School Board Action Meeting: April 11, 2023

001of the meeting tonight. We have been enjoying music performed by Patriot Elementary Chorus. Let's hear one more round of applause for them. Patriot Elementary is part of the Strings Initiative in Lee County. This select group of music students consists of students from fourth and fifth grade and are under the direction of music teacher Dorothy Yorty. Members of the chorus and string instrument, I'm sorry, students have been playing their string instruments for only six months. Members of the chorus and of the assemble have participated in the Southwest Florida Regionals Festival and all county chorus. They're considered one of the models for elementary music in Lee County. At this time, we request all electronic devices be turned off or put in silent mode. We ask that you please refrain from using flash photography except during special presentations

002portion of the meeting. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the April 11, 2023 School Board Meeting. The time is 6.04. This meeting is called to order. We'll just take a brief pause here while the students pack up. As a side note, I played the violin for three years. And I wasn't nearly as good as they are in six months. And that's the truth. We would like to take this opportunity to remind the members of the public of the district's mission, which is to ensure that each student achieves his or hers highest personal potential. And the district's vision to be a world-class school system. This evening's agenda includes a moment of silence, presentation of colors and pledge of allegiance, acknowledgement, recognitions, one item under information, public comment, consent action items, which include two items

003under board office, four items under academic services, three items under business services, five items under human resources, 17 items under operations, One item under public hearings and four items under other business. Board members, is there a motion to adopt the agenda? Ms. Jordan? I move to adopt the agenda as written. Is there a second? I second. Ms. Fleming? The motion has been moved by Ms. Jordan and seconded by Ms. Fleming. Please record your vote. The motion carries 7-0. As is the custom of the board, Mr. Fisher will lead us in a moment of silence, after which Mrs. Giovinelli will lead us in the presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand. Thank you, everyone. We're going to observe a moment of silence, please. Thank you. Introducing the cadet who is presenting the national colors

004for our Pledge of Allegiance tonight is First Sergeant David Castaneda. Army instructor from Mariner High School. First Sergeant Castaneda served 22 years in the Army in numerous assignments and retired as the first sergeant for the Bay City Recruiting Company in Bay City, Michigan. This is his first Sergeant Castaneda's first year at JRTC instructor. Thank you for your service and welcome to the district. Presenting the national colors tonight is Cadet Colonel Tenille Perez, the cadet commander of the Mariner High School Gerald T.C. Leadership Academy, where she is responsible for leading and training over 680 cadets. Cadet Perez maintains a 4.2 GPA and will graduate the Medical Academy as a certified nursing assistant. She is actively involved in Gerald T.C.'s Scabbard and Blade Honor Society. the drill team and has been the commander of the color guard

005team for two years competing at the state level and was selected for the prestigious American Legion girls state at FSU. Cadet Perez will attend Nova Southern University pursuing a degree in nursing and ultimately contributing to the science of oncology in the pursuit of preventing cancer. Please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated. This evening's student representative is Christian Wittisch, an officer of the Student Advisory Committee. Christian is a sophomore student from North Fort Myers High School. He is regularly involved in his community and school with over 130 community service hours, serving as a representative of the Class of 2025 in

006Student Government, Chapter President, Southwest Florida Judicial Coordinator, and State Executive Supporting Officer for the Florida YMCA Youth in Government Program. Christian has a deep curiosity for learning that enriches himself at school by taking advanced classes with the nation leadership electives. And in doing so, he has a 4.4 GPA. After high school, Christian would like to pursue a career in law, attending the Naval Academy, and later engaging in politics. Please welcome Christian. Next on the agenda are acknowledgements for the month of April. Christian. Thank you. Acknowledgements for the month of April. The School Board of Lee County acknowledges the following for the month of April 2023. Earth Day, April 22nd, 2023. Administrative Professionals Week, April 23rd through 29th, 2023. Florida School Volunteer Month, National Autism Awareness Month, and School Library Month. Board members, please join me

007in the pit for recognitions. Good evening. I'd like to invite Mariners high school principal, Dr. Thomas Michael, and wrestling coach Clayton French to join me at the lectern. The school district of Lee County is proud to recognize the 2023 Florida High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Champions. The competition was held in Kissimmee, Florida. From March 2nd through 4th, 2023, Mariner High School sophomore Maximus Brady won the Class 2A state title in the 126-pound weight class. This is Maximus Brady's second state championship. Congratulations. Come on up. While he's making his way through the line, y'all need to understand that wrestling is hardcore and it's like a life-changing sport and these kids work their tails off and the next one I'm going to call up is a legend here in Lee County. Mariner High School senior Christopher

008Minto, who won the class. Christopher Minto won the Class 2A state title in the 160-pound weight class. This is Christopher Minto's third state wrestling championship. Congratulations again. I've had the honor of watching Christopher over those three years walk past me, shake my hand, and grow up and become an amazing young man. I'm just... Makes me happy to see you up here again. The school board and superintendent are pleased to recognize these athletes along with their coach, Clayton French, for their commitment, determination, and hard work that led to this outstanding accomplishment. Next on our agenda is the word of the month read by our student representative. Thank you. Quote presented, integrity, adhering steadfastly to a personal sense of honorable and ethical behavior. The design you see displayed on the screen was created by Jacob Melkenberg, an

00911th grade student at Norfolk Myers High School. Thank you. Next on our agenda is the Hurricane Ian update. Dr. Bernier, would you please provide us? Mr. Chair, members of the board, members of the community, happy to provide an update today. We do not have a PowerPoint presentation as the amount of briefing is fairly limited. We continue to work forward with FEMA and our consultants in Periam. We have received our first set of funding from the federal government as well as additional commitments for funding. So now we're waiting for additional checks to arrive to the school district to help us continue our long-term repairs. During the week of March 26th, FEMA representatives in the school district conducted site inspections for most of our heavily damaged campuses, clearing the way for those permanent repairs and for those

010funds to flow into our school district. Our roof assessments and construction documents have now been completed as well. So while we had to initially assess roofs. just after the storm, we had to continue to assess them with FEMA and then develop the construction documents. Construction work related to begin on the major roof repairs begins on 4-17 of 2023. Architects have also been retained and or are working on plans related to Hector Caffaretta Jr. and Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. The Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is still planned to come before you with the last board meeting in April. when we have an additional update regarding the ILA. And to date, with the work orders, some of the smaller items, but very large items, have been taken care of by our maintenance department, including a lot

011of the fencing requirements. 78% of those work orders now are complete. So we're making headway both with our smaller repairs, not like major roof repairs, fencing, other things, and at the same time making progress on all of our campus being restored to instructional status. So appreciate that and look forward to any questions you may have. Any questions board members? Thank you for the report Dr. Bernier. Next on our agenda is public comment. This is the pay Bruno. Would you please address the public comment? Thank you, mr Chairman and good evening school board policy provides the opportunity at this point in the meeting to address the board Concerning any matter on this meetings agenda or any other matter relevant to the operation of the school district Please complete a public comment card and put it in

012the basket provided. If you need a public comment card, they are provided by our staff. The rules concerning public comment are posted in the back and will be made from the podium in the front center aisle. Please be advised that the board will not respond during public comment to remarks made by speakers. Concerns will be addressed by the superintendent or his staff as necessary, and the chair may comment as deemed appropriate at the conclusion of public comment. The purpose of public comment is to provide feedback on district issues such as duties, responsibilities, decisions, and the general operation of the district. The school board is viewpoint neutral during public comment. We ask that decorum be kept and respect be shown, which is what is expected when a government agency conducts official business. Therefore, abusive language such

013as cursing, insults, derogatory language levied against an individual or a class of people are prohibited. Further, personal attacks such as name-calling are prohibited. In addition, clapping, hissing, and booing, or a display of temper during public comment is prohibited. Speakers who fail to follow proper decorum in the chambers will be ruled out of order by the Board Chair or the Parliamentarian. Any speaker continuing with such remarks will be required to relinquish the microphone per Board Policy 1.11 and may be removed from the chambers by the Sergeant-at-Arms. Per Board Policy 1.11, the time per speaker is three minutes if there are 20 speakers, two minutes if there are 30, and one minute if there are... 31 speakers or more. The maximum time allotted for public comment is one hour, 60 speakers. You will find a countdown on

014the big screens in the front of the room. Once your time has elapsed, the microphone will automatically shut off. Please state your name when you approach the microphone. I will call you five speakers at a time. Please follow our staff's direction when lining up. Mr. Chairman, there are 15 speakers that wish to address the board this evening. The time per speaker is three minutes. Thank you. Please make sure you filled out a public comment card if you intend to provide public comment. The card is a public record identifying those who speak and providing contact information for staff to follow up. Is there anyone in the audience who wishes to address the board but did not fill out a comment card? Okay, we have one in the audience. Okay. Attorney DuPay Bruno, please proceed with the

015public comment. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Will the following individuals please line up? Sharon McGill, Jennifer Aigner, Dee Tucker, Maddie Barron, Shane Riley. Good evening, everyone. Sharon McGill. Every parent has the right and responsibility to guide the education of their child or children. And currently, the district has in place a process that allows parents to do just that. Parents may restrict any materials they choose for their child or children, either by speaking with school personnel or via their destiny accounts. Neither another parent or a community member, such as myself, should have the right to put restrictions on what media materials are available to a child. That should be the sole responsibility of the parent or guardian. Media materials in schools are vetted by trained professionals and continuously reviewed, and they should be trusted with the respect

016they deserve in making decisions. Regarding HB 1069, I know the district will execute their responsibilities to the fullest extent when they develop policy to go along with this bill once it passes. I just hope that they'll take as much due diligence in preparing the processes and procedures that go along with that policy to back it up. the form of the challenges to media materials and that will give parents their rights. Each parent their right, not the right of other parents to make decisions for other children. Transparency is often discussed in this meeting. I'd like to reference the concealed weapons detection system. And yes, I go through the entire agenda and read everything. So I was glad to see that there's action being taken on putting those systems into our public schools, even though it's gonna

017be over a course of time to get it done for everybody, that it's a start and we're taking it seriously and that this will be another level of security for our... law enforcement, and our school resource officers in protecting our children and the staff who are on the premises in the schools. Thank you. Before we have the next speaker, I would like everyone that stood up to stand up one more time, if you would not mind. I want everybody to look around to see that they have good support, but I am respectfully asking that... You remain seated because it's very difficult for our security to see what's going on and other people to see the speaker at the podium. But thank you for coming. Okay, next speaker, please. Good evening. First, I would like to

018introduce myself. I am Jennifer Egnor, a mom of three boys. My oldest son, Alex, graduated from Lehigh Senior last year and is now attending the University of Florida and playing football for the Gators. My middle son attends FLBS, and my youngest son is a student at Gateway Elementary. Raising my three boys in Fort Myers has been a blessing, and being an active... member in my sports community has allowed many of my fellow friends to help me foster a village of support that I am eternally grateful for. The Tucker family is an important part of this village. They have volunteered their time in many roles in our youth organizations, supported countless kids chasing their dreams in sports, all the while raising three amazing kids. It saddens me to see what has been unraveling at Madrid Tucker's

019baseball team at Fort Myers High School. To hear their terms racist and discrimination being thrown around is upsetting to say the least. Seeing the staged walkout video from last week absolutely confirms this is not a united team. The conflict and strife has been going on since at least February. We need our administration to step in and do more. Canceling the season should not be the answer. We need to do better and be better. Using the N-word, staging a walkout while leaving at least one black player on the field leaves a lot of questions for me. And it should also leave many questions for you. The only advice that I can seem to come up with to give Madrid and his teammates as of now is it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from,

020the ability to triumph always should begin with you. Always. Thank you, and please give this matter a desperately, desperately needs. Next speaker, please. Hi. First, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Maddie Barron. I'm a former alumni from Fort Myers High School, and I currently am a senior in college, and I swim. And my brother's on the baseball team at Fort Myers High School. He's a freshman, and this whole year I've been so happy for him. Until this year, I am disgusted. The lack of leadership that has brought is here from administration at FMHS. Every child deserves the right to go to school and engage in extracurricular activities without feeling threatened, harassed, or targeted. especially in a public school environment. When a child makes a complaint or expresses a concern about the conduct and or behavior

021of those in charge or those that adverse programs that the child is involved in, the most important thing is that the child is, sorry, excuse me, is that for the child to feel that there is an objective and fair process taking place and while that process is taking place, that those individuals involved and all adults who should be setting an example do not. take it upon themselves to target innocent children. There are several circumstances that have not been made yet public that I believe will tell the story and many are going to be embarrassed for their actions. But we shouldn't even have to wait until that moment at some point and the administration at our high school lost control of the situation and placed two students in harm's way of... I am here requesting that

022you expedite the investigation on behalf of these students. The longer you wait, the more toxic the environment is becoming for them and the entire team. It is unfair to subject these students unnecessarily to make more retaliation and harassment. And to state for the record, if this behavior is not corrected, it will follow into college. And for me... I've had to file three Title IXs against my own teammates, and it all starts from the home. This needs to be addressed as adolescents, and these children need to be addressed. And so with the administration at FMHS, and I am disgusted that I went to Fort Myers High School now because of this instance. Thank you. Will the following individuals please line up? Lou Navarro, Marge Cox, Eileen DeLuca, Bobby D'Alessandro, Maddie Stewart. I am Dee Tucker. I'm

023the mother of the baseball player who got left stuck on the field this Thursday afternoon. I know everybody's talking about the text messages. Everything going on with our baseball team goes much deeper than that. The racial slur just was a slur to me. My son and other children of color have participated on this team and have been racially victimized, demonstrated against at the level of a planned premeditated walkout, primarily by most of their white team members on their baseball team. So any parent or team member that alludes to the fact that this was not based on race. I care to differ. I would declare that is not the truth. I do not know the grounds for Coach Birchfield's suspension, except for the fact we've been under a Title VI investigation. So I'm just trusting in

024the fact. That's why they must have found something and why he was suspended. I say this because not one black team member was told about the walkout, so they weren't able to participate. was told about the walkout so that we were not able to participate. I considered Coach Birchfield a friend. Somehow, now we're the victims. I understand you guys are here to help. I'm hoping that's what happens. We haven't gotten there yet. This investigation has gone on for almost two months. I had no clue about it, nor did we start it. Yes, we were questioned on it. You guys started that investigation. I don't know why. I'm just trusting in the process. The attitude toward, the attitude of discrimination behavior towards so many of the baseball team, the parents throughout the school, these adults at

025Fort Myers High School completely failed these children. There have been other instances where people have reported things that have not been taken care of. Our administration has failed these kids. The coaches have failed these kids. the team has failed these kids. Sorry. Only after the few weeks after obviously the racial slur did I find out completely that we were under investigation. There have been discriminatory group chats about our children since then. Fingers have been pointed at our boys with nothing they could do. Our children have the right to attend the atmosphere, to feel safe and trusted. Reports to administration of the N-word being used have been completely ignored. My black son has unfairly been suspended, disciplined on numerous occasions that the district has had to overturn. This walkout was just the tip of the iceberg.

026It was planned only for two black kids to be left behind. This is 100% premeditated, malicious, and strategically to... Next speaker, come on down, please. My name is Shane Riley. I'm a resident of Estero. My wife and I are an interracial couple living in Estero. And my son is also on the baseball team at Fort Myers High School. My kids drive 30 minutes every day. We're excited for that, starting high school down there in Fort Myers, hoping for diversity. What we've received is the farthest thing from that. And a lot of us are parents here, or grandparents, I believe. And I think... we all would agree that our number one job as parents are to protect and guide our kids. I'm trying to raise a young man of good ethics, values, and become an upstanding

027and productive member of society. With the current events of Fort Myers High School regarding our son and the constant bullying and harassment and victimization since the racial text message on February 14th has been something that I couldn't even make up. It's left me to consistently protect my son by constantly sounding alarms, unfortunately to no avail. This has left me to question the ethics behavior by peers and adults witnessed by young impressionable young young men. My son was one of two along with Madrid Tucker of color that was left on that field the other night on April 6th at Terry Park. I don't I don't have many more words for this group other than thank you for for taking the time to listen to me. I've got a 30-minute ride home again to to just think

028as a father how I got here. Thank you. Mr. Navarro, come on down, please. Navarro, good evening. Board, superintendent, 30-year top member and 38-year retired teacher, Lee County. I still want to reiterate no firearms in the classroom. I'm still concerned about that. Understood you were gonna take it up tonight, but I don't see it on the agenda It would be nice if you'd print some paper agendas like Cape Coral does the City Council I Know everything's computerized, but still some of us like hard copies I don't know if Debbie did you ever contact Manatee County about the ad litem program there I'm concerned about who's going to carry weapons in school the principal you know sometimes I didn't have good relationships with some of those principles they can be vindictive let's face it I taught

02938 years so I don't want to see any more firearms leads are places of higher learning or learning Half-cent sales tax oversight committee. I had the pleasure of going there the other night. And, you know, it's more like a farce. Everybody kind of sat around, and I was the only one to speak. And I said, you know, should I bring donuts and coffee? No one wanted to be the chair. They all kept goofing around. district came in to teach them Robert's Rules of Order which they do not have and then about meeting out of the sunshine now I I was happy they the administration did this but uh I I put in five public record requests and I haven't heard a thing and I'd like to ask the board and the superintendent to appoint Adam

030Malloy to look into this. I have a lot of confidence in him, and I think he is trying to do a really good job. You're talking about millions of dollars, and everybody's talking around, and I wanted to be on this committee, but yet they had five new members. I've asked the public records, when were the jobs advertised, etc. It's very sad. That's our money. I wasn't in favor of it because I think it gets wasted. Substitute teachers. I know you're going to meet. All I'm going to ask you is to pay the Social Security side. You have 300 absences a day. Those kids get no learning. You either need to privatize or pay them. Hello, my name is Marge Cox. I live in Bonita Springs. I hold a Florida teaching license for media services K-12.

031I retired from Collier County Public Schools in 2020. During the time I served as media specialist for Veterans Memorial Elementary School, we won two Florida Power Library Awards. And in 2016, we were awarded the American Association of School Librarians Program of the Year Award. On a personal level, I was named a teacher of distinction three times. I share this information because I want to make it clear that I understand what a quality library program entails. I come this evening to support your media specialists and curriculum specialists who are working diligently to fulfill their job responsibilities and to help in collection development decisions. As a part of my Masters of Library Science, I took a semester-long class in collection development. One of the basic tenets of creating a library collection is for it to represent various

032points of view, but not to show bias in only one viewpoint. I assume your professionally trained media specialists and curriculum specialists have had similar training as a part of their degrees. I want to close with an idea from Dr. Radine Seams Bishop. She's a former professor of education at the Ohio State University where she taught classes on children's literature. Her idea was that books can be mirrors for children so that they see themselves as they read and they know that they're not the only one that is dealing with whatever issue they're dealing with. That it also provided a window into the world so that they saw places and parts that they would never be able to see where they actually lived, but that it would take them places they might never have gotten to go.

033I believe there is evidence to show that children need books to see themselves and others in the world. Thank you to your media and curriculum specialists who are working to make carefully considered decisions for youth and to the board for your time tonight. And I particularly thank you for acknowledging School Library Media Month. That warmed my heart. Thank you. Chairman Persons, Dr. Bernier, and members of the school board, my name is Eileen DeLuca, and I'm the parent of three children who attend Lee County Public Schools. I live in Lee County, and I'm also an educator for more than 25 years. I'm here to thank the teachers, library media specialists, and other curriculum professionals who are currently drafting and who will then implement a new book and media policy as required by HB 1467 and upcoming

0341069. I recently attended the Curriculum Advisory Committee meeting. and really value the work of the educators and the committee members who are working to ensure that educational decisions are made by educators and that parents retain the right to make opt-out decisions for their own children. The draft of the book challenge policy shared at the meeting continues to allow parents to make decisions about the content they do not want their own children to access. The draft policy also allows citizens to request an ad hoc committee review of books that they feel are inappropriate for all students. The draft policy also includes mechanisms for appeals to the school board. This may prove to be time consuming and contentious for the board, but please know there are many of us here in Lee County who are here to

035support you as professionals when you are asked to make educational decisions to allow continued access to books for children. I believe educational professionals with input from parents and community members should make final decisions, not those with a political agenda. I can tell you you that I have actively served on the Patriot Elementary SAC Committee, the North Fort Myers Academy of Arts Executive Board, and I'm with parents each week through my children's sports and theater and chorus and all the activities they do, and I have never heard a parent raise a concern about books available in media centers or classroom libraries. Never. As a parent, I'm concerned that extremists have insinuated themselves into the planning process at the district. We need to be very concerned when educators are not the one deciding which books are appropriate

036for children and when special interest groups want to control what we can and cannot read. Media specialists and classroom teachers are highly educated and trained experts in literacy and in judging whether or not material is developmentally appropriate. In addition to holding degrees, you all know that they have to remain certified, undergo continue offensive, may be proposing a solution in search of a problem that does not exist. Thank you so much. Will the following individuals please line up? Susie Thiel, Denise Ballant, Jerry Ware, Marissa Williams, Robert Daniels, Jacob Pottinger. Good evening, Board and Superintendent. My name is Bobbi D'Alessandro. I'm a local citizen and former superintendent here in Lee County in Cambridge, Mass. I appreciate the time to speak to you tonight about House Bill 1609, even though I realize it's a Tallahassee issue at this

037time. If it becomes law, it would be up to this board to develop policy and your staff to develop a process to implement it. Dr. Bernier, I want to thank you because since the last meeting, we've had an opportunity to meet with Dr. Spiro and his very competent staff. They have spent quality time with us and we were very interested to see the review committee they're setting up for the challenge process. I again want to reiterate that these professionals should be making these decisions because they're talented, they are skilled, and they have the best interest of the teachers and the students in mind. I also learned that community members, as well as parents, have the right to take library books off our shelves. There are, of course, community and parent rights. The time it takes

038to review a book on this process is lengthy, even though your committee is really trying to make it, or your staff is trying to make it, a very efficient process. The book must be read, and then it must be discussed, and if the parent or community member disagrees with the decision, they can come to you, the board, again, and take it to the board, and even... if they still disagree, can take it on to Tallahassee. This is going to be a very lengthy process for the book to be out and also very expensive. I wholeheartedly believe in parent rights to have their children read whatever they think is proper. And taking members off the shelf by citizens who may or may not have a long history in education, it seems to exaggerate. already cumbersome situation.

039Thanks to the staff for the hard work they're doing. We volunteer to help in any way that we can to be helpful. Let's continue to focus our time and our energy into what's best for students and teachers. Thank you very much. Good evening. Good evening. I'm Madeline Stewart. Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk with you. I think my colleagues in purple, who were standing previously, have said a lot of what I wanted to share with you. But I wanted to just give some... facts and information that most people may not be aware of. In terms of the book challenge committee, you know, we've heard so much about all the books that are so terrible and inappropriate for our children. We hear about that in the news. And we hear that parents are

040so, so concerned about what their children are reading. Well, I want to tell you what happened last year. And this information is from a public records request. There were 34 books challenged district-wide. 33 of those challenges of the 34 were brought by two community members who do not have children in the schools. Exactly one challenge was brought by a parent in the district. Where did the idea to challenge these books come from? obviously not from concerned parents. The 33 books challenged by the two community members came from long lists of books, many of them classics of literature, distributed by well-funded, politically motivated groups across the country. After extensive review of the 34 challenged books by the committee of staff and parents over the course of an academic year, exactly one book was removed from a

041Lee County high school, and that was the only copy of the book in the entire district. Those with a narrow political agenda say they want to improve education. Really? Based on scare tactics about a book's content, they forced the district to spend scarce resources on endless challenges, and they plan to do so again. We heard that at the CUAC meeting. They even said they were going to challenge the same books that they challenged previously, but for different reasons. Again, a community person, not a parent. They are at the CUC meeting. I have to report. I was there, and so were my colleagues. They were rudely dismissive of professional knowledge, educational attainment, and experience. This approach undermines respect for teachers and their ability to do their work. How can this possibly improve education? Please stand with

042us. We trust the professionals to educate our students. When you mix politics and education, you get politics. Keep politics out of our schools. Thank you so much. Hello, my name is Denise Ballant. I'm a school bus driver for Transportation West for the last 26 years. And I love being a bus driver. I wanted to say that. What I wanted to talk about is that at TransWest we've had plenty of problems for the last several years, but I wanted to bring to your attention how transportation, their storyline, is that workers' compensation regarding where we spend our light duty. I personally was in this situation around this time last year. I went to serve my time the day after injury. Doctors took me off driving my bus. I was told immediately that Mr. Perdue was sending me

043to Leonard Compound. Administration told transportation was their own entity and that's the way we do it, period. I was driving 30 miles twice a day to Leonard and back. I asked if I can be reimbursed for time and mileage cost and wasn't supposed to be driving far. This took about an hour. each way. I was told then I asked for hours if I could be adjusted because of the downtime in the middle of my scheduled hours to reduce my driving from two trips a day to one trip a day to Leonard Compound and was told that That was a hard no by Mr. Perdue. In my next meeting with him, way after the fact, I asked to please put me back at my job site. He said he can't because I might gossip with fellow

044employees. I responded with, I could do that anyway, anytime. He offered to pull all strings to get me into a nearby school close to West, but not Transwest. This was expensive and painful to my injuries. And in the contract, the employee will remain in their job site performing appropriate duties as identified by their supervisor for a period of agreed and employee to work site treatment. Oh, I'm sorry, messed up. Employee will be evaluated by their physician. Anyway, we're supposed to stay at our job site for workers' comp, and it doesn't say we're our own entity anywhere. And I just wanted you to know that. And thank you for your time. They're doing that to everyone. Thank you. My name is Susie Till, the wife of the late Libby Till. This is my son, Lemuthiel Jr.

045Good evening. On behalf of the Lemuthiel family, I'm happy to stand before you and extend thanks. to all of our Lee County School Board members, to our superintendent, to Lee County School District members. Ms. Teal, can you put the microphone a little bit in front of you? And Lemieux Teal's principal, and the citizens of Lee County, the teachers, parents, students, and friends. It is with great joy and admiration to know that Lemieux-Tillsburg School will not only bear my late husband's name, but it will go down in history as the fourth African American in the county who has the school named after him. Lemieux was a very excellent math teacher. His greatest highlight in his career was being selected as a Golden as a Gold Upper Teacher in 1995 by the Foundation and Lee County School

046Board. Once again, I thank all of you for your support. I look forward to working with you in the future. Thank you. Okay. Hello, I'm Marissa Williams. I have two or two boys going on three that are going to be in Lee County School District. I can honestly say we've had some great experiences, but as of late, we've had the complete opposite. My oldest son has been receiving 80 to 100% on his tests, but recently we received his report card. He has a 67% in language arts and 70% in math. I did not feel like this reflected his grades correctly, so I had my son's tutor inquire with the teacher. We received a response that was defensive, and we were informed that the tests do not get counted towards his grade, and they're only counted...

047only counting the quote-unquote exemplars. We were told he is working with my son to master these goals, but we are seeing the complete opposite. My question is, when did it become that our kids' testing scores are not being counted towards their overall grade, and why? It's hard to explain to my 11-year-old that yes, you're doing great, but no, your grades are very low. Please help me understand why this is happening and if this can be changed. It's very crushing for a student to feel that they are doing great just to be shown the opposite. My next issue, which is a big one, is that I have an IEP student. He is crying that he is stupid and doesn't want to go to school. We recently had an IEP meeting and we were told that he

048had not been evaluated since kindergarten. He's now in second grade and he is eight years old. I know these are federally bound contracts. Is there any explanation on how these schools are getting away with not properly evaluating and helping our IEP students and what can be done to fix this problem? I had to hire and pay somebody for all this to be brought to light because just like every other parent without a background in IEPs, we're all in the dark as far as what is happening and what should be happening. And I was also told that since he has special needs, I should be getting used to him being behind. because that's just what happens. Thank you. Good evening, school board chair, school board members, superintendent Bernier and attorney Bruno. My name is Jeri Ware.

049I have two concerns to address. I want to thank you, Ms. Stata Langford-Plemming for addressing my concern as it relates to the proximity plan affecting students who are transported after school to the STARS complex. I was happy to provide data Advising them of the number of children that attend there and from the schools in which they attend. I'm told by Dr. Malloy that a solution has not been arrived, but I just want to encourage you, make sure that something is done so that we don't have a lot of latchkey kids. That's the last thing we need is to promote that type of activity. And last but not least, two weeks ago, I was contacted and it brought back memories. I was advised by parents seeking a solution that that child had been called the N-word.

050This word is an attempt to marginalize a group of people. My sad part that I'm concerned about is that no one talks to them as a group. They cannot speak to you other than to come and present their concern. No one is going to respond to them. That's your policy. They are not being addressed. We thought it had been resolved only to me to get another call last Thursday. Mrs. Ware, would you believe that while our two kids were deliberately placed number one and number two to bat, As soon as the second one got up, all of the kids left the dugout, leaving them without teammates. I thought 60 years would have changed things, but it hasn't. So I ask, when will we change? What will we do about this? Don't let those parents. concerns

051beyond deaf ear, address them, meet with them. It's sad when you don't have anyone that you can interact with. That's their concern. How do you think these children feel? I know how I felt back in the 60s as I protested, fighting for what we're still fighting for today. So I ask you, don't just let them say here that there are hearings. Meet with them, interact with them, listen to them. They need to be heard. We will not be marginalized. I don't allow anyone to marginalize me. I know who I am and whose I am. Thank you. Robert Daniels. I'd like to start by thanking you for the bonuses that were supplied to the teachers on the last pay period. And I want to say that I recognize that a lot of what I come up

052here to talk about is an inherited problem from previous boards and previous administrations, and we're looking for you to go back and clean up their messes. When I first came here, I explained how I'd been working for the district for 10 years, and when I adjusted my pay flow for just normal inflation, not what's going on right now, but the normal average inflation, I had not received much of a pay raise in those 10 years beyond about $15 a year for a total of $150. I did a little research over the past couple weeks into how much the districts have previously paid teachers on average. In 1969, adjusted for inflation, the average was $71,500. Over the 40 years from 1969 to 2009, adjusted for inflation, the average of those 40 years was $68,500. The average

053pay, as close as I've been able to find, looking for it and not being able to find any exact figures, is about $53,000 this year. That's why we're asking for raises, because raises will be there next year when the bills are around and the bonuses aren't. That being said, imagine my surprise when I thought was a more money, a bigger raise, beyond my wildest dreams, would only just be a return to normalcy. That being said, I'd also like to thank you for the reassurances from last year or last meeting about not having to worry about repercussions. And I saw that you are looking at a speak up, listen up training for the board and for the administration. I don't think you need to waste the money on it. I think you can get way more

054out of just the common sense approach of listening to those of us who are ready, coming here to speak up. I'm ready to sing like a canary about all of my concerns with what's going on in the district. But to date, despite repeated offers, no one has contacted me, even for the area in which I am an expert and everyone on the board has admitted ignorance to. That being the operation of the virtual school. For 10 years, the virtual school teachers have worked without being in the teacher contract. I've made it my own personal mission this year to try to change that. And I have been met with resistance and silence. So I would invite you to join me in that fight. Because no teacher should be working in this district without contract protections along

055the same lines as our school bus driver just noted. Further, if you want the teachers to speak up so you can listen up, you might want to take a look at the training materials we are given. I just finished a 17-hour classroom management course for the book Discipline with Dignity, which devoted an entire chapter to telling your teachers not to ever go to administration. Thank you. Hello, my name is Jacob Pottinger. I'm currently a senior, IB senior at Fort Myers High School. Though I cannot speak as to the racism and the investigation going on within the baseball program, I can speak as to how Fort Myers High School has failed me. I was a former player of the Fort Myers High School baseball team and I had to quit after a series of events. This

056started following the assistant coach's text message in which he used a racial slur. I was absolutely shocked to see this. This is not the man that I had known him to be and I reassured my teammates that I was pretty sure that this was not malicious. He was not going after them based upon their skin color. And though The day following this, I walked into the baseball weights classroom and someone had been spreading around the text message. It was at this point that I had instructed and asked the student to not spread this around and to let the adults handle it before anything else happened. It was at this point that I was called down and separated and pulled aside. from my former teammates, me and other students were pulled down to our athletic director's

057office, then questioned and made felt alienated from the team based upon us trying to reassure our teammates that this was not targeted against them. Then what followed was later on that day. a group of three students came around trying to provoke teammates and students at Fort Myers High School to say a racial slur so that way they could batter them. I believe in the state of Florida this falls under assault as it is a threat made against someone with intent to harm. So I went to administration because I had felt uncomfortable because I was informed that this was going to happen to me. It was at this point that the administration had pulled me aside and sat me down in the office by myself all day. I was then told and asked what was going,

058I asked the administration what was going to happen. They had no answers. They asked me what my parents had thought of the situation. I was uncomfortable answering because I, this was all new to me. It was at this point that for the remainder of my stay on the Fort Myers High School baseball team, I was accused of being a thief. I was separated against the team, I was allowed to be slandered against, and I do not believe that the administration had my best interests in hand. I believe that they failed me. purely based upon the fact that they were willing to let my situation and my concerns slide to deal with this investigation and the possible repercussions of the assistant coach's actions. I feel as though I have not been heard. I feel as though

059this is my only opportunity to get my point across that this school needs to be looked at. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, that concludes public comment for this evening. Thank you. I want to thank everybody that spoke tonight. There were several topics and we understand your passion. Thank you again. Next on our agenda is the approval of consent action items. The documentation for action items listed under consent is made available to board members seven business days prior to the board meeting. Chair, what was the young man's name that spoke? I don't think he said his name. Jacob Pottinger. Jacob Pottinger. The comment's over. We expect to review all material. We have an opportunity to speak with the superintendent with any questions we may have regarding the recommendations. Some of these items have also been disconsent action

060items with the exception, well, there are no pulled items. So is there a motion to approve the consent agendas? Mr. Fisher? Motion to approve the consent agenda as listed. And seconded? I'll second it. Ms. Jordan? Yes. Thank you. This has been moved by Mr. Fisher and seconded by Ms. Jordan. Please record your vote. The consent agenda passes 7-0. Dr. Bernier, will you introduce any administrators in attendance with a new assignment that was approved under the consent? Mr. Chairman, members of the board, yes, sir. I'd be happy to do that. With your actions this evening, you have moved Jose Cuevas within application services to the director of application service. I know he's in the audience and needs to be recognized. Additionally, Patrick Way from Infrastructure Services is now the Director of Technology Operations. Before I go

061on to the next appointment, I want to recognize the members of their family and those people who are here in support of them, including our Chief of Instructional Technology and those operations. Thank you very much to your family members for your service. You will potentially see less of them. I hate to tell you that, but they're taking some really amazing positions with our school district, and we look forward to their continued work and efforts to continue to improve our technology systems. Our last appointment this evening is Jacqueline Fantasia. She is currently serving as the James Stevens Assistant Principal. Tonight, with your action, Jacqueline becomes the principal of... Jacqueline, I echo the sentiments to your family as well. I know you're very busy as an assistant principal, but your workload just increased a considerable fold. Also,

062with Jacqueline in particular, as well as to our two technology administrators, this is an appointment of trust. This is probably the most trusting thing our board does, and based upon some of the conversation this evening, we understand the vital responsibility of being excellent leaders, whether it be down here at the central office, but especially when you have the lives of children at your hands and at your direction. So congratulations to all of you, and looking forward to seeing what you will accomplish both in your jobs here at the central office, as well as... what will continue to happen as the great faculty of James Stevens continues to move forward. So thank you. Dr. Bonnear, would you please present your recommendation for this evening's public hearing? Yes, sir. My recommendation is item one, the approval of

063the standard charter contract with Team Success, a school of excellence of Lee County, Inc., doing business as Team Success. The school will serve, with your approval, grades K-8 for a five-year term from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029, with a projected enrollment of 198 students year one and a capacity of 602. Thank you. We will now recess the regular school board meeting and open the public hearing. The time is 7.13. As indicated, the public hearing this evening is to consider Dr. Bonnier's recommendation as previously stated. The public will be invited to speak on this one item. The time allowed for public comment is three minutes. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to address the board regarding the approval of charter contract with Team Success, the School of Excellence of Lee County,

064Inc., for Team Success? Seeing none, I will now close the public hearing and reconvene the regular school board meeting of April 11, 2023. The time is 7.14. Dr. Bonier, please restate your recommendations for this evening's public hearing item. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Item 1 is the approval of the standard contract, charter contract, excuse me, with Team Success, a school of excellence of Lee County, Inc., doing business as Team Success. The school will serve grades K-8 for a five-year term from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029 with a projected student enrollment of 198 year one and a capacity of 602. You have heard the superintendent's recommendation that the board approve the standard charter contract with Team Success, the School of Excellence of Lee County, Inc., doing business as Team Success. Board members, is there a motion

065to approve? Ms. Jordan? I move that we approve the Charter Contract with Team Success, a School of Excellence of Lee County, Inc. for Team Success. Is there a second? Second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, please record your vote. The approval of Charter Contract with Team Success passes 7-0. Next on our agenda is the good of the order. We will start with our student representative, Christian. Thank you, Mr. Chair. All amazing things to report tonight to the board. At my school, Norfolk Myers High School, student government has been more than busy. Not only have we continuously carried out our responsibilities in planning and paying for all school dances or otherwise related events, we've begun to embark on a new mission. One to represent student voices through providing for awareness events and campaigns on campus that

066finally represent the voices of all students on every subject area. I would further like to give a shout out to Mrs. Kimberly Blakely, our student government advisor, for her diligent work in assisting our voices at Norfolk Myers High School. Norfolk Myers High School has given me many amazing opportunities and I am happy to report that my future and the future of many of my fellow students is bright. The class of 2023 at Norfolk Myers High School will be graduating summa cum laude with over 50% of the graduating seniors obtaining this honor. Through my time here, I've gained a 4.4 GPA, something that would not be possible without the ACE program. It is in this school district that I've been able to achieve this, and I say thanks to every single one of my teachers who

067have helped me in this process, and to this board, and to the previous boards who have presided over this district. Sincerely. To close tonight, I would like to address... issues that I brought up in the past facing schools. In my last address to this board, I asked that the issue of sexual violence in our schools be reviewed and that something be finally done to pursue a solution to this issue. to the many students victimized in this district on various bases. In his diligent work, Dr. Bernier addressed me directly and offered to entertain me at a personal meeting to discuss the possibilities of this pursuit to a solution to addressing the issue of sexual violence in Lee County. I have addressed this board a total of four times before this one, and this is one of

068the most notable follow-ups that I have ever received from a leader of the school district. Thank you, Dr. Bernier. I am not the only student that appreciates your respect for students, your recognition of our voices, and your understanding of our needs. And that is not to say that the members of this board do not do so, but in this subject area, I thank Dr. Bernier for his pursuit. for student voices. To reinforce those in the room of my point in this area, sexual violence is in no way a matter of little concern. Just as I was sitting in my English class last week, I felt concerned to the jokes being made by some fellow students joking about a female student, someone that I was aware of who fell victim to sexual violence in her community.

069Now of course this might be a consolidated group of students, but I have to address this tonight because I feel that if this board continues to consider options to address this issue, we can bring about education, we can bring about perspective to help the people victimized by this violence, to give them the voice that they need, to give them the platform that they need to help them in their recovery, to provide them mental health. treatment services and information that help them in their recovery. You cannot prevent sexual violence. You cannot propose a final solution. What you can do is be proactive about your reactiveness to the issue. You can be proactive about how you concern yourselves as a board to be proactive about how you are to serve victims, student victims of this problem. And

070I've addressed this issue five times now. And I will continue to do so. And I look forward to this board's work in this area. And I appreciate the opportunity tonight. So thank you. Thank you. Mr. Fisher. Thank you. It's great to have you join us again, Christian. Thank you for being up here. Congratulations on your success. I'm very heartened to hear that you're continuing to advocate for others. That is amazing and very impressive. So thank you for doing that. And hopefully we will have some kind of follow-up conversation on that. So thank you for doing that. Anything else? I'll keep this short. First of all, Patriot Elementary Chorus. They were amazing. I really enjoyed that one. So great job to them again. Fort Myers High School parents, community members, and students, I want to thank

071you all for contacting us, for reaching out, for letting us know and expressing your concerns. Right now, as many have told you, that right now it's part of an investigation, so we really can't comment on much on that, but it is being taken seriously, and I do appreciate everyone that is... commenting and standing up and letting us know of things. So I appreciate that to the community. Last thing, I also want to thank our legislative delegation that they're really trying to push for us and they're really trying to get some stuff across the finish line for this school district. They're really working hard and they're giving us some opportunities and I really do appreciate that. That's all I have for now. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Giovinelli. Thank you. Well, thank you for talking about

072Patriot Elementary and the Stars and Stripes and the chorus and their strings. It was an awesome presentation and songs they did. It was great. I wanted to speak to Kristen. I wanted to ask you through the chair how your autism walk was. You had reached out to me. I thought you might give us an update on that tonight, but you didn't. So maybe you can. We'll give you an opportunity to talk about that a little bit because you just had that on April 1st. Absolutely. So North Fort Myers High School Student Government, we very diligently plan not only school-based events, but community-based events. One of our pride and joys is the North Myers High School Autism Walk. We hosted every year in April and we've spent many months putting it together, many months conceptualizing what

073we wanted our vision to be about the event. And to say the very least, it was an amazing success. We had quite a crowd show up to support autism awareness and inclusion for various sensory disorders. We had Jessica Cosden, a member of the Cape Coral City Council, come and participate in the event to help support our cause for autism awareness and for sensory inclusion. And I would also like to shout out, some of you do know her, Allison Bernal, she's a graduating senior. This is... collectively student governments project that this is her originating project. She has worked very, very hard to put this forward for us and to put this forward for the district and to help shine a light on how the greater school district of Lee County is helping support these priorities that

074we've set forth. And so we had an amazing time. Good. Thank you. Real quick, I wanted to thank the ladies in purple. They're always persistent and I appreciate that. And we are hearing you. I would like the superintendent to address. Not publicly, but address whatever happened at the West compound regarding transportation. And I wanted to thank the Thiel family for being here tonight and telling us about the wonderful things that Mr. Thiel had done for the school district. I'm excited to see the new school in honor of him. Thank you. Also, I wanted to make a couple statements regarding Fort Myers High. I just wanted to apologize personally. for the administration letting you down to all families. There is no place for racism in this district regardless, and I'll stand strong with that. So I

075am hopeful this investigation will be over soon and we can get back to playing baseball. Thank you. Ms. Patrika. Thank you. So ditto to everything you said, Mr. Fisher. Thank you. We share a brain. At least tonight we do. I'd like to ask the chair, do we still have the parking lot where we're putting subjects that the board would like to discuss, and then we'll bring that list back at a workshop and decide whether we want to brief it or workshop it. Are we still doing that as a board? Yes. May I place an item in the parking lot then, please, to determine whether we'll be briefed on it, and that item is how does the district or... How do our schools react to or respond to sexual violence on our campuses? Please and thank

076you. Christian, you rock. I will door knock for you when you run for whatever it is you're gonna run for in the future. I'm a good door knocker. So take me up on that at some point in the future, please. Now I have a little bit of a lengthy thing that I'd like to go through with you all and I apologize for the length of it, but I think it's important. So let's play a game, shall we? I'll give you a bunch of clues and you can try to guess who I am. I am a person, place, or thing. You can't touch me, see me, or smell me. I'm considered a human condition, but really I'm a collection of symptoms. He doesn't play with other kids. She doesn't like it if we drive home a

077different way. He'll sit and take the vacuum apart for hours. She doesn't look at me. I'm the twitching finger and the flapping hand. I am the silent toddler with downcast eyes and a tippy-toe walk. I am a diagnosis, a disorder, a box you check on the medical form, or a postscript at the end of an email. P.S. I'm not sure if you've heard, but Jack's been diagnosed. I will make you have bad days and good days, and bad days then good. I live in each and every one of you whether you know it or not. I am the cocktail party that makes you shy and the tag on your shirt that makes you itch. I am the sticky crunch of strawberry seeds and the overwhelming hum of the air conditioner. I make some people jump

078and flap while others chew gum or run for miles or twirl their hair. I am the baby Einstein DVD on repeat. I am long, neat rows of Thomas the Tank engine trains snaking around your family room. Seeing these rows will make you feel frantic, frustrated, and nervous and empty. I am hours of Minecraft. Some days I taste like shame and bitterness burning up from a mother's heart like sour indigestion. But other days I taste like the purest joy, like cotton candy and happiness and pride exploding within your heart. He did it. He said, Mama. You can find me in churches and synagogues and mosques. I am in schools and movie theaters, playgrounds and libraries. For some reason, people celebrate me in April. They use the color blue, but I am actually all the colors of

079the world. Red for Saturday and yellow for the too bright sun. but I am also colorblind. I am in India, I am in Jamaica, I am in the Philippines, in Wisconsin, and Sierra Leone. You can find me in Russia and Japan, San Francisco and Belgium. Maybe you sit across from me at your dinner table every night, or maybe you look up and see my reflection in the mirror when you brush your teeth before bed, or maybe you see me in a meeting at work and you don't even know it. I live within a 10-year-old boy in New Hampshire. His name is Jack. One year, I made him afraid of wind, so afraid, in fact, that he would not go outside all winter. The next year it was dogs. Because of me, he wouldn't cross the

080street if someone was walking their pug or their golden retriever. And this boy Jack, well, I make him work hard for the things that come naturally for others. Language and jokes and facial expressions. He spends a lot of his day anxious and confused. I am his enigma wrapped up in waffle Thursday and pancake Saturday. Mom, it is Thursday. Thursday for waffles, for waffles, waffles, waffles. I've been around since the beginning of time, despite the facade of normal assembled by generations before you. There is no normal, I am here to tell you this. It is up to you how you see me, as a nuisance, a tantrum, a disorder, or a curious lamb wearing the costume of a wolf. Can you look past my long yellow teeth and matted hair and find the soft gentle child

081underneath? Because of me, Mozart wrote long, complicated symphonies. His hearing was rumored to be so sensitive he could tell the difference in the slightest tone. Historians explain the way Michelangelo made sketch after sketch until the final pose was perfect in his rigid, unbending mind. Because of me, the Sistine Chapel explodes with light and color. Records show that Albert Einstein did terribly in school. He didn't learn the same way as all the other kids. And Sir Isaac Newton of the fallen apple had no friends. He didn't understand people and he insisted on a strict, unwavering routine. And there is Temple Grandin, a woman so intelligent, so compassionate that she revolutionized the cattle industry through sheer perseverance and determination. You see, a still mind can still have great thoughts, and within even the quietest person there is

082a voice, or a painting, or a song. I am so many things. I am hope and possibility. I am music and dreams, kindness and color. I am gravity. So please, before you panic or judge, before you race for a cure or rush to call me weird, try to remember my value. Remember my goodness. I will teach you the real meaning of unconditional love, a love so powerful and strong it will rearrange your heart. At first, you probably won't even realize that you are learning from me. I am so subtle, I am practically invisible. But every hour, every day, every year, you and I will make our peace. You will step carefully over the long rows of trains and admire the complicated cities in Minecraft. Every Thursday at dawn, you will turn on the lights in

083the kitchen and take out the waffle iron for a boy who at last said, Mama. You will forget normal. I am autism, and I make you better. I will make your family better. If you let me, I will make the world better. That was written by Carrie Cariello in 2015, and her son is Jack. Those are my comments this evening. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Jordan. Thank you, and I had written down Asperger's because it sounded like you were speaking about my grandson. So thank you for that. Okay, I just wanted to share a few things. I know you'd love to hear me share. Franklin Park Elementary School has begun the teardown, and I know I mentioned this the other day. It's going to take six weeks, so we're excited about that. I attended the

084Insurance Task Force meeting, and they were stating that this was the first month, this was the first time that there was no large claims. So everybody was excited about that. So I felt like I needed to share that as well. They also noted that the new hires were excited about the family coverage and the overall employee children enrollment has gone up to over 500 employees, which is great. So a lot of our employees are taking that and utilizing for their children. So that's a good thing that we've done. Actively, Ms. Heather presented the new wellness incentives, which are district-wide, and that is for everybody to be a part of, and they're asking... They're looking to increase in those incentives, which help us with diabetes, help us with our just wellness, and it's preventative. And we

085all should be looking at that. I also attended the Easter parade, which there were thousands of people there this Sunday. It was very well attended. James Stevens, I was excited about that. It seemed like she brought half the staff came. So she has the full support of her team, which is really a beautiful thing. I know that Mr. Fisher and Ms. Giovinelli shared a lot of the comments that I was going to make, but I definitely want to say as a parent and grandparent of children that attended Fort Myers High School, I am kind of very disappointed in that. And I'm looking forward to making sure that I know we're doing checking on that. We need to make sure that our children always feel safe and secure wherever they're at because that is our priority.

086The purple people, ladies, men, appreciate them coming and sharing. And I think Ms. Williams with the IEP has already been... Hopefully, I thought I saw someone reach out to her. So thank you for that. Because we want to make sure that all of our children are, you know, special needs or not. We need to make sure that our kids have what they need. And Mr. Daniel, thank you for always coming and sharing. And let me see, I'm sorry, there was something else. And I want to say to Jacob, I know that takes a lot of courage for a student to come up and speak to us. And I want to thank him for coming here and sharing his thoughts and letting us know how he's feeling. And for the parents also coming and speaking on

087your children, thank you for that. And that, oh, one more thing. North Fort Myers will be having the performance of SpongeBob the musical and that's going to be held on the 28th and you should put that on your calendar because you don't want to miss those performances and thank you. Thank you. When you get this far down everything's just about been already touched on so thank you for the poem about autism and reminding us all of that. I had that star next to Marissa Williams' name, so hopefully someone's reaching out. I don't think there's really no excuse for a child to start in kindergarten, not have an IEP that need one place for the last two years, it sounds like. So hopefully someone will reach out to her. Ms. Ware, thank you for always standing

088up for your beliefs and vocalizing. concerns and bringing things to the table that we may not be aware of. Hopefully we can circle back with her about the STARS complex and making sure that those after school programs are being covered by transportation if that's the issue. Dr. Rear was looking at me kind of funny so I was making sure that I didn't miss anything. Let's see. Christian, thank you for being here. You are so brave and I commend you on that and speaking up on your friends and colleagues and peers at your school. So thank you so much for sharing your evening with us. Regarding Fort Myers baseball. This is such a sensitive subject right now because it is under investigation. So for us not to be able to make much public comment, but I

089will concur with what Mrs. Giovinelli said earlier. There is no place for racism, racial slurs, be it from admin all the way down. And that starts with the culture that we put in place from the top to the bottom. And we've talked to that. We talked about that today in our retreat. So I being... a former coach and have three athletes myself. This is very close to home. Sportsmanship is incredibly important and that should be something that athletes are seeing in the dugout, out of the dugout, whatever sport that you are playing. They should be seeing a perfect example of that by the people in charge, which would be their coaches. So that would be my expectation. So thank you, though, for coming and speaking. The student, Jacob, thank you for being brave enough to

090come up and speak on what had happened. So I look forward to hearing how this progresses and get these baseball players back out on the clay, hopefully before the season's over. Thank you so much. Ms. Morgan. Yes. So when we had people in the past who used to applaud and we told them they couldn't applaud, we came up with a thing where they could indicate to the audience they were part of a group. I think it's unfortunate that we have to ask people who want to show support for a speaker that they can't stand up to show their support. So I think it's important that we give them some alternative way to signify to us and to others in the audience that they share. the concerns of the person who's speaking. Secondly, my thought when

091I heard the parents speak about IEP and the process, and I don't get a lot of parent calls, but the ones I get tend to be about things like IEP, which are very complex. and governed by a lot of different regulations at different levels. And I was thinking about our conversation, some of these data we were looking at today in our strategic planning process and thinking maybe when stakeholders talk about transparency, it's not about how we communicate in general. It's about some of these very specific... programs that impact a small number of people and how effectively do we communicate with, I wanna call them small interest groups. They're really not an interest group, but small populations with special needs. A lot has been said about the comments made by Fort Myers High School parents and

092the communications we receive. I also thank Jacob for coming to speak. I would like to ask if he feels comfortable doing so. Dr. Purnia, just to talk to the public who may not be familiar with the process about how an investigation works and our role and your role. and how it all unfolds. So I respectfully ask through the chair that in your comments maybe you can address the public. And those are my comments. Thank you. Thank you. I also am upset about the Fort Myers situation and look forward to seeing the investigation being finished, being an alumni of Fort Myers High and on an athletic team. You know, as Jada... Well, as Ms. Fleming said, academic competition is important. It teaches you how to be in the business world, to go to work and compete

093with other businesses or other people within your business. And then at the end, you shake hands, you know, or in politics, like Kristen's going to go into. And yes, I also knock on doors. The other one thing that happened this last week is on Friday when the school was out, Our sheriff and our SROs all convened at Harns Marsh Middle School to train. And it was an action I got to go observe. It was a very intense training. And they did it from, I believe it was 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. And they went through all sorts of scenarios. There were volunteer teachers doing their part, screaming kids enjoying their part. And it was very realistic and again, very intense. You could see the SROs, their heart would be beating quite

094quickly as they went through their scenario. So that's the kind of training that keeps our kids safe. So I commend them all, everybody involved in that. Christian, for what you said about sexual assault, we have all these policies that take care of whoever commits it. But I think we probably need to come up maybe with a task force, like a special unit that will go whenever this happens, not just rely on a counselor at a school type things, people that are trained on that, maybe get that to follow through so we have a situation that they are taken care of. Because I think we do have more policies to take care of the person committing the crime and then just sort of let the victim flutter in the wind a little bit. And that is

095wrong. So we need to make sure we address that. And thank you for bringing it up. Those are my comments. Mrs. DePay-Bruno. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Christian, as always, it's good to see you. I don't know if you know that today's International Be Kind to Lawyers Day. So you have one more thing to look forward to when you join our profession the second Tuesday in April. I just have two points that I would like to make today. Just a follow-up, just to let the board know, you know that we went to the CASA conference two weeks ago. It was wonderful for the attorneys, both Mr. Huffman and I, to attend that conference and meet attorneys from all across the nation. Oklahoma, Indiana, Oregon. It was just really, really interesting. And I was also honored to

096be one of the presenters at that conference. So everything that we've learned, we're bringing back to enhance our team as well as to continue to provide you with the most up-to-date. representation based on the law as it stands today. And then the last thing I wanted to mention was tonight the board did approve the board attorney's final compiled evaluation for the year. The evaluation reflects not only my performance but also the work of the legal team consisting of Shana Zupke, Corey Huffman, most recently Coris McIntosh as well as Clara Diaz, as well as our support staff Benny, Alex, and Brandy who work very, very hard in this legal department. And the overall highly effective board rate reflects this dedication and the work that these people have done to help support this district in the legal

097capacity. And I also want the board members to know that I have shared your comments that you made in your individual evaluations as well as in our one-on-ones with the legal team. We are incorporating them in our continued quest to provide good service and counsel as well as fine-tune our representation for you so that we can help you effectively govern as well as help the administration with the day-to-day operations. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Bonner. Several things, and Ms. Langford-Fleming, when it gets down to this end, it's all been said. But I do feel it's responsible to respond to the Fort Myers baseball situation. I will certainly discuss the appropriate aspect of investigations. I will echo the sentiments of the board members that under an investigation we have to be careful. But to Chair Persons'

098comments, As a former athlete, though I may not look like it any longer, what I learned inside the lines became applicable to outside of the lines. And what, unfortunately, some of our young people may be learning right now are not the applicable ways that as when I coached trying to raise the next generation of young men who would be good partners to speak to. to speak to the issues. Great fathers, great husbands, there is no place for what we believe may have gone on. And it's unfortunate that what could be, I'm being very careful, adult behavior is impacting our young people. Investigations are conducted when we believe we need to dig deeper into a situation. There are implications for employees as well as non-faculty coaches, sometimes young people or... Men and women volunteer and choose

099to help coach a baseball, basketball, football team and they're paid a compensation as a non-faculty coach. There are expectations that go with that and for those of you who have not attended the multiple meetings that our district athletic director has with his ADs and with his coaches before every sports season gets started, those expectations are clearly spelled out. I will share with the public that unfortunately sometimes big checks and little checks get confused. Just like winning, I'm not saying this is the case, but just sometimes like winning takes priority over what athletics really are there for. It's about character development, learning to follow rules, and being taught how to be competitive but fair in that process. So once an investigation is opened, there are people named to lead that investigation. This investigation, because of the

100nature of a Title VI complaint, is being addressed not only by a member of our legal team in the Equity Office, but also a member of our Student Services Division because it impacts students. Those victims or those individuals who may have been impacted by the adult or other behavior are very important witnesses. But investigations initially seem simple when you start, and then you take statements from individuals, from adults, and from players, which raise more questions than that requires you to go back again and cycle through another time to address any additional accusations. I will share with you that I too would want nothing more than to have... all of our young people to be in an athletic situation where they can participate on their field. But I also will advise the board that there is

101a possibility that teams, when they have done something egregious or a principal runs out of adults to coach a team, it might be difficult for a team to continue to proceed. When a team runs out of players and coaches, it becomes more difficult. So this is going to be a difficult resolution. There are going to be people who are unhappy and people who are happy. There are people who are going to be disappointed. It's going to run the gamut of emotions. But I will say to all of you, as a person who espouses the character word today, integrity as his non-negotiable when my integrity bell rings and that's what's happening currently it is a primary focus I think the parents are wondering where I'm at but I think also the parents need to understand there

102are responsibilities as an educator where we coach and teach so they can be responsible for what they are responsible for. I can assure you that one of the reasons why some of our staff were here tonight was in preparation so those parents had faces of those individuals within our leadership team and academic services. Mr. Simmons is here tonight. I want to recognize his efforts in this process, David LaRosa's input in this process, and the administration. of Fort Myers High School. It is not a good situation. It's a situation we'd never want to develop, but it's here and it must be addressed. Moving on to a couple of the other, does that satisfy my board member? The investigation will move forward with all deliberate speed, but when I say speed, it doesn't mean we're going to

103rush through it. We're going to get it right. and we're going to make sure that we've done the correct things. Related to the situation out at the West Yard, Mr. Wagner actually stepped out with that particular driveway as the current Chief Operations Officer. He is responsible for oversight of the Transportation Director, so we have information about her case, and we will look into the factual aspects of what she said tonight. I agree also with Jerry Ware related to the use of particular racial terms. in racist terms and that there's no place in Lee County Schools in our school district for those. I will caution us against, we are working to try and find some transportation solutions for some of our extended day programs. But the board was very clear, every time we take a bus

104off the transportation of our students to and from school, we are Putting kids in harm's way sitting on a bus stop or a bus ramp on the tier three schools, waiting for a bus that could take them home that is currently doing additional things that are important. But it seemed to me the priority was about getting our school kids to students, both school our students to school on time and home on time. That was our primary purpose for bus transportation. What we have to do is as we route and as we figure out what the new proximity plan, what the impact will be, we will certainly look to establish additional busing if available, but I caution all of us until we know that we should be careful about what we say in the community about

105making a promise because we need to be sure that we have that transportation and we're not taking it away from a middle schooler or a middle school. Right now what we have occurring is sometimes middle schools will be sitting on their bus ramp with loads of students while a high school activity bus drives past them and picks up eight athletes and drives them back to a location for their parents to pick them up. We have a responsibility to our children in the academic settings first. and while after school programs are vital, and we will prioritize that, I want to make that clear. I can't assure at that level yet until I have more information from my transportation department. I want to end on some high notes with Mrs. Teal. Thanking her, she has been a

106very silent partner from her seat in lots of different areas. It's been a pleasure to get to know her through this process. and also react with some of my administrators and teachers who are blessed to have your husband as an educator. So thank you very much. It is not normal for us to be thanked from the podium, and we clearly understand that. I just want to make sure I've covered what I've asked to be covered. There's one more piece of paper. The other piece I think tonight just worth noting is the approval for us to begin to move forward and thank the speakers again for OpenGate. That is our entry technology. I think it gives us a great opportunity, and while no system is perfect, it gives us an extra set. of reassurance that people

107going into our school buildings will be screened and I appreciate the speaker and all of the board members understanding that this will be a work in process. This will not be all schools at once. This has to be a phased in process. Remind people that we celebrate, like the legacy of Lemuel Teal, we celebrate our golden apple winners this week. Looking forward to that reception and the celebration of some of the finest teachers, not just in the state of Florida, but in the entire Lastly, I will share with you that I just want to thank all of you for a splendid retreat today, to have some conversations about strategic plan, where we want to head, and I think tonight's meeting may even better inform us related to how we want to continue in those processes

108and have those conversations regarding maybe some of the things that we had better perspective on tonight. So I appreciate your time and your consideration of all the agenda items. Thank you for the appointment of the administrators. and to one of my favorite young men. Thank you. It is always a pleasure to talk to you. I thank you for the kind words. A member of my staff has been asked, because of our inability to get everything scheduled the way we wanted to, has been asked to prioritize some additional meetings and some additional opportunities for you and I to interact first. And then I have some ideas related to Chairman Berson's idea of a task force, as we do have a student advisory committee. And sometimes we lack a purpose for our work there. And this could

109be something as we agenda and think about next year that we can utilize that committee to do some of this work as a task force. So looking forward to continuing our dialogue, sir. Thank you very much. Continue to keep up the great work. All right, our next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 19th, there'll be a board workshop at 12 p.m. On Tuesday, April 25th, there will be a board briefing at 1 p.m., followed by a board action meeting at 6 p.m. At this point, having no other business to come before this body and seeing no objection, this meeting is adjourned. The time is 7.56.