001[Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Wow. Hello. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Welcome to the October 7th regular meeting. I am calling this meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. The reflection will be provided by Mr. Johnson followed by the pledge of allegiance by Motton Elementary School. Mr. Johnson, >> thank you. Would everybody please stand and uh may our may God join us in our deliberations and guide the outcomes to help the children and the students under our charge. And tonight, our thoughts and prayers go out to uh Mr. motto and his family for their loss. And we'll have a second or two of silent reflection. >> Thank you. I pledge to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with
002liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Pender. Thank you, Motton Elementary, um, and Motton families for coming out to say the pledge tonight. You know, every every time we do the pledge and we have students here, we invite them to lead the pledge. And when I turn around and I'm facing the flag and you have all the adults up here waiting for students to lead us in that pledge and there's a bit of a pause but they always take the lead and lead us and I think that that's so important and every time they do it there's just that little pause but then they go. So you guys did a great job. We appreciate you leading us in the pledge and we appreciate all of you. You guys have a very large
003group from Motton coming here tonight. So, thank you for showing your support and coming out. And um Miss Duval will pass around the mic and you can introduce yourself, too. Thank you. >> I'm Tucker Smith and I'm in fourth grade. I'm Piper Carrera and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Abel Ramirez and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Annabelle Cook and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Kenya Zigner and I'm in fifth grade. >> I'm Violet Brag and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Luke Cavage and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Annalise Stacy and I'm in fourth grade. >> I'm Alana Compton and I'm in the fifth grade. I'm Haley Daruma and I'm in fifth grade. >> I'm Clifton. I'm and I am in fifth grade. >> I'm Kelsey Lar Roa and I'm in
004fifth grade. >> I'm Amly Morero and I'm in fifth grade. I'm Sai Turner and I'm in fifth grade. [Applause] And a Chick-fil-A cow to your schools, please. and a gift card I think for a meal too. It goes with the cow. So, thanks to Chick-fil-A. [Applause] Did Did you guys want a picture? No, you're good. Okay. Oh, you took it before. Gotcha. Mrs. Martin, Patty Martin, can you hear us? >> Can you come to the podium, please? Thank you. you're getting ready to see is just a snippet of all of the amazing things that are happening at Motton Elementary. >> Can you introduce yourself? >> Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Patty Martin. I'm the principal of Motton Elementary. Sorry, I assumed you guys all knew. >> Um, but this is just a a snippet of all
005of the great things that are happening at Motton Elementary. You're going to see some of our clubs there. you just see that we are learning about different um jobs, not just firefighters and policemen, but all kinds of different jobs that are both available in Brooksville and outside of Brooksville as well. We just have a lot of amazing things happen there, and most of you guys have been there, but of course, you're always welcome to come and check us out. We're kind of like a little hidden gem back there. So, you're welcome to come and see all the amazing things happen at Motton. >> Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Superintendent Pender, community members, students, faculty, and staff. At this time, on behalf of the Hernando County School District, I would like
006to recognize the following Motton Elementary School employees for exemplary service with the district for more than 30 years. As I call your name, please receive your certificate and stay at the front for a group photo. Robin Kidd in recognition of 34 years. >> Jodie Mills in recognition of 34 years. Michelle Ross in recognition of 34 years. Lisa Henderson in recognition of 32 years. [Applause] And Kimberly Bugner in recognition of 30 years. girl. Don't All right. [Applause] Item number one, 26-3351, the approval to adopt the revised agenda dated October 7th, 2025. Can I please have a motion and a second? Please vote. And that motion passes five to zero. Thank you. Are there any elected officials in the room? Item number two, 26-3345, recognition of Southwest Florida Water Management District employees. >> Good evening, Madam Chair,
007members of the board, Superintendent Pender, community members, students, faculty, and staff. At this time, on behalf of the Hernando County School District, I would like to recognize the numerous employees of the Southwest Florida Water Management District who contributed their time, talent, and treasure through their donation of hundreds of new shoes to help the students at Brooksville Elementary School start the year off on the right foot. In attendance to present the certificate of appreciation is R.J. Enman, the principal of Brooksville Elementary School. And here to receive the certificate of appreciation on behalf of the Southwest Florida Water Management District is Casey Cutman, a hydraulic data analyst for Southwest Florida Water Management District. If you all could come up front, please. [Applause] I was lucky enough to be at Brooksville Elementary the that this happened and occurred
008and it was an amazing amazing event and I so appreciate Southwest Florida Water Management for taking this project on. It was it's the employees of the organization who make this happen and that they take it on themselves and they pick out a school um every year to help the kids and the the number of shoes was just overwhelming and it is so it was great for our kids at Brooksville Elementary. So, want to thank SwiftMUD very much for taking this on and helping Brooksville Elementary. Sorry, the light wasn't on. Thank you, Mrs. Duval. Item number three, 26-3352, approval of the minutes from the workshop and regular school board meeting of 9:23 2025. Item number 4, 26-334, public hearing and final approval of the Hernando County. >> Oh, sorry. >> Let her reset that. >> Okay.
009Can I have a motion, please? >> Thank you. Please vote. >> And that motion passes 5 to zero. Thank you. Item number 4, 26-334, public hearing and final approval of the Hernando County School District's media handbook that received tenative approval at the September 9th, 2025 workshop. Do we have any white speaker forms for this item? >> We do not. >> Thank you. Can I please have a motion? >> A second. Board member, any discussion. Please vote. And that motion passes 5 to zero. Thank you. Item number 52, 26-3353, citizen input on agenda items. Are there any green speaker forms? >> Now we're on the portion of the adoption of the consent agenda and that is items number six through 24. Does anyone want to pull items from the consent? Okay, Mrs. Dval, go ahead. >>
010I want to uh again recognize the uh the new process we have for field trip forms for the district. And I do appreciate the willingness of the sponsors, coaches, administrators to continue to work with us as we refine this document and hopefully make it easier and easier for everyone to use. So, I'm not pulling any field trips. Yay. Um, but I do want to acknowledge it's it's this transition is difficult as with most change, but I do appreciate the hard work that's going into helping make this uh new form become a reality. That was it. Shannon, >> thank you, Mrs. Duval. And I would also like to thank you, Mrs. Duval, for spearheading that and taking that on. It's a lot of time and effort and you went through everything and you um made sure
011that we had um dotted our eyes and crossed our tees. >> I I thank u Kelly behind me, Kelly Pogue, Gina in the back, Lisa in the back. This uh was a concerted effort to try to make an improvement on how we handle business here. So, I do appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mrs. Cropley. Thank you, Mrs. Michaela. And thank you to our secretary Mrs. Pog, thank you for everything. Okay, can we please um move on to number 20? >> Oh, okay. >> We have a motion. We have a second. Okay, please vote. And that motion passes five to zero. Thank you. We're at the portion of the citizen input on general topics. This is number 2526-3354. Citizen input on Hernando County school issues on which the school board customarily takes action. Are
012there any pink speaker forms? >> Thank you. >> Mr. Myers, would you please read the instructions for this item? >> Sure thing. >> Thank you. Uh this is an opportunity for the public to address general matters not on the agenda this evening. Uh should uh speaker should have completed a pink citizen input form. The opportunity to to speak on topics uh not on the agenda. Uh if you have any attachments you wish to share with the board, please provide them to the board secretary. Prior to speaking, each speaker will have three minutes during this segment of of the of of the agenda. Uh speakers will be called to come forward by the chairman. Prior to making your remarks, please state your name and address for the record. Inquiries or comments made during citizen input may
013be followed up and reported to the board by the superintendent or staff thereafter. >> Thank you for that. >> Our first speaker is Mrs. Kimberly Moruni. [Music] Kimberly Morin, Brooksville, Florida. Good evening, board members, board chair, Superintendent Pender. I know the change in the volunt the volunteer for field trips came from uh state law change. Um as staff can volunteer because they already have been through the extensive process to be hired. My idea and question and thoughts on this are what about law enforcement and military personnel? Um, I know our school, right, for us to even go in for certain things, we have to be um a level one or level two. My oldest who's in the military doesn't really have is able to do that process because he's in the military, but if he's
014able to come down for something for my daughter, he wouldn't have enough time to do that. So, my questions and thought is if there could be um within the law because they're already been through the process. In fact, they go through drug testing. So, it's even more extensive. Um, if we could come up with maybe some ideas in regarding law enforcement and military personnel when it comes to um that whole volunteer and situation. Uh, sorry. Um, next I just want to say teacher, staff, bus attendance, bus drivers in attendance, thank you for everything you do. Liam um ha my Liam has Mrs. Liberty and Mrs. Barrett this year along with Mrs. long as his ESD support. Gracie has Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Silva, and Mrs. Statudo, and I'm sorry if I pronounced your name wrong as
015her ESC support teacher. I'm grateful to all six of them for their great communication we have had so far this year uh for the good of my little man and Gracie girl. They are great teammates that my husband and I have to ensure our kiddos are thriving and growing how they should in their educational grow goals. We are a team and we work together in their education journey. Um, I also want to talk about Mr. Lonnie Powell. He's an amazing driver. Like, he loves these kids like they're his own. He gets them to and from school safely each and every day. Um, I can never say enough about him. This is our second year having him. And it's because of people like him that I can rest easy that my kids are going to and
016from school on a bus. So, that that's an amazing thing. Also, um, I don't know if every school is doing it. uh leader in me challenger. Oh my god, Gracie loves it. It's an amazing thing that they're doing. She got to work with a kindergarten class and she loved it. It gives her confidence. It gives her um you know, feel like she's important, so to speak. And she absolutely loves it. Uh for my last 30 seconds, on October 30th, the second graders are doing the biography museum again. So at 2:45, please come out to Challenger and see that. These kids come up with some amazing things. I know Mrs. of all has been. These kids are just phenomenal when it happens. So, please come out and see what they come up with this year. Thank
017you. [Applause] >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Gracie Mun. >> Good afternoon. Um I cannot speak today. Good afternoon hero school district. Um I would like to talk about Laram. Um Lar is a new program that we started. Um um I was picked for one of a leader me because um I was showing a leader me and a leader me is where you're proactive, you're reactive. We learn all these um new stuff and it's amazing and Miss Latinas is our um teacher for liter and I had her in third grade for my RTI teacher. So she's amazing. And I would like to say the LE pledge real quick because I think it's actually really cool. Um, yeah. So, it called the Lear Me pledge. I pledge today the habits I will use to become
018a strong leader and spread the good news. I'll be proactive. I'm in charge of me. Begin with the end in mind. Planning is the key. Put first thing first. I'll work then play. Think when win every single day. I'll listen then speak so we can all be heard. It's how it works best. I understand the word. I will sanize because together is best. I will sharpen my saw to take care of the rest. Hear my voice. Listen to me. I'm going to be the best leader I can be. And proactive. I meant um Oh my god, what's that called? Sanize. It's like um you're working together. That's how we learned it. And we I feel like just l me is really cool because we get to do all these new things for trunk or treat.
019We can make these flower pens. Um like you take a flower, a fake flower and then you put you get a pen and then you wrap this like um green tape around and you get and then after you tape it around we it's we put in the um ready to go for the trunk or treat. So we get to make monster slime which is I did that and a lot of stuff. So I think it's awesome. And then the next thing I want to talk about is Mata. She's amazing at the ES thing. Okay. Um she we learned new ways how to minus, subtract, um tsing, and using decimals. And I learned a lot from that and I got way better at math. So, thanks for Miss Bailey and Miss Sat. Thank you. [Applause] >>
020Our next speaker is Beverly Co. It's going to be hard to beat that. Okay. >> Good evening, Madame Chair, Mr. Pender, and board members. Uh, happy National Band Book Week, which I know you all celebrate. Two things help us make sense of the world. Information and stories. Both explain, describe, and give language to the world we encounter. It is not a surprise then that banning books is a way of erasing stories, identities, and peoples and also reshaping understandings of the past. Now in 2025, book censorship in the United States is rampant and common. Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country. Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders, media specialists, and teachers into censoring according to the
021politicians political and/or religious ideological preferences, even threatening public funding and the suspension, firing, or even arrest of librarians and teachers. Never before have so many stories been stolen from so many students. In 2023, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 1069, stating that if a parent or community member, just one person in a school district, objected to a book that they found obscene, the school had to remove that book immediately and indefinitely until a public hearing took place. It makes far more sense to me that that one parent just doesn't allow their child to read the book and not legislate other people's children. Majority rule used to be how dem democracy worked. This past August, Florida federal judge Carlos Mendoza ruled that parts of HB 1069 are uncondition are unconstitutional and violate stu students first amendment right
022of free access to ideas. Of course, the state has filed an appeal, but I urge all free speech advocates to write and call your representatives. It can make a difference. This is about who controls information and access to knowledge. Some of the world's literary masterpieces are on the band book list. Also, please remember that no great civilization banned books. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mrs. Teresa Hunley. >> Hello. So, mine's not as happy as everyone else's. Um, my son goes to JD Floyd Elementary. I've been trying to get him a 504 since last year. I have all the medical documentation where Miss Goodwin denied it. They called me in for a meeting Friday to re get it, stating, you know, I wasn't doing my job as a parent not having it for
023him when they declined it last year. I have an open police case with J. D Floyd where a teacher put their hands on my son in the beginning of the year and the principal stated my son lied because there was no evidence to it. I have now had phone calls, voicemails every day of the week almost from my son being bullied at that school. The art teacher took a poll in class to see if he should go in the corner and let all the kids raise their hand if they thought he should. This is not okay. My son has now been talking about committing sui suicide at six years old. his uh psychiatrist actually is sending over documentation from our meetings because I've emailed all of you guys. I have attached all the attachments. I
024have done everything I possibly can. He has been out of school since Friday. He will never step back ground on that school. I got escorted off the property Friday because they thought I was recording our meeting. If you weren't hiding something, why would it be a big deal that I was recording the meeting for my son's 504? I'm not okay with the things going on at JD Floyd. It keeps getting nothing's being done about it. I have everything. I have emailed you guys notes home in his planner from where he's getting wrote up daily for his ADHD symptoms, moving, moving too much in PE. How do you get wrote up for moving too much in PE? It's physical activity. He's getting wrote up in art class, during the teacher, during his uh science, everything. He
025has severe ADHD. He is on medication. They have known this since last year, but last year he was getting special circumstances from his don. So, they declined his 504. Now, this year, they want him to have it and an IEP. Well, I told them this last year when they declined it, what was going to happen next year and now we're to this point. They wanted to fail him last year and now he's been out of school since Friday because we're zoned for Motton and I live off a county line and he will never go to Motton. So, at this point, I have no idea where to send my son to school and I'm having so many problems with JD Floyd and nothing's being done about it. I have multiple voicemails, I have my phone call
026logs, I have emails, I have everything proving that I have been trying to get his 504 since 2024 and nothing has been done about it. his psychiatrist is actually going to put in a formal complaint for them going against her medical advice last year, wanting to know where they got their child psychology degree from because it's not okay that he's struggling this bad and I've already tried doing everything on my part to get him help and nothing's being done. So now he's out of school, can't go back to JD Floyd over the teachers and stuff. I got escorted off because I thought I was recording. What am I supposed to do now with my son? He is severely ADHD. I've tried getting his 504 and IEP. I talked to Patricia today. She's helping me get
027it, but he has no school to go to. My little sister and my niece went to Moten. Horrible time there. I know they have a new principal, but I'm not willing to take that chance again. And that's where we're zoned for. I had school choice is why I got JD Floyd. And then it's been nothing but problems. Nothing's being done about it. The principal pretty much told me straight up my son was a liar. The teacher has no reason to lie. My six-year-old does for hitting him. My six-year-old don't know she loses her job and career. He just thinks he's getting spanked again. >> Thank you, Mrs. Henry. some help. >> Mrs. Hunley, are you able to >> Mrs. Henley, hold on, please. Just one second. Just push your light and I'll let you talk.
028Are you able to transport or does he have to write of us? >> No, I transport him back and forth from school. >> Okay. Would you do me a favor and would you walk back to Mrs. Michaela and put your leave your phone number? Also, your email went to everyone's junk mail. We found it. I found mine today. >> I marked it urgent, so I didn't know that because I didn't >> I never received it. And then we'll come to Patricia. Patricia. >> Okay. Well, apologies that it looked to you as if no one responded >> because that is not nothing like any of us up here. We would >> on Sunday. >> So, do you want me to talk Shannon? >> I do. >> Okay. What we're going to do is if you'll leave
029your phone number back there with Mr. Michaela and then we'll reach out to you and also Yes. I'll let you talk. And then um once again, apologies for appearing as if none of us answered you. Nobody received that email. And I'm sorry for your son that any of this is happening. Um Mrs. Bonszik would like to say something. >> Miss Hunley, I received your email on accident through junk. I did for it. Miss Cropley in the back has been working on it all day to help fix the situation. Nobody was aware of what was going on. >> No, I know that this is time coming in. I sent the email Friday to let you guys know because I just didn't know what to do. >> It's in your junk folder. >> I know. So, go
030back and talk to Miss Cropley in the back. She has been working all day >> to rectify the situation with our ESC department. Thank you. >> And everyone will be reaching out to you. >> Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Miss Brianna Johns. Hi, my name is Briana John's. Um, I'd like to talk about some teachers. All teachers are thankful for the students they got. And when they're happily when they get their students, they always are happy and they like teach them about the stuff they learned in college, high school, and middle school. And and they are just so happy for the students they got and I really want them to have a really good evening and I am and I'm glad for my friends, my family and all the people that in the
031world and I am just so happy for everyone in the world. >> Thank you. >> Brianna goes to Brooksville Elementary. Thank you, >> council. Do you have any closing comments? >> Yeah, if if I could, I I just wanted to comment or give you an update. Uh, one of the speakers talked about uh textbook bans and uh the fact that they may be unconstitutional. Well, there's actually a court case and she sort of referred to it and it's not really so much about whether school districts can ban textbooks. It's the process that's being used. So that's really what's being litigated and it's winding it its way through the court system. Who knows when there'll be a decision, but there is something out there about the whole process. Thank you, council. And to touch on that,
032the books that Hernando County has removed, they are pornographic in nature and they're not appropriate for any student. So as long as I've sat on this board, any book that has come out of our school system needed to come out of our school system. And if any of those books, right now we do not have a book problem. I think that's been rectified. So, I think we're um in good standing, but if in the future anything was to come back into our schools and somehow make its way into the brick-andmortar building, it will not stay there. So, once again, um I absolutely will, as long as I'm sitting on this DAS, I will not allow any of the pornographic um material to get in the hands of our Hernando County students. Thank you. Okay, board
033members, who would like to go first? Mrs. Pons. >> So, first I'd like to congratulate Ry on becoming a certified superintendent. Good job, Mr. Pender. And then it's going to be a little lengthy, but so October is disability awareness and inclusion month. So, exceptional student education is a service. It's not a place. There are approximately 3,600 to 4,800 students with disabilities in Hernando County School District. The national average for students with disability in public schools is between 15 to 20%. Not all disabilities are the same and not all disabilities are visible. There is a wide range of disabilities our students may experience. These can include in intellectual and developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome, neurodedevelopmental differences like autism spectrum disorder and medical conditions classified as other health impairments including but not limited to epilepsy, ADHD,
034and chronic illnesses. Some disabilities may be immediately noticeable while others may not be visible at all. Regardless of the visibility, every child deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. When students with disabilities enter our schools, they should become welcomed, supported, and included just like their non-disabled peers. This means access to quality instruction, opportunities for meaningful participation, and environments that reflect understanding without judgment. Creating an inclusive school is not just a legal responsibility, it's a moral one. It's about recognizing that including students with disabilities strengthens the entire school community. Let us continue to work and build a school culture where all students, regardless of the ability, feel valued, empowered, and succeeded. Thank you everybody. Have a good night. [Applause] >> Thank you, Mrs. Bonszac, Mr. M Miss >> Mrs. Hawkins. >> Sure. I just want
035to say um I want to close by reminding everyone while we're here, we're here for our students. every decision we make, every discussion here comes back to what's best for them. I'm proud of the dedication I see from our staff, our families, and the community. Thank you everyone that takes the opportunity to come and speak. Um, thank you Gracie and thank you Brianna for coming up to speak. Um, I've definitely seen the leader in me program working and appreciate you doing the pledge for us. So, thank you and have a good night. >> Thank you, Mrs. Hawkins. Well, I I I wanted to wish my wife a happy birthday. She put up with me for another year. And uh on a more serious note, our our hearts do go out for the family of Joe
036Amato for the loss of his mother. And uh everybody, please drive safely, get home, and come back next time. >> Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Pender. So to our students, whether you're saying the pledge or speaking up here, it it is uh important. It's it's an important part of um what you do as a student, the other part besides the math and the science. So thank you for doing that. I think we've seen Gracie here for a long like when smaller than Brianna and uh her uh speaking ability and coming up here in comfort speaking has improved tremendously. So congratulations on that Brianna. We appreciate you saying those things about our teachers and our staff and we appreciate them too. Um, speaking of uh the board, on the next meeting we will have our student
037rep on the 21st. Our student rep will be back on the board. Um, those elections are happening this week, next week. >> Next week. So, they'll be here at the next board meeting. Just wanted to give people uh let you guys know about that. So, thank you. I appreciate getting out um visiting schools last week. It was fun to get out and uh I was at Pinerove um and uh as we were walking through um Miss um Savarid um said to me, "There is a student here that's wearing a suit and um he wears a suit every day." And I said, "Well, I think that he and I are probably the only two people in a suit at Pineroveve right now." So, I got a picture of him uh Attekus and posted and just little
038things like that. It's when you know Miss Hawkins said the reason we're here are is for the students. It just those are the things that we need to be reminded of every day whether we're on the board or we're if you're in a classroom you don't have to be reminded it's about the students as much but if you're superintendent administrator sitting on the board we need to be reminded all the time that it is about students and and keep our focus there. So we appreciate that. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. Pender. And I myself, I'm not just sitting up here as a school board member, but I'm also sitting up here as a parent of three that's in our school system. So, I have the uh honor and the privilege to be able to
039witness our schools at hand and how they are working and how effective they are. My children attend uh Winding Waters. I have two there and I have another student um at Wikiwatchi High School. Mrs. Tormy and Mr. Larose are the leaders there. They're the principles of both schools and I just can't say enough under their guidance and how they run their school. Once again, I've always said it's like a small community and it really truly is. It's a lot for um the administration to have to handle and they make it look so easy and they do it with um such class. So, I'm very fortunate to be able to have my kids in schools that they get the good care and they get um the classes and they get put in the places that they
040need to be in order for them to thrive. Um, for an example, back when I was in school, um, guidance counselors, you know, they would call us in and stay on top of everything we were doing, what classes we took, where we were, what what our GPA was, what we were trying to ascertain, um, where we were going, if we were on the mark, if we were missing something. And I think today, I would assume that, you know, that's happening. And why I can say that I feel like it's still traditional. I am about tradition and I love the old school values, but right now we have a guidance counselor for my sophomore um student and his name is Mr. Richter and he's a guidance counselor at Wikiwatchi High School and I cannot tell you
041how pleased I am. Bella sees him several times a week and they are on track with her GPA. They're on track with her classes. Um she has given him information of what her aspirations are and the direction that he's given her in order to reach those goals. It has been profound. So, I personally have not went over and seen him, but every day I get updates from my daughter of how things are going and what her and him have discussed. And I just can't even believe that, you know, through all the the students that they have because I do get to see the case load and I know it's a lot and it's overwhelming. and just that one-on-one attention that he gives these students for her to feel like she's the only one and the
042way that he makes time for her and that he has this open dialogue and this communication. It's just unreal. So, I do have to go by there and I do want to greet him and tell him thank you so very much for doing such an outstanding job. And then the other thing is um I had called Mr. Pender and I had um expressed that the PA system at Hernando High School was terrible that you could barely hear and it was muffled and it needed to happen and hopefully before homecoming and he did it. So we have during this homecoming week that just um passed the new PA system was at Hernando High School and it sounded amazing. So thank you Mr. Pender for hearing us and for taking action on it. >> No pun intended
043that I heard you right. This PA system it's in the stadium. Uh, Nature Coast is also going to get uh they're in the process of adding the a new uh PA system in their stadium, too. But thank you. I appreciate it. >> You're very welcome. And this morning when I was driving my oldest to the high school, it was unfortunate that a car caught on fire at Wikiwatchi High School, but the team at Wikiwatchi and Winding Waters, once again, it's a shared campus. And being over there together, everyone seems to jump on board whenever there's something going on. And once again, they did that. They did a great job helping out with the traffic. They were moving everybody, getting them out of the smoke area so they didn't have to inhale any of the fumes
044and they were keeping everyone safe this morning when that car was on fire. And luckily um they had just dropped their children off and they were able to get out and the whole car was engulfed in flames. So that was this morning, but I saw everybody jump into action and everyone was helping each other. So I thought that was wonderful. And then once again, our chaplain program, we have rolled that out and we're going to um continue to do so and we have another pastor that has signed up on that list. And once again, it is completely voluntary. It is a list that's at the schools and it is there for any parent who would just like an added layer of support. It's just something that a parent um can utilize and they can reach
045out if they need somebody to help them and they can um sit there with some with another adult individual who is vetted and fingerprinted and has all their credentials and they can sit with them if they need that um extra support with their child. So that's there just as an option. Um but we are going to be the first county in the state of Florida to roll that out and that is all sanctioned. It's got statutes. We are policy and procedure. everything is the right way and I'm very excited um just for the mental health aspect to give our kids just something else to be able to utilize if the parents um see fit. So it's optional. Um some parents will never ever even use it. Um but it's there. So, I think that that's
046nice and I thank you board for um going along with that and it's um very nice because once again we'll be the first county in the state of Florida um that we have just implemented that. And other than that, I just want to thank each and every one of you for coming out and supporting Hernando County School District. Um it means a lot. You have a lot of things you could be doing tonight with your time opposed to sitting here. So all of your voices whether we agree or disagree that is what is the beauty of um us being in the United States of America is we can all have difference of opinions and we love to hear from each and every one of you. Um I hope you guys have a wonderful night and
047we'll be back here in two weeks. We hope to see you then and God bless each and every one of you. Thank you. And this meeting is adjourned at 6:45. [Music]