy 5520,
2:06:50 which is the same 5520 we’ve had.
2:06:51 Students who are found to be in violation of this policy are
2:06:55 subject to discipline according
2:06:56 to the code of student conduct.
2:06:58 Student behavior incident coding for each occurrences, depending
2:07:01 on the severity, shall be coded as
2:07:03 either gross insubordination, if that is what occurs, if a
2:07:07 student is asked to do something
2:07:08 and they repeatedly ignore the instructions that they are given.
2:07:13 Gross insubordination.
2:07:14 There is a definition for it.
2:07:16 Or leaving campus without permission, which is code 033.
2:07:21 If they do that, they leave campus.
2:07:23 Any other time they leave campus without permission, it’s going
2:07:25 to be the same punishment.
2:07:26 It’s not an extra punishment.
2:07:27 It’s the same one we would do if you skipped campus to walk
2:07:30 across the road to go to McDonald’s,
2:07:32 if you have one across the street from your school.
2:07:34 All right.
2:07:35 Or disruption on campus, if it’s something that occurs that
2:07:39 people are walking out into the
2:07:40 square or people are, you know, and disrupting the campus.
2:07:43 So I say all that to say some of the things that were mentioned
2:07:47 tonight, there were students
2:07:48 on that protest day whose parents gave them permission to check
2:07:52 out and they walked out of
2:07:53 school and they were not a disruption on campus and they didn’t
2:07:57 have anything to do.
2:07:58 There was nothing in the student code of conduct that was
2:08:01 applied to them.
2:08:01 There are students who could have worn a shirt that had a
2:08:04 message on it or put a sticker on
2:08:05 their shirt.
2:08:06 And as long as it didn’t have ugly words on it, those students
2:08:09 also – you talk about
2:08:10 Tinker versus Des Moines, that is the most like – and I hate
2:08:13 that the gentleman who brought
2:08:14 that up and was so adamant about that left before he got to hear
2:08:18 the definition of it.
2:08:18 We are in line with – I just want to be very clear.
2:08:21 Our policies and procedures and what happened that day, like it
2:08:24 or not, are in line with Tinker
2:08:26 Versus Des Moines.
2:08:27 Because we do allow, we would have allowed if students had worn
2:08:31 a shirt, worn a sticker,
2:08:31 done what, you know, made – they could have done any of those
2:08:35 things and it wouldn’t have
2:08:36 been gross insubordination, leaving campus without permission,
2:08:39 disruption on campus.
2:08:39 The students who did those things and their parents checked them
2:08:42 out and they walked out
2:08:43 or last year when they had protests and they did it after school
2:08:47 or even before school and
2:08:47 they weren’t on school board property or during the school day,
2:08:51 those students were not punished.
2:08:53 They were not handled with the student code of conduct.
2:08:56 They did things the way that honestly are the way that adults
2:09:00 have to do it.
2:09:01 I just want to point you to – we talk about First Amendment
2:09:03 rights, but you have – one of the
2:09:04 things and how we should be teaching students how to exercise
2:09:07 their First Amendment rights.
2:09:09 Amen.
2:09:10 Because as an adult with a job, I have to fit within the
2:09:16 boundaries of adult life.
2:09:19 If I’m going to protest and I’m an employee of the school
2:09:22 district or SpaceX or McDonald’s
2:09:24 or Wal-Mart and I violate my employer’s policies, that’s not a
2:09:32 violation of my First Amendment rights.
2:09:34 If I’m supposed to be working a cash register at – fill in the
2:09:39 retail store and I decide
2:09:39 to start yelling about ICE, that employer has the right to
2:09:44 discipline me and I could potentially
2:09:45 even lose my job.
2:09:46 It happens all the time.
2:09:47 We have famous TV people that the same – same thing because
2:09:51 they’re – that is not a violation
2:09:52 of the First Amendment rights.
2:09:53 They have a code of conduct they have to abide by.
2:09:55 Students under our control who are at their campus and it’s our
2:09:59 job to keep them safe.
2:10:00 And it’s not the principal’s job or the administrator’s job to
2:10:04 chase students around and try – and
2:10:05 that’s why it’s a disruption on campus when you just walk off.
2:10:08 Because all of a sudden, teachers and administrators have to
2:10:11 leave what they’re supposed to be doing
2:10:13 to make sure the students they’re responsible for are safe.
2:10:18 That is why it’s in here.
2:10:20 So I just want to make sure – that is all that’s in here.
2:10:23 I do want to address one other thing because one other new item
2:10:26 – and if you listen to the work session –
2:10:28 and I encourage you to go back.
2:10:29 I think it was on March 10th.
2:10:31 Ms. Dampier addressed why we are adding the language other misconduct
2:10:36 and serious other misconduct.
2:10:37 And I will tell you that – I read this specific line because I
2:10:41 wanted you to know that that doesn’t
2:10:42 have anything to do with the disorder and demonstration policy.
2:10:45 That those are addressed by what I have here.
2:10:48 The other misconduct and the serious other misconduct has to do
2:10:52 with the creativity of our students.
2:10:55 Because there are things that we haven’t thought of that
2:10:59 students might do that really aren’t okay to do at school.
2:11:02 And we don’t have them somewhere in the student code of conduct.
2:11:05 So we’re revising it every year.
2:11:07 New things come up.
2:11:08 You know, students are very creative and sometimes mischievous
2:11:11 in their creativity.
2:11:12 So if we have something that a student did that we don’t have a
2:11:16 code to cover,
2:11:17 that’s where that would come into play.
2:11:19 And there’s two levels.
2:11:20 It’s hardly ever going to be used, I would imagine, as a former
2:11:23 principal, Dr. Rendell could.
2:11:23 But there are going to be situations where – and there already
2:11:26 have been situations,
2:11:27 which is why I think it’s there – where a principal or a dean
2:11:30 is like,
2:11:30 I don’t know how to code this because we don’t have anything
2:11:33 that covers this item.
2:11:33 So that just gives them something that’s definitely
2:11:36 inappropriate.
2:11:36 It’s not good behavior.
2:11:37 It needs to be addressed.
2:11:38 But we don’t have a code for it.
2:11:40 So we just gave them a code.
2:11:41 That doesn’t have anything to do with student protests.
2:11:44 Any time that there’s questions and then you see something on a
2:11:48 certain social media page
2:11:49 and you have questions about it, I encourage you, reach out.
2:11:52 There’s an explanation.
2:11:53 I have gotten zero emails.
2:11:55 And those of you who are out there who have emailed me before,
2:11:58 you know I’m good at responding.
2:11:59 I’ll get there eventually even if it might be a little late.
2:12:03 I’ve gotten zero emails about this policy.
2:12:06 I’ve gotten zero emails about the lobbyists.
2:12:08 Nobody reached out to me.
2:12:09 So it’s very disappointing.
2:12:11 You have a right to stand up here and ask about in a public
2:12:14 thing.
2:12:14 But I could have explained that early on, but nobody asked.
2:12:18 So I encourage you, get your news from the source.
2:12:21 And you don’t have to believe me, but public record will show
2:12:25 you in our public meeting minutes
2:12:26 for the last several years will show you the truth of what I’m
2:12:29 talking about
2:12:29 with the lobbyists as well as with the code of conduct.
2:12:32 So I encourage you to go back and listen to this conversation.
2:12:34 But I wanted to make sure that I addressed those issues.
2:12:36 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
2:12:37 And did you have something?
2:12:40 I had exactly what Ms. Campbell was saying, so I’ll pass.
2:12:45 Thank you.
2:12:46 Well said.
2:12:47 Couldn’t have said it better.
2:12:48 I did.
2:12:49 And the other thing that I want to recognize is that the ability
2:12:52 for people not to actually
2:12:53 read the facts and actually go into the student code of conduct
2:12:56 and appropriately request the information is part of another
2:13:01 learning lesson,
2:13:02 is that there is a bunch of social media out there that is not
2:13:05 true.
2:13:05 Things that are being said that are not true.
2:13:08 And when you do that and you follow that social media and then
2:13:12 you go down that road
2:13:12 without actually doing the due diligence of following exactly
2:13:15 what Ms. Campbell said,
2:13:16 you end up in a place where you may have some regret over the
2:13:19 choices that you’ve made.
2:13:20 And that is where we have to step in and make sure that your
2:13:24 safety as students
2:13:25 is completely taken care of.
2:13:27 If you have students that are walking out, you have situations
2:13:31 like you had in Nebraska
2:13:32 and other places where they were physically hurt outside, inside
2:13:36 of the school,
2:13:36 inside the school as they were trying to protest.
2:13:38 That is what our number one job is, is to make sure that our
2:13:42 students are safe.
2:13:43 That is number one safety.
2:13:45 So when we have individuals that are out there saying, oh yeah,
2:13:48 go ahead, leave.
2:13:48 You don’t have to ask permission and everything like that.
2:13:50 They are facilitating you to break the rules and code of conduct
2:13:55 which could put you in a harm’s way.
2:13:56 That’s why the majority of parents said, yeah, no, I’m not going
2:13:59 to go check my kid out.
2:14:00 Because that’s what it is.
2:14:01 And those of you that are on social media trying to call our
2:14:04 kids out of the schools and do all that stuff,
2:14:05 that’s wrong.
2:14:06 Those of you on social media that are posting that Tinker is the
2:14:09 way to go and everything else,
2:14:10 that’s wrong.
2:14:11 But we can’t be there to be out on social media, nor will we
2:14:14 ever go there.
2:14:14 So reach out to us.
2:14:15 Ask us the questions.
2:14:16 Thank you.
2:14:18 The other thing I wanted to say is the CFO, we had a situation
2:14:21 there.
2:14:21 Somebody said, oh, all these different things.
2:14:23 It has been stated over and over again that that is zero cost.
2:14:26 It has been stated in meetings.
2:14:28 Dr. Rendell has said it multiple times.
2:14:31 And for people to come up here and say, oh, well, this is just
2:14:35 at least email one of us
2:14:35 or at least read and watch the meetings where he has stated
2:14:40 multiple times.
2:14:41 I need to start paying attention.
2:14:43 Thank you.
2:14:44 Anybody else got anything?
2:14:46 Yes, sir.
2:14:47 Dr. Rendell.
2:14:48 I mean, Mrs. Campbell did a great job of educating everybody on
2:14:53 the facts.
2:14:53 Yep.
2:14:54 There’s a lot of misinformation out there on social media and
2:14:57 other websites or whatever.
2:14:57 And it is disappointing that nobody asks any questions.
2:15:01 Like we could have answered a lot of these questions before
2:15:04 tonight.
2:15:04 So, yep.
2:15:06 All right.
2:15:07 So now we have a couple more things.
2:15:10 Does anybody have any reports that they’d like to talk about?
2:15:12 Some positive stuff?
2:15:13 Good news.
2:15:14 Good news?
2:15:15 Positive thing.
2:15:16 Sure.
2:15:17 Want me to go up?
2:15:18 Yeah.
2:15:19 Go ahead.
2:15:20 I’d like to go to you first.
2:15:21 So if there’s ever a time you’re like, hey, I need some extra
2:15:24 time.
2:15:24 We can go to another place.
2:15:25 No, I’m good.
2:15:26 I’d just like to – I’d reached out to Meadow Lane Primary
2:15:29 School this past week.
2:15:31 And Principal Deanna Smith asked to recognize Ms. Emma Crail.
2:15:35 So I’d like to read a little statement that Ms. Smith provided
2:15:39 to me, if you’ll allow me.
2:15:41 It is in my honor to recognize Ms. Emma Crail.
2:15:44 Ms. Crail is a first-year teacher teaching first grade at Meadow
2:15:47 Lane Primary.
2:15:48 In her short-time teaching, Ms. Crail has already demonstrated
2:15:52 the qualities of an exceptional
2:15:54 educator and leader.
2:15:55 Her passion for teaching, commitment to student success, and
2:15:59 natural ability to build meaningful
2:16:00 relationships have made an immediate impact on our school
2:16:03 community.
2:16:03 From the moment she entered the classroom, Ms. Crail established
2:16:06 a learning environment
2:16:07 that is engaging, supportive, and structured to help young
2:16:10 learners thrive.
2:16:11 She thoughtfully plans lessons that are purposely creative,
2:16:14 supports the needs of her students,
2:16:15 and are aligned to the state benchmarks.
2:16:17 In addition, she willingly shares her instructional ideas with
2:16:20 her colleagues
2:16:20 during collaborative planning sessions.
2:16:23 Even as a first-year teacher, she demonstrates a strong
2:16:26 understanding of instructional practices
2:16:28 and consistently works to ensure that every student is actively
2:16:31 engaged in learning.
2:16:32 Her classroom runs like a well-oiled machine.
2:16:36 What truly sets Ms. Crail apart is her dedication to her
2:16:39 students.
2:16:39 She goes above and beyond to support their academic growth while
2:16:43 nurturing their confidence
2:16:44 and love of learning.
2:16:45 While most of her decisions are data-driven, she takes time to
2:16:48 understand each child as an
2:16:49 individual and works to ensure they feel valued, capable, and
2:16:53 inspired in her classroom.
2:16:54 Meadow Lane Primary is a deaf, hard-of-hearing feeder school.
2:16:57 Ms. Crail has the honor of serving as the DHH students in her
2:17:02 classroom.
2:17:02 And what makes this so incredible is that Ms. Crail is DHH
2:17:05 herself.
2:17:05 She provides opportunities daily to show all students what is
2:17:09 possible.
2:17:09 In addition to her strong instructional practices, Ms. Crail
2:17:13 approaches her profession with remarkable
2:17:14 professionalism and a growth mindset.
2:17:17 I’ve had the pleasure of coaching and co-teaching with Ms. Crail
2:17:20 on several occasions this school year.
2:17:22 She actively seeks feedback, reflects on her practice, and
2:17:25 continually seeks ways to refine her teaching.
2:17:27 Her willingness to learn and improve speaks volumes about the
2:17:30 educator she is becoming.
2:17:31 Despite being early in her career, Ms. Crail already embodies
2:17:34 the qualities of a master teacher, dedication,
2:17:37 compassion, creativity, and a belief in the potential of every
2:17:40 child.
2:17:40 We are beyond grateful to have Ms. Crail as a part of our Meadow
2:17:43 Lane Primary family.
2:17:44 She is a phenomenal first-year educator whose impact will only
2:17:47 continue to grow in the years ahead.
2:17:49 And I would like to echo Ms. Smith’s comments and congratulate
2:17:56 Ms. Crail on an exceptional job.
2:17:58 That’s awesome, man. Good job.
2:17:59 That’s awesome. Great form? Yeah.
2:18:01 All right.
2:18:02 First of all, I want to recognize Principal Heather LeGate from
2:18:07 Vieira High School,
2:18:07 who was recognized at the Sheriff’s Award Ceremony a few weeks
2:18:10 ago.
2:18:10 I got to attend that ceremony with the Partnership Award for the
2:18:14 way that she –
2:18:15 for primarily the way that she opens up her campus so frequently
2:18:18 for the Sheriff’s Department to do –
2:18:20 have ceremonies or training sessions or whatever.
2:18:23 And so she was recognized.
2:18:25 It was kind of a surprise.
2:18:26 She didn’t know why she was there, but it was fun to get to be
2:18:29 there to celebrate her,
2:18:30 as well as the many other Sheriff’s Department employees who
2:18:34 were recognized that night.
2:18:35 It was truly inspiring.
2:18:36 Lots of lifesaving going on in our county.
2:18:39 A few weeks ago, we had the groundbreaking for the new building
2:18:42 at Bayside High School,
2:18:43 which will not be opening until – not next school year, but the
2:18:47 year after.
2:18:47 But it was exciting to see that they’ve already gotten started.
2:18:49 And for the public who’s not aware, that area is growing so fast.
2:18:54 The Bayside just in the last handful of years, when I say like
2:18:58 three or four years,
2:18:58 has moved from the fifth largest high school in the county to
2:19:01 the second largest,
2:19:02 and most likely next year will be larger than Vieira,
2:19:04 and they will be our largest high school in the county.
2:19:07 So it was exciting to have lots of our special guests there,
2:19:11 and to look to the expansion of the first high school in the
2:19:16 city of Palm Bay.
2:19:17 And then finally, this morning I was at Indy Atlantic Elementary,
2:19:21 and I just wanted to recognize them because, you know,
2:19:25 Ms. Harris has shared with us board about the UFLY program that
2:19:28 we’re using to go along with our mighty moves and all of our
2:19:31 phonics science of reading development.
2:19:33 And I believe that Indy Atlantic was the first school to get
2:19:36 going with UFLY,
2:19:37 and some of the teachers there was actually not by the principal,
2:19:40 but brought by a teacher to get us started.
2:19:43 And then they’re so excited, and I got to see lots of phonics,
2:19:46 great phonics instruction going on.
2:19:47 And so just great job Indy Atlantic teachers.
2:19:51 And Dr. Lord had so many good things to say about her teaching
2:19:54 staff this morning and the way they’re just really running with
2:19:58 it and doing great things for kids.
2:19:59 So I really look forward. Indy Atlantic always does a great job,
2:20:02 but I told them this morning I look forward to them rocking
2:20:04 again on our state testing at the end of the year,
2:20:06 because they’re just doing a really phenomenal job. That’s it,
2:20:10 Mr. Chair.
2:20:10 Awesome. Thank you. Mr. Chair.
2:20:13 All right. So since the last time I was able to attend the Endeavor
2:20:18 Elementary Disney production, it was a play.
2:20:21 What happened there was Disney Corporation awarded Endeavor a
2:20:27 grant, and they put on a play of 101 Dalmatians, and it was
2:20:32 wonderful to see those kids.
2:20:33 It was as if they were on Broadway performing. It was nice.
2:20:37 So if you haven’t seen that, there’s some clips of that on Brevard
2:20:42 schools, I think on our web page, and also on Endeavor’s web
2:20:45 page as well.
2:20:46 So shout out to Principal Murphy there. It was handled well. The
2:20:51 place was packed, and Disney was there taking pictures and video,
2:20:54 and it was wonderful.
2:20:56 So the other thing is congratulations to Ms. Taylor and the Merritt
2:21:01 Island High School Student Government Association for being
2:21:05 selected as the 2026 National Gold Council of Excellence.
2:21:09 Now this award, it recognizes student councils that maintain a
2:21:13 high standard in leadership, service, engagement, and student
2:21:18 voice.
2:21:18 And only a handful of these schools are selected for this award.
2:21:23 So to Ms. Lubbers and the Student Government Association over
2:21:27 there, great job.
2:21:28 Ms. Bennett?
2:21:29 Thank you, Mr. Trent. I just want a real quick short one is that
2:21:33 there’s an individual out there that’s working to coordinate all
2:21:38 of our groups that we’re having host a lot of our different
2:21:42 elementary school sports.
2:21:43 And so Gary Miracle has come in, I’m not sure if you know his
2:21:46 story, but he’s an amazing individual, has come in to work with
2:21:51 bringing in Vieira East to host the Championship for Golf,
2:21:55 the different organizations like NFL Flag to host some of the
2:21:59 flag football that we don’t have in middle school, and all of
2:22:02 those different components.
2:22:02 So I just wanted to take a second and say thank you to him for
2:22:05 dedicating his time, because he doesn’t get paid on it, he doesn’t
2:22:08 get anything out of it.
2:22:08 He just cares about making a difference for our kids. That’s it.
2:22:11 And then I asked, anybody have anything further to report?
2:22:15 Anybody have any items they want to talk about?
2:22:17 Mr. Chair.
2:22:18 Yes, sir. I was going to come to you in a second.
2:22:19 Okay.
2:22:20 No, no, you go ahead. You go ahead.
2:22:21 Just wanted to make sure I didn’t get left out.
2:22:22 No, I do that sometimes.
2:22:24 I am going to bring, just so you guys know, so you guys can
2:22:27 start focusing on it, I’m going to bring the AI forward that you
2:22:32 had asked to bring forward at the next meeting for discussion at
2:22:35 the school at the workshop, just so you know.
2:22:36 So that you guys are aware, if you have anything you want to
2:22:39 reach out and stuff like that, I’m going to bring it forward
2:22:41 just for discussion.
2:22:42 We’re not making any decisions, but I want to hear where
2:22:44 everybody’s at with some of their thoughts.
2:22:45 We got to get, I was realizing, we got to get ahead of that.
2:22:49 And you had mentioned, we’re going to have that coming up.
2:22:51 If there’s any training or anything we have to do over the
2:22:53 summer, we better get ahead of any kind of policies that we have.
2:22:55 So yeah, I just, I wanted to throw out one thing.
2:22:58 No, did I lose?
2:22:59 I had the, ah, I’m sorry.
2:23:01 I had a business card.
2:23:02 We had, ah, nevermind.
2:23:03 Scratch that.
2:23:04 I’ll tell it later when I find the card.
2:23:05 It’s fine.
2:23:06 Just if you guys have anything, bring them forward, just get
2:23:10 ready for it.
2:23:10 That’s, that’ll be a good conversation.
2:23:11 Okay.
2:23:12 Dr. Inda.
2:23:13 So if anybody was watching our workshop earlier today, you saw
2:23:17 we had surprise visit at the end of the workshop with two of the
2:23:19 leaders of our school, high school robotics teams.
2:23:21 So just before spring break, at the end of the week before
2:23:25 spring break, I had the honor of attending the regional first
2:23:29 robotics competition in Orlando.
2:23:31 UCF has been hosting this competition for several years.
2:23:34 We have a lot of high schools that have robotics teams that
2:23:38 compete in this competition.
2:23:39 And I was just blown away by the dedication, the amount of time,
2:23:44 energy, and effort that these students and their volunteer
2:23:47 mentors and coaches have put in.
2:23:49 Um, we had over seven, well, we had seven different, seven
2:23:53 different teams from numerous high schools.
2:23:55 Some high schools have joint teams and, uh, just hundreds of
2:23:59 kids from Brevard schools, pub, uh, public schools participating
2:24:03 in that competition.
2:24:04 And they were amazing.
2:24:05 So we had two of the leaders come and speak to the board today
2:24:08 at our workshops.
2:24:09 If you want to tune in and watch that, you can see at the end of
2:24:12 the workshop, they talk.
2:24:12 And then on April 28th, they’re going to do a presentation at
2:24:17 the beginning of our workshop.
2:24:19 So if you’re at all interested in learning about the incredible
2:24:22 robotics teams that we have here at our high schools in Brevard,
2:24:25 I encourage you to either attend the workshop on April 28th, one
2:24:30 o’clock right here, or at least watch it.
2:24:31 Um, cause they’re going to do a demonstration and we’re going to
2:24:34 have a lot of their leadership there to talk about first
2:24:36 robotics in Brevard County and what a great job they’re doing.
2:24:39 So I was just really, really amazed at what those students and
2:24:43 their mentors have done.
2:24:44 have done and we’re going to share that with the board in a
2:24:48 couple weeks that’s it good all right
2:24:51 um does everybody are you guys good to keep going or do you guys
2:24:54 want to use the restroom you guys
2:24:56 need a break we got a recess first we have to recess let’s take
2:24:59 a few minutes okay let’s recess
2:25:14 we’re going to be here we’re going to be here we’re going to be
2:25:32 here we’re going to be here
2:25:44 we’re going to be here we’re going to be here we go