001Good afternoon. Thank you for being here and a very happy Veterans Day to all. We will start the meeting this morning with an invocation by Rabbi Michael Burnernholtz of Temple Benai Israel in Clearwater followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Vice Chair Caprice Edmund and the national anthem by soloist Marcos Halakius of East Lake High School. Please stand and remain standing until the completion of the national anthem. Rabbi Burnholds, good morning. Good afternoon. It's always the adventure as things move around and I'm the one who often says that we get to where we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be there. And what an honor and privilege it is to come to the school board meeting for Penelis County Schools. We recently arrived from the east coast of Florida about 15 months ago.
002And so this is my first opportunity to stand before this part of our community and how incredible it is. I as it is Veterans Day and I am the grandchild of veterans. Three of my four grandparents were all veterans. They served during World War II. And it's also the week of Crystal Nach, which was the beginning of the Holocaust in many ways in 1938. I'm the grandchild of Holocaust refugees. My grandfather fled Germany in 1938. And so this is a week that has so much weight to me. And as we are here today, a extraordinary thing happened to me on Sunday night. And it almost sounds like it's a joke. A rabbi and a nun went out to a community event. but it's actually a true story that Sister Kathleen from St. Cathine's of Sienna
003over on Belchure and myself, we went to a dinner that was a gala dinner that was being done by St. Leo's. and they have a program at St. Louis St. Leo's about Jewish Catholic dialogue. And I arrived there and I don't know why I didn't realize it, but a lot of the rabbis I'm new to the area. I'm not used to being a place where there's a lot of Jewish community around. And some of the other rabbis were rabbis that I knew and had and have spent a lot of time with. And of course, I looked down and one of the name tags was my own father who is a rabbi ammeritus at Charity. So I knew my father was coming. We hadn't discussed it and his the senior rabbi at his congregation came forward
004and said, "Here's a story from Torah for this week. It's a story of Elijiser, a servant of Abraham. He's tasked with going and finding a wife for Abraham's son Isaac." And he goes across me from the land of Israel into Mesopotamia. and he says,"How do you find, if you're going across the world, how do you find the perfect spouse, this perfect partner for your employer?" And he was looking and trying to figure out how this would happen. And he declares that when I get to a place, if a young woman comes forward and helps me with my camels, that helps me with my entourage, my caravan that's coming, that will be a sign of empathy. It will be a sign of connection. And sure enough, as he's having this thought, Rebecca is walks up and
005says, "Let me water your camels. Let me take care of your caravan." She welcomes the widow and the stranger and the orphan. She welcomes this visitor to this place with incredible empathy. Says, "You are different than me. Let me welcome you and let me take care of you." And so, Rabbi Simon shared this story. And that is an important thing as you are here as we build a school district and we build this community. How often and one of these powerful biblical stories that we are reminded that we are supposed to be have hospitality and grace and empathy and welcome people into our midst in order to help to take care of them. But the story then took another turn because then my father stood up and he then shared a story that I didn't
006even quite realize and remember and has important weight because we could say those are ancient stories. For some of us when we talk about Torah you talk about the Bible that is history to you. Other people might just say those are folktales or those are lessons from the past. But then my father shared the extraordinary story as and remember we're at a event celebrating Jewish Catholic dialogue. And what did he say? He said when his father in 1938 was about to leave Germany, one of the reasons he didn't leave is that his own mother was very sick and he did not want to leave her behind. But what happened? a Catholic nursing home took her in and said, "We will hide her. We will protect her. We will here is a Jewish woman, but we
007will make her feel at home in this place for the rest of her life so that she can be safe at the end of her life." And that enabled my grandfather to be ready to escape. And the part and I knew that part. The part that I didn't know was what happened next was the way that my grandfather felt found out that the Gestapo was about to come and arrest him just for remember just for being Jewish is that two of his friends who he had grown up with who were Catholic that he had known in school came up to him and said, "You are on the list to be arrested tomorrow. You've got to get out now." These were two not just two friends from childhood. These were soldiers in the German army breaking
008their rules, breaking their law. But why? To take care of a friend, showing that hospitality and grace and empathy and kindness. They were making that space to say, "We see you as another human being. Even with all of the differences, even without all of the even with all of the strife going on, they wanted to find that way of taking care of someone who was different than them to make sure that my grandfather could be as safe as he could in the world. What an incredible challenge. As you are here talking about the education of our children, it's not just that we do that for everybody in this meeting, but how do we build a community that then teaches that kind of empathy and that kind of caring and that kind of hospitality to our
009to the next generation. So that even when there is strife and even when there is conflict and even when there is disagreement in our world, those values of kindness and caring and listening are the ones that prevail as we are gathering to be a school district to to be a school board for our community. Let there be love and understanding among us. Let peace and friendship be our shelter from life storms. As we sit here together for this meeting, may all of us find ways of being bringing goodness and kindness into our world. Amen. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for its one, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Oh, say can you see by the dawn early light what so proud we held at the twilight
010last gleaming Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight for the rampart we watched were so gallently streaming. And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled Ber yet wave or the land of the free and the home of the brave. Please be seated, Marcos. That was beautiful. Thank you. And Rabbi, thank you for your words this morning. Thank you. I hope we can live up to that as well. The next item on our agenda today is a video celebrating how military veterans explore new careers at Penllis Technical College in Clear Water. Let's take a look. I did 21 years in the military, United States Navy, and I got out. I'm like, why don't you
011go to Pinealis Technical College? They have a marine technology program where you can get certified and start a business. Looked at my GI bill and saw that I had 17 months left and this was a 14-month program. I was like, you know what? looking for a change and something exciting and really I'm on the water every weekend. So, I thought, why not, you know, let's do it. And it's been absolutely incredible. The instructors are amazing. You know, it's a massive change going from being in the military to civilian world. So, in that conversation with my buddy Eric, I was like, you know what? Why don't we start a business? We're going to be called Anchor and Armor, Anchor for the Navy and Armor for the Army. And we're going to be a veteran ran operated
012and ran company hiring only veterans. I'm now just about to finish my second semester and yeah, really really getting a lot of knowledge and better understanding on what to do with boats and I love it. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico and I joined the army back in 1982 when I was 21. Well, I was food service in the army and I wanted to experience especially the baking program because baking is a science. What I did is I looked for a school that was taking GI Bills and I joined PTC. I enrolled in the culinary program. the transition from the military to the civilian life. It was easy for me because while I was in the military, I was doing a lot of part-time job with catering companies back in Washington DC. The
013reason that I went to cabinetry was because I was al always interested working with wood do some woodworking. I decided to rebuild my whole kitchen. So I did that. I did all my cabinets. Veterans Day is the gratitude that we should show to the veterans for the freedom that we have. That's really great. I think our schools are a natural fit for veterans. They're used to being part of a system of scale and part of a team that is on a common mission. And that is who we are here at Pelis County Schools. Part of a team that's on a common mission. That was a great video. Thank you. Item 1.6, Six, introduction of professional and community organizational representatives. Isabelle Mascarenus, our public information officer. Good afternoon, Madame Chair, members of the board, Mr. Hendrik
014and 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 Marty Fwell from the Penilis Arts for a Complete Education Coalition. Maria Cantonis and Somaya Ayad. Today we have a presentation from the Student Rights and Responsibility Committee. Please welcome student Aouch Gupta from East Lake High School and his principal Eric Smith. Thank you. Arouch, good afternoon. Thank you for being here. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, members of the board. Oh, sorry. Good afternoon, members of the board. I'm Aish Gupta. I'm a senior at East Lake High School. I'm student body president and my goals are attending Columbia University and majoring in computer engineering. Today, we're excited to share a snapshot of what makes East Lakeake a standout school. How
015academics in the arts to athletics, community, and career readiness. We're proud to say that East Lake continues to raise the bar academically. There are so many educational accolades, we can't list them all. A vast majority of our students graduate with high marks, earning college credit while in high school, serving families financially. We compete locally within the state and nationally in in a variety of academic endeavors. These past accomplishments have set the tone for Our school continues to carry a tradition of academic excellence. We are currently outperforming in all major and content areas. Our school grade cells also showed strong growth. English language arts up by six points, math up three, science up three, and social studies up four. Not only are we high performers academically, but we take pride in the community that makes East
016Lake great. One, our students serve our community, logging over 200 two 20,000 hours of service. One of our biggest highlights so far this year was hosting our first annual trunk or tree, which brought families and local businesses together in which students from all aspects of the school not only participated, but produced and directed the entire event. Our Eagles soar on and off the field. Our athletic program has dominated in all aspects, earning multiple district championships this year, including volleyball, football, golf, and swimming. Our girls wrestling team brought home a national AAOU title, and our cross country team won PCSE champions. Our arts program also soarses high, earning consistent superiors in band, choir, and orchestra. 20% of all county ensemble members represent East Lake. Nine allstate musicians, 48 individual art awards, and recognition from the Strata
017Center for our theater mainstage. Our arts consistently exceed expectations. Part of what makes Eastlake an outstanding school is our incrediblemies. Let's start with engineering. We have about 600 students in the program engaged in all types of activities like 3D printing, welding, game design, AI applications, woodworking and robotics. Our school launched a first robotics team competing internationally. Students also built a brand new maker space on campus and our summer welding camp was even featured by Fox News and the Tampa Bay Times. We also hosted an AI camp in partnership with the University of Florida, giving students hands-on experience with emerging technology. We also have a biomedical and a business academy at East Lake. We've earned over 1,400 industry certifications, the most in the district, sent four students to nationals for FBLA, and launched a new hosta
018chapter for our biomedical students. Our students are exposed to real world applications and participate within the community partners like John's Hopkins, Advent Health, and Bayare. Our goal is bold to be competitive in the state, national, and international level in every category. We are on track to be the top high school in the Tampa Bay region and top among top 15 in the state. East Lake students graduate college and career ready. Which means if you are attending a 4-year university, a trade school, or moving into the workforce, experience at East Lake have helped you prepare you for the next step. You get the full high school experience at ELHS, becoming a well-rounded student ready to take on the world. Thank you. Go Eagles. Go Eagles. Aish, thank you. I was just speaking with a Penelis County
019Schools veteran in the back who started the CAT program at Lakewood High School a number of years ago. We were talking about the incredible programs across our high schools in this district and you just highlighted the ones at the very north end east. It's a beautiful school I've been and seen and I know Mrs. Kaine has children there and really a remarkable school. But thank you for your presentation of the school today. It was nice to see you Mr. Smith. Next item on our agenda, amendments to the agenda. Mr. Mr. Hendrick, are there any amendments to the agenda? There are no amendments, Madam Chair. Thank you. Board members, any amendments to the agenda? Seeing none, may I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda? A motion from Mrs. Long and a second
020from Mrs. Kaine. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? It passes seven to zero. On our special order agenda today, item 4.1, presentation of proclamation observing National Education Support Professionals Day for November 19th, 2025. May I have a motion and a second to approve this item? A motion from Mrs. Kaine and a second from Miss Blackburg. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce this item? Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to call our chief of human resource resource officer, Michael Vigu, to the lect turn to share more about our support professionals. Mr. Mr. Vigu. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, board members, Superintendent Hendrickk, staff, and guests. It is my pleasure to bring forward this agenda item as we honor the multifaceted roles, responsibilities, and abilities of our support employees. As you know, these employees contribute to
021the learning experiences for our students in schools and departments throughout our district. Panelis County Schools requests adoption of the proclamation designating November 11th, 2025 as National Education Support Professionals Day. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Miss Blackburg, would you please read the proclamation? National Education Support Professionals Day. Whereas public schools are the backbone of our democracy, providing young people with the tools they need to maintain our nation's precious values of freedom, civility, and equality. And whereas education support professionals are an integral part of the education process. And whereas educational personnel work tirelessly to serve our children and communities with care and professionalism. Now therefore, we the school board and the superintendent of Penllis County Schools do hereby proclaim Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 as National Education Support Professionals Day. Sign this 11th day of November,
0222025. Thank you. Board members, any discussion? Seeing none, we'll take a vote. We have a motion and second on the floor to approve item 4.1. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? passes seven to zero. Item five, public comments on agenda items. Mrs. Hal, do we have any speakers through agenda items? Madam Chair, there are no speakers for agenda items today. Thank you. We don't have anything under unfinished business. Item six, item seven, our consent agenda. May I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? Motion from Mrs. Kaine and a second from Mrs. Meyers. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Passes seven to zero. And I'm sorry I put an S on your name. People do it to me all the time. I'm very sorry about that.
023Okay. On our non-consent agenda, we just have one item today. Item 8.1, setting a public hearing and authorizing the advertisement of the public hearing to consider the amendments to policies 1210, standards of ethical conduct for administrative staff. 3210 standards of ethical conduct for instructional staff 4210 standards of ethical conduct for support staff and 5460 graduation requirements. This is the first reading. May I have a motion and a second to approve this item? Motion from Mrs. Long and a second from Mrs. Peters. Mr. Hendrick, would you please introduce this item? Thank you, Madam Chair. All four of these policies are as a result of changes in state legislation last legislative session. I know we talked about these in the workshop, but to give us more details is our director of strategic planning and policy, Lyanna Is.
024Mrs. Is. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, board members, Superintendent Hendrickk, staff, and community. Each year, the district reviews policies in alignment with state legislation, state board of education rule updates, as well as state and district practices. The proposed amendments today align with this year's state updates. Policies 1210, 3210, and 4210, standards of ethical conduct for administrative staff, instructional staff, and support staff, respectively, have been amended in alignment with Senate Bill 1374, which requires temporary removal of instructional personnel under specified circumstances. Additionally, the new law adds a requirement for self-reporting within 48 hours of an arrest. This has been a long-standing PCS requirement and remains in policy. Last, as we've done for several years, these policies are also streamlined to reference legal requirements without restating the law. The last policy is policy 5460, graduation requirements, and it
025has been updated to align with House Bill 1105. The key changes include the state's removal of the certifi certificate of completion and the addition of marching band as an approved substitute for either PE or performing arts credits. We recommend setting a public hearing for December 16th, 2025. Thank you, Mrs. Cyson. Board members, any discussion on this item? We reviewed these policies in our recent workshop. I appreciate the thorough updates. We have a motion and a second to approve item 8.1. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? It passes seven to zero. Thank you. Thank you. In new business today, items introduced by the superintendent, Mr. Hendrick. Thank you, Madam Chair. Each year the calendar committee takes a look at Veterans Day and always decides, should we be in school on Veterans Day or
026should we give students the day off? And every year we've decided to be in school and I was reminded today of why. I had the pleasure of attending the 41st annual ceremony at Palm Harbor Middle School. Mrs. Kaine was there as well with me today. It was outdoors. It was a little chilly, but it was just fantastic. Marine Sergeant, Marine Corps Sergeant Robert Barton was the keynote speaker for both ceremonies that they had today. I want to thank Principal Peggy Dupe and her students and the community for just an outstanding job honoring our veterans and helping our students understand the story of Veterans Day. I know board members attended others yesterday and today. There are some more tonight. And we could not be more proud to see our students, see our veterans in their schools
027and be talking about how important it is to serve our country and keep us our students, our families free and allow our children to go to school every day. We also provided to schools a toolkit to celebrate Veterans Day for classroom instruction as well. And I want to thank our schools for doing so today. last board meeting I shared with the board and the community some upcoming meetings as we do our planning for progress community meetings. As I shared prior at a workshop and at the board meetings, the number of school age children in Penllis County has declined over the last two decades and the district will host meetings focused on planning for the future of our schools. It is important that we hear voices from all of those in our community on the future
028of public education in Penllis County. The district wants your ideas on key topics, including population trends, school building capacity, new school programs, and the possibilities for new grade configurations, closures, or consolidations. All the meetings are open to the public, and the first one is tomorrow night at Bokea High School, 5:30 p.m. to 700 p.m. The next one is Monday, November 17th, at Largo High School, and there are three in December. You can find more information on our website about the topic. I want to thank our food and nutrition and our student services departments for helping to put together a list of resources for families struggling with food insecurity during this government shutdown time. we reminded families of the resources available in our schools. You can find those at pcsb.org/food. That includes of course breakfast in
029every one of our schools free of charge for students. all of our lunch programs and then a number of our schools that have pack a snack programs where students can take home meals on the weekend. funded in part by a number of community partners including the Dillinger Foundation and over 30 of our schools that have food pantries. You can find all of that information out again pcsb.org/food. A reminder to families and the public that our stakeholder survey is currently underway. All of our families and staff and students have received links to fill out that survey. That's open until December 19th. This feedback is anonymous and confidential and helps the district understand what's working, opportunities where we can grow, and how to better serve our students and employees. The allount music fest has begun. Last week,
030we had our first allount chorus concert of the year. Our middle school and high school choruses at Ruth Eckert Hall. It was an outstanding performance. Our next event in the music in the all county music fest is the orchestra which takes place on January 10th at the Mafy Theater. A few weeks ago we celebrated our teachers of the year. I want to thank our board members for attending the lunchon in partnership with the Penelis Education Foundation. We honored all 130 plus teachers of the year at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in a special lunch. It was outstanding. our teacher of the year, Mr. Dennis Zurker spoke as did Penelis County Education Foundation CEO Kim Joel and Raymond James representative Andrea Mastersonson. I want to thank the foundation and Raymond James for sponsoring the event. Our teachers
031certainly felt honored to be there and we look forward to soon announcing our top 10 teachers of the year. A few upcoming events to keep in mind. Tomorrow is the great American teachin. We expect over a hundred different individuals, actually hundreds and hundreds of individuals at our schools across the community tomorrow and we thank them for coming and sharing more about their careers at our schools. I know some board members will be out doing that tomorrow as well. I look forward to hearing your stories and classroom performances tomorrow from our students. Coming up in December, right after the Thanksgiving break, we have our annual ESE fair for students with disabilities where families can receive access to various community resources as well as helping our students prepare for after high school with careers and college as
032well. that is going to be on December 4th. More information is on our website. And on December 6th, we have our annual PCS or experience PCS event. It takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 2 pm on Saturday, December 6th at Clearwater High School. The event features activities and opportunities to showcase the student experience in Penllis County Schools. Families will enjoy musical performances, games, STEM activities, and our students will compete in art, academic, culinary, and athletic competitions. See our website for more information. And today's superintendent standout is Autumn Weiss, a plant operator at Bardmore Elementary. She's been a Penelis County Schools employee for four years and she was recently recognized by a classroom teacher who said, "I'd like to recognize Mrs. Weiss for her outstanding commitment to children, families, and the community." Her consistent efforts to
033maintain a safe and complete and clean environment directly support student learning and well-being. A recent example was her proactive support in preparing our classroom for a student event, showing genuine care and teamwork. Her reliability and pride truly reflect our values. Thank you, Miss Weiss, and all of our employees for the work they do each and every day. Thank you, Mr. Hendendrick. Item 9.2, items introduced by the school board attorney, Mr. Kaperski. Thank you. I have no report today. Thank you. Items introduced by the board. Miss Blackburg, thank you. last board meeting, Miss Hine, you gave, a lengthy, explanation regarding schools of hope and the new legislation. I, spoke with Senator Rousan, who is a member of our delegation this morning, thanking him for filing Senate Bill 424 that would delete the line that allows charter
034schools to colllocate with our public schools. you know it's early stages yet but we'll be following along and again if if people would like to call in support in that would be very helpful but again I we are very proud of our delegation and we thank him for his advocacy. Thank you Miss Edmond. Thank you. happy Veterans Day and I look forward to continuing to visit schools and just celebrate in our community. Lots of events are planned and underway. It really is exciting to see students, staff, and communities celebrating Veterans Day. Also, on the 12th, PTC St. Pete is having the career pathways showcase and that is from 5:30 to 7 and on November 13th there is a DMAC meeting at 6 pm. That information is available on the PCSB website via Zoom. Thank you.
035Thank you, Miss Edmond. Any others? I thought I would share as I attended the Veterans Day celebrations at two different elementary schools where the students very proudly sang the national anthem and a lot of our national songs, I was reminded of something that Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1818 in the Rockfish Gap report where he shared the six objects of primary education and I want to share that with you. the first few are to give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business to enable him to calculate for himself and express and preserve his ideas, contracts and accounts in writing. So math writing to improve by reading his morals and faculties. But it was the fourth one. It was the fourth object of primary education that came to mind as I
036was watching these students. He said to understand his duties to his neighbors and his country and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either. He goes on to talk about knowing your rights and to exercise with order and justice those he retains. I'm proud of the learning and celebrations that in occurs across our schools on Veterans Day and I believe that our public schools engender a proclivity to serve which is much needed. It's much needed for our next generation to continue the work of forming a more perfect union. So again, happy Veterans Day. Thank you to everyone who has served and all those who celebrate those who have served. I also wanted to share that the next two schoolboard meetings are or excuse me, the next time we meet is in December.
037So we will run through November and we will see each other again on December 9th at a workshop and then December 16th at a schoolboard meeting. So to remind of a few things, FSBA is that first week of December, the week of December 1st. And then also, Monday, January 19th, because it's post holiday, so we should start thinking about it now, is Martin Luther King Day. And the board office is working on gathering dates. I know several of us regularly attend different Martin Luther King events. If you are part of those events or know about them, want to make sure the board office knows and can advise all of us if we would like to attend them, please get that information to Kathy and she will share that with us. I also want to remind
038that the FSBA days in the legislature are January 28 and 29. So again, the next couple months, as we all know, go really fast. So wanted to mention those things. So please let Mrs. how know if you are interested in attending the FSBA days in the in the legislature. And with that, since we don't see each other again until September, I would like to tell everybody with Pelis County Schools how grateful we are for your work in the world. Education is a noble profession and what you do every day makes a great difference. So I wish you and your families, we all wish you and your families a very happy Thanksgiving. Mrs. Woodford, review of board requests. No requests noted. Thank you. With that, I adjourn this meeting. We will now move on to public
039comment. Mrs. Hal, do we have any public speakers? Yes, Madam Chair, we have five speakers this afternoon. Thank you. Public comment is on the general business of the district. Please note that the views and comments of the speakers are their own and are not endorsed by the school board. We cannot ensure the accuracy of statements made, but will review concerns that are raised and take appropriate action, which may include the referral of speakers to the proper staff member for assistance. At each opportunity for public input, board members are here to listen to you. This is not a time for interaction, but the board will take your comments into consideration. We are committed to a standard of civility and decorum and we appreciate you in assisting us in maintaining that environment. Please note that although board
040members or superintendent Hendrick may leave the deis briefly, there are speakers in the back room and we will continue to be able to hear your comments. Lastly, please note that this meeting and all public comments are broadcast live on the internet and the video is publicly archived. Members of the public may always communicate with the board through our email address boardpcsb.org or by calling the board office at 7275886300. Thank you. Mrs. H, would you please call the speakers? The first two speakers are Elisa AOT and Marissa. Thank you. Good afternoon board. Thank you for having us. we had planned to come here when we found out I think last week after we spoke with the Department of Education for Florida and then we found out I think here a couple days ago that there was
041a in an inter or in between person between Mr. Hendrickx and our daughter's principal which spoke to it which was able to get to us yesterday and listen to some of our concerns which is a long list. So let me back up. Marissa, my daughter here, was homeschooled. she is a gifted student. she does have a IEP of 504. so and she does have a medical problem which is a migraine of the stomach due to anxiety test causes that. So any kind of bullying also causes that. So we're I'm especially as a mother is very protective of her. So picking a school the right school for her I'm very cautious. So putting her into a school, that's why we didn't put her into a school until second grade. And actually, she's a grade ahead. So
042she's a junior at Tarpon Springs High School and like I said, she's a grade ahead. not only is she taking a full load there in the vet program, but she's also taking four classes online. she was until this past week or two pretty much making straight A's as well with online. So, she's not a slacking student. Nevertheless, she is a wonderful athlete. I see my time is quickly dwindling, but we're mainly here because we she started a petition to save her coaches, her track coaches. We found out that all of her coaches when we went back to school were fired. her coaches directly, she's a athlete beyond athlete. so she started a petition and had over a hundred athletes and parents sign them. She's not happy with with her principal whatsoever. And her principal thinks
043or acts as if she advocates for the students and she doesn't. So, I'm I'm I'm highly upset. Highly highly upset with this princip. Hi, my name is Marissa. I am a junior at Tarpon Springs High School, currently enrolled in the vet program. I am known as athlete of the century there by some of the administrators. I am highly concerned about our track team because the person that they are interested in has a little bit of a not behavior problem but attitude-wise today in class I talked to her and she had a little bit of a sarcastic tone and I came to her later and she still had it because of something that happened earlier in the day. But the reason why I'm mostly here is because of our track coaches and most of my coaches
044being fired too. It seemed targeted at first, but now I realize that it wasn't and that they're trying to make it a better program for our school. Kind of be like East Lake. But seeing that I was unenrolled for two days and marked unexcused absence kind of rustled my fathers a little bit too. But the reason why that was that happened was because I was looking at a different school for vet because the one at the vet program at my school does not encourage or have enough support behind to restart the agriculture with the livestock and the large animal. The wait room at our school used to be where we used to wash and bathe the horses or the large animals. And now the large animal or agriculture section has been overtaken by nature and
045we're not able to fully not fully reopen it or restart it fully. And I know me and a few other students are interested in large animal and livestock. And yes, volunteering at a farm might help or a vet that does farm farm calls, but that's not enough to get enough hands-on. We have to be with that vet almost every day. And most of us can't. I have practices from 5 to 7. I would have to be there from 2 to 4:30 and then rush home. The place that I'm interested in volunteering at is 45 minutes just from our school, which is a little bit of a drive. But our my principal is able to was able to give me that information because she seen I was interested at Hudson High School which has a vet
046program that has the stuff I need and sorry seeing the time kind of stresses me out. but seeing that she seeing that they requested for my records, they unenrolled me for two days straight when I was at the school for the first day because I was trying to figure out what to do for my coaches. I think I was somewhere with a meeting with this and it that whole week kind of escalated. Thank you for your time. Thank you. The next two speakers are Sally Coleman and Jillian Catz. Good afternoon. My name is Sally Coleman and I'm grateful for your time. There's nothing more powerful than real time talks from those who are and have been in the trench trenches of change. In this case, they are five warriors in New York City who have
047been steeped in the colllocation process of their public schools in Brooklyn. The Zoom is available for viewing. It was recorded last night. Erica Kendall, the education president for district 19, described the charter stu school redo of their anticipated area. It had premier flooring, bright and beautiful design that was exciting, and it stirred up much anticipation. When the school opened, the public part, the public school part of the building was left untouched on the bottom floor. She said it looked like an orphanage by comparison. Can you imagine what was left of the budget for public school repairs? The budget was from taxpayer money, yet a private colllocator school grabbed the bulk. How was this picture received by the public school teachers, administrators, students, and their parents? Hands tied flat out. Antonia spoke of amazing things. Completely
048amazing examples of how rooms that were grabbed by the charter had their classroom door windows covered with black paper, hiding the fact that their decline in attendance left open rooms, yet they would not yield use. Another described how one colllocator decided that the high school sharing was not enough use on their part. So they added an elementary school into the same complex and planned to add a middle school. And now where are our public school children? Fatima, burdened with her choice of a charter for her son at six years old for three and a half years, realized the damage done to his learning process because his learning disorder was incorrectly addressed and his personal records were made public. In fact, he at age 20 years old can still see them. This not only affects his
049potential for jobs, think of the de devastating effect on his esteem. These are our children and we are determined to provide them with the tools and the information they need to be confident in themselves. Our children not only deserve but demand progress over drainage and exhaustion. They need to have a safe environment that stimulates growth and critical thinking. Our generation is not a generation of the halves and have nots of the private sector of the rich. These children are the foundation of tomorrow. And we need to see this through a clear window, not through the walls of containment by privatization. Senator Rousen has in introduced a repeal bill SB424. As a board, I encourage you to advocate the repeal of this de Hi, good afternoon. My name is Jillian Kates. I'm a middle school teacher
050in Penllis County Schools. This is my daughter, Rya, thankful Tobying. and we're here on behalf of ourselves and all the other mothers, parents that have not received any maternity, paternity, or I'll call it parental leave while working at Penllis County Schools. for over 10 years, I've worked for Penllis County Schools, a school district where we pride ourselves in caring for our children and our families. I love my job. I love my students. I love their families. We're a community and communities need to support each member of the community. I have I've seen many of you out and about in our schools supporting and celebrating. Mr. Hendricks, your son, went to my school. I've seen you at our concerts and my theater productions. however, after my daughter was born, I quickly learned that I would receive
051no income during my maternity leave. In fact, every month I would send Penllis County Schools a check to cover my insurance premium even though I was not getting paid. this placed an undue stress financially on myself and my family during a time that I should have only been focused on bonding with my new baby. Thankfully, there were no major accidents, catastrophic events that happened in my life after the birth of my baby. Because if there had been, I don't know how I would have managed with no income. I'm not really sure how I managed anyway. I'm here because I want to know what the solution is. I've spoken to so many people in our community and most of them are parents and my students who ask me how long my maternity leave was and I
052said I'm given 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave and they were appalled because I spend countless hours with their children every year. Many of these unpaid hours because a theater teacher's job is never quite finished. But I digress. but I decided I should talk to the people who who make that decision to not pay us maternity leave. So that's what brings me here today. I believe that there are solutions. I would love to hear from any of you at my email which is katesjipcsb.org. or if there's anybody listening that has ideas for solutions because I believe this to be unacceptable. If we care about our families in the way that I know that we do, then we have to care about all of our families, including the families of our employees. You can't pour from
053an empty cup. How can I care for these children, my students, when I have not been supported in caring for my own? Thank you for your time. The next speaker is Curtis Campon. How's everybody doing? I'm born and raised in Florida, so I do not own a winter jacket. So, today has been brutal. my plan was to attend bogey tomorrow about the listen and learn sessions. I'm glad you're having these about school closures. I cannot go. So, I wanted to share some ideas with you. Now, first and foremost, I'm sure you have have this unlocked, but I really hope that these listen and learn sessions are about moving forward, innovative solutions and big swings, not just talking about how we got here based off factors that we cannot control. one thing that I do hope
054we also focus on is why are we not tapping into our donor base? There has Penllis County is resourcerich and I'm sure some of you know some Penllis County residents that have deep pockets. Let's find some that also believe in the story of public schools and let's have them do some unrestricted donations. Say, "Hey, Dr. Smith, this unused space instead of collocation or closing a school is going to be the Dr. Smith hallway." They make an unrestricted donation and then with that money, we take some really big swings. For instance, on the person we just had here, the parent, why are we not figuring out a way to offer free child care at our schools for teachers? What about parents who have kids there and then also have infants? Can we use this money to
055lean into our community and help them in the ways they're telling? We talk about housing costs. We talk about, you know, inflation, but why aren't we doing anything that we can control to impact that? Let's make that happen. Anytime stuff like this happens, I think about Netflix and I think about Blockbuster. Why is that? Because Netflix started out as just delivering DVDs and then they were innovative and they were adaptable and now they're the largest streaming site available. their competitor Blockbuster said, "Let's keep doing what we're currently doing. It things aren't going well because, you know, external factors we can't control." And then a store closed and they said, "That's okay. Blockbuster just closed one store. That's all right." Then more closed and more closed. And before they realized it, Blockbuster is gone and Netflix
056is thriving. This is an opportunity for us with these potential closures to think big, make big swings. Your residents want you to think and be innovative and go beyond the ideas that we've had in the past. Let's look forward to solutions. Let's support the parents like the one we just heard from and let's make some big jumps for our community. I appreciate y'all. Thank you. We do have a schoolboard organizational meeting to follow this one, but we are going to take a short recess. prior to reconvening. Having trouble seeing that clock back there. We'll we'll take 10 minutes and we'll reconvene at 2 o'clock. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I call to order this organization meeting of the school board of Penllis County, Florida, this 11th day of November, 2025. This meeting is
057called pursuant to section 101.371 Florida statutes for the purpose of organizing the school board by election of a chairperson and vice chairperson. I will ask for a moment of silence to be followed by the pledge of allegiance. Please stand. I will now open the floor for nominations for chair. Mrs. Hine, I would like to nominate Caprice Edmond to be chairperson. Thank you. Are there additional nominations? Mrs. Meyer? No, there is not. Okay, Mrs. Long. No, there are not. Miss Peters. Okay. No, there are not. All right. Sorry, I'm not an expert in this Q thing. Let me reset that. Seeing no more nominations, I will close the nominations for chair and take a vote. All those in favor of Caprice Edund as chair of the school board, please signify by saying I. I. Any opposed?
058Congratulations, Miss Edmond. I will now open the floor for nominations for vice chair. Miss Peters. Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Long. I'd like to nominate Don Peters for vice chair. Thank you, Mrs. H. I'd like to nominate Katie Blackburg for vice chair. Thank you. Are there additional nominations? Okay, I will close the nominations for vice chair and we will vote in order of nominating. All those in favor of Dawn Peters for vice chair, please signify by saying I. I want to ask for a Yes. Thank you. One, two, three, four. Having four, that's the majority. And Miss Peters will be the vice chair. Congratulations to Miss Edund, our new chair, and Miss Peters, our new vice chair. That concludes the organizational portion of the meeting. I will now turn the gavl over to the new chairperson,
059Miss Ed Miss Edmond, for our next order of business. Thank you. Consent item 3.1, request approval of the schedule of regular schoolboard meetings occurring from December 2025 through November 2026 organization meeting. May I have a motion? We have a motion from Mrs. Long and a second from Mrs. Peters. Mrs. Hal, are there any members of the public who wish to speak to this item? Madam Chair, there are no speakers for this item. Is there any board discussion? I have a motion in a second to approve item 3.1 requesting approval of the schedule of regular school board meetings occurring from December 2025 through November 2026 organization meeting. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion passes 70. Following the adjournment of the organization meeting, we will convene the panelis school board leasing corporation meeting for the purpose of
060election of officers. This meeting is adjourned. gabling in. I call this meeting of the schoolboard leasing corporation to order and I turn the meeting over to Mr. David Kaperski, school board attorney for the description of this meeting and the vote that needs to be taken. Thank you, Madam Chair. board members, and by that I mean board of directors members and Mr. Hendrick and other staff members and the public. You are now sitting in the Penllis County School Board Leasing Corporation Board of Directors meeting. the seven of you board members are on the board of directors and Mr. Hendrik is the exeicio secretary of the corporation. This corporation is not a governmental entity but rather is a Florida nonprofit corporation that has been duly incorporated with the secretary of state. The purpose of the corporation is
061so that the school board may participate legally in the cops or certificates of participation bonding program under which you have participated the last several years. By law, the school board needs to have a relationship with a private nonprofit organization that itself can borrow the funds and then this corporation, the leasing corporation has an agreement with the school board. a leasing agreement and and other agreements for that matter by which you can operate those cops programs and engage in that borrowing program. So if you have any questions about the cops program itself, feel free to ask me or your chief finance officer, Mr. Jefferson. but with that background like any other Florida private corporation you need to have an annual meeting and the item usually on the agenda for that meeting is election of corporate officers
062and so that is what we're here to do today. the meeting is always held immediately after the school board organizational meeting and the bylaws of your corporation and your articles of incorporation contemplate that the chair of the school board would become the chair of the corporate board and the vice chair would become the vice chair as well. And so, with that, at this time, Madame Chair, I would encourage that, we call for a motion to appoint Ms. Caprice Edmund as the chair, of the board of directors and president of the corporation and Miss Peters as the vice chair and vice president of the corporation. So, you can simply call for that motion, take a second, and then a vote. Thank you. Thank you. May I have a motion to appoint Caprice Edmond as the chair
063of the board of directors and president of the schoolboard leasing corporation and appoint Don Peters as the vice chair of the board of directors and vice president of the schoolboard leasing corre corporation. I have a motion by Mrs. Hind and a second by Mrs. Meyer. Is there any board discussion? All in favor? Any oppose? Motion carries. A vote 70. I hereby adjourn this meeting of the school board leasing corporation.