> THE BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 11, 2022 IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER. MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL LEAD US IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. PLEASE JOIN ME IN A MOMENT THANK YOU.
PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. (PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE) Nadia Combs: WE HAVE NO WITHDRAWN ITEMS TODAY. I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER SNIVELY AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER GRAY.
ANY DISCUSSION? PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. OH, EXCEPT FOR -- LET ME CHECK WITH THEM BECAUSE NOT ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE PRESENT. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. MR. PORTER IS GOING TO BE LOOKING INTO THAT.
LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE PRESENT EITHER IN THE BOARDROOM OR BY REMOTE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MEMBER HAHN. WE HAVE FIVE SETS OF MINUTES TO BE APPROVED TODAY. 11/16, SCHOOL BOARD WORKSHOP. SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MEETING. 12/10/2021 SPECIAL CALLED BOARDER. 12/12 AND FINALLY 12/16 SPECIAL CALLED BOARD MEETING. I NEED A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER PEREZ AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER WASHINGTON. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? IF NOT, PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES -- Jim Porter: WE NEED TO HEAR FROM MS. VAUGHN IF SHE CAN INDICATE IF SHE IS IN SUPPORT. Jessica Vaughn: I'M IN THE CHAT LIKE I DID LAST TIME, BUT YES. Jim Porter: WE NEED TO BE COGNIZANT.
MEMBER HAHN IS ABSENT AND MEMBER VAUGHN PARTICIPATING REMOTELY SO THE VOTES NEED TO REFLECT THAT. THE FIRST VOTE WE NEED TO VOTE AGAIN ON THE AGENDA WHEN YOU GET READY FOR THAT. JUST NEED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. Nadia Combs: OKAY. LET'S GO AHEAD AND GO BACK. MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AND PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. OKAY. MEMBER -- IN FAVOR. Nadia Combs: OKAY. SO THAT PASSES. Jim Porter: 6-0. Nadia Combs: 6-0. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GO BACK TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES. THE FIVE SETS OF MINUTES TO BE APPROVED. PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. Jessica Vaughn: IN FAVOR. Nadia Combs: AND THAT ALSO PASSES 6-0. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BOARD MEMBERS, I'D LIKE TO GO OVER THE FORMAT OF TODAY'S MEETING. WE ARE PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO WE ASK THE GUESTS IN THE BOARDROOM KEEP ONE CHAIR OPEN BETWEEN FAMILIES.
AS A REMINDER WE'RE A NONPARTISAN BOARD WHO BELIEVE ALL CHILDREN CAN BE EMPOWERED TO LEARN AND SUCCEED AND OUR DECISIONS WILL BE MADE WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING. TO PAVE THE WAY FOR EFFECTIVE AGENDA STATEMENTS AND/OR QUESTIONS BOARD MEMBERS WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK WITH 30 SECONDS FOR FINAL THOUGHTS. AFTERWARD THE SUPERINTENDENT CAN RESPOND. IF YOU FURTHER QUESTIONS YOU'RE ASKED TO GET BACK INTO THE QUEUE.
MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL NOW READ THE BOARD GUIDELINES. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AS WE BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON'S MEETING LET ME QUICKLY REVIEW THE FORMAT OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS. PLEASE SILENCE ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. THERE ARE SPEAKERS IN THE ROOM BEHIND ME THAT ALLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO BE ALLOWED TO HEAR BEHIND THE DEUS. THIS CAN BE VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTION ON CABLE TV AND VIDEO MONITORS IN THE AUDITORIUM AND ALSO VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTION IN ONLINE VIDEO ARCHIVE.
Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. WE HAVE ONE ITEM SCHEDULED FOR TIME CERTAIN AND THAT'S 6:00 P.M. AND THAT'S EMPLOYEE INPUT. THE BOARD WELCOMES COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS AND VALUES YOUR INPUT TO THE BOARD IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE TO YOUR COMMENTS THE STAFF WILL FOLLOW-UP WITH YOU AND KEEP THE BOARD INFORMED ABOUT THE RESPONSES. OUR SCHOOL BOARD RESPECTS THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD AND WE APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE, HOWEVER, IT'S REQUESTED THAT THE BOARD COMMENTS ARE NOT DIRECTLY PERSONALLY AGAINST A BOARD MEMBER OR STAFF MEMBER BUT RATHER DIRECTED AT THE ISSUES. ANY BEHAVIOR INTENDED TO INTERRUPT THE ORDERLY CONDUCT OF THIS MEETING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED. OUR CIVILITY POLICY IS IN PLACE. WHEN ADDRESSING THE BOARD PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND SPEAK CLEARLY INTO THE MICROPHONE.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES. WHEN THERE IS 30 SECONDS LEVELED YOU WILL SEE A YELLOW LIGHT ON THE LECTERN AND A RED LIGHT AND CHIME WILL INDICATE WHEN TIME IS UP. WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST WE'D LIKE TO CALL UP AT THIS TIME. I'D LIKE TO CALL UP MR. FRED HE HERNS. GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR, BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF AND EVERYONE ELSE PRESENT. ORDINARILY WHEN I APPEAR BEFORE YOU THIS TIME OF YEAR, I'M SAYING, HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH. WELL, IT'S JANUARY NOW SO WE KNOW THAT NEXT MONTH, FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISSTORY MONTH BUT I WILL BE SEEING MANY OF YOU AT THE FIRST ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH RECEPTION SPONSORED BY THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER. OKAY. HOPE YOU HEARD MOST OF THAT. I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER FOR THE LAST EIGHT MONTHS AND MUCH OF THAT TIME HAS BEEN SPENT PLANNING THIS EVENT.
THIS IS THE FIRST ONE IN THE HISTORY OF OUR CITY. WE'VE HAD OTHER BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS AND OF COURSE MARTIN LUTHER KING CELEBRATIONS AROUND HIS BIRTHDAY, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THE COMMUNITY AND MANY OF YOU HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED TICKETS TO THE EVENT. IT'S GOING TO BE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, FROM 6:00 TO 9:00 P.M. AT THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER HERE IN THE CHANNELSIDE DISTRICT, 801 WATER STREET. IT'S ALMOST A SELLOUT, SO IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU AFTER THIS MEETING TO GO ONLINE AT TAMPABAYHISTORY.ORG AND YOU CAN PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS THERE. ONE OF THE VERY SPECIAL THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN THAT EVENING IS THAT WE WILL BE PRESENTING A CHECK FOR $1,000 TO A MIDDLE SCHOOL, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY DISTRICT MIDDLE SCHOOL THAT HAS THE MOST OUTSTANDING THURGOOD MARSHALL HISTORY CLUB. THIS IS A NEW CLUB THAT ALL SCHOOLS ARE ELIGIBLE TO HAVE.
THE SUPERINTENDENT AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGING OUR PRINCIPALS AND THE VARIOUS ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS TO, NUMBER ONE, IDENTIFY A SPONSOR, SOMEONE ON YOUR CAMPUS FOR THE CLUB AND THEN TO ORGANIZE THE CLUB, GET STUDENTS TO SIGN UP FOR THE CLUB. ALLISON EDGECOMB IS THE LIAISON BETWEEN THE DISTRICT AND THURGOOD MARSHALL HISTORY CLUB MEMBERS. IT'S SOMETHING NEW BUT SOMETHING I'M HOPING EVERY SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL WILL GET INVOLVED IN. FIRST OF ALL, TO LEARN WHO THURGOOD MARSHALL WAS AND HIS CONNECTION TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE GAVE THE CLUB ITS NAME. CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY BENJAMIN CRUMP WILL BE THE SPEAKER ON FEBRUARY 4 AT THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER. I DON'T THINK I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHO MR. CRUMP IS. HE'S BEEN ON NATIONAL TV FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. ACTUALLY STARTING WITH THE TRAYVON MARTIN CASE FOR WHICH HE REPRESENTED THAT FAMILY.
THE GEORGE FLOYD FAMILY. AHMAUD ARBERY AND MANY OTHER AFRICAN AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY WHO HAVE BEEN SEEKING -- THEIR FAMILIES SEEKING JUSTICE. HE IS GOING TO BE OUR GUEST SPEAKER AND A PRODUCT OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS JUST HAPPENS TO BE GEORGE S. MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL. DR. BERNARD LAFAYETTE. THERE WILL BE AN AWARD NAMED FOR DR. LAFAYETTE, AND HE'LL BE PRESENT AT THIS EVENT. AND STUDENTS, IF YOU'RE LISTENING. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO BERNARD LAFAYETTE IS, GOOGLE BERNARD LAFAYETTE, AND YOU'LL BE AMAZED THE THINGS THAT THIS MAN DID. WALKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING. HE WAS ACTUALLY IN THE LORRAINE MOTEL THE DAY THAT DR. KING WAS ASSASSINATED. HE MARCHED IN SELMA. HE WAS A FREEDOM WRITER. HE WENT TO JAIL PROTESTING FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN MISSISSIPPI, AND HE IS ONE OF OUR OWN RAISED RIGHT HERE IN TAMPA. SO AGAIN, IT'S GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL EVENING.
WE'RE GOING TO BE CELEBRATING AN EXPANSION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ARCHIVES AT THE HISTORY CENTER, SO MANY OTHER THINGS AVAILABLE. SO AGAIN, GO ON OUR WEBSITE. TAMPABAYHISTORYCENTER.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION AND WE'LL SEE YOU ON FEBRUARY 4th. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. HERNS. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE WITH OUR PUBLIC COMMENT. MADAM CHAIR, POINT OF INQUIRY. YOU READ THE GUIDELINES OUT IN THE AUDITORIUM. HAVE THOSE GUIDELINES BEEN GIVEN TO ALL THE SPEAKERS SINCE THEY'RE NOT IN THE AUDITORIUM RIGHT NOW? HAVE THEY BEEN COMMUNICATED? Nadia Combs: YES, THEY HAVE. JUST MAKING SURE. Nadia Combs: COMMUNICATIONS SENT THAT AND HAS GIVEN THAT TO ALL OF THEM. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH SPEAKERS. OUR FIRST SPEAKER PLEASE. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF. PAULA COSTANIO. HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE. YESTERDAY PAT HALL AND I EACH TALKED TO SOMEONE IN THE U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND GOT CONFORMATION. LEAs OR DISTRICTS CAN USE ESSER FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. IT'S NOT A ONE-TIME USE. IT'S ON THE DOCUMENT I GAVE YOU IN THE BINDERS BY SECRETARY CARDONA AND CAN BE SEEN ON OESE.ED.GOV UNDER C13 OF FEQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND I CAN PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH MR. FENTON WHO IS THE PERSON WE SPOKE TO. THIS IS A PERFECT SOLUTION TOWARD TAKING CARE OF OUR UNDERSERVED SCHOOLS AND POPULATIONS. I CAME HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT ANOTHER DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, FLORIDA'S. IT APPEARS THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATION COMMISSIONER CORCHORON ARE CITING IT AS NEGLIGENCE AND COVERING UP CORRUPTION. IT'S THE SAME COMPANY OUR SCHOOL BOARD WAS FORCED TO HIRE AS AN EXTERNAL OPERATOR FOR OUR UNDERPERFORMING SCHOOLS. THEY ALSO RECEIVED OVER $2 MILLION IN COVID MONEY, EVEN THOUGH OUR SCHOOLS WERE NOT SHUT DOWN. MGT IS ALSO THE ONLY VENDOR ON THE TEMPLATE FOR THE RFQ AND THE ONLY COMPANY THAT RESPONDED OUT OF 25 IN THE JEFFERSON COUNTY DEBACLE.
THAT SHOULD MAKE YOU THINK. DOES MR. CORCORAN HOLD MS. RAMSEY AND MR. TUCK TO THE SAME STANDARDS HE HOLDS OUR TEACHERS? WAS MS. RAMSEY REALLY THE ONE WHO WAS TO SELECT THE VENDOR OR WAS IT REALLY MR. CORCORAN? THAT'S A QUESTION THAT IS UNANSWERED. SOMETHING ISN'T RIGHT IN FLORIDA OR QUITE FRANKLY, COMMISSIONER CORCORAN, WHO BY THE WAY WAS NOT VOTED ON BY THE PEOPLE. LOTS OF FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE TAKING INTEREST IN FLORIDA'S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. AGENCIES WHO BELIEVE IN PRESERVING PUBLIC EDUCATION. NOT PUBLIC CORRUPTION. PLEASE, BOARD, TAKE A STAND WITH THE OTHER PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOOL BOARDS. THE TIMING RIGHT NOW IS RIGHT. LET'S NOT LOSE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND I'LL REACH OUT TO ALL OF YOU FURTHER ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU.
NEXT SPEAKER PLEASE. HELLO. MY NAME IS PATRICIA HALL. JEFFERSON COUNTY WAS THE FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT TAKEN OVER BY CHARTER OPERATORS IN 2017. THE CHOSEN COMPANY WAS SOMERSET, A DIVISION OF CORRUPT ACADEMICA. ACADEMICA IS STILL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION AFTER SEVEN YEARS. WITH THE CONTRACT OVER IN 2022, SOMERSET WANTS OUT AFTER GETTING TWO Fs, MISERABLY FAILING THE 715 CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. YOU WILL SOON LEARN MORE ABOUT ONE GROUP OF GRIFTERS, TRAY TRAVIESE AND COMMISSIONER RICHARD THE NASTY CORCORAN WHO ONCE WERE IN BUSINESS STEPPED TO SUCCESS. STEPPING ON GRIFTERS NUMBER TWO, ANDY TUCK ON THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND MELISSA RAMSEY, VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT. THE TUCK RAMSEY TEAM FORMED A NEW COMPANY STRATEGIC INITIATIVES PARTNERS ATTEMPTING TO GRAB $1.8 MILLION FOR ONE YEAR AS EXTERNAL OPERATORS FOR JEFFERSON COUNTY. MEANWHILE MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS FLOW INTO THE HANDS AND POCKETS OF THE RICH AND POWERFULLY CONNECTED CORRUPT POLITICIANS WHILE TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR TURNOVER IS NEVER ENDING AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES DISAPPEAR.
DISGRACED RALPH ARZA THROWN OUT OF THE LEANLY SLASHER FOR BAD BEHAVIOR -- LEGISLATURE FOR BAD BEHAVIOR IS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN JEFFERSON WITH FOUR RELATIVES WORKING ON THE PAYROLL DOING WHAT? ARZA IS A LOBBYIST FOR-PROFIT CHARTER MANAGED CHARTER SCHOOLS. SOMERSET WAS GIVEN $20 MILLION WHEN THEY TOOK OVER FROM THE DOE. I WANT THE AUDIT TRACK OF HOW THAT WAS SPENT. THE SCHOOLS ARE ALREADY BUILT. K-5 AND 6-12 WERE CHANGED TO K-5, 6-8 AND 9-12 TO GET THREE BIG $350,000 CHECKS FROM BETSY DEVOS FOR STARTING THREE NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS. OVER $1 MILLION FOR GRIFTERS. THEY USE SCHOOL OF HOPE MONEY FOR TEACHERS SO THEY COULD HIRE A NON-CERTIFIED PEOPLE. THE SEVENTH GRADE MATH TEACHER'S CREDENTIAL WAS CASHIER AT D DENNY'S. THE SUPERINTENDENT IS READY TO TAKE JEFFERSON COUNTY BACK AND USE PUBLIC MONEY ON CHILDRENS' NEEDS AND CERTIFIED TEACHERS. LEGISLATORS, WAKE-UP. DEIS ANTIS, FIRE CORCORAN. I TELL YOU THIS JUST SO YOU HAVE SOME BACKGROUND WHEN YOU GET THREATENED AGAIN BY CORCORAN.
THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. . MY NAME IS GEORGE BENTLEY. I WAS THE VALEDICTORIAN OF PLANT HIGH SCHOOL'S CLASS OF 2017. I CURRENTLY ATTEND PRINCETON UNIV UNIVERSITY. MY GPA WAS -- WAIT FOR IT. 7.6 ON A 4.0 SCALE. THAT IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY'S GPA SYSTEM UNLIKE THOSE OF MOST DISTRICTS IS ADDITIVE. STUDENTS GET CERTAIN AMOUNTS ADDED TO THEIR GPAs FOR EVERY HONOR, AP AND DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASS TAKEN. THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN. TOP GPAs AROUND THE COUNTY HAVE GOTTEN HIGHER AND HIGHER OVER THE YEARS AS MORE AND MORE STUDENTS COMPETE TO TAKE AS MANY AP AND DUAL ENROLLMENT CLASSES AS POSSIBLE. I KNOW MANY STUDENTS WHO COME THROUGH BEHIND ME AT PLANT AND THE COMPETITION IS INTENSE. ONE RECENT PLANT VALEDICTORIAN'S GPA AS PUBLISHED IN THE LOCAL PAPER WAS HIGHER THAN MINE BY THE EQUIVALENT OF 41 SEMESTERS OF A.P. CLASSES WHICH REQUIRED AN INCREDIBLE VOLUME OF HCC AND VIRTUAL CLASSES OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL DAY.
MOREOVER, STUDENTS ARE NOT ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE TIME TO TRULY LEARN THE MATERIAL IN THOSE CLASSES. IT'S BETTER TO TAKE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE AND DO THE MINIMUM TO JUST SKATE BY. I WOULD LIKE TO CONCLUDE BY POINTING OUT THAT AROUND THE NATION, ACADEMIC EXTRACURRICULARS SUCH AS MATH TEAM, DEBATE AND ROBOTICS ARE QUITE POPULAR. THESE HELP OUR MOST ACADEMICALLY INCLINED STUDENTS GET ADMITTED TO THE COLLEGES OF THEIR CHOICE AND PREPARE THEM TO BECOME INTELLECTUAL LEADERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, BUT IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, THE CURRENT SYSTEM NECESSITATES THIS TAKES A BACK-SEAT TO PLAYING THE GPA GAME. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU.