001Ramona Brooksbank, Florida. I just want to say how proud of you I am. My daughter looks up to you. She loved watching you at the play. She like seeing you here. We love watching these videos. I was getting teary-eyed at the videos because it's reminiscing about where my oldest was last year. And and it's so beautiful to see. I love seeing all the students and you put that all together and so beautifully. You do an amazing job. I'm sorry there are ugly people in this world. They have no idea what they're talking about, but we stand with you. I firmly believe taking away the student representative position isn't the answer because that's caving in and saying, "Oh, you win." He was right. Nope, doesn't work that way. I think that should be left up to
002whoever the student representative is and the parent. Um we talk about parental rights. Well, if that was my daughter in there, I would make that decision with her. Give me my parental rights for that. That's all I'm saying. So, I'm not going to go too more deep into that in case it comes back, we can have a discussion and have public input. Um on Last month on the 26th, I had the unfortunate incident of having my phone blowing up about a bus attendant that was beaten up by a student. Student that has had issues um from what I understand and was basically told to sweep it under the rug. This bus attendant was sent to the hospital under trauma. This is not okay. And I don't agree with it. If there is issues with students
003acting out that can hurt anybody from a student, from attendant, from a teacher, anybody, that student needs to be expelled and out of here. I I'm all Everybody knows I stand up for all students, but when we don't have the funding and we don't have the resources to help some students and they are physically hurting other people, that is a problem. We should We don't tolerate it when it does They do it to another child or we're not supposed to, but we're going to tolerate it when they do it to an adult. No, doesn't work that way. Everybody knows I love public education. They all know that I stand up for every single one that works here, works with our kids. They do a lot for our kids and they don't deserve that treatment. My
004kids If my kid did that, my kid would have my foot up their rear. Just saying. This is not okay. So, we need to figure out why something's not being reported. We need to figure out why it's gotten to this extreme extent. And we need to know why we're being They're being told to sweep things like this under the rug. I still haven't heard any answers. The only one that contacted me had a has contacted me here lately when I bring up issues, it's Casey. So, I went to Casey with it. And guess what? She called me back. You guys are taking care of it. So, I hope it was taken care of. I would like to see us do better. We're not perfect. We're never going to be perfect, but darn it, we can
005work towards it. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Diane Sa- I'm not It's not real clear. Salden? Swain. Thank you. Good evening. Diane Swain, Brooksville, Florida. Thank you, Hernando County School Board and District. And I want to thank you for highlighting a uh Autism Awareness Month. Promoting awareness helps educate and eventually shift focus from awareness to acceptance. 1 in 31 children in the US are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder by eight. Autism is every school in Hernando County, some silent and some known. Elementary school support along with an IEP or critical as this is where a parent's journey and intervention start. In order to make it In order to make sure your child reaches their full potential, it is important to receive services as soon as possible. You can enroll in public school
006at 3 years old, qualify for an IEP all while still in diapers. An IEP outlines special education services, goals, and accommodations for eligible public school children with disabilities. IPs are dominant, leveraged, and followed. Since medical doctors' diagnoses are not recognized on your IEP, request an ASD assessment by your school psychologist so that your primary exceptionality is accurate with your ASD diagnosis. Early intervention at school can include speech therapy, OT, and FBA BIP for any behavioral issues, IQ testing, learning school curriculum, interacting with other kids, even potty training. You can keep outside therapies fully excused and your spot remains in public school. Parents can register with UF CARD, the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, and connect with the educational platforms that they provide. CARD is a community-based program funded by the Florida Department of Education.
007They work with every Florida school to support individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals who work with them. They can attend IEP meetings, observe in the classroom, provide feedback to school and parent free of charge. Since autism is a spectrum, every autistic child has different needs, unique strengths, and challenges along with different treatment plans. Some kids speak with words, some with behaviors, some need extra time, some need extra support. All of them deserve patience, all of them deserve respect, and all of them deserve to be included, not just accommodated. This is about proper support. This is about working as a team with your school. This is about doing better for all. Proper training in any school shouldn't be optional, it should be mandatory. We thank our hardworking teachers who walk with us side by
008side helping and guiding us. We hope We hope all have access to valuable training about autism. This is so much There are so much to learn starting out. It can be overwhelming and you are who we fall to. What did autism teach our family? Compassion, patience, advocating, advocating, advocating, and the importance of believing in possibilities. With ASD, progress does not always happen quickly. Sometimes it arrives quietly, step by step, almost unnoticed until one day you realize just how far you've come. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lisa Masserio. Good evening again. Lisa Masserio, Hernando Classroom Teachers Association President. Um I wanted to just add one detail to my previous comments about the ratification vote. We had over 1,000 people vote ratification and it was approved by 92%. So, I think that that is um that's
009that's a strong statement, right? Is that we um were able to talk to people, connect with them, um and as I said before, although it's not something that people are happy and satisfied with, it was a collective understanding of the situation that we were all facing regarding the funding issues currently. Um But, the topic for my pink form was the school district as a community. So, this is our community as a school district. We all are members of the school district community. And we have to take responsibility with each other together, parents, teachers, educators, staff, school board members, and we have to put our students in the middle and we don't let anybody get to our students, right? So, we make sure our students are going to be protected. We support them. And >> [clears
010throat] >> in situations where any individual is facing harassment, the bad actors in those situations should be the ones who don't have access to any of us, right? So, the channels that continue to empower the bad actors, the direct channels to pick up the phone and have the tail wag the dog, those are what need to be stopped and those are what need to be cut off because that is part of what's feeding the obsession and the social media and everything about it, right? That access needs to be Like we decide we're We're the ones taking a situation very seriously and we say, "No more." to people who choose to harass our students, our children. No more, right? So, I would ask those of you serving as public figures, um I know that you are
011exposed to that level of scrutiny and it's not fair, right? The harassment level, scrutiny. It shouldn't be there for anyone regardless, elected official or not, but it for sure shouldn't be there for students. And we get to decide that, right? We get to decide who gets access to us and who gets our ear and who we listen to. And I think when we start making those moves to say, "No, you're not relevant. You're not important to this equation." That's when we make progress. And I also think that the student agency is a very important factor in all of this. So, Jasara, we support you and we are so happy that you're a student representative because you're doing an amazing job. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Gracie Maloney. Good um Good evening. Gracie.
012Um I would like to talk about try um No, cheer. I'm trying out for cheer this year. I'm actually super grateful that I get to try out. And if I don't make it set because there's two um cheers, line and um competition. So, I'm doing line first. That's be safe if I ever make it. and if I don't make it, then I'm going to do competition that gives me another chance, and that that that means I learn the moves, I know what to work on, and if I don't also make it, I'll try for volleyball. And I'm super grateful. And um graduating coming up that is so meaningful to me. Going into middle school means so much and leaving elementary, I'm grateful for all the memories from kindergarten all the way to fifth grade. Thank
013you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Diana Earls. Good evening. My name is Diana Earls, uh Brooksville, Florida, Spring Hill, Florida. Um >> [snorts] >> I am an ESE inclusion teacher at Springstead High School. Um most of my paid daily tasks include remediating, accommodating, um being that 12th grade cheerleader, like Ms. Taylor is. I pride myself in that every day of my life. Um I did ask and put myself in the hat to become a student delegate sponsor at Springstead High School because it provided me access to balance my day with students such as De'Sara, who have a higher order level of thinking, and provide the enrichment to my day. >> [snorts] >> Um I'd like knowing what was happening, and um myself personally have been subjected to this same internet behavior. Um I was
014hesitant to speak, and I didn't know where to go with what I would say, where there's so many directions I could go. So, I'd like to tell you about my week. Um in my current 12th grade English class, uh the assignment is for my seniors, myself and Mr. Sapone, who we co-teach, is for our students to stand up and give a 2-minute public speak about anything they would like. They were to present three topics. Him and them chose together their topic, and then he they presented in front of the class. Their assignment was public speaking. >> [snorts] >> One of [clears throat] my seniors, I did speak with him again today after he stood up to speak yesterday, uh to verify that I could share his information. Sean Burrows stood up this week, and he
015gave a speech on building character. He gave approximately six to eight examples of people in his life that helped him go from where he was as a child to where he is as a graduating senior. The third person he mentioned mentioned in his speech was De'Sara. Sean enlightened us in our classroom that on his first day of third grade in Suncoast Elementary School in Ms. Zelinsky's class, he was crying. He was bawling, and De'Sara was the only person who was nice and kind to him, and let him know that it was going to be okay. In that moment, my higher power gave me my aha moment of what I would share with you today. I would like you to understand that. I would like you to understand why this program is important. Like you to
016understand the impact that students have on other students, and why having an adult to do that versus other students is not same as equal representation. I would absolutely disagree with student delegates' ability to be strength strong through this program. I have confidence in the senior delegate sponsors at every school, their peers, administration at their schools, Ms. Crisp, to know the relationship with the delegates and their ability to be able to do so. I also agree with the comment that that responsibility comes with a parent to student. I also have full confidence in the student support program and Jill Colossus' program to provide programs that are district has to support students who are being subjected to harassment and bullying. I would also like Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mrs. Susan Pribble.
017>> [clears throat] >> You do. Hi, I'm Susan Pribble. I live in Brooksville, Florida. I'm a retired teacher. I wasn't intending to talk tonight. Usually, I write things down and rehearse. Um uh being aware of the harassment that our student rep has taken, um and I know I've talked to you on the phone, Sean, and I don't doubt your sincerity in wanting to protect the student, but I think that's the wrong way to go about it. We're letting Basically, it's one young person who many of us know we know about him as he went through our school district, and he's getting a lot of attention online now by bullying teachers, students, and other community members, and we're allowing that to happen. It's been a few months. He should have been called out immediately at the
018very first one. What he does, for those who don't know, is he makes up fake news. And no he he modifies pictures and changes them, and nobody who has any sense is actually believing that, but unfortunately, there are some people in our county and other nearby counties who fall into the fear. He should be stopped. We should not stop this wonderful program. I also think if you are a school board member who is endorsed by this person, and you know who you are, you should denounce that right away. Thank you. >> [applause] >> And thank you very much, and that concludes our citizen input. Mr. Myers, at this time, do you have any closing comments? >> I I don't have any closing comments, Madam Chair. Thank you, sir. Board members, closing comments? Mr. Johnson. Well,
019>> [clears throat] >> I understand I have that individual blocked. I don't speak to him. I don't have any contact with him. I don't have any control over what he does. I do understand he has endorsed me. I have never sought any endorsement from any individual in the public. The only endorsements I ever ever sought to get were from public officials, elected officials. So, I do not condone that. Uh I I wanted to make that very plain and very clear. Uh I I take this very seriously. I take protection of the students very seriously. One of the reasons I thought would best to table that other argument was to research and look at the pros and cons. This is something that came up tonight. Um short notice. The school district is limited in what action
020we can take against the individual. A- and we have talked and had conversations to determine what we can legally do with this individual. I'm not going to get into what the what the discussions were. I'm not going to get into the outcomes. I'm not going to get into any strategies. But we are restrained by what he has done and how he has done it. Um I would hope that the sheriff will will would look into it a little deeper. As we all know, this is is harassment. I really hope he does. De'Sara, you know we all love you. We all respect you. And we know the falsehoods of the accusations. Uh that's all I have to say. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Mrs. Duval. I don't think he'll ever endorse me. >> [laughter] >> So, no
021need to worry about that. >> [laughter] >> Um I can bring the wrath of this person on me easily by saying something and what I'd really like to say, um I would at least divert his attention for a while and give him another 15 minutes worth of fame. Um I I Okay, I'll just say it. If you haven't looked up information on this person via the sheriff's department, maybe you should. Because if people take the word of this person over the actions and the kindness of our student delegate, I'm sorry for those people. Because obviously, they're not thinking right. This gentleman No, this person is not gentleman. This person is mean, he's vindictive, and he's looking for his moment again, his 15 minutes. And he just keeps adding on to it. That's why I didn't
022want to say anything tonight. But oh well, I did. I don't do social media. >> [laughter] >> You all know that. If you know me, you know I don't do it, and there's a reason for it. There's many reasons for it. And this is a big one right here that we're facing with this person. I don't need this crap. I don't think he should be allowed to do this, but okay, first amendment rights. But there's also a responsibility that comes with every one of our rights. And if he doesn't know that, we're in trouble. Because we should not be saying things in a vindictive, mean, just son of a gun kind of way, you know? Shouldn't do it. I try my darndest, and I'm not always successful, but I try to live by the golden
023rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you can live by that, I think, and if I can live by that, then I'm going to help make this world a little bit better place. This dude doesn't even acknowledge that kind of belief. He's the exact opposite. And it just burns me up that he does this and gets away with it under the guise of first amendment rights. You can be right, but you can be so terribly wrong in doing it. So, I've opened the door for him. I won't read it, so it doesn't matter to me. >> [laughter] >> He's just Yeah, look up on the sheriff's site. I could tell you a little bit more about him, but I probably would get in trouble then. And maybe I will
024later. Uh But Yeah, he's not he's not he's not nice. He has no intention of being nice. He has no intention of being fair. He has no intention of being a responsible young person, medium-age person, old person. He will probably stay the same. I don't know what's going to change his life path, but I wish it would change for his own sake. I'm I think I will just stop right now. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the support for Jazera. Um we do love her. She is strong. And she's going to become better because of this, believe it or not. Doesn't seem so right now, I know it, but it will be better down the line. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Ms. Bond? So, I read what's on the table and I think
025because I think we really need to look at this. My biggest priority is to protect every student in our schools. Um as most know, ESE is very fond in my heart. Um and we do have children that do hurt people, and they don't understand that they truly hurt people cuz it's part of their disability. And so it makes it hard sometimes, but do know that we don't want our staff hurt ever, and we don't ever want our staff to go somewhere, um especially in ER because a child's hurt them, but it does happen, unfortunately. Um I did in the informal talk about different disabilities because disabilities enter our schools every day, and it's a big part of our schools. Um what I can tell you with Jazera is I don't want to ever see any
026student go through this ever again. Um I buried a son. I don't wish that on any parent. Okay? And with that being said, I will do everything in my power to protect a child. And that's all I'm going to say. I wish you all good night, and thank you for coming. Thank you. Jazera. I just want to take a moment to recognize Ms. Crisp and Ms. Earls for supporting me through this in more ways than one. Half of the delegate stuff that has become overwhelming and mixed with everything else, they have made sure that I was able to keep on top of, so I'm very grateful for them. And I'm grateful for the support of everyone, everyone who said a kind word, everyone who tells me that I have the strength to keep going because
027it does truly mean a lot to hear that. I understood coming into this position that I was going to face scrutiny, that I was going to be targeted. It wasn't what I thought I was going to be targeted for. Um I am aware that I am the first person I am the first black woman to sit in this position. So I understood with that in a county that's not the most progressive just yet, that I might face backlash for that. So, I think that if you come in with the understanding that you may deal with something, you're able to comprehend things just a little bit better. But I will also add that I've been bullied since kindergarten. So, this is something that I hate to say, but I'm used to, and I'm also used to
028things not always being handled. So, when this thing started, I didn't expect it to just go away, and I think that everyone's like, it's going to go away, but I understood the fact that it wouldn't just go away. And I understand that I'm going to come out of this stronger, and I really hope that you choose not to remove this position because it is a place for students to learn and grow, but it's also a place for students to have a voice, and removing that, I feel I would take a bit of responsibility for. Whether it is my respons- like even if it's not my fault that this position is being removed. Um I will also like to say that my mom did mention to me that a student had mentioned me in his speech,
029and immediately as soon as she said like elementary school, second, third grade, I was like, oh, it's Sean. And I was like, oh my gosh, like and I still see him like throughout the days, and he has the biggest spread of smile, and I am so happy that I got to be a part of that, and I take the role that I play in other people's lives very seriously, and I'm thankful that I haven't let the hardships that I've gone through turn me into a mean person and tear people down instead of lifting them up, and I'm happy that I do get to lift people up, and that I am a role model for people because I take that very seriously, and I just want to say, thank you all, and I hope you have
030a lovely evening, and good night. >> [applause] >> Mr. Pender? Well, I'm only going to say one sentence about that, and I say it to Jazera, and I say it to everyone else, that just because someone has the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. So, we support you, and we appreciate you uh being who you are and representing the students as a delegate. Um I'd like to make a statement and switch gears a little bit. I I'd like to address the incident last week at Springstead High School by first commending the actions of the students and the staff and the SRO for their swift response to the situation, which was diffused within a minute of notification. Their actions demonstrated a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of our
031students and community. At the same time, we recognize there's always and every situation is unique, and there's always an opportunity for us to learn from and grow. Our priority is to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for our students, and we're committed to continuing to review our procedures, strengthen our training, and look for ways to improve our responsiveness to protect those in our care. We will we all contribute to helping improve the safety of our schools by the following by following the simple guidance. If you see something, say something. Thank you to everyone who plays a role in keeping our schools safe. Thank you, and I hope everyone has a good evening. Thank you. So, as many of you have come forward, and in a perfect world, yes, we would like to be able
032to take action and stop something that's happening that should not be happening, but unfortunately, it's just not that simple. It's not easy. We just don't have the ability to be able to always take action and intervene. So, with that being said, we cannot control the behavior of the public. Like I said earlier, especially on social media. What we can control is whether we continue to put a student in a position where they are vulnerable to that behavior. This is not about social media pressure. I know some of you have come up and said basically, we would be giving up. No, I think there's ways we can do something different, but it isn't about, once again, giving up. It isn't about letting somebody win. It's about making sure that a student survives. It's making sure that
033a student thrives. It's making sure that a student does not ever get to a point and get so low that there's no coming back from that. And I think that if we had a room full of parents that have lost a child for reasons of bullying and for situations that's out of their control, I think if you heard them stand up at the podium one after another after another and their testimonies, I think then you guys would probably flip the coin a little bit because there's two sides to both. So, you have to understand that if there's ever a war, you want me the front line with you. I will battle. I will fight. I am strong like that. And I commend Ja'Serra for being that strong. But once again, every person is unique. Every
034person has a backstory. Every person has situations. So, this world is not getting any easier. It's not getting any better. So, this is the reason that this is not just a Hernando County issue. This is county by county problem. And this is the reason why so many counties do away with this and they don't have it. Not completely eradicated, but revamp it and not have it to this degree. Sitting up here has put her in a position as an elected official, even though she's not, and it's put her to be a target. So, at the end of the day, we're not limiting student voice, but we are refusing to normalize student harm. And I think that any family would stand alongside of that. If you really stop and think about what really could be happening
035and how severe, we have to really consider something to do because, once again, it's happening. And as much as everyone wants to say, "Well, you guys can control it. Just ignore. Do this. Do this to You cannot. There's nothing you can do." We can control bullying in our brick-and-mortar buildings. We can control bullying from student to student, and we do. We have policies in place. We have procedures in place. We are anti-bullying. Completely. But unfortunately, we cannot control constituents. We cannot control what the outside decides to put on social media. That is out of our hands. So, as much as we all want to sit here and say, "Embrace this program. Leave her up here. Let's do the next. Let's do the next." until something terrible happens. So, at this moment, it is time for
036us to look at options. It is time for us to take this serious. It isn't just about that we're not going to we're going to concede. We're just going to, you know, let somebody have their way. It's way, way bigger than that. It's become really bad all over. And people are doing things now to people that it just was unheard of before. And now it's happening. So, the board does have a duty to respond when a student's well-being is impacted. So, I will not waver on that. Something has to be done. If a role creates exposure to harm, we must reassess how that voice is included. Not remove it entirely. But schools do have a responsibility to act. Our superintendent has a responsibility to act when student when their mental health are affected. And we
037have been in this. We have seen it behind the scenes. And it's not been good. So, we're not reacting to public commentary. We're not giving in. We're not just letting somebody win. You know what we are doing, though? We are being proactive and not reactive. And that's the problem that we could be faced with if we do not make some decisions and make some changes. We have to create an environment that is safe, and right now it's an unsafe environment for students because of the computer warriors and because of the cyberbullying. There's a lot here that doesn't meet the eye. You don't understand as she sits here. We have reasons we cannot speak at this moment. But there's things behind the scenes. She might look great. Everything looks fine. But you guys have no idea
038some of the stuff that's happening. And it's not good. So, we have a responsibility. And our responsibility is to keep her safe. And our responsibility is to keep every student safe. And I hear you. And I know that you do not want this program to end. Nor do I. But something has to be done for the sake of we cannot continue. Other districts are removing you sitting up here and the next student up here because when you're here, you are absolutely a target and no one can protect you. Not any of you. Not any of us. She cannot be protected. He or she, whoever sits up here. And at the end of the day, it is in our hands to have to make the decisions. That's what we're elected for, and it's not always easy,
039but we have to make what's right and what's safe for our children. So, that's where I stand. Something needs to be done. We'll have to look at what we our options, but no more is it like it used to be where everybody could be up here, everybody got along. It's turned volatile. And unfortunately, these are babies that we have to protect. So, I thank you guys all for coming out. I thank you for your opinions. I thank you for your feedback. I think together we can all come up with some solutions, and I think it does take all of us. And I think everybody's heart is in the right place. I think all of us have um the student safety first and foremost. So, I appreciate each and every one of you supporting the schools
040and being here for all of us and all of you that work in our district and everyone who protects and loves these babies. So, God bless each and every one of you. I hope you guys have a wonderful night. Thank you. This meeting is adjourned at 7:41.