Special School Board Meeting - PART II - Apr 21, 2026

001We will now resume our special school board meeting. MAY I have a motion and a second to close the agenda. So moved. Second moved by seaman, second by board member Thompson. All in favor of closing the agenda? Let it be known by saying I, I. Any opposed say no. The agenda is now closed. MAY I have a motion and second, on item 13, agreement with the Overtown Youth Center. Moved by z. Doctor Zeman, second by board member Thompson. It is moved and seconded to move item 13 to the floor. Any registered speakers? One registered speaker MAY Tina Brown, please approach the podium. Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Tina Brown. I'm the ceo of oic Miami or Overtown Youth Center. I first like to acknowledge MADAM Chair Leonardi, Vice chair, Doctor Holness, the superintendent, Doctor

002Hepburn, MISS Baumann and to all the esteemed members of the Broward County Public School District. I just want to take a moment to say thank you for giving us an opportunity to inspire, empower and impact the lives of children and families within your district. Today is incredibly meaningful to our founders, Alonzo and Tracy Wilson. Mourning to our board members, and especially to me as a staunch advocate for mentoring supportive services. And programs that support parents as they navigate life's complexities while trying to do the very best that they can do for their children. Oic is a community development model strategically focused on youth development and strengthening families through five key pillars of impact education, enrichment and exposure family services, health, wellness, and economic sustainability. We believe that every child, no matter of their socioeconomic status,

003zip code, or zip code deserves high quality access to supportive services services that keep them happy, positively engaged, and those that equip them and their families with the tools necessary to thrive. We want to thank you for your consideration in allowing oic to expand its services to Broward County and to partner with you in serving your community. This is not something we take lightly. We are grateful and we are honored. For the past 25 years, we have shown up consistently for young people and their families, making sure they have what they need to not just succeed in school, but to thrive in life. For oic, this is an opportunity to extend a model that we know works, a model that focuses on in-school support after after school services, summer camps for kids, summer internship programs

004for high school students and family services. Our services extend beyond school. We serve students from five all the way up through 25 years of age. It is our commitment to Broward County to be with these students from now until they are 25. For oic, this is an opportunity again to extend a model that we know works, a model that is grounded in cultivating trusted relationships, wrap around services, and strong partnerships. Thank you so much for your comments, I appreciate it. Thank you. Is there any board debate? Board member Bullman. Thank you, Vice Chair. And thank you to MISS Tina Brown, who is the ceo of oic, the Overtown Youth Center and Also a resident of Hollywood. So bringing this amazing program to Broward County. I'm just so excited that this is coming before us today.

005So I'd like to thank you for all of your work in getting this done. I'd like to thank Alonzo Mourning and Tracy Wilson Mourning, who had this vision nearly 25 years ago and created the Overtown Youth Center and Honey Shine, which is an organization that supports young women. Their commitment to young people and families across South Florida continues to open doors for communities like ours. And particularly in district one. I want to thank Brittany Lambert Brown, who's the chief program officer at oic, for helping to bring this partnership to life and to the team who will be supporting the work on the ground. So to Jean Batista and Fallacy Derosier for their commitment to serving youth and families. And we're also very grateful to the oic board for this expansion. And I want to specifically

006acknowledge Arshi Siddiqui for her support in doing that and doing so. Thank you to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who introduced the possibility of bringing oic to Broward County and who has worked to see this concept that has been so successful in Miami come to fruition here in Broward. We're so appreciative to the congresswoman for recognizing the need and importance of endorsing proven models like oic. And thank you to Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy for his leadership in bringing wraparound services for both youth and families in southeast Broward County so that they can thrive. And thank you to West Park Mayor Felicia Brunson, Hollywood Commissioner Adelma Quintana and Hollywood Civic Affairs Administrator Allison Saffold for their dedication to bringing this programming to our community. And thank you to McNicol Middle School Principal Deirdre Coker and her team,

007because the program will be housed at McNicol Middle School in Hollywood. And then finally, finally, I'd like to thank Doctor Valerie Wanza and Alan Strauss and your entire team. This initiative is an amazing outcome. That is the result of the challenging work that they've been leading around redefining. We wouldn't be here if we hadn't had to go through that exercise. So I appreciate you guys hustling to get this done so quickly. Eric Anderson, the Executive Director before and after care, who put the contract together and got it to us so that we could be ready for the summer. And finally, my partner in district one, Danielle Saint Leone, who made all of the meetings with the bajillion people who are very important happen and we never would be able to do this in time for

008the summer if you hadn't worked so hard. So thank you so much. Thank you. Board member Bullman board member Hixson. Thank you. And thank you, MISS Bowman, for MRS. Bowman for bringing this to us. It looks like it's a very exciting opportunity for students. I just have a quick question because in the executive summary, under Budget Impact Summary statement, it says this agreement provides income revenue to sbc, which should make Doctor Seaman very happy. And all of us. So my question to that is, is because it doesn't say how much. So is there an estimate to that? And how is it possible to expand this. I love that it's at McNichol, but is it something that we're looking to expand to other schools? Because it looks like a fantastic opportunity. So thank you, board member

009Hixson. MR. Anderson. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Doctor Watson, is it okay Doctor Wanzer go ahead. So I'll let MR. Anderson explain the nominal fee that is associated with all contracts like this, because there are several like this as they relate to before and after school and summer programming. That's one. But two. The. This program first got its presence at New Renaissance Middle School in the city of Miramar, and so they approached us very excited about expanding their footprint in Broward. So the first thing that they want to do is get this program up and running successful, and then look to expand to other parts of the county. But they wanted to start branching out because the one thing we have to remember is their hub. And MISS Brown can correct me if I'm wrong, but

010their hub is in is in, in Miami, in Miami-Dade County. So they wanted to start closer to that border first. And then as they build their footprint and the services that they provide in Broward, then expansion could be a possibility. But MR. Anderson can explain the nominal fee that is associated with these types of contracts. Hi, Eric Anderson, director before and after school childcare for Broward Schools. We we modeled this contract almost identically off of the contracts we used for before and after school childcare that would normally go through the procurement process. And we charge the exact fees that we charge Children's Services Council, which is very nominal. I'll do it off the top of my head. I think we charged $750 building fee for the year. So it's very nominal. And we do charge

011the $5 per per day for consumable items like toilet paper and so forth, soap and all those things. In the summertime, goes up a little bit more because of our being closed on Fridays. So it's 1500 for the summer. And then there's a small fee charged to our department to support our departments that we remain budget neutral to the district. So it is very nominal fees. So it is income producing, but it is mostly break even. It's because they're they're using their funds to provide services for our kids. Thank you, MR. Anderson. Any further board member comments? Board member Bulman. Through the chair, if Doctor Wanza could get just expand a little bit, could you explain kind of like the pipeline idea and how we in the services will be provided and how we're. So

012the. Thank. Thank you, MR. CHAIRMAN, for the question. So the the pipeline idea is as as you know, mechanical middle sits in the Hallandale Innovation Zone. And the pipeline idea is really to look at students in the elementary schools that feed into mechanical and provide opportunities for them and their families to access the services they're at, mechanical, so that they would continue up and then and then eventually, after they have developed their footprint, their foundation, working with those families, then there's the potential to then reach up and expand up into Hallandale High School. So while the program is housed at Mechanical Middle School and all of the direct services and programing will be there, there's opportunities for students and families in the feeder pattern to access these services. That is accurate. Board member Hixon. Just

013want to clarify. Thank you for all of that. You mentioned New Renaissance Middle School. So is this program at New Renaissance now? They they have over the years, they have provided services and work with students and families at New Renaissance. And MISS MISS Brown can tell you the extent of that, but they actually do have a presence at New Renaissance. So do we have a contract? Because it sounded like this was new to the district, so I'm just a little confused. So so students there and MISS Brown can explain it. They probably access the program because they're close to that Miami-Dade line. They're actually, you know, right there, they can access the services, but this is actually solidifying a formal partnership in Broward County public schools, starting at McNicol, with the hopes of eventually expanding

014it out as they're successful. Okay. Any further board member comments? Okay. Those in favor of approving item 13 say aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. The ayes have it. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, Doctor Wanza. You're welcome. We will now move on to item number 18. MAY I have a motion. And second on item 18 resolve student meal debt for the 20 2526 school year and create a future plan. Move by DR. Zeman. Second by board member Hixon. It is moved and seconded to move item 18 to the floor. Any public comment? Want to raise their speakers? Felicia Schumann You MAY now approach the podium. Good afternoon, Doctor Hepburn and I mean good afternoon, Holiness Vice Mayor Holiness and Board, esteemed board members. My name is Felicia Schumann. I'm from Coconut Creek,

015Florida. I'm here today because agenda item 18 asked the board to approve $720,433 to resolve student meal debt. Clearing this debt is necessary, but it's not a solution. It is a reaction to a system that continues to generate debt every single day. Unless the board take action on the community eligibility provision, we will. We will be back here next year and the year after. Agenda item 18 is essentially a write off. Finance will transfer the debt from the Food Service Fund into the general funding and food and nutrition services will clear the account that clears the path. But what happens to the future? The item also directs the superintendent to develop a three year plan and return the district to universal free lunch model. But universally free lunch is not a mystery. C p can't

016work without the universal free lunch program. Here's the part that matters. The federal cp threshold changed. The Broward never recalculated it for years. It changed in OCTOBER of 2023 from 40% to the new 25% threshold that applied in the beginning of 2024 and 2025 school year, which started that plan in JULY 1st of 2024 using an isp data from APRIL the 1st, 2024. Broward has already nearly two full years to recalculate the isp. Okay. Participating in this program. The application window opened APRIL the 1st. It ends JUNE JULY the 30th. So the first step to resolving this issue is for the district to collect identified student data for every school using the April 1st data snapshot. Without the data, Broward cannot calculate isp. They cannot run usda financial product projection or do c, e, p

017grouping and cannot submit a Sep application. This step has not been completed since the threshold dropped to 25%. The district has not recalculated since 2021. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach is doing the same thing as well. We have other cities. Who's benefiting from the cip program and under the new threshold. So I advise Broward County Public Schools to do the application as well. Thank you. Thank you for your comments, MR. Hill. Is there any other public comment. That is public speaking? Thank you. Is there any board member, debate board Member Thompson and then board member Hixon. Thank you. So I'd like to go over this item just a little bit since I put it on the agenda. Over the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about what our values are as a school district.

018I think at some point this needs to be a conversation for the entire board, especially as resources and funding continues to be cut. But until we can have that larger conversation, I had to reflect on what my values are as a school board member. And what I came up with are three things. I believe that all students should feel safe, that all students s ouldeel suppted inur s schools whwhetr r that I theirir menental healththeir a adedemics or their interests like debates or sports. And finally, that every child should have access to food. This last value became even more clear when I began doing town halls with our students, and they continued to ask why we no longer have universal free lunch. And I heard stories of students that were covering their friend's meals or

019loaning them money to address their meal debt so that they could attend end of year functions. As a district, we have communicated with parents multiple times about meal debt obligations via text, email, phone call. And I truly believe that for the most part, that if a parent was able to pay this obligation that they would. We as a country are experiencing an affordability crisis. People are struggling to put food on the table to keep a roof over their head and to put gas in their car. It was truly heartbreaking to end the Universal meal program, and as someone who has experienced food insecurity, it was especially difficult. This is one of the main reasons that I brought the original item to create a meal debt fund. And as we've seen over the last few months,

020there is still a significant need in our community for this assistance. But my item does not just stop at addressing this year's meal debt. It also recognizes that this is something that we will not be able to continue to do, and it asks the superintendent for a better process to address meal debt in the future. It also puts us back on the path to returning to universal free lunch, addressing what I hope is all of our core values, which is to make sure that our students have enough food to eat. So I welcome my colleague's thoughts and comments, and I truly hope that this will pass, because I believe if we're able to find almost $1 million for graduation venues, that this decision should come easily for us. However, if it doesn't pass, then I'm

021still making a pledge as one board member to donate a portion of my salary every month to address school meal debt, and I hope my colleagues and those listening who can afford to will join me. Thank you. Thank you. Board member Thompson. Board member Hixon. Thank you. I appreciate board Member Thompson bringing the item forward because it is a huge concern, but I do have issues with just paying the meal debt because, as was mentioned by a public comment, speaker, it's just going to continue to add up. So just paying this right now isn't going to solve what we're going to have another bill in a couple of months. So I don't know that I agree or, or, or will approve or vote for paying this debt. But I do like the idea of looking

022at what we can do as a three year plan. I'd also like staff to address. I know the public speaker sent something to us before about the program where she was mentioning they they do something in other districts that do allow them to have some kind of free lunch for their students. So is there someone from the district staff that can address or did we apply for that? Is it something we do just kind of give us an idea of where we are on that. Doctor Dr Fulton. Good evening, Mark Mills Food and Nutrition Services. So as we reviewed this executive summary, we noticed some things in it that probably would not make a great financial decision. When we're losing so much money, it will only hurt us in the long run. So it's great

023to pay off the debt. And because we've gone back to the National School Lunch program where applications are accepted, there is no more debt created. It's only if a student in an elementary school, according to our policy for Food nutrition that goes to the state of Florida, one charge is permitted in elementary schools that. One charge then is controllable and we seek after the payment for that money, for that money that's due. Typically it's just because a child did not complete an application. So it's kind of a red flag for us. Or if there's a situation with that child in the school, the principal is asked to address that as well. So returning to universal free lunch, we did a pilot program one and two. It was not successful. And here's why. If you're getting

024a free meal, you do not need to fill out an application. The application is relevant to the National School Lunch program for universal free. That's how we claim meals. So if you're a don't fill one out, you are technically then just a paid student. Paid student reimbursement is $0.55. That meal costs us much more than that. It's in the $4. We're losing money there by a local source. So to go on a program that continues to allow us to lose money does not make sense. Financial sense for the food and nutrition program. There's certain things in cp you do not want to go to a 25% threshold. The board would have to sign a document for the national School lunch program that would say they are financially responsible for the remaining of the 40% to

02525% that cannot be covered. Sep is not a program that allows us to generate funds and cover the costs of everything, because there's not enough reimbursement made available. It's very clear through a lot of different documentation out there that the Sep needs to have additional funding. So when you go to the 25%, you have to seek some type of nonfederal funds they recommend the school district pays that, or we would need a community support to pay that as well. So to me, you're just transferring that you're transferring debt on our books and you get you're receiving that and you're going to another debt that is required to be paid for through nonfederal funds. Board board member Hixon, did you want to follow up? Oh, no. Thank you. Thank you for the information. Doctor Dr Fulton.

026Also, I would like to add to it to. The team has been working diligently since last year when this issue did come up and I know the intent of the. The item is to have the superintendent come up with a plan for how we will move forward for the next three years, and we have been working. We actually received some guidance from the Council of Great City Schools. We just received guidance about a week or two ago, actually Friday of last week, and have provided us with some really good recommendations about 18 and the reason why this is good is because we're not the only large school districts that is dealing with this. So a lot of the recommendations are coming from experts and also other large districts that are finding ways to be able

027to combat meal debt. So we will be able to come back with a plan as the item is asking for three year plan moving forward and how to deal with student debt. And so thank you for the item as Thompson, we totally agree our kids have to be supported. You can't learn if you're hungry. So we're trying to find ways to ensure all of our students come to school and all of their needs are being met, and we will be able to come back with a plan to see how we can combat the student meal debt. Thank you very much. Board member Hixon, are you finished with your comments? Yes. Thank you. Okay. Board members. Iman. Doctor Dr Fulton, the report that we got from the Council of Great City Schools. Has that been shared

028with the board yet? Yes, yes. Thank you very much, doctor Dr Fulton. What happens if we don't pay this? I think we shared with everyone the documentation about bad debt. It is the district's responsibility through nonfederal funds to pay for that. If it if it is deemed uncollectable, it comes off the food and nutrition responsibility and it comes on to the general fund or the district to ensure that they pay or reimburse the child nutrition program for that bad debt that is deemed to be written off. What are the consequences, doctor Dr Fulton, for a student that has debt, is there any consequences in terms of their student activities? So so right now it is a student obligation until that debt is paid. So what's the implication for their student activities. Well they won't be

029able to advance until the student debt is taken care of. Terrific. So this is a big deal to the General Council. Would you expect the decision to go to universal free lunch or not to be brought to a school board? Yes. That's pretty big budget implications, I would think. Yes. And do you think that it's incumbent on the staff to bring that as an actual item, staffed out with the pros and cons of different outcomes for doing that. Given the budgetary implications, the board needs to be fully apprized. Terrific. And to the superintendent, you know how much money we're losing in our Food and Nutrition Service Fund this year as a result of not going to universal free lunch? Thank you. I'll let him answer, please. Well, I'm sorry. So no, there is going to

030universal free lunch, which I have just stated a few minutes ago, relies on applications. If students are already eating free, there's no reason for them to have to fill out an application from their perspective. For ours, it's very important. It is required through the National School Lunch program, that those meals that are served free to those children are universal. Free are to be claimed as their eligibility or their application status. So the loss is present under universal free. There's not a gain. And for some reason, I guess there's there's been a misconception on that. Programs have to work together. So going back to the national School lunch program, where we actually have parents fill out applications, is truly the best way from a financial standpoint, as well as helping parents that really need the program.

031Terrific. And I appreciate you advocating for one of the options. And I also preserve the dignity of this board to make that decision. As I pointed out to the General Council, it's wonderful to advocate for one or the other, but this board is the one that has to pay the bills. And I hope going forward, we're tracking this chair. Maybe that's just something we have to pull from this. This is a tough one because to my knowledge, MISS Superintendent, deputy superintendent, there. The implications to the students for not doing this are very severe. And then there's the free rider problem, which is if we pay this pretty significant amount of money, it's about $1,000 per campus, excuse me, 1000 meals per campus that have not been taken and not paid for. What messaging do we

032need if we want to say we're going to do this one time, but we want to make sure people understand that next year, if you or for the balance of this year and next year, if you take a lunch and you can't afford to pay for it, that's going to be your personal obligation. What's the question? If the school board decides to pay this, how do we make sure that students know that going forward, that we're not paying any more lunches that they decide to take without paying for? So I think it has to be in communication and then communicate and over communicate it, because we did that in the fall where we had an amnesty period, and then we went to making sure our parents knew that moving forward, that if your child didn't

033have lunch, we would do one charge. And then after that, then they were given an alternative lunch. And as a result of that, we started getting debt collected. So I'm, as a board member, I'm very, very uncomfortable that we lost $19 million in our Food and Nutrition Services Fund this year. I'm upset that we didn't get a full briefing on the implications of doing this program or previous programs, and didn't get the authority to make the decision a long time ago. So I'll be tracking this. Personally, I feel like this is a must pay, MISS Thompson. Like we cannot, you know, make kids pay for our mistakes here on the board. But this is another mistake. This is a self-inflicted wound that we created. We've lost $19 million in the fund this year, and that's

034a lot of money to pay. So I'll be watching this very closely. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, MRS. Alhadeff. I have a question in regards to the $720,433. Is that for a hot lunch or is that for the free peanut butter and jelly lunch or butter sandwich? So I believe it's the hot lunch. Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong. So yes. So it is my recollection and the Food and Nutrition Services staff can correct me, but it is my recollection that the decision was made to provide the children with whatever is the standard hot lunch, that there would be no alternate meal of a while butter sandwich and all this is for the actual regular school lunch, correct? Correct, correct. And what steps did the district take to try to get the families to

035repay the debt back? So I'll let Doctor Wanza give a detail, but I know that we did. We we did parent links as well too. As far as the district and I know that individual schools also did their own parent link with their students as well too. But Doctor Wanza, is there anything else that we did other than the parent links? We did also send a letter out to the families as well, just notifying them of as of this date moving forward. And then if they had meal debt that we they got apparently, I know student obligations were were notified and students canvas focus. I'm sorry as well too, but I'll go ahead and let you respond. So that is very accurate. Doctor Dr Fulton. Additionally, those reminders go home like weekly. So it wasn't

036a one time and it's done. There's a constant notification to the parents. There are also two staff members in food and nutrition services that that is their job. They call they, you know, receive applications, assist parents with applications. And we do weekly reach out to parents. So I have a question regarding what the parents actually receive because I think it's really important. Are they receiving an individualized clickable link to pay for their child's lunch debt? So I'm going to pull it up. I'll let the staff, I'm going to pull it up. I'll let the staff tell you. But but I will tell you what also happens is parents will come and they will clear whatever the debt is so that a certain obligation can be met, so that a child could do a certain activity.

037And then the next day or two, the debt continues to accumulate. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Arif Ali, director of it at Food Services. We communicate through the parent via a daily or a balanced notification call coming out from Parent Link, that is a phone call, text and email. Within the email there is a link and they can. Can you be specific? Is it an individualized link to Robbie's lunch debt of $20? That is correct. And I can press that link to pay for it. The. Per my child. The content of the message does include the student name, and it goes to the parent of the student stating the student has a balance of this number. To pay your balance, you can click the link to go to my school books, which is the electronic payment

038system, or it'll give them instructions to go to the school, cash or check as long as checks are accepted. Okay. And then when they go to the my school books, I'm just trying to find out what where it's failing. Do they need a username and password? Once they click on that link. That is correct. There is a username and password for the parent account on my school books. Additionally, if they use the bcc app and they click into the My School books, once they're registered, it'll automatically try to log them in as well. So there is a username and password required. Okay. And because I know when I the here comes the bus and is my child going to be taking the bus? I mean, they were relentless. It was text messages, phone calls. I

039mean, they did not stop. Are we doing to that level or is it just once a week. Speaking to that specifically? We also put the pop up on the website. So as they were transitioning over to final site, it was relentless. You had to click the pop up, which notified the transitions back to meal benefits, that there was changes coming. No, that's I hear you, but what I'm saying is that specific link to the parent, to their specific child, their debt and a link to pay for it. That is something we can do. In addition to the daily balance notification call if you requested. I think that's important. So they they do get a call daily. That's okay. No, what I'm saying is specific link to the debt so they could click and try to

040do that. I would like to see us maybe bring this item back in a month and try to do that and see if this number goes down, because I know if I'm getting that specific link, if I get it, you know, well, once I'm going to pay it, but if I'm getting it three times, I'm eventually going to pay it. But I have a feeling it's not. Yes, we are saying it globally, but that's not specific to my child. With this specific amount of money. I do have one more comment. The emails and the text message does contain the student name or student student id number. And the experience that we've seen. We have a lot of parents that have received a call so many times that they just block it through their parent link

041blocking access. So when they do reach out for support and we do try to let the parents know, yes, you have been receiving the calls, but you opted to block it and what access to parent link and reporting. We can tell them when that stopped. So that's another layer that we have experienced, right. So my suggestion would be to try to send the link out for, let's try it for a month and then bring this item back and then see if that number goes down. So I'm going to make a substitute motion to bring this item back in a month and try to send specific links out to parents three times a week, or until they pay it for a month. Second. Motion made by MRS. Alhadeff, seconded by MR. Cervera public comment on the

042motion to bring this back in a month. A board member comment. MISS Hixon. Thank you. I just want to ask a question because I think I heard this said already. So the question was, if we don't do anything, what happens? And I believe the answer was eventually this goes against the general fund anyway. Yeah. Once we determine it's uncollectable, it becomes a bad debt. And at that point, the Code of Federal Regulations says it must be paid for through the general fund. So, I mean, at the end of the day, it's going to go to general fund and we're going to have to pay it whatever is left at the end of the year. So I don't even know if we particularly need the part that says we're going to pay it. I wouldn't want

043to do that right at this moment, but I do think we should have a plan. So I don't mind waiting for a month. But again, that will be close to the end of the year and it's going to roll over to general fund anyway. Whether we vote yes or no goes to general fund. So we're essentially doing that regardless. As long as we deem it collectible, then you're fine. It won't roll anywhere. It'll still stay with food nutrition. It's just the amount of time, like you're saying that you want to havav t tt deememeas collllecble versua bad d dt.T. Just one moment, MISS Dupuy. Bruno. I just wanted. I just wanted to add to my earlier opinion with regards to the lunch program. Not only is it budgetary concerns, but it's actually a power and

044duty of the school board. Pursuant to Florida Statute 1,001.42, subsection 16. The the school lunch program. Yeah, the statute is pretty clear that the school board assumes the responsibilities and exercises the powers, as in the opinion of the school board with regards to school lunch services consistent with the needs of the students, the effective and efficient operation of the program, and the proper articulation of the school lunch program with other phases in the education. So that means that the superintendent makes a recommendation and then the board decides. Correct. And then. MR. Did you have something on the motion, the substitute motion as well? Well, the proper motion would be to postpone it to a definite time. But if the board's inclined to move forward the way that it is, that's fine, but I would probably

045postpone it to a definite time with the additions that you asked for. And Doctor Dr Fulton. Doctor Wanza, did you want to add to that? I just want to clarify so that the board clearly understands every day parents get whether they opt for email, text, phone call, whatever it is, their student id number, and they get the daily balance that is owed. So it's not that they aren't knowing daily how much the student owes, it calculates daily for them. So I just want to make that clear so that people don't think that parents only here once a month or every two weeks. It is, it is a daily call that tells them a running daily balance and. Okay. Go ahead. I'm sorry, but I, I that's great. But what I'm saying is I think they

046need a clickable link. They get that that's what I'm trying to say is so if I opt for text message or email, I can click the link and go right to pay whatever is my balance. So you're saying you've already been doing that daily? Yes, yes. That's correct. Yes, yes. So daily they're getting a. And I and. And and I will say and I and you know DR. Zeman the entire board is 100% correct. This is a board decision, not a staff that you are 100% correct. But I think just given the times that we are in one. But number two, the fact that children are still permitted to receive a hot lunch every single day, regardless of ability to pay, is, is where is where we are, where in previous years, before Sep, before

047all of that. And I'm, you know, I was a principal for years. If you did, if you could not afford to pay for a lunch and you weren't free or reduced, there was an alternate meal provided. At the expense of the school, because we had to budget for that to pay for alternate meals for students. MR. Spielberg. Thank you, MADAM Chair. This is this is very important. This will impact thousands of students. And I think it's important to take the time to find the best solution. I want to first start about the delay. A month for this will push very close to graduation and will, in my eyes, really leave a lot of students out of of some experiences towards the end of the school year. That's number one. I want to focus on on

048seniors for a moment. This, you know, debt that students are incurring, to my knowledge, and I could be incorrect on this will prevent students from walking the stage. Now, I know that there is, you know, other opportunities for that fund for that debt to be released. But what MR. Magli? Sorry. Wrong. Mark, what MR. Mills said, I apologize. What MR. Mills said was that that money is going to need to be absorbed by the general fund at any point, you know, after it's deemed uncollectable. Well, a student graduating, in my eyes, is uncollectible. If the parent of that senior is not paying today, they are certainly not going to pay after the student has left our system. So, you know, I definitely think maybe a delay for for another population, but a delay for seniors

049would be, in my eyes, significantly catastrophic. I also want to address the point that Doctor Wanza brought up. We allow students to go through the line and incur a charge and not get a courtesy meal, because I think really good intentions by the board, but that's causing an issue where students are collecting and absorbing this meal debt. That is not a sustainable practice for our district, because I am a student who technically can afford lunch, right? But I could go through the line every day and keep incurring that debt. So I just think it's really important to look at those two issues within the constraint of the timeline because of those two competing priorities. So we've heard significant, significant feedback from students about this. There is undescribable anxiety about this within our student populations. And

050I just think it's really important to look at the timing of this to relieve some of that anxiety. Thank you. Thank you, MISS Hixon. Thank you. And thank you, MR. Spielberg, for for that information. So I, I just have a couple of questions because we did go through this exercise before. So a student has a tray and I just want to give a visual. Again, they have a tray. They go through the line, you realize that they can't pay for it. And then you take that tray from them and hand them a lunch and you throw everything away on the tray. That's why we ended up saying, don't take the tray away. You're already throwing it away. You're going to have to pay. How do you not have to pay for the tray if you

051put it in the garbage? What's the difference if you just let them keep the tray and then they have it? Or you say, no, you can't afford it, throw the tray away and here's a wow sandwich. That's the discussion we had here. That was the point. I could not wrap my head around that. You're going to take the tray that already has all the food on it. You're going to throw it away anyway. So I don't know what the difference is, is if we said, okay, we're going back to giving the wow sandwich. Now you're throwing food away, still giving the kid a wow sandwich. How does that help our bottom line? We then we add extra because we have to pay for the wow sandwich too. So I just that was the discussion we

052had all along. We did ask how could we catch it beforehand? How do we know ahead of time? That was the discussion we had at the workshop. Where. How do we know ahead of time that the student isn't going to have the ability, or if there's already a debt? I don't know how to do that in, you know, in a way that's not embarrassing, which was also our conversation. But I just want everyone to wrap their head around again, you're going to take the tray that has all the food in it and say, oh, you can't afford this and then put it in the garbage can. So you already had to pay for it. And here, let me give you a wow sandwich that cost us extra money. I don't know how that saves us

053money. So that's where we ended up with saying, this doesn't make any sense. Just let them keep the tray. So how do we avoid getting to their standing in front of the cash register with the tray already? And my other question is, I guess that wasn't really a question. I'm just throwing out. That's how we got here. That's why we said let them keep the tray, because it didn't make sense to any of us that we were going to waste food like that. The other question I have is, have we actually found out why parents aren't paying for this? Because as we know, there was some discussion, you know, about, there are some students that are incurring these debts that actually can pay for them. So have we done any kind of like have principals

054or assistant principals or social or whoever call the family and say, we know you've gotten notices every day that has a link that you can click on and pay what you know. Can you share with us what the concern is so that they understand? Because it seems like they still think that lunch is free, even though we mentioned it, even though they were told a thousand times, even though they get a little link every day that tells them they owe money, they don't think they have to pay it. So what are we doing as a district to gather some information so that we could look at this a different way? But I can't say enough times that it will never make sense to me to take a tray out of a kid's hand and throw

055it in a garbage can and say that that's going to save us money. Thank you. Thank you. Before we move to our next board member, we do need to gather consensus to extend the workshop. I would say, by an hour. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Yes. We need a motion and a second to extend the special school board meeting. Not the workshop moved by MISS Bulman, seconded by MISS Thompson. All in favor of extending the work of the special school board meeting by one hour. Say, I all opposed. Say no. No one dissenting vote. All right. Go ahead, MISS Bulman. Thank you, chair. So, okay, first of all, just to get this straight, because this is a very confusing topic and there's a lot going on here. We are obligated to pay this money regardless, right? This

056is our debt. The school district's debt. Okay. So, you know, I know, I know we talked about this earlier in the year, and I don't know that, that we made any great decisions on it because we're still faced with the same thing. We've got several things. Kids that can afford lunch aren't paying for lunch. Kids that can't afford lunch aren't paying for lunch. If you're giving kids that can't afford lunch lunch, they might not be applying for the free and reduced lunch. And then I. I almost wonder too, because I, I remember from our last workshop that you can't use cash, right? This is a, is this a digital payment system? You can use cash at the point of sale. You can. Yes. Okay. All right. So that takes something out. So this I mean,

057this is kind of an impossible situation. I'm very sympathetic to the seniors who can't do the things that they need to do, who can't afford it. But there's also no repercussion if you can't afford it and you just decided that you're not going to pay, and then you can just slide under it, I in, you know, I get these, I've told you guys this before, but I get the email, the text and the. The phone call when I, because my kids are just going through the line and incurring debt for me because I'm not permitting that. In fact, I don't want them to be doing that. I think it's irresponsible of them. And there's no way for me to stop it. The way that the system is, is set up right now. I just have

058debt that I have to pay. So I think that's like the the bigger picture is not necessarily the debt that's before us right now because we have to pay that no matter what. And obviously the way that we're addressing this is not very effective. So I, I don't know that we're achieving free, universal, universal, free lunch, but I in addition to that, I think we just need to look at how we can reduce the lunch debt that we're occurring. How do we make this system work for the kid to be able to make sure that the kids that need to be fed are being fed, and that the ones that can afford it are paying for it. I think that's going to take some time and study and maybe, you know, looking around, but that

059because we have to teach people to be responsible too. Everyone needs to eat, but some people are taking advantage of the situation. You know, you're saying, oh, you're going to throw it, you're throwing it away because you brought it. But like I could just, you know, put on a shirt and head out the door and they're going to take that away from me, you know, and maybe throw it out too, if you get, you know, so there's lessons to be learned in addition to making sure that everyone has what they need. So I look forward to a plan that addresses these issues because I think, I mean, I just think it's complicated and there's a way to do it. And it's not the way that we're doing it right now, clearly, because. Doctor Dr Fulton.

060Thank you. I think we have the direction and to land in Spielberg. Thank you for framing it out. So you are correct. And I have a high school senior, and I didn't even think about it either. Like in about four weeks, they'll be saying goodbye to us so we can bring back a plan much quicker. And we've heard the the conversations that have happened today. We do have the guidance by the Council of Great City Schools because again, like I said earlier, we're not the only large district that is really dealing with this challenge. This is really nationwide. So it allows us the opportunity to continue to have a think tank with other district leaders, and we'll be able to come back with a plan sooner than later. MR. Leon. Thank you, MADAM Chair. I

061just want to add a little more student perspective onto what Landon was saying. It's really more about the quality. For an example, students are required to get an apple and they're required to get a juice and they're required to get a banana, even though that they're not going to eat it. And I think a solution that we can have is scanning their IDs before they're going to purchase the item. That is a great idea I think, that we can use to solve it. It gives the student an opportunity to see, hey, this is what you're missing out on. And if they don't have that funding, let's point them in a direction of where we they would get that wild so-called sandwich, which we can come up with different alternatives for necessarily. It's the hardcore reality

062is that we don't want to, we don't have the funding to keep giving up for. And especially for students that know that they can afford it. I don't think that we should have other students that can't afford it suffer for that. And I really think that it's more of an opportunity of your dignity needs to be put aside based off of for someone else, i shouldn't have to put be told, hold on because a student can't afford it. I will point you in the right direction if you want, if you need to eat something, but it just won't be that hot food. It's just a hardcore reality. Thank you. MISS Thompson. Thank you chair, I think MR. Spielberg addressed the timing and why this was so important for this item to be on this special

063agenda, because of these obligations that prevent students from being able to do after their the extras and the celebrations. I also want to say, I think half the reason we got here is because the board kind of deep dived into a workshop about things that maybe we should have stayed out of that was operational, like how the line is set up or if it's a while butter or not a while butter and, and so and all that I think was in how to prevent food waste. And all of that was good intentioned. But what we really did was, and I think starting with a month of free meals to do this transition also hurt because then parents got into this habit and now it's really hard to take back. So there's a lot of things

064that I think came out of a good place that were that led us to where we are today. And I just want to emphasize that this item is to address the debt so that students can, can kind of move on from this year, but then also to establish a plan. And we don't have to discuss the plan today because the experts, which is our staff are going to come with that idea. But really just focusing on do we as a board want to cover this debt now so that students can benefit from that? And then do we want staff to come back with a plan? Those are really the two focuses. Thank you. Thank you. I think this is a no brainer for me. That's why I accepted it for good cause I voted to

065provide the funding for this months ago. So I'm happy to agree to that now. I think we need to fix the system. So I appreciate the proposal of staff coming back with a plan. I can understand MISS Bowman's frustration, and I hope we can figure out a way to fix that. You know, that her you know, children are buying things that they their parents don't want them to buy. I think that's a reasonable ask to to try to fix that system. My own question and this MAY be related to the plan. So if you can't answer it now that's fine. Doctor Dr Fulton if we pay. So we're agreeing to pay this several, you know, $720,000. Now, I'm assuming more debt will be accrued in the next. And I'm sorry if you already discussed this.

066I was upstairs in the next. So more debt will be accrued in the next few months. What do we is that going to be a what are we going to do about that in the next. How do we address that? Go ahead, go ahead, doctor. Wanza so the 720,000 thereabout is the is the estimate through the end of the school year? Yes. So then presumably before the start of the school year, will you guys will come back with a plan if this item passes. Yes ma'am. So if I MAY, that that was what it was because the item asked for a plan for like the next three years. And so we were taking that into account to this year is pretty much done, but what are we going to do moving forward and coming up

067with a plan for the start of the 26, 27 school year? Yeah. And I, you know, I am of the feeling that when it comes to feeding children, whether they are children who have the money to pay for their lunch or not, I lean in the direction of feeding children. There are lots of things that we spend money on that are less important than the very basic necessity of feeding children. So, you know, I know we're in a budget crisis. Feeding children should not to be we should not be prevented from feeding children. It should be a priority. Even in a budget crisis. I hear the concern about doing this right now. That's why I will not be supporting the substitute motion. I will be happy to support the item as is anyone else. All

068in favor of the substitute motion? Say I all opposed, say no. No. Roll call. Roll call on the motion to delay. Alhadeff. Yes. Bulman. No. Cervera. Yes. Hixon. Yes. Oldness. No. Leonardi. No. Rupert. Thompson. Zeeman motion fails six three. All right, we are back to the original item. I know, MRS. Alhadedeffyou had the floor. No. I'm goo Anye e else like to speak on the item? MR. Cervera. Chair, I remember. I believe it was a workshop several months ago where we talked about the idea of of having some folks go out into the community and dealing with local businesses and local farmers and things of that nature to see if we can get, I don't know, I'm not sure if sponsorship is the right word, but if we can get them to engage with our

069schools and offer some of their their food products to our students at a, at a essentially for, for free. I know there are some, some districts around the state that certain farmers will provide vegetables and lettuce, and they have salad bars and things like that. I don't recall who was tasked with from the from the staff who was tasked with looking into that. If somebody can refresh my recollection and to see if that ever got off the ground. I. Oh, sorry. Sorry. No, I remember we were also asking for partnerships and people to help support a fund. So when the debt accumulated, we would have a fund from partners and businesses that contribute to bringing down the debt. And I do know we had tasked our communications department to for partnerships, and they were able

070to bring in some, you know, revenue to be able to support that, but certainly not in the mass of $700,000. But we're able to get some support from community. Can you expand upon that? Yeah. There was a. Sunday. It was like only. a couple thousand dollars. But I can. Find it in your email. We appreciate it. Yes, we have a website. And I can follow up the follow up. If it's in a memo, perhaps I missed it. If someone could forward it to me, I would be appreciative. So is a couple thousand dollars. How long was this effort utilized and how many people did I find that very difficult in a county as large as Broward County, that we were only able to muster up a couple thousand dollars? Mark Mills Food Nutrition it was

071more than a couple thousand. There were some great opportunities from just everyday people, and they contributed. I think there was 3000 just from this coffee group. However, we partnered with the Broward Teachers or the Broward Education Foundation, and that we brought in 5000, I think the first, and they have another ten for us that are going to be sent to us. They're not big numbers. You're right. But every little bit goes towards the debt and we pay it down. Any local people that wanted to contribute have contributed, and we have a list of where they through either the Broward Education Foundation, they tell us exactly where they want the money to go or through PayPal just bringing a note with their money. And we take care of the money from there, where it has to

072go or generically spread it over whatever school has the highest debt. This is Cervera. Safe to say it was less than 20 k. Yes, yes. Thank you. So I was able to locate the follow up. We sent it out on MARCH the 25th, so we were able to ensure. Correct. MR. Mills, about $15,000. MISS Bulman. Thanks. Yeah I think I think we can probably do a better job of, you know, getting donations in that way. And I agree with the chair. Obviously, we want to feed the kids. When you put it in the perspective of what else we spend money on, it's ridiculous that we're talking about this. So I don't know how we and we know we can anticipate well, because we spend money on tons of different things that, you know, or have

073to pay money for mistakes that are made or what have you. So we should be, we should, we should have some funds. I would think that our anticipate that we are going to have this debt on a on an annual basis, if we don't figure out a universal free lunch. And I know that this comes out. So is there a way for us to put that into the budget, to put a little. That's a little contingency fund together, like coming back for the next. So that it's not biting us at the 11th hour. I, I'm just I'm not sure how the budget works that way, but it's not here. But just a suggestion. You're anticipating something that we know is going to happen. Well, I think in the item it says to, you know, to

074develop this plan over the next few three years to implement a free lunch, universal free lunch, I mean, they're going to have to plan for it in the budget. So if the item passes. Right, if they get a free lunch. But if we don't so say we don't, we're not able to figure out a way to do universal free lunch. How can we prepare to be able to pay for a lunch debt that we have? And that's the part of the plan that we'll be able to get back to you. Great. Thank you. MISS Hixon. Thank you. I'd like to make a substitute motion based on the student advisors input. And I'd like to move that. We pay the senior debt right now. And wait, wait to pay the other part of it. Because again,

075we have whether we vote for this or not, it's going to come out a general fund, but I don't want to pay all of that right now. We, you know, we just are going through this org chart and, and telling people that we don't have money for their positions. And some of this debt occurred, although I, I don't disagree that we want to make sure our kids are fed. I some of this is is preventable. So I, I'm not ready to, to pay all of that money right now. It would be, it would roll over at some point anyway. So my motion is to pay just this senior the 12th grade student debt at this time and delay the rest of the payment. Second motion made by seconded by MR. Cervera. Public comment on the

076motion or substitute motion board member. Discussion on the substitute motion. MRS. Alhadeff. Wouldn't. The other part of that would be because this money. The 720,000 is is basically, from my understanding, going to the end of the school year. So wouldn't it be smart then to also add to your motion that you're not getting a hot lunch? We're going back to how it was done previously to the peanut butter and jelly, the butter sandwich, the. That type of meal instead of the hot meal because then you're then you possibly could be saving more money off of the 720,000. I don't mind that part except for. I want to give the picture again of what we heard. How did they get to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich? If they're still walking with a plate that has

077food on it, and we have them throw it away and then give them a peanut butter sandwich, I'm not okay with that because we're wasting, I agree twice. So how do we. I don't disagree, but Doctor Dr Fulton, how do we how can we ensure we're not going to be wasting food to give them that? Because I, I don't disagree, that's what we should go to, but I do, as you can tell, disagree very strongly that your student is going to watch us throw their good food away to hand them a wow sandwich. So that message resonated very clear. And actually in the direction that we provided to the schools and food service as well. Now read it and I quote for board direction, no student trays are being removed at the point of sale

078regardless of meal obligation status. So that has not been happening. But that's my point. So Missus Alhadeff suggestion here, which I'm okay with adding to this motion, is to not give them a hot food tray and give them a peanut butter. Wow. Whatever it is sandwich. But how do you get to that without having them have a tray? That was the discussion we had before, and I haven't heard anything that we've done to be able to get to that point. So I don't think there's a there's any procedure in place to be able to do what she's suggesting. And if I make this motion, are we going to put something in place like next week? That's the question. So is the motion on the substitute motion on the floor still just to pay the senior

079debt? Well, I'd like to hear staff answer the question. Is it is there how do we get to giving them a wow sandwich to reduce what the additional debt will be? And actually, I don't understand how that even saves us money. If we. What happens if we don't let them keep the tray and it goes in the garbage can? How do we not have to pay for that? I'm still so confused about that piece. Yeah, you are right. It doesn't really sat well with any of us, and particularly the cafeteria managers that they have to do that. We will work with Florida Department of Agriculture and see what type of assistance they can give us as to how to not have them have the tray until after it's verified that they have the funds or

080they have the free eligibility, if that helps, we can try that and see what they recommend that we could do for that. Also, we will we will revert back to one charge, which will be one once that child comes through the line and they will still get the tray they have in their hand, because it'll be a one charge against food nutrition services that will initiate either through the the principal or through our office. If we know it, reach out to the family, reach out to the household and say, you know, did you fill out an application yet? Some will say they didn't qualify. It just depends on what the situation is. A lot of them don't know. A lot of them don't want to fill it out for various reasons, but we do make

081every effort to make sure that we continue to educate parents and let them know what's out there and what is available through the Food and Nutrition department. Also, I guess we can look at and we'll see what the usda says. What type of alternate meals can you provide? What is logically best for a student, and see if we can come up with something different than a while, because it doesn't sound very well. And MAY I add to that, MISS Hixon, because I, I think what you're trying to get at is pretty much what MR. Leone said at the time. The student begins to enter the line. If there can be some kind of mobile scanner, mobile something device that alerts the student that either your balance is low or something, right? Currently, the Food and

082Nutrition Services department is not staffed that way, or they MAY not have all the resources to do, like mobile scanning, that kind of thing. But we can look to see as a part of the plan how we would implement that. So I think that that's the first thing, right, is that the before the student gets in the line, do they know that they do not have the resources either? They're not free, they're not reduced. They're not right. The staff so so that it, it kind of circumvents the frustration and the embarrassment that comes along with I've gone through the line, all my peers see me picking out this food and then I'm told, I'm sorry, I have to take your tray. Well, and my other question that still hasn't been answered, and I'm sorry to

083extend this, is I don't understand how moving to a wow sandwich saves us money. If you don't know, they get a wow sandwich until they're holding a tray and they get buzzed that they can't have the tray. How does that save us money? So I don't know that it does. And I think that that's what MR. Mills was saying, that that's that's what he said that you, you you know, he basically validated what you said. But the but the ideal method would be before you even get to take the tray, here's the. Wow. Right. And that's the. Yes conversation that we had the last time we were here, that how do we do that? But I there's no way to do that in this last short period of this school year, I get that it

084could be in the plan. I was supposed to be in the plan. So although I appreciate MRS. Alhadeff suggestion to a substitution doesn't really save us any money because they're still going to have to take a tray and then find out, oh, I can't afford this. And the tray goes in the garbage can, and then we hand them a wow sandwich. We're still paying extra that way. So I don't know how to say that more than I've already said. That's the piece I can't wrap my head around because it doesn't save us money to give them a wow sandwich unless we've identified before they have a tray that they're not going to be able to to have the tray. So although I appreciate the substitute motion, I don't think we're able to do that at

085this time. Doctor Dr Fulton, am I correct in that we're not going to be able to implement knowing that they don't get a tray beforehand in by next week? Yeah. No, I don't think that's possible. Correct. But we'll certainly try to see how soon we can. I mean, it's logistical to be very honest with you. And it looks different at every school. It won't be the same. So although I appreciate that, I think I'm going to leave the motion the way it is. So we'll definitely work on that for you. So know that we hear you and we'll see what we can do with the vendor, either from our point of sale system or if it's something that we need to implement. The Code of Federal regulations does say they have to have the tray

086in their hand and go to the point of sale to pay for it. We need to change that somehow. So it's doable for the student, and we'll do that through the national School Lunch program and see what they have to recommend for us. MRS. Elliott, if you still have the floor. I just say it's quite frustrating because this isn't our first rodeo of this conversation. We talked about this before, and to MISS Dixon's point, I agree with you. There should be in the front when the student comes in, whether they are getting the tray or getting the other lunch, the wow sandwich. So I still think we have an opportunity to try to execute this, this school year in a timely manner. Because listen, if we the board doesn't do anything well, it's been months

087that this could have already been executed. And this 720 could have possibly been half. So I think maybe the motion is, you know, what would be. I guess I'll ask the superintendent what is the timely amount? How much time do you need to be able to execute this to have in the beginning of the line, to know whether they can get the hot lunch? I think the major challenge is staffing and and it looks different, like I said, at every school. So I would let MR. Mullins just kind of give a general overview of what that would look like, transitioning to a different logistical model. Yeah. Once I think we are able to find out from the vendor what is doable, it could just be a device when the student comes up to the line

088that you scan at that point, like you're talking about, I don't know if that's doable. That's it. And I don't know if he's going to speak on that or not, but I hear you, and we'll make every effort that we can to see what is technically eligible to unfold, what you're looking for. Thank you. Some of the challenges that we're going to experience are the extending lunch lines. We're going to have challenges at the elementary school level. How do you determine if a student has brought a lunch or is not eligible for lunch, but actually needs to eat, which is one of our challenges as of why we don't control the lunch line or the the cafeteria dining area. So being able to implement devices, even if it's a point of sale device, a tablet

089or a scanning device, you're going to have to have somebody operate that device. You couldn't have a kiosk in place with wireless infrastructure to say, okay, scan and go, because then that student might just scan their badge and still go through the line without any type of control setup. We're definitely going to look into it and see if there's any other district able to overcome this challenge. But one of the big reasons that we have the lunch program is to be able to feed students, and at the end of the day, we don't know before they enter the line if they need that meal or not. Thank you. So we'll just take some time and be able to come back with a plan to see how we could logically institute a different method. So we'll

090come back with that. MR. Spielberg. Thank you, MADAM Chair, and I appreciate all the time to be able to speak on this really important issue. And also just that I want to recognize that food and nutrition services is incredibly problem solving. And I appreciate that that they're coming with solutions. The biggest issue here is that we need to curb the practice of students just walking through the line, because, respectfully, to many of our students, they know exactly what they're doing by going through the line. They know that they cannot pay. Right. So that is or I'm sorry, they know that they can pay and they're choosing not to. You know, I also want to just address the fact, and this is probably somewhat hypocritical, you know, beggars can't be choosers here, but it's not only

091our seniors. I did just highlight that, but there are students across this district who will continue to incur meal debt that will not just disappear at the end of the school year. So really the question, and I mean this incredibly respectfully, is if that's going to end up being absorbed by the board, why not do it now? Right. Why not resolve that issue for our students? And the Food and Nutrition Services team did an amazing job rolling this out. But they there was very limited communication directly to students about this. So on day one of the 2627 school year, we can really inform students it's a new school year, this is a new process and we can start fresh. And I'm confident with the new student advisors, and we will help as much as we

092can to get that process done, where students are very understanding that that process of just going through the line and incurring a debt will not continue. But like I said, that there are students in this district who have severe anxiety. Talk about needing to see a mental health professional. This is needing to see a mental health professional. And I just I worry for those students that maybe don't know that this is in place. So I really just ask that the board considers beyond seniors. Seniors are important. That is to me, a non-negotiable. But so are the students that go through our schools every single day. Thank you. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to call the question. Motion made by me, seconded by DR. Zeman. All in favor of calling the question, say

093I. All opposed? Say no one dissenting vote. So we've got. So the call to question passes. All in favor of the substitute substitute motion. Say I all opposed. Say no, no roll call. Roll call on substitute motion. Bulman. On the substitute motion. MADAM Chair, can you repeat the substitute motion, please? Substitute motion. Mrs. Hixon. The substitute motion was to pay for the seniors now. And bebeuse. A the reasonn I saidd thatasas b because there debt, that ts s is an estimate. We don't know what the total is going to be. So pay. Because Landon mentioned that they can't do their senior stuff. So the motion is to pay for seniors now and wait for the other part until the end of the year. That's the motion. So roll call. Board member Bulman. No. Cervera. Hixon.

094Yes. Wholeness. No. Leonardi. No. Rupert Thompson Zeeman. Nope. And Alhadeff. Yes. Motion fails six three. All right, we are back to the item. I'd like to call. The question on the item. Does it need a second? Seconded by MISS Rupert. All in favor of calling the question I. I all opposed say no. All right. All in favor of item 18, say I. I all opposed say no item passes with one dissenting vote for MISS Hixon. All right. Can I get a motion, a second item number one. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman, second by MISS Rupert public comment on item one. No comment. Or discussion on item one. All in favor of item one, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no. Item passes unanimous. Unanimously. Motion a second. Item two moved by DR. Zeman. Seconded

095by MISS Rupert. Public comment on item two. No comment. Board member discussion. All in favor of item two? Say aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Motion a second. Item three. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman. Seconded by Hixon. Public comment on item three. No comment. Board discussion. All in favor of item three say I. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Motion second on item four moved. Moved by DR. Zeman. Second by MISS Hixon. Public comment. Item four. No comment. Board member discussion. All in favor of item four, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Motion a second. Item five. Chair, can I recommend we do five through eight together? Sure. Motion a second. Item five through eight. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman. Second by MISS Rupert. Public

096comment on five through eight. No comments. Board member discussion. All in favor of items five through eight say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no. Items passed unanimously. Motion and a second. Can I take ten and 11 together? No, no. Okay, motion a second. Item ten, please. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman. Second by MISS Hixon. Public comment on item ten. No comment. Board member discussion. All right. All in favor of item ten, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Motion second item 11. So moved. Second moved by DR. Zeman. Second by MISS Rupert. Public comment on item 11. No comment. Board member discussion. No. Okay, all in favor of item 11, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. A motion a second on item 12. So moved second. Moved

097by DR. Zeman. Second by MISS Hixon. Public comment. No comment. Board member discussion. MISS Thompson. Thank you chair, I just we had talked about graduations last time, and there was discussion that staff was going to work with partners. I was wondering if there's any update from staff about graduations. I know that work is still in process. I know there's a meeting on the books this week, but I'll turn it over to Doctor Wanza to provide any additional updates. Since that came up at the last school board meeting. Thank you, doctor Dr Fulton. So we actually did have a meeting last week. Friday, Doctor Hepburn brought education foundation strategic initiative partnerships. I was I was in the meeting as well, chief of Staff and communications. MR. Sullivan was there and we have the framework and I

098to actually go out for sponsorship packages, if you will, for graduation some this year for this year to get it off the ground this year. I know Doctor Hepburn was going to have a conversation with the board today, or at least get the board's input that as we go out for sponsorships from the community and various business entities that people wanted to know specifically what they would be donating to, and he's walking in. So I don't want to take his thunder, but his specific conversation with the board was going to be around the monies that raised primarily for graduations and secondarily for the student meal debt. So it was, was that a nice segue? Yes, absolutely. I think we're talking about what I was going to ask the board. So one thing we've met with

099before and kind of putting our sponsorship strategy together, but one of the things that's important to the people that we need to go out for outreach, to support these, to support what we're trying to do is being very clear about what their money is going to be used for. And so I think the priorities were originally we said, all right, we'll bring the the earnings back to the board and make a decision on where that money goes. I don't think that's going to bode well with people who are willing to give money. They give they give money for specific purposes. So I know the two top priorities were support for graduation, funding for the venues and also student meal debt. So that would be my recommendation is to focus on those two priorities as we

100go out to sponsors, to solicit sponsors and engage with them about the initiatives that we want them to support. And because I'm afraid we might not get support if we say, oh no, we're going to bring it back and let the board make a decision, no, no, thank you. But if we have to stick to certain priorities and I recommend those too, because that's kind of how this discussion kind of originated. We can go to sponsors and talk to them about that and garner their support for that. Any other board discussion? All in favor of item 12, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Could I get a motion a second item 14. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman, seconded by MISS Hixon public comment. No comment. Board member discussion. MR. Cervera.

101Trying to get a clear picture of the amount that's being asked of this board to approve. In reviewing the executive summary materials. Am I incorrect here in my understanding that this board is being asked to approve almost $2.8 million for disposable cafeteria food trays? Doctor Hepburn. That is correct. And that will cover the entire year, school year, next year. Go ahead, MR. White. No, sir. That's just for the balance of this fiscal year. Next year, for the balance of next year, it requires $10.9 million. Hold on $13 million altogether. So it's $13 million for disposable food trays for the 2627 school year. Well, you're only voting to approve on the $2.7 million right now. But for the total amount, you're buying 31 million trays at 8.8 cents apiece. Okay. Let me ask a follow up

102question. I'm looking at the chart here. And unless I'm interpreting this incorrectly. So please stop me if I'm wrong. The budgeted amount in the spend for the trays for the 2526 school year was $2.7 million. Hold on one second. Sir Derek Clark, Food and Nutrition Services you were right. Originally. The 2.7 is for next fiscal year. For the entire year. Okay. I want to try to conceptualize this in in my brain and talk school years, not fiscal years. Yes. How much did we spend on cafeteria trays for the 2526 academic school year in Broward County Public schools. 2.7 million. Okay. And you're asking this board to spend 10 million for the 2627 school board school year? No, sir. Sorry. No, that's for the actual duration of the contract since 2023. That's correct. Okay, so I

103want to go back and ask the question again. How much are we being asked to spend for the 2627 academic school year in Broward County Public Schools? 22. 7 million. Okay. So this amount is according to this chart appears to be in line roughly $2 million. What we paid in 2023, the 20 2324 school year, the 2024 2025 school year, and now the 2025 2026 school year. Is that accurate? Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Missus Alhadeff. Is there a reason why we don't use plastic card trays? I asked that same question to go back to old school and wash dishes, but I think many of the schools have those type of components anymore. When you visit a school, you go to the cafeteria. You don't see the conveyor belt with the dishwashers and all of

104that. It's more about the trays and compostable, biodegradable trays. These days are what most of the companies are making, so they can decompose fast in the landfills. So we don't have the ability to wash dishes. No. Okay. Anyone else? All in favor of item 14? Say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no. No. Roll call please. $0.08. Put food in your hand. Oh. School board members. Cervera. That's a no no. Your mic. I can hear you from the mic. Sorry, but I've got you as a no Hixon. Yes, holiness. Yes. Leonardi. Yes. Rupert. Thompson. Zeeman. Yep. Alhadeff. No. Bowman. Yes. For now, as we move to a more sustainable option. a yes and passes seven two. Can I get a motion and a second on item number 15. So moved. Moved by DR. Zeman, second by

105MISS Hixon public comment. No, ma'am. Board member discussion. All in favor of item 15, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Say no item passes unanimously. Can I get a motion? A second item 16. So moved. 17 chair. That was withdrawn. Okay. Sorry about that motion. A second on item 17 moved. Moved by DR. Zeman, second by MISS Hixon. Public comment. No, ma'am. Board member discussion. All in favor of item 17? Say I all opposed. Say no item passes unanimously. At this time. Do any of my colleagues have any student successes to share or. You want to go before. Or after up to the chair? MR. Sullivan, I just want to go over some workshop. Topics. Topics just to see where the board wants to. Your pleasure, chair. If i can do it now or later. Go

106ahead. So I wanted to suggest moving some stuff around for next week. So so we have a workshop and a special right now there's two heavy items on the workshop. We already started an earlier start time at 8 A.M. But I'm still concerned with the time. So I wanted to give the board some options. So in the workshop itself, we have two heavy items the rfp for owner rep agreements and then the sro transition plan. Both those items we anticipate being heavy lift items in terms of public participation and board discussion. And then special that starts at three right now has the org chart and job descriptions. We anticipate that also being quite lengthy. And then we have the referendum. So my suggestion to the board is moving the referendum to MAY 5th, which is

107the following week, that board meeting agenda items don't seem to be controversial or lengthy at the moment, and I don't. I believe that's probably the least time sensitive item for the board's consideration next week. Can I ask you a question, though, about that? Because isn't our referendum supposed to come before the county next week? Yes, but that that is they're voting on the resolution. It has nothing. It's not directly related on the allocation. So they don't need to know the allocation to take up that resolution. Okay. DR. Zeman. I just think it's a great recommendation. I appreciate it, MR. Sullivan. We do have more time. More importantly, I think, though, is, you know, kind of in a perfect world, we would at some point have negotiations completed. Remember, we're ten months into a 12 month

108year and we have not even settled this year's finances. Without that, we can't settle next year's budget because we don't know what this year's expenditures are going to be. And then the referendum is for 27 to 31. So going to MAY 5th hopefully gives the staff and the collective bargaining unit its time to get together and figure out what we're going to be doing this year so that we can settle finances, work on the budget. Remember, the budget's due at the end of the year, JUNE 30th, and then we'll have better planning period the further we push back that referendum vote. Any other comments on MR. Sullivan's recommendation? All right. Do you have your direction? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Oh go ahead. DR. Zeman is it possible we start before three? It sounds to me

109like from eight to noonish, we should be able to do the owner's rep, rfp and the sro plan and then start right after that with the org chart and job description, which I think is going to take 4 or 5 hours. Easy. So go ahead. MR. Sullivan. I'm sorry. Through the chair, the way we have advertised right now is 3 P.M. We're immediately after the workshop. In the interest of the community, I would love to give them a more reasonable expectation of what time it is. And I think we're going to be done before three would be just just my guess. I'm one of nine, but I would rather state that we're doing it earlier if all we're doing in the morning is the rfp owner's rep, and then we're doing the sro plan, couldn't

110we do that in four hours? So right now we are we have scheduled seven hours. We have one, two, three policies and we're allocating two hours for those three policies. It probably won't take two hours. Then we have two hours for the owner's rep. I believe that will be two hours and then three hours for the sro transition plan, which I believe is probably a true representation of the time that. I withdraw my recommendation. We will we will be here late. I just will ask my colleagues, to the extent on job descriptions in particular, if we can come in with any changes you want preprinted, that would save us a boatload of time. And chair, if I MAY. Also, given the the realities of the changes that the superintendent got in the in terms of

111the org chart, that the fact that we have to now do additional job descriptions or modifications and and notify different impacted employees. Our goal is to have it before Friday. But realistically, we wouldn't have that item posted until probably midday Friday. Sure. Do we have to do job descriptions with the org chart or can we do them two weeks later? You have to do job descriptions before and then the org chart. The job description actually is what depicts the org chart. MISS Hixon. Thank you. Just to that point. And then I have some student success things. Can the general counsel address whether it's a violation of any law to post it at the time, he suggested, because we did have community members concerned and we've gotten emails saying that posting it that late was a

112violation of the of the law. So can you just address that real quick? So this is a special meeting. The law requires us to post within 48 hours, but it's really important to remember what we're talking about. Florida Statute 286.011 requires that the. Notice that the public be noticed of the meeting. The meetings are open and minutes taken. So if you need to. For example, what was commented on was, you know, we posted the org chart on Wednesday and then on Friday there was an update. That's not a violation of the Sunshine law, so long as we provide the agenda and it's properly noticed, open to the public and meetings taken, that makes sure that we are in compliance. Now, if you want to change a substantive item, you're adding something to the agenda. Then

113you would go through good cause. But if the items are up there already and you're just making an update to a document because the backup documents are not necessarily part of the sunshine requirement, it's those three things that I mentioned before. Thank you. So my successes in student things. So today actually it started already. So you couldn't go today. But today and tomorrow at 6:00 Coral Cove. That's why I'm wearing the shirt today is doing a performance of the Wizard of Oz at the Miramar Cultural Center. So if you're available, you should go see that they it's you would not know that you're watching an elementary performance. Also want to give congratulations to Landon and Yassir for being two of four students that received a $2,500 scholarship from the Broward League of Cities. [Applause] In

114addition to Jasper and Landon, we had another student from South Broward High School, Maya Quiz, who also received a scholarship. So three out of four scholarship winners were from Broward County Public Schools and two from South Broward high schools to go Bulldogs. Anyone else with a student success? MR. Cervera. I, I have a question, but I'd prefer to let my colleagues finish their student success stories before I ask my question to General Counsel. MISS Thompson. Thank you chair. I'm hoping to end on a positive note, so I hope your question is a positive question. It's debatable. So I would like to give a shout out to West Broward, who ranks number one in Broward for raising an amazing $15,510 during their Best Buddies friendship. Walk into the club. PRESIDENT Izzy Fuentes, who was Broward's top

115fundraiser bringing in $8,900. Thank you. Anyone else? [Applause] Anyone else? MR. MISS Bulman, were you raising your hand? On Sunday? MISS Hixon and I had the pleasure of going to the Hollywood Art and Culture Center to see the ap, art students and all of their art. That was under the theme of. I think it was fine. Yeah. The playlist. So just a wide variety. And it's another example of thehewesome work thth our kidssre dng in our hoolols. Itasas really, really cool. So thanks. Thank you. Anyone else? MR. Cervera. To our General Council Chair, if I MAY, to put it lightly, I did not agree with the chair's position today in cutting the speaker's time down from 1 minute to 3 minute. I think that has an adverse effect and a chilling effect on people's free

116speech rights, especially in the context of them being able to address their elected officials who represent them in their respective districts. My question to you, ma'am, is if the chair makes that decision, does the board have any recourse, whether it be by a vote or anything of that nature to overturn that decision? So for purposes of of the example today, to reinstate the previously agreed upon, which is in policy, I believe, three minute opportunity for the public to speak. So your policy is very clear on that particular topic, and it gives the discretion to the chair. So in order to change it, it would have to be the chair's discretion, or you'd have to do a change to the actual policy. Thank you for the clarification, MADAM General Council. Thank you, MADAM General Counsel, what

117is the policy say about total public speaking time? 30 minutes. Okay. And I did I extend that today. Yes you did. To how much time? Oh I don't know how many speakers, but it was extensive. Unlimited. Yes. Unlimited. There was no limits as to how many public speakers. I just want to thank MADAM General Counsel, as well as our security staff and our police officers here today. Everyone was very proactive about ensuring the safety and productivity and efficiency of the meeting. We had a meeting yesterday. MADAM General Counsel was on the phone with me a lot, drafted a lot of scripts, issued a lot of memos. But I really am grateful to our officers for maintaining decorum and the audience being very proactive. I think we had a really good meeting, considering the high emotions

118that we were dealing with. So I'm just very grateful to our officers and our security staff. [Applause] Thank you. We we couldn't do this without you. All right. The scheduled order of business for the special school board meeting of the school board of Broward County, Florida, has been completed. Seeing no objections, I will adjourn the special school board meeting.