Updates on the Fight for Quality Public Education in Brevard County, FL
0:00 » Man, what a fan club.
0:02 » [APPLAUSE]
0:10 » Ms. Price, I wanna say thank you.
0:13 We worked hard through the COVID crisis, and you were right
0:16 there.
0:16 That was one of the toughest things to say,
0:18 we’re gonna move everybody over basically to you.
0:21 And we appreciate your support, hard work.
0:23 We never could have got through it without you.
0:25 It was seamless and we appreciate it.
0:28 Ms. Kirk, I really love the trash talking on Florida Virtual.
0:32 » [LAUGH]
0:33 » And I’m not gonna lie because I’ve
0:35 always said that, I’ve always said that.
0:37 I’ve always said we can challenge it, you know what I mean?
0:40 And I look forward to you taking over for Ms. Price and
0:44 continuing her legacy.
0:45 But at the same time turning it, did you say on turbo?
0:48 Is that what you said?
0:49 Turbo charge, I can’t wait to see that.
0:51 So really nice to say the things you said tonight, so thank you.
0:55 Dr. Indell.
0:56 » So we’ll do some pictures in just a few minutes.
0:58 We have a couple other recognitions.
0:59 So now we wanna congratulate Tammy Harvey on her promotion from
1:03 assistant principal
1:04 to interim principal at Riviera Elementary School.
1:07 Congratulations, Tammy.
1:08 » [APPLAUSE]
1:14 » Okay, that’s gonna be a hard speech to
1:16 follow, but I wanna begin by thanking our school board members,
1:20 Dr.
1:20 Indell, Mr. Ramer, for this opportunity and for the confidence
1:24 you’ve placed in me.
1:25 I’m truly honored to accept the position of school principal at
1:29 Riviera Elementary.
1:30 I step into this role following an amazing principal, Beth Meyers,
1:34 who has been not only a tremendous leader for Riviera, but also
1:38 a mentor to me personally.
1:40 I am deeply grateful for her guidance, support, and
1:43 example, all of which has helped me prepare for this opportunity.
1:47 I’d also like to thank my amazing family for being supportive
1:51 and
1:51 understanding of my dedication and long hours devoted to a
1:54 career that I truly love.
1:57 I look forward to working alongside our dedicated teachers,
2:00 staff, students, and
2:02 families continue building a safe, supportive, and
2:06 inspiring learning environment where every child can grow and
2:09 succeed.
2:10 Together, we will continue building on the strong foundation
2:13 already in place,
2:14 a school culture centered on excellence, kindness, and
2:18 achievement for all.
2:19 I’m excited to begin this journey and grateful for the trust and
2:22 support of this wonderful community.
2:24 Thank you again.
2:25 » [APPLAUSE] » Thank you, Ms. Harvey.
2:27 » [APPLAUSE]
2:29 » All good, all good, good?
2:33 Picture time?
2:34 » Yeah, I think we should do the pictures of both of the new
2:36 principals, and
2:36 then we’ll do some other stuff.
2:38 » No, that’s- » I’m sorry.
2:40 » Mr. Thomas.
2:41 » I was just gonna tell Ms. Harvey that you never wanna be the,
2:44 there’s an old coaching accent, you never wanna be the guy after
2:47 the guy, and
2:48 you’re after the guy.
2:48 She’s awesome, you’re gonna have big shoes to fill, but
2:51 we’re looking forward to seeing you get to work.
2:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]
3:18 » We’ll do one with her, and then we wanna see it all.
3:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
3:48 » [INAUDIBLE]
4:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
4:31 » [APPLAUSE]
4:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
4:42 » [INAUDIBLE]
5:24 » [APPLAUSE]
5:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]
5:36 » I’m gonna stay down here for this one.
5:38 » Well, you gotta call, you gotta start to, okay.
5:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]
5:56 » I won’t be more than three minutes.
5:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]
6:08 » Good?
6:15 » Yeah, you’re supposed to say something.
6:16 » I know, but are you good?
6:17 » I’m good.
6:17 » Okay, Dr. Andell?
6:20 » Thank you, Mr. Chair.
6:21 We wanna take a few minutes to recognize one of our superstars.
6:24 Chris Hadaway was actually on the agenda tonight to be
6:26 recognized as a finalist,
6:29 a top five finalist for school related employee of the year for
6:32 the entire state of Florida.
6:33 Instead, we’re gonna take this time to honor him as the winner,
6:37 the school related employee of the year winner for all of
6:40 Florida.
6:41 So I want Chris Hadaway to come on up, as well as I want Andrew
6:44 Papsinski
6:44 to come on up.
6:45 And Chief Property’s welcome on up.
6:47 » [APPLAUSE]
6:55 » So just a little background for
6:56 everybody that doesn’t know already.
6:59 Chris is a school resource officer at Rockledge High School.
7:02 He’s a member of Rockledge Police Department.
7:04 And he is living out what we all want in a resource officer.
7:09 A school resource officer is not on the campus just for safety
7:11 and security.
7:12 That is a part of it, that’s a big part of it.
7:15 But the school resource officer is really on campus to develop
7:17 relationships
7:18 with kids, with young people.
7:20 So they know that the police officers are there to protect and
7:23 trust and
7:24 serve them, develop a relationship with these police officers.
7:28 And so that they know that this is a friendly face, someone they
7:31 can trust and
7:31 develop that relationship for life.
7:33 That we trust law enforcement and that we’re gonna be good
7:36 members of our community.
7:37 And so Chris has definitely lived that out.
7:40 One of the things that really proved that to be the case was
7:43 when we went to
7:44 Rockledge High School to announce that he had won for the state.
7:47 We announced it in the lunchroom in front of hundreds and
7:50 hundreds of kids.
7:51 And we were mobbed by the hundreds and hundreds of kids because
7:54 they love him.
7:55 And they were so congratulatory and so happy for him.
7:58 So I’m gonna give him a few minutes to talk, but then Chief and
8:01 the principal will get a few minutes to talk as well.
8:02 So Chris, congratulations.
8:04 » Thank you, sir.
8:05 » [APPLAUSE]
8:11 » Mr. Superintendent,
8:12 school board members, thank you so much.
8:14 It is an honor to be recognized on a level as the state of
8:18 Florida.
8:19 But I mean to stand in a room and represent educators and
8:24 the people that work inside and outside of the schools in Brevard
8:28 County.
8:29 We live in paradise, and we have the best educators and students,
8:34 I think, in the United States, but also the state of Florida.
8:39 I didn’t prepare a speech, but I could honestly say that every
8:43 single day,
8:44 it is my honor to represent Rockledge High School, the city of
8:49 Rockledge.
8:50 The Rockledge Police Department, I grew up in the city of Rockledge
8:53 and
8:54 graduated from Rockledge High School in the year 2000.
8:57 And I constantly say, I don’t feel that I do anything different
9:00 than
9:01 any of the other law enforcement officers that come to work each
9:04 day.
9:05 I’m just surrounded by really good people.
9:07 I have the support of the Public Safety Director, Chris Crawford,
9:11 that graduated from Rockledge High School also.
9:14 And Principal Andy Papsinski that shows me and mentors me and
9:19 lifts me up every single day when we walk through the gates
9:21 together.
9:22 So it is always my honor to represent my family.
9:26 My wife Crystal, Addison, Meredith, and Violet, they’re the
9:29 reason I do it.
9:30 They will all graduate from Rockledge High School.
9:32 My wife graduated from Rockledge High School.
9:34 So again, it’s my honor, and I’m so thankful to be here and
9:38 represent Brevard Public Schools and
9:40 also the law enforcement officers that work hard every day.
9:44 Thank you so much.
9:44 » [APPLAUSE] » Yes, thank you.
9:51 Chief Crawford from Rockledge PD, just wanted to thank the board.
9:55 Thank Dr. Rendell.
9:56 We appreciate this recognition.
9:58 Officer Haddaway is one of our, if not the best officers we have.
10:01 He does it the right way.
10:03 Like Dr. Rendell says, it’s relationships and it’s safety.
10:07 We take safety seriously and so does he, and we take
10:09 relationships seriously and
10:10 so does he.
10:11 So I wanna thank him, but I also wanna thank his family, right?
10:14 It’s tough to be the family of a police officer.
10:16 So great job, keep it up, it’s a team effort, thank you.
10:19 » [APPLAUSE] » Good evening, everyone.
10:25 So I just wanna be real brief about Chris.
10:28 We’ve been celebrating him for quite some time when he won the
10:30 school-based
10:31 employee of the year and then went on to win the district-based.
10:34 I had zero doubts in my mind that when he went to the state
10:37 competition
10:38 that he would be the guy that they would be calling his name.
10:41 Going through leadership in my master’s program,
10:43 we learned about the concept of a servant leader.
10:46 And Chris is that to a T.
10:49 He comes on campus, he is a true change agent.
10:53 He, just the morale, the culture, even in the hard times when he
10:57 has to teach
10:57 students about the lessons that they get on the back end of
11:01 decisions that they make.
11:03 He does it calm, but he reminds them that while we’re gonna have
11:06 to go through some
11:07 corrective actions, it’s gonna be okay.
11:10 And I’m gonna be here for you through the whole process.
11:13 And it’s quite evident that the students not only listen to that
11:16 message, but
11:16 they hear that message, because students come to him all the
11:21 time about
11:21 all of the things, whether they got in trouble last week or not.
11:24 Like Chris is, he is a true factor on campus that is improving
11:29 our culture for
11:30 the positive, and we’re just lucky to have him.
11:33 And again, Chris, congratulations for being the state school-related
11:37 employee
11:37 of the year.
11:38 » [APPLAUSE] » You guys wanna say something?
11:44 » [INAUDIBLE] » Go ahead, I’m ready for it, I’m armed.
11:50 » [LAUGH] » All right, I’ll start.
11:53 Chris, you should be getting used to this by now.
11:56 This is great, and you deserve every minute of it.
11:59 But we talk a lot about partnerships between cities, sharing the
12:03 SROs with us.
12:04 And this is just a perfect example of our community partnership
12:08 that we have with
12:09 the City of Rockledge and Brevard Public Schools.
12:13 You said you do a lot like what all the other SROs do, and you
12:16 do.
12:17 And every one of our SROs could be sitting right here.
12:20 They do a wonderful job, but your name was picked.
12:23 And you know what, you’ve done just an amazing job here.
12:26 You’ve had an amazing, what, four or five years since I’ve known
12:30 you.
12:30 And you’re the perfect person in this position.
12:33 So we’re grateful to have you, and
12:35 we look forward to watching you shine over this next year.
12:38 So I thank you for everything you do, Chris.
12:39 » Thank you.
12:42 » Well, I just have to say that, honestly, it’s so inspiring to
12:45 me when I see our
12:46 SROs in the schools and the relationships that you make.
12:48 Cuz it really is all about the relationship that you establish
12:50 with
12:50 those children.
12:51 It changes the culture, it changes the atmosphere.
12:54 And getting to watch, I think it was the employee of the year,
12:57 right?
12:57 That banquet and the entire chorus program was there, and
13:01 they were just singing, and they were happy about you.
13:03 And it was just fun to watch that and see them really celebrate
13:06 you and
13:07 honor you, and so well deserved, good job.
13:09 Thank you for being a shining star.
13:10 I’m hoping that other municipalities around the entire state
13:12 look at this and
13:13 recognize the value of a resource officer in there that’s able
13:16 to help with
13:17 the students.
13:17 So you’re making a huge difference, and we appreciate you.
13:19 » Thank you.
13:22 » I’m gonna borrow a line from Mr. Trent and say,
13:24 everything good has already been said.
13:26 » [LAUGH] » So, no, but we’re very proud and
13:29 way to represent Brevard.
13:31 We’re so excited for you and glad your family could be here.
13:34 And I agree, when the choir that was singing that morning
13:37 breakfast,
13:38 they had no idea.
13:39 We just happen to have invited that choir that morning to sing.
13:42 They were so excited for you.
13:43 That just shows the relationships that you have.
13:45 We appreciate you.
13:47 » Well, I just wanna say that you can’t measure the impact that
13:51 you’re gonna have
13:52 on these kids.
13:53 You can measure it maybe right now, but you can’t tell what it’s
13:55 gonna do for
13:56 generations from now.
13:57 When they’re out in the community and they’re out there running
14:00 cross police
14:00 officers, when they have their kids of their own.
14:03 So the relationships you’ve established and
14:04 you’re establishing are just amazing.
14:07 And we appreciate everything you’re doing.
14:09 And to piggyback off of what Mr. Trent said,
14:13 the fact that the city of Rockledge and Rockledge PD understand
14:18 your value and
14:19 understand the value of the SRR program as more than just being
14:22 a cop in a school.
14:24 And you are a shining example.
14:25 I hope you can train all of our SROs and some of your
14:29 relationship techniques.
14:31 So I mean, you’re doing an amazing job and congratulations.
14:35 » Yeah, I wanted to say thank you.
14:37 When we saw you at that award ceremony, it was one of the very
14:40 few times that you
14:41 could see the kids not running between classrooms like in the
14:43 school, right?
14:44 That you could actually see them in a way that they could see
14:46 the light.
14:47 And when I taught, I saw it with some of the best educators that
14:52 I taught
14:52 alongside of when the students had a connection to them.
14:55 And those students had that connection to you.
14:57 And I know that many years from now, your service to those
15:01 community and
15:02 those kids inside those walls of that school don’t stop there.
15:05 Because you’re a police officer in the area and somebody that
15:08 lives in the area,
15:09 you continue to mentor them years past the school.
15:12 So I appreciate that too.
15:14 I just wanna verify, I think you’re the only employee of the
15:18 year to win
15:19 the entire state in Brevard County history.
15:21 I don’t know if that’s true, but I wanna say it is.
15:25 Cuz I can’t remember and I’ve been here a long time.
15:27 So, but to say that alone is an honor.
15:31 And your work, I do wanna also say that many people don’t know.
15:36 But you were talking about relationships with cities.
15:39 The city of Rockledge was the first school or city to actually
15:44 cover all of their
15:44 schools with a SRO before anybody else.
15:48 And then the others came in.
15:49 But they made a commitment first to our school districts and
15:53 that’s huge.
15:54 And they fully paid for it too before we came into majority Stoneman
15:57 and
15:57 everything else.
15:58 They said this is a commitment.
16:00 So it’s a big thank you to Chief Crawford,
16:04 to all of the police officers in your staff and your city hall.
16:07 But also to you, Chris, I mean, you do a phenomenal job.
16:10 And anything we can do, we really appreciate you, man.
16:13 So thank you, appreciate you.
16:14 » Thank you. » Yes, sir.
16:16 And one last thing.
16:17 He did say it, John said it.
16:20 I’d love to have you develop with our other SROs and SRO
16:23 training.
16:24 That maybe some of the unique things that you do
16:26 to help out some of our other SROs, you know what I mean?
16:29 So thank you, appreciate it.
16:30 All right, let’s get a pick.
16:31 » [APPLAUSE]
16:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
17:23 [APPLAUSE]
17:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]
18:10 » We’re now on to the public comments portion of the meeting.
18:12 We have, Mr. Gibbs, four number of speakers.
18:16 Each will receive three minutes.
18:18 Our attorney will call the speakers in the order which they’ve
18:20 signed up to speak.
18:21 Mr. Gibbs, hang on just a second.
18:23 Ms. Campbell, you wanna- » Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.
18:26 I spent some extra time that you gave me at the beginning of the
18:29 last meeting.
18:30 But I just wanted to give everybody a reminder,
18:31 the board wanted to reiterate our public comment policy.
18:35 Just because we have this time that is just for things we’re
18:38 gonna vote on tonight.
18:39 And to clarify, according to our policy 169.1, things that are
18:44 just ministerial
18:45 acts like approving the minutes of the previous meeting or
18:48 proclamations which we don’t have any of those tonight, those
18:51 are not things that
18:52 are agenda item public comment time.
18:54 So if you are speaking on something that’s from a past meeting,
18:59 that’s not something we’re voting on tonight.
19:00 So those need to go at the end of the meeting and are non-agenda.
19:03 We wanna get through our public comments so we can take our
19:05 votes.
19:06 And then we’ll be happy to hear everybody at the end for
19:08 any other items that you might have.
19:09 Thank you, Mr. Chair.
19:10 » All right, Mr. Gibbs, please call the first three speakers.
19:13 » Bill Pearlman, Sean Griffiths, Jennifer Nagy.
19:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
19:27 » Can I recommend that we take F42, item 42 first?
19:32 All these people who are here tonight- » I can’t,
19:34 because you have to hear public comment before.
19:36 » Are you sure you can’t adjust it?
19:37 » Yes, sir, I’m pretty sure of the laws, but yeah, go ahead.
19:40 » Yes, you know the law.
19:41 » Thank you.
19:44 » Good evening, Dr. Rendell, school board, I’m Bill Pearlman.
19:46 Tonight I’d like to address item F17, renewal of outside legal
19:51 counsel.
19:52 I’d also like to acknowledge, I’m sorry, he left already,
19:54 Officer Hattaway.
19:55 I’m being named Florida Department of Education School Related
19:58 Employee of
19:59 the Year, and being recognized for his focus on campus safety,
20:04 mentorship, and community outreach, congratulations to him.
20:07 Item F17, renews the contract with Rumburger, Kirk, and Caldwell,
20:12 which was first initiated in 2023, where you’re paying $250 an
20:17 hour for
20:18 their attorneys, Rumburger, Kirk, is not the only outside legal
20:22 firm you have
20:22 contracts with, I actually think you have contracts with as many
20:26 as five
20:27 outside legal firms, in addition to the two full-time attorneys
20:32 and
20:32 staff that you employ here in the district.
20:35 And in a time of extreme budget cuts,
20:38 the public has a right to question why that’s necessary.
20:42 According to a public records request, in just one 20-month
20:46 period
20:46 between August 2024 and March 2026,
20:51 you paid $163,000 to one outside firm.
20:56 It’s an average of $8,000 a month to one firm alone, and it’s an
21:00 ongoing case.
21:02 The total cost is likely to skyrocket if you’re held liable for
21:05 attorney fees for the plaintiff’s side.
21:07 It’s important to note that the average of $8,000 per month
21:12 being spent
21:12 is being spent to defend Mr. Susan for his refusal to comply
21:16 with public
21:16 disclosure laws, and your own attorneys have argued in court-
21:20 » Hang on, Mr. Perlman.
21:22 » You’re off topic, the other cases are irrelevant to the
21:25 agenda item.
21:26 If you want to address Mr., a contract with Rumburger, Kirk, you
21:30 can address it.
21:30 » Are you suggesting that a discussion of legal fees is not
21:34 relevant to an agenda
21:35 item hiring a law firm? » Mr. Perlman, we do this all the time.
21:38 » Discussion about Mr. Susan’s litigation is not-
21:40 » Can you just stick to the agenda item?
21:41 The agenda item.
21:42 » I’m asking a question.
21:43 I’m talking about legal fees being paid out and
21:45 a contract that’s being approved tonight for a law firm.
21:49 » Discussion of Mr. Susan’s case is not.
21:53 » There we go.
22:00 » You know, by interrupting me, you forced me to defend my
22:03 position.
22:04 It uses my time.
22:05 It prevents me from making my prepared comments.
22:10 I noticed you didn’t interrupt me when I acknowledged Officer Haddaway,
22:14 which according to your interpretation of the policy for public
22:17 comments,
22:18 it’s not agenda related, and you did not interrupt me.
22:20 » Are we gonna do this the whole time, or what do you wanna do?
22:24 » Haddaway’s on there, but yeah, it’s not an agenda item.
22:28 » I’m sorry?
22:29 » Just so you know, I stopped your time.
22:30 » It’s a second interruption.
22:31 » It’s not, Mr. Perlman, we do this all the time with you.
22:34 » Here’s the thing, here’s the time, here’s what it is.
22:37 It’s a non-agenda item when we’re doing that.
22:40 So it’s not something to speak to public comment.
22:42 And as you know, we’re here, Mr. Perlman.
22:45 Mr. Perlman, we are here for the action items on the agenda.
22:50 That’s what it is.
22:51 So if you wanna speak to one of those, that’s great.
22:53 If not, we give you three minutes after the camera.
22:56 » Yeah, when it’s not part of the public record, I understand.
22:58 » But it is part of the public record.
22:59 » It’s not, you don’t record it, you don’t record it for public
23:02 record.
23:02 Mr. Perlman, it is written down that you came to speak over
23:05 there.
23:05 That’s public record.
23:06 » But if you didn’t interrupt- » Mr. Perlman, my god.
23:08 » Officer Haddaway comments, and that was off topic as well.
23:10 » Mr. Perlman, we can go back and forth.
23:12 You got a minute and nine seconds if you’ll speak to the agenda
23:14 item.
23:17 » Some questions for you.
23:19 Why has the school board only been updated twice since 2023 on
23:24 this
23:24 ongoing litigation?
23:26 Do each of you know how many outside legal counsel,
23:29 this is outside legal counsel?
23:30 » He’s still on your case, I don’t know.
23:32 » Yeah, he is.
23:34 » Yeah, Mr. Perlman, sit down, we’ll take you at the end for
23:37 another three minutes.
23:38 Mr. Perlman, no, no, no, you lost that right when you act this
23:41 way.
23:42 Mr. Perlman, please sit down.
23:44 You have three minutes at the end that you’ve already signed up
23:46 for
23:46 another topic, too.
23:47 Mr. Perlman, Mr. Perlman, please sit down.
23:49 Mr. Perlman, please sit down.
23:53 You have, you can speak at the end of the meeting.
23:55 Mr. Perlman.
24:00 Please sit down now.
24:01 » May I ask the three questions related- » No.
24:04 » To the agenda, you’re stealing my time.
24:06 » That was not what you did.
24:08 Stop playing games.
24:09 » Thank you for making my comments.
24:10 » When we started this conversation,
24:11 you were concerned about the people in the audience having
24:13 enough time.
24:14 Let’s go. » I can’t hear anything.
24:16 Can you repeat that?
24:17 » Nope, please sit down.
24:18 » I didn’t hear what you said.
24:19 » Please sit down.
24:23 » Can you file it in my rights?
24:24 » No, we haven’t.
24:25 » It’s still on my time.
24:26 » No, we haven’t.
24:27 Let’s go.
24:28 Thank you.
24:30 » Sean Griffiths, Jennifer Nagy, Bernard Bryan.
24:34 » Excuse me, I’m sorry you guys couldn’t go first.
24:36 » I mean, just because of the camera.
24:48 » Well, looks like I’ll be the guy after the guy for public
24:50 comment tonight.
24:53 Good evening.
24:54 I spent time reviewing both the district’s April 2026 financial
24:57 statements and
24:57 the amended 2026 budget documents.
25:00 And I have some concerns regarding transparency, priorities, and
25:03 several significant budget changes.
25:05 To be clear, I am not standing here alleging corruption or
25:08 wrongdoing.
25:09 I am standing here asking questions the public deserves answers
25:12 to.
25:13 One item that stood out to me was a dramatic increase in the
25:16 community service
25:16 budget compared to prior years.
25:18 According to the amended budgets document, that category
25:21 increased from roughly
25:22 $383,000 in 2025 adopted budget to nearly $8.7 million in the 2026
25:29 amended budget.
25:30 That is a substantial expansion, and I believe the public
25:33 deserves a clear
25:34 explanation regarding what programs drove that increase, where
25:38 the money is going,
25:38 and what measurable benefit the district expects from it.
25:43 Another major area is purchased services.
25:45 The district has spent approximately 127 million in that
25:48 category year to date.
25:50 That includes things such as contractors, consultants, software
25:53 agreements,
25:54 legal services, transportation contracts, and other outsourced
25:59 services.
26:00 Again, maybe all that spending is justified, but
26:02 taxpayers should not have to guess where the money is going or
26:05 who is receiving it.
26:06 I also noticed that the district’s projected ended funding
26:09 balance decreased
26:09 significantly during this amendment cycle,
26:12 while transfers from capital projects increased to more than $37
26:16 million.
26:17 These may all have reasonable explanations, but if that is the
26:20 case,
26:21 these explanations should be communicated openly and clearly to
26:24 the public.
26:25 Transparency should not require citizens to dig through hundreds
26:28 of pages of
26:28 financial documents just to understand how public money is being
26:30 managed.
26:32 Due to these concerns, I have formally submitted a public
26:35 records request
26:35 seeking detailed breakdowns, vendor information, and
26:38 supporting documentation related to several of these budget
26:40 categories and
26:40 amendments.
26:42 And respectfully, citizens asking detailed questions about
26:45 district finances
26:46 should not be treated as a nuisance or something to manage.
26:49 These meetings lately have left quite a bad taste in my mouth
26:52 because there seems
26:53 to be an increasing focus on policing certain topics during
26:55 public comment
26:56 instead of genuinely listening to the concerns being raised.
27:00 The people of Brevard County fund this district.
27:02 We have every right to ask difficult questions about public
27:05 spending and
27:05 shifted budget priorities, or say the word election or voter,
27:09 like Bill.
27:10 That is not hostility, that is public accountability.
27:14 Thank you.
27:14 » Thank you.
27:15 » Jennifer Nagy, Bernard Bryan.
27:17 » [APPLAUSE]
27:27 » She’s on F5.
27:29 » My comments need to be moved to the end.
27:31 » Okay, thank you.
27:34 » Bernard Bryan.
27:36 » Mr. Bernard.
27:46 » Good evening, my name is Bernard Bryan,
27:50 representing the South Brevard branch of the NWCP,
27:54 as well as the concerned citizen of South Brevard.
27:57 Thank you so much for allowing me to be here.
27:59 I missed last month’s meeting, so I’m trying to catch up a
28:03 little bit.
28:04 I just want to say thank you to this board for
28:07 adding two position called early learning coordinator.
28:11 And I think that was a pretty big deal.
28:14 I just have a couple questions, ask that you will consider a
28:18 couple of things.
28:20 Looking at the essential functions,
28:23 there’s a couple of areas that I hope you will consider.
28:26 What I did not see on my quick canvassing, I did not see
28:31 community education.
28:34 As you all are aware, early learning,
28:37 if the community doesn’t understand the value of early learning,
28:41 would you actually consider that in your essential functions?
28:46 Because when I look at marginalized communities, I see that the
28:50 information
28:51 of how important early learning is, is not driving in those
28:54 areas.
28:55 So if you will add that in these two position, because I think
29:00 the key is,
29:02 in reference to VPK impact on students closing the achievement
29:08 gap.
29:09 If that position does not have what I call boost on the ground
29:14 strategy,
29:15 it’s not going to help the marginalized community.
29:18 So if you will consider that.
29:19 Also consider, look at targeting those government housing area
29:24 in your
29:25 essential functions.
29:27 I’ve had personally chance to witness in those areas,
29:30 talk to parent, and they don’t get the information.
29:33 So I hope these two position would actually capture those.
29:37 And then, would you also consider targeting those marginalized
29:42 communities?
29:43 And I think two years ago, I presented to this board that only
29:47 13% of
29:48 kids in the marginalized communities are not enrolled in VPK.
29:52 And I hope that we look at those communities.
29:58 If you want to close the gap, I’ve been begging for this now for
30:02 two years and
30:03 I’m getting older now.
30:04 But I really want you to start looking at some of the community
30:07 suggestions.
30:08 And I know I have the opportunities to really call and
30:13 speak with each and every one of you.
30:15 But I think that if you take notes for what the community is
30:19 asking and
30:20 add that as part of the agenda going forward of what we are
30:23 asking,
30:24 that would help close the gap a little bit.
30:26 So I love Brevard Public Schools.
30:32 But I think early learning is so important for those kids.
30:36 And I’m data-driven, I’m result-driven, and
30:40 I just like to see those marginalized community data change.
30:43 So that’s Mr. Bryant.
30:44 » Can I just say one quick thing?
30:45 » Thank you.
30:47 » Is that okay?
30:48 » Mr. Bryant.
30:49 » Mr. Bryant, I just want to- » Mr. Bryant.
30:50 » Mr. Bryant, I just wanted to let you know, under the job
30:53 description for
30:53 this position, it says collaborate with families and community
30:56 agencies to
30:57 enhance parental awareness, access engagement, and transitional
31:00 services.
31:01 So it is part of the job description, so- » And I did read that,
31:04 but
31:04 it’s kind of vague a little bit.
31:05 » It is.
31:06 » But I want more detail on what that is,
31:10 what that boost on the ground really mean.
31:13 For the average person who’s not gonna examine those terminology,
31:18 it’s not gonna resonate with the parent.
31:21 So that’s all I’m asking.
31:23 Thank you, thank you for listening.
31:24 » All right.
31:26 » Mr. Bryant, one of the things that we were talking about
31:28 before was exactly
31:29 this, this communications piece.
31:31 And I’ve been working with some of the local governmental
31:35 agencies to talk about
31:36 how we can cross collaborate.
31:38 For instance, we have housing and urban development inside of
31:41 each one of
31:41 the cities- » Yes.
31:42 » That actually spends money to help communicate things.
31:45 » Yes.
31:45 » And it’s a value area that they can go ahead and get
31:48 information from.
31:49 So I think your request to have multiple agencies and
31:53 multiple points of contact is well received.
31:56 We’re working on it, but I think that your knowledge of those
31:59 other agencies,
32:00 those NGOs and those not-for-profits that are a part of it, like
32:03 the NAACP and
32:04 others, if they could also be a part of that vehicle, we’d love
32:07 that.
32:08 » Okay. » So as soon as these two people are
32:09 hired, I would love to work with you on communicating to those
32:12 groups.
32:13 » Thank you so much.
32:14 Appreciate it. » Thank you.
32:14 » Thank you. » Appreciate you, man.
32:16 See you.
32:18 » Okay.
32:18 » [APPLAUSE]
32:22 » That concludes, right?
32:25 That concludes the agenda items, only public comments.
32:27 We thank you for taking time out of your schedule to address the
32:29 board with your
32:30 concerns and suggestions.
32:31 I would like to remind the public the board is accessible for
32:33 further conversations outside of our business meeting through
32:36 scheduling a meeting.
32:38 We’re now on to the consent agenda.
32:41 Dr. Rendell.
32:43 » Thank you, Mr. Chair.
32:43 There are 42 items on the agenda under this category.
32:48 » Thank you, Dr. Rendell.
32:49 Ms. Campbell?
32:50 » I would like to pull number 42 so we can have a separate vote
32:54 and discussion.
32:55 At the Heritage High School stadium naming, excuse me.
32:58 » All right.
33:00 Besides the item just pulled for discussion, anybody else?
33:02 » I’d like to pull item F15.
33:04 » 15, 42.
33:05 » Which is a elevator service repair and related services.
33:10 » Okay.
33:11 I’ll entertain a motion to accept the consent of items minus
33:14 those two for
33:15 tonight’s agenda.
33:16 » So moved. » So moved, second.
33:17 All right.
33:19 Paul, roll call please.
33:20 » Mr. Trent. » Aye.
33:21 » Ms. Wright. » Aye.
33:22 » Mr. Susan.
33:23 » Aye. » Ms. Campbell.
33:24 » Aye. » Mr. Thomas.
33:25 » Aye.
33:26 » You wanna do the elevator thing or yours first?
33:30 Okay.
33:31 Let’s do Ms. Campbell, go ahead.
33:32 Do you have the floor?
33:34 » Yeah, I need a motion.
33:34 » Move to approve.
33:37 » Second. » Okay.
33:38 » Sorry, I think we had a motion and a second.
33:40 Did you catch that, Paul?
33:41 » We did.
33:41 » I just wanted to separate this one out because we have such a,
33:44 we have a sea of heritage blues sitting out here.
33:48 And so first of all I want to thank Mr. Link,
33:52 the principal of Heritage High School, for guiding this process.
33:55 » [APPLAUSE]
33:59 » And I know you’ve had many conversations with different
34:01 members of
34:02 the community to bring everybody to an understanding of how
34:05 important this is.
34:06 And so thank you for guiding all the teams, SAC and all the
34:10 groups.
34:11 We want to recognize
34:12 Mrs. Tuttle who’s here with us tonight,
34:15 as well as their children and some grandchildren.
34:19 So I know that even though I never got to meet him,
34:22 my husband did and he is a legend in Brevard especially in the
34:25 south end.
34:25 I feel like he was on the administrative team of
34:27 just about every secondary school in the south end.
34:31 If he wasn’t on staff there,
34:33 he definitely had an impact and was a mentor to so many.
34:36 So I am very proud as the school member in
34:40 the heritage area to vote for this tonight.
34:43 I just wanted to take the time since we have so many people here,
34:45 so many current and former staff and people who worked with him
34:47 through the years,
34:48 just to recognize the contributions that Mr. Tuttle made to Brevard
34:52 Public Schools
34:53 that are continuing to reverberate throughout the success of the
34:56 south end.
34:57 So thank you for being here.
34:58 Thank you all of you and again,
35:00 thank you Mr. Link for your leadership in this decision.
35:03 Anybody else? Dr. Rendell.
35:07 I think Mrs. Wright.
35:08 Well, I just want to share with the community that’s here and
35:15 watching.
35:16 John was one of the people that I looked up to when I was
35:18 a teacher and coach at satellite high school
35:21 and beginning to look into going into administration.
35:24 He was on that Mount Rushmore of principles that we had here in
35:29 the district.
35:30 Even John Thomas was one of the guys, even though he’s here
35:33 tonight,
35:33 but I don’t want to say that and make his head any bigger,
35:36 but there were just a few of these individuals
35:40 that all of us that were younger and hoping to maybe become
35:43 principles one day.
35:44 Those were who we wanted to be.
35:46 Those were the people we wanted to emulate and be.
35:49 So John had a big impact on me and I just really,
35:54 this is a great honor and I’m glad we could do that.
35:56 Just wanted to share that.
36:04 I think we already voted on it, didn’t take a vote.
36:07 All right.
36:09 We already made a motion and seconded it.
36:11 Mr. Trent.
36:12 Aye.
36:13 Mrs. Wright.
36:13 Aye.
36:14 Mr. Susan.
36:14 Aye.
36:15 Ms. Campbell.
36:15 Aye.
36:16 Mr. Thomas.
36:16 Aye.
36:18 Let’s get a picture.
36:20 [APPLAUSE]
36:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]
42:10 All right.
42:15 Give me just a second to pull all this together.
42:16 That was pretty cool.
42:17 All right.
42:19 Okay, we’re about to start rolling through some of these
42:24 policies, so.
42:25 » Well, we have to do F15, which I pulled, so.
42:27 » Yeah, yeah, F15, sorry.
42:28 » If you’ll let me just speak this one for a moment, I
42:31 appreciate it.
42:31 I was reached out to you.
42:32 » Need a motion and a second.
42:33 » Move to approve the contract that was pulled.
42:35 » Second.
42:37 » Okay, and discussion.
42:38 All right.
42:39 I pulled this contract for a specific reason.
42:41 So I was approached at church, actually, from somebody saying,
42:44 hey,
42:44 we’re a local company who does elevators, and we would love the
42:47 opportunity to bid for BPS.
42:48 And so it launched into me looking into, I don’t know who our
42:51 elevator contractor is, I have no idea.
42:53 So looked at it, got this contract, and there was something a
42:57 little funky with it.
42:58 I think, Ms. Campbell, you even had responded, because
43:01 originally when they had sent the contract to the entire board,
43:02 there was a short six-month extension that happened.
43:05 So it was a little peculiar, and I thought, okay, what’s
43:08 happening here?
43:08 And now we’re going back to just kind of piggyback off of this.
43:11 So, board, what I was asking for, I guess what I’m looking for
43:15 in this one is a couple things.
43:17 The invitation to bid opportunity for our local vendors.
43:21 So my concern is this, that sometimes different vendors, and I’m
43:25 not alleging it’s this one particularly,
43:25 because I don’t know if it is or not, but I think if we don’t
43:28 offer the invitation to bid,
43:29 we don’t know that we’re getting the best competitive pricing.
43:32 And so in this case, because we’ve had this one for so long and
43:35 it’s piggybacking off of other contracts,
43:37 I’m just wondering, would the board entertain, because right now
43:40 it’s a three-year contract proposal that’s on here.
43:42 They’ve already had – we started with this company, and it
43:46 looks like November of 2021 was the contract that was sent to us.
43:49 So would the board entertain maybe asking procurement to go back
43:53 and modify it for a one-year contract versus a three-year
43:57 contract,
43:57 and then doing an invitation to bid to allow other vendors the
44:00 opportunity to come in and look and see if there’s other options
44:05 out there.
44:05 Are we too close to the renewal?
44:06 We are very close to the renewal, yes, that is – yes.
44:11 Mr. Chair.
44:12 Yes, sir.
44:13 Speaking with staff, we believe we have time to bring it back to
44:16 the next board meeting with an amended one-year contract, so we
44:20 have time to do that.
44:20 Okay.
44:21 And just really looking for a one-year instead of three years.
44:24 Okay.
44:25 So how do you want to – you want us to amend the current – how
44:30 do you want to do this?
44:30 What’s the item number?
44:31 It’s F-15.
44:32 You have options, you can just vote it down and then they can
44:36 bring it back at the next meeting.
44:37 Okay.
44:38 That’s what I would do.
44:39 Vote it down and then bring it back on the next –
44:41 Vote it down or withdraw our motions?
44:43 Right now the motion is to approve?
44:44 You can do either – yes, the motion is to approve.
44:46 If it fails, it won’t pass.
44:48 They can bring it back on the next agenda.
44:50 Yes.
44:51 Okay.
44:52 All right.
44:53 Okay, it starts July 1st.
44:54 Yes.
44:56 Okay.
44:57 That’s fine.
44:58 So I withdraw my amendment – my motion.
45:01 You’re the second.
45:02 You have to withdraw your second.
45:03 Well – No, I thought we were going to vote it down.
45:06 Go ahead.
45:07 Mr. Chair, before we vote or before you all vote, to clarify
45:13 just one of the reasons procurement
45:15 was using the Piggyback contract is the last time we did put
45:18 this out for bid, we could
45:19 only get two bids.
45:20 Right.
45:21 And so this was something we didn’t know that there were other
45:25 vendors available because
45:26 our history has been such that we couldn’t find other vendors
45:30 available.
45:30 So, you know, with the opportunity to go search for other
45:33 vendors, we’d love to do that.
45:34 No, and I applaud Ms. Wright for bringing this forward.
45:37 Well, it kind of opens up the conversation of just – I mean, I
45:40 understand why we do
45:40 Piggyback contracts, but I also believe in competitive bids
45:43 getting us the best price,
45:44 right, because there is some accountability that’s held.
45:46 Sometimes people get a hold of a government contract and they’re
45:48 like, oh, government
45:49 contract, got that, that’s guaranteed pay and it’s a sweet gig
45:53 for me kind of deal.
45:53 And so I like competitive bids.
45:55 I don’t like the Piggyback and the rolling over of a contract
45:58 because I don’t know, just
45:59 with your insurance or your cable provider or wherever else, how
46:02 do you know you’re getting
46:02 the best price if you’re not out there actually shopping it.
46:04 Right.
46:05 And so I know this is a bit of a niche one, but I thought, well,
46:08 we probably should be
46:08 moving towards more competitive bids on all fronts instead of
46:11 that, but that’s a different
46:12 conversation, so.
46:13 All right.
46:14 So I – just by way of comment, so I am agreeable to going with
46:18 the board and voting this down
46:20 because I have time to bring it back to us, but I – you know,
46:23 at this point, especially
46:24 since we know we’re going to have a vendor for this year, but I
46:27 want to mention a couple
46:28 of things.
46:29 One, Mr. Hines gave us some of the history of the time that we
46:32 did go out and got someone
46:33 else then that we had very – we had poor enough service that we
46:36 had to cancel the contract,
46:37 and there are not a lot of people who do this work, and also we
46:40 don’t even know if the one
46:42 that – the new one that might be out there is even qualified
46:45 and has all the things because
46:46 there are certain things, if you’re going to work with a
46:48 government entity, you have
46:48 to have, you know, the long list of things that are required to
46:52 work for us in a school
46:53 building and all that with students and all that.
46:55 So I’m willing to go for the year, but I just wanted to
47:00 acknowledge that procurement has
47:02 done a stellar job through this.
47:04 I – one of the great things about piggybacks, I hear what you’re
47:08 saying, but we can get
47:09 the best deal and not have – and our team doesn’t have to go
47:12 out and go through the
47:13 whole process because somebody’s got it – somebody has got a
47:15 good deal for the government entity,
47:18 and so that’s – it’s a benefit to us, definitely, but I –
47:21 again, I’m willing to do it because
47:23 we can make sure we’ve got it covered for a year and we have
47:27 time, but I just wanted
47:28 to bring that up.
47:29 You know, we might not even be going anywhere else.
47:31 We might come back and say, nope, we’re going to keep going with
47:34 you.
47:34 » Yep.
47:35 » So that’s all.
47:36 » Yeah, absolutely.
47:37 » Okay.
47:38 All in favor, please.
47:39 » Mr. Trent.
47:40 » Nay.
47:41 » Mr. Wright.
47:42 » Right.
47:43 We’re voting this one down right now.
47:45 » Okay.
47:46 » Mr. Susan.
47:47 » Nay.
47:48 » I’m, like, confused about the –
47:49 » Ms. Campbell.
47:50 » Nay.
47:51 » Mr. Thomas.
47:52 » Nay.
47:53 » Ms. Campbell.
47:54 » Nay.
47:55 » F-15 has failed.
47:56 We’re going to move on to – public hearing is now open to
47:59 public comments.
48:00 We will, in accordance with Florida law, accept speakers.
48:03 Each speaker will have three minutes.
48:04 Textbook adoption – for the textbook adoption, 7 through 12,
48:07 Career and Technical Education.
48:10 Agenda item.
48:12 Is there anyone present who wishes to address this item?
48:17 Do I hear a motion?
48:20 Do you second?
48:23 Any discussion?
48:24 » Mr. Chair?
48:25 » Yes, sir.
48:26 » I just have a quick question for the superintendent.
48:27 I apologize.
48:28 I forgot to ask you this earlier today.
48:30 I’m just curious on these adoptions.
48:34 Do we have – get any industry input as far as, like, from our
48:37 advisory group or as far
48:39 as – are these –
48:41 » Yeah.
48:42 Just with – just like all of our other instructional materials,
48:45 there’s a committee that’s put
48:46 together, and it’s parents, educators, industry experts that
48:51 review the materials.
48:53 » Okay.
48:54 Thank you.
48:55 » Yep.
48:56 » Paul, roll call, please.
48:58 » Mr. Trent?
48:59 » Aye.
49:00 » Ms. Wright?
49:01 » Aye.
49:02 » Mr. Susan?
49:03 » Aye.
49:04 » Ms. Campbell?
49:05 » Aye.
49:06 » Mr. Thomas?
49:07 » Aye.
49:08 » We’re now on to the action items portion of the meeting.
49:09 Dr. Rendell?
49:10 » Thank you, Mr. Chair.
49:11 There is one action item on the agenda under this category, H1ESOL
49:15 Add-On Endorsement Program.
49:17 » Move to approve.
49:18 » Second.
49:19 » Any discussion?
49:20 » No.
49:21 » Paul, roll call, please.
49:22 » Mr. Trent?
49:23 » Aye.
49:24 » Ms. Wright?
49:25 » Aye.
49:26 » Mr. Susan?
49:27 » Aye.
49:28 » Ms. Campbell?
49:29 » Aye.
49:30 » Mr. Thomas?
49:31 » Aye.
49:32 » We’ll move to the information agenda, which includes one item
49:32 for board review and may
49:33 be brought back to the action at subsequent meeting.
49:35 No action will be taken on this item today.
49:37 There are one item under this category.
49:39 Does any board member wish to discuss this item?
49:41 Hearing none, we’re now on board member recognition reports and
49:46 discussion points.
49:47 Who wants to go first?
49:49 Go ahead.
49:50 » I’m just going to briefly, I’d just like to recognize, this
49:53 might be a shocker, but
49:54 I’d like to recognize Anthony Colucci.
49:57 » Uh-oh.
49:58 » Yeah.
49:59 I will tell you that we may not always see eye to eye as far as
50:03 the board and the union,
50:05 but I will tell you that Mr. Colucci had some discussions with
50:08 him regarding the sale surtax
50:10 and millage, and he’s in it with both hands and feet to make
50:13 sure that we get this across
50:15 the finish line, and I just appreciate your cooperation and your
50:19 willingness to work with
50:20 us to make sure that the voters know how important this is to
50:23 the school district in educating
50:25 their kids.
50:26 So thank you.
50:28 Anybody else?
50:32 » So we had graduation week last week, and of course that’s
50:35 always an amazing thing,
50:36 but there also have been some other really great events in
50:39 District 5 going on, and not
50:41 just in District 5.
50:42 We’ve got a couple outside that I wanted to mention, so let me
50:44 go through these really
50:45 quickly.
50:46 I was able to attend the glow party at Discover Elementary on
50:51 the Monday of the last week
50:53 of school.
50:54 Elementary schools, you know, they’re not taking final exams, so
50:56 they get to do all
50:56 these fun celebratory things, but you had to get into the glow
50:59 party.
51:00 They had, you know, the lights out and they had a glow necklace
51:02 and everything.
51:03 The students had to have learning gains in both math and ELA,
51:08 and there were tons of
51:09 kids, and I don’t want to give away the news, but Discovery is
51:13 looking really good when
51:14 it comes to their learning gains.
51:16 They had an amazing success this year, and kudos to Principal Ms.
51:21 Rosato and to her whole
51:22 staff, but it was an exciting day to be at Discovery to kind of
51:25 have a little pre-celebration
51:27 of what hopefully we’re going to get to celebrate in a very
51:30 public way this summer.
51:32 On – right immediately after that, I went to Bayside High
51:35 School because – remember
51:36 the students who worked with Sue’s team to build the bridge at
51:39 Jupiter Elementary?
51:40 Okay.
51:41 So she invited 14 of those students to come to Bayside to see
51:46 the construction.
51:47 They had their construction hats, and they got to go onsite and
51:51 look at the – unfortunately,
51:53 the walls went up literally like two days later.
51:55 The walls went up.
51:56 They got to see the kind of – the construction progress as it’s
51:59 going on, and they were super
52:01 excited.
52:02 But while they were there, then they walked them over to the CTE
52:04 programs, and they went
52:05 into the machining shop, what I call the million-dollar
52:08 classroom, and they went into the video editing
52:11 classroom.
52:12 They went into the engineering program, the beta engineering
52:14 program, and it was – and
52:15 they – the students had, like, projects for them, scientific
52:19 projects, and so it was just
52:20 wonderful.
52:21 So thank you to the whole crew at Bayside, to Sue Hahn’s team
52:24 again, and for getting
52:26 the kids, you know, that hands-on, it just – the kids were so
52:29 excited, and I wouldn’t
52:30 be surprised at all if every single one of them goes into some
52:33 kind of STEM career.
52:34 I did – we had the mayor’s breakfast a couple of Fridays ago,
52:37 which is such a crazy event,
52:39 and it’s long, and it’s fun, and it’s wild.
52:42 But there was something we found out that day, and it was on the
52:44 agenda for tonight.
52:45 It’s got to be tweaked a little bit, but it’s coming back.
52:47 But I just want to recognize the City of Cocoa for their
52:51 donation of – I think it’s going
52:53 to be, like, $150,000 – thank you, Sue, for confirming that –
52:57 $150,000.
52:58 What a city that cares about their schools.
53:02 And so the City of Cocoa has just invested a lot into Cocoa High
53:05 School through the years,
53:06 as well as their other city – their schools that are within
53:08 their city limits.
53:09 But I just wanted to praise the City of Cocoa for always doing
53:12 such a great job partnering,
53:13 and they’re going to be donating towards some track improvements.
53:16 The district is going to be matching that with some funds that
53:19 we have for – but I
53:20 just wanted to say my thanks to the City Council and the city
53:24 government for Cocoa.
53:26 We always love those partnerships, and they know how to do it.
53:29 Speaking of cities, Mr. Trent and I were both there at the City
53:32 Council meeting for Cape
53:34 Canaveral last Tuesday.
53:35 I just want to thank very much Mayor Wes Morrison for his
53:39 graciousness.
53:40 We did not do what the City Council asked us to do.
53:43 It just wasn’t feasible, and we had to do our job and make sure
53:46 that we’re taking care
53:47 of all the students in our district, but Wes Morrison is the
53:51 mayor for the time – for
53:52 such a time as this.
53:54 And he was very honoring of the school, of Principal Long, and
53:58 our Assistant Principal
54:00 Ms. Dodd was there, and also they recognized the Cape Canaveral
54:03 crossing guards, who now
54:04 will not have a school to recognize, but I think Mr. Trent was
54:06 trying to get them hooked
54:07 up with some other places they might be able to – we always
54:09 need crossing guards.
54:10 » Always need them.
54:11 » Yes.
54:12 But I also wanted to say, talking about people who are the right
54:15 people for the moment, Melissa
54:17 Long is the principal of the moment.
54:19 She was the right person to walk her school through this
54:24 challenging process, and I have
54:26 the utmost respect for her.
54:28 I’m so glad she’s coming back to District 5, and that we’ve
54:31 already appointed her to
54:33 be at Turner this coming year.
54:35 Very thankful for Ms. Dodd, who will also be sticking around.
54:37 She’s going to be a literacy coach, and also thankful for those
54:40 crossing guards.
54:41 But I just have to recognize, I just appreciate the mayor so
54:43 much, I appreciate the principal
54:44 so much.
54:45 The city was honoring of the school, and the school was honoring
54:48 of the city, and it was
54:49 a great night.
54:50 » Oh, goodness.
54:51 » Yeah.
54:52 » Isn’t it?
54:53 » I’ve got – I know, it’s been crazy.
54:54 And we have graduation week.
54:55 » It’s a big list she’s got here.
54:56 » I’ve got two more.
54:57 Two more.
54:58 These are such great things.
54:59 » It’s a big list, though.
55:00 We’re not even halfway there.
55:01 » No, I’ve got two more.
55:02 I’m done.
55:03 » Listen, you keep going.
55:04 » Two thirds.
55:05 » You keep going.
55:06 » All right.
55:07 Star Lab.
55:08 So the STEM teacher at McAuliffe went to – I can’t remember the
55:11 name of the conference,
55:12 but there’s a conference that the science teachers go to in
55:14 January, and put her name
55:16 – you know, there’s always drawings, right, for the vendors.
55:19 And she put her business card in for a drawing.
55:23 And she won.
55:24 There was one of – I don’t know.
55:25 There were like half a dozen schools across the whole entire
55:27 country that won this opportunity
55:29 to have Star Lab, which is basically an inflatable planetarium
55:34 that you can purchase, right?
55:37 But they got two days of it on their campus, and she didn’t just
55:40 use it for her students
55:41 who loved it.
55:42 It was amazing.
55:43 But she invited science and STEM teachers from across the
55:46 district to come and participate.
55:48 They had a full house, and, you know, I got to come sit inside,
55:52 and basically you’re inside
55:54 this blow-up planetarium, and we went to the moon and went to
55:57 Saturn’s rings.
55:59 We did all kinds of things.
56:00 They can do underwater things.
56:01 You can do your own GoPro 360, and then – I mean, it was a
56:03 really cool thing.
56:04 But I just – thank you to Ms. Bensid for inviting these
56:08 teachers across the district,
56:09 and thank you to her STEM teacher for getting that privilege for
56:13 the students to do.
56:14 It was a great activity for them to do on the last few days of
56:16 school as well.
56:17 And then the final thing, this is the coolest thing.
56:20 So you guys know if you’ve ever been to the Melbourne High
56:23 School campus, or if you haven’t,
56:25 you’ve been seeing it, there’s the Liberty Bell, right?
56:28 You walk through the gates, and it’s front and center, right?
56:32 So it’s America 250 going on, but that bell was built by
56:37 students in 1976 by what we would
56:41 call today like a CTE, you know, a building construction-type
56:46 program, Mr. Padgett.
56:49 And so they – there was one of the alumni who was on that group
56:54 of students who pulled
56:56 together this whole thing, and they did a 50th anniversary
57:00 celebration on Saturday morning
57:02 of that Liberty Bell, and they had a bunch of those guys come
57:06 back.
57:06 One of them was – they had the widow of one of them.
57:10 People flew in from out of state to come back and have this
57:13 reunion, and they told about
57:14 the history of how they built the bell, and how – you know, it’s
57:18 like five tons of concrete,
57:20 and they had cleaned it up all night, so we had a whole
57:22 different – a whole ceremony
57:24 and the kids sang and everything, and they drilled a hole and
57:27 put some things in there,
57:29 talked about the relocation.
57:31 And so it was just a really neat thing, and I – they’re called
57:34 the Bell Boys.
57:35 That was their nickname, the Bell Boys.
57:37 So they brought the Bell Boys back, and I think there was a news
57:40 article – if anybody
57:41 in the public would like to see, there’s a news article that
57:43 came out, and I hope we’ll
57:44 get to do our own little write-up about it, too, but it was
57:47 really exciting to be there
57:48 with all that Mel High history on Saturday morning.
57:52 I know everybody was exhausted because they just had a
57:54 graduation the night before, but
57:55 it was just – you know, I am so thankful for the alumni who
57:59 came back and for Principal
58:01 Kirk who helped to organize it.
58:04 They did such a great job, and it was an awesome time.
58:07 That’s all I have.
58:08 » Before you go, I wanted to say, Ms. Campbell, thank you so
58:11 much.
58:12 You are always involved, you’re always working, you’re diligent
58:15 with your notes, I just wanted
58:16 to give you a compliment, and I – because I felt like when I
58:19 said that, I didn’t mean
58:20 it to be long.
58:21 But I did want to say, I enjoy listening to you because you’re
58:24 so dedicated to your school,
58:26 so thank you.
58:27 » Thank you, Mr. Susan.
58:28 » Mr. Trent.
58:29 » All right.
58:30 Yes, Ms. Campbell, you did take a few of mine off there, too, so
58:33 that’s good.
58:34 I won’t repeat, but yes, a shout-out to the City of Cocoa for
58:39 their generous donation
58:42 or the amount of money that we’re going to get, and we’re going
58:44 to do something really
58:45 good with the Cocoa High School.
58:46 Ms. Stewart had called me right away when she heard about that,
58:50 and we’re excited, so
58:51 that community always comes to bat for that high school, so it’s
58:57 very good.
58:58 Same thing with the City of Cape Canaveral.
59:01 That was a moving moment there, and Ms. Long is perfect for the
59:06 situation, and you’re fortunate
59:09 to have her down there again, so it was wonderful.
59:11 But we are looking forward to, you know, the new chapter at
59:14 Roosevelt.
59:15 That’s going to be a great new beginning for those kids and
59:19 parents, so we look forward
59:21 to that.
59:22 Very busy week with the graduations, and again, we’ve all been
59:25 there.
59:25 We all went through it, maybe not as many as I had, but so I
59:30 have five high schools,
59:32 and we had three on Friday, so I was not able to attend Cocoa
59:36 and Cocoa Beach this year,
59:38 but I’ll go in reverse order.
59:39 Friday, I was able to go to Merritt Island.
59:42 No rain, so that was good, because we’re outside.
59:44 Even the sun was past us, but they have a wonderful tradition
59:48 there, about 360 some
59:50 graduates, but it backs up to a residential area, and
59:54 occasionally, not that it’s sponsored,
59:57 but there are fireworks that goes off at certain, when kids come
1:00:01 across, so that was interesting,
1:00:03 and that was, I think it was expected, but it went off great,
1:00:06 and this is really a shout
1:00:07 out to all the principals.
1:00:08 I’m sure they all went off well.
1:00:11 The amount of pressure that is put on the administration and the
1:00:15 staff in the middle
1:00:16 of finishing up testing, getting kids graduated, all the T’s
1:00:22 crossed and the I’s dotted, they
1:00:25 pull off a flawless event like graduation, so just a shout out
1:00:31 to everyone from just
1:00:33 getting the chairs all in order and getting it all set up so
1:00:36 perfect.
1:00:37 I don’t think I’ve seen a mistake yet in the three years of
1:00:41 going through the graduation,
1:00:44 so that was great, and then Thursday was my first night at Rockledge,
1:00:49 that was good, all
1:00:50 except for the traffic to get into that stadium, that was
1:00:55 amazing.
1:00:55 There’s a lot of cars that are going in there.
1:00:58 It was packed, and another 360 students, and it was just an
1:01:03 amazing, that one was, you
1:01:05 could just feel, it felt like a hometown barbecue, and it was
1:01:08 really, the families were coming
1:01:10 out, it was an exciting time, and then Wednesday we’re inside at
1:01:14 the King Center with Edgewood,
1:01:16 and that is awesome.
1:01:18 That’s a little smaller, about 137 graduates, but what sticks
1:01:23 out there, two things, one
1:01:25 is we had a, and I should have got his name, but we had a, they
1:01:29 had performances inside
1:01:31 a little bit, and this young man got up with three choir members
1:01:36 playing instruments and
1:01:38 sung just like Billy Joel.
1:01:40 It was amazing, I mean he got a standing ovation, it took
1:01:43 everyone’s breath away, it was amazing,
1:01:46 but out of 137 graduates, there was just over 13 million dollars
1:01:51 in scholarships, 13 million,
1:01:54 Miss Ingrata, principal there said it was the most they’d ever
1:01:57 had, I thought it was
1:01:57 almost 13 and a half million dollars of scholarship, which was
1:02:02 just absolutely amazing.
1:02:03 Of all the scholarships throughout, you know, we’ve had it, some
1:02:06 of the, I just picked out
1:02:07 a unique one, and this was from SpaceX, SpaceX gave, and maybe
1:02:12 some in your area too, but
1:02:14 in my area they awarded a 5,000 dollar scholarship, in addition
1:02:20 to that the family and friends
1:02:23 of these people got a behind the scenes tour of the SpaceX
1:02:28 facility, so the kids were shocked
1:02:31 about that, but we had one from Rockledge, two from Cocoa Beach,
1:02:35 and one from Merritt
1:02:37 Island that each received that scholarship, so that was a big
1:02:40 deal, but it was, it’s just
1:02:41 an exhausting week of going to these, but it’s an exciting week
1:02:46 of seeing, you know,
1:02:48 the excitement in these young kids, young adults, and the
1:02:53 families, the excitement there,
1:02:55 so we, I think I shook a little under a thousand hands, and just
1:02:59 said congratulations to just
1:03:01 under a thousand young men and women that are moving on to
1:03:07 exciting times, so.
1:03:09 You did, I know you did, but thank you, all good here.
1:03:13 Alright, alright, I am going to start with reading an email that
1:03:17 I got, because I think
1:03:18 a lot of times we get a lot of negative stuff, and I love when I
1:03:21 get a positive and a thank
1:03:22 you moment from a family, so this is in regards to Oak Park
1:03:25 Elementary up in the north end,
1:03:27 so I got an email from a parent that says, “Ms. Rouse, I just
1:03:30 want to take a moment to
1:03:31 thank you for the smooth transition to Oak Park.
1:03:33 As you know, leaving Sculptor, which is a charter school in the
1:03:36 north, was a difficult
1:03:37 decision, but Ducklin has enjoyed his teachers and made
1:03:39 improvements academically since moving
1:03:41 to Oak Park.
1:03:42 I would like to give a special thank you to Mr. Price.
1:03:45 This was Ducklin’s favorite teacher, and has helped him
1:03:47 tremendously with improving his
1:03:48 math grade.
1:03:49 Ducklin stayed after school to receive tutoring with Mr. Price,
1:03:52 and he never complained about
1:03:53 it because Mr. Price made it enjoyable and kept him engaged.
1:03:56 Ducklin is now at grade level, which is a huge achievement after
1:03:59 struggling for years.
1:04:01 This is a direct result of having a teacher who cares and is
1:04:03 willing to put in the time.
1:04:05 I would also like to recognize Ms. Clayton.
1:04:07 She speaks about Ducklin as if he was part of her family.
1:04:09 She truly loves the kids.
1:04:11 She praises them and makes them feel so special.
1:04:13 One day after school, she came to our car to tell us how good he
1:04:16 was doing, and she
1:04:16 started to tear up while saying that she was just so proud of
1:04:20 him, and he was her star
1:04:22 student.
1:04:23 You should have seen Ducklin smile.
1:04:24 As a parent, it warms my heart to know that he’s in good hands
1:04:26 when he’s at school and
1:04:27 with people that truly care about him and his success.
1:04:29 Thank you for your leadership.
1:04:30 Have a great summer.
1:04:31 So I just want to give him a shout out, because I feel like that
1:04:34 is a huge testimony to them
1:04:35 as teachers and the school leadership there, because we get a
1:04:38 lot of emails, and they’re
1:04:39 not always positive.
1:04:40 So thank you so much for the wonderful work there.
1:04:42 Obviously, we’re coming off of graduation week.
1:04:44 I think that is a fill your cup up moment.
1:04:46 That’s what I say.
1:04:47 I’m like, there’s a lot of things that are frustrating and
1:04:49 aggravating.
1:04:49 A lot of times, it’s not kids.
1:04:51 It’s adults, quite frankly, that we work with.
1:04:54 But when you watch the North End, we had almost 800 kids, and I
1:04:57 hugged them all as they come
1:04:58 across the stage, and the excitement and the energy, and just
1:05:01 the– they are so proud.
1:05:02 And the families that are out there were noise makers, and it
1:05:04 just makes you realize how
1:05:06 connected the community really is and how we all want our
1:05:09 children to do the very best
1:05:11 that they possibly can do.
1:05:12 And so to the families that showed up in support and cheered
1:05:14 them on, thank you so much.
1:05:16 Thank you for bringing the noise makers and making sure you’re
1:05:18 there and showing up for
1:05:18 your kids.
1:05:19 We love you.
1:05:20 We are so proud of these kids.
1:05:21 These graduating class, I believe, is going to be the one to
1:05:23 change the world for the
1:05:23 better.
1:05:24 And that is all that I have.
1:05:27 » Mr. Thomas.
1:05:29 Oh, sorry.
1:05:31 » One more time.
1:05:34 » I think some of the people may not understand what COCO did.
1:05:37 I wanted to kind of just give an overview, because we’re all
1:05:40 talking very highly of it,
1:05:41 and people are like, what?
1:05:42 What did they do?
1:05:43 So City of COCO decided that it would be an economic development
1:05:47 if they were able to
1:05:49 donate to the school district some funds for the field that’s
1:05:52 there in COCO so that they
1:05:54 could upgrade it to host regional track meets along with have
1:05:58 what is a jumbotron for attracting
1:06:00 athletes and everything else.
1:06:01 And some of the people may not understand, but we all do, that COCO
1:06:06 won three state titles,
1:06:08 and we’re very close to it last year.
1:06:10 Those are big deals.
1:06:11 And the amount of money that it brings to the economy when you
1:06:14 have a multi-day event
1:06:15 at a field would bring more revenue into the community.
1:06:18 We know from this perspective of having U-triple SA, the
1:06:21 companies when U-trip opened for the
1:06:23 first time, they couldn’t even find restaurant supplies on the
1:06:26 shelves to try to keep up.
1:06:28 So it’s a good opportunity for COCO.
1:06:29 We appreciate all of those opportunities that they do.
1:06:33 So anyways, with that, I am good.
1:06:36 Dr. Endell, you got anything?
1:06:38 No, I just want to share that we have some pretty good-looking
1:06:42 test results coming in.
1:06:44 The students and teachers worked really, really hard this year.
1:06:46 Got to give them credit, like we say all the time.
1:06:49 We didn’t teach a single lesson or take a single test, but they
1:06:52 did.
1:06:52 And the results district-wide look very strong.
1:06:54 So in July, we’ll do a State of the Schools presentation that
1:06:58 will have all the different
1:07:00 things we can celebrate, not just test scores, but a lot of
1:07:02 other accomplishments that we’ve
1:07:04 had over the last year or two.
1:07:07 But I definitely want to thank everybody for all their hard work
1:07:10 and the work they’ve done
1:07:11 in the classrooms.
1:07:12 It’s really showing some big dividends and really grateful for
1:07:17 all that work.
1:07:18 All right.
1:07:19 Okay.
1:07:20 Yeah, we’re going to take a recess break.
1:07:25 Absolutely.
1:07:26 Everybody good?
1:07:27 How many is on a …? [music]
1:07:57 [silence]