Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
4:47 .
9:16 » Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.
9:23 » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
9:28 America
9:28 and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible
9:34 with liberty and justice for all.
9:35 » Justice for all.
9:40 » I just want to take a second and thank Mary Jo today who’s
9:45 normally not sitting here.
9:45 I didn’t know if you guys wanted to say hi to her.
9:48 This is Mary Jo.
9:49 We normally have Paul Gibbs who’s our normal attorney.
9:51 But she stepped in to cover Paul while he’s at a conference.
9:54 We always appreciate you and all the work that you do.
9:57 Didn’t know if anybody else wanted to say the same thing.
9:59 And if not, we’ll get moving.
10:00 » We’ll take it easy on you tonight, Ms. Stable.
10:02 All right?
10:03 Good luck.
10:05 » That brings us to the adoption of the agenda.
10:07 Dr. Endell.
10:08 » Thank you, Mr. Chair.
10:09 On this evening’s agenda, we have two proclamations, three
10:12 recognitions, 32 consent items, one public hearing item and two
10:15 information items.
10:16 Changes made to the agenda since it was released to the public
10:19 include the following.
10:20 Revised was C1, national water safety proclamation, revised C2,
10:25 mental health awareness proclamation, revised F2, the board’s FSBA
10:30 advocacy committee representative and alternate, revised F3
10:34 meeting minutes and revised F9 administrative recommendations.
10:38 Removed was F15, project read that’s moved to a May meeting.
10:42 Also, I would like to remove one of the policies that is on the
10:47 agenda under the information item at the end under item I.
10:52 Proposed revisions to policy 6320, which included increases to
10:56 spending authority as well as language changes.
10:59 We don’t really see a need to make any of those changes at this
11:02 time, so we’re removing that from the information agenda this
11:06 evening.
11:06 We also removed it from the work session earlier today.
11:09 So that’s the last change.
11:11 Thank you, Dr. Andell.
11:13 Do I hear a motion?
11:14 Move for approval.
11:15 Is there any discussion?
11:17 Hearing none, Mary Jo, roll call, please.
11:20 Mr. Tran.
11:21 Aye.
11:22 Ms. Wright.
11:23 Aye.
11:24 Mr. Susan.
11:25 Aye.
11:26 Ms. Campbell.
11:27 Aye.
11:28 Mr. Thomas.
11:29 Aye.
11:30 Please welcome Yvette Cruz to the podium for the national water
11:37 safety month proclamation.
11:40 Whereas Brevard County’s abundant oceans, rivers, lagoons and
11:44 pools make water recreation a central part of life.
11:47 Even as drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for
11:51 children, yet preventable through strong water safety education.
11:55 And whereas national water safety month, each May, raises
11:58 awareness and promotes essential skills that help protect
12:02 children and adults in and around water.
12:04 And whereas Brevard Public Schools is committed to supporting
12:08 the health, safety and well-being of all students by encouraging
12:11 water safety education
12:12 and partnerships with community organizations that provide life-saving
12:17 instruction.
12:17 And whereas teaching students essential water safety knowledge,
12:22 including swimming skills, understanding water conditions,
12:25 wearing life jackets when appropriate and recognizing emergency
12:29 situations empowers them to make safe choices
12:32 and reduces the risk of preventable tragedies.
12:35 And whereas families, educators and community partners all play
12:40 a vital role in reinforcing safe habits
12:42 and ensuring that children have access to the resources and
12:45 instruction needed to stay safe in and around water.
12:48 Now therefore be it resolved that the school board of Brevard
12:51 County, Florida does hereby proclaim May 2026 as national water
12:57 safety month
12:57 and encourages all students, staff, families and community
13:01 members to promote water safety awareness,
13:03 participate in educational opportunities and work together to
13:07 prevent water related injuries.
13:09 Adopted by the members of the Brevard Public School Board, Brevard
13:12 County, Florida at the regular board meeting,
13:15 they are upheld the 28th day of April 2026.
13:19 And tonight we have Brooke Bothin here from the Florida Swimming
13:23 Pool Association to accept this proclamation.
13:25 [Applause]
13:31 Hey Brooke, hang on. We’re going to adopt the motion here real
13:34 quick, alright?
13:34 Do I hear a motion?
13:35 Move to approve.
13:36 Second.
13:37 Any discussion? Mary Jo, roll call please.
13:41 Mr. Trent.
13:42 Aye.
13:43 Ms. Wright.
13:44 Aye.
13:45 Mr. Susan.
13:46 Aye.
13:47 Ms. Campbell.
13:48 Aye.
13:49 Mr. Thomas.
13:50 Aye.
13:51 Now the floor is yours.
13:52 Thank you, Ms. Cruz.
13:53 Good evening, superintendent, board members and community
13:54 partners.
13:54 It’s an opportunity to speak as we recognize the upcoming month
13:56 of May as National Water Safety Month.
13:59 On behalf of the Florida Swimming Pool Association, also known
14:02 as FSPA, I’m honored to stand alongside of our public schools
14:05 as well as to bring forward this proclamation and reinforce a
14:09 message that is both timely and life saving.
14:11 As we approach the summer vacation, the season when our families
14:15 spend the most time around water, around pools, lakes and
14:18 beaches,
14:18 it is critical we pause and emphasize the importance of water
14:21 safety.
14:21 Drowning remains the leading cause of death for our children,
14:24 yet it is preventable.
14:25 Simply consistent habits make a difference, always swimming with
14:29 supervision, designating a responsible water watcher,
14:32 wearing proper life jackets, learning basic water safety skills,
14:36 swimming skills and understanding aquatic risks,
14:39 from rip currents to pool drains.
14:41 Water is a place of joy, but it demands respect.
14:44 It is unfortunate to communicate as of today we’ve lost 28
14:48 children in our state and last year in 2025 we lost 119.
14:52 However, on the bright side of everything, moving forward we
14:56 have really established our partnership with Brevard Public
14:59 Schools
14:59 and going through another milestone, nearly serving almost 10,000
15:03 students in Brevard County
15:04 for water safety emergency preparation presentations in the
15:09 traditional classroom setting.
15:11 This achievement is made possible through the support of Every
15:14 Child a Swimmer, our partner,
15:15 and our lifeline for bringing this education to our students in
15:18 Brevard County,
15:19 as well as our incredible first responders included in these
15:22 presentations.
15:23 Palm Bay Fire Rescue, Melbourne Fire Department, Cocoa Beach
15:26 Fire Department, Titusville Fire Department,
15:29 as well as Rockledge Fire Department.
15:31 Their commitment to education preventing these tragedies is a
15:35 ripple effect and it is very, it’s been really beneficial to our
15:39 students.
15:40 We are also excited to continue the growth for phase two of our
15:43 community expansion,
15:44 water safety days at the pool, reaching our youngest learners.
15:48 This year we brought programming to pre-K, kindergarten, and
15:52 first grade students at Sherwood Elementary,
15:53 and the highlight of this is including the fire department,
15:56 Melbourne firefighters in the water,
15:58 creating a powerful and memorable learning experience.
16:01 These efforts, this program is also in partnership with the Brevard
16:04 Child Safety Initiative, Healthy Start Coalition in Brevard,
16:07 the Florida Swimming Pool Association, Health First, our first
16:11 responders, and of course Brevard Public Schools.
16:13 Together we are building a culture of safety that begins early
16:16 and extends through our school system.
16:18 This time of the year also marks an important opportunity as
16:21 aquatic activities increase.
16:23 Also the demand of trained professionals.
16:26 Municipalities across the county are actively hiring swim
16:29 instructors and lifeguards.
16:31 There is a continued need for ocean rescue with Brevard County
16:34 and I encourage older students to explore these opportunities.
16:37 These roles are more than just jobs, they are meaningful ways to
16:40 make a direct impact in our community.
16:42 As we look ahead we are excited to continue the growth in
16:44 expanding access to quality water safety education,
16:47 as well as drowning prevention resources within our school
16:51 system.
16:51 Thank you for this opportunity and please have a safe summer
16:55 ahead.
16:55 [applause]
16:57 Don’t go anywhere. Hang on a second. I’m sure everybody wants to
17:00 talk about Ms. Brooke.
17:01 Anybody want to say any nice words about her?
17:04 I’ll hop in. So Brooke, I want to thank you.
17:06 I had the opportunity to attend one of the presentations that
17:08 you put on in the north end
17:09 and I was just blown away at how engaged the kids were in
17:12 learning CPR
17:13 and that is just such a basic skill that kids that are that age
17:17 that can absolutely jump in and help.
17:19 I’m sitting there watching it, just blown away, honestly.
17:22 The firefighters that were there, thank you to them for coming
17:25 out.
17:25 This is timely, of course, obviously with it being this month,
17:28 but our community has suffered.
17:29 I mean, we’ve had a couple drownings that have taken place that
17:32 have made headlines
17:32 and so anything that we can do to help you in any way whatsoever,
17:36 we absolutely want to do.
17:37 Dr. Rendell, I had mentioned this to you on our one-on-one
17:40 and I think it’s probably worth the board maybe saying we would
17:43 love to do this and support this,
17:44 but to give a letter of support for Brooke to be able to go into
17:48 the schools
17:48 and not some of the hurdles as the permission slips, right, but
17:50 water safety impacts every child.
17:52 So every child needs to understand the dangers around water but
17:56 also the fun around water
17:57 and how to make sure that they’re safe.
17:59 So I would love for our board to ask Dr. Rendell if he would
18:02 issue a letter that says yes,
18:04 you have permission to go into the schools and give this
18:07 presentation.
18:07 That way if you meet any hurdles, obviously you have to work
18:10 around schedules and things of that nature,
18:12 but that would be one less hurdle for you.
18:14 So board, if you’re in support of that, I would appreciate that.
18:17 Thank you, Brooke.
18:18 Thank you so much.
18:19 Yeah, and we will see you Friday.
18:20 Yes.
18:21 We’re gonna jump in.
18:22 Anybody else?
18:23 When you say jump in…
18:25 Wow.
18:28 We’ll see.
18:29 I will literally start the Cannonball competition.
18:31 You would.
18:32 No doubt.
18:33 Brooke, I just want to say thank you every time I talk to you.
18:36 You can just feel the passion that you have about this.
18:39 So this is your life’s mission and we appreciate it.
18:43 Every life saved that you’re able to get in front of these
18:48 children and help.
18:50 We talked about the community that was in my community and we
18:53 just lost two swimmers at the beach.
18:55 So we think about that all the time, but it also makes us feel
19:00 just this much better when we know we’re doing as much as we can.
19:03 But obviously not as much as you, but there’s anything we can do
19:06 to bring down some of those hurdles.
19:08 You know, you have our support.
19:09 Thank you.
19:10 Thank you very much.
19:14 So Mr. Chair, if we could do both proclamations and then new
19:17 pictures.
19:17 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:18 I wanted to say something nice about it.
19:21 Brooke, I want to give you some compliments.
19:23 Throughout my history as a school board member, and I’ve been up
19:26 here a little bit longer than most,
19:28 I’ve seen only two individuals come through with the passion
19:31 that you have.
19:32 Sean Seema came in and drove like all kinds of stuff related to
19:38 heart, safety, and everything else.
19:40 You are water.
19:41 And I will tell you the two most prolific, hardworking
19:44 individuals are you and him.
19:46 And that’s not to take away from you to talk about him, but to
19:49 put you on a platform.
19:50 I want everybody to understand the first time I ever met Brooke,
19:53 she came and communicated to me,
19:55 “Hey, I really want to get some water safety done.”
19:57 And we deal with a lot of people, right?
19:59 So then all of a sudden, literally 24 hours later, I have
20:02 Senator Mayfield calling me saying,
20:03 “Hey, Brooke contacted you and she didn’t get a response, so
20:07 what’s going on?”
20:08 And I said, “Oh, wow, she actually went to Senator Mayfield.”
20:11 And then I do want to give Dr. Rendell credit because I’ve seen
20:15 a lot of great ideas come through
20:16 in previous administrations that just didn’t get the traction
20:19 that they were supposed.
20:20 So Brooke asked for a meeting.
20:22 We held a meeting with the school board.
20:24 This was prior to her getting into the schools, and Dr. Rendell
20:27 said, “No, like this needs to happen.”
20:29 He was behind it 100 percent, and I was just standing there.
20:32 I’ll never forget that moment because you know me, I come up
20:35 with a lot of ideas, right?
20:36 And it’s always the superintendents are always like, “Oh, we
20:39 need to kind of sort of check this stuff out.”
20:40 He went full in.
20:42 And I think the reason behind it is, is your passion that you
20:45 have for what you’re doing
20:46 and what you’re doing to save the kids’ lives inside of our
20:49 schools cannot be compared to many other things.
20:51 And when you come in and you do that, there’s something to be
20:55 said when you won’t take no for an answer.
20:56 And we all have experienced it.
20:58 We all have experienced her doing that.
21:00 And I tell you, I’m proud of you.
21:02 Thank you so much for doing everything that you do for our kids
21:05 from the bottom of my heart.
21:06 And whatever we need to do, I am in favor of sending letters,
21:10 whatever we need to do to tell every school we need to be doing
21:13 this.
21:13 And I know that some of our principals have packed schedules.
21:16 But teaching kids to learn to swim and the safety behind it
21:20 could save their lives.
21:22 And that to me is very important.
21:23 So wholeheartedly support your idea and endeavor.
21:26 So I just wanted to say some nice things about you.
21:28 Thank you for taking the time.
21:29 I appreciate that.
21:30 Yeah, all right.
21:31 Thank you.
21:32 Good?
21:33 Yes, sir.
21:34 Okay, thank you.
21:35 [ Applause ]
21:43 She’s phenomenal.
21:44 All right.
21:45 Please welcome Jayna Jenkins to the podium for the Mental Health
21:48 Awareness Month Proclamation.
21:49 Thank you, Ms. Jenkins.
21:51 Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Dr. Undell, and BPS
21:55 family.
21:55 Thank you for your commitment to mental health awareness.
21:58 Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been a national
22:02 movement to raise awareness, combat stigma, and provide support
22:06 for millions of individuals and families affected by mental
22:08 health conditions.
22:09 And whereas Brevard Public Schools honors the resilience found
22:12 in every mental health journey and recognizes that mental health
22:15 is essential to the overall health and well-being of students,
22:17 families, and staff.
22:19 And whereas sharing personal experiences and fostering an open
22:23 dialogue about mental health encourages understanding, empowers
22:27 individuals, and helps to eliminate stigma.
22:29 And whereas building resiliency in children and adults supports
22:33 emotional growth, strengthens coping mechanisms, and plays a key
22:37 role in navigating life’s challenges.
22:39 And whereas resilience allows individuals to manage stress,
22:43 recover from adversity, and thrive in the face of hardship,
22:46 skills that are especially vital for academic success and
22:49 personal development.
22:50 And whereas Brevard Public Schools commits to fostering a
22:53 culture of mental health wellness through education, outreach,
22:57 and support.
22:57 And encourages all students, staff, and families, and community
23:01 members to take action, raise their voices, and share stories,
23:04 and help change the conversation around mental health.
23:07 Because in every story, there is strength.
23:10 Now, therefore, let it be resolved that Brevard Public Schools
23:13 recognizes May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month across the
23:17 district.
23:17 Adopted by the members of the Brevard Public School Board, Brevard
23:21 County, Florida, at the regular board meeting thereof held on 28th
23:25 of the day of April 2026.
23:27 And to receive this proclamation, I would like to introduce Dr.
23:31 Lori Parsons. She’s the director of Lifetime Counseling Center,
23:35 a program of the Space Coast Health Foundation.
23:38 And since I’ve been here, since long before I’ve been here, Dr.
23:42 Parsons and her team have been a valuable member of our Brevard
23:46 schools supporting us in extended crisis responses and recovery.
23:50 They provided resilience instruction. Remember back in COVID, I
23:54 don’t want to trigger any of us, but when we had that long time
23:58 between March and August when we all had to physically come back
24:01 in the schools,
24:01 they provided resilience instruction, excuse me, trauma-informed
24:05 practices instruction that all of our staff participated in.
24:08 It was a health and comfort for us to come back to school to
24:11 serve our students.
24:12 So I’d like to introduce Dr. Parsons.
24:18 Dr. Parsons, let me get this approved and then we’ll do our
24:22 conversation. So, do I hear a motion?
24:26 Second.
24:27 Is there any discussion? Hearing none, Mary Jo, roll call please.
24:31 Mr. Trent.
24:32 Aye.
24:33 Ms. Wright.
24:34 Aye.
24:35 Mr. Susan.
24:36 Aye.
24:37 Ms. Campbell.
24:38 Aye.
24:39 Mr. Thomas.
24:40 Aye.
24:41 Ms. Parsons, do you have the floor?
24:42 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Susan, Superintendent Rendell and board
24:45 members, I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you
24:48 tonight, to accept this proclamation,
24:50 and just really mostly want to say that I appreciate your
24:54 willingness to acknowledge how critical it is for mental health
24:58 awareness to be spread throughout our community,
25:00 to reduce the stigma, to help people embrace the idea of
25:02 supporting their own mental health and each other’s mental
25:05 health.
25:05 It’s really critical. So on behalf of Space Coast Health
25:09 Foundation and of Lifetime Counseling Center, we truly
25:12 appreciate that support.
25:14 At Lifetime, with the kind of work that we do, we see the need
25:18 for mental health services every single day, right?
25:20 From a crisis to all kinds of different ways that mental health
25:25 is important to our community.
25:27 But one of the things that we notice is it’s not really just
25:30 about that mental health treatment component, treatment for
25:33 folks who have perhaps a mental health disorder.
25:35 It’s also very much about helping people prevent mental health
25:39 issues in the first place.
25:41 So in addition to the treatment services that we provide, a few
25:45 years ago we developed what we call our Thrive Within program,
25:48 which was developed specifically to help increase the
25:52 availability of that prevention and early intervention kind of
25:56 services throughout our community.
25:58 Things like training in the community around a variety of mental
26:01 health topics, support groups throughout the community,
26:03 in our high schools, in our elementary schools, support for
26:08 parents, support for families out in the community in ways that
26:11 don’t require them to come get treatment.
26:14 And instead, we can take information to them to help build
26:17 resilience, to help individuals, to help families, to help our
26:21 whole community,
26:22 really develop the skills that they need to cope with the daily
26:26 challenges that we all face.
26:27 So in that, I just want to say again, thank you so much for that
26:30 partnership, a very longstanding partnership with our agency
26:34 and also for supporting the work that we do, but also many other
26:38 mental health agencies throughout this community do as well.
26:41 We thank you for that.
26:42 Thank you so much.
26:44 We’ll take pictures in a minute.
26:49 Ms. Parsons, if you can head back up there, because I have some
26:52 board members that want to say something.
26:54 Well, and Dr. Jenkins, too, because, you know, ever since I’ve
26:58 been on the board and actually especially in the years previous,
27:01 especially since Marjory Stoneman Douglas, right, all of a
27:04 sudden mental health in our state became a focus.
27:07 And in that eight years, there’s been a lot of different things
27:11 that, you know, it’s been a priority of First Lady Casey DeSantis.
27:14 We’ve had different programs come through, and with every
27:16 different program, we’ve had to have more training.
27:18 And I just thank you.
27:19 And our counseling partners that we have, not just Lifetime, but
27:22 our other ones across that have contracted with us,
27:25 because for the students who needed something outside of the
27:28 school, we just appreciate you so much.
27:29 But I also want to thank – there’s a lot of people involved in
27:33 this.
27:33 You were talking about COVID.
27:34 I remember the site that you guys set up that had like videos of
27:38 waterfalls or if you needed to see, you know, cute little
27:41 puppies.
27:41 There was like this whole whatever is going to help you calm
27:44 down.
27:44 And we had that website and the music and yoga and whatever you
27:48 needed to do to get your mind straight.
27:50 All of that, but it’s every teacher, it’s every administrator,
27:54 and we’re doing our youth mental health first aid
27:57 so that every employee, even cafeteria staff and bus drivers,
28:02 that everybody feels prepared to handle –
28:05 you know, to at least hand off a student in a crisis or an
28:09 employee in a crisis, a colleague.
28:11 And so I just want to thank HR, the Student Services Division,
28:14 and you have been a part of that the whole entire time that I’ve
28:17 been here.
28:17 So I appreciate you so much.
28:19 All of our employees and staff for taking up that responsibility
28:22 because it’s every single one of our responsibilities
28:25 to make sure that our kids are healthy in this way just as they
28:29 are healthy in the water or healthy physically.
28:31 And so thank you guys for all the work that you’ve done and
28:34 everybody who partners with us to provide this for our kids and
28:37 our staff.
28:37 Thanks.
28:38 Thank you so much.
28:39 Thank you.
28:40 Thank you so much.
28:41 I truly appreciate you.
28:46 Next up we have Mr. Maul, Director of Professional Development,
28:49 to the podium for the Teacher Appreciation Program and to grow
28:52 our own –
28:53 Are you going to take photos?
28:54 I thought we’d do photos with them too, though, no?
28:56 Okay.
28:57 Yeah, we’ll do all photos at the end.
28:58 Okay.
28:59 Yep.
29:00 Mr. Maul, grow your own first cohort completion recognition.
29:03 Just so everybody knows, my first experience with Mr. Maul was
29:06 like the third week I was a school board member.
29:08 I went to Creole Elementary and he was the assistant principal
29:11 and he was doing an amazing job there.
29:12 Then he became the principal over at Palm Bay.
29:14 You’ve done a successful and amazing job at everything you do,
29:17 so I appreciate where you are and what you’re doing.
29:19 Just wanted to say that.
29:20 Well, thank you, I appreciate it, but I have to tell you that
29:23 this recognition is in the hands of all these amazing folks here.
29:25 I just got out of their way.
29:28 Members of the board, Dr. Rendell, thank you for the opportunity
29:31 this evening to recognize seven dedicated professionals, seven
29:35 dedicated educators.
29:36 Two years ago, these seven Brevard Public Schools employees
29:39 embarked on a journey to expand their sphere of influence and
29:43 deepen their impact on the students and the communities they
29:47 serve.
29:47 As the first graduating cohort of Brevard Public Schools Grow
29:50 Your Own teacher development pathways, they are celebrating an
29:54 important milestone.
29:55 The completion of their degree in education and the fulfillment
29:59 of the requirements of a Florida Professional Educator
30:02 Certificate.
30:03 Brevard’s Grow Your Own program is a collaborative partnership
30:07 with our friends from Daytona State College and is one of only a
30:11 few programs recognized by the Florida Department of Education.
30:15 It provides current BPS employees with multiple pathways to earn
30:19 a degree in education, including high-need fields such as
30:23 exceptional student education through rigorous academic coursework
30:27 and real-time clinical experience.
30:30 Participants meet the prerequisites for admission to Daytona
30:34 State College, including a conferred Associate of Arts degree,
30:37 required prerequisite coursework, and an approved temporary
30:41 internship certificate issued by the Florida Department of
30:44 Education.
30:44 Once enrolled, participants receive tuition assistance and mentoring
30:48 through Brevard Public Schools, along with academic support and
30:51 clinical instruction through Daytona State College.
30:53 Tonight, we are proud to recognize Brevard Public Schools’ first
30:57 graduating cohort of the Grow Your Own program.
31:00 Before I recognize these graduates, I would like to acknowledge
31:03 our partners from Daytona State College for their collaboration
31:06 and commitment to this work, Dr. Anna Blain, Dr. Aaron Davis,
31:10 and Dr. Margie Henseler.
31:12 [applause]
31:18 I would also like to recognize our community partners who have
31:21 generously provided gift bags filled with classroom supplies and
31:25 gift cards to help support these future educators with their
31:27 teaching careers.
31:28 First Watch Restaurants, Brevard Schools Foundation Supply Zone,
31:34 Ocean View Internal Medicine, Southern Carmel Gourmet Handmade
31:39 Carmel, Samantha Hunt at State Farm Insurance in Melbourne.
31:43 Finally, I’d like to thank the members of the Professional
31:45 Learning and Development and Recruitment and Retention teams
31:48 right here at Brevard Public Schools that were instrumental in
31:50 the development of this initiative.
31:51 Ms. Lisa Stanley, Ms. Susan Kirk, and Ms. Tori Huss.
32:05 Now it’s my honor to recognize our graduates.
32:09 Brianna Barbaro at University Park Elementary, a GYO teacher.
32:21 Denise Daniels at Viera High School, a paraprofessional to
32:26 teacher program recipient.
32:28 Molly Howell at Sea Park Elementary, a teacher apprentice
32:35 program.
32:36 Marina Piette at O’Gally High School, teacher apprentice program.
32:43 Michael Sabia at Jupiter Elementary, GYO teacher.
32:50 Alicia Snyder at Krista McAuliffe Elementary, GYO teacher.
32:58 And Brittany Vasek at James Madison Middle, teacher apprentice
33:07 program.
33:08 Board members, Dr. Rendell, Mr. Dufresne, and school leaders and
33:12 mentors who supported these graduates throughout their journey,
33:15 thank you for your continued commitment to the students and
33:18 staff of Brevard Public Schools.
33:20 And to the graduates’ families, thank you for your sacrifice and
33:25 support to make their dreams a reality.
33:28 Graduates, thank you for your dedication to serving all students
33:32 with excellence of the standard. Congratulations on this
33:40 outstanding achievement.
33:46 [Applause]
33:56 [Music]
38:47 Brevard Schools Foundation 30th Anniversary Golf Tournament
38:51 Sponsors. Ms. Janice was also a school board chairperson and
38:55 well respected among our community. Thank you, Ms. Janice.
38:57 Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, good evening, Superintendent Rendell,
39:01 Chair Susan, and board members. Thank you for the opportunity to
39:05 be here tonight.
39:06 It’s our pleasure to join you and celebrate a very special
39:10 milestone for Brevard Schools Foundation, our 30th Anniversary
39:14 Golf Invitational.
39:16 So this year was truly one for the record books. Thanks to the
39:21 incredible support of our community partners, some of whom you’re
39:24 going to meet tonight.
39:25 We raised more funds than ever. I think it was $107,000
39:31 benefiting Brevard students and teachers across Brevard Public
39:36 Schools.
39:37 I’m going to introduce Nina Moser to share a little bit more
39:43 information.
39:44 That kind of success doesn’t happen by chance. It happens
39:48 because of strong partnerships and generous sponsors who believe
39:51 in our mission and in the power of public education.
39:54 Tonight we are excited to recognize our top sponsors whose
39:57 leadership and commitment help make this our most successful
40:00 tournament yet.
40:01 Your support is making a real and lasting impact in our schools.
40:06 We would like to invite Dr. Rendell, Mr. Susan, and school board
40:10 members to join us in recognition of each sponsor to commemorate
40:13 this special recognition.
40:14 Please come forward.
40:19 Our title sponsor and golf committee member with Heard
40:32 Construction, Andy Day.
40:38 Our ace sponsor with W&J Construction, Mr. Rick Cofer.
40:55 Our birdie sponsor with Wharton Smith, Matt Passarella and Kurt
41:14 Vieira.
41:17 Our Bloody Mary sponsor with Scorpio Construction, Mr. Drew Botterick
41:36 and Nathan Turley.
41:41 Our lunch sponsor with Hub International, Mr. Brent Olsowski.
41:58 Our breakfast sponsor with Blue Wave Management, Mr. Ray Pfluger.
42:19 Our beverage cart sponsor with Strategic Services, Ben Nelson.
42:41 Our Pudding Contest sponsor, Community Credit Union, Clinton Hatcher,
42:56 Daniel Kelly, Heather Hickman and Michael Barnhart.
43:06 Our closest to the pin sponsor with Wellbro Corporation, Ms.
43:20 Angela Figers.
43:23 And our official tournament photographer and golf committee
43:32 member with Dean Stewart Photography, Dean Stewart and Luke
43:41 Stewart.
43:42 We are so grateful for your continued partnership, your
43:46 enthusiasm and your investment in our students.
43:50 You are truly helping us create opportunities that change lives.
43:54 Thank you again for helping us mark 30 years of impact and for
43:58 being such an important part of our success.
44:01 Thank you.
44:02 [Applause]
44:27 Our next recognition is to acknowledge the programs and teachers
44:31 recognized by the Florida Music Education Association.
44:34 Please welcome Ms. Minior, K-12 Music Content Specialist to the
44:39 podium to introduce our amazing honorees.
44:41 Thank you.
44:42 [Applause]
44:43 All right.
44:48 Thank you, Mr. Susan.
44:51 Dr. Rendell, members of the Board and both our visiting audience
44:57 and those at home.
44:58 You guys are down kind of early.
45:00 That’s okay.
45:01 Okay.
45:03 No worries.
45:04 On behalf of Ms. Tara Harris, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum
45:08 and Instruction and Ms. Molly Vega, Director of Secondary
45:11 Programs,
45:11 I am pleased to present to you the 2026 honorees who represent a
45:16 history of excellence in Brevard Public Schools.
45:19 The impact of music education on children’s lives cannot be overstated.
45:24 We are fortunate to provide music education for all students
45:28 where they learn to become musically skilled and literate,
45:31 develop empathy, appreciate music in all its forms,
45:35 and respect the lifelong challenging process of learning an
45:39 instrument or learning to sing.
45:41 Becoming not just singers of songs or players of a tune, but
45:46 thoughtful, expressive musicians.
45:48 We are deeply grateful for the Board’s continued support of
45:52 music for all students,
45:53 and we honor our community for continuing to value this
45:57 investment.
45:58 This commitment to music education has recently been recognized
46:02 at the national level
46:03 as Brevard Public Schools was honored with the Best Communities
46:07 for Music Education Award
46:08 from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation.
46:12 This distinction reflects the strength of our programs and the
46:16 breadth of opportunities available to students across our
46:20 district.
46:20 Earlier this month, at the All-County Jazz Concert, Ms. Katie
46:25 Campbell shared that we had recently watched the Artemis
46:28 astronauts.
46:29 They had a clear mission with a defined beginning and end, but
46:34 along the way they faced unexpected challenges,
46:37 solved problems creatively, communicated with the audience back
46:42 home, experienced moments of incredible beauty,
46:45 and navigated both the exciting and difficult parts of the
46:49 journey.
46:49 I appreciate that correlation and I echo the sentiment as it
46:53 mirrors the experience of our music students
46:56 who through rehearsal and performance collaborate, communicate,
47:00 and persevere through exciting and challenging moments.
47:04 Thanks to our dedicated educators, these experiences come to
47:08 life,
47:08 helping students feel valued not just for their musical
47:12 abilities, but for who they are as individuals.
47:15 With that in mind, tonight we recognize schools that continue to
47:19 offer programs
47:20 that engage students in meaningful music experiences and sustain
47:24 strong participation in music education across our district.
47:29 The Florida Music Education Association promotes quality
47:36 comprehensive music education for all Florida students.
47:42 Accordingly, they annually recognize schools that serve a
47:46 significant percentage of students with music.
47:49 Dr. Rendell and Mr. Susan and all the board members, thank you
47:53 for joining us down here
47:54 and we’re going to present the following awards to our honorees
47:59 who are with us today.
48:00 Receiving the 2026 FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
48:05 Award
48:05 for having 64% of their school population enrolled in a music
48:09 class,
48:10 Delora Middle School, Principal Tina Susan, Band Director Bailey
48:14 Hatzel, Chorus Teacher Callie Gleacher,
48:16 Orchestra Teacher Amelia Lohman, and String Specialist Mariana
48:20 Aguilera.
48:24 [applause]
48:34 Receiving the 2026 FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
48:40 Award
48:40 for having 65% of their school population enrolled in a music
48:44 class,
48:44 Jefferson Middle School, Principal Mira Tran,
48:47 band director Shane O’Leary, chorus teacher Lisa Hartley,
48:51 orchestra teacher
48:51 Bobby Joe Butler, string specialist Denny Miller.
49:17 Also receiving the 2026 FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
49:24 Award
49:25 for having 56 percent of the school population enrolled in a
49:29 music class.
49:30 Johnson Middle School principal Marina Middleton, band director
49:35 Mason Taylor,
49:36 chorus director Charlotte Walters, orchestra director Aaron Dreyer,
49:40 string
49:40 specialist Jackie Bishop, Paul Jackson.
49:50 Receiving the 2026 FMEA Middle School Music Education Enrollment
49:55 Award for
49:56 having 61 percent of their middle school’s student population
50:00 enrolled in a
50:00 music class this year. Vieira Middle School principal Catherine
50:04 McNutt,
50:05 assistant principal Jennifer Hughes, band director Caitlin Klingberg,
50:09 chorus
50:10 director Jacqueline Knappenberger, orchestra director Marci Spurr,
50:14 string
50:14 specialist Dr. Thomas Silliman.
50:30 Receiving the 2026 FMEA Middle High School Music Education Enrollment
50:35 Award
50:36 for having 32 percent of their high school student body enrolled
50:39 in the
50:39 music class this year. It is Heritage High School who could not
50:43 be with us
50:44 tonight due to open house. So we have principal Stephen Link,
50:48 band directors
50:48 Colby Hollingsworth and Megan Ramsey, chorus director Jennifer
50:52 Rock, orchestra
50:53 director Sam Felber and string specialist Nancy Jackson.
51:02 Receiving the 2026 FMEA High School Music Education Enrollment
51:07 Award for
51:08 having 34 percent of their high school student body enrolled in
51:11 a music class
51:11 this year. Satellite High School, principal Courtney Lundy,
51:15 assistant
51:16 principal Candice Delaraco, band director Joseph Leitis, chorus
51:21 director Kevin
51:22 Albright, orchestra director Christopher Simons, string
51:25 specialist Mariana Aguilera.
51:27 And finally receiving the 2026 FMEA Music
51:38 Education Enrollment Award for having 46 percent of the middle
51:42 school population
51:42 enrolled in a music class and 33 percent of the high school
51:47 population enrolled
51:48 in a school music class. Edgewood Junior Senior High School,
51:52 principal Jacqueline
51:53 Engrata, assistant principal Jay Sobke, band director Andy Krop,
51:58 chorus director
51:59 Lisa Sinatra, orchestra director Joseph Franco, string
52:03 specialist Denny Miller.
52:23 [inaudible]
53:41 Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is my jam.
53:53 [inaudible]
53:58 Okay, there we go. Awesome. I just told the chair, he said this
54:04 is my jam, this is
54:04 totally my jam. Not only am I a musician, a former music teacher,
54:08 but I am a total
54:09 music mom, all the things, right? But I just have to say… She
54:13 also talks about you
54:14 all the time to us, just so you know she is your biggest
54:18 supporter. Like, made sure you
54:21 guys were taken care of during COVID, like everything. Ms.
54:25 Campbell is the true
54:26 supporter of you. I had to give her that, so it’s not just her
54:30 saying it, it’s true.
54:31 I just am so proud of the way Brevard does music, and I have to
54:37 tell you guys,
54:38 first of all, we have a lot more schools that have this award,
54:41 but it lasts
54:41 for three years, so these are just the ones who are rolling
54:44 either on to it
54:45 again or for the first time for these three years, so
54:47 congratulations to be our
54:48 middle school. This is only your, you know, you’re just getting
54:50 started, right? Only
54:52 the second full year in existence, so I want to say a couple of
54:55 things. First of
54:56 all, other districts do arts differently, right? Not just, they
55:01 not do it as well as
55:01 we do, but they do it differently. They have like fine arts academies,
55:05 and that’s
55:06 amazing, and I go to Allstate and I’ll see, you know, this fine
55:10 arts academy, that
55:11 fine arts academy, they’ll have a whole bunch of students, and
55:13 that’s one way to
55:13 do it, but I have to tell you guys, what that doesn’t allow is
55:17 for every
55:18 single school to have a high quality program, and so in those
55:22 districts, the
55:23 only kids who really get that super high quality of music
55:26 program are the kids
55:27 whose parents can get them there, who have the time, the ability,
55:30 and so the
55:31 fact that we can have band orchestra choir in every secondary
55:35 school, it’s
55:36 it’s just not done that way, and you guys need to know that, and
55:39 we
55:39 need to continue to support it, because when we have all county
55:43 in
55:43 January, or when we have clinicians who come in for MPA, I hear
55:46 them again and
55:46 again and again, and let me let me tell you, I know the
55:49 difference between
55:49 someone who comes in and says, oh I love it when I come to Brevard,
55:52 you’re so
55:52 great, and they say that to everybody, I know the difference
55:55 between they say it
55:55 here, because when they say it here, they really mean it, it’s
55:58 just amazing, they
55:58 know they can walk into Brevard, and they’re gonna be prepared
56:01 with
56:01 excellence, because our teachers are so great, but the other
56:03 thing that I, so I,
56:04 so please keep doing it that, I, fine arts academy are great,
56:07 but the way we do it,
56:08 where every single kid in every single secondary school can have
56:11 this excellent
56:12 program, is just so amazing, and, but I have to say, there’s
56:17 people who, who
56:18 aren’t part of this award, who really are part of this award,
56:20 and that is our
56:21 elementary music teachers, because the secondary programs are
56:25 only as good as
56:26 what’s being fed into them, by our amazing music teachers, who
56:30 are starting
56:31 in kindergarten, some, some of them pre-k, and they’re going all
56:34 the way up through
56:34 sixth grade, the string specialists who start in elementary
56:37 school at fifth and
56:38 sixth grade, and then those, they transition those kids into
56:41 middle school
56:41 and high school, so that is also not something that’s done that
56:44 way around
56:45 the state, so I’m super proud, I hope that tradition continues,
56:48 because our
56:49 elementary school teachers really are part of this award, all
56:51 the feet are
56:52 changed, they do an amazing job, and our students have so many
56:55 opportunities that
56:56 other students around the state just don’t get, so I’m proud of
56:58 you guys, I’m
56:59 proud to be here in Brevard, I’m proud to have one more year
57:02 after this as a band
57:03 mom, and you know, and maybe, maybe I’ll just come to all county
57:07 concerts just
57:08 for kicks and grins after that, I don’t know, you can hire me to
57:10 be a pianist
57:11 later, I don’t know, but we just, we just have it good, and I
57:16 just don’t, I want
57:17 everybody, not just the board, but everybody in the community to
57:19 understand
57:20 how good we have it, and I hope it continues, thank you.
57:33 Thank you everybody for everything that you guys do, we
57:36 appreciate you, I think we
57:38 should name this night Katie Campbell night and have her come
57:41 back, since this
57:41 is it, and she can give you all the awards next year, you guys
57:44 good for that?
57:45 Okay, all right, that’s good, we hear it, good, they like you,
57:49 they did, good job
57:50 Katie, you’re amazing in that area.
58:07 The public comments portion of the meeting, we have nine
58:10 speakers, and we’ll
58:11 each receive three minutes, our attorney will call the speakers
58:15 in the order
58:15 which they signed up to speak, Mr. Gibbs please call the first
58:19 three speakers, I’m
58:20 sorry, Miss Mary Jo, Mary Jo, I’m gonna change that completely,
58:25 my fault, okay,
58:26 thank you, Mary Jo, sorry, Bill Perlman, Anthony Colucci, and
58:36 Bernard Brian,
58:44 he’s also on this one, okay, scratch him down, that’s eight,
58:56 sorry, oh sorry, Mr. Perlman, we have another, we apologize,
59:05 Bill Perlman,
59:09 Keith Schatger, and Amy Raab, if you can kind of mention what
59:15 you’re gonna
59:16 speak about prior, that’d be great, thank you, could you turn my
59:18 mic on please, yeah
59:19 in just a second, I got to get things set up, we all good, good
59:23 to go,
59:26 good evening board, Dr. Rendell, I’m Bill Perlman, tonight I’d
59:30 like to address
59:31 Policy 6320, procurement and contract, we pulled that, Mr. Perlman,
59:36 I apologize, we did pull it
59:38 probably seconds before this meeting, I picked up an agenda
59:42 outside today at
59:44 5 p.m. and it’s still on there, but fortunately for me, it’s
59:48 also listed
59:48 under F3, it’s in the minutes from your work session from April
59:48 14th, okay, you
59:55 can, so I know, I know that you tried really hard to shut me up,
59:58 no, no, no, I just, I haven’t
59:59 got to start yet already, I got half a minute gone, can we reset
1:00:02 the clock please, no,
1:00:03 you go ahead, a little grace please, can you reset the clock, no,
1:00:07 we’re gonna, you interrupted me, you stole my time
1:00:08 please, a little grace, ready, no sir, reset the clock please, I’m
1:00:14 not resetting the clock, unnecessarily, I’m going, oh wow, so
1:00:18 you’ve cut me 30 seconds off, no sir, no sir, you pulled it
1:00:25 at the last minute, but I do have comments related to policy 6320,
1:00:29 you were
1:00:30 going to approve an increase of 5,000 that changed the $5,000
1:00:35 maximum limit
1:00:36 that can be spent without getting competitive quotes, and you
1:00:40 intended to
1:00:41 replace that very simple, easy to understand, $5,000 limit with
1:00:47 something
1:00:47 called the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which by the way is
1:00:52 15,000
1:00:53 words, no kidding, and 42 pages long, just an example of making
1:00:57 things more
1:00:57 complicated than they need to be, but instead of the $5,000
1:01:01 maximum, you wanted
1:01:03 to use something called the Federal Micro-Purchase Threshold,
1:01:07 which for most
1:01:08 purchases would be $15,000, so that means you would have allowed
1:01:13 expenditures of
1:01:15 up to $15,000 with no competitive bid, so I’m glad you pulled it,
1:01:20 that by the way
1:01:21 would have all been done without the, with the Superintendent’s
1:01:24 discretion, so I
1:01:26 think we should consider, thankfully it was pulled, but we
1:01:29 should consider that
1:01:30 in the face of an operational audit that was done by the state
1:01:33 released in
1:01:34 December that showed a number of concerning issues, and notably
1:01:38 BPS did
1:01:38 not release the findings of that unfavorable audit, so I would
1:01:42 like to
1:01:43 suggest that hiding an unflattering audit causes the public to
1:01:46 lose trust, so
1:01:47 some might even say it’s another example of how you, as Mr.
1:01:52 Trent put it, how you
1:01:53 forking hate transparency. The reasoning you previously provided
1:01:58 for that policy,
1:01:59 that this is how other districts do it, that’s really flawed
1:02:03 reasoning because
1:02:04 other districts didn’t hire a Superintendent that resigned his
1:02:08 previous job before being fired for, among other things, fiscal
1:02:12 mismanagement.
1:02:14 Let me emphasize we should be increasing controls, not
1:02:19 increasing spending
1:02:21 thresholds. A final concern about policy 6320, you intended to
1:02:25 add language that
1:02:26 allows you to debar or suspend any vendor that makes defamatory
1:02:31 statements.
1:02:32 I’m really glad you chose not to do that, I’m very concerned you
1:02:35 might bring it up
1:02:36 again. Sorry you stole 30 seconds of mine, I had other comments,
1:02:40 I’ll make them at
1:02:41 the end of this meeting. Thank You Mr. Perlman. Keith Schachner.
1:02:48 Just for point of
1:02:48 clarification, we didn’t hide an audit and we pulled the item
1:02:53 and the school
1:02:54 board in itself did not promote those lengths or those limits,
1:02:58 so thank you, nor
1:02:59 did we bring it forward. That’s it, there we go.
1:03:12 I promise I won’t be adversarial. There you go. My name is Keith
1:03:16 Schachner and I’m
1:03:19 choosing to speak on agenda item number four, which is the
1:03:22 student expulsion
1:03:23 process. Taxpayers are upset about exorbitant legal bills, I won’t
1:03:29 get into
1:03:30 the specifics but we all know what they are, okay. So as a
1:03:30 concerned citizen, I
1:03:36 want us to, as a board and school district, to avoid future
1:03:41 legal bills
1:03:43 based on inappropriate responses. But it has nothing to do with
1:03:50 legal bills. The
1:03:51 student expulsion, am I permitted to speak? Okay thank you. The
1:03:55 student
1:03:56 expulsion process protects the students right to due process and
1:04:02 that due
1:04:03 process requires that all the people up on the stage there
1:04:06 follow certain roles.
1:04:08 The school board members are elected officials and they’re
1:04:12 supposed to render
1:04:13 judgment when when expulsion is recommended. The superintendent
1:04:19 and his
1:04:19 staff is supposed to actually be the ones that execute or
1:04:23 enforce the policy.
1:04:24 Recently in the student walkout situation, on school board
1:04:30 letter, on
1:04:31 superintendent letterhead, Mr. Susan decided to write a letter
1:04:36 to the public
1:04:37 in which he was basically saying that students are going to be
1:04:42 disciplined if
1:04:43 they partake in that. This is a pattern that needs to stop.
1:04:49 Similarly in the news
1:04:51 media, Mr. Susan also threatened disciplinary actions against
1:04:56 students if
1:04:58 they were to do the walkout. He also threatened in the news
1:05:02 media during the
1:05:04 Vieira hazing incident. He spoke to issues related to kids that
1:05:10 were going to get
1:05:10 expelled. I stopped your time, go ahead.
1:05:16 Thank you. Mr. Chair, this isn’t about, I understand that the
1:05:20 speaker was talking
1:05:21 about the expulsion process, but now we’re talking about other
1:05:23 comments and
1:05:24 this agenda item is specifically the expulsion of these students,
1:05:27 which
1:05:28 doesn’t have anything to do with the speaker. So I’m
1:05:29 recommending this move to
1:05:31 be moved to the non-agenda part of the meeting.
1:05:38 Who’s next, Ms. Mary Jo? Amy Rao.
1:05:54 And the next two will be Christine Cruz and Cecelia Trotter.
1:05:58 Hi, Amy Rao. Before I get started, I just want to say with Katie
1:06:05 loving the music program with BPS, love that, love that.
1:06:09 Too bad the rest of the board really doesn’t. Can you get to a
1:06:12 topic here, Ms. Rao? Thank you, appreciate you getting to a
1:06:15 topic.
1:06:15 But anyway, back to what I was talking about. Rendell, when you
1:06:19 were trying to
1:06:21 triple your limit, that you can spend without GM’s paper board
1:06:25 transparency, you
1:06:27 wanted to triple it and then it dropped to double it and now it’s
1:06:31 off the agenda.
1:06:32 Why? Why did you want to do that? I’ve got a few theories. One
1:06:38 of them involves Byron
1:06:41 Donalds, who’s running to be our governor. There’s pictures of
1:06:46 Meghan, Jean, Matt and Mark with him all over the internet.
1:06:49 Ms. Rao, I’ve stopped your time for a second. Listen, nobody’s
1:06:52 taking it away. Stop trying to silence the public.
1:06:56 I need you to start speaking about… I need you to start… No,
1:07:00 I mean, governors and
1:07:02 everything else is not part of it, so if you can’t control
1:07:04 yourself, then we’ll
1:07:05 ask you to speak during your allotted time. Okay? Are you gonna
1:07:10 start talking to
1:07:11 a topic? Or do I need to meet you? I have been. Are you gonna be
1:07:15 a good listener? No, you haven’t. Actually, you have not. Are
1:07:16 you gonna listen with your ears and eyes?
1:07:17 Should we just ask her to come back? Alright. There you go. Go
1:07:23 ahead, Ms. Rao. Okay, I believe in you. You can listen this time.
1:07:27 Okay, Ms. Rao, get to the point.
1:07:28 Okay, so pictures of Meghan, Jean, Matt and Mark with Byron
1:07:33 Donalds all over the internet. If you would just be patient, I
1:07:37 would get… No, you’re not. Go ahead and come back to your non-agenda.
1:07:40 That’s non-agenda talking about governor’s… Ms. Rao, I’m
1:07:44 asking you to come to non-agenda, please. Thank you.
1:07:47 Next up, Ms. Mary Jo, read the next person. Christine Cruz. Okay.
1:07:58 Tell me when I can speak. Absolutely, Ms. Cruz, go ahead.
1:08:03 Hello, my name is Christine Cruz. I reside in Rockledge in
1:08:06 District 2. My son was
1:08:08 recently put into the Better Without It diversion program. I’m
1:08:13 going to show you
1:08:13 the criteria that we were given. We were only given this one-page
1:08:16 paper on what
1:08:18 the students are to do. I’ve asked for the curriculum under the
1:08:20 Parents Bill
1:08:21 of Rights and I have not received it. In addition, my son has an
1:08:25 IEP. He has a
1:08:27 disability, several, and he was put in the diversion program
1:08:31 because his MDR
1:08:32 proved that it was not from his disability, which we highly
1:08:35 disagree with.
1:08:35 My big problem with the Better Without It program and what you
1:08:39 guys are doing…
1:08:40 Hang on, just a second. It’s part of the agenda and I’ll reach
1:08:46 you where it is.
1:08:47 If you have an agenda item… Yes, it’s I-2, removal of out-of-school
1:08:53 suspension, disciplinary
1:08:54 placement, which that’s what the diversion program is. Okay, I
1:08:59 may speak. Yes, ma’am, go ahead.
1:09:00 The school’s district closed the ALCs in 2025, leaving parents
1:09:05 with very
1:09:06 few options for code of conduct disciplinary issues with alcohol,
1:09:09 drugs,
1:09:09 such as marijuana and vaping. You are grouping all of these
1:09:13 students in the
1:09:14 Better Without It program, regardless of the infraction, alcohol,
1:09:17 vaping, and
1:09:18 marijuana, and you’re putting elementary school students in the
1:09:23 program with high
1:09:25 school students, which is highly inappropriate and a serious
1:09:27 safety issue.
1:09:28 My son is a sixth grader. The banding issue is disciplinary
1:09:33 issues are banded
1:09:34 in the code of conduct from K through 6 and 7 through 12, so it’s
1:09:38 an unacceptable
1:09:39 program to have all these kids grouped together. Now there is a
1:09:43 PowerPoint
1:09:43 presentation on the Brevard Public School District for the
1:09:46 Better Without It
1:09:47 program from 2022 to 2023, and at that time there were 11
1:09:53 elementary school
1:09:54 students out of 467 students that were in violation of the drug
1:09:58 policy of
1:09:59 Brevard County School District. I have been told the reason that
1:10:02 the Brevard
1:10:03 Public School District is grouping elementary school students
1:10:05 and seniors,
1:10:06 high school students, together is because at that time they
1:10:09 weren’t aware they
1:10:10 were going to have elementary school students. 2022, you guys
1:10:13 were aware that
1:10:14 there were elementary school students that were possibly going
1:10:16 to be in the
1:10:16 diversion program. This is highly detrimental developmentally
1:10:21 for
1:10:21 younger Children being with seniors or high school students
1:10:25 because they all
1:10:26 have, they’re all different, they’re all different mental
1:10:28 different developmentally
1:10:30 eight stages. So my son has a disability and I feel like you
1:10:34 guys are violating
1:10:35 his rights under the I. D. A. I also feel like it’s a violation
1:10:39 of a fair,
1:10:39 appropriate education under far. So we’ve asked for him to be
1:10:44 removed from
1:10:45 the program and put into a group with elementary school students
1:10:48 and they
1:10:48 have yet to do it. Okay. The district is paying approximately $150,000
1:10:54 per
1:10:54 the power point presentation. And I think you guys saved a lot
1:10:57 of money by
1:10:58 saving closing the ALC’s. But you’ve made the code of conduct
1:11:02 disciplinary
1:11:03 contract in your favor. So if my son gets a level one infraction
1:11:07 to level
1:11:07 one infractions as a child with a disability, he’s expelled from
1:11:10 school
1:11:11 without the right to a hearing in front of the Board of
1:11:13 Education. How is that
1:11:15 fair for any parent with child with a disability?
1:11:18 Thank you. Thank you, ma’am.
1:11:22 Cecilia Trotter.
1:11:26 I read the next couple of two. Oh, she’s last one. Okay.
1:11:31 Good evening, Dr Wendell and school board members. My name is
1:11:34 Cecilia
1:11:35 Trotter, District five. Tonight I’m speaking on agenda F 23 24
1:11:41 25 regarding
1:11:43 the gym acoustical panel projects at the lower middle, southwest
1:11:47 middle and
1:11:48 no valley high school. Together, these projects total nearly $750,000
1:11:55 while
1:11:55 facility facility improvements have value. This level of
1:11:59 spending is hard to
1:12:00 justify when our district is simultaneously cutting reading
1:12:04 coaches
1:12:04 are forcing them to split between schools, closing Cape View
1:12:08 Elementary
1:12:09 and facing declining enrollment across Brevard public schools.
1:12:15 Families and educators are being told that our resources are
1:12:19 tight yet large
1:12:20 capital projects continue to move forward without a clear
1:12:24 explanation of
1:12:26 why they are. They take priority over direct instructional
1:12:30 support at a time
1:12:32 when students are losing essential reading intervention and
1:12:36 schools are
1:12:37 being consolidated. Spending three quarters of a million dollars
1:12:41 on gym
1:12:41 acoustics does not reflect the urgency of our academic needs. I
1:12:46 urge the board
1:12:48 to reconsider these expenditures and realign our priorities with
1:12:52 what most
1:12:53 directly supports students and restores public trust. Thank you.
1:12:59 Thank you, Mr Trotter.
1:13:05 Is that it?
1:13:09 We’re good. Okay, I for agenda. Not sure.
1:13:22 We’ll just do not agenda. Thank you.
1:13:25 He doesn’t have anything. All right. That concludes agenda items.
1:13:29 Only
1:13:29 public comments. We thank you for taking time out of your
1:13:32 schedule to
1:13:33 address the board with your concerns. And I would remind the
1:13:36 public that the
1:13:36 board is accessible for further conversations outside of
1:13:39 business
1:13:39 meeting through our regular scheduled meeting. We’re now under
1:13:42 the consent
1:13:43 agenda. Doctor in the
1:13:48 category. Thank you, Dr. And L. Does anybody want to pull any of
1:13:50 these items
1:13:52 hearing none? I will entertain a motion to accept the consent
1:13:55 items on today’s
1:13:57 agenda
1:13:59 move to approve. I heard you saying here. Let me turn all these
1:14:01 back on. Sorry.
1:14:04 All right. Jean had a move to approve in a second. Okay, any
1:14:08 discussion? Yeah.
1:14:11 Okay. Yeah, just real quickly. I just like the superintendent.
1:14:16 If you can
1:14:17 explain the justification for F 23 24 25 just for the public’s
1:14:23 edification.
1:14:28 It’s the acoustics.
1:14:30 It was just brought up a public comment. Somebody appropriate
1:14:32 for him to be able
1:14:33 to share with him while we’re moving forward tonight.
1:14:40 These are part of the identified capital plan. We do this
1:14:43 capital plan
1:14:44 five years out. We constantly upgrade our facilities. These air
1:14:48 normal
1:14:49 upgrades to our facilities. Capital money can only be used on
1:14:53 capital
1:14:53 projects. So the speaker mentioned other things that they could
1:14:57 use the
1:14:57 money for and will not capital money. We could only use them for
1:14:59 these types of
1:15:00 things. Plus, I’d like to add to the tail end of that, just so
1:15:03 everybody
1:15:04 understands. We approved this as a board. Um, I think about six
1:15:08 months ago,
1:15:09 as part of the package that she brought forward, I checked on it
1:15:12 with Miss Hand
1:15:13 to make sure. But, yeah, no, we already approved it. It’s part
1:15:16 of the capital
1:15:17 projects. It’s not to be used with the general revenue for the
1:15:20 other things
1:15:20 the speaker talked about. Yep, yep. Just clarify. I didn’t have
1:15:23 a problem with
1:15:23 that. I thought I appreciate you could clarify on if I would was
1:15:27 gonna bring
1:15:28 that up, too, because one of the things that we need to
1:15:31 recognize and I
1:15:31 understand some people education finance is complicated, and
1:15:35 most people
1:15:35 don’t understand it and the difference between capital in
1:15:39 general. So the sales
1:15:40 or tax in particular and any other capital funding that we get
1:15:43 having to be
1:15:43 spent on buildings, it that’s what it has to be spent on. And
1:15:47 thank you, Dr.
1:15:48 Randolph, for clarifying. But I want to talk about this
1:15:49 particular projects
1:15:51 project can be a safety issue. I don’t know if any of your
1:15:53 buildings, your
1:15:54 schools that you guys have been into have been like this, but I
1:15:56 walked into
1:15:57 some that the panels are literally about to fall off the wall
1:16:00 and we’ve got
1:16:00 student safety issues. And just to clarify, it’s called acoustical
1:16:04 paneling, but it’s not about making the gym sound good. We use
1:16:08 those gyms
1:16:08 for multiple events. We use them for most of the time for, um,
1:16:13 what’s the
1:16:15 word I’m looking for when we all get together? Speak assemblies.
1:16:19 Thank you.
1:16:19 Sorry, my brain’s all I need more coffee for assembly. Some
1:16:23 schools use
1:16:24 their gyms for concerts. And so it is capital. And it’s I don’t
1:16:28 have a
1:16:28 problem supporting it because, uh, like I said, Dr Indell
1:16:32 mentioned when we
1:16:32 do our needs assessment, we go around and the schools that are
1:16:35 literally
1:16:35 about to fail, things are about to fall apart. We’re fixing
1:16:39 those, and they
1:16:39 need to be fixed for the safety of our students and to make
1:16:42 their overall
1:16:43 experience a good one. And if anybody’s ever been in O’Gally’s
1:16:47 gym, you’d
1:16:48 understand that since I was a teacher there, it’s been needed.
1:16:50 So thank you,
1:16:51 guys. Appreciate that. Anybody else? We’re all good.
1:16:56 Okay,
1:16:58 Mary Jo. Roll call, please. Mr. Trent. Miss right. Mr. Susan.
1:17:05 Miss Campbell.
1:17:06 Mr. Thomas.
1:17:09 Okay,
1:17:11 the public hearing is now open to public comments. We will, in
1:17:13 accordance
1:17:14 with Florida law, accept speakers for the textbook adoption K
1:17:17 through six
1:17:17 music, 7 through 12 theater, 7 through 12 world languages, 9
1:17:21 through 12 career
1:17:22 and technical education and 9 through 12 hope and personal
1:17:25 fitness. Is there
1:17:26 anyone prison who wishes to address this item?
1:17:29 Is there anyone present who wishes to address this item? Do I
1:17:32 hear emotion?
1:17:35 Any discussion
1:17:37 Mary Jo? Roll call, please. Mr. Tran.
1:17:42 You said I miss right. Mr. Susan. Miss Campbell. Mr. Thomas.
1:17:50 We’ll move to the information agenda, which includes an item for
1:17:52 board review
1:17:53 and may be brought back for action in a subsequent meeting. No
1:17:55 action will be
1:17:56 taken at this time. There are two items under this category.
1:17:58 Does any board
1:17:59 member wish to discuss these items? Okay, we’re now on the board
1:18:03 member
1:18:03 recognitions, reports and discussion points. Does anybody? Does
1:18:06 anybody wish
1:18:07 to speak? This is, you know, who wants to go first? It’s right.
1:18:11 We go first. Okay,
1:18:14 Miss Campbell. Miss Campbell always goes first. Thank you. We
1:18:17 have to tonight,
1:18:19 but one’s long. I was so happy I get to participate in the
1:18:23 judging of the
1:18:24 senior projects for Edgewood and West Shore Junior Senior
1:18:27 highest. They have
1:18:29 such amazing projects. I just have to, um, I’m gonna mention one
1:18:33 particular
1:18:34 name because she’s kind of spoken to us before. I think it was
1:18:36 back earlier in
1:18:37 the year, and we’re talking about laptops and iPads. Her name is
1:18:39 Twisha
1:18:40 Bhattacharya, and she she presented research that had to do with,
1:18:45 you know,
1:18:46 DNA of leukemia cells and like this mathematical computation
1:18:51 model that
1:18:52 literally is going to be used by a professor at UF, and she’s
1:18:56 going to get
1:18:57 credit in the research. And so it was just one. And she was the
1:19:00 first one of
1:19:01 the day. So it just these students do amazing work. They give us
1:19:04 hope for the
1:19:05 future, and it was. It was just awesome to be apart. And I know
1:19:08 several of us
1:19:08 got to be a part of that as well. But I just wanted to give a
1:19:11 shout out to
1:19:11 Edgewood and West Shore for inviting us to get to see these
1:19:15 students and their
1:19:15 great work. Okay, board. Last meeting at our workshop, we had
1:19:19 the robotics teams
1:19:20 come and give a demonstration, and they sent us a video link so
1:19:26 that we could
1:19:26 watch the competition. And I intended to just get on there for a
1:19:29 little bit and
1:19:29 watch part of it, but it was so fascinating. Ended up watching
1:19:32 the whole
1:19:32 entire from the final rounds all the way to the end. So I wanted
1:19:36 to give you a
1:19:37 report for the first robotics competition in Tallahassee, the
1:19:40 Tallahassee Regional. These, we had four teams make it to the
1:19:44 final alliances,
1:19:45 which is, and so that was Horsepower from the Merritt Island
1:19:49 schools, Pink Team
1:19:50 from the Rockledge area schools, Voltage from the Melbourne area
1:19:53 schools, and
1:19:54 Combat from the Titusville area schools. And I’m saying area
1:19:57 because each team
1:19:58 it was a combination, and they worked together, and I don’t have
1:20:01 all the
1:20:01 schools written down, but they, those four teams made it to the
1:20:03 final alliances.
1:20:04 Combat was a regional finalist. Voltage won the Impact Award for
1:20:12 the video they
1:20:13 put together and all the materials they have to do. It’s not
1:20:15 just about building
1:20:16 the robot, they pretty much have a, they have to do their own
1:20:20 marketing plans and
1:20:21 finding sponsorships and things like that. And because of their
1:20:24 Impact Award,
1:20:25 they actually get to advance to the world level competition,
1:20:29 which is
1:20:29 upcoming up this next month. The Wingspan team from the Vera
1:20:34 area won the
1:20:35 Sustainability Award. The Pink Team won the Quality Award, and
1:20:39 they also advanced
1:20:40 to worlds because of their standing in that tournament. Horsepower
1:20:44 won the Team
1:20:45 Spirit Award, and then Hasini S from the Pink Team as an
1:20:49 individual student won
1:20:50 the first Leadership Award. And so they were very well
1:20:54 represented, and we’re
1:20:56 super excited to see how the Pink Team and Voltage end up doing
1:21:01 at the next
1:21:02 level. That’s incredible. So basically we were the best school
1:21:06 district there.
1:21:07 That’s all it needs to be said. We were definitely, as far as I
1:21:10 could tell, what
1:21:10 you were the only school districts to have that many high-level
1:21:13 teams. And bring
1:21:14 back the hardware. Anybody else? I’ll go. Mr. Thomas. So you
1:21:17 know every meeting I
1:21:19 try to recognize one of my schools, but tonight I’d like to
1:21:22 recognize somebody
1:21:23 who kind of flies under the radar. A lot of the success we’ve
1:21:26 had academically as
1:21:27 a district is because of this person. She’d be the first person
1:21:33 to say it’s
1:21:34 because of her team, but I will tell you that the team only
1:21:37 follows the direction
1:21:38 of the leader. And that’s Ms. Tara Harris, our Assistant
1:21:41 Superintendent of
1:21:42 Curriculum and Instruction. For those of you who don’t know, she
1:21:50 drives
1:21:50 our strategy. She oversees all the curriculum. She helps the
1:21:53 principals. I
1:21:54 mean, a lot of our academic success gets traced right back to
1:21:58 her. And I
1:21:58 know she’s not happy with our success. She’s not gonna be happy
1:22:01 until we’ve
1:22:01 blown off the roof on all of our test scores, but we’ve made a
1:22:04 lot of progress.
1:22:05 And I just wanted to say thank you for all you do and all your
1:22:08 team does. So
1:22:09 thank you. Thank you, Ms. Harris. Okay, Mr. Gene. All right, I
1:22:15 have a little bit
1:22:16 more to go here. So I’ll start out congratulating Principal Tim
1:22:22 Powers,
1:22:23 Coach Brian Johnson over at Cocoa Beach High School with their
1:22:27 victory in the
1:22:29 regional baseball game. It was at a home game and they beat, I
1:22:33 believe it was
1:22:33 Wakeland. We beat them, so I don’t have to remember their name
1:22:37 too much. But it
1:22:39 was a very good game. It was 6-0 in the 6. I think we went up
1:22:42 winning 6-2.
1:22:43 But now they’re on to the semi-finals of the regionals. It is
1:22:47 now a three game
1:22:48 series and they have to travel to Lakeland. So this will also be
1:22:51 a little
1:22:52 pitch that if you feel so inclined to donate some money to Cocoa
1:22:56 Beach High
1:22:57 School to help those kids get over there and get some refreshments
1:23:00 and things,
1:23:01 that was requested online. So I said I would repeat it here. But
1:23:04 I believe it
1:23:05 was six or seven years ago since the last time they got this far.
1:23:09 The
1:23:09 turnaround that that team has made under Coach Brian Johnson, he’s
1:23:14 got a
1:23:14 World Series ring, if you guys did not know that, for the Boston
1:23:17 Red Sox.
1:23:17 But the place was packed and it was good sportsmanship on the
1:23:24 other
1:23:24 side. They all applauded the Cocoa Beach players once they got
1:23:27 done with the game,
1:23:28 even though they just lost and traveled all the way here. So it’s
1:23:31 really good to
1:23:32 see that. Let’s see, something else, it’s not really in the
1:23:36 schools. I mean if you
1:23:37 looked, if you’re online at all, you see every elementary school,
1:23:41 middle school,
1:23:42 high school, their calendars are packed. They’re doing something
1:23:45 almost every
1:23:46 single night. And in between all this recognition, shout out to
1:23:50 the teachers.
1:23:52 We’ve got what, less than 20 days left. Keep your head up, get
1:23:56 some sleep. I mean
1:23:57 the testing is going. I was talking to a couple testing coordinators
1:23:59 this week
1:24:00 and it is, it’s go time for them. So we’re really excited for
1:24:04 the finish. But there’s
1:24:06 something that’s not necessarily on our radar is the, I attended
1:24:10 the ribbon
1:24:10 cutting for the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Merritt Island.
1:24:13 From what
1:24:14 I hear, this is a 10-year project from thinking to execution to
1:24:19 having it come
1:24:21 to fruition. And it’s a beautiful facility there. So I think
1:24:24 that was a
1:24:25 joint project between the Merritt Island Redevelopments Agency
1:24:30 and the
1:24:30 partnership with the Brevard County Parks and Recs Department.
1:24:34 It’s a
1:24:34 beautiful facility. It was originally slated to have 500 homes
1:24:38 there and they
1:24:39 and they saved it and made a park out of it. So it’s beautiful.
1:24:42 You’re gonna be
1:24:43 hearing and seeing things there throughout the summer, concerts,
1:24:48 events. So
1:24:50 please, it’s over there at 400 South Skies Creek Parkway behind
1:24:55 the, it’s
1:24:56 called the Museum, the Military Museum. It’s right back there.
1:25:00 So also Mr. Derek
1:25:05 Reed, math teacher at Kennedy Middle School. What an exciting
1:25:09 classroom he has
1:25:10 and he was featured on Spectrum News as someone you you should
1:25:14 know. And he did
1:25:16 not play it up to the cameras. I’ve been in his classroom before
1:25:19 and that’s
1:25:19 exactly how he holds every single class. So thank you Mr. Reed
1:25:26 for your
1:25:26 enthusiasm and your knowledge that you give to these children
1:25:32 and the
1:25:32 hope that they can, as a math teacher myself, you just have to
1:25:35 instill that
1:25:36 hope that students can achieve and then they will do. So a lot
1:25:39 of good going on
1:25:40 over at Kennedy Middle. And then save the best for last. Officer
1:25:45 congrats to
1:25:46 Officer Chris Hadaway for me and named the Florida School
1:25:50 Related Employee of
1:25:51 the Year. What an amazing, amazing day. We were over there and
1:25:56 you know awarded
1:25:57 him the award, took the pictures, he was excited. Our schools
1:26:02 are stronger
1:26:03 because of leaders like Officer Chris Hadaway. The school board
1:26:06 is incredibly
1:26:07 proud to see his work recognized at the highest level in our
1:26:11 state. He
1:26:13 exemplifies all we would think of as a as a mentor and a leader
1:26:18 in that position.
1:26:19 So Chris, congratulations. You deserve it and you know it could
1:26:25 have went to any
1:26:26 of the finalists but we’re happy to have it here in Brevard.
1:26:28 Thank you.
1:26:31 Mr. Trent, just so you know I tried to look up to donate while
1:26:35 you were talking
1:26:36 and I couldn’t find it so if you find it and you text me I’ll
1:26:39 donate. All right.
1:26:40 All right. Miss Wright. All right. I want to give a shout out
1:26:45 and a thank you to
1:26:45 Congressman Herodopoulos. He took the opportunity to invite our
1:26:49 school board
1:26:50 to his congressional art competition to be a judge. I’m not
1:26:53 exactly sure how I
1:26:54 drew the stick there to be the judge because I don’t believe
1:26:57 that I’m
1:26:57 qualified to but it was an amazing opportunity to go down and
1:27:01 see some
1:27:01 artwork that our youth has provided and just want to thank him
1:27:04 for that
1:27:05 opportunity. Thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the amazing
1:27:07 artwork that our kids
1:27:08 are doing. Also want to give a shout out and a thank you to some
1:27:11 of our good
1:27:12 partners with Brevard Fire Rescue. We were invited to attend the
1:27:15 award
1:27:16 ceremony. Several of the elected officials in Brevard attended
1:27:19 that. Mr.
1:27:19 Trent you were there with us as well. Just want to thank them
1:27:22 for their you
1:27:23 know unwavering dedication to our community, for being brave,
1:27:25 for jumping
1:27:26 into just some of the worst-case scenarios and and being truly
1:27:29 heroes.
1:27:30 They are a good partner for us and we appreciate them and love
1:27:33 them and will
1:27:33 support them however we possibly can. So thank you for always
1:27:36 including us to be
1:27:37 a part of those award ceremonies so we can cheer them on as
1:27:40 their their brave
1:27:41 individuals get their awards. I am also want to give a shout out
1:27:44 which I’m sure
1:27:45 you’re going to talk about this I would imagine but the enlistment
1:27:47 ceremony that
1:27:48 took place that you know Mr. Susan I will say the first year
1:27:52 that you have
1:27:53 this this idea I thought wow I’m not really sure how that’s
1:27:55 gonna go if I’m
1:27:56 gonna be quite honest but you know two years in a row now I am
1:28:00 humbled I am
1:28:01 just absolutely blown away by the bravery of these young men and
1:28:05 women who
1:28:05 are standing up there willing to defend our country and and I
1:28:08 just want to thank
1:28:09 each one of them and their families that came out to support
1:28:11 that there’s moving
1:28:12 moments and when you watch those kids and I say kids because
1:28:15 they are walk
1:28:16 across the stage you can’t help but as a parent visualize it
1:28:20 that could be my
1:28:20 child that could be you know that’s somebody’s child so it’s
1:28:23 just it’s a
1:28:23 very moving moment and there’s times where you’re going oh my
1:28:26 goodness but
1:28:27 thank you to those brave individuals that are willing to make
1:28:29 that sacrifice
1:28:30 for our country. And my last one is going to go to the Titusville
1:28:34 City Council so
1:28:35 every year they have a student award ceremony in Titusville and
1:28:39 they invite
1:28:39 all the schools in the North End to come and be a part of this
1:28:42 it is an amazing
1:28:44 event that is crowded and packed I mean they did 250 plus awards
1:28:48 in a record
1:28:49 amount of time less than an hour but it’s a great moment for
1:28:52 students to be
1:28:53 recognized that maybe it doesn’t necessarily have to be tied to
1:28:55 academics
1:28:56 it could be something that their teacher or their principal has
1:28:59 seen in them and
1:29:00 they want to acknowledge them so a lot of times our awards are
1:29:03 tied to how well
1:29:04 they’re doing academically or a sport or things of that nature
1:29:07 this is an award
1:29:08 opportunity that is a little bit different but it’s very unique
1:29:10 and it’s
1:29:11 a one night that we all come together and we celebrate and it
1:29:14 just cheer on
1:29:15 kids and so I just thank them for putting that that award
1:29:17 ceremony on it’s
1:29:18 gone on for over 30 years it’s an honor and a privilege to be a
1:29:21 part of it and
1:29:21 it’s a great way to recognize some students that are doing
1:29:24 exceptional
1:29:24 things and that is all that I have.
1:29:28 Oh I mentioned earlier so so it’s the update yeah they’re not
1:29:33 winning right
1:29:34 now but I did get an update I don’t it’s not right now all right
1:29:39 I know we have
1:29:39 Space Coast flag football so I talked about it earlier I’ll talk
1:29:42 about it
1:29:43 again but our girls are from Space Coast are traveling right now
1:29:48 and they are
1:29:48 playing and they’re playing their hearts out I got a couple
1:29:50 parents that are
1:29:51 texting me they’re not doing so great right this minute but I
1:29:53 believe in them
1:29:54 and they we might be a second quarter kind of team so we’re
1:29:56 cheering them on
1:29:57 here from from Brevard and hoping that they’ll pull a win out so
1:30:01 they’re not
1:30:01 doing the greatest right this minute but stay tuned hey they’re
1:30:07 doing better
1:30:08 than any other team to even get there right for Brevard County
1:30:10 so there’s that
1:30:11 so let’s not take that away from them and I would argue and it
1:30:13 might be
1:30:14 something we might want to check but our female participation in
1:30:18 sports has
1:30:18 risen so much between wrestling between flag football between
1:30:23 volleyball between
1:30:23 track it has been incredible what Kevin Robinson in our schools
1:30:27 and our
1:30:28 principals and our staff have been able to pull off and it kind
1:30:31 of segues right
1:30:32 into mine which is we just recently had the elementary school
1:30:35 sports we had a
1:30:36 couple of mini championships so we had the first one was that
1:30:41 the city of
1:30:41 Melbourne had a track championship where elementary schools from
1:30:45 around the
1:30:45 county went in and participated and it was some of the most
1:30:48 incredible things
1:30:49 you’ve ever seen where you have all of these little kids trying
1:30:52 to sprint out
1:30:52 and win their races and everything else it was the coolest thing
1:30:55 but remember
1:30:56 these are getting kids ready for those sports in the forward so
1:31:00 now kids when
1:31:01 they go to middle school it won’t be so foreign to try to run
1:31:03 track they’ll feel
1:31:04 like they’ve actually been a part of a track meet so they will
1:31:07 be more to
1:31:07 participate in those we had a mini basketball one that went off
1:31:12 with the
1:31:12 elementary school sports and then I did want to talk about the
1:31:15 golf one because
1:31:15 it was incredible we had parents who were caddying their kids
1:31:20 playing for the
1:31:21 championship and they were going around and they had a leaderboard
1:31:25 out at Viera
1:31:26 East Viera East gets a big shout out for doing what they did
1:31:30 they covered the
1:31:30 entire thing there were trophies given out and these kids
1:31:34 legitimately in
1:31:35 elementary school and middle school were actually playing for
1:31:38 the championship
1:31:39 and they gave out awards at the end it was incredible and just
1:31:42 to see I had so
1:31:43 many parents come and say this is amazing thank you so much for
1:31:47 giving the
1:31:47 elementary school sports we we’ve heard about all the other
1:31:49 things that we’re
1:31:50 doing between basketball between all of the rest of them that we’ve
1:31:54 put in flag
1:31:54 football and the rest and we’ve actually done a great job so
1:31:57 that’s that’s huge
1:31:58 and I did want to tell you that we do have one more event and
1:32:02 this might be
1:32:03 the coolest one because it has kids that are like sort of in
1:32:06 elementary school
1:32:07 it’s the preschool mini Olympics all right so there’s it’s gonna
1:32:12 be the
1:32:13 cutest thing in the world so what we’re doing is is coach Reid
1:32:17 is gonna host
1:32:18 them it’s gonna be in line with many of the things that we’re
1:32:21 doing for the
1:32:21 presidential youth physical fitness and we’re gonna see those
1:32:24 little kids
1:32:24 compete so it’s gonna be awards and everything and if you’ve
1:32:27 never met coach
1:32:28 Reid he’s a giant man that is so much energy and he is so
1:32:33 amazing he does so
1:32:34 many great things he’s like one of the most positive people I’ve
1:32:36 ever dealt
1:32:37 with and he’s gonna host them so as soon as I get that date I’m
1:32:39 sorry I didn’t
1:32:40 have that you guys got a comb because it’s gonna be at the Viera
1:32:43 high school
1:32:43 gym and I think that we were almost gonna cry at some of the
1:32:46 stuff that goes
1:32:46 on all right enlistment ceremony all the cahoots you know that
1:32:52 was originally
1:32:54 came out of the ECAC committee a lot of a lot of credit goes to
1:32:58 those we have
1:32:58 two star generals we have all kinds of participation inside that
1:33:03 committee that
1:33:03 comes up with things that can honor not only our ROTC programs
1:33:06 and other things
1:33:07 and it is probably the toughest group to try to manage because
1:33:12 you have elected
1:33:13 officials and you have military type-a personalities and the
1:33:17 person that runs
1:33:18 the entire thing is Miss Yvette Cruz because she runs a tight
1:33:21 ship and she
1:33:22 yells at us all and gets us all in line and does a great job and
1:33:25 if anybody was
1:33:26 a part of that they realized that how good of a job she did and
1:33:30 big shout out
1:33:31 to you miss Cruz for everything that you’ve done and I’d like to
1:33:34 sort of
1:33:35 announce it now even though it’s not going to become official
1:33:37 until August
1:33:37 but we are going to name our stem labs inside of our elementary
1:33:43 schools after
1:33:44 astronauts and so there’s a this the astronaut Memorial
1:33:49 Foundation along with
1:33:50 Lockheed Martin and some of the other partners are all going to
1:33:53 come together
1:33:54 and we’re going to try to put together a naming of each one of
1:33:58 our stem labs by
1:33:59 one of those those astronauts which is going to be really cool
1:34:02 and they’re
1:34:02 already finding out who lives locally who lives in the state who’s
1:34:05 going to
1:34:05 come and everything else so really cool stuff but I’ll let you
1:34:08 guys know about
1:34:09 the mini Olympics when they come and that’s what I got dr. Endo
1:34:13 thank you
1:34:14 mr. chair of a couple recognitions and thank yous I want to
1:34:17 point out so I want
1:34:19 to thank the Military Officers Association of Cape Canaveral MOAC
1:34:22 is the
1:34:23 acronym they go by it’s a bunch of retired military personnel
1:34:27 and they do a
1:34:27 lot to support our JRTC programs and our programs in general I’m
1:34:31 Don Weaver in
1:34:32 the good deed sound foundation they do a lot recently they had a
1:34:35 luncheon where
1:34:36 they honor all of our high school JROTC units and they select
1:34:41 one high school
1:34:42 JROTC unit to be the unit winner you know the championship unit
1:34:46 with a top
1:34:47 rated unit out of the Brevard County Public School JROTC units
1:34:51 and I want to
1:34:52 congratulate sergeant major de young and his team down at Palm
1:34:56 Bay magnet senior
1:34:57 high school they won the award is the most outstanding ROTC unit
1:35:01 in the in the
1:35:01 area they are also the national champion marksmanship team and
1:35:05 that kind of thing
1:35:06 so great program down there marine program at Palm Bay but I
1:35:10 want to thank
1:35:11 MOAC for for supporting the high school JROTC programs and
1:35:14 giving them that
1:35:15 award this coming month the MOAC luncheon will feature all of
1:35:20 our soon
1:35:21 to be graduates who have received appointments or ROTC
1:35:24 scholarships so
1:35:25 that’s another great luncheon and want to thank them in advance
1:35:28 for recognizing
1:35:29 these young people and then the last thing is last Friday I was
1:35:31 able to go to
1:35:32 India Atlantic Elementary School to honor their second grade
1:35:36 class their
1:35:37 second grade cohort because they won the superintendent’s
1:35:41 reading challenge so
1:35:42 this is a district-wide reading challenge for all 56 schools
1:35:46 that have
1:35:46 second grade so if it’s 56 elementary schools with second grade
1:35:50 and the second
1:35:51 grade cohort second grade class at India Atlantic read the most
1:35:56 hours during the
1:35:57 superintendent’s reading challenge they read over 70,000 minutes
1:36:02 during the
1:36:03 challenge it’s quite an accomplishment India Atlantic actually
1:36:07 won this award
1:36:07 last year so their current third graders won it last year as
1:36:11 second graders so
1:36:12 the challenge to the India Atlantic first graders this year is
1:36:16 can you make
1:36:17 it a three-peat and win the super intense reading challenge next
1:36:20 year but
1:36:20 it was a lot of fun a lot of support over there we had a big
1:36:23 ceremony a lot
1:36:25 of parents out there to recognize the hard work of their kids so
1:36:28 congratulations to the second grade class at India Atlantic for
1:36:31 being the
1:36:32 champions of the superintendent’s reading challenge and that’s
1:36:36 it anybody
1:36:37 else do you got with that we’re gonna adjourn whatever you know
1:36:47 what I mean
1:36:55 you