OCPS | 2025-10-28 School Board Meeting

001Good evening everyone and welcome to the Orange County School Board's regular meeting scheduled for today, Tuesday, October 28th, 2025. Thank you all so much for being here tonight. We have everyone at the dis except for member Salamanca. I believe she's she's not online. She was going to try to call in, but if she does, we'll we'll announce her virtual presence at that time. As a reminder, board members will not be engaging in outside electronic or digital communication during the meeting so that we can focus our full attention on the matter matters before us. To my fellow board members, to district staff, to myself and members of the public, when you're speaking, please speak directly into the microphone. and they're very sensitive and we want to make sure that the public both here and those who

002may be tuning in through YouTube TV is able to hear you and understand what you're saying. And I try really hard to follow my own directions. We will begin in just a minute with a moment of silence, but before we do that, I want to recognize Vice Chair Bird to share some very sad news with us. Thank you, Chair Jacobs, for allowing me this moment of privilege. I just wanted to share a few words about a teacher that we lost this past summer. For 30 years, Paul P. Peters was a valued member of the OCPS family, sharing his passion for history with thousands of students. He started out in alternative education in 1996 at Lake View Middle, transitioning to social studies there in 1999. In 2001, he transferred to Gotha and made the jump to

003high school in 2003, spending the next 21 years at Apakka High School. In addition to teaching social studies to the blue darters, he was also a dedicated sponsor for the student government association and a great friend to Apopka mascots Dewey and Daisy. the impact the impact that he had on the school and on all of us is immeasurable. Mr. Peters passed away on July 8th at the age of 56 after a long illness. We have some of his dear friends here and tonight including our high school Apakka High School principal Mr. Heights who's here as well. And I believe that member Douglas and Chair Jacobs both had children that were taught by Mr. Peters. And I think member Douglas wanted to say a quick word. Definitely. Member Douglas, you're recognized. Thank you. I just wanted

004to say that Mr. Peters was my son's favorite teacher and he went to see him at the hospital until the day passed actually. He wants to make sure that he was secure and my son is Nate Douglas and he's been thank you so much for really truly honoring Mr. Peters. He's been a giant in the Apka community. Thank you. He really was a giant and I appreciate you saying that. this summer when he passed away, the just the mo the words of adoration within the community all over social media and heartbreak all over social media was just crazy. everyone really loved him and he just had such a passion for kids and for for Apopka. It was just he was a great person. So, I'm I'm happy to be able to honor him tonight. And

005I would like for everyone to join me in a moment of silence in Mr. Peter's honor this evening, followed by the pledge. Thank you. And now for the pledge. 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. All right. Be before we move on, I did want to comment very briefly. you said he was your son's favorite teacher. I think he was probably everybody's favorite teacher. my most of you all know I have four kids that all went through Orange County Public Schools. Every time I say kids, I'm like, "Okay, I should clarify. They're they're in their 30s. One's pushing 40." So they're still my kids. But you know, with that many kids, you can imagine

006how many teachers they had. And there's only a handful that I knew and whose name is kind of just always etched in my brain. And Mr. Peters was one of those. So yeah, there's a couple of others that were etched in my brain for some other reasons. with four kids, they weren't always angels. We certainly had some rough moments and there were a few teachers that paid the price for my kids' teenage years, but they all as far as everybody lived. We all good and it all ended well. My kids are my kids are teachers are good. I mean they're good people and my the teachers all survived them. So there you go. next I just want to check real quickly on where we are on the agenda and then I want to move into

007some recognitions. So Dr. Mr. Basquez, do you have any changes for the agenda? No, Madam Chair, there are no changes to the agenda. Thank you. With there being no changes, is there a motion to adopt the agenda as published? Member Ferand with a motion. Is there a second? Second. This is so funny. Member Douglas second. The audience does not know why this is an issue here. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed. Okay. Thank you. Usually the sound comes from the left and I can never figure out which one. So I'm looking to the left and it came from the right. Okay. All right. We have a couple of recognitions to celebrate. And the first one I am so proud to be able to share this honor. It's an honor for our very own

008deputy superintendent Mike Armbberster. Another name that I definitely knew from my kids and nothing but positive. And I hope that the same is true of his experience and if not I don't want to know about it. but Dr. Arm Brewster if you'll come out in front of the dis and I'll come down in just a minute with this certificate of excellence. So as many of you know Dr. Dr. Armrewster has always been a fierce advocate for our career and technical programs, particularly agrac. He previously earned a state honorary degree from the Florida FFA, which was previously known as the farmer future farmers of America for his unparalleled support of agric. Now, I'm thrilled to announce that he has been selected to receive the honorary American FFA degree from the National FFA organization. That is the

009highest honor they can dispo bestow upon an individual. The National FFA organization is a youth organization for middle and high school students that provides leadership, personal growth, and career success training through agricultural education. The award recognizes leaders who have gone far beyond daily contributions to make an extraordinary long-term difference in the lives of students and the future of agricultural education across our nation. In 2018, when Dr. Arm Brewster was associate superintendent for career and technical education. OCPS expanded Agra Science to every high school in the district and today we're on our way to having aggra science in every middle school as well. Dr. Arm Brewster will officially be presented with this medal and plaque at the 98th National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis later this week. Dr. Dr. Armber, congratulations on behalf of OCPS,

010the students whose lives you've enhanced and behalf of this whole board getting She said, "Don't block your block. smile. He's like done with the pictures. Done with the pictures. Oh my gosh. All right. I did see something I've never noticed before. Dr. Armbster kept turning around and looking this way. I think he might have actually been a bit bashful for a moment. I've never seen that. I've never seen that side of Dr. Armbster. Okay. As I mentioned, we are celebrating other exceptional employees as well. Each board member may choose two employees to recognize at their designated meeting. And tonight I'd like to recognize board member Ferrant to come down to the podium and share with us a little bit about her honores. Oh, you know what? Hold on. I need my paper. Oh, they tricked

011me. I thought I was at the podium. Oh dear. Okay. Thank you guys all for being here tonight. Super excited. tonight I'd like to shine a huge spotlight on one of the brightest lights in our district at Stonewick Elementary. music teacher Darlene Grande. Miss Grande, would you come forward that we could honor you and recognize you? For 22 years, Miss Grande has been a true leader with her journey taking her from Frangus Elementary to Three Points Elementary and Eagle Creek Elementary before building a phenomenal music program at Stonewick when it opened in 2022. Miss Grande leads with integrity and a high standard of educational excellence. I know this because the number of students in her school choir grows each year, now numbering more than 75 students. This is elementary school, which is amazing. Under her

012direction, these students shine, performing at incredible events like the Orlando Magic and Orlando City soccer games and for the Give Kids the World event. And who could forget the spectacular mini Broadway shows she directs each year like Beauty and the Beast Jr. or Finding Nemo? Her work was recently highlighted as well by Spectrum News 13. And just to throw it out there, my kids ask all year, "When do we get to go and visit the Stonewick productions?" Because they love going and they love seeing what is happening at Stonewick. So, they're amazing. Miss Grande, thank you for your commitment to our students. You help them take pride in their work and music arts, and today I honor you. Thank you so Big smile. Big smile. And I have one more amazing spotlight tonight. I am

013pleased to recognize an exceptional teacher at Boone High School, Mr. William, as Bill as he likes to be called, Mr. Daniel. And Mr. Mr. Daniel, would you come forward to be recognized tonight? Mr. Daniel is the director of the National Academy of Finance Honors magnet at Boone High School. Mr. Daniel, who exemplifies a commitment to excellence and ha he has been with OCPS since 1993. For 15 years, he has served as the liaison between Additional Financial and the school, overseeing the operations of the credit union's Boone branch. I love that we have these little banks within our high schools where the kids can learn and pretty amazing. Every year, he also runs the IRS volunteer income tax assistant program at Boone, a role that includes training the volunteers. also something that community members tell me

014they absolutely love. It's a benefit to the community. he has set a high standard of education in his classroom, ensuring his students graduate with the tools and skills needed for a successful life after graduation. I often hear from parents who share that their children were more challenged and prepared in his class than in any other course leaving high school with a knowledge of finance superior to their peers. Mr. Daniel, thank you for your service and your unrelenting commitment to highquality education. You are making a huge difference and tonight I honor you. We'll give you a round of applause. And I have to make one little note that I love that I just realized too recently and about a week ago that Mr. Daniel is married to Miss Daniel who was my youngest kindergarten teacher. So

015we love you too, Miss Daniel. You are amazing. Sure, why not? There we go. Good. Look happy. Hold on. And support people. Yeah. She doesn't have it. Yeah, we already talked. It's good. Oh. She's fine. Good. Big smile. Big smile again. Perfect. Thank you. See you Thursday. Bye again. Okay. And next we're gonna hear from Ember Douglas. I'm not as tall as Oh, I'm so sorry. Just that's okay. All right. thank you left on this board and my one request is before I leave. Hello. I want this thing to work for me. Thank you. There we go. I'm supposed to lower and raise the podium when somebody comes up and I apparently do not have a poll. Thank you. I'd like to take a moment to introduce Isabella Tessa Matoss, a senior at West Orange

016High School in my district. Isabella is my social media intern and she's already begun to work on my social media accounts and learn about how OCPS connects with our followers online. I can already see that she's a quick learner and I can see to I can wait to see what she can teach me as well. Right. I teach you, you teach me. Yeah. Good. Our internship program is funded through a grant from the Orange County government citizens commission for children. During the 2425 school year, including summer 2025, 188 high school students participated in the program as paid interns, including 79 interns working across five different OCPS departments. We are proud to support these students as they gain real world experience and contribute meaningfully to our schools and community. Isabella, welcome to OCPS and welcome to

017being my social media intern. Hello, good afternoon. My name is Isabella Tzamato and I'm a senior at West Orange High School and I'm so excited and honored to be part of the first ever round of social media interns here at OCPS representing District 4 and Douglas and she made sure to include in my speech where we always expect more. I'm also here tonight with my mom Deborah Tzamatu. is over there standing and there's no better time to introduce her as October is breast cancer awareness month and she's standing here as a survivor. When I moved from Windermir High School to West Orange High School, she was the first to remind me that it doesn't matter where I go to always do my best. So when signing up for classes at West Orange, we have a

018program called the executive internship where students get to shadow administrators. Since I was new to the school, I asked Principal Turner to be his intern because I didn't know any other admins yet. Later on, it became a whole thing where I started doing his social media and became part of running the West Orange official social media account where I also work alongside Zaden, the superintendent intern. And from then on, it has been the best experience of my life and I'm so grateful to be part of. My passion for social media is something I want to continue after high school. I'm currently enlisting in the National Guard and I'm planning on doing RTC in college in hopes to commission as a public's affair or intelligence officer in the Army. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to

019represent not only OCPS, but also Ann Douglas and everything she does for her district. Thank you. And by the way, you're doing a great job representing young women. So we're so proud of you. So proud of you. Okay, we have one more recognition. Member Felder, you're recognized. Good evening. It is indeed my pleasure to introduce to you a woman who I've known for a very, very long time. I've known her not only as a member in my community, but her work, I don't care what kind of historical event is going on, this woman would always be right there to chronicle everything that you're doing. And you know, whenever the time comes, and we don't look for it to be anytime soon, but I'm hoping somebody's in place to catch all of those pictures cuz she

020has every kind of event that has happened in the community involving people of color, my community. She has it all on pictures. So, I'm so grateful for her participation in that area. I'd like to call her up. Her name is Mrs. Mary Maxwell. She is a retired Yes, please come up. Mrs. Maxwell is a retired OCPS educator who began her career right here in the district back in 1974. From teaching assistant to coordinator at Orange Center Elementary, her deep commitment to education laid a powerful foundation. Today, Mrs. Maxwell remains a driving force, and she really is in parent engagement at both Jones High and Orange Center Elementary. She is deeply committed a committed community leader serving as a valued member of the Lyft Orlando board which is working to shape Orange Center and the Westlakes

021community for the future. She is also the former vers first vice president of the Orange County branch of the NAACP. Mrs. Maxwell, thank you for your ongoing service to our students, our schools, and our entire community. And I just want to just put this in. When I was running for board school board in 2020, Mrs. Maxwell, she and another person in my community, they went ahead and said those long lines to vote cuz she said, "Vicki, we're going to make sure everybody is that needs to vote is there." She bought all of these extra waters because it was so hot. and she made sure the people had water at a lot of the voting areas in my district and I want to thank you for that. Mrs. Maxwell, we are honored to recognize you tonight

022and we're going to take a photo and I have a little token of appreciation for you. all that you've done. I know, but I'm certific. All right, hang on. Hang on, Frank. Hang on. I I see we have at least one person in the audience who wants to get in this picture. Ed, get up here. She is like, "Are you sleepy?" Well, it's either sometimes or we just need to make up our mind and the name. I just want to know who she is. Big smile. Big smile again. Hold on. And then my assistant Okay. And I think that was our last recognition for the evening. So if you are here for recognitions, you are welcome to stay for the fun meeting or you are welcome to go right now and enjoy the rest of

023your night. Thank you all for coming. M madam vice chair. Yes, we still have two administrators. Oh okay. So sorry. Oh yes, that's my fault. I see it now. Dr. Vasquez, do we have any newly appointed administrators to present this evening? I saw the look of panic like what? so we're delighted that we have two new assistant principles being appointed this evening. The first one is Christopher Brian Langley who is currently a dean at Conway Middle but will be the new assistant principal at Evans High School. Congratulations. I thought she was going to go first. Okay. Good evening, school board members, superintendent Dr. Vasquez, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Arm Brewster, the high school office, and of course, Principal Nelson Warren. Thank you for this opportunity to serve at Evans High School. I'm truly grateful to be

024a part of the Pine Hills community, and I'm excited to collaborate with my new colleagues and nurturing the minds of our scholars. I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has guided and uplifted me in my journey. To my supervisors back in Valuchia County, your invaluable encouragement has shaped my path and to my family, especially my mother and Destiny. Your love, appreciation, and unwavering support mean the world to me. And lastly, I want to express my gratitude to my home for the past year, Conway Middle School. Mr. Bing and his remarkable staff have inspired me in their kindness and dedication. To my Falcon family, thank you for your support as I embark on this new journey as a Trojan. I'm sincerely grateful for each of you. Thank you. Next, we have Annabelle Guusman, who is

025the instructional coach at Village Park Elementary, and she's going to be the new assistant principal at Sadler Elementary. Thank you school board Dr. Maria Vasquez, Dr. Amster and Dr. Jones for this incredible opportunity. I am deeply honored to begin this journey as the assistant principal of Satler Elementary. This milestone would not be possible without the support and belief of many important people in my life and professional journey. To my parents, thank you for always believing in me, believing and being my cheerleader, instilling in me values of hard work, responsibility, and love. But most of all, thank you for sharing me and turning me into the adult I am today. I hope I'm making you proud and I know you too are watching for heaven. To my husband and my children, you are the most important

026part of my life. your unwavering support through both the good days and the challenging ones especially through masters means everything to me. Thank you for being part of this journey. I love you and we have been part together and I celebrate this accomplishment with you. To my former principal Dr. Aliv Vasquez, thank you for opening doors in my professional journey, for believing in me and for leading me with passion and love for children and others. You built the capacity to become a leader and gave me opportunities for growth through different positions and tasks while you led with love. Your example fed my desire to serve others and I blessed to call you my friend. To my Village Park Elementary family, to my girls in my leadership team, to my assistant principal and my principal, Mr.

027Moros City. Thank you for helping me grow and for walking this journey with me since we opened the doors of PPE. I know our Dragon Scholars are in great hands and will continue to rise to every occasion with your leadership and your magic makers guiding them. I will miss you dearly. I left with tears today, but I am happy and grateful with a big grateful heart knowing the job was done and that relationships were built and they will last for many years. And last but not least to my new principal, where is she? Oh, principal Rachel Mott and our new principal leader, Miss Hankerson. Oh my god, I'm shaking. Thank you for believing in me and for offering me this new opportunity. I am excited to support Principal Mut and the Satler family where our

028teachers and staff believe in every child in our Mustin Scholars will achieve every goal because at Satler excellence is the only option. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you. and welcome as part of the administrative teams both of your schools and we're proud to have you and excited for what you'll do in those leadership roles. Congratulations. And I believe we're going to have you come forward so we can get a picture. So good to see you. Welcome to Evans. Congratulations. Congratulations. Your people. Come on. Yeah. Okay, just slide down a little bit. And when your arms are up, your jacket puckers. So just There we go. You can you can be out like a penguin, but don't just pull your jacket out. You'll you'll thank me later. Good. Big smile. Look happy. Big smile. Look happy again.

029One more. Good. Good thing this side. Good. Thank you. And now, if you were here for recognitions, you may enjoy the rest of your evening. side of the campus. Okay. All right. At this time, I would like to call on Principal Nicole Campbell, who is representing the Orange County Association of School Administrators this evening. Hello, Miss Campbell. Welcome. Thank you. Good evening, school board members, Vice Chair Bird, Superintendent Vasquez, Deputy Superintendent Arm Brewster, and staff. I am Nikki Campbell, Okasa High School representative, and it's a pleasure to be here with you tonight. Our shared vision that every student graduates inspired and prepared for a thriving future continues to guide the work we do in our high schools every single day across Orange County. Our student services teams are meeting individually with every student to review

030their progress towards graduation and just as importantly to talk about their goals for the future. These conversations are helping us ensure that every student not only walks across the stage but walks towards a meaningful next step, whether that's college, career, or service. I know there's been recent discussion about Zello, and I want to share what it looks like from the high school perspective. At Lake Nona and at all of our high schools, we are on Zello daily. Zello is a comprehensive college and career readiness platform that allows students to explore interests, set goals, and map out academic pathways that align with their future aspirations. For students, it's engaging and personal. They can research careers, colleges, and training programs all in one place while building their four-year academic plan. Many of our students are spending extra

031time in Zello, truly reflecting on their passions and planning their next steps. They're excited and many of us wish we had a tool like this when we were in high school as well. For teachers and counselors, the benefits are just as powerful. Zello provides a consistent district-wide platform that unites us around one shared system, allowing educators to easily monitor progress, guide conversations, and ensure every student is on track. It has streamlined communication, improved consistency, and deepened engagement between staff and students. As a principal, Zello has also transformed the way I connect with students and families. It allows me to have richer, more meaningful conversations, not just about academics, but about each other's students hopes, interests, and future plans. It also gives me a valuable data on what students want to do and where they want

032to go. That insight helps me tailor opportunities at our school, whether it's field trips, guest speakers for teaching, or college and career presentations. I can now be intentional and strategic, aligning our programming with what students are genuinely interested in. It's a powerful tool for planning and support. Now, we're expanding this work by hosting parentformational nights at our schools. These sessions give families a chance to see the power of Zello firsthand and to understand the many opportunities available for their children's future. As high school leaders, we are truly excited about how this aligns with our mission and how it propels us towards our vision. Together, we are ensuring that every student in every high school across Orange County is not only prepared to graduate, but inspired to thrive in what comes next. On behalf of the

033high school principles and Okasa, we would like to thank you. Thank you for this resource. Thank you for your continued support, your dedication to our students, and the work we all share in building a brighter future for every learner in Orange County. Thank you. Thank you so much. That was that was so great to hear. I know I was very excited about Zillow, but it's great to hear that administrators are excited and most of all that you said that students are engaged and they like it too. So, very excited. Thank you so much for sharing that. next I would like to call on Clinton McCracken. No, no, Madam Chair. No, not speaking. No one else. Okay. All right. So we are on to strategic plan. Correct. Okay. next we have our strategic plan update. So

034Dr. Vasquez, you are recognized. this evening we have our yearly school safety specialist update that's being provided by our very own chief of district police, Brian Holmes, who promises he is going to stick to the script. he this year you're going to see some additional recommendations. You know, that's all kidding aside. safety is our number one priority. we are so thankful that our district is able to have a district police that allows us to really ensure that our facilities are safe. We have great partnerships with the existing agencies across the different municipalities. And it's because of that dedication to student safety. It is because of those partnerships that we have schools where our children and our employees and our families can be can feel safe. So, I'm going to turn it over to Chief Holmes.

035Dr. Vasquez, that was excellent. I think we can just wrap it up and go from here. good evening, Madame Chair, members of the board, and of course, Dr. Vasquez. Yes, this is the school safety specialist annual update. We've included this slide because we never really want to forget the tragic loss of life at Marjorie Stoman Douglas High School on February 14th, 2018. in light of this, I think it's safe to say both the state of Florida and needless to say, Orange County Public Schools continue to make safety and security a top priority. Here's our agenda tonight. but just as a reminder, the superintendent is required by state statute to appoint a school safety specialist. As she mentioned, I am currently serving the district in that role. The school safety specialist is responsible for all school

036safety and security personnel policies and procedures for all public schools, including chartered schools. The school safety specialist is required to annually update the school board in a publicly advertised meeting. That's why we're here tonight on matters associated with safety and security of our schools. As always, we want to credit both past and present school boards and the superintendent for their support of school safety and security programming. just to quote Dr. Vasquez, keeping our students and staff safe is our top priority. Let's talk a little bit about the new legislation, Senate Bill 1470. And I'm going to make it short and sweet. we have met or exceeded these new statutory requirements. It was a light bill this year. I was very pleased that they did that. just for a little update on some of the things

037they've included. they've required us to establish what they called exclusive zones and non-exclusive zones at our schools. just to help you understand what that really means is if you can walk from a public sidewalk to a barrier, a fence, a locked door at a school, you have just reached that exclusive zone. Anything beyond that, you're in it. All right? So, we have to unlock that door, allow you in that gate for you to come into that exclusive zone. That's where school is in session. also, for the non-exclusive zones, if you're on school property, but outside of it, for example, athletic fields, parking lots, places of that area, you are in the non-exclusive zone. Again, this change reduced the numbers of exemptions that I had to write as your school safety specialist for every gate and

038every door that we were going to allow access to a school. So, if there was a gate leading into the parking lot of the school, I had to write an exemption on that. Now that it's a non-exclusive zone, I don't have to write that and put it in the FSSAT. That's a lot of detail, but I was pleased and this was a good change. They also changed the campus access requirements now only apply from 30 minutes before school through 30 minutes after school is out. That was a great change because they had requirements that went 247 365 that simp schools simply were not able to achieve yet. It was in the statute. So that was a great change. Another good one was they said that substitute teachers must now be provided with all district school

039safety and security procedures prior to working in a school. You think that would be something we that districts would already do? We did. We worked closely with Kelly Services, provided that to them, and we continue to do so. And last but not least in this area, county sheriffs must now authorize each individual school guardian to work within their respective county. the good news for all school districts is that they have reciprocity in their training, but if they come to the county, they have to be checked out by the sheriff, make sure they haven't gotten in trouble at a previous district job, or even up, say, for example, now private schools. They can serve in private schools as guardians. So, that's going to help the sheriffs and all of us stay on top of that stuff.

040All right, let's talk about some of the initiatives that we've been involved in here at OCPS. As you can see, we continue to review and work with you, the school board, on our policies and district police procedures to make sure they're updated. JICK again, I think it was the eighth iteration of threats. we continue to conduct our required testing of emergency alerts and all of our emergency systems that we have at our schools. And needless to say, since we do quarterly updates and we have one on the agenda here tonight, we conduct our compliance inspections, which we've had our meetings already this month. we have onboarded our school-based threat management teams to the new Florida Department of Education, Florida Safety and Threat Management Portal, STMP for short. we also conduct what we call our dialogue

041with district police where we update our schools and we've expanded that to special you know special sessions and other relevant topics to make sure they know what's going on with school safety and security and threat management. Our most exciting initiative is the expansion of our safety screening capabilities by adding a second detection K9 onto the team. We picked her up today. Where's the picture? Okay. Where's the picture? There'll be a reveal. You'll get to meet her. She's adorable. No, it's undercover. To be frank, she needed to go to the vet. had get her checked out and she needed a bath. She's been living in a kennel and she needed a bath. So, we didn't want to bring her in like the kennel. So, yeah. So, we can't wait and we are looking forward to that

042opportunity. All right, let's talk about some of the physical security improvements that we have done to our schools. Now, forgive me for being cryptic, but I would be remiss to provide details of our security programming in a public setting with a lot of detail, right? That said, in an effort to ensure the proper placement of the safer area signages that we have at our schools, our district school safety and security team went to all schools and placed the signage in over 15,000 classrooms over the summer. Yes, 15,000 classrooms. and what we've referred to as alternative instructional areas. the district also continues to implement design guidelines. We're working with facilities on that to improve school physical security and enhance access for law enforcement response to school campuses and classrooms during an emergency. And we talked about

043that during our update. And yes, I'm going to make this short and sweet because we've all got it all the way to our school safety specialist findings and recommendations pages. I have I do find that OCP is meeting or exceeding the requirements set forth by Florida statute, Florida State Statutes and the Florida Department Education Administrative Codes. Our board policy JICK again has been updated to meet the latest policy requirements. we've also ident identified other physical security improvements to further secure each school while expanding access to both students and our first responders. U we've also have school climate support programs that are widely implemented at our schools and schools do conduct periodic surveys to support databased improvements at our schools as well. We're going to continue as as a recommendation from me to pursue technological solutions

044to further improve camp campuswide communication during emergencies. We're working on a program right now. We expect to roll it out. I just sent the first emails on that Mr. Howard and Roberto today on our plan to test that. we also plan to expand and I recommend that we expand security cameras to produce blind spots and campus exterior views. This something we've been talking about for a number of years. I recommend that we continue expanding card readers at schools to improve authorized movement during the school day. We are working on that actively. we als I also recommend that we implement new school design guidelines to further increase physical security again and that first responder access which we have done. I recommend and this comes straight out of our SSR that we work on our in intercom

045systems and again add additional security cameras. Our schools are telling us through the SSR which they have to fill out at every school that's been a problem. It's been a problem for them and I recommend that we meet forward and work on that here at OCPS. And I also recommend that we continue to work with our OCPS government relations to seek increases in the funding for school hardening grants and our safe school allocation. It's woefully short. I mean, this year I think $2.9 million and we share that. But this is a school hardening grant with our charter schools. It started, you know, they started out good and they just kept decreasing it, decreasing it. I mean, that's just a drop of of money in the bucket of what we really need to do here at

046OCPS. same thing with the allocation that we used to reimburse our agencies for our SRO's. Woefully short on what we actually spend on school safety and security. All right, just to wrap it up, school safety and security is important work and I am proud to serve with the people that I do in this area. We intend to honor the memory of the tragedy at Marjory Stoman Douglas High School by never letting up on the accelerator here. Please know that we don't just come up with these recommendations. Again, we get them from the SSR that we receive from the schools. We also go to other districts and take a look at their best practices, try to bring them back here. one of the things we're going to planning on doing, we're going to do another pilot

047at a randomly selected school for screening operation. All right, so heads up that's coming. It's only at one school, but we're going to see if we can get it off off the run ground, run a pilot, and see if we can get everybody through in a timely manner. Again, thank you for your continued support of school safety and security and compliance. And I'll turn it back over to the superintendent for comments, questions, and any discussion that the board may have. Thank you, Chief Holmes. board members, we are ready for any comments or questions that you may have. All right. Thank you, Chief. Thank you for a great presentation and the seriousness you take of of your responsibility. let me go first to member Gallo. Thank you, Madam Chair. thank you for this presentation. You and

048your team always do such a great job when it comes to the safety of our schools. Even before I became a board member in 2018, due to what happened in Sandy Hook, our district was so far above other districts in the terms of safety and what we are implementing. so kudos to you and your team and the district for for all that hard work because it's important that our students feel safe on our campus. I do have a very important question. What is our new employees name? Her name will be Kelly. Kelly. So Coco has a friend now and her name is Kelly. And what does Kelly look like? She is a What color is Kelly? She's a black Labrador retriever and she's adorable. Does Kelly like to swim? We don't know yet. Remember, we

049just got her. she's actually imported from Hungary and she has been trained to sniff out weapons. So, I got to watch her do it and she found two weapons in a very short period of time. She's very motivated and again, she's just she's adorable. And does Coco like Kelly? We don't know yet. Oh, no. We haven't introduced him. Oh dear. I'm just saying if Coco doesn't like Kelly, we may have an issue with Kelly. I mean, this is stuff that we need to know. These are important. I think we'll be able to We do have the code of civility, so I think we'll be able to work it out. okay. So, now I have some real questions. when I first off, I'm in full support of the screening. I know we have there's metal detectors

050that do a a better job that we require less manpower. And I think in this day and age when other districts are really moving forward to metal detectors that it's important that we in Orange County try try again. We need those metal detectors especially at our high schools and our events to ensure the safety of our students and our staff. the portal. So the new because they were they've been talking about a portal since this legislation passed in 2018. We finally have a portal. We had a meeting, FSBA had a meeting with Mr. Norris, the head of safe schools for the Florida Department of Education, and he was talking about the portal, and he was talking about the need for us to put in information into that portal or have that portal up to date

051with new students. And so I was asking the question about because I guess it's incumbent upon the district to make sure the information is correct. And I said, "What what in the landscape that is public education now? What happens if we get a student that was a homeschool student or was a Florida virtual student or came from an environment that they can't tell us the behavior of that student?" And he was really referring to students that have been expelled. So, when students are being expelled, the new law states that we've got to put how they behaved into the portal and then there's going to be another discussion to decide will we let that student back in school? Is it safe to have that student come back on the premises? So, I asked the question, well,

052what do we do if we don't have that information? What what do we do if in lie of them going to positive pathways or it being a full exclusion that we don't have the information? we don't know what their behavioral patterns look like. What do we do then as a school district to make sure we're adhering to the law? And he basically said, well, y'all need to decide that. So, I guess my question is do we need a policy? Like, what will that look like? How do we handle that portion of it? Everybody's looking to the right, right? Madame Chair, may I please? We would probably need to do some work with that around the student code of conduct about how we would handle people entering in what the circumstances are with respect to their

053entry if we don't know with respect to what their behaviors are. And the other thing, as you all know, that we have to look at is this kid does this child have a IEP or a section 504 plan? Are there certain things that would require them to be in certain educational environments or not? So, all of that it's we're going to have to look at all of those factors when we decide whether or not to bring it in. But I think that needs to be addressed in the code of conduct about how we would handle those students coming in. Okay. So, that it would go into the form of that versus a policy. Well, remember the code of conduct is adopted through our policym process. So, very very true. Okay. I was just more cuz

054I know several students that have been expelled have chosen to go to the homeschool route or a different route where we can't monitor their behavior. So, we don't know what that looks like. So, I was just curious as to how the transition back into a traditional public school would look with the portal. So, all right, that's all I have. Thank you so much. Dr. Vasquez, did you have something you wanted to Okay, we do when children are expelled, whether they choose homeschool or private school, we do have re-entry meetings and through that process, we ask a series of questions. again, if a parent is not truthful and there isn't something that has involved police, we would not know. But we do put in place a transition plan. sometimes there's even no contact contracts or clear

055backpacks depending on what the offense was. All right, me member Felder, you're recognized. Thank you, chair. Again, Chief Holmes, thank you so much for your team and the work that you all do in terms of trying to keep us safe. and board member Gallow. I do have some of the same concerns you have regarding the screening and so forth, you know, and I know preaching to choir, but we're living in some times that none of us could have anticipated that this is what we would be concerned about as a school board and as people working in public schools in terms of this kind of dire safety. that we need for our students. One of the things I wanted to address because I'm remembering as a as a teacher again finances probably will be a strong

056factor. I want us to make sure Chief Holmes and company that every camera that we have at our schools that they're functioning and working. the re and this has been you know I've been out of the classroom since 2020 so this is five years later man be the same scenario but I know for a fact in some of the situations sometimes students knew what cameras were not working and they chose to go to that area to fight and you know when kids are students are fighting it can become violent sometimes and you know that's just a real concern and also, and I don't know, superintendent, whether or not we can ask this question now or what, but the security going going through the security of our students and we can't afford to give everybody clear

057backpacks, you know, that's something we can't do, right? and we don't have that kind of money to try to look and see what people got. But the security I just think that if we can't do some of those metal detectors like they have at the the airport, that's what I want. that we could afford those type of security things. Just strip your neck and excuse I'm sorry I said it over the thing. I'm just hoping that with the cameras and with the boots on the ground with our administrators and our SRO's who have done I think remarkable jobs in our schools, they develop relationships with the students and even if there's something going on, somebody's going to tell SRO and they'll be able to we've been able to combat some things and it didn't get

058we didn't have a Marra Stone Douglas situation or in any of our schools. Sandy Hooks. Thank God we've not had that. And I think it's due to the fact that we have good security and there's relationships. Our students have good relationships with administrators and our SRO's. But I again I want to reiterate the cameras. if they're not working, what's the timeline to make sure they all are working and what is that entails in terms of making sure that it's everything is on point and the security, you know, the security screening when they go through. What I do like I do enjoy the fact that we do have those random screenings. You know how sometimes the buses come in, nobody knows, and they said, "Jim, everybody, teachers, everybody." Now, I like that. I hope we never

059stop that. And I, you know, I also like those like when there's a a shooter and we have those like random experiences and you have the real sound of the noise and all that. Madam Chair, I'm getting we're getting dangerously close to I'm sorry. Okay. Well, just let me just know that I appreciate the cameras, but I am serious about the security. Yes, ma'am. All right. All right. We got to really do that. Okay. I'm sorry. Thank you. That's That's okay. We I could see John over there with his his finger on the button and it was if we had a mute button for you, I'd been less worried. I'm not going to tell the secret. Okay. Thank member Felder. Thank you. Okay. Me. Yes. The member Mr. Pomearini perhaps just for the audience benefit.

060Yes. The concern you have. So madam chair and just for the audience's benefit under chapter subsection 3 for those keeping score at home. we have a security exemption for the methods and the techniques that we utilize to provide security. And the obvious reason being that we don't want anybody out there knowing our security protocols and then having the ability to go around them or to thwart them. So that's why we do not disclose those types of techniques within a public meeting. Obviously, I have great respect for you all asking your questions, but there are sometimes when it starts to inch over into it almost inched over into it with the dog and whether or not the dog was, you know, going to be sniffing for this, but I let that one slide for a second.

061But we do want to keep that secret from those folks who would do harm to our students. So, that's why I got the itchy trigger figure finger there for jumping in. So, all right. Thank you. Member Fant, you're recognized. Okay. Thank you. And thank you, Chief Holmes. it is I feel like I can sleep good at night knowing that you're in charge of our safety and security. you do such an exceptional job with the whole team. And just hearing that your team was out putting up the signage in all 15,000 plus classrooms over the summer, that's a huge plus. These are all concerns that came to the board, things that were coming. teachers maybe having issues with that or you know reasons why there was maybe a failure of different you know complying and so

062I just love that you guys are always just going above and beyond. What can we do to help everybody pass these little tests if you will? but I also want to say I'm super thankful to the state as well with the new Senate bill the 1470. it helped us eliminate certain restrictions that were you know while while still maintaining safety but helping us make things run smoother on the school grounds. so that was really I feel like a huge plus for all of us. excited for the new K9 to be here. every time I'm out at a school and Coco is at the school, she's not really or it's a she or he. It is a she. Okay. So, I always have I have boy dogs, so I always say, "Hey." But, you know, could

063be Coco and be a boy. the name is neutral. So, every time I'm out at a school and she's out there doing her job, the kids it they see the dog and they just kind of go at ease. It she's there. It's like a friendly little buddy to see, kind of like an emotional support pet. so it's it's a great way to bring in security but in kind of a you know subtly. I love that. So the physical security improvements extremely happy with the card reader pilot that we have been undergoing. Last year, I think all of us were like in a panic as all the schools were trying to comply with the state statute and just a little got a little crazy especially you know elementary schools not so much but some of our

064high schools. So really thankful for that. But I hope we can extend that everywhere and you know all the schools that we need it. And but it the one thing I have to say it seems like everything that the state comes out with OCPS is already on it or ahead of the game. And so that is truly due to your leadership and I thank you for that. and excited to just continue having some of the safest schools in I believe the country. So thank you. Thank you member Fant. And you know, we take it for granted that we have our own police department. And so many so many school districts don't have that. And I remember back when OCPS decided to do that at the time, I was thinking, hm, one wonder why they're doing

065that. It just sounded just a little unusual. And now I sit here and think of how incredibly fortunate we are to have a police department, a chief that is solely focused on nothing but this school district. And I'm not saying that outside law enforcement wouldn't take it as seriously, but it would be a part of a much larger responsibility. And there should be no greater responsibility than to take care of our kids and keep them safe. So, to whoever was part of that decision, I know Dr. Vesque has had to have been, but Huh. before your well, well, not before her time because she was AP of my kids elementary school. So, she was here. She might just not have been making that decision, but anyway, it I do think it has makes us a

066better district. Absolutely. A better, safer district. We have a great department, a great team of people. Oh my gosh. No kidding. And not just our sworn or nonsworn that just pour themselves into this place. It's just they're very impressive. I know every it's really for the public. I wish they could know these people because we have got really really really strong expertise and some of it is I think we can thank the FRS system because some of law enforcement were able to retire a little younger than most people retire. And Chief Holmes has done a really good job of picking up some, like I said, just remarkable people. As you can see by the administrative gray hair I have, I'm a little long in the tooth. So yeah. Yeah. No, but I mean that expertise

067is irreplaceable and indispensable. And it is what I'm absolutely confident that we are a much much safer district because of it. And to, you know, to every one of them, please, you know, I just I'm just amazed at not just how professional they are, but how engaged and really a part of the district beyond just the law enforcement aspect. So, just kudos. You're doing a phenomenal job. All right. Nobody else wants to speak, so we're going to move on. And I know the superintendent tried to keep your comments to a minimum, but I think we've exceeded your presentation by three-fold. So, she knows better than to try to reel this board in because that's hopeless, right? Okay, you're you're done. Let's go on to I think we're on consent agenda. Do we have any speakers

068on consent agenda? All right, we have no speakers. If there's no comments or questions from board members, I'll enter entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion by Vice Chair Bird. Is there a second? Second by member of Vanos. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Motion carries unanimously. That takes us to item 1701. And Mr. Palmerini, before we take that issue up, do we have any members in the public to speak to this issue? Yes, we have four members who have registered and checked in to speak. All right, thank you. Want to introduce our first speaker? Yes, your first speaker is Selma Simmons. Okay. Okay. Yeah, you'll do since we do have speakers. I You're okay. You got this. We're all friends. Somebody has to go first. Okay. I know we're going

069to have to it's going to be all we can do, but no clapping. Nobody's going to think about booing or hissing. but if you like what she has to say, you can give us one thumb up. If you love it, you can give us two thumbs up. If you don't like it, get out. No, give us a thumbs down. Go ahead. Good evening. Again, my name is Selma Simmons. I am a parent at Orange Center Elementary. I was a previous parent before and had to remove my son just due to how the school was treating him and I. I didn't feel like we were being treated fair. I also didn't feel like it was a place for him to grow. since the start of this school year, my daughter has been enrolled and I feel

070like the school has did a 360 change. I love Principal Albert. I love my daughter's current teacher, Miss Howell. I feel like she is developing very, very well. She's adjusting very well. I was very nervous about, you know, switching her from her previous school, but I feel like the changes that the school has implemented has been very helpful and very inviting to the parents of the community, which I think is very important. we talked a lot about safety. So, I want to feel safe. I want to feel, you know, like my teacher for my child actually cares for her. And I feel that now. So, yeah. Thank you. The only clapping, the only people who did not follow the rule was to my left and my right. Just great job. No, no, it doesn't work

071that way. We're allowed. We make the rules. We break the rules. That is not how this works. So, okay. Thank you. Oh, I do. Sorry, my hands went together. Did a good job. Okay. All right. Next speaker. Your next speaker is Ammani Brooks. Okay. Welcome. I'm going to try. Okay. Oh, you Oh, okay. I can just speak. Hi. Good evening. my name is Imani Brooks. I am also a parent of a kindergartener at Orange Center Elementary. and I am a resident of the 3285. Thank you. I am sure. I'm a resident of 3285 that neighborhood and I'm also a staff member of Lyft Orlando. so I'm coming from a couple of different angles. I have a 5-year-old son named Xavier who has a Yes. Hi, superintendent. who has special needs. However, we have been in

072the 3285 neighborhood for over six years. That is where he got his educational start right at the West Lakes ELC. he spent five years there, graduated, was part of that first class. And after we once he got five, I realized I got very nervous. And I'll be very honest with you, it was because I did not feel I had a lot of choices of quality education in my neighborhood. So, what I had to do was enroll him into a private school at the time. I will let you know my son has been to three kindergartens in one year. we have just landed at Orange Center Elementary because I realized that it was bigger than just the classroom in academics. It was about the village. I really needed that village that Lyft has provided for us

073there. and it literally to me is that true example of cradle to career. And I just feel like with the support that can continue for that for the education in that area, specifically to Orange Center Elementary School, I will not have to worry yeartoear about what my child's education looks like and I don't have to drive outside of my neighborhood to get it and I don't have to go to a private school and I just really appreciate the work that's being done in the partnership. Oh, thank you so much. That boy, huh? I know, right? And we have a personal witness apparently in Dr. Vasquez. She said Xavier is just so cute. He was coming back from a field trip if I'm not mistaken. I was visiting the school actually with one of the members

074from the state board and happy as could be coming in telling me about the field trip. So, Thank you. Oh, okay. Now the board knows what it's like to be in the audience when you're not supposed to clap because I still I'm I'm sorry. Okay, as Frank would say, you know who you are. all right. Next speaker. I apologize in advance. Audiana Hogues. All right, Miss Oats, you want to help us out with your name? How do you really pronounce it? You got it close. Aiana Huls. Aiana Hulk. Yes. Aiana Huls. I'd like to say that I am also a proud parent of Orange Center as well as a new employee for Orange Center. I would say that I really appreciate Miss Albert because my son was also VBK which is 2 years ago. it

075was a lot of transition what was going on with him and we had ran out of options of school to send send him to. So, I ran into Miss Albert when I did the school, like school tours, and I was explaining to her about my son cuz I was actually going to homeschool him from kindergarten last year and she was like, you know, let me work with him. Give us a chance. You know, we're we're going to help him. We're going to get him better, get him the sport that he needs. I'm sorry, guys. so kindergarten was very rough start for him, but I can say going into first grade this year compared to last year, I was at the school almost every single day. just lots lots of phone calls and this year I

076can say that he's achieved above and beyond. He's a lot better. and I asked Miss Albert because I actually moved out of the district. I come all the way from Kissing Me and I had asked, you know, what can I do to keep my kids here? and she was like, you know, do the STEM program. apply for the seats. And I did that. And then I just did, we just did the meeting with Lyft Orlando with the transition that's been brought up. And, you know, I think it I really thank God because I couldn't really find a junior high to send my oldest to. So, just knowing that this transition is possibly going to happen, it opened up doors for my kids could continue to be there. like like I said, I'm definitely a proud

077parent. I have three children there. Next year I have two more there. So I have a large family. So I thank you and that's what I have to say. All right. Don't go don't walk away. so you're a new employee there. Yes. So tell us about that. so I'm the school health assistant. and I kind of just skipped over that part. That actually came about because I work for Avid Health. that's what I used to used to have worked for and I came in with like late nights and Miss Albertine like just as a like you know I just need somewhere that works in my kids school schedule. I couldn't find like another job to transition to and over like the past year coming to now and she's like you know just let me see

078what I could do. Let me help your family. So she's definitely I can agree she's definitely a village. She's all about the support of family and her staff and her as well is like number one like her words to me is always how can I help you? What do you want me to do? What doors can I open? Who can I call? So it's it's definitely been a blessing. as well as my last thing to say is to conclude all of this how this all came about is because I came from being homeless. We have been homeless three years here in Florida. So, I really thank Miss Albert for just the transition with my kids being in school and being in school and we actually got our house this February. So, just being homeless and

079now having to set school, it definitely Yes, it definitely helped a lot. I was not prepared to speak to you guys. I haven't been in front of the board since junior high, but I think Travis from Lift Orlando, he just said, you know, go tell your story. So, here I am. Oh my gosh. Thank you guys. Thank you so much for sharing that. Hey, I get an assist there. The only reason The only reason we got that is I asked that question. Okay. Inquiring minds, you know. H. And now there's not a dry eye up here. Wow. Oh man, that was a beautiful story even up to that point. Oh my gosh. See, that's what it's all about. That's That's what Do we have any other speakers? Unique Brooks. You make us cry, too. I'm

080not sure how I'm going to follow that. Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. so yes, good evening. My name is Unique Brooks. I am a new resident of 3285, having just gotten married and moved down here this summer. It's like it's slow motion. Thank you. I'm sorry. so when I moved here, I was only looking at sending my daughter to I have a six-year-old. I'm a parent at Orange Center Elementary as well. she's in first grade. I was only looking at sending my kid to a charter school, having worked for a nationally recognized charter school, Harlem Children's Zone. Not sure if any of you are familiar, but having the cradle 2 career model. so didn't get accepted into Orlando Science and others, learned about Orange Center and felt like this is absolutely where I needed to

081send my kid. Them having the STEM magnet program and just other resources being poured into the school that I'm typically used to. so I enrolled my daughter, I believe on a Tuesday. They had a back to school night that Thursday or Friday and I met Miss Albert there. She already knew my daughter's name, knew exactly who her teacher was. So, definitely grateful to have a principal like Miss Albert. but I think we've all learned over the years, student success is not only attributed to like what happens during the school hours or in the classroom. So, very proud that Lyft Orlando is playing a role in here and support and partnership because we know as as we just heard, it's about housing, right? It's about health care. It's about access to other opportunities and extracurricular things.

082When I worked at Harlem Children's Zone, their students were doing table tennis. They were doing actual tennis, gymnastics, just other things in the in the in the area that Harlem Children Zone, other companies that Harlem Children Zone would partner with. And I wanted my daughter to have access to those resources. So that's why I chose AR center. so definitely in support of Lyft Orlando's public private partnership with AR center. Next slide. Thank you. Thank you so much. Do we have any other speakers? We had two that registered but didn't sign in. So I was just Can can Anya Johnson and Sierra Platt? No. Then that would be it. M. Okay. So you know the last speaker you know one of the things that just really resonates with me when I ran for the school board.

083I talked a lot about how years ago you would hear so much complaining from the school district and the teachers. You know, there's only so much you can expect out of us. So much is, you know, comes from what's happening in the home and I remember those days and it made sense. And so I had a friend who was teaching and all the things that she said were true, but I also along the campaign talked about how the reality is the reality. We can't change what's happening at home, but we still have an opportunity. All those hours that kids are at school, far more hours of attention from adults than most kids in, you know, get at home. not it doesn't matter how good your home is, you're just not awake and involved as much

084at home. And so I talk so much about it, you know, don't make excuses. See it as as an opportunity and make the most of that time that we have. I was like when I got elected, I was a little conflicted because I discovered that's the culture that OCPS has. And so I was a little conflicted because I kept telling people that's what we needed. And then I got here and found out that's what they're doing. You'd think I would have known that. But still the missing link still is what is happening at home. So no matter how we try, how hard we try, we're never going to get our students to the best place they can be emotionally, educationally if we can't treat the whole family. And so we have some examples of that.

085as as a county commissioner and county mayor, we worked with OCPS on a number of really successful models and they were here and there. But what I love about this is I hear the one mom with five kids. and when I heard that you got a job, I was like immediately I love that because if our moms can work in our schools and learn more and become more qualified for other opportunities, then what a big win-win. It's good for the mom, but it's even better for the kids because not only is mom working, but mom is now a role model for those children and dad is a role model. So that role model thing is so important. So anyway, what I see with Lyft is this great experiment to see if we can not just

086educate our kids, but if we can lift and that's the whole reason it's lift lift the whole community simultaneously. And that's what excites me so much about this opportunity. And the other thing that excites me is the opportunity to repeat this over and over again and to become the district in the country that the rest of the country wants to model. How did they do it? If they can do it, can we do it? And that's that's the goal is we get this right. We do this districtwide and it becomes a national model. And then I talk all the time about changing the trajectory of our future. We do it one person at a time. We do it one classroom at a time, one school at a time. We're the eighth largest school district in

087the nation. We have a real impact just right here. But imagine 10 years from now if districts across the nation are going, we want to replicate that. Now we're talking about a national impact. Okay? We're talking about a transformation of a nation. And I know that sounds big and lofty, but if you don't dream big and lofty, and if you don't go after big and lofty, you never get there. So, you guys are the beginning of big and lofty. With that, let me call on member Gallo. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to say this is a long time coming to get to the point where we're at and this is the first public private partnership that we're entering into as a board member. And I just couldn't be more thrilled. I think we

088heard from the speakers tonight that this is life-changing. Like this is life-changing for this community. This is life-changing for these families. and and you're right, like to go from cradle to career and follow it through with affordable housing and early learning and all the tenants that are so important to build a strong community, this school is needed. So, I'm I'm thrilled that we're doing this. I see big things in store for this school and I think this school will be the epicenter of really just lifting up the entire community beyond what Lyft has already done. At the end of the day, it's all about the students and the highquality education and the students being in a safe loving environment that just doesn't allow them to survive but thrive. And that is just that is just

089so important. And I couldn't I just couldn't be more happy. And I was reading over theou and I love that it's focused on that community. It's focused first and foremost that's the community we're going to serve which means they'll probably we'll probably pull from other charter schools. but knowing that they're going to be at this charter school and so well taken care of and have a STEM education high quality is just going to be it's going to be life-changing. So I can't wait to see how this progresses. I can't wait to hear all the great things that come out of Orange Center. And I'm really proud of the district and this board for being innovative and brave enough to to take this on where other districts might not. And I think it's important when we

090sit up here and we say we put kids first that we kind of put our money where our mouth is. And I think that's what we're doing tonight. So I'll be voting up on on this charter. Thank you. Thank you, member Felder. You're recognized. Thank you, Chair, and for the parents who have come to talk about how pleased you are with our teachers and our principal. That means so much. You can't possibly begin to fathom what goes through a teacher's mind or a principal's mind to hear parents say how thankful and grateful that they are. And I will venture to say for those of you that are listening on the air and in here, this is not something that is odd in Orange County. Let me tell you something. There's some great teachers here. There's

091some great principles here and we have some great parents who really do care and community workers who really do care about the welfare of their children and I you know I am just so grateful that we're this has been as board member Gallow say this has been a long time coming. It's been a long time coming. And when I took the trip to New York and to really see what the Harlem Kids Zone was doing and we are so close to what they're doing, we just we're just not New York. We're the little apple. We're not as big as New York, okay? We're, you know, we're the little orange, okay? We're the orange. And the thing of it is that Yeah, oranges are nutritional. They're wonderful. Listen, what I'm so excited about is that member

092Gallow mentioned it to me a while back. We can control the narrative and we are and I as as Chair Jacobson said, we will set a precedent. We will and we should and I know it sounds sexist, but I don't care. We got a board full of women. Listen, we always think out the box, baby. We always go beyond. We think out the box. We do. And so I'm so excited for what we're trying to do. we, you know, patience is a virtue for us as we embark upon this this educational endeavor. And I'm so happy that community people are here as well as the parents. And as as the board member that represents Orange Center, I'm going to do my best to make sure members of my constituency are clear that they have clarity

093as to what we're doing. And again, I want to thank the members of Lyft because they met me a while back. The relationship is really grown a lot better than it was when I first came on the board. Bridget don't have to tell me be nice anymore. And I I'm just so grateful, you know, but I want us to allow, as the Bible says, let patience have a perfect work. Nothing that's great is ever done overnight. It takes a an effort. You know, faith without works is dead. So, there must be work to be done. But we're here. We're here to do it. And I'm I'm just grateful that it's I'm I'm a part of what we're getting ready to do. I'm so thankful for that opportunity to be here to be a part of

094this. And parents and principal Aaron, listen, we're so thankful for your love for the children. And I'mma say this in closing, and I've said it once before, but I'mma say it again. The first time I met you, when I was on the board, your first year's principal at Orange Center, when the children got out for Christmas, every child that passed by her to get on the bus or in the car, she had a Christmas gift wrapped. So the teacher said, "Why we got to?" She says, "No, I want it wrapped so they'll have something to open up on Christmas Day." That spoke volumes to me, baby girl, when I saw you do that. I'm like, this little diva. My god. you know, I was just so it just did something to me. And I would

095venture to say we have a lot of principles like that in OCPS and teachers who love. And so I just want to thank the Lyft organization for having a vision because Washington Shores is beautiful and District 5 is beautiful and it is indeed where the talent resides. Thank you. And on that note. All right, Vice Chair Bird, you're recognized. Okay, I will be quick. thank you. It's I just don't know what else to say. Thank you for the vision. Thank you for the investment in our children. And I want to thank this board for for as member Gallo said the bravery to do this because it's easy for there to be a lot of noise and a lot of objection and fear around charters and I get it with good reason, right? but this is

096our opportunity to use these tools that this legislature has given us in our favor for us to take control of it, for us to do what we know we need to do for our community and for most of all for our children and to do what what we know is best. and to not have it done to us, right? That's that's key here. And I think that's the messaging that we need to continue repeating is that we are we are taking a hold of this and we are using it to our advantage and to our children's advantage and we are doing what they need and we're providing that missing piece that we talked about and that it takes a village. And I love that the moms were talking about the village because it is all

097about the village when we want our kids to be everything they can be. We have to give them everything they need. And I believe we're doing that with this partnership. And I'm I'm thrilled. I love what the chair said that I want to see this replicated and I want us to be the district that the rest of the nation looks at and says, "Look at what this school district did. Look at how they took took this bull by the horns and partnered with all of these philanthropic organizations to create these villages around these schools to lift these children up." and look at the success they've had and look at all the kids going to college and all these great results, right? All these achievement gaps closed. I want us to be the example that everyone

098else follows. And I think that we're there. And I also want to say I remember having a conversation with Dr. Vasquez either before she was hired as superintendent or shortly after where she said to me that she wanted her biggest goal was to leave this district better or to leave I think she said leave the district changed or the community changed for the better and I believe Dr. Vasquez, that this is one of those things that you are achieving, that you're doing that is going to leave our school district better. And I think more importantly, that this is going to change the community and this entire generation of children for the better. Yeah. So, I want to really applaud you for that and for your vision and for your innovation here. Thank you. Thank you

099all. Yeah. Thank you, Vice Chair. Thank you for bringing us back to that really important point as well. Member Ferrron, you're recognized. Thank you, Madam Chair. what is there not to love about this partnership? I'm so excited. I think for any parent out there that's watching and maybe wondering why we're all so excited or why this even needs to happen, because that was one question. so just to kind of give a little bit of backstory the whole reason that I see that it's necessary if we remain as we are the we cover the school and Lyft comes in as just to come in and lift the community outside of the school. We can only go so far but when we partner and now Lyft can come into the school they can partner within the school

100that the sky is the limit. And so that's why I think this partnership really needs to happen. one of my absolute favorite scriptures that my husband and I really live by, John 15:13, and it says, "Greater love has no man than this, that he laid down his life for a friend." And I want to thank you, Lyft Orlando, but also Principal Aaron, all the staff. what you do daily. You're literally laying down your thoughts, your maybe a dream that you might have had or different things that you would love to do to say, "What can I do to help a community to give a kid the best day with their little gift going home for Christmas, whatever it might be, thank you for doing that. Thank you for truly being the hands and feet." I

101appreciate each and every one of you and I'm so thrilled for this partnership and I think all of us are itching to extend this partnership throughout Orange County and to see where this could really go. I think how we have been going up to see the Harlem Children's Zone. I think people from New York are going to be coming down to see how did you not just do it in one area but actually extend it to your whole county. That is what I think is going to be the incredible feat that we do here. So, thank you. Thank you, member Verant. Member Vanos. Thank you, Madam Chair. And here comes the main school board member. no, I'll I'll get to my my comments, but I did have a couple of questions that I just wanted

102to ask. And before I start asking questions, I also want to say that we have had so many meetings with Lyft over the last couple of months. we had a work session two weeks ago where we went through a lot of questions and got answers. And so just encourage anyone who you know this isn't the first time we're having this conversation. It's been it's been a years of investment and and many meetings and questions. one thing I did want to ask though is on the agreement that you sent out on I think it's article five. it talks about expanding the to the K8 and I think in theou where we'd previously discussed there was a consideration that you know we would look at the funding available at the district level and I'm just wondering where

103this agreement I don't think has that same has that same protection. So, I'm I'm wondering if funding is an issue, does the does this you know, does this school sort of like get priority over other traditional schools? Thank you, Mr. I'm sorry, superintendent. Yeah, I'll I'll start with some history and then I'll defer to Mr. Palarini and anyone from Lyft. so, this partnership truly began over 10 years ago. I believe I was chief academic officer just stepping into those shoes I believe and at that time Dr. Jenkins my predecessor recognize the value in partnering with community agencies to work together to improve the lives of our children. And in those initial conversations, we talked about it becoming a K8 to be we talked about the benefits of the K8 and then we talked about the

104ability to really provide those services in that one area. It was contingent upon the enrollment. And I know Dr. Jenkins had quite a number of conversations with you because we weren't seeing the enrollment increasing and so lived improved the infrastructure, new families were able to move in and so we slowly began to see that enrollment increase and so I don't remember if it was the second agreement we actually had dates when we were going to move it into AK8 and then the enrollment wasn't quite there. So then we pushed it back. And so the original intent when we started many many years ago was that it would be converted into a K8. And I'll let u Mr. Pomerini speak more to that. So thank you Madam Superintendent, members of the board. So, member Vanos, we

105had an agreement that this board agreed to in 2019, August of 2019, and then it was executed in 2020 that said that contingent on student enrollment zoning, and there was some other provision in there that we would move this to a K8 starting in the 2122 school year. And so, as Dr. Bazquez says, we didn't see the enrollment growth there. we now have seen enrollment growth. So, one, just for your information, the fish capacity and fish, I'm sorry for the acronym, the Florida Inventory of School Houses, that's the, the calculation of what the capacity is of the building. Orange Center is currently 483 students, right? that for a fish capacity, they have 440 students enrolled. and Lyft came to us and I'm going to be quite candid. Eddie and Eddie Martin and Mark Shamley and

106I had a conversation. They said, "Look, we this has been a long-term goal. We've made commitments previously. We need to see have some commitment with respect to the building." And so what we ended up agreeing to is if they get to within 10 students of the fish capacity, which is 483 students, it then triggers us to do a couple things. It's going to trigger us building the building. we would have to amend our capital plan to include this building within it. and then we would have to commit to funding the expansion for the grade 6, 7, and 8. that's going to be roughly around 717 to 720 students based upon 80 kids per grade level within Orange Centers, which is what we currently have. So this agreement would commit you all. Having said that and

107and this is also contingent upon there being a successful conversion vote too. So I don't have any doubts that Lyft is going to be working the neighborhood and working with the families to ensure that there is a successful vote. But contingent upon a successful vote and contingent upon them getting all right I'm going to do a popka high math 33 more students at that school. It would then trigger us to amend our capital plan and then it would commit us to building the building. So that's what this agreement would say. And do we have the funding for that? I believe that is something that we're going to amend in our capital budget, but I see the superintendent shaking her head in the affirmative. So to what you're saying, yeah, that we would amend it. Yeah.

108That we would amend. We are going to amend our capital budget to include it in the construction cycle. And my understanding is we do in fact have the ability to fund that building in the expansion. Got it. Okay. Thank you so much for that. Okay. So the other question I had I saw in this agreement it references the committee that member Felder or her design would be on. But I did not see, unless I missed it, but I don't think I don't think it was in there for the NSI, the governing board for the school, that it would have two members from OCPS on that board. So, is there just a an agreement that would be in the charter agreement or can you just give me a little more information on that? So, yeah, I'll

109get the answer, but I think there's some explanation as to what the two different boards are. So you have NSI which I believe is neighborhood schools initiative incorporated that would be the governing board of the charter school. There is also an educational advisory committee that would be make up of made up of folks in the neighborhood that would you know and folks that would appoint then to advise the school on its educational initiatives. member Felder or the district 5 representative that obviously is member Felder now would be the co-chair of that educational advisory committee with respect to the NSI board Mr. Martin said that there would be two members that we that the school board would appoint to that board. And I had conversations, one of numerous conversations I had with both Eddie and Mark

110and said, "Do we address this in this agreement or do we just when the charter application comes in to convert, do we just address it there?" Because as part of the charter application, they're going to have to identify members of the board. and Mark agreed with and said, "Let's just do it at the application stage." I see them shaking their head in the affirmative out there. You know, they are obviously men of their word and so, you know, that was good enough for me. If they said we'll address it in the charter contract, that worked for me. Got it. And just to thank you for that explanation. I just want to make sure that we do continue the true partnership. And when you when you say that they have committed to that, I know that

111is valid. Like I mentioned in the work session, we had a 2020 memorandum of understanding with Lyft Orlando and there were certain requirements in that agreement and Lyft met every single one of them and so that I think it's extremely meaningful. So thank you for that clarification. just a couple of more questions. One is I understand that currently Florida law does not allow charter schools to be religious schools. Is that still true? That is correct. After I looked that up today, it's both in the statute and it is in the model charter contract. Okay, perfect. Thank you for checking on that. I will just say now just to my comments, I want to thank everyone for coming today. I think it's no I think one thing that you know we've we've always as this board

112and me personally been in agreement with is that our schools need a lot of our schools need more than just what happens in our school. And I appreciate what Lyft has done in the community to provide those supports. and I know we see this in other examples. I have to I am Evans High School flagship community partnership school. and that is important. It is important to have those to support our students in every way. So I really took to heart what some of the the parents said about about it being a village and I think that is so important. and thank you to Lyft for providing that. and I appreciate your partnership in the school. I you know, I think my biggest concern from the beginning and I'll say again that all of my concerns

113have been met with meetings and have been met with conversations. And that is another thing I appreciate about Lyft is I've been upfront from the beginning. that you know I have I see some of the big picture with some of the charter schools in our state and particularly those the franchise charter schools that I don't think have the best interests of our students in mind at all. I think they are ways for different business entities to make profits and they're they're very they're very politicized but I think in this case so I had a lot of reluctance and reticence and I appreciate the meetings that Mr. Shamley and Mr. Morton took with me. And you know I one of the reasons that people have said for why this is an important partnership is because private

114dollars don't want to invest in our public schools. and I don't know why that is. I don't know if it's because they distrust public education. I don't know if it's because they're skeptical of the people that work in public institutions but I think they're I think they're wrong because I think our public schools are doing a really good job and I think they are doing the most with the least. and I, you know, in I think my reluctance in this partnership is just that we reaffirm the misconception that our private businesses can't invest in our public schools directly. so I think that's really where a lot of my reluctance comes from and I have shared that with Lyft and I know that they'll continue to work with us to to encourage our local businesses and

115to encourage our communities to invest in our public schools and to help us do, you know, the best work that we can possibly do. And that did not stop when I was asking questions. Just saying. and also I know that they've also committed to be advocates with us to advocate for more funding for our public schools and to advocate for more flexibility for our public schools. I want to see what they can do as a charter and how not having the same restrictions that we have in our public schools can help our students. And I want to use that information and that data to help all of our students in our district. And so I really really look forward to that. I also feel very confident knowing that member Felder will continue to be involved

116and she will continue to be a loud voice and so and she will continue to represent her community. And so I feel really good knowing that she has been out there and she has taken the temperature of her community and she's taken that into account and that she will be a strong voice to make sure that we are always doing best by our students and that we are continuing to build up our public schools our all of our public schools as well. So, I think that's it. But thank you and I appreciate and I look forward to voting for this. All right. Thank you. I'm going to call on member Douglas, but it occurred to me for our newer board members, I think that might be the first time the timer went off. so we

117actually do have a fiveminut limit and it didn't stop when I stop. Oh, okay. Oh, I see. I see. I just I thought maybe you know you needed to have some sort of special award for being the first one to go over the five minutes. But now I see it is Mr. Pomearini's fault. Madam Chair, for the record, I didn't stop during the first question, but then I stopped during the subsequent questions. However, it is very hard when you're the one being asked the questions to stop and start the timer. I will endeavor to do better the next time. I good point and too sh member Douglas. Okay. I just want to say thank you so much member Vaness for your you know for your insight over the negotiation between Orange County Public School and

118Lifto Orlando. thank you so much for your insight truly. and I just want to say thank you Lifto Orlando for this opportunity for our parents and our kids. You know, you gave peace of mind to parents and quality education to our kids and whenever possible a job to our families. What else can we ask for? Okay. Thank you so much. And thank you, Principal Albert or Erin, whichever that is. Okay. Albert. Erin. Albert. Okay. Good. for your leadership and your compassion. I can see it. You have a golden heart. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I see that Orange Center is your baby. It's your baby and you want to stay there and continue the job. And thank you so much. And parents, please you know, talk to your children about Lift Orlando

119and what they have. They are the products of this great organization and what they do. Okay? Just let them know, let them be aware and have that grateful heart for what Lyft has done for them and for their future. I thank you so much. continue the work and just like I said, come to the district four where we always expect more. Okay, that's it. Okay, thank you. All right, thank you, Member Douglas. All right. before we before we take a vote, would either Eddie or would you like to say a few words? Of course, you know what they say. never talked past the sale. Exactly. Yeah. it's hard to add anything to tonight. I'm I'm incredibly grateful to the parents for being here, for sharing their hearts so vulnerably and real for Erin Albert who

120is just as amazing as a reputation testifies. to member of Anos for giving me a break from the tears. I really appreciate it. it was beautiful but hard. as I get excited with you all about the potential for our community. I do think we are going to make history here together. I do think that our nation is watching and I do think that we are going to host many other folks who are just as passionate about education in our future who are going to come here to learn and you know I joke around I wish we had a hundred competitors in this town. may what we're doing here inspire a hundred other efforts all across our country and many more. All I can say is thank you. We appreciate you. Really, really, really proud on

121behalf of our board, our residents to have this board leading our education in our community and so honored to be partners with you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. If I open the floor for a motion, I'm going to get eight of them because I'm going to jump into. So, out of respect for member Felder who, had some reservations coming into this, which is a good thing to have. It causes one to do their due diligence, ask the tough questions. Member Vanos as well. But, member Felder, would you like to make the motion? Yes. Thank you so much, Chair Jacobs. I move that as a member of this Orange County Public School Board that we accept the invitation to move Orange Center into a charter school in collaboration and partnership with the Lift

122Organization of Orlando. All right, we have a motion now. We could have seven seconds. A second from member Ferrant and vice chair and member Gallo and member Douglas and maybe V and member Vanos. All in favor? I'm sorry, Mr. Pomerini. Is that out of order? No, no, it's it's it's I just want to make sure the contract it's member Felder. I'm not stepping on this in any way, but I just want to make sure for the record that you all are approving the agreement regarding the potential conversion of the Orange Center Elementary School between the school board of Orange County, Florida, and Lyft Orlando, Inc. That's exactly what you said, right? What I was careful and my words. Thank you. I Yeah, pretty sure she said that. But thank you for just doubling down on

123it. All in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Yay. Okay, this should really be the moment when I say the meeting is adjourned. well, it depends. Mr. Pomerini, you got anything to say? Superintendent, you got anything to say? no. I will reserve my comments. Okay. Okay. And I do want to reiterate the comments of fellow board members that this is a tribute to you. No, your leadership's been exceptional. All right. Meeting adjourned. What? What? What? Oh, everybody else gave us gall. Really? I do. I need a dress. I'm sorry. Can we Can we have them all come up and take a photo and then we'll let them go and then we Okay. Okay. Let's Or I wouldn't Okay. Gosh, we even got the superintendent from Hold on. It's about Oh, baby. Yeah. Sweetheart, that was

124so beautiful. Let me touch you, honey. Thank you so much, my dear. Let's do it. Let's do it. I really appreciate you speaking. Congratulations. Congratulations. Oh, yes, baby. This is going to be great. I mean, one on the way. Oh, this is great. Congratulations. It's important, right? Yeah. Yeah. Just make sure it's good. Yes. Congratulations. Do I still get to go to Harlem? Yeah, we're coming back. Okay. I want to make sure. Thank you so much. I want to make sure Bridget Are we done? Okay. I'm gonna I know everyone's so excited. I know everyone is so excited, but I'm going to call us back just so that member Gallow can get her so that she has questions. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Comment. You guys can you guys can No, they're going to

125call me the grim reaper instead of John. Member Gallow just needs to do one thing before we I just want you to know I have a list of things I need to talk about. I'm only going to talk about one, but SNAP, if the government stays shut down, runs out November 1st. and I was hoping we could do a couple things. Number one, communicate with their families who may not be paying attention that their SNAP benefits will run out. What they get in October, they can keep. you know, whatever funds they have within their account they can keep, but if the government is still shut down, they won't be receiving any new dollars past that time. So, I'm hoping we could we could communicate that to our families. And the second thing I want to

126ask is if we could do if we could start putting together some food drives for the month of November with the holidays coming, it's so imperative that we make sure that our families have the food that they need. And even when the government opens up, things usually are lagged, right? And I don't want any family or any of our students to go hungry over the holidays. So, I'm hoping that we could work with food and nutrition or somehow figure it out how we can do and the foundation how we could do some food drives and all across the county in each of our districts district. Yeah. Thank you. That's all I have. We can go now. Thank you. I'm so sorry for being Yeah. a Debbie Downer or whatever that they're not nice to the

127Debbies in the world. No, you're right. You're right. Yeah. No, you're so right. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, we have our marching orders. All right, this time the meeting's adjourned. Thank you. No, you're okay. Nothing's going to change. You're missing this. Did you get the Oh yeah.