001Good morning. I call to order this Penelis County School Board meeting of Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025. We will begin this morning with a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Vice Chair Caprice Edmund and then the national anthem performed by our Penllis County Center for the Arts Vox Nova Chamber Choir under the direction of Matthew Clear. The colors will be presented this morning by Gibbs High School JOTC US Army Unit led by Chief Warren Officer Lauren Melendez and Master Sergeant Michael Walker. Please stand and remain standing until the colors have been removed from view. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to theublic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all the dawn what so proudly He held at
002the twilight last gleaming who stripes and bright stars through the perilous fights we were so the bombs bursting. in gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say that star spangled yet of the free and the Oh, four. Please be seated. Good heavens, that was a beautiful rendition. Mr. Clear, would you please introduce the second piece, but also as I understand it, your choir had the opportunity to travel to Europe over spring break. We would love to hear a little bit about that opportunity if you would share with us. We did. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to sing with you today and to to honor all the things that are going on here at the district and at our school. we did have the opportunity just a month ago
003to travel to Spain and Portugal. And we got to spend a week overseas singing for different people and in different cathedrals and learning about the culture of the places that we visited. And so it really was a cultural exchange where we got to share our music with the folks in those countries, but also they shared their culture, their food, their architecture with us. And it's a thing that we'll never forget, a lifetime experience and certainly a hallmark moment for our program. So thank you to the board for approving that trip over a year ago. And thanks to everyone here at district office who supported us before and during our trip as well. Thank you very much. as we recover from our jet lag, we did have time to present a new piece for you all
004today. It's called Joshua Fit the Battle, arranged by Moses Hogan. Joshua the battle the battle of Jero. Joshua fit the battle. The battle of Jero. Joshua. The battle. The battle. The battle. The battle. Joshua. The battle. Joshua. The battle. Joshua. The battle. The battle of Jero. Joshua. The battle. The battle. Joshua. The battle. Joshua. The battle. The battle the battle the battle of Jero the battle the battle of Jero the battle of the battle The battle the battle of Jero the battle the battle of Jero. Talk about the battle of Jero. The battle of Joshua. The battle. The battle. The battle of Joshua. The battle. The battle. Joshua. The battle. The battle of Jero. Joshua the battle the battle of Jero right up to the walls of Jero Jero and the walls come tumbling down
005Lord Do you know that the battle of Jes The battle of jail. Oh Lord, you know that the battle of jail Oh, and that is why it is the Penllis County Center for the Arts right there. That was just absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much. I know you're proud, Principal Brown. We are, too. Thank you. The next item on our agenda today is a video celebrating our emerging teachers of the year. Let's take a look. Miss Hernandez has been selected as the Panelis County Elementary Emerging Teacher of the Year. Yay. Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of you. I'm just so happy to be able to represent the district in this way. I grew up in Penllis County School, so this is just a full circle moment. It's wonderful. This is all because
006of you guys. Like, I literally could not be the best teacher without you guys. So, thank you all so much because you are just amazing. This is where I belong. Anytime I'm outside of the classroom, I just don't feel the same. When I'm inside my classroom, I feel the most safe, the most expressive, to be myself. So, yeah, I just love the classroom. We have a little surprise. Cool. You are Penelis County's emerging teacher of the year. No, no, no, no. That's so cool. I love it. Thank you. Mom's here. Hi, Mommy. I was definitely a little bit surprised. I didn't expect to get this award, but it's it's super like it's a big honor. I'm really like I'm just shocked. I'm very shocked. I had amazing teachers coming up through Penllis County Schools and
007I've always really loved to learn and so I was like, I want to encourage students to feel that kind of emotion and excitement when it comes to learning as well. Teaching is everything. It opens doors. Teaching does open doors, especially when it's done as well as it is by the many teachers we have here in Penelis County Schools. Congratulations to our emerging teachers of the year. Introduction of professional and community organizational representatives. Isabelle Mascarinus, our public information officer. Good morning, Madame Chair, members of the board, Mr. Hendrik, and staff. It is my pleasure to introduce the following representatives of community and professional organizations. Representing the North Panelis League of Women Voters, Dr. Marty Shapiro and Jennifer Sado from the Panelis Arts for a Complete Education Coalition, Katrina Young. Today we have a presentation from the
008Student Rights and Responsibility Committee. Please welcome Cristiana Green and Jordan Bostik from Gibbs High School and their principal Barry Brown. Good morning. Thank you for being here. Hi. Good morning. Good morning, Madame Chair, members of the board, Mr. Hend Mr. Hendendrick, and staff. It is our pleasure to present the student rights and responsibilities committee report for Jonathan C. Gibbs High School. My name is Cristiana Green. I'm a senior in the Beta program. For these last three and a half years, Beta has played a major role in my growth, opening doors to opportunity opportunities that I never thought was possible. As an active part of the jihad community, I've seen our school grow brighter and more b vibrant each year. Hello, excuse me. my name is Jordan Bostik. I am an 18-year-old senior in the PCCA
009program as an instrumental major. I play drums, piano, trumpet, and trombone. And right now, I'm learning guitar and bass as well. And I also produce music and write songs. At Gibbs, I served as drum major, brass captain, and trumpet section leader in our marching band. And outside of school, I played with the Ruth Decker Hall Jazz Band. We just had our last concert last night. and I was recently accepted into Berkeley College of Music where I will be majoring in drum performance and whatever else I could play. thank you. Thank you so much. so I'm passionate about using music to help others, to inspire people going through tough times, and to motivate them to follow their journeys. At Gibbs High School, our vision is to prepare 100% of our scholars for postsecary readiness and to
010become contributing members of our society. Our mission is to create collaborative environment where scholars can display respect, excellence, and pride. Now, let's discuss another standout program at Gibbs, the Beta program. Beta stands for business entrepreneurial and technology academy. and it's all about preparing students for real world careers through hands-on experience and future readiness skills. This program focus heavily on building high demanded technology and business skills. Students in the beta program can choose from several exciting pathways including business and entrepreneur, digital video production, computer science, game and stimulation design. Each pathway gives students practical tools and knowledge that can lead directly to highpaying and high growth careers. In addition to the beta program, we have our 3D program which is all about learning how to launch and manage your own business. Just over a month ago,
011the junior 3D students had an event called market day. Market day is where they showcase their startup ideas. They had to create their own business from the ground up, brand, market, and present them to real people. It was an incredible experience. One of the biggest lessons students learned from these from this event was that success does not come from handouts or shortcuts. You can't bribe your way to the top. You must put in the work, stay focused, and believe in your ideas. One standout group from Market Day was the Sun-Kissed Ladies or SKO, a team of exceptional young ladies who won the 3D Innovation Showcase. This was Gibb's first time entering this competition and the Sun-Kissed Ladies won. Their business focuses on skin care products specifically designed for African-American women. They're currently developing their product
012line and expanding them to custom scents. The Beta and 3DE programs are all about passion, creativity, and drive. These programs prepare students not just for graduation, but for leadership, innovation, and making a difference in the world. And this slide right here highlights another amazing program that Gibbs High School offers. It is the Panellis County Center for the Arts, also known as PCCA. PCCA is one of the most prestigious art programs in the state of Florida. It's a place where talent is nurtured, creativity is celebrated, and students are given the space and support to thrive in their arts. Our theater program in particular has built a representation as one of the most exceptional in the county. Some even say it's the best they've ever seen. Students from our theater troop troop sorry have gone on to
013perform on Broadway as many have been accepted into worldrenown colleges and conservatories including Berkeley College of Music and NYU to School of Florida. Oh, I'm sorry for the other artists. My bad. but it's not just about performance. PCCA also offers pathways in music, dance, visual art, and design. Whether painting in the studio, choreog choreographing a new piece, or composing original music, the talent here is unreal. And PCCA is even more special because it blends high level artistic training with a strong academic foundation. Students are challenged to grow as artists and individuals, preparing them for college, careers, and beyond. It's not just a program. is a family, a launchpad, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on our campus. One of the things that gets students excited about being a part of the Gibbs High School community is our
014clubs and activities. Whether it's club, it's a club hosting something fun in the courtyard or our sports teams bringing the hype to game days, there's always something going on that makes the school feel more alive. One of the most unique and powerful clubs that we have is PMAC, the principal's multicultural advisory committee. We truly believe there is no school that has a club, a club quite like ours. PMAC's mission is to raise awareness and celebrate the many cultures that make up our school community. Each year, they bring fresh, creative ideas that make the school feel more connected and vibrant. PMAC hosts events almost every week. One that really stood out was during Women's History Month when students dressed up as powerful women from history and held a fashion show to honor their achievements. It was
015inspiring, it was educational, and it was full of energy. PAMAC is a club that truly brings our school to life through culture, creativity, and the community. Another group that pray that plays a huge role in our school spirit is our student government. One of the most event one of the events that had the school buzzing was our PIA teacher event which raised awareness and raised money to support our 2024 2025 prom. And this was the most exciting event that we've had that our student government has hosted. It was fun for the students and I believe that it was fun for our teachers too. Principal Barry Brown did get pied this year. He also got pied last year when we hosted the event. So, I would say that was truly exceptional and wonderful and it brought
016our school together as one. And finally, we have the lighthouse team which is our studentled leadership class which I am proud to say I'm proud of as well. this group helps make Gills a student centered school by taking on responsibilities usually left to adults. we plan and run PBIS reward events, celebrate academic success and organize fun activities that keep students motivated involved and involved like the talent show that we have recently planned and we will start by the end of this by the end of this month. And because of the lighthouse, more students are participating, connecting, and showing school pride. They raise the energy on our campus and remind everyone that this is our school and we all have a role in making it great. Gibbs is also home to some of the most hardworking
017and talented student athletes around. Our boys basketball team has made it to the state tournament three years in a row. And in the 2023 2024 season, they brought home the state championship. This year, they return to the state finals, showing once again what it means to play with heart and determination. Our athletes train all year round with dedicated coaches to support their growth on and off the court. And these results speak for themselves. Year after year, colleges notice our talent. Many of our athletes have committed to top collegiate programs, including D1 colleges. And beyond sports, our marching band and track and field teams are just as impressive. Our band has earned superior ratings at events like the Silver Lake Classic and Palm Harbors MPA competition. We even host the legendary Battle of the Bands at
018Gives where the energy is unmatched. Whether it's on the court, on the track, or on the stage, Gibbs students are learning life skills like discipline, leadership, and time management, and using their talents to reach the next level. At Gibbs High School, we don't just play the game, we set the standard. Thank you for allowing us to share what makes Gibbs High School so special. We are proud to be gladiators and even more excited about what's ahead. Thank you. Thank you so much for that presentation and congratulations on your successes. I hope you enjoy the Berkeley School of Music. That is really truly exceptional. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Thank you for being here. Item number two, amendments to the agenda. Mr. Hendrickk, are there any amendments to the agenda? Madam Chair, there are no amendments today.
019Thank you, board members. Seeing none, may I have a motion and a second to adopt the agenda? Second. Motion from Mrs. Kaine and a second from Mrs. Long. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? Passes seven to zero. Special order agenda item four today. Item 4.1 presentation of the proclamation celebrating the work of Penllis County Schools teachers during teacher appreciation week May 5th through 9th 2025. May I have a motion and a second to approve this item? Second. A motion from Mrs. Kaine and a second from Miss Edmund. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce this item? My pleasure, Madam Chair. We're so excited as we get towards the start of May to honor our teachers. We know that there's no greater impact on student achievement than teachers in the classroom. Not the folks in
020this room, not principles, not anyone except teachers in terms of student achievement. And we have some exceptional teachers as you mentioned earlier, Mrs. Hine. And so to tell us a little bit more about teacher appreciation week and to introduce the proclamation is our chief of human resources, Mr. Mike Vigu. Mr. Thank you, sir. Good morning, Madam Chair, school board members, Superintendent Hendrickk, and staff. As we approach the conclusion of another successful school year, it remains important to recognize and support all of our employees. The first full week of May is nationally recognized as a time to do so for our teachers. Panelis County school stakeholders appreciate our teachers who help lead the work of educating our children. Their individual and collective efforts create and enhance opportunities for all students to reach their highest potential. Panelis
021County Schools proudly request adoption of the proclamation designating the week of May 5th through 9th, 2025 as Panelis County Schools Teacher Appreciation Week and May 6th, 2025 as Penelis County Schools Teacher Appreciation Day. Thank you. Miss Edna, would you please read the proclamation? Teacher appreciation week. Whereas teachers open children's minds to the magic of ideas, knowledge, and dreams. And whereas teachers keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship. And whereas teachers fill many roles as listeners, explorers, role models, motivators, and mentors. And whereas great teachers make great public schools. And whereas teachers continue to influence us long after our school days are only memories. Now therefore, the school board of Penllis County does hereby proclaim the week of May 5th through 9th, 2025 as teacher appreciation week and Tuesday, May 6, 2025
022as Penllis County Schools teacher appreciation day. We urge that all observe this week by taking the time to recognize and acknowledge the impact that teachers have had on our lives. signed this 22nd day of April, 2025. Thank you. Any discussion? I would just like to acknowledge all of the parents and PTA members out there as the treasurer of the PTSA at John Hopkins Middle School. I know that we are working really hard on our teacher appreciation week next week, getting the donations and the things made and all those kinds of things. But even a thank you card or email to your teachers makes a big difference. So this is the time, this is a great time of year to make sure you reach out and acknowledge your children's teachers and simply say thank you for
023the amazing work that they do. Thank you, Mr. Vigu. we'll take we have a motion in a second to approve item 4.1. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Passes seven to zero. Item five, public comments on agenda items. Mrs. Hal, do we have any speakers? Yes, Madam Chair, there's one speaker for agenda items. Thank you. Please go ahead. The speaker is Mark Clutouth. He is speaking to items 7.3, 7.11 and 7.12. Mark Lutho Largo 7.12 more of the same. I thought that building across the street was bad, but since the last time now I see dark brown bricks, dark brown bricks. So, here's this big article about sustainability. And what do they show? all the buildings white. That's the only color you have when you're building sustainably. Not brown, gray, black, any
024color that's going to be absorbing the solar radiation creating a heat sink. Boy, are you people stupid. You know, I thought that clear Clearwater High School building was stupid, but you just keep topping yourself. And here's HVAC. Yeah. 5.23 $3 million. Yeah. So, another stupid building with the HVAC pumping the carbon. and so what do you think you're doing? You're going to send the children's into the space Florida. Oh, yeah. So, you know that Musk, what does he say about his rockets exploding. That's unplanned premature disassembly. Yeah. So these children are going to join that crowd and those rockets, what do they do? They burn the atmosphere. Burn the atmosphere, belching the carbon. The only good thing you can do with them is something to help predict the environment, the climate, the weather. Madam Chair,
025there are no other speakers. Thank you. Item number six, unfinished business. We don't have any unfinished business today. Item seven, our consent agenda. May I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? Motion from Miss Blackburg and a second from Mrs. Meyer. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Passes seven to zero. On our non-consent agenda item today, item 8.1, request approval of the tentative 2025 2026 referendum memorandum of understanding agreements with all bargaining units PCTA, PESPA, SEIU, and FOP. May I have a motion and a second to approve this item? Second. A motion by Miss Edmond and a second by Mrs. Peters. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce this item? Thank you, Madam Chair. We're excited to bring forward today the agreements with all of our bargaining
026units to put into effect the impact of the referendum that the board supported, that the voters supported, and that we've had multiple workshops and policy changes to get to this point where we could go out and say now, how do we distribute the money for all of our employees? And so, I'm very pleased to say that our employee groups worked hard on this and got the votes necessary. In fact, overwhelming votes. But before I take too much more of the information, I'll pass it back to Mr. Vigu, our chief of human resources. Mr. Vigu, good morning again. We are requesting approval of our 2526 referendum memoranding memorandum of understanding agreements with each of our four bargaining units. We would like to thank the union representatives for recently completing the voting ratification process. 99.6% of voting
027SEIU, 99.8% 8% of voting PCTA and 100% of voting PESPA and FOP approve theou agreeing to the distribution of the referendum retention income. For the first time, full-time regular support staff will receive approximately $2,910 annually based on the number of hours worked. Full-time teachers will receive a minimum of $11,81 annually, which is an increase of $4,114 from the previous amount. If approved, our human resources team will begin working alongside our payroll department to ensure employees will begin receiving their increases starting in July of 2025. Thank you, Mr. Vigu and Mr. Hendrik. Board members, is there any discussion? I would like to thank the bargaining team, the leadership here at Penelis County Schools, as well as the leadership of all of our bargaining units who who lead our employees in getting coming coming together, discussing the
028opportunities. I know you discussed a variety of opportunities with these funds and doing it with haste so that we can implement these increases as approved by the voters as of July 1 for the new school year. Thank you for doing that. It would be amazing if we could continue to do this in the years into the future and not go into the fall with negotiations. So, thank you. With that, we have a motion and a second to approve item 8.1. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? Passes seven to zero. New business 9.1 items introduced by the superintendent. Mr. Hendrickk. Thank you, Madam Chair. at our board workshop last week. I know we discussed the legislative update in detail and I know the board is continuing to monitor what's happening in Tallahassee. this looks
029like the last week for any bills to be addressed by the different chambers and then into the budget season. So, we'll continue to monitor that and I appreciate your engagement with our delegation as we get towards the finish line. One of the items that was approved just a moment ago on our consent agenda were the agreement with Ruth Eckert Hall and I want to thank our partners there and with the city of Clearwater for Bayare Sound where we will conduct most of our graduations and I thank them for their continued support and allowing us the space for several days at the end of May. We're about five weeks away from our senior graduation. So for our seniors, finish strong academically, socially, and otherwise. And we look forward to seeing you at graduation soon. just last
030week, Penelis County Schools honored three of our mentor teachers as mentors of the year. We launched a new recognition program this year to highlight the efforts to empower our current teachers to empower the next generation of teachers. And in that program, we recognized the following three teachers as the mentor teachers of the year. Shelley Levitzky from Melrose Elementary School, Patricia Weineer for John Hopkins Middle School, and Ephesa Blasting Gain from Richard El Sanders ESSE Center. They were celebrated by surprise visits from their principal, area leaders, and their mentees who they've been supporting all year long. Recently, one of our PCS teachers earned recognition as the athletic trainer of the year by the state athletic trainers association of Florida. Dr. Dr. Julie Burton, who teaches AVID at Dundeden High School, is also the school's athletic trainer,
031and she was selected for her professionalism, dedication, and actions to advance athletic training. We thank her and all of our athletic trainers for the work they do supporting our student athletes each and every day. Last weekend at USF St. Petersburg, we celebrated 300 students who participated in the Road to Recognition. The event celebrates seventh graders who take the SAT and this year 319 students attended the event where they learned from USF students about collegegoing and they heard from high schools about the best transition to high school. They talked to principles, explored resources and also gained an understanding of their SAT scores. Congratulations to the students for challenging themsel with taking the SAT in seventh grade. Last week, we also celebrated students from Alisa Nelson Elementary School's fourth and fifth graders who competed in the Odyssey
032of the Mind State competition, and the fifth grade team won the state championship and will move on to the world finals at Michigan State University later in May. Congratulations to both teams. This is now the third year in a row that the school has qualified for the world competition. And speaking of celebrations, last week several board members joined us for the honors breakfast at USF St. Petersburg again where we celebrated 66 high achieving seniors who scored amongst the top 2% nationwide in the national merit scholarship competition. We had semi- finalists, finalists, Hispanic scholars, African-American scholars, and the students shared with us where they plan to go to school and what they want to major in. And we heard schools and universities across the state of Florida. We heard Carnegie Melon, the Savannah College of Art
033and Design, and five Ivy League schools, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, and Brown. All places where our graduates are attending school next year. Congratulations to these high achieving students and the educators that they selected to bring to the breakfast as someone who helped inspire them to greatness. You know, we do so many great things in our school district and we get used to some of those. was one of those was mentioned just a minute ago that from the Gibbs High School students are champions in the 3D market competition. they didn't mention that they won the regional competition that was held that was in Hillsboro County with students from Hillsboro County and Pulk County schools as well as our own. Congratulations to them. And also, we've been doing this day now for a number of years, and
034I know the board members have attended this in the past, but the annual disaster day at Penelis Park High School, the first responders. This year, the students and first responder and criminal justice magnet programs worked on a mock disaster involving a fictional crane collapsing on a school building. We know that cranes could never collapse on buildings here in Florida, right? but the students portrayed what would it be like to be a patient, a first responder, lead the crisis, and everything in between. And I want to thank all of our local law enforcement and first responders for assisting with that. upcoming this Thursday night, I'm excited to launch a new visual arts recognition at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. It's called the Superintendent's High School Exhibition of Excellence Awards. And it is works
035of art 2D and 3D from students who are in advanced placement and honors level visual arts courses across the county. and we'll be kicking off the exhibition and announcing some awards recipients, including the superintendence award, which I have to say was very difficult to do with some amazing visual artists in our district. And so, congratulations to all the students who participated. And a reminder to families, we're still looking for your feedback on next year's transportation needs. Please complete the writership feedback that our transportation has put out. It closes on April 25th. And finally, the superintendent standout this meeting is a teacher. as we get closer to teacher appreciation week from Skyrest Elementary School. Miss Suzanne Rickman, who's been an worked for Penel County Schools for 21 years. And she was noted by a colleague by
036saying, "Mrs. Rickman's high expectations and commitment to her students lead to great student achievement. But even more than that, the relationship she establishes has a lifelong impact on students. She steps in and helps whenever needed and does it with a smile on her face. her hard work and flexibility are greatly appreciated. Thank you to Mrs. Rickman and all of our teachers and employees for the work they do each and every day. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Hendrick. 9.2 items introduced by the school board attorney. Madam Chair, I have number report today. Thank you. Thank you. Items introduced by the board. Board members. Miss Peters. Oh, I don't have my I don't know if that button even works anymore. Thank you. I spent the last in the last about week and a half I've
037I've gone back out visiting schools which is always brings us back to what we're doing here. And I know many of us have had conversations about talking about the wonderful things that go on. We talk about the serious things. We talk about a lot of administrative things. We vote on policies and procedures. Then the value of seeing it going on in you know in real life and real time and the different things that are going on and the different challenges that are happening in our district. I had the honor of going to m I went first Madiraa fundamental to see the progress of that school. We know it was impacted by hurricane Helen greatly. but Mr. took me we started at the middle school and went all the way down to kindergarten. He said he
038loves ending at the kindergarten classrooms because that just brightens his day when he's having a rough day. That's where Mr. likes to to just finish a nice challenging day. But always great to talk to him and his staff. Wonderful wonderful staff at his school of course New Heights Elementary School. Mr. Bing. He was fantastic and we got to talk to a lot of u people specifically in his ESSE unit at his school seeing the work that they were doing. Happened to go into the classroom when they were doing the UFly lesson for the day. We talked about that at our workshop. I went to I got to see Miss Yakabowski at High Point Elementary School and got to see her kindergarten UFly lesson. I actually got to sit down and participate with the students. they
039weren't sure about that at first, but it was amazing to see that work in progress and u I actually had to really think about what I was doing and watching the kid the little kindergarten kids in their phonics lesson. It was just so inspiring and very fun and they were accepting of me by the end of of the class. so I was appreciative of that. but then I got to go to Clearwater High School hosted their 13th or is it 15th? Sorry, I don't have my glasses on. The 15th annual CIC international trade show. The this is Mr. Mansour hosts this trade show every single year. And the first year it was only seven booths and this year was 56 booths. It was huge. And they put this on like a real trade show. they
040create a management company that manages the trade show and then all the students and faculty and there were actually teachers from throughout the district going through and looking at all the different booths and how the students put put this on and so they actually present they have to do an elevator speech. They have to they have to go in set up their booth do an elevator speech presentation they have to they had to create a product. It was really really incredible. but they had to look at the real world impacts that we in the district are experiencing with just the constant the workforce and increase and decrease in taxes and the tariffs and all those things. And so it was really really interesting to see their view of the world through doing this. But I
041asked Mr. Mansour, oh my gosh, the passion this man has for entrepreneurial entrepreneurialship. It was just it was ve very inspiring. So, I just really value the fact that we can go out and see what what the things that we are doing at our workshops and here at this dis and how they impact the real students and teachers and staff in our district and it's just brings us back to where we are. So, lots of amazing things. I encourage people to go out and of course volunteer and mentor students as well. Also, and of course, thank you to our teachers in this upcoming teacher appreciation. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Peters. And the screen is working. Little operator error earlier, so by all means, press away. Mrs. Long. Yes. I just want to give a
042shout out to our safety group. last week after the FSU shooting, there were several young students, freshman's and sophomores who got who, you know, when they were asked about the situation. They all said the one thing that kept them safe and aware of what's going on was that they remembered all of the practices that we have to do in a school district with the active shooter drills. And I know that's a it was it's been a tough process because you don't want to go overboard and scare them. But last week showed why it is so important. And there was one young man, I'm not sure, I think he was from Hillsboro and he said, "If I hadn't had those drills in high school, I wouldn't have known what to do today." That says a lot
043about our Florida plan of how to keep children safe and young adults because it's, you know, it's now anywhere this could happen. But it shows that our young people are listening and they're paying attention and even though they don't like the drills, it is helping them. So, let's continue doing a great job because it saves lives. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Long. Other board members. I have a few things I'd like to share today. one I want to share with you all just in the honor of Pope Francis's passing recently. I read an incredible book by him in the last couple of years. It's called Let Us Dream. And I'd like to recommend it to you. and as I read my books, I'm always using a pencil and underlining and highlighting and marking things up.
044And if I read everything to you that I underline in that book, we'd be here all day because it was full of inspirational ideas as well as great grounding. But I would like to read two quotes from that book to you. One of them is we need to proclaim that being kind, having faith and working for the common good are great life goals that need courage and vigor while glib superficiality and the mockery of ethics have done us no good. A second quote from the book is the good of each individual determines the good of all and vice versa. The good of all determines the good of each individual. I believe that Pope Francis's vision of humanity, of interconnectedness, was not just a moral stance, but it was a way of life that he embodied
045seeking peace, embracing the marginalized, and uplift uplifting the dignity of every human being. And these are ideals that span across faiths. may his may his memory be a blessing to us all. as as Mr. Hendrickk mentioned, this is a time of celebrations. Miss Edmond and I were at the honors breakfast last week. It was very in inspirational. I did count. We had 27 National Merit Scholar finalists, which is which is really extraordinary. I also, you know, had the schools, but I do want to mention a few of their majors that they mentioned. biotech, premed, linguistics, cyber security, architecture, neuroscience, aerospace engineering, sports medicine, and those are just a few of them. it's amazing to be around our young people. They're they're they're just remarkable and inspiring, and these particular students really personify the excellence that
046I believe we're going for here in Penllis County Schools. and it was also great to be with teachers and leaders of the highest caliber who were there. So, congratulations to everyone. I did want to mention another celebration that's coming up this coming week. We will be doing a ribbon cutting of the Betty Ray Ivy Discovery Center. it's on this coming Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Just to mention to the public, the Betty Ray Ivy Discovery Center provides two primary services. Both are in early childhood. the first is it is our child care center for full-time employees for their children ages 1 to three. we're the first school district in the state of Florida to provide this kind of program for employees and it's it's housed out of here. It's amazing. and then the other thing that
047Betty Ray Ivy Discovery Center does is play-based evaluations and service connections for all students across the district ages 3 to five. They do pre prek assessment, early steps, head start and other kinds of programs like that. So it is definitely our early childhood education center. I want to share a little bit about Betty Ray Ivy and we'll celebrate her more on Tuesday morning. She was a 31-year dedicated educator for the children in Penelis County. Began her career as a first grade teacher at Perkins Elementary School. She became an elementary school principal and then capped her career serving 11 years as an area superintendent. But in the 1990s, so nearly 30 years ago, she played a pivotal role in shaping our educational landscape for thousands of kindergarten students. She actually authored curriculum that became the foundation
048for our early childhood education. So, we're very proud to name this Discovery Center after Mrs. Ivy and look forward to celebrating her next Tuesday, May 9th at 9:00 a.m. You're welcome to join us. I did also want to mention as Mr. Hendrick me mentioned it is we're coming towards the end of the legislative season up in Tallahassee and one of the things they're going to be moving into discussions about towards the ends of this week is the state budget towards the ends of week and then also all throughout next week. So if we're going to communicate with them now is a time to communicate with them. you know, we've heard from I've heard from a lot of families in the area about the potential cut, the 50% cut to our advanced academic programs like AP,
049IB, ACE programs, but also to our career technical programs. Both of those sides are facing a 50% funding cut. What that means to us in terms of dollars here at Penelis County Schools is about a $10 million cut for those advanced programs and career technical programs. Now, that's that's $10 million and that's a lot of money, but and then we've also heard about the the FTE, the full-time equivalent, the per student funding, how that what we're looking at right now is maybe a one to 1.9% increase over last year's funding. So if you think about a 1% increase or even 1.9% increase is, you know, that's well be well below the current rate of inflation. And of course, our school district faces and faces inflationary pressures just like you do in your home, right? We
050buy groceries. We served 8 and a half million lunches last year. 8 and a half million. That's a lot of groceries plus of course the utilities and everything else. So that's a much bigger number. But what I want to share with you that I don't hear talked about much, what I think is the elephant in the room really is the pressure that our legislature is facing right now. The financial pressure that they're facing. And what that is the legislative budget commission. And you can look this up. I don't run these numbers. The legislative budget commission does. They have reported in their three-year financial outlook that the state of Florida is facing a deficit. So this coming year, year one is okay, but the next year in year two, we're facing a $2.8 billion deficit. And
051then in year three, a $6.9 billion deficit. That if you're in the legislature, if you're up there, that is a big deal. And that puts a lot of pressure on you as far as the state budget goes. what else though to note about that legislative budget commission report is that it's very clear that the top two drivers of facing this deficit are two things. one of them is Medicaid and the other is the Florida Education Finance Program or FEFP as they call it or education funding. and it has, you know, and it has a call out here that talks about the growth of 138,171 full-time equivalent students. and that these are primarily Florida Empowerment Scholarship students over this three-year period. And what the report goes on to say, if you read the multiple pages of
052it, is that we are not experiencing a large influx of new students in the state of Florida. We're not. what it is the fact that we removed the income limit for the empowerment scholarship which we've all mostly known as lowincome school vouchers. Right? So back in 2001 when the state of Florida first started funding school vouchers for lowincome students that was defined as 185% of the federal poverty level is what they defined as low income. Now over the years that rate was that percentage was raised and raised until it got to 400% of the federal poverty level and as actually as of 2021 before we even passed the universal vouchers part more than half of Flidians qualified for this lowincome voucher. So more than half of people qualified for something that was originally supposed to
053be for low for low-income students. and then in 2023, you might know, is when the state passed our universal vouchers and now there's zero income limit on getting a voucher to school and you can already be in private school. So people who are already attending, affording, paying for their private school can now apply for equivalent funding to what public school students get and then it gets sent to their to their school. And so that is why Florida, it's one of the driving reasons Florida is facing a deficit in years two and year three. So that puts a lot of pressure on the legislature around the budget and I can understand that. So, back to Penllis, there's that potential $10 million loss when it comes to advanced academics and career technical programs, but understand if you
054look at our budget documents which were presented in last last week's workshop, anybody can pull them up online. What you will see is that five years ago in 2020 2021, Penllis County had just under 2400 scholarship students for the McKay and Gardener scholarships. And it cost Penllis County under $20 million. We'll say right about $20 million. But now in 2526, again, now that it's open to all income and all schools, we will have almost 17,000 students at $160 million. So this increase to $160 million in the empowerment scholarship funding, but a potential decrease of $10 million when it comes to these programs. So again, I see this as a bit of an elephant in the room that we're not talking about. And just to note, I want to be really clear that we don't students
055are not leaving public schools for private schools. We have the numbers. We actually have a net gain of almost 4,000 students from private to public over the last nine years and you know again 27 national merit scholarship finalists you know etc. So, it isn't that. It's just that we removed the income. We removed the income level and it also it's no longer about lowincome students out of a struggling public school, right? It's it's it's a very it's a very different thing now. So, I just want to suggest that, you know, I want people to be a aware of this and I would suggest if you want to contact your legislators about this. This is the time for certain as they're entering the final pieces of the budget season. and I would just ask them, you
056know, don't trim at the corners. Don't don't trim at the corners. Certainly not at the corners of excellence in career technical programs, but deal with deal with the element. you know you know re reimplement an income cap for the sake of our state budget because don't forget our state budget doesn't just serve education it serves everything right it serves it serves transportation the justice system everything so if we're facing a deficit that is everything that is going to be affected not just education I'm I'm sorry I know I'm speaking a lot but I also just want people to be aware that the news came out just this past weekend that the state of Texas passed its educational voucher program. It's been trying for a couple of years to catch up with Florida and go with
057universal vouchers. but I think they've learned from Florida and they've learned from from the state of Arizona, both states which are facing significant deficits due to the universal voucher idea. and what what they were able to do is maintain the idea of school choice but also have some financial responsibility. So what they did was say for anybody over 500% of the federal poverty level, you get 20% of that per student funding. You don't get the whole thing, you get 20% because we know that you can afford the rest of the piece to go to private school. And then they also capped the homeschool scholarship piece. So there are ways there are ways that the state of Florida, you know, I think we might have just rushed into it and at this point there are some
058questions to ask. So, if you're watching this schoolboard meeting, if you're paying attention to this at all, then you must care about education and you must care about excellence for every child when it comes to education. And so, the two main people leading the budget discussions at this point, they're actually local to us. One is in Tampa, his name is Representative Lawrence Mccclure. and then the other is here in Penllis, Senator Ed Hooper. and so again, Representative Lawrence Mccclure in Tampa and Senator Ed Hooper here, but also any of your local delegation folks. if if you just want to reach out to them and encourage them to deal with the elephant in the room, talk about re re-implementing an income cap to get this piece under under control when it comes to the Florida state
059budget so that we can continue to fund education for excellence and at a bare minimum fund it to inflation. if anybody has any questions about this, I have entirely too much information on my hands and I would be very glad to share it with you. You can reach me at hine lh h i neel at pcsb.org. My mobile number is 727871-9642. Education is my favorite topic and ensuring we achieve excellence in education is that topic. So, I' I'd be glad to talk with you. I think it's important. any other comments? Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. item 9.4, review of board requests. Madam Chair, I did not note any board requests. Thank you. With that, I'll adjourn today's meeting and move to public participation. We will now move to public comment on the general business of
060the district. Please note that the views and comments of the public speakers are their own and not endorsed nor sponsored by the school board or district. We cannot ensure the accuracy of statements made but will review concerns that are raised and take appropriate action which may include clarifications or the referral of speakers to the proper staff members for assistance. The board is committed to a standard of civility and decorum and conducting our meetings. This includes refraining from clapping or making audible noises during or after a speaker's comments. We appreciate you assisting us in maintaining a civil and constructive environment. Additionally, please note that although board members or superintendent Hendrickk may leave Adis briefly, there are speakers in the back room and we will continue to be able to hear your comments. Thank you. Mrs. H.
061Thank you, Madam Chair, board members and Mr. Hendrick. There are four speakers this morning. The first two are Tracy Craig and Chantala Davis. Good morning. My name is Tracy Craig and I'm a parent of three students in Penllis County Schools. I've been a parent in Penelis County Schools for 10 years. I still have eight more to go. I am a senior executive at Bank of America, which has a company that has a long-standing commitment to supporting the communities that we serve. And in my 25-y year tenure, they have a matching gift program that matches dollar for dollar every employee, not only active employee, but retired employee for all their nonprofit personal donations. I have spent the past 10 years taking advantage of that program to benefit the schools that my children attend. And not only
062do they match donations, but if they also have grant programs where for volunteers that donate or volunteer a certain amount of hours, they provide grant money directly to the school for that. over the past year or so, they have been encouraging their nonprofits to move to accept a payments because they want to move away from cutting checks. given that it's costly to cut checks, trillions of dollars are moved by a payments every year. unless the school system is still cutting checks to their employees for their paycheck, you're probably doing direct deposit. I was informed in beginning January of this year, Bank of America Foundation said, "We are no longer going to cut paper checks." I was informed by the bookkeepers at both of my children's school that it is district policy to not accept a
063payments for even for donations. in the first quarter of this year, I donated $300 to programs for my kids school for sports programs to provide uniforms, equipment, banquetss, awards, and that's $300 that's not going to get matched. I'm one of 3,700 employees in the Tampa Bay market. I don't know how many are in Penllis or how many have children in Penllis County schools but I would imagine I am not the only Bank of America employee that has children in Penel Penelis County schools who takes advantage of this benefit. I doubt Bank of America is the first corporation we and if we are, we probably will not be the last that will move their matching gift programs to a payment requirements. And you know, given the benefit that this money goes directly to the schools to
064benefit the students, to benefit the teachers, and I do have kids at Madiraa Beach whose teachers lost everything. It just I really want the district to reconsider letting the schools accept a donations from corporations. I understand if you don't want to you know provide account information to get a for anybody but you know or have an approved list of corporations that have secure portals who it's a bank. We pritori prioritize the safeguarding our client information and I I don't want to stop I don't want to have money left at the table. Thank you. Shantala Davis. She will be followed by Mark Cluo. Good morning, chairpersons, members, superintendent. and I thank you in advance for your time. My name is Shantela Davis. I'm a lifelong resident and business owner in Panales County. and I come to
065you today as humble as I can, but also feeling frustrated and disappointed in the administration at Dan Highlands Middle School. I have so many things to say with so little time. and with that being said, there's also other family members here that represent their family that come with complaints about their children as well. And so, as you can see, it's not just one story to tell. There are chapters and chapters of a novel of nightmares through Dunen Middle School. Our children have been wronged and thrown aside by the school. We have good children who start off as just that, good children. And by the end of the year, their lives are profoundly affected in such a negative way. Administration does not give due respect to the parents or children when conflicts arise at school. A
066few examples that they allow bullying to take place and then when our children finally get tired and fight back, they're the ones that's punished. When parents are called and they make complaints, nothing is done. They don't follow up. They don't get back to us unless we force them to. They have children distor have evidence on their phones to show evidence of children bullying them that were told to be erased by your assistant principal. The list can go on and on. Home is the first place it's supposed to feel the safest for a child and school should be the second. But our children are made to attend school where they expect them to get their education and stay being happy, productive students. Even though they have to come to a hostile environment 5 days a week
067for over six hours a day and be bullied as well as ignored and unprotected by the adults whose number one job to do is just that, protect them. and the audacity that not only do they get ignored, the parents get ignored as well. I can even go as far as telling you that my grandchild was told by the assistant principal that she didn't care what my daughter, her father, or I say. That's totally unacceptable and utterly disrespectful in my opinion. And I ask all of you respectively if a child's parents are disrespected by the adults at the school and then they're not getting respected and they're not getting protected by the adults and with no safety net they are getting tormented every day for hours would they not be led to become a product of
068their environment. It's either fight or fit in. Our children didn't want to do either or. They just wanted to go to school, have friends, and make their parents proud. Instead, they're suffering from depression, anxiety, and fear. You said the good in each determines the good in all. We're not having good. And I have a three-page report that I submitted at the beginning of the year to the principal that has yet to be. Thank you, Mr. Cluto. Marluto Largo. Here's the big article about putting the children's to work in the minds. And of course, you know, it says here that they're, at greater risk of dropping out of high school or having poor performance in school. Even if a teenager isn't working in a hazardous job, working longer hours puts them more at risk of accident
069or injury. And of course, the article says that you have to have these kids working because the immigrants are being deported. Yeah. you know, Governor Deafur and the Republicans like Trump, they see all immigrants as criminals. It's a dog on shame. And I hear this refrain again, woe is we, we don't have enough money. But you keep squandering it. Another example across the street making a stupid building. Here's the right way. I mean, these aren't right, but the color's right. And You do stupid things like that Clearwater building, the Largo High School, that middle school on Belure with clear story windows that aren't right. You don't get any of the buildings right. And of course, money's not coming in because the tourists aren't coming in here with their tax dollars because of the sick people.
070You heard the one about what's between Canada and Mexico. It's stupid. That's you. Yeah. And you're you're partly responsible for this the die off and the ma manatees with your stupid buildings. The next speaker is Britney Johnson. Brittany Johnson. She may have gone out with the area superintendent just a moment ago. We'll give her a minute to come back in if she'd like. Okay. Thank you. She's not going to speak. There are no other speakers. Thank you. Thank you everyone for being here today.