School Board Business Meeting and Presentations 5_30 p.m. 4-28-25

001Welcome to the Joe N. Idollet Jr. TEC this evening school board's awards and presentations meeting. I ask that out of respect for everyone, please silence all electronic devices at this time. Call the meeting to order at 5:30. And I would like to recognize the superintendent for a series of awards and presentations. Dr. Moore. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I'll turn it over to public information officer Miss Maddox. Hi, good evening everyone, and thanks for being here tonight. We have a few very special uh presentations tonight. Our first one, we'll start out with our Casual for a Cause. Um we're excited to recognize our March Casual for a Cause organization, the Ocean Research and Conservation Association, better known as Orca. Casual for a cause is a special day across our district when students and staff have

002the opportunity to dress down in exchange for a donation. All to support a meaningful cause. Thanks to the generosity and spirit of our SDIC community, we raised a total of [Music] $1,778.98 in March to support Orca's important mission of protecting and restoring our local waterways. At this time, we'd like to invite Jasmine Schwarron, Orca's education specialist, to come forward as we proudly present her with a check for $1,778.98. We'd also like to recognize the school that raised the most funds during the campaign, which was Storm Grove Middle School, contributing an impressive $342.32. Thank you to all of our students, staff, and schools who partic who participated. Your support helps make a real impact in our community and environment. Congratulations, Orca, and thank you for the incredible work that you do. Thank you very All righty.

003Thank you guys so much. My name is Jasmine Schwadrren. I'm the education specialist at the Ocean Research and Conservation Association. I just wanted to let you guys know that this funding will allow us to continue to expand our education and citizen science projects within Indian River County. Um, as well as offering internship and mentorship opportunities for Indian River County students. We will continue to implement programs like a day in the life of the Indian River Lagoon, which introduces students to real world data collection and analysis, as well as Orca's data jam, a competition that merges art and science, um, where students will use art to depict real trends that we see in our data and a variety of lessons around Indian River County schools. We hope that through these programs, we will continue to cultivate

004an ethic of care, concern, and stewardship for the Indian River Lagoon and its watershed, offer meaningful participation in real world scientific research and environmental problem solving. Open pathways to real science and scientific literacy, and build relationships with schools, students, volunteers, community organizations to develop a conservation focused community. And this would not be possible without efforts from those like you. So, thank you guys so so much. We really appreciate it. [Applause] Great. Thank you. For our next presentation, we would like to recognize our 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program finalists. Our first finalist is from Sebastian River High School, Jaylen Luna. She is an international baloria dipl diploma program candidate and a member of the national honor society. She's been recognized for a perfect score on the fast ELA test in 2023. Wow. And college board has

005recognized her in their national recognition programs, rural and small town, Hispanic, first generation. She is BACE and AES certified. Those are biotech certifications. And she's been a volunteer at Felsmere Elementary School Extended DG program from 2022 through 2025. She's part of the FAU Junior Scientist Fellows program in 2023 and 24 where she presented research at FAU's Indian River Lagoon Symposium and has volunteered over 240 hours to our community. Jaylen, would you come up? Congratulations. Fantastic. We're gonna announce all of them first. We're going to take we're gonna introduce one more person. Okay. Our next National Merit Scholarship Program finalist is also from Sebastian River High School and her name is Eleanor Hall. She's an IB diploma candidate who has a true love for all things chemistry. She was selected by College Board for the National

006Rural and Smalltown Recognition Award in 2024. Eleanor is a member of the National Honor Society, a varsity athlete in weightlifting and lacrosse, and has volunteered over 20 225 hours and works part-time at a local bakery. Eleanor, come up. Congratulations. Take some photos. Scooch you over. That's incredible girls. Your hair looks great. All right. Ready? One, two, and three. Congratulations. Fantastic. Congratulations. Next, we have our academic signing day ceremony. And I would like to turn this over to Dr. Brian McMahon. Thank you very much. Tonight, we're uh excited to continue a special program recognizing our academic allstars. I mean no disrespect to the school board. This is my favorite meeting of the year. Has nothing to do with the other meetings. I just love this one. So, um, if you don't mind, we're actually going to

007have them sign the dis. And if you guys don't mind, if you'll come and join the audience. I think we've cleared this first, uh, row of chairs out. Uh, where, sorry, where Kristen is directing. So this is the fifth year we have done this celebration. Um each school nominates five students to represent their school and I have to tell you they are all stars both in and out of school. We're doing things a little differently. It was in the past where I would read their accomplishments, but we thought it might be a little bit interesting to hear them talk about their own accomplishments. So, Kristen and Mr. Chris Heiser put together a video to introduce them. We're going to start with Ver Beach High School and as the video introduces as each student is introduced

008in the video, they will walk up and join us on the stage. Um, and I want to point out I started so between what they offered and what their schools offered everything. I know you can't really see it. I started underlining the things that they have accomplished that's not in their video. My word, like you're going to hear some of the things. Just know like their accomplishments are twice, three times as much. You're going to even wonder when the heck did they have time to study? I gotta tell you, all 10 have over a 35 GPA. Six of them have six out of 10 have over a 4.5 GPA. That's out of four. That means that more than half their classes were AP, IB, honors, those kinds of classes. And they got a heap of

009A's. So, these are very accomplished graduates. So, uh family members, staff members, this really is the culmination of a K12 system. is to to hear the stories of these students graduating and all the things that they've accomplished this year. They also have chosen to honor a teacher. And so when they walk in, they're going to have their family members as well as their honorary teacher uh to be up with them. And they're going to sign a certificate. You may have seen in uh different social media when athletes sign their national intent or letter of intent. It's similar to that. Um they're going to sign a certificate. It's not committing themselves to anything. It's just a a certificate of accomplishment. So, um with that, without further ado, um if you'll do me a favor, if you're

010here for a specific person, hold the applause. The video will go through all five kids. There's not really time to applaud. So, um at the very end, you'll have a chance to applaud. So, with that, let's welcome our Verb Beach High School academic allstars. [Music] Hello, my name is Olivia Diaz. I will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall to study political science. I've been so grateful to be engaged in so many different extracurricular activities here at Bear Beach High School. Um, currently I'm serving as student government president of um the student body here and I've also served as junior class vice president. Um, I've also been involved in the orchestra here all four years of high school. school. I've been playing since I was six and I'm currently section leader of um

011Sega violins here in the Philarmonic Orchestra. I've also been a part of the model United Nations Club as co-president and then some extracurriculars outside of school. I do 4 and I'm also involved in the Ray Beach Chamber community orchestra. And for the future, I plan to um go to law school after my undergraduate degree and um pursue a career in immigration law. Hi, I'm Carrie Wyn. and I'm a senior here at Verb Beach High School and I plan on attending Indian River State College to get my associate associates of arts degree and transferring the school of nursing. Um, here at Var Beach High School, I am a four-year Air Force JRTC cadet. Over the four years, I've been awarded cadet of the year four consecutive years in a row. I've also been on the superintendent

012student advisory council for four years. I am the hope club president. I've been in Hope Club for four years. I have been on uh dance marathon club for two years for I've been on SGA all four years. I was freshman class president and junior class president and my future plans are to uh get my bachelor of science and nursing and to become an RN and hopefully someday come back and teach HOSA here at Bar Beach High School. And I also like to give a big shout out to my mom and to thank her for everything that she's done for me to get me to where I am today. Hi, my name is Garrett Shrigley. I plan on attending Daytona State College to continue my baseball career. And um here at Viro, I've been blessed to

013be able to be a part of the baseball team for three years now on the varsity team. I've also been a co-founder of the pickle ball club um and a national honor society member and um super grateful for all the teachers here at Bureau that have helped me grow to be who I am today. Hi, my name is Simon Schwarz and I'm a senior here at Ver Beach High School. In the future, I plan to attend Georgia Tech in the fall uh for the major of aerospace engineering. At Vero, I've had the amazing opportunity to be involved in a lot of different clubs. I'm the founder and president of the Ver Beach High School chess club. I'm an officer on our student government and our model United Nations clubs. I'm involved in different volunteer organizations

014at the school, including the key club. uh around uh Bureau, I've had the amazing opportunity to work with a uh group called Youth for Christ for their with their campus life program where they take uh groups to different schools and minister the word of God to them. Uh in the future I hope to again attend Georgia Tech for aerospace engineering and pursue a masters after that and go work in uh in in rocket science and aerospace engineering to create the systems that will push our world into the future into space and and our technology further. Thank you. My name is Webb. I'm a senior at Ver Beach High School. Um I'm planning on attending the University of Florida honors program as a Lombardi scholar. Uh I'm passionate about marine science. I'm an student intern at

015the Ocean Research and Conservation Association leading the HLC team in the ecotoxicity branch. I'm also a second degree black belt in both karate and jiu-jitsu and serve as a certified United States karate and jiu-jitsu association certified instructor. I'm a member of the Verb Beach High School marching band as well as an independent percussion society called indep infinity 3 percussion. And I would like to thank my teachers Mr. Jeff Bush and my mom for helping me with my support as I plan to pursue my PhD in marine science. [Applause] I think now you understand what I mean by the list of accomplishments and the fact that they have such good grades. It's it's an enormous accomplishment. So, uh students, go ahead and have a seat. Uh the pen should be ready to sign. I'm going to

016ask Dr. Moore to say a few words and then he will give you the instructions next. absolutely outstanding. Um, and this is, you know, I like all board meetings, Brian. Um, but this one is very special and it is a reflection of community and what makes our high schools and our community so special. Um, different walks of life, different programming, uh, different unique experiences that truly capture what greatness truly is. So, what you're signing here is your commitment to the next experience. And I hope as you sign uh you all realize you're just not um doing great things in the classroom. You serve as a motivation um for all that stand behind you and all uh that had the opportunity to teach to teach you and all of us that are here today. So, congratulations.

017So, on the count of three, sign your commitment letter. One, two, three. [Applause] So, thank you guys very much. Go ahead and grab your certificate. You can stand and then uh we'll give you guys one more round of applause as you come off stage and then uh our staff will greet you in the lobby to take care of the certificate for you. So, thank you guys. One more round of applause for the Beer Beach High School academic allstars. Go rambling and wreck. My sister went there. Good to see you again. Thank you, sir. Congratulations. All right, next up we have Sebastian River High School. Hi, my name is Jay Green. I'll be attending Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. At school I played basketball and outside of school I was a part of Trio Upwardbound with

018Miss Jody Adellet and purpose-driven youth with Miss Constant Peterson. Um for the future I hope to become an orthodontist at FAMU. I'll be studying pre- dentistry on a biology for my majoring biology and that's it. I would like to thank my mom and my dad for all they do for me and God most importantly. Thank you. Hi, my name is Natalie Gomez and I'm going to be attending Eastern Florida State College to finish my AA and then transfer to UCF to become a OBGYn. I am a part of the cheerleading competition and football team at the high school and I want to thank my mom and my dad for supporting me and knowing that I can do everything that I can do. Hi, my name is Jana Antinazi. I plan to attend the University of

019Miami to study exercise physiology in hopes to become a professional athletic trainer. Some of the things I've been involved in at the school are the varsity cheerleading team and National Honor Society. And some of the people I would like to thank are my parents for everything they have done and overall the people that have supported me throughout my time. Hi, my name is Caitlyn Peters and I will be attending the University of South Florida in the fall through the Honors College and majoring in biomedical science with an ultimate goal of pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy with a possible interest in neurology or psychology at the school. I am the treasurer of the National Honor Society, Interact and Excel. I would like to thank my parents, my teachers, and my counselor for all their support

020throughout my high school years. Hi, my name is Sebastian Mayo. I'll be attending a Universe State College for the first two years and then transferring to a university to pursue a career in education, hopefully becoming a college professor. At the high school, I'm involved in the ESSE department where I've worked as an assistant for the last two years. And I want to thank my mom and dad and all my teachers for their support. Thank you. So students, you go and have a seat. You should have a pen there with your certificate. Now, this is a little awkward for the audience, but for you guys, while you were in there, I was bragging on the fact that even though you guys were talking about all your accomplishments, you're very humbled because you only mentioned about 25%

021of them. We talked about your GPA and all the other accomplishments you didn't mention. So, congratulations. Dr. Moore's going to uh share a few words to congratulate you, and then he'll give you instructions for the next step. Once again, I don't know if you heard me in there, but I'm going to say it again. Congratulations. You all are an inspiration. Uh for us it is a reflection of the comprehensive education that we provide. Um so many of you we just saw last week getting scholarship money. Some of you went up there a number of times. I was sore just watching uh Mr. Green go up and get all of this extra money that our community was How much money did you get? Oh, he can't even Oh, he ain't done. He ain't done yet. But

022it was it was really really exciting to see. Um congratulations to all of you. Uh you're an inspiration to all of us. So on the count of three, sign your scholarship and letters of commitment. One, two, three. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. He mentioned scholarship. There's no financial scholarship. Sorry. So congratulations. If you'll rise, grab your certificate. Um, and then family and friends, if you'll walk out uh to where Miss Basur is, we'll get you that certificate put onto the plaque. And as you leave audience, if we'll give them one more round of applause just as a congratulations. out to dinner. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. And that that concludes presentations, Madam Chair. All right. Thank you. At this time, we're going to stop uh finalize this meeting and then in about three minutes, we will

023have an invocation. Those of you that wish to stay in the room for that can, if you'd like to leave, you can come um back for the business meeting. Thank you. business meeting at the Joan Idollet Jr. TEC. Today is Monday, April 28th, 2025, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. The time is 6:01. I ask that out of respect for everyone, please silence all electronic devices at this time. Also, if you have any material you wish to share with a board member, please give that to our executive assistant, Mrs. Mo. She's seated right here. All right. At this time, I'd like to present the Sebastian River High School Navy Junior ROC under the direction of Commander Peter Beset, United States Navy, retired, and Senior Chief John Silva, United States Navy, retired, for

024the Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand. March pillars more. 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. [Music] Post colors and salute. Ready to post colors march. [Applause] Thank you. We really appreciate that. All right, board members, are there any items board members wish to move from consent to action or add to discussion? Okay, Mr. Rossario. Um consent item E, approval of board member for the Indian River Education Fund and consent item, they're both E. It's 5E. Let me be clear. Uh consent item 5E, that was the first one. And then consent item 6E. 6E is the approval of the 2528 school district of Indian River County English language learners plan. Okay. Anyone

025else? Anything added to discussion? Okay, we're good. Thank you. So, I'm going to call for a motion to accept the adoption of the orders of the day as amended. So moved. Okay. Dr. Pusca. Second. Okay, Mr. Dyer. All those in favor say I. I. I. Do we have the other board member on? Yes, she is on. Okay. Did she vote? I'm just curious. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That passes 5-0. Thank you. All right. At this time, um, we have the superintendent's report. I'd like to recognize Dr. Moore. Thank you, Madam Chair. The items A, B, and C will be presented by Miss Maddox. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for being here with us tonight. We have a couple of very important proclamations and presentations uh to start our meeting out with, and we would like

026to start with our Autism Acceptance Month proclamation. Tonight, we're proud to recognize April as autism acceptance month in the school district of Indian River County. Autism Acceptance Month is a time to celebrate the unique talents, strengths, and contributions of individuals with autism. It also encourages greater understanding, support, and appreciation throughout our schools and community. On April 2nd, you might have noticed on social media that our school district wore blue for Autism Acceptance Day. At this time, we would like to invite Jill Rob, program specialist, and Pete Matson, ESSE teacher at Wabaso School, to the podium to read the official Autism Acceptance Month proclamation. Good evening. A proclamation designating April 2025 as Autism Acceptance Month, School District of Indian River County. Whereas, April is recognized nationally as Autism Acceptance Month, a time to raise awareness and

027promote greater understanding of autism spectrum disorder. And whereas autism affects individuals differently and to varying degrees, and people with autism bring valuable perspectives, talents, and strengths to our schools and communities. And whereas the school district of Indian River County is committed to fostering an educational environment where all students are supported, respected, and empowered empowered to achieve their full potential. And whereas through ongoing education, collaboration, and compassion, we can build school communities that recognize the importance of patience, kindness, and meaningful connection. And whereas it is essential to celebrate the achievements of individuals with autism and acknowledge the families, educators, and support staff who work diligently to help every student succeed. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the school board of Indian River County does hereby recognize April 2025 as Autism Acceptance Month and encourages all schools

028and community members to take part in activities and conversations that promote understanding, acceptance, and support for individuals with autism. Adopted this 28th day of April, 2025 by the school board of Indian River County. Thank you. Yes. Um All right. So, we have um we have a proclamation board members, all those that accept the autism acceptance month proclamation say I. I. I. Anyone opposed? It passes I believe 50. All right. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. [Music] Thank you for reading. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next, we have our month of the military child proclamation. Tonight, we're proud to recognize April as month of the military child in the school district of Indian River County. Across our district, we're committed to honoring and supporting the students and families who serve alongside our

029nation's military. Military children face unique experiences, including frequent moves and changes in schools, and it's important that we recognize their strength, resilience, and contributions. We are also proud to highlight our three purple star schools, a special designation awarded to schools that demonstrate a major commitment to supporting military connected students and their families. Our Purple Star schools are Sebastian Elementary School, led by Principal Leticia Whitfield Hart. Would you please stand? There she is. Sebastian River Middle School, led by Principal Rob Riskin and Sebastian River High School, led by Principal Christopher Cummings. Together, these schools create a seamless, supportive pathway for military children as they grow, learn, and transition across grade levels. From elementary to middle to high school, these schools work closely with families to ensure military connected students are welcomed, supported, and given every opportunity

030to succeed. Earlier this month, we also celebrated Purple Up Day across our district, a day where we wear purple to show support for military children. Many of us are wearing purple tonight to honor them. Purple represents all branches of the military, symbolizing the combined strength and unity of our armed forces. At this time, we would like to invite our Purple Star School principles, Miss Whitfield Hart, Mr. Riskin, and Mr. Cummings, to join us at the podium as we read the official month of the military child proclamation. [Music] Whereas the school board of Indian River County recognizes the sacrifices and contributions made by military children who support their parents' service to our nation. And whereas military children face unique challenges, including frequent moves, family separations, and adapting to new schools and communities, demonstrating resilience, strength, and

031patriotism beyond their years. And whereas the month of the military child is a time to honor and celebrate the resilience and sacrifices of military children and to raise awareness of the challenges they face and the support they need. And whereas the school district of Indian River County is committed to providing a nurturing and supportive environment where military children can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally, and where their unique needs are recognized, valued, and addressed. Now, therefore, be it uh proclaimed that the school board of the Indian River County, Florida, hereby recognizes the month of April as the month of the military child. We honor the bravery, strength, and sacrifices of military children and expressed our deepest gratitude for their service to our nation. Adopted this 28th day of April, 2025, school board of Indian River County,

032Florida. We're just going to change that date to today's date for the 28th um when we call it into our uh vote. Uh board members, could I have a motion? So move. Okay. So we have a motion for the month of the military child proclamation. All those that say I. I. You need a second. And oh second. Thank you. All those that say I. I. I. Anyone opposed? All right. I didn't think so. Thank you so much. [Applause] We're actually going to take a photo at the end after we recognize our special students who are here with us tonight. As part of our recognition of the month of the military child, we're proud to highlight the experiences of our military families at our Purple Star Schools. Tonight, we are excited to share a special video

033spotlight featuring stories from our military connected students and families. A glimpse into the strength, resilience, and spirit they bring to our schools each and every [Music] day. I'm Eric Castillo. Uh I served in the Army. Um and I retired from the service uh after 21 years as a master sergeant. I joined the army in 2002. Um, what drove me to the army was the 9/11 attacks. Um, I was part of the delayed entry program. They couldn't accept me right away because there were a lot of applicants. Um, so I did not actually get to join until October of 2002. Um, I went to a lot of places, Korea, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt. Um, and I think throughout my time, my my favorite had to have been Okinawa. The thing I'm most proud of uh during

034my time in the service um is uh being a leader. My job as a non-commission officer was to teach, coach, and mentor all the junior soldiers. Um, and as I, you know, came up the ranks, I made sure, um, to teach those behind me. So, as I progressed, I was bringing somebody else to to replace me as I move forward. Balancing being a parent in the military is hard. Uh, what makes it easier is uh the use of technology such as FaceTime, the video calls um while we're away, still being able to see our family definitely makes a difference. They've they've been very supportive. Um, considering, you know, I I've done 21 years and 11 of those have been with my wife and her being uh a very supportive wife, being back home managing everything

035even while I'm gone. Um, it is a tough job for her to do on her own when I am away and I am very thankful that she's been able to do that. My daughter has only attended military schools. So, every child in the school is a military child because all the parents are either in the military or uh the father or the mother, one of the parents is in the military. Um so, it's all she's ever known. So to come to a school um to where there's only a few children that are part of the military um it's been very nice to for her to be welcomed into the school uh because they are the the purple star. My daughter Audrey, she loves the the extracurricular activities. Uh she started in cheer um and this

036year she is supporting the the drum line and because of those she really enjoys coming to school. My name is Audrey Castillo. I am in fifth grade and I go to Sebastian Elementary. I really like being drum line at Sebastian Elementary. My favorite thing about Sebastian Elementary is my friends. I love my dad. I'm really proud that my dad was in the [Music] military. Could we please have Audrey and her family come up to the front? [Applause] [Laughter] beard ready. One, two, and three. Thank you so much. [Applause] [Music] My name is Landon Leola. I'm in 8th grade here at Sebastian River Middle School. My mom, Tiffany Welsh, she's an officer in the Army. She's in the reserves, but currently she's active duty. She comes back over the summer for about a month and then

037she'll be away again. Prior to enlisting, she was a school resource deputy at Vera Beach High School. She always wanted to go into the military. She just never really did until my stepfather kind of encouraged her to do it. She did. She went into the into basic training. And when she's back, she's still she's still a deputy. She's just not a school resource officer anymore. I'm very proud of her for doing that. It's It's always been her dream and now she's actually doing it and I'm very happy that she is. We We would like her back, but we're still we're still very proud of her. It's kind of a whole family thing. A lot of people in our family have gone into the military. Sebastian River Middle School, you being a Purple Star school, that's

038very, very cool, very amazing that they do that. Few of my favorite things about this school are, you know, one, I have all my friends here and then all the teachers. They're amazing. Every class supports the students academic level. For the future, um, next year I'll be going to Sebastian River High School. After high school, I'll finish up my college to get my college degrees and then I'll be going into the Air Force to hopefully become a pilot. If I could say something to my mom right now, I'd probably say, "I'm proud of you. You'll get through it. It'll be over quicker than you know it. You We're all rooting for [Music] you. Could we please have Landon and family come to the front? [Applause] Yes. Ready? Two and three. [Applause] the smartest. My name

039is Charlie Mintosh. I retired US Army staffs arm. I joined in 88 out of high school. Uh graduated 87 from Vero Beach High School. Uh joined the Marine Corps uh January of 88. did four years and while I was in the Marine Corps um I participated in Desert Storm. After leaving the Marine Corps as a corporal I had like a 12 year breakin service but then I got an opportunity to enlist back into the military. started off in the reserve trying to go back so I can finish my degree and my reserve unit got activated. So I didn't want to go to Iraq with a reserve unit. So I made a phone call, called my wife and asked her was it okay for me to go into the military and she was like, "Babe, whatever

040you want to do, I'm with you." went back in the military uh as a medical logistics specialist and then I retired 16 years later. I actually joined the military um trying to be like my father. My father served in Vietnam and uh my uncle he also served in Vietnam and my dad won the Silver Star but it was presented years later and um that what made me join the military plus I wanted to see the world but as a parent the hard part was being away from my family being away from my wife being away from the kids trying to call when we could sometime we couldn't. So, it was weeks, sometimes months that I I couldn't speak to him or talk to him. My family has been awesome. My wife, uh, she's the backbone

041of the family. She's like like amazing. Uh, she's amazing. The kids when I came home, they always support me. My favorite thing about Sebastian is the family atmosphere. I know some of the teachers know uh the principal uh they're very supportive you know coming here nice clean school good school my name is T Magntosh I'm in 12th grade and I go to Sebastian River High School one thing special about my parents serving in the military you get to experience like different places you get to see different things it was hard sometimes when my parent was away but I like my mom and I had a whole bunch of siblings like my brothers and my sister so it was like it wasn't as bad but you you know, sometimes, you know, you you'll miss him. So,

042you I like call and stuff. My favorite thing about Sebastian High School is like my dad said, like he grew up with like teachers and stuff here. So, like um when something goes wrong or like if I need to talk to somebody, I can just go to like a teacher that I know or like my dad grew up with. So, that's a good thing I like about Sebastian. Thing I'm proud of is how we had a good life and we got to like move and experience different things and we got to see things that some kids some other kids probably didn't probably wouldn't get to see in like a million years. [Music] Tariq and family, would you please come to the front? Thank you for your service. a couple steps to your right. Don't hide

043your sister. All right. Ready? One, two, and three. Thank you very much. And I'm going to ask you to stay here so we can photo with everyone. So, if I can have our other two military Please come up with our principles if you join us. [Applause] I know, right? Everyone just a little bit. Perfect. All right. Ready? One, two, and three. Thank you. And thank you for your service. Thank you. [Applause] done. And the next item is the superintendence report. So if you could pull that beautiful presentation up. Um the month of March and April are very very active months. Uh we have a I was honored by a number of different uh organizations to receive or cities municipalities uh to receive proclamations for being a national finalist and state finalist for superintendent of the

044year. Uh just a very very exciting opportunity to be acknowledged and establish our our partnerships. We did on March 13th have our strategic plan town hall meeting and as you can see the the meeting was extremely well attended. Absolutely outstanding attendance. The entire strategic plan process as we prepare to create our next five-year plan plan of action really is reflective of a communitywide approach on making sure we're designing a school system uh to bring our students forward uh and be able to compete not only across the state but nationally. Uh had the opportunity on March 14th, which honestly feels like a month ago. Well, like months and months ago, it was a month ago. A lot of months ago. Um coffee with the mayor. Uh once again they had a little toast for me uh

045for being national superintendent finalist. That was absolutely outstanding. Uh our leadership institute which is being um facilitated by our fund board. Uh absolutely an amazing initiative. Uh our fund board is focusing in on leadership and innovation. And this is a joint effort where we're taking some of the largest employers across our county uh investing in our leaders. Uh so not only the school system leaders are participating but also um Piper Aviation uh Marine Bank is participating, Northern Trust uh leadership is participating really making a very significant in the next level of leaders in our county and this is the session that we held here. Mr. Dyer presented a previous uh session. The CEO of Piper presented the CEOs of both Marine and Northern Trust presented. It really is a coming together of making sure we're

046creating world-class leaders uh to ensure that we have worldclass schools. Felmmer Elementary Night of Enchantment, if you have not been to that, please put it on your calendar next year. Uh it is the elementary version of Prism. It is absolutely outstanding. This is we're getting into scholarship. So, here we go. This is Vero Beach Senior High School's uh scholarship event. A truly powerful night. Um, I'm going to talk about that more in a second. This is the Sebastian Elementary School for the Arts model school recognition identified as a model school. This is national recognition. They're going to have the opportunity to present at a national conference the work that they're doing uh in setting themselves apart as their performing arts as a performing arts school. This is a taxpayer association presentation. Uh once again, um

047great relationship with our taxpayer association and making sure we're open, we're honest, transparent, and receiving feedback on as being good stewards of the dollars, the limited dollars that we are provided. Um Mar April 5th was the Steam Quest at Dodgertown Elementary School. April 5th is going to be a very busy day. Then we head over to cruising into kindergarten, which is the recruitment and kind of easing the stress for our incoming kindergarteners. Um there's more cruising into Kay. was an absolute carnival going on here. Then on April 6th, this is a Sunday, we head over to youth kindness celebration at Vero Beach. Be kind. Absolutely another wonderful event. Then assistant principal week, uh just celebrating our future principles was a fun week. And then the all county music festival, which is on April 8th. This

048is a very unique experience. We're pulling together some of our c our county's most talented mu musicians and allowing them the opportunity to entertain us. Superintendent Advisory Council. We're going to have our superintendent advisory council back here next month. We participated in what we call our student swap where we had some of my council members from Vero Beach attend um Sebastian and Sebastian then attend Vero. Then we had the opportunity really to debrief and identify where are the opportunities for us to steal from each other the great practices and just the kinds of conversations these students were having. Uh the dialogue on how to a represent the pride they have in their school but also what we can do collectively to provide a better experience uh experiences for our future uh students. These kids are

049truly all leaders and doing absolutely great things. Then we went to the academic excellence award on April 10th at uh Sebastian and that was the first time in 20 years I said the wrong school name. Um so I'll never do that again. Um the JOTC uh awards ceremony which was the following night, April 11th. And then if you have not been to the uh Billy Wilson track meet at Sebastian River Senior uh High School, uh this once again is a true testament to what community is here. Every single elementary school was there. Uh our elementary, fourth, and fifth graders were there prepared as if they were running in the Olympics. It was every school was cheering from the audience. The parents were here. Uh just a great reminder of the the community that we have

050here. Uh that same day uh Robin uh went to Jackie Robinson Training Complex for Jackie Robinson Day uh where it was our varsity Vero Beach varsity and JV baseball team putting on a workshop for future um baseball players and at the high school level just kind of once again a sense of community our older students training and mentoring our younger students. Uh this was a youth drone youth guidance drone competition. Uh this was absolutely outstanding. You can't really tell from the pictures, but this is the kind of drone competition that you would see on ESPN where they're flying through the hoops and they got to do it. It just really really something we need to expand on. Uh Vero Beach Museum of Arts Children Festival where had our students art work on display once again

051that was April 12th. Another busy day. Uh the Sphero competition was April 12th as well. also at Sebastian uh student programming and using that technology. Uh once again another outstanding opportunity and then month of the this basically purple purple up day April 15th also tax day um elementary battle of the books wasn't able to go this year but once again just another outstanding opportunity for our students to problem solve work as teams uh and I think it was Pelican Ireland that that took it home. Correct. All right. Well, go Pelican. Um, and the IRC community service panelist, uh, Miss Persa, uh, and Miss Flood had the opportunity to rep represent our school system and conversations around our earliest learners, our pre-K programming. Um, and I heard they did absolutely outstanding. Uh, this is the swap

052at Sebastian Senior High School. Uh, Wabaso. This is a yearly event where we go out and hang out with the students at Wabaso and they have a field day. It's just a fun day to to hang out uh and participate with the students at Wobbaso. Then here we go again. Scholarship night. Significant dollars given away by our community to our our seniors at our f soon to be graduates at Vero Beach Senior High School. Um and then we had our rewards for the Gford Middle School which won the spring break challenge April 23rd. they took prior to spring break and that was just to shower them with a bunch of food at lunchtime. Uh celebrating the contributions our teachers are making with our students. Significant progress going on at Gford Middle School. Um this is

053a opportunity I had to speak to the crossover mission uh board. They were having a board retreat uh just uh partnering with them understand allowing them a deeper understanding of what we're doing and looking for opportunities to partner to strengthen that work. in the SA uh Sebastian River High School IB pinning ceremony. There was a backflip that went on the stage there which made me a little nervous but it went off without a hitch. And last Friday was the inclusion dance show uh which is another opportunity that just highlights why Indian River County is so special. And that is the presentation. Madam Chair, thank you. Congratulations. I I have two comments about your presentation. Um it's nice that we continuing the military celebration. We appreciate that and thank you for everyone for coming tonight and

054for your service. We appreciate I know all board members do. We appreciate that. Um second, I know I asked I I don't think is Chris Cummings still here. I asked um for the total amount of scholarship money. I know Vero Beach High School, it was $650,000 given to students. Um, Sebastian River, I'm not sure how much they got. Um, but those are the kind of dollars that our community is donating to kids and so we really appreciate all th those dollars going to kids to further their education. So, thank you for that. All right, at this time we're going to have public input. So these are the procedures for public input. According to schoolboard policy 0169.1 during regular business meetings of the board, the board offers the following two opportunities for the public to provide

055input. One, on an agenda item, consent agenda or action agenda item prior to the board taking official action on that proposition. and two during the public input section for items not on the agenda. For those who are watching, please understand that though we have established proper decorum and expectations of professionalism professionalism when it comes to individuals who wish to provide public input. This is a live broadcast. So understand that. Watch carefully. Each individual speaker shall be allotted up to three minutes during public input and up to three minutes to an item in the consent agenda and or action agenda as indicated on the order of business as it exists at the time the meeting starts. The time period may be adjusted by the presiding officer. Individuals may only speak about once about any given item.

056Individuals who have filled out the speaker form are allowed to address the board. Individuals may not de delegate their aotted time to speak to other individuals. If an item is moved from either the consent agenda or discussion agenda to the action agenda, individuals will have the opportunity to speak to that item prior to the vote of the board. During the meeting, please refrain from clapping or outbursts of any sort so that we can proceed with dignity and with decorum by not infringing on anyone's first amendment rights. And this is a limited public forum setting. As board members listen to individuals without interruption, individuals are asked to give board members the same respect. Board members may or may not address any individual statements at the end of the public input comments. I will be recognizing calling

057up individuals two at a time in the order in which the speaker forms were received. The first individual will be be called to the podium to speak and the second individual will be in the line to speak. The public information officer will be the official timekeeper and the time will start when the speaker is at the podium. As you see the time clock is visible to your left on the dis. You will hear a beep at the end of your three minutes. If you have anything to give to board members or the superintendent, please do this through our executive assistant, Mrs. Mo. She's seated at the end of that that table. All right. So, we have several speakers tonight. Our first speaker is Susan Meal. Second speaker is Anthony Stewart. Good evening and thank you

058for this opportunity to speak to you today. I'm going to suggest something that I doubt anyone else here would suggest or will suggest. I think it's time that we think out of our little county box and into the big box. With this administration in Washington, the big box, and the new era of common sense, I suggest we look at the desegregation order and work group. With that in mind, common sense. It is absurd that our county school district and any others across the country are still under federal orders. If anyone can prove without a doubt that a district is still segregated or treating blacks and minorities unfairly, let them show it or forever hold their peace. It is absurd that our county taxpayers have to fund the legal administrative fees and time to try and

059plate a group of people who keep moving the goalposts and have for over 50 years. Those millions can be spent on improving education for all students regardless of color and improving pay for teachers, bus drivers, kitchen staff, and everyone else. This is how you set children on the right path to success. So what I suggest is you don't appoint another board member. That's right. You don't appoint another board member to this sherrod. In fact, to suggest a different board member will make a difference in the process only proves the phony gamemanship that continues to go on. Instead, you pull everyone out of these farcs meetings and you direct our attorney to notify the federal district judge overseeing this mess and more importantly the new assistant secretary of the DOJ civil rights division that you have

060accomplished unitary status and you are done. What can they do? Arrest you? Slap you with an injunction or something? Whatever they do, let them and let the people across this state and nation know why. Then you file a petition with the Department of Justice representing the students and employees of this district with taxpayers joining as additional petitioners. And you spell out this travesty and demand they lift the orders for all districts across the country. Enough is enough and it's time to stop this ridiculous exercise. Stop playing games and direct all of your attentions to educating our kids. All of them. That's common sense. Thank you. Thank you. Anthony Stewart is next. Melissa Kel's Berdick is on deck. Good evening. Uh thank you for the opportunity. Um, I've resided in Indian River County for 75 years

061and it has afforded me the opportunity to witness the greatest uh miscarriage of justice that I have ever experienced or witnessed between any river county school board and the NAACP as being the defendant. The initial filing of Brown versus the Board of Education was filed February 28th, 1951 in Topeka, Kansas. On May 17, 1954, it was passed, which declared that state sponsored segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Three years it took to pass Brown versus the Board of Education. Three years. Thood Marshall was the attorney, first black attorney out of Baltimore, Maryland, who became the first black to be seated on the Supreme Court. On November 23rd, 1964, Earl M. Johnson, attorney from Jacksonville, Florida, was employed by Joe Adellet, whom this building is named after, and Raymond Shton, who was my agricultural teacher in

062high school, to file a petition ordering the county to integrate public schools, which I see was probably a mistake because they use the word integrate instead of desegregate. in order to integrate a person hard has to be changed. And it's quite obvious if we battle in this battle for 60 years, not 50. 60 started in 1954 with bond versus the board of education that the host of the people have not been changed and we have not desegregated simply because you're still under federal court order that says you have not been desegregated. We've come up with terms like unitary status to take the place of doing what we was ordered by the federal court to do. In the meantime, there are 67 counties in Florida that has been in 34 of those counties didn't even have

063to go through this. And the majority of them are not under this desegregation order. But yet we are. And we are a school district. Amazing. On May 26, 1994, the revised auto approval plan was adopted by federal court judge Clyde Actton. A lack of activity from 2003 all the way to 2016 with unsuccessful litigation would travel on and off until 2018 to the board hired Hush Blackwell, an attorney, for $750,000. Sir, sir, sir, you got to address. $750,000. The board paid us Blackwell to come up with a plan to when you won't have to do what the court had ordered you to do. And so they also with you arrested you pay $26,000 a month. Thank you. Melissa Kell's Berdick is next. Susan Baldwin is on deck. Good evening. We have to stand up and

064fight for children in the public school system. Doc Jones declares in the Vero News March 20th issue. Choice is fine, but not at the expense of public school system, said Miss Baronburgg, who apparently wants district officials to be shouting from the rooftops the difference between public schools and local private schools. Might I suggest that yelling in the fighting gloves are not what is best for the student nor the family, but all this cackling from our schoolboard members expresses what is best for the system. You both said it in your own words and there in lies the rub. It's the funding of the system, not the student. So, the slandering of private, religious, and homeschool has begun. So much so that the headmaster of the local elite private school sent out a memo to the parents

065letting them know that their accountability is legit and accreditation is of a different nature than the public school. As if anybody at that school was in doubt. But I digress. A refresher course in public money. It's taxpayer money. parents and citizens of the community. Further, this begs the question, are private schools and religious schools and homeschoolers doing more with less and producing better lifelong learners? Your role in the system should not supersede that of the parents role in the educational choice for their child, nor in the distribution of their paychecks. The irony is that the very education model that built in systemic racism, redefined it as CRT and DEI and now squawks that the funding is going, going, gone, will not entertain the notion that a better school model may exist for some students. But

066you won't let those students go because they're exiting is a threat to the system. Meanwhile, what's best for the student is that their butt is in a seat in a public school classroom on day 10 of the academic year to ensure funding of the system. Did you know that Orange County Public Schools in Florida has approved a plan to pay a private vendor nearly $1,000 per student to encourage families to reenroll in traditional public schools? So, I ask, how much is enough? How much does the system need? When is enough enough? Enough to satisfy the underfunded public school? And is that an admission that you previously had enough? No hate, Dr. Moore, but why approve a big raise if the district knew it was looking at a shortfall? Again, an example of funding the system

067and not the student. Public education is dying. Unions are dying. The teaching profession will further be diminished by AI technology and personalized learning service learning options. Parental choice is a national moment. The rooftop rally cry is the primal scream of a dying system. Fund the students and parental choice will thrive in all educational arenas. Thank you. Susan Baldwin is next. Susan Stler is on deck. Good evening. Um, I am asking that if this work group continues that Jackie Rosario be reappointed to the work group. Jackie's been a dedicated and effective voice for our community and for parents and for all all SDIRC students. And I strongly believe she should be real appointment to continue this essential work. As a member of the group, Jackie has advocated for meetings to take place monthly as they are

068supposed to for transparency and for mediation so that we can move forward a closure on this situation and achieve unitary status. I've sat through a number of schoolboard meetings where this segregation order comes up and it just seems like the same discussion over and over again. Honestly, based what I see when I drive by a school at dismissal time when the students are walking home, I think it's safe to say that um the school our uh schools are not segregated and we need to stop spending all this time and money on the same thing over and over again. I just can't help but think of all the great things that could be accomplished with these funds if they were directed instead to student excellence and to the benefit of the community. Thank you. Susan Stler

069is next. Kenneth Simmon, I hope I said that right, is on deck. [Music] Good evening. My name is Susie Stler and I am a proud advocate for public education. Last week in reading 32963, I became aware of the Bureau Classical School. How confusing, I thought. Bureau classical, Pelican Island Classical, both in Bureau, one Christian, one public. Continuing to read on this week and uh do a bit more research. I am convinced that confusion exists only in the name. Both will give a liberal arts education, but the approach will be quite different. If I seek a school steeped in Christianity, subjects taught through the eyes of the Christian Bible, a school dedicated to teaching Christian values, and a lifetime of service to God, then Vero Classical is the school for my children. If for my children

070I seek a solid education in the classical style, credentialed and certified teachers held to high standards, curriculum aligned with state standards in every subject, accountability for student learning, availability of student services, free costs to families, broad extracurricular activities, an inclusive setting with religious teachings left to the family and the church, a place where children learn to think critically and independently. ly become thoughtful decision makers, growing and maturing into contributing members of society, then hands down, Pelican Island Classical is the choice for my children. Pelican Island Classical School, housed on an appropriate site, is small enough to be a community yet large enough to offer more than a single class on a grade. not dedic not dedicated to Christian model. The school will take the best of the classical model and combine it with a respected

071best practices to build a mastery of fundamentals and a love of learning. A true public school quality education. Pelican Island Classical will not preach Christian values, but will teach, model, and support human values. Perhaps I'm an era, but from my readings and comments at many board meetings, it seems that Moms for Liberty seeks to make changes and instill Christian values into our public schools. To me, it makes more sense for Moms for Liberty to focus their energy on making classical Christian schools, their ideal schools, the place they may choose to send their children. Let's leave Indian River County Public Schools with input from those seeking to strengthen public education and leave it in the hands of our very capable professionals. I commend the Indian River County School District for being innovative, putting children and quality

072public education first, for providing choice so that in this district, public education provides options for every learner and for every learning style. Thank you. Kenneth Simon's next. Dr. Margie Flanigan is on [Music] deck. Being tall has its disadvantages. For a couple years before CO struck, I walked around the large parking lot at the corner of 33rd in MLK on Fridays afternoons. With me were a couple white people, a couple blacks, and an oriental, all from different churches. We came to share the gospel, to teach from the Bible. At that hot corner of Gford, black folks gathered to play cards or just sit around under the shade trees in and around the parking lot. We would hand out bottles of cold water and have large tote bags filled with snacks. Where a few folks were gathered

073in a cluster, we would ask if we could share from the Bible the good news of the son of God and the lessons about this life that he came to teach us regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. I've gone there alone and spoken in late afternoons close to evening. And never, except for one occasion, did I see prejudice against me for being white. I participated in a Martin Luther King celebration day and made small posters with famous quotations of his written on them for some to hold in the parade. Just before CO struck, there was an MLK banquet at GYAC. A couple friends active with me in the street ministry invited me and paid for me to attend. We were the only white people among a hundred or more black people. Our table was up close

074to the speaker's platform. The speaker was a man from this area who did well in school and eventually became a lawyer of high rank in the NAACP headquartered in Atlanta. He his talk focused on a halfozen incidents around the country where white police ganged up on a black person and abused their authority. Like we saw what happened to Rodney King and George Floyd. All the incidents were of white police and a black man victimized by police using extreme police brutality as they were arresting the man. I don't remember what parting words he finished his speech with, but he received a standing ovation, it seemed, by everyone in the room except me. The speaker's friend who had introduced him took the mic and said, "Come on, stand up and give an applause." Which cowardly I did.

075However, my thoughts were that this talk did not honor Martin Luther King. It seemed more to me like it was inciting black people to have prejudice for white people. And now I would say this NAACP is not the NACP of Thood Marshall or Martin Luther King. We've had one incident I know of in Indian River County where police use more violence than necessary on black people. But the P public school system in academics and sports has been outstanding in showing fairness to all races and exemplary. Jackie Rosario will help maintain such a society. I'm not sure that the city has that in mind. Thank you. Dr. Margie Flanigan is next. Marilyn Lebecia is on deck. I don't know if that's going to work. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Dr. Margie Flanigan, chair of Education Champions,

076Advocates for Public Education. Last weekend, several of our members were privileged to attend a college scholarship luncheon where six amazing young women were recognized for their stellar academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Tonight, education champions members will share a glimpse of their achievements to honor them and to applaud the public education system that provided the opportunity for their success. students names are admitted because we were unable to contact them in time to request their permission to do so, but I'm sure you'll agree when you hear their bios that these young women are deserving of our admiration. While the recipients all attend Vero Beach High School, their backgrounds, career interests, and academic plans are as diverse as their economic and cultural backgrounds. We know their stories, while unique, are mirrored throughout all of our district high schools. We

077believe that these young people's accomplishments reflect the strengths of public education. From preK to high school graduation, public education provides a well-rounded curriculum and instruction based on best practices, accredited and credentialed teachers, service providers, and administrators, diversity that offers essential real world experiences, a plethora of extracurricular activities, services to ensure student success, accountability, and most importantly, results. We know these young women are a small sample of the many district students who will graduate in May wellprepared for higher education, the workforce, and the military. We applaud all our graduates and wish them the best as they venture to their next life step. We know that contributing to their success is strong family support, effective community partnerships, and the students hard work, determination, and perseverance. In closing, we strongly believe public education is a valuable investment deserving

078our support and more resources. As Nelson Mandela stated, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. We have no doubt that these young women are on their way to positively impacting their communities. Thank you." Okay, Marilyn Levecia is next. Heather Askin is on deck. Good evening. I'm Marilyn Levecia, a member of Education Champions, Advocates for Public Education. The Vero Beach High School student I'm going to tell you about is truly amazing. She is a member of the Student Government Association throughout her high school years, having served as vice president during her freshman year and president during her sophomore year. She is also an active four-year participant in Model UN, the photography club, and the school yearbook. Her volunteer activities include playing her music at retirement homes and local churches.

079She worked part-time at Indian River Estates and is currently a part-time marketing specialist at a local law firm. Of course, this is an addition to all of her school activities. She also serves as Vero Beach High School's concert master and has performed with the Indian River uh State College 4 Honor Orchestra, is a featured soloist for the Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra and was accepted into the Interlock Summer Music Group. She received straight superiors at the district music performance assessment for the past three years. She also began a mentorship program for orchestra students in our local middle schools and volunteers at all three of them. After performing both nationally and internationally, she plans to major in viola performance at the University of North Texas. Amazingly, this student placed first among 30,000 applicants, only 100 of which

080reached the interview stage and only 20 of whom were accepted into this program. Quite an accomplishment and I for one am in awe. Thank you. Heather Asin is next. Margreta FSY is on deck. Good evening. I'm Heather Asin. I'm a member of the education champions and advocate for public schools. While attending Vera Beach High School, this student has dual enrollment at was in dual enrollment at Indian River State College with sight set on med a medical career. She plans a double major in either nursing, human health, or neuroscience in Spanish. She served as Vero Beach High School's president of health occupation students club of America and has received biotechnician assistant certification. She is also a pathology intern at Cleveland Clinic Hospital. Additionally, additionally she is an AP scholar with honors. Among her volunteer activities, she's

081worked with young children at her church summer camp, is a regular volunteer at Halo Pel Pet Shelter, and is president of the school's animal rescue club. She also volunteered at nursing homes through the HOSA program. I'm not sure how she manages all this because this student also has worked part-time throughout her high school career and is currently employed at a local restaurant along with helping in the family food business with a weighted GPA of 4.515 and described as a brilliant student by others of her advisors one of her adviserss. I'm sure this student will succeed as she answers Emory University in the fall, having received a full scholarship to Emmery and continuing to medical school upon graduation. Thank you. Okay, Margaretta FSY is next. Joanne Dunlop is on deck. Good evening. Uh thank you for

082uh letting me say a few words about another outstanding student. Um she is a Vero Beach High School scholarship recipient who is also enrolled at Indian River State College. She has developed a passion for government policy and civic engagement. She is poised to attend the University of Chicago as a political science major. She has served as president of the student government association. Thank you. And she represents the student body and collaborates with school administration. She served as a 4 H horsemasters club treasurer and as a Florida Senate page where she learned a great deal about legislation and how a government works. Uh her weighted GPA is 4.523. Aside from government and the law, her interests include principal player in the school's filmonic orchestra and the girls weightlifting team. She has a strong commitment to our

083community and volunteers with the Vero Beach Museum of Art. Among her numerous honors is the Vero Beach High School uh scholar award and recognition from the AP College board highlighting her academic achievements and her contributions to her school community. And if that isn't enough, she also brought back the mock trial to uh Vero Beach High and has also worked as a marketing specialist for a law firm. In a letter of recommendation, one of his students teachers wrote, "Hard-working, dedicated, focused, and mature are just a few of the words that first come to mind when describing this student. After briefly hearing about her accomplishments and hearing firsthand from the student, which was a real pleasure and an honor, I wholeheartedly agree. Okay, Joanne Dunlap Dunlap is next. Uh Darlene Andrews is on deck. Good evening. I'm

084Joanna Dunlap, a member of Education Champions, Advocates for Public Education. My only regret tonight is that you can't see the radiant glowing faces of these young women and it just helps to appreciate this this uh amazing accomplishment that they've had at such a young age. This student's counselor describes her as a diligent scholar, selecting the most demanding curriculum possible at Vero Beach High School, participating in honors, advanced placement, and dual enrollment programs while maintaining a weighted GPA average of 4.687. She has been selected as an AP scholar with distinction selected for college board Hispanic recognition program and is an active member of the national honor society. Next month she will be graduating with AP honors industry scholar by literacy seal fine art seal and Florida state scholar designations. She will also have completed the entire

085sequence of biotechnology career tech courses. She passed the biotechnician credentiing exam and achieved the status of certified biotechnician assistant. She is continuing with the biotech 3 radiology internship with Cleveland Clinic and attended FSU's College of Medicine Summer Institute. She has been a member of the school's color guard, a member of the superintendent supervisory council, is vice president and volunteer events coordinator for Vero Beach High School green team. Is a published artist for a local author, volunteered with Okra, and works part-time at a local food warehouse. Graduating fifth in her class, she will p pursue her goal of becoming a pediatric neurologist at FSU in the fall. Darlene Andrews is next. Margaret Murray is on deck. Good evening. I'm Darlene Andrews, a member of Education Champions Advocates for Public Education. This student plans to attend FSU

086in the fall, majoring in medical laboratory sciences with a goal of attending medical school. She is a member of the National Honor Society, National First Generation Scholar, and an AP Scholar with distinction. She passed the Florida Biotechnic credential exam and is a biotech 3 teacher assistant. She is active in student government key club Indians guiding friends pure tribe uh tutors women in STEM dance marathon green team environmental club and is a co-founder and vice president of the ver beach high chapter of science national honor society. Her volunteer activities include working with elementary school students, high school peer tutoring, beach cleanup, community art show events, sports events, concessions, paramedic training, and fieldwork with Indian River Land Trust. Among her numerous extracurricular activities is the FAU Junior Science Program, a competitive selection process where she conducted and

087presented research on the Indian River Lagoon promoting conservation and restoration. For employment, she has worked in after-school care and summer camps with elementary school students, a summer internship with a county clerk of court's historical grant project, and currently as hostess at a local restaurant. Her letters of recommendation allowed her accomplishments and goals, and it is easy to see why she was honored with this scholarship. Thank you. Hey, Margaret Murray is next. Jennifer Pippen is on deck. [Music] Excuse me. I need it. Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good evening. I'm Margaret Murray, vice chair of Education Champions, Advocates for Public Education. My Vero Beach High School student is the daughter of a single mom of four. She has balanced working two jobs for 27 hours a week with leadership roles in Trial, Upwardbound, Science,

088National Honor Society, Precious Pearl Association, the team. the teen group of Alpha Kappa Alpha Society, Vero Beach Basketball Girls Club, and the Youth Employability Program. She has also served as a teachers assistant in biotechnology classes and is a member of Steam Club. She also tutors peers in math and science. After assisting her ailing grandparents, she set her sights on a career in biomemed engineering, hoping to develop innovative medical devices available to all in the future. This student has taken 10 advanced placement classes, earning her recognition as a College Board AP Scholar and has 47 college course credits and counting. In her sophomore year, she was in inducted into the National Honor Society and is a national first generation award recipient and a national African American award winner. I must also mention that she received a

089perfect score on the National AP Calculus exam. No small feat. planning and attending FSU in the fall. She plans to get her master's and PhD in biomemed engineering. I'm closing this evening. In closing this evening, I want to say that the six young women you just heard about are a representation of the many stellar graduates of Indian River County. You can see how advanced placement, dual enrollment, and career and technical education play an intricral role in preparing students for their next steps. Thank you to the board, the superintendent, and his staff, our dedicated teachers, and many support staff who encourage and inspire our students each and every day. We, the education champions, and I know the community are very proud. Thank you. Jennifer Pippen is next. Donald Baldwin is on deck. Good evening. My name

090is Jennifer Pippen and I'm the proud chairman of Mons for Liberty here in Indian River County. First, I wanted to say thank you to the school resource officers and the Sebastian River High School staff for handling the incident in the beginning of April where um was told at first that it was an active shooter that turned into a student letting another student on campus that had um per uh paraphernalia and drugs and was arrested by the um sheriff's office. So, thank you to all of the law enforcement and the staff on that. Um I know you guys got an email from me about the um communication to parents. I know you discussed that in your workshop earlier um this month. Um that is very very important and there is a lot of parents that are

091upset about that. Um and they didn't find out about what happened until 206 which was after school let out. So I hope we do take the communication thing very seriously and do fix that in the future. I um also wanted to thank Sebastian River High School staff for the female that was going into the males bathroom and uh watching the males um use the restroom. It was making them very uncomfortable. Thank you for handling that incident. Within less than 24 hours it was rectified. So, thank you to um Sebastian River High School staff for that. Moms for Liberty supports the classical education model which is not inherently religious. In fact, one of our endorsed school board members, Jacqueline Rosario, along with several members of our organization, initiated the conversation around classical education in the district.

092The statement made today by a citizen represented our position and was factually incorrect. In July of 2024, we donated a couple hundred um library books to elementary school students. That was actually donated to Mom's um for Liberty from a retired teacher that moved out of the district. Um we we've also donated Glenn Beck's Chasing Embers to middle schools and now Libby Justice um to our elementary schools and we're super proud that um the district has done such a good job of getting all of the books that were inappropriate for children and we're happy to replace them with good books for children. I have a question. Um I asked this a couple months ago and I never got an answer. I also have a public records request at out on this. Um, I wanted to know,

093do the high schools and middle schools still have the AfricanAmerican student council um in the schools along with the um regular student council? The reason why I asked this is because there's a lot of talk about the desegregation order and to my knowledge other than the discipline policy that's attached as well that um disciplines African-American children different from other races. Um I just wanted to know if maybe I can get an answer. It's been a couple of months if we still have the African-American student council and not just the student councils in our district. Thank you for your time. Okay, Donald Baldwin is next. Arlene Jameson is on deck. [Music] First, excuse me. First, I'd like to uh uh give my support to Jackie Rosario for uh appointment to the lawsuit uh uh committee workshop.

094So I grew up in in Bvard County when we were under segregation and during the during my time in school we were uh integrated with the local uh schools. Uh we had uh uh this uh coach Dick Blake come in from Monroe High School into Coco High and uh and a number of students came over little by little and they closed Monroe High School back in 1970. But I saw the process of of the desegregation while I was there. Now, as a veteran, I have visited the schools, some of the schools here, and the schools are integrated. Now, they may not be racially perfect racial harmony, but they are integrated. And I just find it ridiculous that we have a court order going back 60 years ago on desegregation. Now there are groups of of

095uh people you know there there are conflicts throughout society. We have the Hatfields and the McCoys in this country. I went to see a a doctor. I had a a a Brazilian t-shirt on and she looked at me and asked me about the shirt. I said, "Well, it's Brazilian." She says, "We don't like Brazilians." She's from Argentina. And in my travels, I've traveled around South America and I've come across Peruvians and Ecuadorians, and they despise each other. The uh Ecuadorians called the Peruvians chickens. The uh the Peruvians called the Ecuadorians monkeys. But uh but there is a lot of conflict and uh we have to uh uh realize that and uh I think we need to put arrest this desegregation order. Thank you. Okay, Arlene Jameson is next. Diane Parentella is on deck. Good evening.

096Don't know my own story. We probably need a new mic in that [Music] or new mic stand, I think. Thank you. There I go. Yes. Can you start my time over, please? I haven't talked. You're good. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Arlene Jameson and I'm a proud member of the Education Champions Advocates for Public Education. In light of all the possible projected cuts to education both nationally and statewide, as well as the possible elimination of advanced placement, dual enrollment, and the like, it was very gratifying to see Vero Beach High School, excuse me, highlighted in Sunday's paper, on the front page, no less. They wrote about the students studying culinary schools and operating the Vero Bean Cafe with proceeds going to a scholarship fund. And Henry Buren, a Vero Beach High School alumnist,

097works with students and is hoping to reopen the halfhour in to be run by the kids. I believe we've sampled some of their delicious wares at receptions here and they were very impressive. This is all wonderful training for the hospitality and restaurant businesses. Actually, any business. So, once again, I am so proud of the Indian River County School District, public school district, without being awarded $9,000 scholarships for homeschooling private or parochial schools without accountability. Congratulations to all for once again being recognized for your excellence and that starts with the board. Dr. Moore, staff, principles, teachers, and support people. Thank you. Diane Parentella is next. Thomas Kenny is on deck. Good evening. Diane Parentella. Today I'm here to celebrate and promote April as school library month in addition to the month of Military Child and Autism

098Month. a time dedicated to recognizing the invaluable role that school libraries play in our education system. School libraries are more than just rooms filled with books. They are the heart of learning within our schools. They are vibrant hubs where curiosity thrives and imagination soar. Libraries provide our students with access to a wealth of knowledge and resources, encouraging a love for reading and learning that lasts a lifetime. In an everchanging, ever evolving digital age, school libraries have transformed to meet the needs of our students. They offer access to technology, foster digital literacy, and provide students with the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate the information age. Our librarians are not just custodians of books. They're educators, guides, and mentors who inspire students to explore and discover. Two weeks ago, we had 103 elementary students participate in

099the Battle of Books. School libraries are essential in fostering fairness and diversity. They serve as a safe, inviting spaces where every student, irrespective of their background or abilities, can access resources that align with their experiences and interests by providing a wide range of diverse collections and programs. Libraries guarantee that all students can find reflections of themselves in the stories they explore and the materials they interact with. Research consistently shows that students who have access to well-resourced school libraries perform better academically. Libraries support classroom learning, provide essential research tools, and offer programs that enhance student achievement across all subjects. By investing in our school libraries, we are investing in the academic success of our students. 60% of our schools in India River County have increased their circulation stats compared with the same time last year, including

100Dodgertown Elementary School, who has doubled their circulation count this year. Finally, celebrating School Library Month is a reminder of the role libraries play in fostering lifelong learning. They teach our students the joy of discovery and the value of curiosity. By supporting our libraries, we equip students with the skills they need to become lifelong learners ready to adapt and thrive in an everchanging world. In conclusion, I urge you all to join me in celebrating school library month this April. Let us recognize and support the incredible impact that our school libraries have on our students education and well-being. Together, we can ensure that our libraries continue to be dynamic centers of learning and growth for all students. And please, next time you visit a school campus, stop in and see the wonderful things going on in our

101school libraries. But if you come to Oyola this week, bring your wallet. We're having a book fair. Okay. Thomas Kenny is next. Kevin McDonald on deck. Dr. I hope I didn't give that away, Bruce. Hi y'all. How you doing? Um Thomas Kenny, Moms for Liberty. Um I'm just here on a different thing. Uh I was looking at something doing some research and so I sent a public records request. Uh someone had sent me a an item about a a forecast on some budget items for capital projects here at a school district from like 25 to 29. So, I was like, "Well, how what I'll do is I'll get 20 to 24, run the comparison, and I got a bill back for $3,84 and43 cents because apparently the detail I asked for went to the accountants

102and they think differently. That's probably my fault. You know, I didn't know what I was asking for, so I just sort of asked for everything." And it's and I'm not, you know, the bill I don't really care about. I'll figure out how to ask the second time. And the reason I bring that up is because I ended up meeting with Bruce Green and Kim Copelan was there, your financial officer, correct? And wonderful meeting. And I was just learning about budget. And so I told them about that. They're like, "Oh yeah, that's going to take 80 hours." I was like, "Wow, I asked for the wrong thing." But what I learned about budgeting from this gentleman and what makes this place, you know, one of the qualities of the A district rating that we have is

103the financial wherewithal that you guys are operating under and what you've been doing since you got here, Dr. Moore. What Donald Fagan has done with you and how you writed the ship and you brought in Mr. Green and his team. You know, when Nut Fagan was here, I'd get a big budget book if I want asked for one. With him, it's like it's all online and I', you know, because cost is cost. And I just want to say that I learned a whole bunch just sitting with the both of them for 45 minutes, I think it was, just asking questions, trying to understand how the FTEES work, all these different things that you guys do. the budget. You know, a lot of times we put something out, we're going to spend this much here, we're

104going to spend this much here, and we're going to execute our budget because we got this much revenue coming in and all that. But in government, it doesn't always work that way because someone else is calculating your revenue for you, and you have no idea what they're doing. I learned that about this school system, that the state is always making changes. And so I just wanted to say thank you for what you guys continue to do in the area of finance and making it better and making it clean and making it as transparent as possible and continue the good work in that. Okay. Thank you. Kevin McDonald is next. Lamar not to Jack Mo is on deck. Good evening. Thank you for letting me speak. And I'm Kevin McDonald. I'm wearing my uh Tommy Hilfiger

105shoes in honor of the ex CEO and one of our board members. Um I wanted to speak about the workg group progress. I I know that many people would like to see uh us get past this and it was interesting the priests made a mention of acting on one accord. Uh I think most of us function with the idea that we're going to seek unity accommodate differences amongst one one another. Um compromise and contribute to a shared solution. Unfortunately, it seems that the plaintiff in our lawsuit has not taken that path. For those who don't know, our disegregation order is about 60 years old. Um Joe Idollet Jr. was one of the original plaintists. His name is of course on the on the uh the building here. And in 2018, I believe it was, we

106were we were moved to to a workg groupoup status to seek agreement on unitary um status in in the school district. That basically just means that we no longer have a dual school district running for uh certain children in in certain ways and different rules and different procedures for other children. Um I'm quite confident that we have met and exceeded that for a long time as uh the superintendent has said. Um but we have to the process requires that we agree on the documentation and agree with the NAACP who is a plaintiff on where we stand. They're supposed to identify uh specific areas for improvement. Now, for those who don't know, our annual cost just for just for attorney fees is about $100,000 plus. So, every year that we muddle through this is costing the

107school district a lot of money and a lot of staff time. Uh both Dr. Moore and all of the staff are spending hours getting together to talk about something and the ball doesn't move forward. Um Dr. Jones was originally appointed to this work group and I think that she worked hard and she was a good choice at the time. Um she was close to the people in NAACP. The idea of of coming to one accord and seeking unity made sense to have somebody who had a close relationship with them. But it seems that that close relationship hasn't resulted in the kind of cooperation that we expected of him. Haven't seen the positive inputs. Haven't seen progress. Um then there's no sign of that progress. The um there's a need for change. um that close relationship

108was wasn't working. It was it was obvious from the last meeting where um they just refused to accommodate to anything and to agree to anything. Um uh the head of our our our transportation department, bus department is Jennifer Idollet, who's the daughter of one of the uh original plaintiffs. Her job is to provide um school transportation, bus transportation that's fair and equitable and and supports all the children in the school district. She does a excellent job at that. She testified during this work group. Thank you. Lamar not Jakamo is next. Mawn Green is on deck and will be our last speaker. Thank you very much for this opportunity. And I just want to um say amen to Kevin's comments. And I want to say that I know Jackie personally. I know that she's very dedicated

109to her job. She does her homework and she works harder than than most people I know. Um, and I just want to say, you know, let's get this behind us and appoint uh Jackie again to the um sorry, NAACP versus SDI RC workg group. Okay. And um let's get this done. Save the taxpayers a lot of money and uh let's heal the wounds instead of reopening them all the time. And thank you, Jackie, for doing such a good job. Okay, our last speaker is Mawn Green. Good evening, Marawn Green, community advocate. I would like to speak about the desegregation order and the negative perception spoken when discussing it. It's clear that there is a gross lack of understanding um on what the desegregation order is and what it is meant to achieve as evidenced here

110tonight. Is it law is it awful that we're in the year 2025 under a desegregation order from 1967? Absolutely. Because what does that say? Um it says that in the year of 2025, the district has failed to meet the standards of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Instead of the conversation being we must allocate the resources necessary to ensure we meet the desegregation order, far too many have stated we need to get from under it or let's push it forward or as Susan Mahil said be done with this mess while ignoring the negative impact the conditions have had on hundreds of thousands of African-American children and employees over the last 58 years in this district. I witnessed droves of people come and speak about the negative implications and psychological issues that wearing masks have on students.

111Where is that concern for the generations of African-American children educated in an often negative, discriminatory, and sometime even toxic learning environment? The Civil Rights Act and the Degregation Order weren't met simply by having black and white students in the same schools. That is only physical integration. Achieving true integration requires a fa a fair, just, and welcoming environment for African-American students and employees. And that is where the district is falling short. The work necessary to comply with the desegregation order has been politicized. How does creating a fair, just, and inclusive learning environment and working environment political? How is it a bad thing? Shouldn't we embrace creating a learning environment where all students can thrive and excel? a positive learning environment where all students feel equally valued, equally protected, and equally represented. Shouldn't we want every student

112to feel heard? Shouldn't every employee feel like they matter and have the opportunity for advancement? How is that negative in an environment? Or is it or is the issue because it is black children and black employees at the subject of the litigation? If that is what has triggered so many, then they should check their biases because the issue lies within them. Data shows that employers with a diverse and inclusive culture are leaders in their industries. It translates to increased performance, employee retention, and business revenue. But back to students, how do you think parents feel sending their children off to an environment that may be hostile or may have long-term negative effects on their children? They're entrusting the school district to protect their children. You are those students parents when they are in your care. And

113if we can't ensure and trust that our children will be protected and treated fairly in the school district, why are we giving our tax dollars to this entity? When you discuss the desegregation order, I need you to think about it as if it were your child. Thank you. All right, that is the end of our public input. Uh Dr. Moore, did you want to speak to anything? Uh no, ma'am. There are some comments that I'd like to make, but I'll do that as we present item E9. Did you want to refer to the public uh to the communication at Sebastian River High School? Otherwise, I'll speak about it. Um what happened? Because people say that it was the school's district's fault. Yes, we did. We did discuss it during the last workshop. Um and there

114was a communication line that was down that that circumvented some of the communication going through, but we've as I mentioned then we have problem solved and ensure there's appropriate protocols in place that doesn't happen. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that we said that in a public meeting because that was my concern as well is that um parents didn't find out until like after school. So I was a little worried about that and brought it up at the workshop. Um board members, anyone else? Yeah, I do. Mr. Rossario, Dr. Moore, I have some questions for you. Um first question is, do we have any unfair hiring practices in our school district? No, ma'am. Are we mistreating our students in any way over my fired or dead body? Are we mistreating or uh treating

115differently um any students based on their race, religion, creed, or anything of the like? Absolutely not. Are we doing anything nefarious in our community that would cause parents to mistrust our system? Absolutely not. Thank you. Anyone else want to speak to something that somebody said? We're good. Okay. All right. I'm going to move to the consent agenda as uh amended. I'd like to call for a motion to approve the consent agenda items. So moved. All right. Dr. Posa is first. Dr. Jones second. That's what you said. Dr. Jones is second. All right. Um, any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Did she say I? Madam, can we just check that we can hear when she when she communicates? Yeah. She's forgiving me. So, say I think She said yes. She did

116say she did say yes, but yeah, but we're trying to figure out what's what's the problem with her mic. It's on her end. Oh, okay. Got it. Got it. Okay. All right. Thank you. So, we have approved our consent agenda. We're moving on to action items. Uh we're going to use there are two items that have been moved from consent to action. First one is 5E. Um, Mr. Rosario, it's my item. Okay. Yeah. Um, I'm sorry. Sorry. He's got to present the item first. Oh, go ahead. Um, this is an item to elect a to appoint a new member to our our fund board. Uh, Miss Leica Gerwin. Um, I did in the Monday briefing in which my wife broke her ankle. Um, not give this information to the board. gave that information today. But

117Leica is an absolute um treasure in this community. Uh a brilliant person, graduated from Embry Real University. She was the previous chair of the Ed Foundation prior to it becoming a DSO. and the volume of time that she spent uh working with myself, working with uh Janet Kup and transitioning it over um really was absolutely just giving of her time and did it in an absolute outstanding way. Some of you may recall Leica, she has she was the individual, her and her husband who bought all new uniforms when we shifted the name to GI Gford uh Tigers. Just let's get it done. Let's not waste time. Um she has been significant investor in a number of different organizations um in our community. She and her husband funded um a half million dollars for the uh

118Jimmy Graves Community and Sports Complex. So um it is with great privilege that our board, the ED board has considered it and recommending to you that we appoint her. That is the item. Thank you. Mr. Zario, you brought the item from consent to action. Yes, that is exactly why I wanted to bring it to action. I think it's um this is not a routine item and it deserved an explanation such as the one that Dr. Moore just provided. Okay. Any anyone else like to discuss it? All right. Call for a motion. I make a motion. Okay. Second. All right. Dr. Pusca second. All those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Okay. It passes 5-0. All right. Our second item is 6E. Dr. um Moore. I'm gonna turn it over to Mr. Green to present

119the item as he did in workshop. Thank you, Dr. Moore. Excuse me. I have a either sinus infection or strep throat. We think um the every every 3 years we are required to approve a plan for our English language learners. That plan describes the support structures the school district will put in place for those students. It has 11 key areas from the identification of the students, assessing their proficiency, how we do state and local assessments, the curriculum and instruction they are provided, the monitoring, the rights and notifications and the training of personnel to support that. This plan now is up for renewal for the 25 through 28 plan. a team has been working on it since January, which includes curriculum instruction, student services, systems improvement and innovation, um, accountability and research, as well as federal

120programs, ESOL team, and a community ELLL parent group that reviews the plan. The plan has been um updated to um remove old language such as paper forms to online forms to change the names of various um people and roles and responsibilities in the plan and has had an addition um added to help support our students, our ELLL students even on um college and career assessments such as PSAT, ACT, SAT, and the CLT to ensure that they have things such as Bing lingual dictionaries, extended time um at the test uh directions read to them in their herited language and other support structures that our English language learners might need to be successful in our program of study. So this plan is for the 25 through 28 three-year renewal. Thank you, Miss Fario. Yes, that's exactly um

121why I pulled it. So, I'm just grateful for Miss Basura and her team to have edited um some of the recommendations from the last workshop specifically to the PSAT, the SAT, the CLT, and the ACT, which are all scholastic um college entrance exams um and the um accommodations for the ELLL. So, I'm grateful for that edit. Thank you so much for that. Okay, any other board members? All right, I'll call for the vote. Um, can I have a motion? Make a motion. Okay, Dr. Mr. Dyer. Second. All those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Okay. Passes 5-0. All right. Moving on. Action agenda item 9A. We do not have a speaker for that one. We have lots of speakers tonight, but that's not one of them. All right. Um, Dr. Moore, would you like

122to present the item? Um item 9A is the public hearing for approval to adopt um the revised or rescended schoolboard policies. These are the items I believe they call them the Edgar policies. Is that correct, Mr. Green? Uh Mr. Green presented these uh at workshop and there was very little discussion on these. Okay. Did do you want to say something else, Mr. Green? Okay. All right. Any discussion, board members? All right. Could I get a motion? Make a motion. Okay. Um, a motion. She second. Okay. So, we have the motion by Miss Rosario, the second by Dr. Jones or her cartoon. Sounds like a cartoon person. All right. Um, all those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? No. It passes. 5-0. All right. So, we're going to move to action item 9B. 9B. Um,

123would you present the item, Dr. Moore? Um, our our attorney will present it. Madam Chair, I'm sorry. Were we Did we have a public hearing on those policies? This is a request for approval to adopt for the first one. So, it needs to be a public hearing, right? Yeah. But you said we didn't have anybody that was here. We didn't have any speakers written down, but um, is there anyone that wanted to speak to that? Okay. Sorry. So, we have to redo the vote. Go ahead. Thank you. Because some of these are requests to set the public hearing date and that is different. That's that's the next one. This is the actual public hearing for Okay. Sorry about that. So, going back to 9A, this is a public hearing. Um, hold on one second because

124I want to make sure that I read exactly what it is. So, I'm going to call [Music] for All right. This item deals with approval to adopt revised rescended schoolboard policies as noted on this item. Um Dr. Moore, have you documented that this public hearing was properly advised in accordance with state statutes? Yes, ma'am. We're now in recess. This meeting is to conduct the public hearing as advertised. Public hearing is now in in session. The time is 7:44. Dr. Dr. Moore, are there any written responses to the advertised public reading hearing to be read at this time? Not at this time. The public is invited to address only this issue at this time. Is there an individual representing organization or their own personal public interest who wishes to speak? Mrs. Pippen? No. Okay. Anyone else?

125All right. I'm going to call for a motion. Move. Second. Okay. Let me revise this. I was hoping I'd get the same names. All right. All those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Passes 5-0. Thank you. All right. The second one is a request to set a public hearing. Yes. This one This one is That's where I was. Yes. That's okay. We We got it. Uh this is school board policy 0169, which is your I'm sorry. You do have a public speaker on this one. On this item. Yeah. But I haven't we have to present the item first. No, we're good. It's been a long night. Um, as you recall at the superintendent's workshop on March 10th and then we did it, I think in February as well, uh, we went over extensive revisions

126to policy 0169, your public participation at schoolboard meetings. We've made a number of language changes. Um, and so the request today is to set a public hearing for the adoption of the revisions to schoolboard policy 0169, public participation at schoolboard meetings. Okay. So, at the superintendent's workshop on March 10th, 2025, board members determined that schoolboard policy 0169.1 be readvis revised and brought back to the board. The revisions were discussed at the April 14th superintendent's workshop. Request to set a public hearing for adoption of revisions to schoolboard policy 0169.1, public participation at schoolboard meetings. I'm going to ask if there are any speakers. We do we do have one. That That's your That's your Okay, we do have one um public speaker that is a request. Miss Pippen. Can we at least mute that until she's

127ready to speak? Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. So, this came about because our Bvard chapter of Moms for Liberty won their First Amendment lawsuit. this was a bipartisan um you know thing that was passed through the courts and um it's very important to hear your constituents whether you agree with them or not and same thing may maybe not everybody agrees with our organization but everybody deserves the right to be heard and then it's your job as elected officials to listen to your constituents and make the best policy and procedure for our children in our district and I just wanted to thank you for making the revisions as a chapter chair of an organization I don't think that we should get five minutes and everybody else get three minutes. I think everybody

128should get three minutes across the board and our um organization agreed with that as well. So, I just wanted to say thank you for doing that. Um it's going to save you time and everybody should have the aotted time whether they're a citizen or with an organization. Thank you. Okay. And that's all we have for um speakers on the list. Could I get a motion um to approve request to set the public hearing date for adoption of revisions to schoolboard policy 0169.1 public participation at board meetings? I'll make a motion. Okay. Anyone like to second? Second. Mr. Dyer, anyone uh have a discussion on that? I'll call for the vote. All those in favor? I I Anyone opposed? 5. All right. Uh we are now to 9C. 9C is another request to set public hearing

129date for adoption for revisions to the code of student conduct handbook effective for the 2025 2026 school year. Dr. Moira um as you just referenced this is our code of conduct going out for public hearing. We did present it to workshop at the last uh workshop meeting. Uh, Miss Christopholia and team did provide additional language which was reviewed with board members regarding um a a student attended. So, we're just setting it for public hearing and looking forward uh to receiving any feedback so we can approve code of conduct. All right, we do have one speaker, Miss Jenner, Miss Pippen. All right, thank you again. I'm going to make this brief. Um, we had seven Moms for Liberty members that attended one or both sessions for the code of conduct. There was not many changes made,

130but I wanted to compliment the staff again for including the um, elementary, middle, and high school principles in this decision-making. And I actually learned a lot with the second session with the younger students with um, dress code and um, name badges. Um I didn't realize having um older students in the school district that they were um letting us know as elementary principles and teachers that it was the parents um responsibility with young children when they were not in dress code and they were in you know dress code violations. So having those lesser disciplines for those younger students made sense, whereas, you know, the middle school and the high school are, you know, they're older. They need to be more responsible with their dress code and having their um badge around their neck for safety. So

131I just wanted to complement um the way it was handled and the emails that went out and the process that happened and for the minor changes that were made. Um thank you very much to the district. Okay. I'm going to call for a motion to approve request to set a public hearing date for adoption of revisions to the code of student conduct handbook effective for the 2025 2026 school year. So moved. Okay. Oca second by Mrs. Rosario. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? It passes 5-0. All right. We are now to 9D. 9D is social media litigation request approval to initiate litigation against social media companies and to contract contract with Wagstaff and Curtmell and its co-consel Beasley Allen Crow Methin Portis and Miles PC Goza and Hanold LLC Wright

132Law Group LLC and Sniffen and Spelling Spellman PA Dr. more uh school board attorney will present. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um we had extensive discussions about this at the April 14th superintendent workshop. Uh we talked about we had a presentation from Mr. Wright. Um we talked about uh how this would be uh no cost to the district. This is a contingency agreement similar to the jewel litigation. Um and um we can definitely we're going to work on if if the school board approves it tonight, we're going to work on filling out that pliff fact sheet and seeing how things go. It's a long this is a long-term thing, but it's so important to understand that there are no expenditure district funds for this. Okay, thank you. We do have a speaker, Miss Pippen. Okay, at

133our last uh Moms for Liberty meeting, this was one of our topics of discussion and we had a couple of parents that were concerned with this. We wanted to make sure that the district wasn't going to overstep social media of what happens after school hours or after school activities or cafeteria time, something like that where it would infringe on a parental right. Um, we did have a couple parents and community members look at the schoolisssued laptops to see if students could gain access to Snapchat and Facebook and things that this litigation would be against. And they cannot have access to that. So just like they can't access inappropriate websites, they don't have access to those social media platforms on their schoolisssued devices. So the only way that they would be able to access those things

134during school hours would be on their cell phones. But um due to litigation and our policy and procedures with our district, children cannot be on their cell phones during instructional time. So I just want to be make make sure um with some parents, grandparents, and community members concerns that it doesn't overstep the boundaries of parental rights and just make sure that it's only during school hours um that this litigation is going for, not after school hours where a parent, grandparent, or a community member may allow their child to access social media. Thank you. Okay. Um, is there I'd like a call for a motion. Second. I'd just like to say one thing. Okay. Hold on. Uh, can I get a second? He gave a second. Second. Okay. Dr. Posa did. I'm sorry. He made the

135motion, right? Okay. And Mr. Dyer second. All right. Any discussion? Mr. Dyer? Yeah. I just like to say that this is part of this whole mute that can this is part of the full employment for attorneys act uh because uh uh you you must understand that they're going to get 30% plus expenses and we're not a primary litigant so we're just kind of tagging on to the case so it to me it's really not about the money uh and there will be some expense to us because we have to provide a lot of documents and do a lot of data. I don't know how much that's going to be, but it is it to me it's more about restricting the social media in a school than the than the money part of it. Uh because

136uh usually these things in class they call this a mass action not a class action but this uh this particular uh litigation uh probably our financial benefit will be long long time and little money. But so if you if you feel good about the idea, then that's what we to me we're really voting on. Anyone else like to discuss it? Yeah, I' I'd like um I'm definitely in favor of participating in this uh lawsuit. I think it's uh I know there were some concerns I guess brought up uh from a speaker. Um it's important to know that uh we're not going to this lawsuit doesn't really regulate them. Um we're seeking justice basically uh for people who are wronged through these uh social media companies. Um basically their algorithms uh have been proven to cause

137remodeling in the brain including the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala um and the misolyic system to promote dopamine while using the social media apps. Um this was done purposefully by the social media companies uh and knowingly and has resulted in significant increase in psychiatric illness and our children and suicide um through research. This has been proven. Um so this is seeking justice for people who have been wronged. Um this is an important thing to do. Um it will likely down the road lead to legislation that has some restrictions, but that is not what this lawsuit is going to do. Okay. Miss Frisario. Um, so I've had um some questions. I think overall I think it's a good thing um that we consider joining this lawsuit. Um certainly for all of the reasons that have already been

138mentioned. um first and foremost would be um restricting student access to um these social media sites specifically during school um times, you know, school start time and up until school end time. My concerns are similar to the citizen uh Miss uh Pippen um and I've shared this at the workshop too which is you know um the unintended consequences of what might happen as a result of the litigation because it's so fluid. We were told at the workshop um from the attorney attorney Wright I think his name is um that things may change and and that's the part that concerns me because we don't know we're not responsible for what may change. Um, I just don't want to have any restrictions on students that would infringe on parental rights outside of the school hours. Um, within

139the school hours, of course, they are within our our purview, of course. Um, but honestly, that's that's really my biggest concern is the unknown, what we don't know from here on forward. And of course for our students who are in the secondary level um I can think of you know a potential scenario where they're studying uh business and they are needing to access social media while in school during um breakout sessions, let's just say. and they have to in this um uh project you know create a not just a business plan but also a social media platform and maybe a potential website you know and of course I'm just completely thinking out of the box here but um the potential for them not having that access that's what concerns me um so you know where

140do we have a healthy boundaries of you know healthy using it healthily using these things healthily during the school day for our older students while restricting it for the younger students. Those are the kinds of things that that concern me. Um I I will say that I am leaning more towards supporting this because it's my understanding and Miss Enville, if you can just clarify this for me. At any point in time, the board can even if we're voting tonight, the board can what is it? come together and vote to remove ourselves from the case. So, we're voting tonight to join the case, but at any point in time, we can remove ourselves from the case. Is that right? So, so yes, you can do that, madam, through the chair. I'm sorry. Um, and the school

141board has to decide to join the lawsuit, and then we'd also have to formally decide to accept or reject any settlement offers if that's really what is going to be. So the board is going to have to come back and decide what however it moves forward what that is. I think the goal of litigation is to fundamentally change how social media operates and how it specifically targets our children. Um and I can tell you that Dr. Moore and I've had extensive discussions on the effects of social media on our school campuses and what has happened um and and how it's affected our students and their mental health. Yeah, I agree completely. I think that um I thank you for that answer because I think entering tonight we're we're voting to enter into the uh litigation

142uh but then we'd have to vote again towards the end of the litigation once it's all over and decide whether we want to accept any settlement offer any settlement offer and this is not a quick thing. This is going to take a while and at that point we would know what the what was decided. Yes. Okay. Um the other thing uh if I as you move forward, Miss Enville, in in conversations with the other attorneys, um that are I suppose listed in the agreement. Um if there be because things seem to be so fluid in the discussion that we had during the workshop, um there was extensive talk about the algorithms. So, if we're looking to um change how social media works, I think changing the rules around these algorithms, that's going to make a

143big difference. That's where I'm like, okay, if if that's the endgame, like um Mr. Dyer said, you know, it's really not about the money, it's about making the change. Like, to me, that's where change happens because that's where kids are getting hooked. Um, and it would make sense to ch to to to make whatever it is in the arguments, if the end goal is that this board member would be satisfied because we don't want to be in this hamster wheel again after this and still have to fight, you know, the the the abuse that social media has caused on children. So, I appreciate that. Thank you so much. Okay, Dr. Jones. She said she's good. You're good. Okay. Mr. Dyer, you wanted to say something? Yeah. I I was just going to say basically what

144you said. I mean, we will have no influence as the case really goes to trial and to court or any input into it. Our sole recourse is either to accept or reject uh what they have agreed to. And uh so I guess we'll see how that turns out and then we'll as a board make another decision. I can keep you update if you vote for this. I'll keep you updated on the litigation how it goes. Um our plate fact sheet that we would have to fill out um having had done it already before I mean they estimate 10 hours. I think it's a little bit more than that but any of the time that I spend on that will not be build to the district. Okay. So, um there was another case that was um

145gosh, I can't remember how far back that we were kind of looking into and I had asked why aren't we pursuing this and that was the Jewel vape lawsuit and we did not elect to do that and I know they settled what 500,000 per district. No, actually the settlement was based on a methodology based on when the district got into the litigation and based on the number of students, schools, high schools. It was very it was very large. I had Mr. Wright go ahead and um because I worked this Wagstaff in Cartell, we've worked with them. Uh they they they headed up that litigation as well and he said the district would have received about $400,000 worth of unrestricted funds. And so I don't think it's all about the money. I think it's the the

146ch the the effects that social media has had on our students, but also to the extent that there is some sort of financial settlement, you can use that to put back into programs to help our students recover from this type of thing and to address those mental health issues that social media has caused, right? And that's what I was thinking with the vaping issue. So, um yeah, I'm all for it and then um when it comes down to it at the end, we can make a decision to either accept or not. So, um, board members, with that, I'm going to call for a motion. So, moved. Second. Okay. Um, I'm just making sure that we add everybody. Okay. Um, so moved. Thank you. And we had a second and we had discussion. All those in

147favor say I. I. Anyone opposed? Passes 5-0. Thank you. All right. We are to action item 9Ee. And that is why we have so many people at the end of our meeting, I believe. Um, we do have several speakers for this. However, if you already spoke to this item, then you may not speak again. Okay? So, just letting you know that when I go through the order of this, that's why I keep notes when you speak. All right. Um, action action agenda item E9e, appointment of a board member representative for SDIRC NAACP workg group. Dr. Moore. Thank you, Madame Chair. As you just referenced, this is a appointment of a board member uh to the NAACP school district workg group. This item is not a typical item that would come in April. Typically, this would

148be an item that would come in the or board's organizational meeting. The major difference of this item is is this is not a recommendation coming forward from me as your superintendent to approve an item. It is for the board to appoint a representative. So I have five board members, five bosses. The five bosses are going to make a recommendation of one boss to represent them um until November on this particular committee. I believe I will have additional um comments, but I'd like to withhold those comments until after public comment if that's okay with the board chair. That's fine. Um so we have uh several speakers. Mr. Stewart, I believe you already spoke to DEG order, correct? appointment. Okay. Just the DEG order. Okay. Go ahead. Come on up. Um I feel personally that the person

149whom is in question about putting on this board is certainly not qualified because of the fact that there's a major conflict of interest here. Uh viewer news has reported that uh there's a cultural war that always come up when this person is dealing with anything dealing with race itself. There's a history there's um public records which show that there were some problems with this person from a position in New York at a school that was an alternative school in New York. Namely an alternative school that uh supposedly they was in Florida. She was supposed to been on a leave uh child care leave and she was working at the time at Westwood High School in Fort Pierce. And according to uh the education commissioner of New York, this was some kind of maybe a crime

150or whatever. you got a case number that I have in my records to verify it. Secondly, there was a job the way that they left the job in Fort Pierce Westwood. It says that the the position was not refunded. Then there was a position here in Inu River County at Storm Grove Middle School and the principal at Storm Grove Middle School informed her that they was not going to give her a continued contract. There's problem when you have alternative schools where in many of the students there are minority students and you have continued problems. you end up, if we was in the military, they'll call it the dishonorable discharge, and you'll end up getting dishonorably discharged at all of them. That's an indication to me that you may have some problems dealing with people of

151color. And that is in no way possible for her to make good decisions on a board that is dealing with equal rights for black students. No. By far, no. We've gone 60 years. We don't need to go any more having people who are fire that's setting fire to anything that we do to try to get equality for the black kids in this county. It's time for this to stop. Let's stop playing games. Let's do what's right. Let's do what's right. Don't put people on that board that's with Mom for Liberty that you know does not have any kind of love or care for any black people. Thank you. Uh Jennifer Pippen is next. Thank you for the ability to speak um with that last speaker. We reject everything he said about Moms for Liberty. We

152have members and their children that are African-American, biracial. We absolutely love them just as much as any white Indian Pacific Islander whatever counterpart. So we re reject that. And again, Moms for Liberty, we are for all students. The NAACP is only looking out for AfricanAmerican students. It's in their name. So if you're going to look at organizations and try to belittle an organization, it's not ours. I also wanted to let everybody know in case they don't remember from the December 2024 meeting um Dr. Jones um in the great discussion that the board had did say that she recommended other people to serve on the committee to see the work that's being done with the desegregation order. Also in that same meeting December 2024 Mr. Dyer said if the committee member at the time was doing

153a good job she should remain on. I want to make sure when you guys vote this evening that you remember those sentiments. Also, there has been talks to have a possible new lawyer for the desegregation order, someone who's a little stronger that is going to be able to litigate. So, we're not spending $105,000 to $150,000 a year on a 60 plus year old case. And we are a desegregated school district. All students have free transportation regardless of race. All students have access to all classes, clubs, organizations, and sports regardless of race. Let's put more effort into ending this because it's costing tax payers and this board and the community a lot of time. Florida Superintendent of the Year Dr. more a national finalist superintendent says the schools are desegregated. We cannot have it both ways.

154He wouldn't have this district, excuse me, distinct honor if our schools were divided by race. He even said it today. We are desegregated in the school district of Indian River County. And finally, I'm going to end with Vero News is not a source of factual information and it's been proven time and time again. It is mostly by one reporter, I call him a blogger, is biased, liberal propaganda and should not be brought into this room for a board to decide. You listen to your constituents, look at the facts, and pick the best board member to represent this school district, not the NAACP that we're in the desegregation order against. Thank you. Okay, Mr. McDonald, I believe you already mentioned a person's name. No, sir, you you mentioned a person's name when you spoke and said

155she was on that work group, right? Correct. Okay. Thank you. All right. Uh, Mr. Kenny is next. Hi y'all. So the desegregation order is about law. It's about equality of opportunity. I was really blown away on th about Thursday's meeting. Uh the director of transportation Jennifer Idollet was present to present that hair department is fully unified has and deserves unitary status. Miss Idollet is the daughter of Joseph Vid Idollet Jr. Joseph Idollet Jr. hired the NAACP because he did have finances according to the family profile in Vero News on February 11th, which by the way is an amazing story. Family's incredible. Um, if we discipline the schools the way they discipline their kids to achieve the way they do, wow, we'd be in such a great place. That's a sidebar. Anyway, the point of all

156this is is that the NAACP after hearing all that, after hearing going above and beyond for people in school choice, you know, transportation provided, which by the way, 46% of African-Americans who are who are taking advantage of school choice use the uh transportation. In 23, it was 40%. According to the figures, the NAACP lawyers came back and asked if bus stops had equity. They wanted to know the equity of the locations of the bus stops. I don't even know what that means. The point of all this, I say, is because it was suggested by Jackie Rosario to bring Miss Idollet in because this should be an easy way to build confidence, move forward, get unitary status. It didn't happen. But that's the kind of accountability you have in her. And that family deserves for all

157they've done not to be mocked in such a manner over these little nuanced DEI words like equity over a bus stop. point 10 in their 12 questions in case yall are wondering which by the way their lawyer forced her way in to read into the record after he left the meeting to do to do a function. So I think you need to have a continued accountability from Miss Rosario or someone of her stature to do this because apparently after five meetings with this wonderful lady right here, Dr. Kyra Shafty talking about mentoring, they couldn't even vote on that. Two meetings of questions, three meetings of information. You've got a problem here in this workg groupoup. It's not really working. So, let's get it right and keep it accountable. Okay. Dana King is next. Good evening.

158I'm Dana King. I have isolated three things I would like to recommend in the selection of the next SDIRC NAACP workg groupoup committee member. The first is trust which comes from the plaintiffs, the black community to the individual under consideration. Trust is vital and the person selected by vote tonight should by now have earned it not just by their words but by their actions. Number two, accountability. This person must demonstrate it both in the delivery and acceptance of it. The 1967 court order has been validated and upheld in federal court several times. Can we all agree that court orders should be honored? The person selected must accept the fact, the basic fact that this court order has been definitively adjudicated on behalf of black students. It must be accepted for what it is and valued

159as a necessary blueprint to move the district to execution. Number three, being on this committee is not about giving agency to black students. Agency is dependent upon someone feeling a sense of control over their own actions and being responsible for their consequences. The DEG order is a moral construct baked in human and civil rights. This work group cannot give someone their civil or human rights, but they can take them away by obstructing due process. Which leads me to the selection decision in front of you. The actions that will come out of accomplishing unitary status born out of a lawsuit, should it ever be achieved, will be decided in partnership with someone who is trusted. And in this category, there are board members who have not earned the trust of the black community. And this committee

160has does not have the luxury of working to overcome distrust while the mission of unitary status continues to be elusive. The person selected should be held accountable for their actions. They should be able to open minds as a partner in this endeavor and not close them. And finally, a seat on this committee is not about rescuing black children. Black children did not create an unjust educational system. And in reality, black people shouldn't have to help you fix it. But here we are, willing to do the work. Something that we have tried to do for decades. Please remember tonight when you vote, too many children have been visibly and invisibly harmed by decades of indecision, intrigence, and ignorance. It's time to come to decisions that lead to agreement. For all those reasons that I have identified

161herein, I do not recommend nor support board member Rosario to sit on the working group committee. Thank you. Okay, Miss M. Um, Miss Green, did you speak about the work group? I did not. Okay. You spoke about DG order. Okay. Are you good with that? Okay. Hi, I'm speaking in my individual capacity, not on behalf of the work group. Um, in Miss Rosario's first two meetings on the NAACP work group, she targeted NAACP attorneys, and tried to silence them. She was extremely aggressive to different NAACP members. She also repeatedly interrupted speakers and directed Matt, the district's attorney, to do her bidding, even giving him a childlike scolding and reminding him to do what she previously instructed him to do. Then she tried to tell us what the structure of the workg group should be after

162we had been working together for two years effectively and collaboratively. As a flustered Matt struggled to speak, I said, "Don't worry, she won't be on after November 19th." Witnessing her aggressive obstructionist behavior firsthand, I was sure that you all had watched these meetings and agreed that appointing Rosario to the work group was not what was best by kids nor best for progress toward uni un unitary status. These last two years, we have had positive progress where two parties of a 58-year-old court-ordered desegregation order had actually came together and agreed on standards creating a shared vision on what compliance looks like for the district. Since Miss Rosario's appointment, the atmosphere has shifted. The interactions have gone from collaborative to somewhat contentious. Concerns were raised which had never been discussed or never been an issue the past

163two years. In fact, there are instances in these meetings where Miss Rosario has interrupted speakers to say that, "Oh, this is not relevant to the section that we're under." Please understand that the NAACP are not district professionals. We have relied on the district expertise as we develop these KPIs. This work that we're doing is not our day-to-day. Therefore, there will be questions in areas that are not being reviewed so that we can have a better understanding of the district. I would also like to speak to Jennifer Pip and Moms for Liberty, Miss Rosario's stark supporter getting up and basic shaming to the item. Hold on, hold on. You You can talk about the board members. You can talk about superintendent, but not other people. You need to speak to the item. Okay. Well, Miss Pippen

164talked about me and I need my seconds back. I was at 59. Miss Pippen t spoke about me, so I want to if you want to if you want to refer to something she spoke about. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. Can I get my seconds back, please? 59. I was on 59. Thank you. Okay. Basically labeling the NAACP as the enemy. I basically labeling the NAACP um as the as the name party uh as the enemy because it's the name party for this DEG and they're advocating for African-American children. This mentality is the reason that we have a 58-year-old desegregation order because of the unwillingness to collaborate and do what's best by kids and staff. Also, another Moms for Liberty person called equity communism. He stated that he would do away with the equity work group

165if it were up to him. He then went on to nominate Miss Rosario to be appointed to the work group because her views align with theirs. How is appointing someone who has never advocated for the African-American community spoken positively about the African-American community, nor has met with her constituents in District 2, Best Buy Kids. She even went on to ask Dr. Moore if there have been complaints when there have been complaints by employees and parents in your district. You did not know file with with the NAACP and Dr. Moore. Please do us right tonight. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Dr. Moore, is there anything else you want to say about this item? Just a little bit of clarity before the board considers the the item and I'll reference some things that were referenced whether

166it was in public comment or the items that were just the speakers that just spoke. There has been been a significant amount of time spent um on obtaining unitary status. If you were to evaluate the amount of time that I've spent on each individual initiative, this would probably be number two or number three in terms of the volume of time in which I've spent. I don't have that documented, but that's my own personal opinion. The equity committee upon my arrival was not functioning in good faith. it was not effective and it wasn't yielding um the results through the dialogue in which it was taking place. We actually sought mediation shifted from the equity group to the work group. There were some change of attorneys by both sides in the midst of that time. And when

167you shift an attorney in the middle of a case, it is a humongous shift or change of practice. Uh, Hush Blackwell because it was referenced. Um, we have not paid them any money since I have been here with the exception of when we had to transition. Um, when Suzanne Dressa retired and we brought on a new firm in order to accelerate the work, uh, we temporarily brought them in to help transition that work and I think it was probably a two or three month period. Other than that, no no payments. It was ridiculous the volume of money that was being wasted. We function under the established retainer that we have with our current law firm. So I think there's been a month or two in which we've had to pay above and beyond that and

168that's when we've been called to Miami by the judge in the establishment of the work group which is the current practice. We spent probably a year and a half as uh Miss Green referenced creating KPIs. That is the information that we asked the judge. To be very honest with you, the judge was questioning both sides attorneys like what is going to be different from the equity group to the um work group. But we agreed, the two sides agreed. I don't know if the judge agreed but she said because you guys agree I'll say okay and allow it to happen a year and a half to create the KPIs because in my mind in the minds of I believe both sides the issue was being very specific regarding the information or the data that was going

169to be provided to eliminate the questions to eliminate the the discourse the back and forth Um, in that time, Doc Jones was the individual who represented the the board. That was grueling hard work that did yield to uh a positive outcome. That positive outcome was the KPIs in which we were be able to clearly provide information aligned to the collectively agreed upon indicators, key performance indicators. We transition to looking at each of those KPIs over the last six to nine months. We've heard two specific areas of KPIs. Um one of which we're going to mediation around the mentoring criteria and we just heard um the transportation. I've said it many many many times. I don't think who you all appoint will change my course of action in leading the district through this process. That course

170of action is to ensure that this district is entitled to and receives unitary status in each of the specific areas identified within that plan. I live in these schools. I live in this community. There are significant opportunities to improve in absolutely everything from me uh to schools but we do not have two school systems. We have one unified school system. I would hold our student body up uh in ter as being a model and I've told the story many times about Miami who is a obtained unitary status and schools in which I was the principal had every hallway was a segregated hallway with that ethnicity in that specific hallway. Told the story many times but you don't see that here. So there is work yet to be done but I hold steady that the system

171has made significant progress over the last five years. The system should be extremely proud of how our faculty, how our students interact as a community, a school district that is the most improved 38th to 9th. a graduation rate that has gone from 89 um to to 96. And how did that graduation what improved in graduation rate? African-American graduation rate improved nine percentage points. Hispanic graduation rate improved 14 percentage points. Um white graduation rate improved one or two percentage points in that same period of time. The accomplishment of 96 comes on the back of our black and brown students. When you look at student performance, you see the exact same rate of improvement. We're a double A district and going to be a three-time A district. Um, we are closing the achievement gap. Our black and

172brown students are outpacing our white students. So there there is there work to be done? Abs. Absolutely. Um, and it is it's hard it's hard to accept and it's hard for the community to to engage in these kinds of conversation because as it is presented, it shouldn't it shouldn't pull us apart. It should unite us and pull us together. There shouldn't be this level of of friction in the room around this conversation. I I I just don't think it is. and it's it's disheartening. I understand that there's a lot of emotions and feelings attached to it. Um so tonight, the board will identify um someone to represent them through the um end of April. So with that, Madam Chair, I will turn it over to you to facilitate a conversation or a nomination or however

173you see fit. Okay. At the December 9th, 2024 business meeting, the board revisited this appointment and voted for the current board representative to remain until April 2025 and to select a board representative for the SDIRC NAACP work group to serve until the next annual organization meeting to be held on November 17, 2025 in realignment of the same. The existing member from the school district is Jacqueline Rosario. The board may select to reappoint this representative or appoint a new member. Are there any board members that would like to nominate someone at this time? Mr. Dyer, I'd like to nominate Terry Baronborn. Okay. Was that a second? Yeah. Okay. All right. Any discussion? Uh, Mr. Dyer. Yeah, I I I'd like to say I've listened intently to the uh to the comments tonight. I read a plethora

174of emails that was avalanched on us today. uh and uh I think that there have been some very good and insightful discussions. I would like to thank Peggy for the service that she did for the first couple of years as we got this thing up going and I'd like to thank Miss Rosario personally for the service that that she has done. But hearing it tonight, you know, I I talked about that I think it's not politics. We got to do what's right as a board. And what's right is to get this thing settled. And if you have it where we're so far apart and this appointment will create a divide, it's not really helping us get to where we want to get to. To me, the biggest failure of the American school systems has been

175the literacy rate. We have failed generation after generation of kids. I've talked about this for some time, but it is so important to me. That's how we get this thing fixed over time. We've got to not fail these kids anymore, and we've got to get this thing settled. I agree with Dr. Moore. I have looked at the achievements and the success this district has done. Things that have been absolutely incredible and I wouldn't even thought could have been done uh if I if you would asked me five years ago when we started. This year, if we're lucky, our literacy rate should be up five, six points. We may even hit 70 70% of our third graders reading at grade level in third grade. Now you know who's affected most mostly there minority kids. Those are

176the ones who are beginning to win. And I think that we have done such a great job compared to other places in Florida that I think we need somebody who will not be divisive, but somebody who is going to really try to get this work. And I felt that the chair of the board, who is our representative now, could probably best represent us as we try to go through the next phase of this. But I am all for doing what's right, taking care of all kids in our community and really achieving the goals of not leaving any kid behind but lifting them all up. And so to me, that's why I've nominated uh Miss Baron board. All right. Any other discussion? Sure. Dr. Posa. Um I I mean I think there's been some positive discussion

177here on this topic here today. Um and certainly at the workg groupoup meetings I think we've had quite a bit of progress that's been made. Um but one of the things as I as I listen to um people discussing at the meetings and at the workg groups, one of the things that I I feel that I'm hearing is that there could be potentially two different conversations taking place. Um, sometimes I hear that potentially the goal of the work group is to write the wrongs and the sins of the past. And those sins were the marginalization of a group of people based on their color across the country, but specifically in this town. And it is a very real thing that people lived through. Um, they were dehumanized, marginalized, segregated. They were made poor. They were

178not given opportunity. They were arrested on their way home from work for being out too late. They were abused. And ultimately, we cannot write the wrongs and the sins of the past with this work group. And if you if you want to come to an agreement and focus on helping all these kids, we got to make sure we're working ultimately towards the same goal here and we're having the same conversation because I don't have the power to fix what was done. I thankfully wasn't alive at that time. I grew up um in a suburb of New York. Uh I had uh if you looked at like my neighbors, the the house across the street and to my left and right. Uh two of the three neighbors were black. Um the family across the street, the

179father was about the same age as my dad. Um and they had a a son and and a daughter. I knew the son and he was similar age to me and my brothers. Um both of our dads drove Cadillacs. Uh he had I believe it was an 80 Cadillac Deville in a a real smart maroon color and uh my dad had a very nice light blue 79 Cadillac Deville and the interior leather seating matched the paint perfectly and they kept those things clean and if you did anything to those cars or got near them uh you would hear that. Um, and when the snow came, we would go outside. Somehow it always was, the first few snows were always at night, so you're out there in the dark. Um, I had two older brothers and,

180uh, we had a big driveway and, uh, usually my neighbor was out. Uh, we'd all go out and we'd shovel and oftent times he would come over and he'd help us shovel our driveway and then we'd go over and we'd help him finish shoveling his. Um, and sometimes, uh, we we'd have a little snowball fight or something. Um, and when the snow melted, if you looked up and down that road during the summer, uh, there was a basketball hoop, uh, every few houses and there were pickup games all up and down the road pretty much all summer long. Um, and if cars would come, we'd scatter and kind of go to the sides of the road. And, uh, if they drove too fast, sometimes we'd throw our basketballs at the cars. Um, so I didn't

181grow up in those times. I can't try to fix or completely understand what happened. Um, but as I walk through the schools, I I don't see a segregated school. You know, I see a lot of kids that maybe grew up more like I did. And uh I think they're wondering why we're angry and and kind of fighting about this stuff. and uh not focused on just trying to help them. So, I I don't know for sure the solutions to coming to an agreement, but I think at the end of the day, we got to make sure we're we're trying to have the same conversation because if if we're not having the same conversation, um you can't ever resolve it. You know, we won't ever fix it. Um, and uh, you know, if we keep doing

182that, I ultimately probably we need to do mediation because I don't think we'll come to a solution together. Um, and I I understand that uh, it sounds like the NAACP has not enjoyed having Jackie uh, in the meetings. Um, and uh, you know, I I think that's that's your fair opinion and um, I I'm willing to vote for a different member. Um, but I think we we should really try to show unity and end it. Um, because I think that if we come together and we truly move forward together, every kid is going to do better. And uh nobody wants to hear people coming in here angrily talking about the past because it it's just opening the wound and making scar tissue and uh I think we can do better. Anyone else want to speak?

183Um I'll speak. Um you going to accept if Well, I'm going to discuss it first. Oh, okay. Um, you know, I was b born in Detroit and and I've been back there a couple of times and [Music] um I've spent most of my career in title one schools and I had my kids go to school with me at Dodgertown Elementary. They could have gone to Oyola. That's where they got in. And it was a Magnus school, brand new Magnus school at the time. Um, but I elected to bring them with me to Dodgertown because I wanted them to grow up in an environment where they could get to know lots of kids and be friends with lots of kids and get to know that that in the real world we do that. We get to

184be friends with lots of people. And when I went down I left this district and I went down to St. Lucy. I spent a year at the district office as this supervisor for science um for elementary and I went to a school and it broke my heart because I saw the behavior was out of control and teachers had given up. The principal had given up. Everybody gave up on those kids and it broke my heart. So, I actually went to the superintendent and I begged to take that school and I was given that school. That was Garden City. Garden City Cities on Avenue Q in Fort Pierce. I was a minority at that school. Um, there were people that wondered why I wanted to go there. It was because I I saw what was going

185on and I felt like I could at least try to help those kids at that school have the same exact education other kids got. Um it was mostly African-American. It was 99% um free and reduced lunch. I think we had two kids and they were in preschool that didn't get free lunch. Um it was tough. Was one of the toughest things I've ever done. five years of tough. And it wasn't tough because of the kids. It wasn't tough because of the parents. It was tough because we were overcoming a lot of other things. And mostly it was because of the advantages that those kids didn't have. Knowing that also know that I'm extremely data driven and when I see things that are actually working and benefiting kids, then kudos that credit needs to be given.

186And so I see I've been watching all the workg groupoup meetings and it's disheartening to me that we're still so far apart when if we really just focused on kids and what their needs are and what we can do to make sure that all kids in our community beyond this get the same opportunities. So yes, I would accept that. Any other discussion? Thank you. All right, I'm going to call for the vote. All those in favor say I. I. I. Anyone opposed? Opposed. So, we're not all in unity. It is a 41 vote. All right. Thank you, board members. Um, any discussion? There's no discussion items. We are to school board member matters. Who would like to go first? I question. Okay, Dr. Jones just um meeting that was just something discussing. Doc Dr. Jones,

187we can't hear so sorry. We Yeah, I don't know what it is. Okay, if if you turn the volume on your microphone off and then talk, I think you'll be good. All right, try that. Turn the volume on your microphone off. You want to do that? I won't share with anybody. Sorry. Oh, okay. Anyone else? Want to go? Um, doc, Mr. Dyer, uh, I, uh, had quite a quite a time since the last board meeting. I too went to the uh evening of enchantment at at Felsmere which I thought was absolutely terrific as well as attended uh two uh academic uh excellence awards at both Sebastian River and Vero Beach high schools. attended a metropolitan planning organization meeting on roads talking about a plan and a community meeting on a community input meeting uh for

188the MO talking about roads going out to 2050 and if you don't get your 2050 25 to 2050 report in on time in the next few months then the state gives you no money until you get it in. So that that's a that's your I don't know what that is. Uh I I I just got back from a uh last week on Wednesday through Friday was at a financial uh seminar on school board accounting uh and uh this was given by the uh uh Florida uh school board association uh to their members and I must say that it was eye opening you know I I guess that uh in some ways coming in I um really now understand government accounting versus GAAP accounting and some of the things that I've uh tried to do coming

189in and going through the budget was to find these pockets of money. Uh I must say that the state has been has been better at finding the pockets of money than I could have been as a turnaround guy. found some in capital. Uh but unfortunately the way the the money is siloed, if it's in capital, you got to have it in capital. What's going to happen? We're going to pay off the bonds and the interest we've been paying on these bonds, which is quite a bit of money, uh is actually going to be available, but it's going to be available in in the in the capital plan. uh as Bruce has has has talked about and I I guess is uh educated uh uh some also in the room tonight, the schools are really being

190defunded by the state. You know, if you go back and you look at the capital back in 2008 2009 when there was a recession, we were getting is there an issue? I would just make it dark. Okay. We we were getting uh we we got two two points of millage. They reduced it to 1.5 because the state taxes were not enough to cover the operations of the school. So they said, "Don't worry, we're going to go down to 1.5, but we'll give it back to you as soon as the state recovers." We're still at 1.5. If you look at that only in that millillage, I mean that's what uh each half point is something like uh 125 million a year. Now probably over the course of uh of the last 13 years has cost the

191school district 130 million. the basic the basic fund that we have to do that the state requires. They have taken program after program that they did fund with extra funds and have now said, "Oh, you do that out of your basic fund and they'll cost you thousands of dollars and they'll give you this year they're planning to give us $95 more a student." But they're c they're talking about taking away half the allocation for career and technical and for IB programs and for all the advanced programs. That's going to cost the school district millions and millions of dollars. I mean right now based on what the projections are for the for the uh uh scholarship funds. And by the way, I believe in scholarship funds. I think I'm great for private schools, charter schools. I'm

192okay with homeschools, but the states needs to pay for it. Not out of the school district. We have, I think, 1,800 students that are receiving the the uh scholarships going to their projection is 2500 next year, which is going to take another $5 million out of the budget, which we're busy busily trying to cut. But there are 1300 kids that were never in the public schools that are taking the money that used to go to our school district. How does that work? And that's happened. That's what the Florida the state of Florida is doing. They are defunding public schools. And to me, that is just that is just the wrong thing to do. And they are creating a crisis. I'm I'm I'm all for it. Let the state fund homeschooling, private schooling, charter school. It's

193fine. I I love it. That's great. Competition is good, but they need to fund it. They can't continue to take it away from the kids that are left in the public school system. So anyway, there's some things that I saw that I'll discuss further with Bruce Green with some ideas and David David Moore and hopefully we'll bring it up to a board workshop. But uh I I think that that is something that really is a concern uh totally uh to me about what's happening with the budgeting and the budget process. A lot of the the the dogee that we were talking about for our financial school system, the state has sucked it out of it and things that they had funded before they've put into the basic allocation which now we are responsible for rather

194than having additional funds. Uh I also went to Tallahassee and uh met with uh uh to to go on when we talked with the legislature. But uh with Dr. Moore uh I was able to set up meetings with both Alex Kelly who is the secretary of uh commerce and he is over a lot of workforce funds and monies and we may have stumbled upon a little help somewhere or not. We're gonna try I think we're working hard on trying to get some of those funds. And we also met with David and I met with Manny Diaz who's the commissioner of education which was kind of a a great uh conversation as well. Uh Manny appointed David to an AI uh committee that the state has just formed which is terrific. So it was great that

195we met with him. Uh, I guess you either e even though you guys knew of each other, uh, you didn't cross paths too much in Miami, but uh, the the the interesting uh, thing to me is he knew very little about uh, Indian River School District and has said that he would come down and visit with us. So, we will we will see if that if that happens. And I think that's great. We talked extensively about charter schools, which is very interesting. his kids are in private uh charter school and uh so uh he knows quite a bit about it and has been involved in it. I think we're the second classical school in the state of Florida which we talked about and interestingly enough he said we told him the way that uh Dr.

196Shafty was also there in the meeting. I I forgot she was in both of those meetings. uh we we talked about uh the curriculum and he said what you're doing we talked about flaggler college and we talked about uh Jacksonville and he said that's exactly the way to do it said the Hillsdale curriculum talks great but their execution and support has been very poor in the state from his mouth so he said the way you're doing it is the way I'm advising all the other uh school districts in Florida to do it that are trying going to try classical and there's several other counties that are doing it. So I thought that that was a very interesting thing. So I would applaud the past board and the current board for uh the classical school and

197for the way that we're approaching it and it seems like a a great idea and a great thing. And with that uh I think that's uh that's a wrap. That's my my wrap. Okay. Um, Miss Fario. Um, yeah. So, I've had that conversation with Dr. Moore about um about losing funding over school choice. And in fact, he has told me he's not worried one bit. Um, I said in our one-on-one, how could you not be worried? And he said, because we are we plan based on the staff allocation model. So if you have, for example, five less kids, you just have to staff our schools with five less kids. Funding will come in for each student and that's how we'll just um I guess he'll handle the funding at that point. Um so we did

198have multiple we had many conversations about that and that seems to be he seemed to tell me he wasn't worried about it. So um if we I tend to look at it slightly different where these are taxpayer uh families who are now instead of thinking it as defunding public schools, it's really funding school choice. So, um I guess you can look at the glass half full or half empty, but in this particular case, Dr. Moore has told me he's not worried about it. Um he might have a different conversation with you, but with me, he said he wasn't worried. Um the chair said at the end of her the last vote, "Oh, something to the effect of," oh, I see we're not unified. The mere fact that the chair could say that would prove there

199was no unity. There's no need to add the tagline on there on a vote when any individual member has the right to vote yay or nay. Um, and that is where Personality politics has to be removed from the equation. When personality politics gets removed from this dis then things will change. The staff this week is staff and teacher appreciation week. And I just wanted to say thank you to all of the staff and the um uh teachers and staff and administrators and everybody else involved for everything that they do. Um it is incredibly important. Um this week on Friday I have the uh value adjustment board meeting. So I'm looking forward to that. Vero Beach High School scholarship night, Sebastian River High School scholarship night. Um and the academic excellence awards night at uh Sebastian

200River. Fantastic events. Incredibly um uh inspiring to see how these these kids work so hard for their future. It's just so exciting. And the next time that we see each other, we will have uh graduates in our school district. So, I want to say an early congratulations to all of the graduates in our school district. Sebastian River High School will be on May 15th and Vero Beach High School on May 16th. And thank goodness this year we're having evening ceremonies instead of day se uh instead of, you know, Friday night and Saturday morning. So, it won't be that hot, but um I'm glad for it. All righty. Um so, I've been attending the legislative subcommittee meetings, uh actually I run those um with Danielle Thomas, who is the FSBA um legislative lobbyists that we have.

201Um every Friday we've been meeting except for Good Friday. Uh we started out during session at the beginning just every other Friday and then it got down to every Friday. Um of course signing die is coming up. It's this Friday. However, it doesn't look like they're going to finish on time. So they have called for um uh a recess and then come back. So it'll be interesting to see what happens and how that will delay our budgeting process. Sorry, Bruce. I know that that um that really hurts you guys because you have to wait for them to approve the budget. So um that's where we are with that. Um day in the legislature um I helped organize that for the state and I got the guest speaker. It was Dr. Moore. Um he came up

202and spoke and afterwards every other district went up to him and asked if they could have him come visit. I said, "How about you guys come visit us because he needs to stay here." Um, so that was that was great. I think thank you for doing that. Um, I did see you guys up there at the same time I was up there, but um you know I didn't get the same meetings that you got in and uh I appreciate you all being there for um and to speak to legislators. I think it's important. So um I w also attended all well three of the proclamations for Dr. more. And at first I thought his head's going to get really, really big, but I realized that it's great for the school district and for the community

203to celebrate when you have such an great award. And I think thank you for accepting those. I know sometimes you were like, "Oh my goodness, here we go again." But I think it's great that the whole community kind of got behind that. I like to say thank you to Mr. Hart also. I know behind the scenes he does a lot for stuff like that. Um, but I got to attend Indian River County Commission, the Bureau Beach City Council, and the Sebastian City Council um, proclamations, and they were all wonderful. Uh, got to be a judge for the Battle of the Books. I didn't get to judge much, but I got to watch it, and it was a lot of fun. Um, it's great when kids get so excited about learning uh, about the details of

204books. And there were questions that were really difficult. I mean, I was sitting there saying, "Wow, I can't believe the kids had to know that type of thing." It wasn't just a memorization. Um, I went to the opening of Thrive. They're on a new campus. They're the old doctor's clinic. If those of you that have been around a long time remember the doctor's clinic, that's where they're located. Uh, the taxpayer association lunchon. Dr. Moore was the guest speaker there. Um, couple of us were in attendance and we appreciate listening to um, I kind of heard the same speech a lot so the last couple months, but it's a good one. So, thank you for giving it again. I did attend cruise in in Decay and that was super cute. I love the theme. Thank you

205for the car theme. My grandson loved the car theme. Um and we were all excited about kindergarten. So Agnes people scholarship interviews that is something that's really the school board chair gets to sit in the interviews with the um principles of both Sebastian and Indian um in Vero Beach. And it took us two days this year because we had so many applicants but we also had a lot of money. Thank you, Bruce. Because um we asked him to investigate uh the money. It's just so you know, it was a um is it the residuals or the from the um stock? Okay. So, it's from a stock that was donated um in the memory of Agnes Peoples, who was a switchboard operator back when AT&T was a little tiny company. And so, just that stock residual

206is what we use. And this year we were able to give up up up to I think 212,000 somewhere around there. So that was really nice. Um and we had a lot of girls that were able to um help support through college. And their stories are amazing. You heard six stories tonight that every one of them was just blew me away. Um I wish I was that great in high school. So Bill Wilson Elementary TrackMe is always wonderful. If we can move it a little to earlier in the year where it's not so warm. Even though it was really early morning, it still got really hot really quickly for the kids. But I know that's a traditional thing. Uh Spiro competition was excellent. That was awesome. And the kids were really into it. That was

207cool. I actually went to when I was up in Tallahassee, I went to a high school competition similar to that. And it was uh Junior Lego League, but it was high school version. And um same thing, the kids wear team uniforms and they go crazy and they had mascots running around, but the computing u the coding they were doing for the computers was just tremendous. So it was great when kids kind of be able to get sports and academics kind of combined. The art show at Vero Beach Museum, I attended that as well. Um that was really nice. I found out about it last second, so I was doing a lot of miles that day. I visited a few schools in between all of these little visits. I'd stop at a school um and they

208didn't know I was showing up and I just walked in to say, "Hey, what's going on?" And I was so impressed every single time. I did not catch anybody offguard. You would have been so proud of them all. Um Vero Beach baseball, I went to the district game and I went to the both regional games that were here and um you know, they're they're going to the states and the fi finals and lacrosse, same thing. I went to theirs and I got to see the last literally the last I don't even know what you call it pitch or whatever throw um because that was the same time that we were giving away all that money. So um there are lots of events going on at the same time but amazing what our athletes are doing

209right now. Teacher and staff appreciation, we appreciate you. Thank you so much for all you do. And I know you had to split it into two weeks this year. I was very confused by that but then I listened to Bob Seuss and I heard why you did it. So, I appreciate that. [Music] Um, I believe in school choice, yes, but I also believe in accountability for tax dollars. And I'll leave it at that. It It needs to be that the the money follows the child, yes, but then money also needs to be accountable to the taxpayer. Um, where is our money going? That's what I'd like to know. I just want to make sure kids are getting educated. That's what I care about. Um, and Dr. Pusca, thanks for asking for board unity. I appreciate

210that tonight. Thank you. Um Dr. Moore. Um thank you madame chair. This is going to be the next month is going to be extremely busy. There's something absolutely every night between now and our next board meeting. So thank you staff for representing all of us every night. Um am I concerned about balancing any this this year's budget? No, I'm not. Am I worried about creating a ba a balanced budget for next year? Um, no I'm not. Is there great concern in us being more efficient and effective about marketing and advertising the great things that you all just referenced? Um, yeah. And I believe without a a doubt the best place to to educate your your child uh is a a public school and honor and celebrate and have made the choice myself uh not to

211use a public school. Um so we need to make sure that we're um actively doing everything in our power uh to ensure as a public school system we are effectively communicating um the power and purpose of the work that our teachers and administrators do each and every single day. Um yep it was referenced graduations are are coming up. Um, I was thinking about trying out a new speech, but I'm going to stick with it. I've been doing it for 20 years, so get be ready. Thank you. All right. I would like to thank everyone for viewing, coming out this evening to our meeting. At this time, we're going to adjourn the meeting at 9:04.