001foreign [Music] thank you [Music] hahaha [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] thank you foreign [Music] shoes [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] thank you good evening we okay okay good we got a lot of new people here so I want to just read a few things make sure everybody understands how we work it here first of all welcome to the May 30th 2023 regular school board meeting I am Gus guadamino board chair we're all aware of the recent events that have brought us much attention to our school district tonight we are holding our meeting in a large venue to accommodate the anticipated number of people who wish to speak while we are here in the theater this is not a show nor is it for
002grandstanding this is a business meeting of the school board and it will be conducted in accordance with appropriate meeting the courtroom seating capacity in the theater will be enforced those that will fill out a speaker form and did not find a available seat we'll have to wait outside until citizens input time so please be ready to enter the please be ready to enter the theater [Music] when called and exit the theater when you are finished speakers will be called in the order that the speaker form was received to ensure that the board will be conducted all our business and each person who wishes to speak may do so without interruption we have added the security measures to meeting to this meeting including law enforcement and School District Guardians anyone who interrupts or disrupts this meeting
003by shouting out using noisemakers using profanity name calling making repeated outbursts as blaster or clapping hands or cell phones snapping fingers Etc or anyone who stands up in front of others blocking their view will be directed by me the chair to leave the theater and they will be issued a trespass Warning by law enforcement again welcome and thank you for being here now let's get first started with the first item on the agenda Mark you have the reflection oh please stand [Music] and uh to the god of your own understanding a higher power to yourself please uh as we do wish that we conduct the business of the school board in good faith secondly I like everyone if they would to put out good thoughts to the passing of two people in our school district
004one is Brandon McCain McLean who is a Nature Coast graduate who passed away since the last board meeting and also the school board attorney Dennis Alfonso thank you please remain standing for the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice forever please be seated okay quiet down please those that who are entering now try to do it as quiet as possible our first gender item is 23-1457 approval of the adoption agenda dated May 30th 2030-23 I have a motion second [Music] please vote and that passes five zero I'm looking around to see if there's any officials here elected officials I don't see anybody here you see anybody okay first presentation is 23-1456 update
005on the half cent sales tax accountability committee [Music] it's on now Bob superintendent Stratton commissioners and uh people in the audience um the oversight committee is responsible for two things revenue and expenses I represent the revenue side you have in front of you three slides that show the distribution from the Department of Revenue in Tallahassee it shows how much we've collected since 2016 which is approximately just over 90 million dollars at a rate of 1.5 probably this year 20 million and it follows the population which is the second slide and it shows that if we continue uh we'll be in good shape and we thank you good evening board members superintendent Stratton Mrs Alfonso I'm sorry for your husband I am Lori sauers on the sales tax accountability committee just to go over some numbers
006with you the amount of sales tax that we've collected since 2016 so that's since the Inception is 91 million three hundred sixty thousand dollars the interest earned on that money is 706 thousand dollars now keep in mind that was pretty low for prior years 61 of that is actually since just July of this year so the interest rates have really skyrocketed and helped our fund we are estimating for the next three months um or after the next three months that would be probably a total of 578 000 will be collected just from this fiscal year and that's an interest income so they are making uh they're turning our money well I guess you could say so that brings our total revenue since Inception to 92 million sixty six thousand dollars that is a monthly average
007since 2016 of 1 million eighty three thousand dollars but just for the last nine months because as Bob had said as our population is increasing our revenues are increasing so just the last nine months our monthly average is one million four hundred and seventy nine thousand dollars the amount of purchase or the dollar amount of purchase orders issued since 2016 the 73 million nine hundred and sixty nine thousand the money actually spent so that means that the POS are closed is 66 million one hundred and ninety three thousand dollars there is a gap there but just keep in mind we do have about six and a half million of HVAC jobs just a Central Loan that are coming up that have not had purchase orders issued on them as of yet um there are also
008several million dollars in various Roofing jobs and you'll see that on a project sheet that was submitted by facilities and one of our newer members Joanne had asked this question I just wanted to bring this up because this is something that I didn't even realize so we do ask some good questions um she had asked Kendra about the rules for purchasing and Kinder's our director you guys know this but for the audience Kinder Kendra is our director of budgeting um any contracts that we have that are over three hundred thousand dollars need board approval and then contracts that are under 300 000 don't necessarily have to have the board approval but they must use board approved contractors at board approved rates so you guys have already preemptively approved those in a sense and then I
009just want to say that we did not find anything unusual unusual or questionable on um these last three months on the you know since our last report here and I just want to say thank you to the three board members that have come to our meetings um I hope I hope it gives you a good understanding so the other two board members I wish you would come to the meeting so you can understand what goes on oh and thank thank you for our new um we do have three new members so we do have a full committee now all right good evening board members we're going to give you the Reader's Digest version tonight because you've got a few things on your plate but uh our next meeting is scheduled for August 22nd at 5
010PM in the Ken Austin room as always the public is always invited to these meetings and that even includes our County Commissioners we've extended an invitation on multiple occasions and some of our County Commissioners have accepted that invitation we're certainly grateful for that we'd love to see all of them find their way there the last thing to point out is given the the rate of Revenue collection that we've seen in the first quarter it's almost inevitable that when we speak to you next time in August or September after following our August meeting we will have surpassed the 100 million dollar Milestone thank you thank you very much we appreciate all you do next is the approval of the minutes from the informal the workshop and the regular school board meeting of May 9 they have
011a motion please vote [Music] and that passes 5-0 number four yeah Nancy number four final order the final order in signing it em the next item is a entering a final order expelling a student in case number e 2023-05-01 for the remainder of the 22-23 school year and one full Academic Year in the 2023-2024 school year [Music] motion [Music] second foreign [Music] that passes five zero the next item on the agenda is 23-1411 a final order expelling the student case number 20 e 2023-05-03 for one full Academic Year in the 2023-2024 school year need a motion in a second please vote [Music] and that also passes five zero and the third recommendation is 23-1412 and our final order expelling a student case number e 2023-05-04 for one full Academic Year in the 2023-2024 school year
012need a motion a second [Music] and that passes five zero also thank you next item is a Citizens input and then green forms before I begin I just want to let the board know that there are you you're by policy you have 60 minutes set aside for public comment and so the board will need to entertain a motion to extend that time or alter that time do we have a count on how many we have so that would be about five five hours six hours okay [Music] anybody want to make a motion we have the options of extending it 'll be cutting the time to speak I make a motion we limit it to a minute and a half per sorry make a motion we limit it to a minute and a half per person
013say that in your microphone please make a motion we limit it to a minute and a half per person do I have a second that was three times motion fails easy [Applause] so you do need to move to either accept 60 Minutes as the total time allotted by policy or to alter that in some way Mr chip yes I moved to alter the current limit of one hour to include anyone who wants to speak [Applause] I I second that about that motion do you remember the [Applause] do you remember my opening statement okay don't force me please you want to repeat your motion I moved to amend the current policy of stopping the citizens comments after one hour I amend it to be that anyone who would like to speak have their full three minutes
014and if that works out to five hours six hours so be it as long as we get a little break somewhere in there that's my motion do I have a second [Music] uh I second it please vote barely any all in favor passage anonymously easy easy thank you this is the opportunity for the public to be heard on items appearing for action on the meeting agenda copies of the agenda are available at the entrances to the boardroom to speak at this time you should have already completed a green citizens input form identifying the specific item or items you wish to address speakers wishing to address General matters not on the agenda this evening should complete the pink citizen input form and we'll have an opportunity to speak later in the meeting speakers who wish to
015speak on both types of topics will have their time available time allocated among topics and we'll have to save non-agenda comments for the appropriate segment of the agenda if you have any materials you wish to share with the board please provide them to the board secretary prior to speaking each speaker has up to three minutes to address the board and remaining time is displayed on the monitor speakers will be called to come forward by the chair prior to making your remarks please state your name and address for the record all speakers and comments are subject to applicable School Board bylaws and policies including those requiring appropriate decorum and civility all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer no person may address or question board members individually staff member shall not be expected to answer
016questions from the audience unless called upon by the chair or the superintendent just like to add one thing and it won't take away from your time but a lot of people just filled out the agenda number for the sake of everybody else that's listening would you just state the title of your agenda okay first speaker is Emily Crosby and let me just say after her would be taken black or which is it and then after that is Jamesy Jamie Tavares so if you just be ready at the microphone please Emily hi my name is Emily Crosby I'm going to be addressing the issue of banning books um hi I am a junior at Springstead and I'm going into my senior year I'm also a member of the lgbtq community and I'm a hearer as a
017student fighting for my education fighting for my 14th Amendment right as a student which requires that all children be given equal Educational Opportunity no matter what their race ethnic background religion or sex may be however in the eyes of the moms of Liberty and apparently the school district and the board it seems that there are books and movies being deemed unfit to show based on that criteria what books are these you might ask and you might think that these books may be heavily inappropriate content and have heavily inappropriate content like sex murder things of that nature however if you thought that you would be incorrect books like George a children's novel which has the rating intended for children between the ages of 8 to 12 is one of the books that has been listed out
018to be removed now when I first looked at this list I assume these books would contain heavily explicit content however upon further analysis it shows that this book is a story of a 10 year old transgender girl who's dealing with the struggle of acceptance between her and her family now I looked for whatever might be inappropriate within this book foul language a sex scene maybe none of that however I looked at it from what I would like to call a moms of Liberty perspective this has made it apparent why this book was being deemed as inappropriate the fact that it's about a transgender girl I continue to look at the proposed list of books and the next books I looked into was was called Drama a Scholastic graphic novel which took me by surprise when
019I looked into it as after going over it it's also intended for 8 to 11 year olds has no cursing and the most explicit thing within this book is a kiss now going back to my mom's of Liberty perspective it's evident that this book is in question as it's because it's about a boy who's a part of the lgbtq lgbtq community and the kiss is between two boys the rest of the books on this list are poetry books or other LGBT related novels which is not surprising as you can see there's a pattern which is clearly targeting sexuality and trying to ban books that offer representation and let's talk about Jenna Lynn a teacher who's currently being uninvestigated for showing a Disney movie in her class that related to her curriculum there happened to be
020an LGBT character in this movie however that was not the purpose of showing this movie in her class and despite that this teacher is being investigated for indoctrination after showing it if we want to talk about indoctrination we should talk about it um by removing these books and these movies the show that show representation of different people in different can you keep your time to what's on the agenda thank you anyways um everything that's being done to protect these students by removing these books by removing movies either or your this is indoctrination you are indoctrinating students by Banning LGBT books informing the idea that LGBT is taboo and which further hinders the progression thank you [Applause] just remember the green forms of agenda items that we'll be talking about tonight foreign thank you go ahead
021good evening my name is Tegan Wachowski I'm here to talk about banning of books in our schools I'm a current sophomore at Springstead High School I have been a student of this district for 11 years and never once have I felt as disappointed as I had these past few weeks within this time I've walked into my school and when its daily changes that affect us the students in a way that is harmful to our education and development both teachers and parents stand here and argue about what their children should be able to read using the excuse that they know it's best for them myself and many others find this frustrating because what many fail to recognize is that the people that know the students best are the students I'm sorry I'm sorry to interrupt you
022but for some reason we cannot hear that well up here does anybody else having trouble hearing yeah no it's on should I restart or discontinue you can start all over again all over wait wait a minute okay wait let us reset the time I'm sorry to interact with your book no sense talking if we can't hear you can you test it hello hello can you hear me it's a little better I can speak louder is that good okay that's worse first one give us a minute hello can you hear me perfect restart completely please all right good evening my name is Tegan blachowski I am a current sophomore at Springfield High School I have been a student of this district for 11 years and never once have I felt as disappointed as I have these
023past few weeks within this time I've walked into my school and when it's daily changes that affect us the students in a way that is harmful to our education and development both teachers and parents stand here and argue about what their children should be able to read using the excuse that they know what's best for them myself and many others find this frustrating because what many fail to recognize is that the people that know the students best are the students yet there is little representation for them I stand here today to hold the student board accountable for the fact that recent acts permitted by this committee are discussing and embarrassing as Community we are allowing students to be discriminative against to be silenced and to be in fear daily but not only is this impacting
024our student body but our teachers that make our schools tolerable bringing religious views and ideologies into our schools is an unfair representation of this District but it's been leading but it has been the leading factor in the laws being set in place how are we supposed to create a safe learning environment that demonstrates diversity and prepares us to be functioning members of society when our student board cannot guide us themselves to be blunt we cannot it is impossible to learn unbiased and accurate information when there are so many laws being put in place to prohibit the expression through books and representation of minority groups such as people of color and the lgbtq community the lack of understanding and knowledge in this school board makes it challenging to be respectful of these groups and inform others
025of the history behind them in the fear of being reprimanded and even facing legal action not allowing teachers to inform their students that their classroom is a safe space for all on the basis of indoctrination is silly and reflects poorly on the education of these committee members this isn't about trying to keep the schools in classrooms on curriculum but to politicize our students and teachers in hateful manners it is unfair and upsetting that I get to come here and witness some of my favorite teachers resign unfair that they feel unsafe and unheard in the career that they have worked so hard to achieve it is upsetting because some of these well-respected teachers are gateways to academic success Community involvement and extracurriculars and they're almost being forced to give up what they love putting many students
026in unstable situations and making our schools look bad long-term substitutes are not teachers speaking for the students we do not feel cared for we do not feel listened to and we do not feel represented by our school district focuses should not be on what books we read or if we can watch a movie with a gay character instead let's focus on accurate representation mental health assistance that isn't in the form of mandated videos that are outdated in working facilities we are the future but we are being treated as if we're going back to the past I end my time with asking the school board to take a minute and Ponder if these laws being implemented actually help the school body or the student body or are just supported by biased opinions thank you thank you
027[Applause] hold up one minute you remember my opening statement am I clapping I tell you what I'll bend my rules if you agree with the speaker it says I'll give you two seconds to just raise your hand and shake it two seconds that's what you got then if that doesn't happen thank you I appreciate that in the back I will be asking people to leave if they're still making clapsing noise and all that I think you got for a little warning from now please all right um so first of all it's Jasmine savares I'm a junior at wikiwatchy and my siblings attend whining Waters my younger brother is in Miss Barbie's fifth grade class and this woman has been under Fire recently for showing a movie that pertained to her lesson plan and it's entirely
028unreasonable this movie does feature gay character but that's not even the main focus point of the film it's an environmental children's movie like The Lorax schools are meant to be a place for education and children will not learn in an environment where they do not feel safe it is not the school board's place to dictate who a child can and can't be recently the sport has tried to transform its schools into institutions where children and their teachers cannot speak and learn freely the classrooms are bare and teachers feel restricted in what they can talk about it's me and my fellow students that are feeling the effects of this I can say nothing but nice things about my brother's teacher she's been great to all of our family she's not trying to indoctrinate your children she's
029only creating an environment that is comfortable for all of them ever yeah I'm getting to that point certain school board members recent barging into classrooms and Reporting everything they disagree with is nothing more than bullying hold on hold on hold on I'm getting to the book Banning part it's got to be agenda item okay the indoctrination comes from people that are trying to restrict learning that does not align with their religion or personal beliefs and a race of diversity at this Academy has indoctrination comes in the form of book Banning students and their parents should not be the one should be the ones choosing what they read not a group of people they have no relationship with regardless of the content of the book a high schooler should be mature enough to make their own
030decisions when it comes to literature and sends the book up to debate today is a self-discovery poetry book I see no issue with it and I think I could make my own decision on whether or not I could read that book The indoctrination also comes in the form of minority Erasure and it's frankly embarrassing that in this day and age teachers are getting in trouble for having Pride flags on their walls as far as things that go with the agenda item that's all that I have thank you nope last warning no it's okay okay the next one is David Bond followed by Ken Mayer man and then Lisa missario and please announce what our agenda you are talking on good evening board members and superintendent I'm speaking specifically about 23 1449 which is the removal
031of sun and her flowers it's a book that y'all plan on addressing here shortly um I'd like to congratulate the person who suggested that the book be removed the the citizen did a good job they provided uh the letter you're supposed to provide they provided evidence the committee uh looked at it and decided that it was probably inappropriate they presented it to the school board and I believe the superintendent had the final say it appears the way it's written that it should be removed I went and researched the book myself and at first I thought no probably not but then I saw all the evidence that y'all provided online in the agenda packet and that convinced me that y'all followed policy and procedure exactly as it's supposed to be done so if y'all are doing
032your job and the citizens are doing their job of providing a book that need they feel should be banned and the committee approves and the uh the board uh makes the final decision I'm perfectly okay with that that's Paul's the procedure that's processed that's how we get things done thank you thank you can man Ken Mayon Spring Hill uh speaking about the bell schedule on the agenda I'm wanting to know why not live I know why y'all are changing the bell schedule why don't we wait till either wait on that one or go ahead and implement the new state law that says we have to change all the bell times and do it one time instead of doing it back to back to me that would make more sense and if you want to prove
033that you're a good leader superintendent Stratton this is how you do it you don't make kids do things back to back years when you do it all at once this this seems to be the way you do things there's no order to it instead of taking the bell schedule and doing it all at once you want to do it one year then two years later I think this shows another lack of leadership that you have the it needs to be postponed until the state law you implement the new state law that says the bell schedule has to change this is I I don't understand why we're doing it now or do both of them all at once it's something that just makes sense so I would love to know why you can't wait you know
034you want to prove that you're a good leader prove that vote of no confidence isn't needed which I think it is which technically I guess you got no votes of confidence they just tabled it you need to stick on the agenda item so I would like for you to either do both Bell schedules all at once and do the state law that just passed or wait on the current bill schedule there's no reason you can't do it so thank you followed by Victoria hunt and Riley reinberger good evening Lisa messerio Brooksville I am a 19-year Hernando County educator and currently serving as the president of Hernando classroom Teachers Association I am speaking on the agenda item of the approval of personnel recommendations we have 49 instructional separations on this school board agenda to those of
035you who are retiring congratulations and thank you for your years of service working with our students here in Hernando County sadly this agenda also has 33 resignations Educators leaving our district possibly leaving teaching entirely after what they've experienced this year the number of resignations has doubled from this time a year ago 17 recorded on the school board agenda from May 24th of 2022. I've been here before to speak about the climate that Educators here are working in there have been politically motivated attacks from the state level from certain elements in within our community and from local politicians affecting morale and making Educators question whether this is the right place for them losing dozens of teachers has detrimental effects on our students our students deserve to have highly qualified and certified teachers in all of their
036classrooms this climate has made all things political and is driving dedicated dedicated Educators out of the profession we want to continue to offer an education that expands Knowledge and Skills that our students will need for a 21st century global economy and we want our students to have an education that expands their understanding and concern for others that we share spaces with in our community so we are called in this moment to stand up for our students rights to a world-class education we are here United for our students and for our profession and to support public education as a public good we must push back on extremist ideologies of a small group who seek to control the education of all of our students they are using a tax on Educators and our schools as the Primary
037Weapons to further their agenda looking back at previous years we are left to conclude that this school board agenda isn't the end of the resignation and retirement picture last year the June 14th agenda there was another 16 resignations and five retirements what will the final number be we had between 60 and 100 vacancies during this entire school year the Educators who have served in our classrooms have absorbed the students and the workload associated with those vacancies there are already 113 instructional vacancies posted for next school year whose child will be impacted next by the Hostile climate towards Educators that is making these positions harder and harder to fill if we are able to come together as a community of students parents and Educators for the common purpose of making our schools places where all students
038Thrive the potential for Hernando County Public Schools is Limitless thank you thank you thank you appreciate that Victoria hunt good evening board superintendent my name is Victoria hunt from Spring Hill Florida I'm here to speak on agenda item 231437 approval of personnel recommendations I was recognized by this County as the district Teacher of the Year this year in honor that I am incredibly grateful for I attended School here in this County since the fourth grade and I served on that board as a senior in high school I have never seen such fear from my colleagues as I have seen in the last two months there are 33 instructional resignations for approval tonight double the amount at this time last year and I know for a fact that number will only increase as the summer progresses
039these numbers stem not from size based site-based leaders not from the classroom management issues these numbers stem from teachers leaving the county the state or the profession altogether because of the culture that has been created in this District by certain members of the school board and members of this community we couldn't recognize student achievements here tonight because of the political climate we're currently in we have over 100 vacancies right now and more to come I'd be lying if I didn't say that it was a nightly conversation with my husband about leaving my position but I stay and I'll continue to stay I have a son and I will have another soon and they both are my reason to be here tonight I want my boys to have the same educational care that I had in
040this County and that cannot happen if we drive out all of our wonderful teachers I have former students that are now teachers in our County that happen to be here tonight I have current students that want to come back here to teach a school board member walking into campuses to report teachers to the doe without so much as a conversation is not a great recruiting tactic there's been a case that a high school English lesson on reading 1984 the state approved book was deemed inappropriate and was shut down again without so much as a conversation with the teacher I myself had to discuss teaching the Holocaust as a end of unit class to discuss if that was going to be appropriate personally I just want to be able to do my job and I cannot
041while people are threatening to misinterpret a law for their own gain and use once you bring life into the world you must protect it we must protect it by changing the world these are the words of Holocaust Survivor and author Eli Wiesel and I think these words resonate with every member in this room tonight personally as a parent and as an educator I see both worlds where both sides here one to protect the lives of their children and of their students as an educator every student that walks into my room becomes an awesome responsibility and by extension my kid they are my kid for that year and for a lifetime after they leave the campus I hope and pray that my sons will have teachers that view them as their kid too I entrust my
042son's teacher to love my child in my absence and to help him grow into a confident student I feel that some people in this County have forgotten that teachers give their heart their profession and are told to give their lives for this thank you Riley reinberger um Riley reinberger Brooksville I'm a rising senior at Weeki Wachee Warden intent intended Stratton board members board chair I'm speaking regarding item 231437 Personnel recommendations as well within our County this year we have seen 40 or 47 resignations including instructional and non-instructional Personnel That's not including the 27 retirements that makes a total of 74 teachers leaving this year in 2022 there was 29 resignations and five retirements making that 34. this data displays a sharp contrast to the employee engagement survey that was reviewed at the workshop earlier today
043in that survey there was an overall five percent increase in subjects such as work environment District training communication Etc if our teachers are truly happier and more confident why are so many leaving why have the numbers of teachers leaving doubled from 2022 to 2023 this is something important to consider and reflect upon in a teacher shortage we should not be losing this many teachers especially at this rate the sharp jump is something I truly hope is reviewed and reflected upon entering the 2023-2024 year and we see changes to put these numbers back down I've been losing amazing teachers and like Miss hunt said there are many teachers considering leaving the profession but they do choose to say to hope to see that change and all the data I mentioned is found in the meeting agenda
044and the archives thank you thank you very much and that finishes our citizens input with the green forms correct okay let's move on to the adoption of the consent agenda are we pulling any Susan yes sir I would like to pull agenda item 19. [Music] Linda no I'm not I'll wear 23 and 40. Shannon 14 16. 19. oh 21 14 16. 19. 21. 22. [Music] 24. 28. 31. and 40. I'm not pulling anything foreign can I have a motion to accept the consent agenda with number 14 16. 19. 21 22 23 24 40 being pulled to accept okay we'll wait for you I'm sorry 40 no 40 40. okay you have a motion to accept and a second please vote and that passes 5-0 [Applause] and we vote on the polled ones all right good
045[Music] chair the first item being pulled is item 14 23-1425 approve out of state field trip for Commander Christian Cruz and the njrotc cadets to Rutledge Georgia for Georgia orienteering Adventure Training on June 5th through 9th 2023. that was pulled by Santa it was thank you I pulled this just because I wanted to give Commander Cruz um a shout out for just what a wonderful ROTC program that they have at Central High School he just does a fantastic job and it's been years that they've had this program and every time you think it can't get better it gets better so I wish him well on his trip and hopefully they have a really good time but he deserves the accolades on everything that he does to bring that ROTC program to where it's at today
046thank you thank you kind of emotionally receptors and a second [Music] please vote yes thank you sir passes five zero next item item 16 is 23-1445 approved out of state travel for denial Williams Michael Lawless King Chapman Samantha Stevens and Theresa Morris to attend the 2023 National Teachers Conference in Brooklyn New York do I have a motion I need a motion to accept this you got a motion a second then we discuss discussion Shannon you pulled it I did this is a virtual Enterprises International company and I guess it's it comes down to once again we do not want to have equity and inclusion in our schools we want to keep our schools traditional the way that they were we don't want any of the woke or the indoctrination and with that being said easy
047thank you and it's the adults that are propagating the racism it's not the kids doing this it's teaching racism they're repackaging CRT and they're just renaming it so if you want your kid to learn certain beliefs send them to that type of school but at a public school that is supported by the taxpayer that should be teaching education not indoctrination so I'll never agree with any of these type of programs I'm not going there and that's not something that I think that our kids are going to ever benefit from and like I said I was elected to support our kids and to make sure that our kids get a good education and an education without any of the indoctrination thank you any other discussion please vote foreign [Music] next item is 19 20 it's 23-1449
048approved this superintendent's recommendation to remove the book The Sun and her flowers written by rupee Carr from circulation for all purposes and not to be made available to students in Hernando County Schools did you pull this yes sir I did pull it I need a motion first sorry kind of emotion you're gonna give me a motion need a second discussion please the reason I'm pulling this is because I want to read what the committee's recommendation was for this particular book foreign T of the Poetry is appropriate objective and could have value however due to a few images not being age appropriate the book should be removed from the library I want you to know the reason behind this thank you any other discussion yeah did you pull it too Mark can go and then I'll
049go I I wanted to get a vote on this I didn't want to be part of the consent agenda that's why I pulled it or I was going to pull it and I don't think the content is age-appropriate we should be in the school system I think it violates the intent of the change in the law any of this go ahead please keep in mind it's not about the content it was only about the images the content the committee felt was appropriate it was the images that were not deemed appropriate Shannon your lights on you want to speak yes um thank you so these books are in the schools so so many people have said that they're not there and this is proof that they are here I know that people think that it's not
050that big of a deal but when it comes to your children once again it's a parent's job and it's a Parent's Choice of what that child gets to see and it shouldn't be content and it shouldn't be material that is not age appropriate we're not going to stop until all these books are removed and our schools are safe for our children to go to the libraries again the house bill 1557 was replaced with 1069. this takes care of all the loopholes and IT addresses the classroom libraries which was not in the original bill so in the classrooms teachers could have their own personal library and some of those books were there because it was not in the first bill so now they've came back and this bill empowers parents to take direct action against the
051school district should the district not remove these books in a timely manner any parent or resident in the county can challenge age of inappropriate material and also challenge instructional material if it needs to be addressed so this bill is protecting parents it's protecting the kids and it's something that legislative is very much aware of and they are on top of so the list that I've given on the books in the past I'm not sure if we've been pulling any of those you guys Mr Stratton do you have anything of any books besides this one that's been pulled to let people know I believe that was given back to you already uh all of those that you gave us we did look at yes and I think that information was already provided back to you if
052not I'll make sure it happens again okay so so everybody knows or those those books you did find some books and pull them those books that you gave us if they were on our shelves they were pooled and they were reviewed by trained media Specialists and either deemed to be inappropriate or deemed appropriate at certain grade levels but that information I know was provided to you okay well I'm sure being inundated on my emails with thousands and thousands of emails that may be in there but who knows hello so hey hey and if I can just add I would agree with what Mr Bond said here earlier the process is working as the process is working as the law has intended we follow the law however that's written uh we we follow it and that's
053why we have policies and procedures in place and that's what the challenge is for if a parent or Community member wishes to challenge any book or instructional materials within that that that a lot of frame time for Structural Materials then we put it through the process and something else I'd like the the community to know is that our media specialist only got trained by the state this past January so when it comes to laws and then rulemaking follows later so the law went into effect July 1 the rulemaking happened in July January of this year since that time they've been busy scanning every single book in our classrooms and removing any and libraries and removing any of that uh clearly need to be removed it's a very very lengthy process with thousands upon thousands of
054books now yes if we get a title with a challenge that we could we don't we cut to the chase we go right to it we go with the procedure but I I don't want anyone to think that we've been neglectful and not followed the law because we have otherwise I would have been called out for it at some point and we would have been called out for that at some point by the governor's office himself so I want to make sure that's clear we follow the law correct and I just want to make sure that it's clear that those books have been sitting on the shelves for several years now and this push in this movement and why you hear about these books and why it's ongoing and it's not silent and that we're
055not that we are still discussing it is because the books are still there so that's why it's still a topic of conversation it wouldn't be a topic right now if all of that was happening and had been happening but the stuff is apparently still there because it's not made up out of thin air these books are still on these shelves and that's why we need to make sure that we do our due diligence to get this stuff off of the shelves out of the libraries for these kids and that's what I'm doing so if I may you're right we have books still on our shelves I'm sure that will be challenged I'm sure absolutely all I'm asking is that we follow the process that's all I'm asking and as long as we do that whatever
056that committee comes up with and ultimately this board decides I'll support no I agree I'm only asking to get the books off the shelves as well okay now we're repeating ourselves so can I have a motion easy can I have a motion second need to vote [Music] passes five zero excuse me next item is 21 and it is 23-1355 approve the job description updates for the exceptional student education department need a motion [Music] I'll pull this Shannon good evening hold on a minute we need a motion Hi how are you thank you so on this one we need a motion it's okay thank you Mark moved it go ahead so on this I wanted to find out how much money do we get per student for special needs for EOC I would have to find
057the answer out for you I'd be happy to okay um why I ask that is I was able to um take a tour of some of the rooms for Ese and I was very taken back I would say um of the conditions and I'm not sure the money that we get and I guess that's something that now I want to figure out and I want to see what we're doing and what we can do to make conditions better for the child I don't think I I know we get quite a bit of money compared to a regular student that's in a regular classroom so with that being said I don't know why the classroom looks to the condition it looks I don't think if anybody here toward the classroom they would be okay with leaving
058their child there for eight hours a day so I left there feeling very sad very [Music] um upset that a parent and I got called by parents to look at these rooms and look at these conditions and I didn't realize it was going to be to the extent of really what I saw and for the money that the district gets for these children and these children are already in a position where they're having to be taken care of and they can't do a lot of things I just didn't see any reason why they're putting a position like that eight hours a day 40 hours 45 hours a week so I just want to figure out what we can do to come together what we can do to get more funding what we can do to
059find out financially what you guys are getting and where it's going so that we can try to make this Learning Classroom a much better atmosphere for these babies that are having to be there for this length of time I would welcome your your assistants yeah and if I can just jump in there just to quickly quickly explain uh ese students have varying needs and the money changes with that so you can't give one answer on that uh that this is the amount we can get base student allocation that every student gets but then there are weighted factors that changes per needs on that so we can show you what that range looks like and how much it would be uh and and I'm in total agreement that if we have a class that's not up
060to par then we need to put money into it we need to fix it but I would appreciate knowing about it and I would appreciate knowing which school which class because I'll work closely with Anna and I'll work closely with that principal and we'll make sure have you toured any of the EOC classes I've toured many ESC classes many yeah I don't know which one you're talking about specifically again if you bring me in the loop on that I'll be glad to look into it well this one was in dire need of an overhaul and it's really bad so thank you I got to know something if you knew about this why didn't you bring it to the superintendent's attention [Applause] please thank you because the principal the principal that took me there said that
061the principal that gave me the tour and showed me the classroom so this is how the conditions have been and there's not money for it and that upper management knows all about it so we had this conversation but I still would expect you to communicate that with me I would expect you Mr Stratton to know the conditions of the ESC rooms I wouldn't expect bro so and again that's where one minute together is going to leave yeah that's where we need to work together I I don't know why you would want me right the key word is not been happening that's the problem I totally agree thank you can I say something because Linda good Linda um Mrs Rodriguez I'm I know which rooms you're referring to and I also had some concerns about him
062and talked to the principal and one thing I found out and is that many times things are put in those classrooms and they're torn down or they're destroyed or they're thrown and and I was asking about bolting down Furniture maybe painting the walls with the kind of paint the chalk paint where they could write on the walls um until you've actually sat through a class you can understand that some of these classrooms can't look like traditional classrooms just because they can harm the pair of the teacher so there's there's a lot to be said but but I agree that it is depressing sometimes when you go in those rooms but again they're set up for the safety of the kids the safety of the teacher and um you know the one thing I came up
063with was maybe painting the the walls with the chalk paint where they could you know ride on the walls and it wouldn't destroy But the teacher said we'd try to put up things and they tear them down and so it's a whole um different situation that that again um I I wish it could be better and I'm glad we have the sensory rooms I'm hoping that might help with some of those students but it it's very difficult um with all due respect there's nothing difficult about making this room more beneficial for the child if you go with me if you'd like to go we can go and look at it and you'll see that it doesn't take a whole lot to make it better and it's not a fact that it's just the way it
064is and that we wish that things could get better we are going to make it better because nobody should have to be there for 40 hours a week like that not even the teachers as if you were a teacher you wouldn't want to have to be in that room like that for 40 hours a week I I actually sat down and talked to many of the students and they were drawing they were doing art and um you know they the teacher the parent was working with them and and they seem to be very content in that environment so um again that's not my area of expertise but I I understand what you're saying and I did also talk to the teacher and observe the students can we vote [Music] and that passes 5-0 item 22
065is 23-1453 approved job descriptions for business services John and you pull this you need a motion in a second foreign questions Mr Stratton do you want to explain to me on the director of safe schools what is what is that as far as you said I'm sorry go ahead director of safe schools to change on that one if I remember correctly is that she or that position will be reporting directly to the superintendent whereas before reported to an assistant superintendent and why is that change because she should that position should be reporting directly to a superintendent that's the way most counties do it before it was reporting to the previous assistant superintendent that happened to be her area of strength as well and now that she's no longer with us we've made that change that
066she reports directly to me who was she reporting to before Heather Martin okay and in other counties you say that that position goes to not all but many yeah they report directly to the superintendent I just didn't understand why the change was because this was a position that you had mentioned um is this something that we also have to have um foreign there's a threat management coordinator that is mandated is explained that one to me if I remember right that'll be a designation uh not necessarily a standalone position uh but we are bringing forward if you remember an assistant director for that uh area as well for safe schools we need to add some staff there it is truly a 24 7 job all the time so that I believe that's a designation that'll happen
067per law now that we have to have a threat assessment coordinator so the threat management coordinator will come on and we'll be paying that salary again I have to look at the law again but I think that's a designation and then the safe schools will pay her salary and then we're going to bring her a helper for a second person we're going to bring on an assistant that's the recommendation I don't know what the board will do but that will be the recommendation because it's unreasonable to think that one person can cover 24 7. um I I use the sheriff's department as an example they they one person doesn't do it all for them even their her counterpart with the sheriff's department they have other people to fill in we don't she's it she's been
068doing it all along so she needs help now in Pasco County it's double the size and it's run by a gentleman and it and it's one person in Pasco so by by the standards we're going by if we need to that would mean they would need four I'd have to look at how Pasco is made up I don't know exactly I do know they do it differently what they do than we do they have Guardians in their elementary schools and sros and they're secondary but I don't know the makeup of the district's office for that but what kind of help he has well I just want to watch our budget as far as making all these positions because our money is definitely needed in places so totally agree totally agree I just I'm not going
069to bring something forward I don't think we need But ultimately will be the board's decision on that any other discussion by anybody else please vote I'm ready voting laughs okay oh you didn't vote Shannon and that passes four to one [Music] relax we're taking a two minute break when nobody's going anywhere except for one person you can talk [Applause] [Music] oh foreign [Music] services thank you foreign can you remove him please please remove all right our next item all right we're back in the hood our next item please number of him good night yeah number 23 23-1414 approved the bell times for the 2023-2024 school year mark you pulled this one we have a motion [Music] seconds can I have a second let's quiet down I was supposed to wait for you have a second
070we still need a second okay we have a second discussion so hold on okay let's stop the start talking thank you very much because I understand it if it pulls we'll just change the bell times specifically to alleviate the bus condition in this goal is that correct I'm sorry Mr Johnson were you asking the the time change we made why because of Transportation issues at the school at that particular school it's there they have late buses on a consistent basis so Mr Ralph's suggestion is to move that back by I believe 10 or 15 minutes 20 minutes 20 minutes nine thank you and uh and because it's more realistic of what time the buses are arriving [Music] have we taken delivery on the 50 new buses that we were ordered we're in the process of
071receiving them they're not all in yet I think we have uh I think last count was 18 again if I remember back I think it was in January you said they started to deliver oh is it February they have been a it's a process that they start in Tulsa they go to Jacksonville to get their air conditioning then they go to Davenport to get their final inspections and then they come to us [Music] all right my point is with the additional buses we should be able to field additional routes and overcome that issue until next year when we have to change bell times to go ahead and Rob you can fill in some blanks that that was brought up earlier about why aren't we moving to the later start times now well first of all
072that doesn't go into effect until 2026. and if you look at it districts are struggling right now to figure out how they're going to do it financially because it's going to cause a lot more routes than we have currently which I'm not opposed to the idea of changing the times it's just going to cost more rounds it's going to be and we don't have enough drivers now so I am worried about that so as well but that's why we didn't we're not moving now because we're not in a position to move now we're not in the position to move now and most likely as much I've done a cursory review of it because I'm trying to get through to tomorrow um and then we start on next year's routing um I really think we're we
073may be going back to a two-tier system right now we have for the majority of our routes are three-tiered which means you have a high school an elementary school and a middle school where we can do it with the new bell times Middle School is not starting until eight and then High School is not starting till 8 30. I don't know how that breakdown is going to be most likely we will go back to a two-tier system and it's going to be a significant impact for buses that honestly we need to start buying buses now because it's three years away and it takes a year pretty much to buy them and get them delivered and there's a lot of ramifications coming that we're going to have to work through I I imagine through directors meetings
074across the state we will have a lot of conversations and strategy and strategizing is that the right word strategy we're going to be talking a lot and to try to figure out how we're going to do what we need to do um and that's next year no sir that is in 2026. okay so we're not talking we had about three years now the proposal for today is to move parrot the only thing we've chose what we're recommending is to move parent from 9 10 to 9 20. so we can have the best opportunity to get as much instruction time that's why we moved it I do not have the drivers and um parrot is not the most centrally located School in our district and the attendance area for parrot is huge it's like 180 something
075square miles so we have students getting picked up by 301 and drive in the parrot after they get picked up and along the way you're talking a huge um travel time and deadhead time to try to get them there on time and if I had all of the drivers we wouldn't be making this recommendation but the truth is um our driver shortage has had a big impact not just on parrot but on multiple schools and this one has to be changed or we're going to lose instruction time and that's something that we have struggled with with parrot for not just this year since I've been here for seven years I believe so it is that's our big challenge what I don't agree with is changing the time for one particular School while the rest of
076the district Remains the Same I think that sets a bad precedent and I don't know if I can go along with that I think at the beginning of the year you have to try to find the drivers they won't have to make an F record well that's what I feel about it we are already building our training class currently um and we will continue our recruiters will be out this summer as all as we have for the last several years trying to get drivers get as big of a class for our beginning of the school year we we're doing the best we can to get as many drivers as we can to transport kids because Mr Johnson to be quite honest with you it frustrates the devil out of me I can't get kids to
077school and I spend many many nights trying to figure out how we can get more people in sit there backside in a bus and Drive kids to school it has been a challenge not for Hernando county is a challenge for every school district in this state and across this country and we are doing our absolute best and will continue to do our absolute best yes when I prefer to have parrot be 9 10 to 410 absolutely but I can't get them there at 9 10. I can get them there the majority of them I can get more majority of the routes I can get there at 9 30. I cannot do it at 9 10 without an ex a great increase of drivers so if anybody is looking for a job please contact the transportation
078department so Mr Lee one is saying he's doing the best he can I'm going to take a step further than that his crew is pulling off Miracles every single morning no every single morning that they have to scramble to cover all of the routes they have now uh they're already short-handed and then if some people call out sick which it happens it happens all the time we're human every day they're scrambling and making it happen and thank you to you and your staff and part of the reason for that is we don't pay the non-instructional help enough money in this school district raising everybody up to 15 an hour which is the minimum wage as you know that the state pays School District employees is not the answer we need to pay the school bus
079drivers more money I'm sorry that's the easy answer we'll get more drivers we'll have a a pool to draw from and we'll solve us to we'll have a solution to a problem changing the routes on one school is a bad precedent we're going to do it we change it for all the schools in this in all the same category of schools or none at all that's all I'm saying we need to stop rubber stamping every scene on TV gimmicks that come across the board and we need to put our money into teachers we need to put our money into the school bus drivers we need to put our money where it needs to go into the people who keep our County running you know half the employees in this District are support Personnel it's not
080always all about the teachers it's about all the employees we have to take care of the whole family within the school district and that's what we need to do okay this is not the time for it but I've made it plain that I do agree that the bus drivers are not paid in foreign that's been like that blinking yep I'm good all right let's calm down welcome sorry it took me so long I had to go down to the basement to fix that problem and Mark is right it should be [Music] well we're waiting for Mark I do want to compliment you on your quorum I appreciate you being silent people are talking here he comes I think we're finished discussing unless anybody else had anything did you have something to say Linda thought you
081did um Mr Leith well this Bell Change effect like Hernando Christian remember we had kind of a problem with them or or best Academy it will it'll affect best because best we pair best with um parent we picked those up because it's in the same attendant zone so it will affect them I've already contacted Jamie young and let her know that we have proposed this and she said let me know what happens so we will I think she was a little concerned about the later start time and how it would have a fact and we we have this Bell time we probably three four years ago we had the same Bell time um so we just kind of reverted back to that um and then with the redistricting changes that is coming um and I
082put some different options on the table that we will look at again for this coming not 23 24 but 24 25 and then what's coming in 26 . very exciting I read in the paper and I I'm sorry I can't recall the district that they're starting their best drivers at 19.46 you might know that but it's a district down south if I were call riding a large district and I don't know if it's going to make a difference they're not even sure it's going to make a difference the Nellis raised their second year rate 21 something I'm familiar with them because I used to work there I'm sure that everyone's looking at it because we're all in the same boat so all comes back to funding and bargaining and all of that stuff which is
083absolutely 100 out of my control if you remember back a few years ago we raised the bus driver's salary by one dollar and that the following school year we had 10 open routes out of I think at the time 101. so there is something to be said for paying a decent wage as you're talking about to the bus drivers which I'm all in favor of and this is probably not the right time for that discussion of a direct Mr Stratton right although I asked Mr Lee during our break um in in terms of our students who go year-round I said do you have enough bus drivers he said no not really I have seven openings so I'm wondering if the increase in the amount also is possibly um you know they don't necessarily have to
084work this summer and so can I make a comment um my staff is tired they have gone non-stop from the first day of school I know they're exhausted just like our teachers they are teachers too but I'm just talking about my staff sure um they have put in multiple multiple hours I'm very thankful they need a break what what Gladys Lopez and Ron Stiffler do every morning is a miracle um and to cover what we have to cover in a short amount of time um we owe them meat personally owe them a great I'm very thankful for him too Susan your lights on did you want to say something [Music] um I've listened to you all and I but I want you to understand that this committee worked with diligence to try to find different
085options this is not something that was just put on a piece of paper to potentially solve a problem there is a lot of thought put into this and this is the one school that has had most of the problems with late buses this current year almost over and this is a potential solution to help for this coming school year the discussion about payment about more buses that's all great but right now our reality is the fact that we don't have enough buses we don't have enough unlimited funds we try to do the best that we can and this is not a new schedule for this school it was done before and yes it's a little bit different than the others but it is one that we know works because it worked before and I know
086Ralph will make it work again thank you okay if we were uh before I call for the question Ralph you got a very passionate group here maybe you should explain what is required to be a bus driver but you have to have your CDL you have to have a school bus endorsement passenger endorsement when you pass our background check then you go into training we train you it's a three-week training and we teach you to drive all five of our different buses that we currently have and then we put you on the bus with 60 wonderful loving students again with sorry I had a laugh with uh rear view mirror control while you're driving down the streets of Hernando County and we'd love to have you come be a part of our team how do
087you get a CDL license you go to the DMV and you take the test you have to get your permit before we start training you so the all of the um information is on I don't know if it's on our website I know the DMV has the CDL information but if you contact our office Tara we'll be glad to walk you through that process thank you okay can we go what a question sorry Susan I'm sorry please vote and that passes three to two [Music] number 24 is item number 23-1415 approve the contract for transportation of disadvantages disadvantaged Services between Hernando County school board and the trustees of Pasco-Hernando State College this was pulled by Shannon need a motion need a second discussion hi hello how are you good thank you can you explain this
088one for me yes we have a contract where we transport students from PHCC to different locations and what they do is they reimburse us for that Transportation I don't have a list where they go I can get that for you because my field trip secretary gets has all that information but that's what it is we just transport them to the different events that they have and it's for the students disadvantaged students that we transport and is that gonna hurt us on the drivers and the Recruitment and the availability no because it's just it's just during the summer it's a summer program that they do and like I said I forgot the amount of trips that they have but we have someone that does that over the summer okay thank you sure any other questions let's
089vote [Music] that passes 5-0 number 28 is item 23-1396 approved the amendment to the to the agreement with the A and D Morgan Corporation for construction goods and services for the Central High School phase two HVAC replacement project and authorize the purchase of construction goods and services for six million 747 625 and 77 cents this item is pulled by Shannon I need a motion um in a second discussion Shannon hello sir good evening thank you for coming yes ma'am can you explain to the constituents the amount of money and maybe how old the system is and what are we doing to keep it updated and what do we everything about it okay so this is the maintenance an HVAC replacement project for Central High School um it's being paid for with your half cent funds
090we did an RFQ for an architect and our engineer and then subsequent subsequently did one for A.D Morgan for the construction manager and they took bids on the project and um we're going to fund I think four and a half million dollars out of this year's money and a couple more million out of next year's have sent fund okay and it'll be a total HVAC you're saying that Morgan is going to be the construction management company that is correct and we're paying them 6.7 or is that the total project that's the total project so they're getting five or ten percent more like four four and a half I think was the rate we negotiated that's thank you Shannon you got more questions how old is the unit currently uh I believe they're from the 90s
091this will last us should be probably 20 to 30 year life span on the equipment so okay so any other questions please vote [Music] that passes 5-0 number 31 is item 23-1416 approved the agreement with new teacher Center and authorize the issuance of a purchase order for the amount of forty three thousand dollars this item is pulled by Shannon discussion I need a motion I'm sorry I need a motion okay discussion so I have read the BIOS from their Chief officers I've looked at the reviews even the employees complain about the company the infrastructure is terrible the management and the turnover is constant non-stop some complain about a toxic work environment there's horrible leadership and this just goes on and on and on so I've read the mission statement it gives first-hand accounts of what
092the reviews of what they went through can you explain it a little bit more this program I apologize I couldn't hear the first part could you say that again I'll let you explain and then I'll tell you okay what am I explaining the program the new teacher Center is the contracted partner with the Florida Department of Education to provide mentoring and coaching services to the district so we utilize them to provide training to our mentors to learn how to go through the coaching cycle with first-year teachers provide relevant and actionable feedback teach them how to use data analysis in their classroom and provide learning walks pure coaching and any other relevant for first year teachers okay I was you didn't hear me earlier I was saying that I went on and I read their bios
093from their Chief officers I've looked at the reviews from their employees and they did not have good recommendations and good reviews even from their employees the management and the turnover is constant have do you have any contacts there anybody you deal with what is your relationship with them um we've maintained the same relationship with our area supervisor so um I'm not really sure about what the changes at the their corporation level are so what we haven't really seen that they've maintained um strong systematic support for us over the last three years okay option is the construct Ive vision of coaching for equity planning to support Equitable instruction observing to support Equitable instruction analyzing student learning to inform Equitable instruction and to teaching maintaining confidentiality with students available to every young person to have student teacher
094trust that is unshakable so the more and more you read their website I think it's unbelievable that we're even doing business with this company because they're focusing on first-year teachers they're coaching them and they're syncing all their values and indoctrinating these new teachers with these woke ideologies once again I'm not going to approve any woke agenda I'm not doing it so everything about it [Applause] this is what we're trying to keep out of our schools this is what we don't want we want our kids to have wholesome traditional education we want English Math Science History and this isn't it isn't to make anyone upset everyone has their opinions and you guys are entitled to it just as much as I am but read your homework read your read all your stuff on these you will
095see it has all of the woke indoctrination and you might be okay with it all right that's enough listen I can empty out the whole audience so Miss Clark was it you said this was approved by the Florida Department of Education yes they are contracted partner with Florida doe we do not use um programs from them we use their High effect coaching materials that go along with what we're required to implement for new teachers that's required in statute thank you Mark are they the only coaching service approved by the doe currently yes the only one right now yes that's got to be hard to believe I any other questions [Music] let's vote that passes three to two number number 40 is item 23-1452 oh sorry that's one sorry let's go back number 35 is item
09623-1427 approve the purchase of multi-touch panels from Howard Technology Solutions for an estimated cost of nine hundred and fifteen thousand dollars and uh nine hundred fifteen eight fifty this item was pulled by Shannon I need a motion and a second okay discussion Shannon you want to sell it hi thank you can you explain this absolutely this is a purchase of multi-touch panels uh fine example here and there that actually go into the classrooms that are used by teachers in order to put on instruction for the students this was based upon a Esser grant that was given to the district it had very specified things you could or could not purchase with it and the decision was made by the instructional the curriculum side to purchase these panels I have to discussing it with teachers principals
097and others what will be the most useful tool and after we put it out for bid multiple bid vendors did return uh bids this particular vendor not only gave the best pricing also offered 50 free panels they're donating 50 panels to the district and unlimited professional development on these panels so teachers can know how to model these into the classroom use them for instructional purposes we have quite a few this type of panel already in the district um they're very useful they've replaced multiple pieces of equipment they're very adorable we have panels that are in excess of seven years old still functioning perfectly uh and so it eliminates the need to purchase many other things such as document cameras uh projectors and other items to be used in the classroom um it's it's a tool
098that the teachers have made very clear they like having in their classrooms for two funds by September 30th that is correct okay so we'll be making this purchase if it's approved this evening the purchase order will go tomorrow okay thank you well thank you any other questions please vote [Music] and that passes five zero thank you now number 40 is item 23-1452 approve the purchase of goods and or services from curriculum Associates and approve purchase orders and the amount not to exceed 959 150 64. this was pulled by Mark discussion Mr Sanders yes sir I assume we're talking about I ready hold up did we get a second give me a second now thank you I assume we're talking about I ready yes sir I um I'm not a fan of I ready a couple
099things about it bother me they remind me of Pearson they they have the testing they have the materials they grade it and they evaluate it I think it's totally wrong I have all the faith in the world that our teachers know how to do it if we took a million dollars around numbers we could hire a lot more personnel and let our teachers do it they know how to do best and that's work with their students the other thing I the other thing I disagree with about I ready and my biggest nut with that is my daughter teaches in Maryland she tells me that their Diagnostics come back consistently 20 below what she evaluates her students to be at what level now I don't know if they do that to sell more products because I
100understand they offer another variety of products another level underneath Ivory if students are failing um I and then again as I understand it you cannot see what questions A student got wrong or how they got them wrong you know if it's multiple choice I'm going to assume like most multiple choice there's a correct answer and almost correct answer and two obviously the wrong ones so you don't know what what the student is thinking when they make an incorrect choice or a proper choice if you hit all C's you're going to get a certain grade on a test or all A's whatever it happens to be I don't like that diagnostic at all and I think I've made that clear in the past I'm sorry yeah one point that we've looked at and we've shared at
101the workshop is that strong correlation between what I ready tests on and what our state assessment is so over the years and that's included in your packet that you have it has the correlation between FSA and then we also include the correlation between our new state assessment which is called fast for pm1 and pm2 compared to ap2 for I ready we have 245 000 students in our district I mean in our state and that correlation is 0.77 2.88 anything over 0.7 is a strong correlation so I'm very confident about what is actually tested on already and what our state assessment is and referring to your point about teachers I absolutely want believe that teachers are the drivers of students achievement and that's why the resources that were provided through everybody is so that teachers can
102provide the very best instruction that's differentiated and Target and meets some of our legislative requirements which we've you know share the workshop but wouldn't you rather take a million dollars and hire 100 teachers realistically that's a hundred thousand dollars a teacher with Benefits I leave that to HR sir I mean come on easy I I don't I'm sorry I I'm just opposed to I ready when they can show me the questions that a student gets wrong on on a given assessment if they can show me how they got them right I would change my mind possibly but from what I know and how they operate and and the fact that they're based out of Massachusetts and we all that's a very liberal State and it's very woke state I can't go along with him whoa
103foreign [Applause] I'm just going to pass out to you um and we did not have this at the workshop I received um a letter from this Jill Bradford she's a senior vice president and chief legal officer at curriculum Associates and they have reviewed all of their products this letter I'm going to give you um serves to confirm that all products offered by curriculum Associates comply with all Florida laws and regulations related to educational content so I thought that I got this for you based on the workshop last time any other Susan question sansi yes ma'am Mr Johnson has a complaint about the fact that you can't see the questions on the assessment correct me if I'm wrong and you will tell me along the way as students are working on i-Ready do doesn't the teacher
104see what problems a student might be having and take corrective action through i-Ready apparently so yes so you teachers it's like the SAT act you don't get to see the you don't get to see the questions on any state assessment because you don't because it doesn't make it valid when you give away the information but yes they do see all the way through when they're using it already with kids what those kids are doing at any given moment and what course Corrections might be needed to help those kids and when you are a teacher in front of 25 to 30 students and you're trying to individualize you need all the help you can get I have the teacher can never see the questions that the child answered correctly or incorrectly nor can she or he
105even access a description of the kinds of questions the child answered correctly or incorrectly the most the teacher will ever know is that a child scored poorly that's a giant category and it's far too broad to be actionable so that's some of the issues with iready you getting close at the district level we do review the questions on the diagnostic before I ready so we are able to see them any other questions please vote and that passes three to two what does that bring us back to Citizens input yeah this is the opportunity for the public to be heard hold on okay so at this time before we go into citizens input that we have 114 pink slips we're going to take a 10 minute recess yeah I'll throw it away it just I was
106borrowing the corner of your desk foreign foreign foreign foreign thank you foreign thank you let's take our seats and let's quiet down foreign there's a few things I want to say the numbers that were handed out were done randomly so I I said before that we have 114. if you have number 200 you're in this pile it's not that we're eliminating anybody okay as long as you've got a number and a pink slip you're in here the other thing I'd like to say is please think about what you were thinking about yesterday all day long the men and women that gave up lives and limbs so we could meet in a civil way please be kind be respectful no nastiness there's no reason for that and with that I'd like to turn it over to
107our attorney thank you this is the opportunity for the pelvic to be heard on any general topic of relevance to the operation of Hernando County Schools all speakers should have already submitted a pink citizens input form found on the tables at the entrance to the boardroom if you have any documents you wish to share with the board please provide them to the board secretary prior to speaking each speaker has up to three minutes to address the board and the remaining time is displayed on the monitor speakers will be called to come forward by the chair prior to making your remarks please state your name and address for the record all comments are subject to applicable School Board bylaws and policies including those requiring appropriate decorum and civility all statements shall be directed to the presiding
108officer no person may address or question board members individually staff members shall not be expected to answer questions from the audience unless called upon by the board chair or the superintendent please note that although the board encourages citizen participation no immediate action will be taken on items presented during the public comment portion of the meeting if follow-up board action is required then the matter may be placed on an agenda at a subsequent meeting in accordance with school board policy thank you first speaker is Harrison Aussie my world silt followed by Bonita blunt followed by Robert Gordon at speaker number one speaker number two speaker number three hi my name is Harrison cell I'm from Brooksville Florida I'm an upcoming senior at Springstead High School I'm a part of the IB program this year I've been
109able to get closer to my teachers thanks to IB getting more one-on-one learning while also gaining mentors and people to look up to through this I've witnessed the hardships teachers face in the State of Florida which leads me to my topic of discussion today which is the mistreatment of teachers by the Florida state government and how it impacts me as a student to start I'd like to shed light on some Brave teachers that have spoken out and I say brave because by now they are probably fired a teacher in Miami an amphibian Taylor spoke out on how she was told to hardly discuss Emmett Till one of the most notorious lynchings in American history saying that it could make children uncomfortable what do you think happens when you stop teaching history it repeats itself another
110teacher in Pensacola named Carol Cleaver who's milk out on not being able to discuss students emotional troubles not having a safe environment school that's not new the law prohibiting teachers to speak on race relations and diversity is Florida State's stop woke act if teachers can't discuss diversity how is it ever going to get better does the Florida state government even care for inclusivity the government claims that it's a war on woke or on woke or like war on your children's future the law prohibiting teachers to speak on lgbtq plus Topics in Florida is is in school is Florida State's don't say gay bill I can't believe that it's 2023 and it's questionable to be an ally to that Community as a matter of fact just nine months after hungary's government passed a form of the
111don't say gay Bill our government passed one too what's interesting about that is that Hungary is a communist country and we followed right in their footsteps it seems like the use of fascist ideas to oppress lgbtq plus Topics in school doesn't look so bad in the eyes of the Florida state government does it I'm extremely concerned for our future if these are the issues that the Florida state government focuses on and you should be too you ever wonder why you don't hear many teachers speaking out on this issue it's because they're scared teacher vacancy has more than doubled since January of 2019 going from 2200 to numbers as high as 5300 could it be because students are getting worse maybe could it be due to the backlash of covid maybe or could it be because
112they're scared to they're scared to say anything that will get them fired nonetheless scared to show a Disney movie in class or read a book with a gay character in it most likely how are we supposed to get an unbiased education when the teachers are walking on eggshells to end my point I'd like to leave you with this every person on the school board in the Florida state government most likely has children or grandchildren and those kids are going to build our future alongside me while they may build it teachers are the ones who hold them to be an active member of society and I am so scared for the future if our teachers our mentors are being silenced something needs to change and all we could do is speak out I asked the school
113board to protect teachers and fight stronger for those that look up that we look up to protect our teachers protect my education protect our future thank you for your time [Applause] thank you I appreciate everybody waving your hands we are listening to the speaker and watching the audience so please continue with Bonita Lund I from Brooksville I'm a junior at Springstead High School in the IB program and I've been a student in this County for the last 12 years as time has gone on I've noticed a shift in the school district's Focus that does not seem to be in the student's benefit this is most evident in the ways our experiences with teachers have been affected from my point of view having the best Educators possible can make all the difference between a student not
114caring about school and school being an impactful part of their life when students look back on past school years there's always those select few teachers they can immediately identify as having made an impact on them not just as students but as people unfortunately it seems to be those very teachers that this county is losing right now particularly at my own School experienced engaged teachers are either leaving or considering leaving their current teaching positions this is extremely harmful to the growth of myself and others as we are forced to lose connections with some of the most important adults of Our Lives outside of the home it is unfair that I must lose relationships that have shaped me as a person and helped influence what I plan to do for my future instead of having teachers knowledgeable
115in their subjects and devoted to the education of the Next Generation we must deal with long-term substitutes and inexperienced teachers that merely fill the position worse it feels more and more like the material being taught by qualified Educators has done so in a fragile manner to avoid saying the wrong thing this is especially evident when topic up discussion includes different cultures or social issues these are not political ideas these are facts of modern society that students have a right to learn about being an IB student means being a world leader having a deeper understanding of the world we live in is imperative to our experience in particular classes like history English anthropology and world religions should provide multiple perspectives and opportunities for open discussions without fear of abiding by guidelines of censorship we should not
116have to disregard our views relating to real world topics we learn about because some on this board do not hold this same views how can I fulfill my obligations as a student and become a well-rounded adult if the required topics of my curriculum cannot be fully covered overall there seems to be a clear disregard for the needs of students you're not an agenda we are developing young adults learning under a board where certain members fail to consider it students to make changes there must be more involvement of students with the school board there's a gaping lack of communication between the board and those its policies effect I was not even aware I could speak at a meeting until quite recently I recognize there's a position for a student representative to the board but there appears
117to be no utilization of this position to provide an actual voice for students if the goal of the board by having a representative was to allow the youth a designated voice to advocate for their educational needs this goal is far from being achieved there must be more board involvement with the general population of students not to let us dictate policy but to allow us to accurately represent ourselves and secure the best educational experience possible thank you for your time thank you thank you next week is Robert Gordon followed by Tony and Noise Aiden korberg is it number five speaker five and Rachel Roberts hi I'm am I yeah hi I'm Robert Corden I live in Spring Hill and before I begin I'd like to ask every board member to please give me their full attention
118as I have not seen that and you know if that is addressed to you good evening my name is Robert Corden I am a junior soon to be senior calm down I'm a junior soon to be senior at Nature Coast Technical High School and I love my school my school means a lot to me this County means a lot to me over the years of my education here in Hernando County I have seen a lot of change students have changed School procedures have changed and what it means to be a student has changed members like member Rodriguez and member Johnson see an issue of teacher-less classrooms and instead Focus their energy on the lgbtq community and other problems like getting superintendent Stratton removed this is why teachers are leaving the profession because members like member
119Rodriguez and member Johnson don't listen to the people that they serve when taking this position you accepted the responsibility to represent every single student fairly and justly I do not feel you have done that instead of representing me and other lgbtq plus students because yes we exist you instead you instead have alienated I made us feel as if our entire existence is an issue to you my existence should not be an issue to you but come next election season my vote will be thank you members Rodriguez and Johnson you do not represent me you do not represent my teachers you do not represent Hernando County Superintendent Stratton is one of the best superintendents this county has ever seen he's involved with students involved with school activities I'll be the chairman okay point of order then
120be a chairman please [Music] [Applause] take care take it easy now back off continue I'd like to reclaim my time that was just taken for me please [Applause] as I was saying superintendent Stratton is one of the best superintendents this county has ever seen he is involved with students involved with school activities and every student in this county has seen the active effort he has put into making every student feel appreciated at graduations he's shaking hands he's smiling while other members are on their phone texting and playing games terminating his position will not just terminate his role as superintendent but it will terminate the reputation of this board as a whole as for members Rodriguez and Johnson please get your priorities straight thank you thank you just for um to answer your question Miss Rodriguez
121the statement is that no person may address or questions Boardman versus individually but that doesn't mean that people can't speak for three minutes [Applause] he asked everybody to pay attention [Applause] [Music] come that's not I'm sorry Miss noise good evening my name is Tony Ann Noyes and I live in Brooksville first I would like to address the drag show that Nature Coast allegedly was going to host if you look at the flyer which Miss Rodriguez referred to a few school board meetings ago the junior service League was hosting it it was held at the Shriners Club on Montour Street not Nature Coast the junior service League called our culinary teacher and asked if our students would cook for them no one knew who the MC was going to be Miss Rodriguez called Mr Stratton and
122our culinary teacher to let us know Mr Stratton an immediate immediately called me and then I called our teacher and then we called him back at that time when he called Miss Rodriguez after that event I felt we were all working for the good of the district this leads me to my second point I've been in this district for over 30 years and have worked for multiple superintendents I can truly say that Mr Stratton has been a leader for all the people the climate has become tumultuous and does not do service to our students as well as our teachers and staff speaking as an educator the best lessons were the ones that we could address the teachable moments you have made our teachers afraid to go off script or teachers have our students best interest
123at heart I hope we will soon get back to where people are able to respect our school system and know that we do what's best for our students thank you thank you Aiden is it I'm sorry I missed it yeah I'm sorry I couldn't make out your last name Cabrero hi my name is Eden Cordero and I am a trans woman student at Springfield High School can you use this microphone seems that this one works better I'm sorry my name is Annie Cordero and I'm a trans woman student at Springside High School I have been out of the closet for about two years now and have faced many challenges that usually come with my identity many students have called me slurs and made gross remarks to me and or about me which is honestly a
124given what I am disappointed about is the number of teachers that have also voiced problems with my identity there have been teachers who have marched down to Administration to demand that I stopped using the girls bathroom there has been a teacher that has told me I make everyone am comfortable and there has been an incredible amount of teachers that have just been downright hostile towards me with my transness again people are part of the board are not paying attention teachers are supposed to care about their students no matter what and it seems that many teachers do care about their students but only one type of student cisgender students I have teachers who are discriminary towards me and that's okay according to new rules being made but teachers who are accepting me and welcome me with
125open arms are met with pitchforks and fires what's mind-blowing to me is that there are literal rats crawling to my school's ceiling and yet administrators and District legislators are more worried about Pride Flags in classrooms and what bathroom I use than actually fixing the significantly more pressing issues facing this District there are times where I do feel really unsafe and very uncomfortable at school by teachers and students if I complain about the teachers to administrators they'll get a slap on the wrist if I complain to adults about kids calling me a about kids calling me about kids posting pictures to me on social media like I'm some sort of Bigfoot and about kids follow me around and harassing me yeah they might get in trouble but they're going to continue that behavior and honestly it
126might worsen if it's complained about these clearly anti-queer laws and legislation surrounding the school board are allowing this Behavior it's allowing kids to feel as though they can tear queer kids down it's demand that there be no products in classrooms and no gay kids in Disney movies and that kid's chosen pronouns aren't used that leads to kids like me killing themselves it's more and more worried about Disney movies having a gay character in them than they're very real and noticeable problems of our students that we know that they're so very clearly a problem it's sad that only when someone like me dies or kills themselves that that's when we start talking about the problem at hand I'm not up here right now for attention I have all these attention I need from a loving father
127and a mother and a devoted group of friends I'm not up here to turn your kids transgender I'm not contagious I'm up here to tell the school board to do better and to start caring about all types of students people like me go through these things almost every day and creating these harmful regulations and roles such as working this I'm not trying to spread the woke agenda keeping John Stratton as superintendent would help make our schools a safer place for people like me and your election of Shannon Rodriguez the lady up there that's not even paying attention is worsening these issues thank you so much before you leave don't push it before you leave I think you dropped a piece of paper while you're speaking [Applause] Rachel okay good evening Rachel Roberts I'm here from
128Tampa actually from the defense of democracy Tampa Bay firstly I think it's important to make the record very clear despite lies on Facebook we have not threatened violence to anyone on this board we are simply here to stand up for Miss Jenna Barbie superintendent Stratton and to share our appreciation and respect for all the Hernando County teachers and the media specialists I would be remiss if I did not mention my utter disappointment in a board member for her unnecessary overreaction regarding Miss Barbie the majority of Americans do not approve of reporting Educators to the state for showing Disney films the majority of Americans do not approve of teaching children especially young gay boys that who they are is so unspeakable it can't even be briefly mentioned in a classroom that is shameful what you did
129is shameful I want to ask the board to voice their support for all the Educators and superintendent Stratton and to work to end these toxic and cruel attacks that are going on towards your Educators if my daughter was alive today Miss Jenna Barbie and the other Educators from Hernando County that I have met are exactly who I would want as her teachers Educators that while teaching the standards also make students feel seen for who they are becoming and safe while they're learning losing Educators who create an environment focus on learning in a positive and fun way is a huge loss to this community losing superintendent Stratton would be another huge loss to this community the behavior of some on this board is driving quality Educators away so I want all teachers media Specialists and superintendent
130Stratton to remember that the world knows you are not groomers you are not indoctrinating you are not evil you are respected trusted and appreciated there is a vocal minority working to demonize your efforts and your passion for educating the Next Generation but the majority sees you for the amazing humans that you are and the amazing work that you do every day and to all the gay children in Hernando County you are perfect just the way you are you deserve to be in Disney films you deserve to be represented in class be proud of who you are and walk with your head held high no matter how some adults here may make you feel I asked this board make it known that all children are welcome and will be represented in school and you will not
131punish the teachers who simply respect their existence I hope that educators will stay and know that there is a growing group of citizens who will be here to stand up for you next year I hope you have an amazing summer because after this year you all deserve it thank you foreign [Music] the later it gets the less patience I have I can tell you right now speakers seven eight and nine that's Abigail kaisner Sandra and Laura San Diego and this speaker this microphone I think is working now hello um hello my name is I'm from Spring Hill and I'm a current student at Springstead High School in Hernando County I'm usually The Quiet One however now I finally feel the need to make my voice heard the school board has said over and over again
132that they want what's best for their students if this is true why are you allowing rose that make your students feel more and more unwelcome if this is true why are you micromaging our Educators causing an unbearable work environment for both students and teachers making the students education suffer if this is true why do you care more about your own personal beliefs and the mental well-being of the children you say you want what's best for the kids well then listen to the kids when we tell you what we need what I think you're going to have to accept is that gay children are going to exist no matter what restrictions or rules you put out to keep them hidden it is not some ideology that you can change it is who they are and it's
133who they're going to continue to be you have the choice to make them feel welcomed and safe in their classroom instead of ashamed or hidden if your goal is truly to protect the children of this District you would make school a welcoming an environment for all of your students the classroom should not only be comfortable for the students but also the teachers our teachers should not have to constantly be afraid of slipping up or having obscure accusations created against them they should not have to tiptoe around your rules scared of losing their jobs for showing a Disney movie or saying the wrong thing and because of these restrictions many of our important educators are leaving in Hernando County we already have a shortage of teachers which I'm sure you guys already know but making our
134teachers jobs unbearable is only going to make the students education worse and worse so you need to listen to us when we say that the rainbow in our classroom is not indoctrinating us seeing two girls together in a Disney movie is not brainwashing us and your policies are not protecting us from anything it is very clear that you are targeting irrelevant problems that only exist in your eyes if you stand by your word and want what's best for the students of this District you accept that all different types of kids exist including those a part of the lgbtq community and it is your job to make all the children feel safe thank you my name is Sandy Roth and I've been a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem in Hernando County for over 17 years I've served
135in over 120 cases and seen 300 of your children go through the school system here 167 years ago Preston Brooks a pro-slavery member of the U.S House of Representatives notoriously cained Senator Charles Sumner an abolitionist nearly to death in an attack labeled symbolic of the breakdown of reasoned discourse that led to the Civil War at the establishment of Brooksville that same year the town chose to honor the aforementioned Preston Brooks with the city's name those of his held position in our community's greatest shame until just a few weeks ago when the actions of some components of this school board brought national attention ridicule and renewed disgrace to our community the accusation that a PG Disney movie the part of which was about a science lesson somehow stripping children of their innocence we all know as
136bogus if keeping children innocence is the goal I suggest that this board removed the Bible from the board's approved materials list because it's loaded with stories of Cruelty and violence rape murder Vengeance and wrath castration genocide Slaughter Human Sacrifice dismemberment sexual violence enslavement crucifixion and drowning I remind you of the Hernando County school board's vision statement to prepare students for a successful transition into a diverse and changing world and the statement that accompanies your stated objectives to embed critical thinking and problem solving and the learning opportunities for all students and the statement of your priorities teacher retention if this board supports these actions the and politically motivated claim then none of these aforementioned goals can ever be achieved we are surrounded by the diversity of our children in a world that you already recognize as
137diverse this board should be focused on supporting all of our children keeping them safe from anyone even those in your midst who would promote cruelty and Hate and thus prepare these children for as you claim in your vision statement a successful transition into a diverse and changing world to paraphrase Wanda Sykes until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight kids to death with a copy of thank you easy easy easy next is Laura San Diego Robert Redan is after that Christopher for your challenging Me crocodelly Maybe and Cheryl Gleason go ahead Laura hi my name is Laura Santiago I'm a teacher going on 20 years next year I work at Pine Grove Elementary and I'm going to put this down because I don't really need it anymore um we're a family and
138we're broken and we have to fix it and you know I only come up usually when you give out money didn't happen tonight and to talk to you and you know I come up when I'm passionate about something and we're having troubles but we're all sitting at the table together and that's what we have to do we have to figure it out let the record be clear I'm completely for inclusivity believe me my whole family stands by that every child should feel welcome on this campus every adult should felt welcome on the campuses of Hernando County when it comes to the books I get it there's two different philosophies we have a system use the system I've seen teachers have to vet the books the system's not broken let's just utilize it just like um
139superintendent said um good note about Pine Grove because sometimes boy we get thrown under the bus and I'm not sure why just before we came here tonight we went on our PBIS home visits I wish that's what we were talking about tonight I wish we were everything you had in the back where we're showing live it love it learn it and all those successes it saddens me that we're not even discussing that that saddens me but it's important to discuss the things we're discussing and yes I would love if every school board member looked at me right now I would love that so very much because I don't think I deserve any less that being said I'm going to leave up some time for other people to come up and talk oh but I need
140your help come help us vet these books please it is my beautiful niece working by herself trying to vet these books every physical person come on Campus sign in through the front office grab a book check it against the list I understand what you're saying let's vet them together if need be although I'm not really for censorship but there you go Stratton should stay thank you Robert my name is Robert Reardon I'm from Brooksville I've been sitting here tonight and I'm appalled by how many gay people are here okay yeah this is not what happened when I went to school teachers didn't teach lesbianism and whatever ISM it is of this week this is outrageous that this kind of stuff is even taught in schools hold up but what they do in their bedroom is
141their own business woman it's none of mine so don't push it down my throat I'm not pushing anything I want you I want everybody to have your attention just just a minute offices and Guardians if you see somebody jumping up or going against what I said at the beginning of this meeting please Point them out to me I can't watch this whole room by myself I don't care From This Moment On from this moment on sorry I heard one of the speakers just before me bashed the Bible one of the things in the Bible is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by God because of gay lesbianism and orgies so why do we teach us in school we should teach religion in school instead of gayism in uh whatever else
142you want to call it this is appalling to me and as you said yesterday was my brothers day would be turning over in their graves today for what's going on in those schools that's all I got to say thank you hold up a minute hold up a minute Christopher rockinelli Spring Hill Florida that is something follow up board I stand before you today as an alumni of Pine Grove Elementary School Powell Middle School Springside High School a two-year long-term substitute for Hernando County schools and as of three weeks ago an employee of the Hernando County School System teaching fourth grade homegrown it is what I am my aunt Miss Laura Santiago just spoke before you you said my sister is our media specialist and my mom teaches Pre-K family is what this means to me
143I love my school I love my district it is time to work together for two years all I wanted to be was a teacher I'm about the only person probably in this room running down the door to work for you so thank you for hiring me there's not many of us trying to work for you but I do and I want you to make me want to work for you because for two years that's all I wanted and in the last six months I questioned it but the reason I do it is because I have 44 students this year that I adore those are my students and I want to talk about the room that I teach in I teach in what's called an inclusion classroom you could say that word again inclusion you're fighting
144the word inclusion and I get from your standpoint but I have 22 inclusion students students with disabilities that your rhetoric makes them feel unheard they are fourth graders they don't understand so when they hear that we want traditional classrooms they weren't in traditional classrooms they were put to the side we have these inclusion rooms we have these ESC students that want to be seen and heart make sure that they are seen and hard come to school come to I work at an ESC Center School come to one of our schools not five minutes before the bell rings to check out our ESA classrooms come in when students are there come in and see why our classrooms look the way they do these students need us they need us and I need you to convince me
145why I should continue to work for the Hernando County School District thank you thank you Cheryl before you begin just let me announce the next speakers Zach Bond David Bond David you speak for one minute and 43 seconds you were on with the pinks whether the green ones and speaker 15 all night I'll never figure out what your name is okay so it's speakers 13 14 and 15 half this channel thank you my name is Cheryl Gleason I'm in Spring Hill Florida I've been employed by the Hernando County school system for 12 years of the Hernando County School System my children one who has just exited the Army he did his time he served his time he is now selling insurance if you need any um my other children attend the schools in Hernando County
146working for and being with Dr superintendent Stratton has been an honor he is a superintendent that shows up for all of our students I see him in our schools it would be a detrimental loss for him to be out of this County out of the school district he is such a pillar to education about a month ago my daughter spoke bravely Emma about concerns she had in Hernando County Schools concerns about books social media access and disrespect she offered Solutions at that meeting since that meeting more problems have manufactured and it's terrible to see the way that the district has made the news shouldn't we be better adults and citizens of the community and treat each one each another with Civility and let every student know that they are about valued we are the examples
147in society our children my children are watching our students are watching how does the community expect to fix the Divide when they have no clue what a single day looks like in a school I can tell you from the experience that the answers are coming from your teachers and administrators and school board members who show up to support those students to support us to the teachers that have left a mark on my Stu my children every day I thank them I think the students that came here to talk because that power is in numbers and you're right students you have a voice and we do love to see the voices of our students in this Atrium and hopefully back in the school board meetings and to the people who are here watching and not giving
148the attention to us it just shows us a disconnect like you're not listening to us and we can have differences of opinions and we can be on different sides of the road but the road leads to Student Success and nurturing every single child in Hernando County thank you Zach Bond hey good evening Mr Stratton and the school board I'm Zach Bond and I'm a student of Springstead High School and I want to talk about the effects of some of the policies some of you are enforcing now I don't have statistics data or busy paperwork that you guys probably always have but uh I do have something you don't and that's a firsthand perspective of what happens in high school Zach hold the microphone closer to your mouth oh sorry that's okay uh one thing I
149know is that education should neither be political religious if you want to go if you want to celebrate religion go to church if you want to be political go to a voting poll in school it should be attempted to be unbiased factual and fun for students in my AP World History Class we watched All Quiet on the Western Front which is a movie that vividly depicts the Bloodshed in World War One as the problem of viewing particular Disney movies Rose we cannot watch The Emperor's New Groove a Disney movie The innocently cross-dresses a llama to an annoying wife just keep their enemy what I'm leading to is everyone has a right to their opinion including Shannon Rodriguez as a mother my problem is it is not your position to enforce that opinion on the majority
150of students who show that Viewpoint just as I don't have the jurisdiction to parent your children you know us so uh I hope you guys understand that as all of you argue that the children are still here we're in the crossfire I hope you guys understand that you're here to help us students and continue to work hard to keep the education unbiased and beneficial to all thank you for your work and thank you for your time David Bond we need to reset our clock already yeah I have limited time as I already spoke you want to know how much time you have hi I'm David Bond thank you um first of all I'd like to say I've heard a lot of IB students come up here and uh they're the cream in the crop of
151Hernando County I mean there's other programs that have a lot of smart students but ib's probably going to be the leadership of our future so uh when they speak uh you should listen because they are very smart and they know what's going on but anyway um we live in a democracy and a democracy means that everybody's included that's a registered voter at least right and you can be gay or you could be a redneck or you can be whatever you want to be it's okay because democracy covers all that it's diverse right well there's a law that says if I want to get rid of one of you board members Florida Statutes chapter 100 section 361 is a recall election for elected officials in Hernando County we qualify for the maximum but if you have
152a 1 000 registered voters that sign a petition and it's got to be an ink and they got to be confirmed by their address and by a witness you can call for a recall election for any one of these board members up here all you got to do is from the time from the first uh signature you receive you've got to do it within 30 days but within 30 days you can actually get a recall election to get rid of any one of these board members up here you want and it doesn't matter if you're blue black or green you can do it thank you thank you [Music] I'll try one more time speaker 15 that I can't make out the handwriting are you here yes not yet okay we'll put it up there okay
153now we got to speak a 1920 and 21 Pam Everett Robert Christensen and Monty Patterson oh wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait I'm messing up have a seat have a seat I skipped some Aisha Hayden Elizabeth Braden and Donna Perkins Alasia Elijah Isaiah that was close I don't think oh there you go I sound horrible cool um hi my name is Isaiah Hadden I live in Spring Hill I graduated from Springstead I went to JD Floyd in Hernando uh for over a year I've worked with youth from ages 5 to 17 who have been struggling with either substance use criminal justice involvement or mental health struggles and every week on every Tuesday I sit with a group of kids in our support group and we have an open conversational
154anything we might be struggling about whether it be with any of those things involving or sometimes we have a little fun too and recently my group has been having a big trouble because a lot of my group is lgbtq and it's one of the only support groups we have in this County that is inclusive of them and they've been scared a lot lately they're hearing these words these big big big words that have really no meaning behind them but they're big words and they're scaring them and these are kids that are at risk for things like suicide for self-harm and for a lot of god-awful things involving bullying and the stuff they receive for being lgbtq the thing that hurts me most is that I know that your experienced firsthand and unfortunately I know their
155experience of my other kids who aren't LGBT in that group the Christian kids when I was in high school I raised money for the SGA club which is the gay straight Alliance and the Christian Club these are two safe havens for me for a long majority of my life and I see these kids I see these LGBT kids Crews that I can I can feel their their scare and these Christian kids that they just don't want to see their friends going through this pain and yet here we are inflicting it it is devastating devastating devastating to see myself and these kids to know that for me and my story I was able to go to my teachers and my guidance counselors without fear of retaliation from anything and talk to them about things I was
156going for and with the help of them my mom my psychiatrist everything that I needed for my personal struggles I was able to continue my life and recover I am afraid that if I didn't have those teachers if I didn't have that guidance counselor who cared so much about me who sat with me through many tears and was able to work through those things I know that if I didn't have those they're like really likely chance I would have killed myself and I see these kids going through the same thing and where do they run to not the same people I can not seeing people I did their stories the same as mine but the conclusion is not something they can have so easily because we keep putting these barriers up and it's just very
157very very hard to sit we hear these big things about lgbtqs killing themselves at higher rates and we ignore it we see people talking about these stories we ignore it if you would like to at any point I would love to reach out to you guys I'll reach out to you guys in a week after all these emails come through I will sit down with you and I'll talk to you I'll give you these statistics I'll tell you these stories I would love to thank you oh we're good Elizabeth Braden Brodin Braden is an eight you're on okay hi my name is Betsy Braden and I'm from Tampa I have two kids who went to public school in Hillsborough County they're at public colleges one's at FSU and one's at new College I'm here to
158support teachers such as Barbie and superintendent Stratton and by the way I went to the learn right Summit last month offered by moms for Liberty I learned that 80 percent of parents love their Public Schools but I was very surprised to learn that teachers and school boards are groomers and pedophiles and teachers want to indoctrinate students to be lgbtq be a happy warrior always be on the offense 80 percent of parents don't like book bands so just say we're eliminating porn Meanwhile Back to Reality the number one killer of children in the U.S is in books or porn or movies or car accidents it's guns as Wanda Sykes says until a drag queen walks into a school and beats eight students to death with a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird I think we are
159focused on the wrong thing moms for Liberty doesn't care about safety or well-being of students otherwise they would address the number one killer of children they ban books attack teachers and the lgbtq community to push their anti-critical thinking agenda they avoid the real problems such as teacher and administration vacancies low morale low pay and High student per teacher ratios teachers aren't the enemies neither is the lgbtq community I'm happy for the turnout tonight please keep protesting and showing up for these meetings we need to be on the offense we need to stop the privatization of public schools and attacks on public schools and teachers please run for school board and vote out the extremists democracy is at stake thank you Donna Perkins Pam Everett Robert Christensen good evening my name is Donna Perkins Miss Sarah
160Towne I'm a woke voter from District Four and as many others that are here I'd like to address issues that have been brought to the Forefront in the past few weeks first I want to say Mr Stratton it's great to see all your supporters and this is not it there's more out there just let you know I'd like to say that the to the board that your device with behavior is not becoming as adults who are responsible for educating our children and some of them look at us in the eyes when we speak to them Mr Stratton I would say to you that your only failure is that you did not manage a principal principles are supposed to be managed and you are a manager and a leader the situation at the middle school at
161Fox Chapel Middle School one of the administrators was not removed because he's going to retire but he also is a manager and a leader and should have been held accountable for this human instinct tells me that this was a problem for quite some time before the teacher uttered those words and I'm thinking that all of this could have been prevented had Fox Chapel's administrators just disciplined the students and talk to the principal about it there are solutions to the book band but the students answered those so much better than I could ever but finally I'd like to say to Miss Rodriguez if I'd had a child in Hernando County or was a district employee harmed by your abuse I would press charges against you for using the district's bullying and harassment policy and I'm sure
162you've read it and if not maybe perhaps the board chair can talk to you about it thanks thank you pam pam Everett Brooksville Florida I too have a calling and is to help children with need you claim that we are wasting money in our inclusion I.E I'm gonna cry our kids in need I advocate daily for these kids yes the rooms do need to be upgraded but we need to spend money on resources we need to get the help to make these children successful we need to help them be part of success Society we can't do that by making pretty rooms but to do it we come together as parents Staffing teachers we come together and we work together we don't fight amongst themselves because that's not going to accomplish anything so when you stop
163the Witch Hunt we need to work follow procedures do it just accordingly write for our students I think that you should stay have a day in an inclusion class don't walk in and check out the classroom itself see what actually goes on what are we doing to equip these children for the future what are their needs we don't have enough people or resources to to help these children it takes money it takes time in a pretty room that they're going to destroy within minutes is not the answer you need to follow procedures in everything you do you're not going to save the world by doing that you're going to have them come down on you and they are the gentleman before me said that it takes a petition to remove you well Shannon you had
16421 000 people vote you in God has given us a change.org petition as of right now in the last hour and a half 273 more people have signed this petition we are at 23 788 people who would like you to resign a lot of them are across the county yeah but that's a very vast volume of saying that we are not happy with how you're doing things you want to make change follow procedures do the right thing quit going in there and be in this mad crazy person saying that you want change you're going to do this work with them take the follow the procedures and the books you find a book you should have went straight to the administration instead you run and give it to your best friend who takes it to the
165governor that's not procedure that's not going to fix anything we need to stop Banning books because we're going back in history we're repeating history the Nazis took away the Jewish rights of books what are we going to do start executing people for reading bad books now it's the Parent's Choice no we should not have pornography in this classroom we need procedures but we need to give it to the parents right to decide what is best for their child not Shannon Rodriguez [Music] thank you foreign Monty Peterson after that Susan capanya and [Music] Shelly sheeks waiting on time calm down oh I'm morning calm okay how you doing my name is Robert Christensen I am a proud Western chauvinist and I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world that's the first thing I want to
166get out of the way why is it we follow the timeline of events that happen here you have a trans teacher threatened to harm students and themselves Stratton tries to sweep it under the carpet that doesn't work okay let's create another controversy quickly oh Shandon does her job she gets a report that there's stuff hey why are they not being removed why is it when a republican speaks out you're so quick to jump down our throat but these people speak up and you're not saying nothing all right I'm tired of the double standard coming out of here this board right here and you the Rhinos you've exposed yourselves and used to you know what a thousand signatures are needed to get anybody right against okay bet you you you we're gonna get you out all
167right because it's about time that people realize this entire thing about the the movie do you people even realize that it's the procedure wasn't followed about the movie it's not the content of the movie you're hoping that gas lights everyone do a response that's the problem that's going on here you're hoping everyone focuses on the oh gay characters no Administration according to their own policy has to approve a video the video was not approved the kid went to her parents and said why am I watching this that's the problem not the content now you're hoping you can hide behind the content you got this teacher running around like sees The Lorax these are supposed to be mentors I don't want your teacher being my child's friend your teacher's there to teach my child and be
168a mentor the example the example of what an adult should be men are to be men alpha males do you understand me you have awakened the entire alpha male blood of this country with your leftist wrote ideology you're pushing in here that's all I have to say and I want to apologize for offending people this was brought to you by said Perry [Applause] is yours yeah can you pass these down next speaker is Marty Patterson and he has handed us a handout enough please my name is Monty Patterson I'm with I live in Brooksville Florida I like to get the public timeline and events at Fox Chapel Middle School in regards to Ashley renkowski incident based on Sheriff's Office reports the school district information court filings and the doe statements on March 24th Fox Chapel
169Middle School administration reports comments were made by rinkowski threatening herself and students to a guidance counselor all investigating agencies agree that the teacher did not meet the criteria for imminent harm to sell for others teacher did not qualify for the Baker Act all this was stated by the Hernando County School District mental health coordinator sander Hurst and the sheriff's office so Brian Timothy in the case Master report closed on March 27 2023 March 24th and 27th all school board members received a text from the school district regarding the Fox Chapel incident and it re and it includes rinkowski's name March 24th Sarasota office the Sheriff's Office Deputy Joseph mirando stated that he asked rinkowski if she would be willing to voluntarily surrender her weapons and she complies March 27 through the 29th teacher is removed
170from this student contacting campus March 28th Hernando County Sheriff's Office issues a temporary risk protection order RPO chairs District understood that it was to confiscate rickowski's weapons Sheriff's Office did not notify the school district that the RPO had included statements that she had mental illness and was clear and convincing evidence that she poses a danger to herself or others there is no available public report between the deputies Timothy cases Master report and the filing of the RPO to show how they came up to those conclusions April 10th Court issues the final risk protection order RPO is not given to the school district by the Sheriff's Office Court school board members or in other entities April 12th Sheriff's Office issues a press conference regarding the matter containing information not previously known to the school district regarding
171the RPO District of Education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr contact superintendent to review the incident and fully notify Scranton of the RPO criteria concerning rinkowski's mental illness and that she poses a significant risk to herself and others this is the first time that the Hernando County School District learns of this this evidence and findings for the second time the school removes the teacher April 13th superintendent Stratton receives a copy of the final RPO from the Hernando County school or sheriff's office in conclusion why would the school districts suspend or terminate rankowski when they had not received any of the reports contradicting the original Sor Timothy and Miranda Master report stating that runkowski did not meet the criteria for imminent harm or self uh Danger thank you who's Susan Susan yes Susan you're next hi you Shaylee
172yes you're after Susan oh I'm sorry it's okay hi my name is Suzanne Campanaro I've lived here since 2018 and I'm going to tell you a story of how it goes I lived in Canada now Canada they did the same thing or what's the big deal it went from what's a big deal to a bigger deal than now they have censorship they have children they're 12 years old that can go make the decisions to have things removed without their parents consent there is a lot of things that I don't agree with and parenting should be done in the house when my daughter was young she's 31 she is a teacher in Canada when she was young in grade five I didn't like her watching Simpsons people like what's the difference what's the point like why
173are you going against assistance I didn't parent her to watch stuff like that it was up to me to make that decision I didn't want that in her school she didn't play Grand Theft Auto my friend's kids did that's fine so how you parent is your business you want to treat you want to teach them about transgender that's fine they can learn that at home if you want these books that they said they're complaining about getting taken out of the schools buy them yourself on Amazon but leave my children to to learn how they need to learn and by the way the Bible's not in the school anymore so I mean at the end of the day you're sitting there judging us because we don't like something you don't ask me why I don't like
174it anything against gays I have nothing against transgenders I have nothing against anybody but the thing is children need to learn math they need to do a cursive they need to know how to balance a checkbook forget this whole gender stuff at this point you want to learn about your gen looks fine teach the kids what will make them better humans in the future they're our future and I think as a school board we got to go back to the old curriculum where they learn why are we spending so much time and energy wasting on these discussions when our kids are suffering because they're not getting the education they deserve you ask you go and look at different tick tocks of asking questions what's the capital of California they can't tell you because they did
175not learn so let's go back to the olden days where education mattered our children mattered that's all I want this whole thing of book Banning teach them at your house you can do whatever you want also back in Canada my daughter went to a Catholic school they allowed Muslims to join however they did not push the Muslim religion in the Catholic school and if the Muslims wanted to stand down for national anthem whatever that was their choice but you know what it was okay to be different and that's fine but nothing was pushed or shoved down the throat like it is today if I don't agree with you you're upset with me I already got this gentleman tell me to sit down before I even spoke so I mean at this day we need to
176be nicer to each other you know what I might not agree with you you might not agree with me however we're allowed to have different opinions and when there's a curriculum out there for those kids to learn in school we follow it you want something on the outside you go and find out on your own time and you know what parent your children so teachers don't have to it's a hard enough job being a teacher that's all I gotta say thank you enough chilling hi my name is Shaylee I want to thank you all for the opportunity to speak today I'm here with many others to make our voices heard to fight for what we believe in and to give an equal chance to an unbiased education as students we do not feel that we
177are heard or seen by our school board I can't speak for the teachers but from what I've seen and those I've talked to feel the same it seems that the majority of us have come to the same conclusion that opinions and personal beliefs should not be enforced into our education erasing and silence erasing our history and silencing those who are different does not give us a rounded education censoring and concealing topics is does nothing except create a near a narrative that will never help us in the real world as Educators it is your job to get us ready for the real real world through fact not opinions we should be able to go to school and feel safe and comfortable to ask questions and not feel like we will be in danger for asking them
178the same goes for teachers they shouldn't have to fear for their jobs for answering our questions and being there for us those teachers that show that they care for our well-being and our successes in every Endeavor are the teachers that make me feel safe in school more often than not you will find that we perform better in those environments than not the environments that you have created for teachers as of research has pushed away groundbreaking amounts of teachers while we already have a teacher shortage my sister hasn't had an actual math teacher in two years adding in a hostile environment has been plaguing our schools and is evidently pushing out more good teachers than that we obviously need getting rid of safe spaces and making it to where teachers are no longer able to connect
179with their students because everything they do is micromanage will make everyone suffer I would not have made it here today if it were not for those teachers and I am incredibly grateful for the connections I've been able to make with some of my teachers taking that away making schools unsafe environment for diversity learn and learning sets us up for failure there are certain board members that abuse their powers and their ideals are endangering all of us students and they should not be allowed to use their position to enforce their agendas onto us kids it's important going into the world that we receive a diverse environment and an education free from personal biases so we can make our own educated opinions and decisions going into the real world these issues are making it near impossible for
180me to want to stay here for college and it's making me fear for my siblings education is going into future that is all I have to say thank you thank you [Applause] next week is our number 24 25 and 26. Jolene Arianne Fernandez Justin Corrado and Rachel Nicole clock thank you [Music] please if you leave and do it quietly you may start feeling thank you is this good you're on dear members of the school board I'm Jalen Ariana Fernandez Rising seat Junior attending Springstead High School I live in Spring Hill I stand before you today as a student also as a member of a diverse and dynamic community I'm here to express my deep concern over the recent decision to prohibit teachers from displaying Decor unrelated to the curriculum being taught within their classrooms and
181learning environments this settlement is not only a just but also discriminatory by Banning symbols of Pride religious affiliations and other sorts of minority media you're effectively silencing voices of those who have been historically marginalized in our society this decision sends a message to those that are not deaf who are different that they're not welcome and that their presence is a threat to the status quo furthermore I urge you to consider the implications of this decision in light of the current political climate we're seeing a disturbing Trend in which Christianity is being incorporated into our government and our laws the separation of church and states of fundamental principle of our democracy yet we're seeing more and more instances in which religious beliefs are being used to justify discriminatory and policies and practices the resolution to banned
182political Decor is just one example of this trend by singling out certain symbols and beliefs as political and therefore unacceptable in classrooms you are effectively endorsing a particular worldview into Meeting those who do not share it this decision also undermines the very purpose of education education is about more than just learning facts and Figures it's about developing critical thinking skills and engaging in meaningful discourse by censoring certain symbols and beliefs you're depriving students of an opportunity to engage in important conversations about issues that affect their lives and their communities I urge you to reconsider this decision and to uphold the values of diversity inclusivity and equality that are essential for our democracy we must not let fear or Prejudice dictate our policies and practices instead we must work together to create a safe and inclusive
183learning environment where all voices are heard and all ideas are welcome thank you thank you Justin [Applause] hi my name is Justin kiratello and I'm from Spring Hill I'm 14 and I'm currently an IB freshman attending Springstead High School my entire life I've attended schools in Irma County since Pre-K I have been extremely involved in our community whether that be my Performing Arts education or my multiple times being on a student school council to preface I speak on behalf of not only myself but a large number of students adults and teachers here in Hernando County I've come here to today to address the outrageous and extremely blatant bigotry and discrimination I've seen come from members of this Council I'm a student something I can say none of you are you do not understand what occurs
184in our classroom because none of you are there some of you truly don't have our best interests at hand and instead of focusing on bettering our education you got to focus on spreading hatred many teachers in my school including two of my very own are leaving this year this is due to a large number of reasons but I can assure you flags have nothing to do with it when I heard that teachers could not have posters Flags decorations etc etc that did not align with the curriculum I immediately understood was simply a blanket slash umbrella to cover up obvious discrimination the legislation is from our state but the amount of endorsement is received from this Council has shocked me this was specifically put into place to Target minority groups whether that be religious groups people
185of varying sexual identities or people of color to remind you we all live in the year 2023. Ivan and avid watcher of many school meetings and the things I've heard have left a very sour taste in my mouth I've heard directly from a council member that it is not a teacher's job to impose their beliefs Upon a Child religious sexual orientation gender identity any of the above this came from a meeting that addressed the situation which occurred because the teacher showed a Disney movie I agree with this it is not a teacher's right but that is simply not what happened the movie Strange World suggested a potential homosexual relationship which was handled in the PG way the scene in question was simply a character telling their father the way they felt about another character who
186has the same gender there was no on-screen display of affection it was not brainwashing or children of becoming gay if a scene comes on with a relationship which is homosexual it is your job as a parent to not sign up permission so that to allow your channel to see the movie if it truly bothers you it does not make sense that you you would knowingly let your child see this content and then later have an issue with it instead of doing proper research if again it truly bothered you a child and parent should be able to have these discussions privately but children should not be borrowed from hearing these things entirely whether a relationship be gay or straight if you want to teach your child the birds and the bees why should they be allowed
187to see any content with relationships and Strange World the concept of the birds and the bees doesn't even discuss nor shown this nitpicking is simply just discrimination against the lgbtq plus Community this is not to help better our children's future this is to impose your own beliefs on not only your children but others children and what beliefs are rooted from archaic and malicious ideas they shouldn't be said no one should use their beliefs to spread hatred maybe some of you have forgotten the Golden Rule maybe some of you have forgotten that gay people people of color and people that don't observe Christianity have existed as someone who will eventually be able to vote and have children I know where I want my kids to grow up and I can tell you with great confidence that
188with this current current political climate I would not want them to grow up in Hernando County the issue is not teachers it is not staff members faculty and movies it is people who sit on this board with power that thank you Rachel please hello good evening can you everyone hear me yes my name is Rachel Clark and I'm from Brooksville and I'm a teacher at Central High School I think some of the electives sitting here today have forgotten who it is they serve or rather they think we don't know who it is that they're trying to serve some of the people on this stage are not here for all teachers all parents or all students some are here for moms for Liberty some are here for bigots and close-minded people who feel threatened by any
189differences some do not care about the quality of Education our children receive so long as it is devoid of gay people or anyone else they think lesser of seeing a gay pride flag in a classroom does not teach your child to be gay I am a U.S history teacher and I am proud to be an American as an American and an educator I have the right and the responsibility to acknowledge the truths of our history all of them it is not up to an extremely biased board member to hand pick what is taught in our schools what is available in our library what we hang in our classrooms and at the end of the year what when we're all losing our minds what movies can be shown to our students as a reward for all
190their hard work some of these board members have never worked in a school some board members like to sneak in our library and hide when an employee walked in um however this member loves to tell us how to do our jobs no matter what transpires after this meeting know that gay students and teachers will persist know that you are making Hernando County unsafe and an unproductive working and learning environment know that we will never be intimidated and we will never stop fighting the hatred that you and those who agree with you constantly spew I would like to take a moment to appreciate the support we have gotten from some board members so please know that your support is greatly appreciated by teachers students parents alike and I also want to take a moment to say
191that I am so so proud of every single student here who has been brave enough to speak out giving a special shout out to our gay students our trans students and our students of color who will not back down we are with you even if she is not thank you next week is uh number 27 28-29 Jenna Bobby Jennifer Sullivan maybe and Christine Duvall I hope I'm close Jenna Barbie Spring Hill my words have been twisted and I've received awful threats I've noticed a common theme in all of this so I wrote this in order to even open just one heart Dr Sue said I Am The Lorax I speak for the trees I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues I added I speak not just for the Truffle of trees
192but all trees on earth and the ones blue Seas trees do not grow overnight the ocean can't self-purify and neither can fight new buildings and housings popping up here and there when there are old spaces to spare and houses to share we have become a world so obsessed with Earth we can own but our soul inside is crying as it recedes we have sown fighting in Wars to have more of this land cutting down people taking a stand don't even get me started on the news the negative energy propaganda spreading the blues social media can be a powerful tool but it becomes a weapon when you start to lose you we need to wake up open your eyes and see the destruction all around the fall of humanity but I have come to tell you
193this is not the end we have have a chance to help this Earth heal and mend I Am The Lorax but I'm really just like you I go through hard times I want my dreams to come true life on Earth is all about perspective so spread the love even if it's rejected you never know what they're going through so don't ever judge it's not your job to do give a compliment get a smile one kind statement can go a mile break your trauma Cycles dig down deep find functions behind your behaviors doing that can set you free do not take your emotions out on your children animals or friends breathe through the chaos find an outlet to men You are not alone I have been there too my light almost out my thought process so
194blue but then I breathe deep and feel from inside deeper than bones there's a magic that resides the human is inherently here for greed but there's a power inside us that overpowers that need there's a beauty a magic no matter what you believe there's a powerful force that we sometimes cannot see whatever your religion or spirituality find the path that brings you Faith find the path that sets you free open your mind to the possibility that we're here for a bigger purpose a Destiny is one that we are meant to achieve right now as a collective I will tell you we are failing the system is broken the Earth is Wailing let the students read and learn let the teachers teach everyone deserves to be represented and that's what we need to preach we are
195the destruction when we can be the light so be kind to each other be powerful in this life power does not come from what you own but the energy inside you The Power of Love Alone thank you Jennifer Jennifer Sullivan Spring Hill we also pay taxes on Hernando Beach property and uh Brooksville I just want to say that if the two School Board deviants really cared about children you'd stop making teachers feel uneasy in their profession you'd stop making children think that some people are wrong because they're different you'd stop being preoccupied with book Banning Matthew 7 1 says judge not or ye shall be judged so I guess boycotts on your business is Judgment but uh don't whine about your job being harder because you choose to make it harder and you also are
196making the teachers and the school staff and the boards jobs harder so Hosea 6 6 says I desire Mercy not sacrifice so don't be a fake Christian so if you really had strong you know if you really had strong spiritual guidance then you would focus on being sure no students are hungry homeless feeling bad um and you would accept tolerance and you would be showing tolerance and acceptance if you were led to do extra unless your God is you know the Mars the war god for the Romans your actual job description is to focus on the budget and to improve schools and not the self-promoting fluff of a disturbing minority group monopolizing the majority of time in these meetings Beyond this you keep a disturbing distraction to the whole system inviting lawsuits as a progressive
197political activist for over 50 years being in the same room with these two Wayward members and their bitter support group of hate is literally sickened me and I have lobbied several times in both houses of Washington DC and of Congress in Washington D.C and I put on events in Tampa area and DC including the national Press Club and I've traveled to many countries in four continents so I can honestly say there's a big world out there and it's sad to see that Germany is talking about how our County reeks of evil here and how you know so finally I just want to talk about the moms for Liberty because they're confusing me you know they rage against men dress like women and then you have a man as the vice president of the moms is
198I mean really is Monty is he like is he um you know identifying as a woman I guess so that I see the only grooming that I see is gun grooming and hate grooming so what's more important the number one killer of children is guns not car accidents but guns you need to get the military guns out of the hands of citizens zero guns allowed in school and zero hate thank you number 29 Christine DeVille are you here put that on the side next three speakers number 30 31 and 32 Anthony orenz Danielle Scott Shelby Wayne Meyer come on up quiet on and leaving please UK Anthony all right how you guys doing my name is Anthony orenz I've been a resident here in Hernando County for almost 30 years grew up here went to
199elementary school here middle school and high school this County used to Stand Tall now we have turned into a political boxing ring and that's the truth the thought of the children needs to be the priority I am not only a resident here but I'm also a five children in the school system in Hernando County and I hear firsthand what happens in the schools and the issues with the books and the movies are real issues which are true they are real issues but I think we're overlooking the real issues violent issues bullying gang violence drug dealing things like that are all huge issues in our school system we cannot sit back and allow these gangs and drugs to continue into our poor poor to continue to pour into our school systems bullying is a huge issue
200and I stand here today announcing that I'm officially running for Hernando County School Board District Four I plan to restore the faith in the classroom and pledge to always put the parents on our precious children first I promise I will be the change that is needed as I Come From That Walk of Life and I can promise always put the teachers first laugh all you want it's fine ignorance is bliss have a good one you know and you Daniel Scott Brooksville Florida alpha male uh good evening ladies and gentlemen of the board my name is Daniel Scott and I have proudly worked at Springstead High School for the last three years in those last three years I have learned and accomplished a lot I had great support from my admin and fellow staff members and
201through that support I took on a more rigorous course load I began teaching AP classes and found some success in doing so my AP pass rate last year was above the global average for all students who took the World History exam worldwide I also took on external responsibilities I work closely with IB students to Aid them in receiving their IB diplomas I sponsor a club on campus and I also took on the position of senior class sponsor which I was motivated to take on after serving as senior class president at Central High School under then principal John Stratton I love my school and I love the career of Education however effective a couple weeks ago I have resigned from my position the board is discussed earlier today about teacher retention you've addressed pay you've addressed
202certification issues and you've addressed a lack of mentorship what you have not addressed are the Draconian working conditions that are causing many such as myself to abandon this honored career as you stated 83 percent of teachers in their first three years are leaving the profession these are not all due to certification issues I had no shortage of mentorship I had no issues with my ability to certify I'm leaving because I feel the board is more interested in removing Pride flags and banning literature than they are in protecting us educators I'm leaving because I don't feel that I can adequately provide a safe environment for my students anymore I'm leaving because I refuse to work for an organization that sees supporting kids for who they are as indoctrination I'm leaving because I refuse to teach fabricated
203history that prioritizes a nationalistic narrative before an accurate one the attempts to sanitize this profession to fit a political bias is what is causing my departure now I would not call myself a great teacher I lack a lot of the experience necessary to do so I certainly would never argue that I was appointed by God to educate but I will tell you that many of our District's most talented professionals are leaving for similar reasons as I I am not the first to leave nor will I be the last I am not sure a recruiter is going to solve your problems students need great teachers to protect them teachers need great School Board to protect them in these very tumultuous times right now I don't feel that that is the case in Hernando County if we
204do not stop witch-hunting our most dedicated professionals we will see a death of this profession teachers need freedom to be empathetic human beings the freedom to teach our content that we are masters of in an honest way without censorship the parts one doesn't like we need the freedom to be a safe adult for the students to confide in when they need support until these changes are made I believe we will continue to see turnover there will be more above all things right now you must support us trust us protect us or lose us these are your options thank you next speaker is Shelby Warren Shelby has given us a handout hi Shelby waymeyer Brooksville Florida good evening board and superintendent I'm here to speak very briefly as to respect time of the student staff and
205parents who are here to speak in support of our schools not to respect time of those who say thank you whenever a teacher comes up here and says they are resigning which is great um you have a handout that provides details because I already briefly touched on it I'm not going to harp on a harp on it regarding the petition that was started that urges a school board member that is not effectively serving our schools to resign from her petition there's more details in the handout I'm sure plenty of people who are here have already read it seen it I'm not going to harp on it also I urge every single person in this room to consider whether what a speaker says is fact or whether it is rumor you have to consider the evidence
206this is critical thinking that we teach our students and they are getting so good at it um for example on April 25th I was present at the school board meeting Monty Flor we decided to come up and to speak Rand and to speak and he randomly included at the very end he said oh by the way the union wrote their speeches that did not happen there was no evidence of that but everyone ran with it as fact um and then teachers had to deal with it which was great um additionally teachers do not indoctrinate students with our beliefs I'm putting this on the record we do not indoctrinate students Florida is 47th in literacy in the U.S with only 80 percent of our population being considered literate teachers do not care if your child associated
207with one political party another education is bipartisan it is thank you teachers do not care if your child is gay or not they we also don't make them gay they come to us that way I I don't know if you've ever taught in a classroom but that's how it goes um we are not indoctrinating students in any way anyone who says otherwise unfortunately is uninformed and does not have a direct connection to the public school system if we can oppose any beliefs on our students it would be to be kind and respectful to everyone to put their phones away please and and to turn in their work on time please um nothing else that would be it um again anyone who says otherwise is not directly involved the school system um luckily I do see
208plenty of students here to speak and we constantly talk about how we are here to make the students care about the students and we care about their safety might I remind you who is in the room with students during active shooter drills might I remind you who calm students down when they're having anxiety attacks as a result of that please do not say that Educators don't care about their safety because quite frankly last I checked at school shootings um it wasn't random people on Facebook or school board members getting killed alongside students it was the teacher the students and the staff members in the brick and mortar schools thank you for your time thank you next week is uh number 33 34-35 Ariana Santana Bethany home maybe Stockton h and Susan Braden foreign [Music] good
209evening everyone or maybe good night my name is Ariana Santana I'm a 15 year old attending Springstead High School every morning like many of my peers I wake up eat breakfast brush my teeth wash my face and do my hair I also pick out an outfit for the day before I depart to go on my bus I look at my grandma give her a big hug and kiss on the cheek and say I love you this may not seem like a big deal but every day I go to school I worry about my safety first thing people see when they see me is just a black girl or some here may say colored girl yes you but I'm much more than that and there are the many students here today that are much more than
210that you all may think that you know what's best for us you go to your meetings and discuss what's best for the students but do you really know we as students and teachers get up early every morning go through seven plus hour long days at our school when's the last time you have sat through all that time at a school many of years ago from what I've observed since then if you haven't noticed times have changed people are starting to finally accept the lgbtq plus Community BLM movements and other movements that stand for inclusiveness and I know since many of us are so patriotic let me restate the Pledge of Allegiance for everyone I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation
211indivisible with liberty and justice for all foreign Justice for All is what I hear when the pledge is set on the school announcement every morning I think to myself what Justice how is Teachers jobs getting threatened by a pride flag Justice how are students fearing to be themselves Justice how is black lives flat matter flag not Justice if this isn't Justice please tell me what it is because obviously we're reading from different dictionaries if you think what is happening in our County and all over the state is what America is supposed to stand for and doctrination is another word that we've been hearing a lot and the definition of indoctrination is the process of teaching a person or group to accept the beliefs so everyone being treated equally is now just a belief in not
212a basic human rights people all over this district and state are using this word and not knowing the fear and frustration that is causing among students and staff at the end of this meeting today I hope you all live with an enlightened mind of what the true definition of justice indoctrination is and what needs to be done from the perspective of the students and teachers who should have the biggest say as it's our reality every single day we're tired of the talking and conversing we need action myself and my prayers will not stop until something is done thank you for your time and I hope something is taken from the speech Bethany hello my name is Bethany Horton I come from Springstead High School I'm currently a 15 year old who comes before you begging
213for my rights back as a Woman Within Florida I have found it hard to gain my rightful Justice and fit in within a society that is conditioned to oppose those different from them and I would have never guessed that my very own School Board the one that is supposed to protect and represent their students would be the first ones to have failed me growing up I depicted school as a safe place where I along with my friends could learn together in a comforting and respectful environment however this environment has now ceased to exist this place that was our second home that we would learn and laugh together that we could freely talk about our lives and interests together has not been abruptly taken from us by those who think they know how to speak for
214the children I'm sure you were all aware that times have greatly changed gay shouldn't be a censored word in classrooms Pride flag shouldn't be hidden in teachers desks as they fear for their job status children should not filter their Lifestyles personalities beliefs sexualities and their rightful freedom of speech from their vocabulary this corrupt censorship needs to be held accountable here's what we should do first we should bring back the student and teacher's rightful representation back many unfortunately cite Pride Flags BLM Flags gay representation Etc do not belong in a classroom because students should just go there to solely learn and nothing else however considering I am the one who's actively in a school building and has been for the past 11 years of my life I can accurately confirm that learning still actually occurs and
215we aren't sitting in a circle praising these representative objects for eight hours straight as some people may think these items quite literally have no other purpose than to let those who are part of the lgbtq plus Community know that they are supported in that specific classroom and or acknowledge that that classroom does not tolerate any homophobic and or transphobic intentions therefore the only logical reason I could assume that one would even think to ban these representations in a classroom would be because you are projecting your homophobic and or transphobic ideologies on these innocent children that are not deserving of this disgusting viewpoints let people be people it truly isn't that hard of a concept to understand if you don't support certain communities look the other way if you don't like seeing unions unify it ignore
216it but please do not take away our one and only inclusive space away from us we shouldn't be the one suffering for your discomfort finally I would like to acknowledge Shannon Rodriguez considering nearly 25 000 people have voted for you to resign it is clear that you are not for the people whether you are for yourself and your false ideologies any decent representative would see and understand they're not wanted in office and resign but you Shannon you are different instead of Simply resigning and finally satisfying the people of Fernando County you decide to resent them and petally serve both corruptly and wrongly and you know it and the fact that a 15 year old has to come over here and beg for her freedoms back is revolting so I asked you today please do the
217people a favor and resign to finally do one good thing for us that we could all greatly appreciate I hope you all consider what has been stated thank you so much for your time thank you easy Suzanne before you get started next is Monty Floyd Jack Martin and Charles Watts please okay quiet down good evening I'm Suzanne Braden I'm a teacher at Weeki Wachee high school and I'm here to talk about parent rights parent rights are a fundamental part of public education I think everyone in this room would agree that parents do have rights but what we have been remiss in discussing is the idea that with those rights come responsibilities every parent or Guardian has the right for their children to receive a free public education the responsibility that comes with that right is
218to ensure that that child attends school attendance is in an all-time low I have personally had students with over a hundred absences and 180 school day school year it is impossible to educate a child if they are not present to learn parents and Guardians have the right to communicate with a teacher about the child's progress and well-being with that right comes the responsibility of a civilized exchange teachers call home looking for support for the student when a teacher calls it is the responsibility of the adults both teachers and parents to listen to each other and work towards what is best for the child a screaming parent who is being accused is not going to benefit the student it's in fact it teaches the child to treat teachers with disrespect what is being taught in schools
219is hotly debated these days parents and Guardians have always had the right to know what the curriculum is State Standards can be found online textbooks can be checked out and brought home for parents to read many teachers post their curriculum to class websites and then Hernando County we have Skyward where grades and assignments can be found I and many other teachers invite parents and Guardians to join their online class sites in all the years that I've had an online class site I've had one parent join yes parents and Guardians do have the right to know what is being taught but is responsibility of the parent Guardian to use these resources unfortunately some citizens choose to take the word of unscrupulous bloggers claiming to be reporters who simply make things up to increase their following parents
220have the right to a qualified well-trained certified teacher in the classroom parents also have the right to a school board that works in partnership with those teachers to provide the best education possible with that right comes the responsibility of the parent the guardian and board members to treat the teacher as a professional to trust that their education has prepared them to do the job with which they are charged to believe that that teacher puts the student first a highly effective educational system must be a partnership between teachers administrators school boards and students each one having rights and also the responsibility that goes with those rights in this District we have strayed from that the current attacks on teachers from citizens politicians bloggers and board members is straining that partnership when the partnership is no longer
221functioning and the institution collapses the ones who will suffer the most will be the children who have the right to a quality education thank you thank you multiplied Monty Floyd Vice chair of the Hernando County chapter of moms for Liberty and before I get started uh we have screenshots of Miss Shelby bragging about how she's writing speeches so since she called me a liar I'll go ahead and share that when I get home um the three board members that have been in office for two or more terms are responsible for the four alarm dumpster fire that is our current school district and should be held accountable for this out of control circus you're the ones that have failed our children you were the ones that have encouraged teachers to push sexual agendas through your inaction
222you are the reason why teachers are leaving and why even more parents are pulling their children out and you are the reason why some of your staff find it acceptable to harass children and parents and board members who dare speak up or do their job what is happening in the school district is not the fault of the newly elected board members the many failures of this District fall solely on the shoulders of Mr Stratton the ruling majority on our board and their Legion of hard left agitators this is why our district has not only become a laughing stock in our own state but a national embarrassment Coast to Coast for merely standing with our great governor and on the right side of Florida law and that children should not be targets of sexualized grooming my
223members my family and my friends have gotten threats of violence harassment and the left's favorite term called Nazis now who are the Nazis the parents who care and love for their children the community members taking flaming arrows from these lunatics to protect these children or this board and those who want to discuss sex gender and much worse with minors here are the facts at Winding Waters K-8 a political activists showed her students an agenda-driven film that was not approved by the district or the school at chokichati elementary an eight-year-old little girl is being harassed by staff and students the principal's response and I quote your daughter does not have a choice if she wants to be touched or not for two years we have been fighting to remove sexually age and appropriate books to date
224only two have been removed and until action was taken to enforce District policy I'm sorry that some people are in the room are offended by District policy some of our classrooms were littered with five foot long Pride flags and rainbow clad posters which read and I quote if your parents aren't accepting of your identity if they don't love you then I'm your new parent now now let's not forget the issue at Fox Chapel where Mr Stratton and these three board members for three weeks covered up threats by a teacher who said they were going to shoot their students about that Wanda Sykes quote I keep hearing the lunatics in the room regurgitate well the parents in Nashville Denver Aberdeen Colorado Springs and right here in Fox Chapel have have a different saying about that little
225quote you keep sharing I'm calling on the board members tonight to remove Stratton thank you all right I let you go make sure that's the last time who said that did you say that who just said oh yeah you don't know okay I got a feeling I do Mr Lawton Jack Barton Spring Hill for the for the rhetoric about all the hatred I am an ordained assembly God Minister I have served for 37 years in that capacity my son practices a homosexual lifestyle I love him as much as I love any child that I have but I totally disagree with the lifestyle school is meant for teaching subjects it is not meant for teaching sexual preference that should not be going on in the school I think this board knows I I said to you
226before the issue at Fox Chapel I believe you dropped the ball and I believe that may have been in part because the teacher was transgender and nobody wants to touch on issues like that and I think you did the teacher and Injustice because I think he should have been set out of the class and given counseling and helped I think he he was at an emotional place where he needed help when the teacher when the teacher who showed that movie showed it somebody had called me prior to that a while earlier and said go to one of the school board meetings there's a teacher who's going to resign and she's really going to blow things up so my belief is that she showed that movie intentionally there were there's a plethora of movies that could
227have been shown on science and on on the environment that didn't include that I believe that was intentional I believe she did it in in disregard to school policy I believe she didn't disregard to the laws of this land I said to to Mrs Prescott to have the last meeting people said horrible things sir I said I can disagree with you on issues but I will never say something harmful the hatred I felt in the room tonight wasn't from Christians it was over and over every time here and Gus I'm not gonna lie I'm a little disappointed they kept getting up making noise doing stuff you kept saying you were going to put somebody out you didn't put them out I am disappointed in you for that Shannon and Mark I would vote for you
228over and over again and I would probably vote for others here but Shannon and Mark I would hope you over and over again you have the courage to do what you believe and I think that's something that shouldn't be put down wanna I want to close with this remark because while some here may not be into the idea of grooming this is a song done by the San Francisco gay choir you think that we'll corrupt your children if our agenda goes unchecked funny just this time you're correct we'll convert your children happens bit by bit quietly and subtly and you'll barely notice it the fear is that that should not be being taught in the school let's go back to Reading Writing and arithmetic and let's work as a community not as two different ideologies
229thank you Charles Rock [Applause] sir you with the hat on that's clapping loud please leave officer please remove them three times I looked and you go too get out of here right get him out of here the gentleman with the hat on um [Applause] Charles Watts please can you hear me thank you while you're moving over Timothy coats Kathleen Griffin Zayna and Mary mizuka up next please quiet down the back please hi I'm Mr Watts I'm I'm a resident here in Brooksville we have two children that attend the school and I'd like to say thank you for the board for being here for the debate tonight and what a civics lesson this was and what a great nation we live in to be able to be here tonight and put the debate to the test
230now it's on to my personal and agenda tonight I'm here to advocate for my child who is an ese student this year he's been moved from the least restrictive setting to the most restrictive setting it has been given had he been given the support that he needed in a general ed class I would not be here tonight after a recent visit to the new classroom it resembles a storage unit with no emotional materials to stimulate a child's mind and Mr Stratton you denied this earlier you got this opportunity to see this classroom when you and I in the principal met you chose not to see it our child has been treated differently due to his disability he is treated as a different class of children his classroom does not resemble those of his peers they
231have certified teachers our child has a substitute that is not a certified teacher the ABA the idea would consider this a discriminatory action we are sure that it is the same in every ese seclusion classroom in our County you have all been here a long time and have ignored your responsibilities that does not include Mrs Rodriguez she has joined our family in our plight and is a new board member has your legal counsel not giving you any advice please go and visit the classroom Mrs Rodriguez has she shares our same family values Jesus healed the lane fed the hungry did not shame him for we endeavor our child has been treated this whole school year as a different child he's been suspended for being him thank you I would just like to add that that
232child is six years old are you Kathleen yes please hi Kathleen Griffith saying I'm a mother of three sons who attended Hernando County Schools including the IB Program one of my sons happens to be gay eight years ago I started attending P flag meetings for about a year I gathered with and appreciated every letter of the lgtbq members we had thoughtful and positive discussions and I learned a lot my husband and I and Sons are a strong and loving family as the vast majority of nuclear families are which includes families made up of all Races religion sexual orientation and gender identities it is the nuclear family model based on love that has for eons had the greatest success in raising a happy and healthy child into a productive and responsible adult not the school system
233we parents again of all backgrounds are asking that schools teach our children reading math and other Core Curriculum subjects and leave it to the family to love guide and affirm them Mr Johnson and Ms Rodriguez have both held to their campaign promises to provide improved transparency on how my property taxes are spent they have set high standards of efficiency and are working toward eliminating and I hope crushing Dei I and many others will continue to support and vote for school board candidates in alignment with the aforementioned tenants including removing books that can be found elsewhere by the individual or family we are not Banning books I'm sick of hearing that changing the topic one of my colleagues once told me that bad news should travel faster than good news for knowing bad news quickly allows
234leaders to mitigate risk the way the superintendent and everyone else involved in the Fox Chapel March 24th incident did not mitigate risks particularly after the March 27th math shooting incident in Tennessee the superintendents continued approach to slow walk notification of the incident and or revise his original decision means a vote of no confidence for me in his leadership lastly if the teacher had been a gun owning CIS male or female what a different decision had been made I wonder if the individuals involved were afraid to be called transphobic if out and if out of an abundance of caution they recommended that the teacher remained out of the classroom for further evaluation rest and counsel thank you are you Timothy yes sir I'm sorry I called that Roberto go ahead you ready uh my name is
235Timothy coats I'm president of Hernando County as of 24 years and counting member of the community paid taxes here participated in community events here both of my adult children were at one time students of the school district personally I served as an employee under Mr Leith as a school bus driver beyond all that I consider myself an ambassador of Christ and of his kingdom have strong convictions to represent him on the earth he has given me the responsibility to love all people created in His image as a person of sacred worth and importance deserving of honor and dignity I have a theme by which I live my life nothing actually happens on the earth except by the involvement of the ambassadors of the kingdom and the withdrawal of that unfortunately in recent years that activity
236has been somewhat pulled back however as we see happening Across America as well is here in Hernando County that involvement is increasing as a Christian we want to be known we are not activists we are not haters we do not wish to control what persons do in their personal lives we love all people created in the image of God as people of sacred worth and importance created in the image of God and divinely designed by him to be exactly whom the person he has created them to be on that basis many of us are concerned about some things that are happening in current trends of Education in Hernando County and elsewhere however here are some things that we expect we expect communicate Embrace and enforce all the laws currently in effect in our state including
237those of parental rights we do not believe it takes a village to raise a child it actually is the parent's responsibility before God to train up a child in the way he to go we expect and we believe that you should require employees to teach the basics of Education Without personal bias or interjection we expect you to make responsible leadership decisions that reflect the proven and established moral and ethical values upon which this nation and its educational system were founded and I left some out to say this we also expect you to enforce the rules you make or else you are teaching the students by your lack of doing so that there are no consequences to Breaking of those rules ladies and gentlemen myself and many others are praying for you I pray that you
238will find the wisdom to discern right from wrong that you will understand the gravity of the decisions you make and that you will find the courage to do the right things sincerely and respectfully thank you thank you Mary after Mary is Michelle Tavares and [Music] bran Robinson right get married my name is Mary mizuko and I have been coming to school board meetings since January I have three grown children they have children so my grandchildren go to the schools been here since 1979. probably a lot longer than other people who've been here for a very long time and I will tell you that this evening I have seen such gaslighting it is unbelievable for all those out there that don't know what that means gaslighting is what people tell you and tell you and tell
239you until you believe it and then you go off and you retell those lies in reference to Mrs Rodriguez Mrs Rodriguez did not go to all the schools pulling out Flags Mrs Rodriguez got phone calls from teachers that said listen you gotta go here and you gotta look at this because they're violating the law you have whistleblowers and you can put all the kids you want out here that you want but it's the taxpayers that are watching on the TV and they can see it this whole room was filled with Union teachers and students and we as conservatives have been held off to the end and you darn well know you did it and so does everybody out there that is watching from all over the county and those 23 000 signatures is whatever it's
240nonsense because those are signatures that have been gotten from outside of Hernando County have nothing to do with the taxpayers have nothing to do with anything you've got school board members up there that are trying to save their jobs whereas these two people just came in here yesterday you guys have been there forever all of this mess falls on you not on them because they're bringing it to light now now the covers have been removed and people can see what you're doing that's what I've got to say and to my granddaughter Isabella I hope I make you proud thank you Michelle my name is Michelle Tavares I have four schools I have four school age children in my home and I'm absolutely appalled at what this school board is allowing to go on this teacher
241showed a movie about saving the ecosystem and instead of thanking her for a job well done you're ridiculing her my son is in her class I asked him what the movie was about never did he mention a gay character he literally mentioned that it was saving the world and how we have to work together um never did she discuss the topic of being gay or straight school should be viewed as a safe haven for our children children who may not feel comfortable bringing certain topics up at home and need someone to speak to to who can help and feel comfortable enough to talk to their parents I cannot believe in 2023 we are going back in time discriminating against our students and staff making them feel segregated and unwanted and not loved if a student
242doesn't feel comfortable at home or at school I fear for their well-being their mental health a child that is not representative as a child that does not feel accepted as a child who is a silent a child who is silence may feel so small that one day they may not have a voice at all I fear this will create more suicide attempts from our children for not feeling included inclusion and acceptance is our future or at least it should be your own mission statement States the Hernando County School District collaborates with students parents and other community stakeholders to effectively prepare all students for a successful transition into a diverse and changing world I regret to inform you if you allow the removal of allies books movies posters Etc in our classroom you will completely fail
243in your mission to help prepare our students for the future if you have to make laws or policies to hurt a group of people just to prove your morals and Faith then you have no true morals you have no true faith and I hate to break it to you but there are gay Christians and Sir there were gay kids when you went to school I promise you okay so you are appalled at the game address students I applaud the students that are here I applaud every single one of you that had the courage to stand up here and talk to these so-called adults who don't know what they're talking about I know what I'm talking about my son was in that class there was absolutely no talk about being gay so let's just get that
244straight no talk about being gay it was to save the world save the ecosystem that's what it was about and if you have an issue discuss it with your child that's all you have to do you do not have to blow this up if their beliefs if you don't want to believe the children you shouldn't believe in her beliefs her beliefs shouldn't be pushed on our children and that's how I feel thank you oh easy [Music] knock it off Misty uh I'm Misty loudshot Spring Hill Florida 20 years as an educator 17 years here nine more years as a student my daughter's been in school for 11 years here and you don't have to pay attention to me speaking I do my best work with one or two kids zone out that's fun um I
245want to clarify before I speak that the use of the word you only applies to you who need to hear it you're worried about a part in a movie where a boy says I like him I'm worried about kids vaping or doing drugs on school grounds you're worried about a book a child might check out I'm worried why all schools don't have a librarian or a media specialist I'm worried that the kids aren't using libraries for that very reason you're worried about a rainbow in a classroom I'm worried about the kid who was just Baker acted I'm worried about the kid who has threatened to shoot up the school besides the same God that anointed anointed you said a rainbow was a promise you're worried about how you can hurt a teacher next and get
246them to resign after they resign I'm worried about which class I'll be covering my planning or the class that I already have 20 plus kids we are not the same you're worried about your own personal kids I walk in the doors every day thinking not only about my child who wrote in with me but the other 1300 students that walk next to her in the hallways when you ran for this position you were supposed to represent those in your area I know people don't want you to be violating the sunshine laws sunshine state laws or abusing your power but you're doing it anyway step up and fight for these children support our teachers with more than just a free oil change your job is hard but you made a commitment and you're making our jobs
247harder thank you is Brett Robinson here number 44. no no 44 left thank you it's uh 10 11. got nine minutes I'm gonna take a break for nine minutes thank you foreign next speak is let's quiet down April Christy [Music] Catherine Calabro Charles Ashton hello April Kersey Springs good evening members of the board board I'll start again good evening members of the board board chair and my superintendent Mr Stratton I am here to speak the vote of non-confidence against Mr Stratton Mr Stratton is a fair man who follows policies with procedures especially when it comes to a child's safety as a public educator my students and families should never know my political abuse because it is not my job to groom them the fact that someone has accused teachers of grooming children is appalling and
248makes me want to throw up there are probably a lot of people that agree with you Mrs Rodriguez and Mr Johnson but you have handled yourself completely wrong I teach my kindergartners every day to come to school and learn thank you and learn to work together that is what you are elected to do and that is what you should learn how to do it is really important that you start educating yourselves on the amazing things that the students in Hernando County are doing and the amazing teachers are doing and stop stirring drama Mr Stratton would never belittle teachers the way that some of you have why because he hasn't even belittled you when you've sat there and downgraded him he is a leader that is calm and he thinks thoroughly before he speaks because he
249makes sure he has his facts straight Mr Stratton listens to what is happening in the classrooms and makes changes to help the teachers and our students as teachers of Hernando County Schools and our employees we asked the board members to please vote to keep Mr Stratton please put aside your personal agendas and politics and learn to work together I vote Stratton stays thank you thank you Catherine hi I'm Kathy Calabro Fernando Beach I've been a teacher for over 30 years 23 of them in Hernando County it's something I'm proud of but some of you here tonight seem to think that teachers are the epitome of evil you think we're trying to indoctrinate your kids infiltrate their minds with smut you couldn't be further from the truth being a teacher is not an easy or well-paying
250or glamorous job we're in it for one reason we care about kids all kids no matter their ethnicity or skin color religion sexual orientation or gender identity we even care about the kids that misbehave and drive us nuts Public Schools get kids from all walks of life and all kinds of families I've had kids with in single parent households or living with grandparents or in foster care I've had kids who have parents in jail or suffering from alcoholism drug addiction or mental illness some kids are victims of abuse or neglect kids are increasingly being raised by electronics and the internet these kids need caring adults in their lives the proverb that takes a village it does and school is the village for some kids we're accused of trying to turn kids gay as if that's
251even possible I have a hard enough time getting my kids to turn in their homework why would we want to though we know that there are plenty of people many sitting in here in this room right now that hold hate in their heart for the lgbtq community why would a teacher want a student to be a victim of hate we do want our students to be critical thinkers we teach critical thinking so they don't just accept ideas without considering other viewpoints this is the antithesis of indoctrination and it is so important in the internet age we teach them that we all make mistakes that it's part of learning and part of life we want our students to turn into this honest open-minded kind well-adjusted successful and productive members of society thank you Charles after Charles
252is Jeff Brent Berman Kimberly Maroney and Bianca Rockwell Charles Ashton Brooksville Florida I'm just here as a normal dad of two school-aged children and uh next year my kids will not be attending a Hernando County Public School as you can see by this room it's filled with activists pushing an agenda and it's my job as a parent to teach my children what I wanted to to learn schools are for education and not political agendas or these other agendas that you see throughout this room here and so I just want to say on behalf of the thousands of people that voted for you Shannon across this County that couldn't be here tonight I just want to say thank you for standing up for us normal regular people that just want to have our kids go to
253school and get an education and not be indoctrinated with a certain agenda so I just say thank you and keep up the good pipe thank you thank you good evening Hernando County School Board it's an honor to speak to you today my name is Zephaniah I'm a property owner and a taxpayer and though I do not currently possess any biological children here in this public school system I'm a youth minister to some 106 to 12th grade students the vast majority of which attend your public schools my close involvement with these students on a near daily basis helps me to keep my finger on the pulse of what is taking place in this County and provides provides validity to my perspective on these matters that I am attempting to add my voice to what we are
254dealing with here in this County is a conflict of what is good and what is evil we will have one side of the aisle say that this side of the table is good and this side is evil while the other side of the table will say that this side is good and this side is evil without and agreed upon standard hear me without an agreed upon standard by which we can collectively base how we Define what is good or what is evil for our community for our society or for our students will never progress we're always going to fight if we cannot find something that we can agree upon to Define what is good for these students let me submit to you though it may offend some that the standard that we need to base
255the moral compass of what is right and what is wrong is the Bible it was good enough to be the moral compass for this country for our founding fathers and let me just remind that young lady that it is one nation still under God and the body of evidence that indicates that societies that find their morale moral bearing uh in this standard tends to prosper is undeniable tonight I want to submit uh to you that based off of these standards of determining what is good and what is evil that educating our students is a good thing training them in math in science in Reading in writing and physical education good things teaching them how to file taxes uh balance a checkbook how to hold a job these are all good things how to help them
256be successful into adulthood they're all good things for our society and for our students transversely encouraging and promoting abortion propagating a lifestyle of homosexuality and opening up doors by indoctrine of indoctrinating uh a transgender ideology by interjecting confusion as at a young age as to the validity of their gender is not a good thing I dare say that it is even evil and no Society hear me on this no Society on Earth having adopted these three ideologies ever prospers or thrives every nation that adopts those three ideologies ends up falling and ends up collapsing and we don't say this because we hate anybody that is that is identifies as uh transgender or homosexual or homosexual we love you but we're trying to tell you that there is a better way in conclusion Hernando County School
257Board do what is good and turn off what is evil God I pray that you would exalt the righteous and tear down the wicked in Jesus name thank you thank you Kimberly Maloney Kimberly moroney uh Brooksville yes let's just swipe all the lgbtq under the rugs and never speak of them again because God forbid they're not humans anyways I'm here to speak on a couple of topics my goal this evening is to spread more love less hate as you know I support our teachers and I feel our district is in great danger of losing more and more qualified Educators due to a Witch Hunt that has been started by one individual on behalf of an extremist hate group our teachers encourage and educate our children our teachers protect our children and are even willing to
258give their own life for our children while at school and in their care they get creative for our children learning wise as well as special provide special keepsakes for us parents for all types of holidays they help our Channel children expand their minds and problem solve they teach them how to think and not what to think a teacher's acceptance of all children does not equal grooming and or indoctrinating it is a simple equation Educators do not get into the profession of teaching for the money in fact they use their own money to supply children with the school supplies they are lacking they spend their own money to provide rewards for their students hard work and accomplishments they have bought I have heard of teachers buying shoes and coats for children in need I love our
259teachers and they have my full trust and support another important topic is Stratton stays he is respected and trusted not only by the teachers but us parents who actually have kids in this District under stratton's leadership graduation rates are up this also includes our ese graduation rate participants for the SAT or SATs have increased over 20 percent he established the Citizens Academy which I'm going to try to attend next school year because I found out about it last minute um it gives us an amazing information about our schools he's been a part of our district for 18 years he's approachable and he listens and he cares not only does he have a background in Education and Leadership but in the area of ESC he understands the needs for all students in our district in conclusion
260Stratton stays by the way Mr Johnson you say you hate I ready well when we had Romano sitting up there loving I ready you were all on board for it weren't you and he equal Equity Equity is for everybody to be included not just let's swipe these people under the rug or swipe these kids and I'm sorry you ought to this I stand behind you you are not bad children you are amazing human beings and you be who you are and forget everybody else thank you Bianca before you go crystals San Diego Dottie Rockwell and Deborah fenning the next [Music] hi I'm Bianca from Smithfield just recently my teachers had to take down and take off things from their personal life she didn't take off the pictures from their kids and pets makes me feel
261not welcome and uncomfortable I wish they could keep it up if it's not appropriate then let them have it up as being a student in this District seeing the White Walls weekly feel like I'm in jail I live we as kids go to school for eight hours and we should feel like we should be there it just makes me upset knowing the pictures aren't there just look us kids can't take it I don't want to go to school because it makes me uncomfortable if you care so much about our students then take action let the pictures be up before you had them taken down you should have asked the students you should have just asked us but the parents of these students that you say you care about how do the parents feel you don't
262know because you don't care thank you thank you Crystal good evening Crystal Santiago from Spring Hill Florida first I want to say I do claim that one I want to start off by saying all the bullying and hate going on from everyone is getting out of hand it's okay for everyone to have different opinions but the nastiness going on just because someone doesn't agree with you 100 is outrageous what do you think you are teaching the kids I keep hearing everyone say they are here for the kids but are you really thinking of them by bullying and belittling each other I have two children of my own my youngest is currently in this district and just graduated fifth grade With Honor Roll my oldest is no longer in this District as due to reasons not
263related to The District he is in private school so as for as far as the indoctrination and grooming my children have never had any teachers do that neither have I as I was also in this District myself my children have never had they both had gay teachers who've never discussed those and I only knew the teachers was gay because I knew what to look for we already have a shortage of teachers and yet we continue to bash and belittle them teachers are with our students for at least eight hours a day as a mom I feel that teachers are a safe place for our kids personally if my child feels more comfortable confiding in a teacher guidance counselor principal or any other adult at school I think it's okay sometimes children feel better talking to
264an adult outside of their home who they trust about certain things that doesn't mean that that adult is grooming or indoctrinating the child we need to focus more on the children and how what we do affects them I feel like for some of you the end goal is to get rid of public school if that happens are you going to pay for private or home school for all the parents who can't afford it now a subject that seems to get brought up every meeting Shannon and don't take this as me bashing you this is just my opinions as a parent in this District you sit up there and you say over and over again that God appointed you and God put you there so I guess the same could be said for everyone sitting up
265there with you god may have put it in your heart to run but you got voted by the people in this County you claim that you care about the students and teachers is but you have said multiple times you don't care about teachers rights you have referred to black kids as colored kids which is offensive to them when students are here being recognized you're too busy looking down and don't even clap for them and trust me these kids see that you talk about respect when you yourself disrespect just about every board member you don't seem to understand there are procedures that have to be followed and think that you can just change them because you are now a board member and before all of you who support Shannon bash me and belittle me just remember
266I am a parent of a student in this district and I am neither Republican nor Democrat I am a no party affiliate thank you Daddy Rockwell Spring Hill Florida and I claim that one I'm here tonight because I'm disgusted with the crap that goes on in this room I'm also discussed that they bring it home and carry on at night with it on the social media you say you are for the children I don't think you are I think you're all here for your own agendas children should be happy to go to school yet you do nothing but that's these teachers I don't care if they're gay bi or trans as long as they're teaching the kids the basics it's what matters I don't believe all teachers are trying to jam their police down our
267children's throats polling books blank walls and anything else you don't like is insane why don't you just put the kids in a jail cell same effect as for moms for Liberty I guess the guy who is the vice chair is very confused about his own sexuality if as you say it's for all then change your name to people for Liberty do you want to know why some kids are bullies look in the mirror children would be taught morals and respect for all people not just the Chosen Few as for the board member who thinks she was appointed by God people voted for you not God and then you want everyone to bow down to your agenda I'm sorry I only bowed to God almighty this should not be political if that's what you want go
268to Washington let me tell you what I want to thank all the wonderful dedicated terrific teachers we have in Hernando County my kids and grandkids did extend schools here and I want to thank all the people on the board especially Mr Stratton Miss Susan Mr Gus and Miss Linda don't let them bully you because there are a bunch of Looney Tunes and I want to thank the sheriffs for their terrific service tonight thanks everybody good night no no I'm sorry I got you over here good evening superintendent Stratton and school board members my name is Debbie fenning and I currently reside in Pasco County prior to my retirement in 2016 I was employed with the Hernando County School District during my 25 years of service I worked for seven superintendents one elected and six appointed
269and in my experience not one of them was perfect I had the pleasure of working with superintendent Stratton when he was a school-based administrator had he been appointed superintendent prior to my retirement I might have continued working for a few more years his respect for All District employees and his unwavering supportive students are the qualities that make him a superintendent worth saving I have two adult daughters who graduated from Hernando County Schools not once in their K-12 educational Journey did I believe they were being indoctrinated I credit their many elementary middle and high school teachers the helping to ensure they grew up to be kind and caring individuals currently I have two school-aged grandchildren in a Florida Public School in another County I do not believe they are being indoctrinated and I am hopeful they
270will grow up to be compassionate human beings as a grandparent I am more concerned with the negative effects of social media the threat of active Shooters and the psychological and physical dangers of student bullying than I am with a book on a library shelf a Disney movie or a sticker on a teacher's door thank you for your time thank you next is 54 55 56 Mary Ladue Cola Johns and Kathy Gates sorry okay then uh Asia Moore please good evening board members board chair and superintendent Stratton my name is Mary Ledoux and I currently reside in Citrus County I was a 30-year educator and leader of several schools for my retirement in 2019. after 30 years in Hernando County and 37 years in the career in which I am extremely passionate I'm also extremely passionate
271about Hernando County and the fabulous Educators school-based leaders and District employees that this County currently has I have worked under many superintendents and with many school boards during my years in Hernando County and I can say that with everyone we worked with we always worked with the best interests of students at heart I am here to say that I support Mr Stratton Mr Stratton is a leader who cares about his staff and he cares about his students he has been in the trenches as a teacher and at an alternative school in Citrus County working with one of the most difficult populations there is he worked as an ese teacher an assistant principal and school-based principal in Hernando County before transitioning to the district office he knows what it's like to live and work every day
272with the most difficult population there is and he has done it with Grace Mr Stratton made such a positive impact on students and staff no matter where he worked that I can tell you many times in Citrus County there are people who ask do you know Mr Stratton he was really good with our students and I can say that yes I was proud to work with him he's calm demeanor and concern for students in Hernando county is the safety net that helps keep our teachers continuing coming to work every day so yes I'm in favor of saving superintendent Stratton he deliberates and thinks calmly before he answers any questions and he is what we need every day in this turbulent environment to keep our teachers and our staff continuing to do their work the second
273reason I'm here is because of my current job I thought very strongly about what I see with my students every single day that I wanted to share perhaps a different perspective I currently work with the university training student interns to become teachers and to be able to be competent Teachers Day One when they step into the classroom I can tell you when I started in 2019 there were a hundred openings there are more than that now my students are thank you Kathy you're up next Kathy Gates a reside in Citrus County I taught 30 years of Brooksville Elementary School the last 10 years I was in charge of the Global Studies lab I taught those poverty kids about the world we did Global humanitarian projects every year Mary Ledoux was one of my excellent administrators
274a year maybe a year and a half ago I spoke because we were in the middle of the hysteria over CRT we had just endured The Mask hysteria and had moved on and at that time I stayed and we were probably going to see a new crisis every six months sure enough we've gone from Mass to CRT to equity to indoctrination to teachers being called groomers and perverts porn and as of tonight I'm going to add anything woke let's learn what has happened in the State of Florida and how we've gotten here Steve Bannon has a podcast and had the national leader of moms for Liberty Tiffany Justice on his show she described the goals for moms for Liberty listen closely as I quote her we're going to take over school boards but that's not
275enough once we replace school boards what we need to do is we need to have conservative search firms like Hillsdale help us find new educational leaders because parents are going to get in there they're going to want to fire everyone lovely sound familiar now we fully understand what this is political theater orchestrated picking apart everything about our schools coordinated chaos to destroy public education who in the world in this country is orchestrating this and who is funding it I have never in my life seen so many Florida school districts in disarray having to have to replace their superintendents this list is horrific Broward Brevard thank God you didn't take that job Melody Osceola Collier Sarasota Duvall Charlotte and now Escambia Leon County is probably next because a moms for Liberty wrote a letter these counties
276are saying that they are having difficulty getting out of state applicants gee I wonder why the last school board meeting we witnessed dozens of wonderful students all of these programs because of superintendent John Stratton I guarantee you that those parents aren't running around the district calling teachers groomers and perverts they're too busy raising the Future Leaders of this state in our country so if the vote comes up tonight to remove this superintendent the three of you please honor the late Nancy Reagan and just say no allow me to get the next three Thomas will go Antonio Martinez Naomi gruba please Asia Moore Brooksville Florida my speech has changed about a hundred times tonight I'm glad to see that it wasn't take Stratton off as superintendent on the agenda as for a vote of no confidence
277the only thing that I have no confidence in is two school board members who got elected and can't seem to figure out how to do their job and obviously can't read Miss Rodriguez there are signs at every entrance of this building that says no food or drinks in here we had a 10 minute break and then you sat up there and snacked while somebody talked you were so incredibly rude and disrespectful that I have given up on trying to say anything to you I've left you five voicemails four emails and even most recently hit let's talk and had a response within 30 seconds but nothing from you that shows that you actually want to work together so while you're busy following in your puppet Master's footsteps you failed the real estate exam a couple of
278times now but you're using this as a political stepping stone not anointed by God you were voted in please stop using your religion as an excuse because it's absolutely terrible you've even gone as far as to say that you want to have me trespass for a shirt that I've worn to one school board meeting instead of looking in the mirror and realizing that the reason why I had that shirt on is because you can't show up for your job on time you want to say that you do all these great things and that everybody should be thanking you you're right Shannon thank you for proving that you don't know how have to know squat about a job to get elected into it thank you for proving that you don't need a child in the district
279unless you're running and you want to show that my child's in the public education system now thank you for proving that people who get political power don't know how to follow policy and procedure thank you for proving that you and your political stance can't recognize that teachers have enough to do in their classroom that they don't need to be memorizing standards they need to be teaching our kids how to read you haven't spent any time in a classroom Lord I ask you guys to look into why Spring Hill Elementary's third fourth second third or first second third fourth graders we're not allowed to have a graduation while parents attended it because I have a very strong feeling that Miss Rodriguez targeted Spring Hill Elementary because of my affiliation to that school with my child being
280there but guess what I was still there because I'm An approved volunteer and I actually show up at schools and clearly you can't read it says do not eat you wonder what's wrong in our schools you're sitting right there when have you gone to Stratton and tried to work with him where's Beth neighborhood and you're the one that's supposed to be our representative from this District to the state we all know what you do with Holcomb we all know that your puppet Master's Blaze why aren't you making those actual changes that Mark wants as well why you keep on looking at me why you keep looking at me is there anything legal that she did that was wrong I don't not talking to you huh hang on Thomas where I go Thomas dragu Spring Hill
281Florida Mr Stanton this is my first meeting here you need a raise sir [Laughter] I'm here today because I couldn't get School level two of my grandbabies come here I have six granddaughters and I couldn't get satisfaction so far out of the resource officer and who's over him my grandbaby has been in three fights in this school one she was the cause of when I found out about it I went old school and taught her how to do so how she should act the last two she was jumped on the second one I told her if somebody threatened you go to your guidance counselor do what you have to do so she did that when she got into her third fight she went there and said hey I have these girls threatened to jump me
282what not the guidance counselor said we'll go back to classroom that's only here say I don't know nothing about this I haven't seen nothing she didn't get no results that day she got jumped by the girl defended herself and then got knocked To The Ground by a resource officer like she was a linebacker which made me upset so I called school and did some complaining and got no levels no no justice there I understand there's a zero tolerance policy but there should be a gray area and the circumstance why the kid got jumped who jumped them I mean you should be able to defend yourself if I ran up there and jumped one of y'all you're going to defend yourself a child is going to do the same thing it's Instinct they shouldn't be punished
283for defending themselves when they're being jumped and I told her and I'm teaching her self-defense now so if somebody does jumper she can take care of herself but I told her if somebody don't put their hands on you I don't care what they say ignore it but if you put their hands on you to hurt you then you defend yourself and I don't care who it is that's their right to do so and I think there's zero tolerance needs to be looked at and the bullying and if they need somebody to come into schools to help out along with myself there's hundreds of bikers that would donate their time to make sure no kids are bullied no matter who they are thank you thank you Antonio hey there guys how you doing I'm Antonio Martinez
284graduated Springstead High School in 2012 and Miss Duvall was my principal and it's because of Educators like Ms Duvall that I don't remember having a lot of worries going to school here in Hernando so that being said tonight I've heard that our kids are fighting for a war for their identities and for a better education because there's some outlandish idea that somehow lgbtq people and books are ruining the youth there are so many questions like how do we go backwards what emboldens that ideology because I was realized I was raised by two religious parents and they taught me to love everybody and fight for what I believe in so I know it's obviously not that kind of ideology I'm surrounded by people in this building that taught me the same thank you Miss Duvall and
285we're out here Banning media left and right but the people calling for these bands or reading Spark Notes I bet no one calling for these bands ever read foreign height 451 or 1984 because I doubt anybody read those books and thought wow I really want to do that one day foreign but that's the thing media should provoke right media should blast through prejudices challenge preconceptions you know you should be different when you consume media from you were before and our kids aren't stupid look at how many kids came here to fight today you know they're strong they're here doing what they have to do to get essentially their rights back guys and I hear people disgracefully retorting to these kids and I don't know if you guys just have fun doing it or if it's
286because they're making very very valid points I'm just gonna put the phone down honestly honestly guys this place has been my home for almost 20 years now I moved here from New York when I was a kid and coming from that and going to this I don't get it somebody explained it to me please somebody in here explain it to me because the amount of BS I'm hearing of oh I'm appalled by gay people oh I hate this keep being appalled man I don't care you know and if anybody has a problem with that I'd love to have that discussion in full honestly I'm not hiding thank you thank you the only walking up next three speakers is Desiree castaldo Messiah Perkins and Chris Rose can't tell what that is it's number 61 62 and
28764. please hi my name is Naomi I reside in Hernando County and I've been a social worker for six years I work hand in hand with children both in this County and multiple other counties all the current generations of our community have boasted the importance of getting an education this has been continuously instilled in us for decades the importance of education is to allow us to make informed decisions for the betterment of every facet of Our Lives the lack of proper education on the matter of gender and the spectrum of sexualities has spread fear out of ignorance throughout all of these United States an individual claims in an article that a movie that was recently played in the school setting stripped her of her rights as a parent to discuss the birds and the bees
288with her child I believe that with the proper education on the matter she would have understood that confirming someone has a pressure on another individual is not the birds and the beasts this alone is an example of the failure that is our education system how can we trust the school board to advocate for the children's best interests let alone in this room but all of our schools at this County when they are actively targeting a population of our students the LGBT I have worked with many students who suffer from a lack of support I have held those students by the hands that they've had panic attacks I've held their backs as they have cried all of the tears in their body and I have held their risks as they have attempted to die because they
289don't have the support around them part of that being the school system that they spend most of their lives in I stand before you to implore this school board of the Beloved Hernando County to truly advocate for the children of our community and if there are concerns regarding gender and sexualities then provide proper education guidance on and guidance on these matters to elevate our children as the school board you should strengthen our school and the education where it is lacking please do not let hatred and misunderstanding provide misguided direction to our future the children are our future and we must provide all the tools to ensure they continue to be the pride of our community please do not let our vulnerable Community down thank you good evening my name is Desiree castaldo I'm here tonight
290to show my support for Miss Barbie and our Hernando County School teachers as well as for Mr Stratton our son who would be referred by some on the board as the colored kid could have easily fallen through the cracks or been labeled a problem child in his school however that didn't happen thanks to his amazing teachers they realized that he was just bored and not being challenged at the close of this year he was offered not one but two spots on the top two schools in the county and it's because of the support of his teachers and his two moms that he's where he's at today recently it was said that a certain movie opened the doors for teachers to have conversations with kids that should not be taking place I'm here to tell you
291that those doors have been open long before that movie was ever shown our son is not the only one in the class that has parents like us and the kids talk and they ask him questions and he tells them and at the end of the day they don't care that he has two moms they come and they hang out they love him his teachers love him it would be great if you had the same passion when it comes to protecting kids from being bullied but now you've tied the hands of teachers to even get involved when kids of the lgbtq community are being bullied for fear that conversation might take place and they would be in trouble for it and where is that same passion for the kids who can't read and write but we
292push them through because hey No Child Left Behind and we send them into the world not knowing how to balance a checkbook or to sign their signature when they go to apply for a loan you say the real victims are the children and I couldn't agree more when kids are pulled out of a class and are being forced fed to hate teachers classmates and people in the community they really are the victims the bottom line is you can ban the books you can ban the movies you can stop the conversations but you can't ban people from being who they are You Can't Ban my child's voice when he wants to talk about his family he's going to talk about his family it took 21 695 votes to bring Ms Rodriguez into this board currently there's
293over 23 000 asking that she be removed I implore that the board take that into consideration thank you thank you say it Perkins number 62. oh okay I'm sorry hello my name is Messiah Perkins I just finished my six years at Deltona Elementary School okay to fifth grade I'll be attending Golf Course Academy next year I was also offered as following Challengers gifted program my mom told me someone on the board didn't think strange world was a good movie to show kids at school I watched it with my mom's it was a great movie about our planet and taking care of it someone on the boards of the movie open door for conversation that shouldn't take place in the classroom I want you to know I come from a home with two loving moms and
294even better is that all my classmates know that and they don't care my mom's come on field trips they volunteer at school and my friends come over to our house to hang out this is my family and I won't let you try to silence me from talking about my amazing family at school the First Amendment right applies to me too that hate has no place in our classrooms and the messages you are sending is one of hate it seems as some of you on this board to learn from us kids especially the kids that love me and accept where I come from and my family thank you thank you Chris before you start Cynthia Rose I think it's Carol Royce and Diane liptek's next please my name is Chris Ross from Brooksville I'm a graduate
295of Central High School Mr Stratton you're my principal when I graduate I think you did a great job I think you're doing a great job now I think if the board members want to keep their jobs you're going to keep yours tonight to the board members I'm the son of an educator a Hernando County educator and a friend to many more I'm also both family and friend to many members of the lgbtq from Community I want you to know that the vitriol with which you attack my loved ones members of marginalized groups and members of the most underappreciated profession in this country is going to cost you your job this is because you do not have the Mandate of Heaven you are no appointee of God if God could see what you are doing to
296his Creations he would puke you are a religious fanatic and a petty Tyrant nothing more you and your movement will lose because I look at your movement and I see the movement that protested Brown V board I see the movement that protested the teaching of evolution in schools address your words to us please yes sir to attack an innocent woman a first-year teacher for the crime of showing a children's movie to Children is an abuse of power the voters the Hernando County entrusted you with and a clear signal that you are unfit for office you may resign now and take your hate groups and Tow or you can rest assured that a candidate willing to bring sanity back into the classroom or replace you come the next election and to address the sea of green
297and yellow I see in the room especially the students brave enough to speak truth to power tonight I am so proud of every last one of you but none of this matters if you don't vote thank you for your time thank you Cynthia hello I'm Cynthia Ross I'm from Weeki Wachee and firstly I'd like to address a concern expressed by some of my fellow citizens the concern being that there weren't many gay kids when I was in school this is incorrect these kids did exist and have always existed but policies of homophobia and a sort of don't ask don't tell policy in schools has resulted in the silencing and in some cases the deaths of those people they died of suicide they died at preventable AIDS they died in the closet they died unacknowledged that
298is why you didn't know they existed that is why there are so precious few queer elderly folks out there school policies forcing these children into silence into the closet were the very policies that killed these queer children and adults I am a graduate of Fernando County schools and the child of an educator I am also part of the LGBT community I wish to voice my extreme disapproval and disappointment toward the actions and members of members of the school board I assume most people attending this meeting are familiar with the impact of policies such as the don't say gay law but for those who aren't teachers and staff at schools all over this County are being told they may not mention display or reference any material that could be seen to be indoctrinating children this includes
299posters on classroom walls teachers dress codes and teachers possessions they bring to school or place on their desks the so-called moms for liberty or more aptly moms for authoritarianism has threatened to and indeed followed through on threats to bring State authorities to investigate classroom Decor this is bluntly insane this is not in line with American values of free expression and diversity of thought this is much more reminiscent of policies present in the Theocratic regimes in the near East the Restriction of Rights for teachers and students to express themselves and their opinions is unjust just quite possibly unconstitutional and certainly un-American policies like those advocated for by moms for Liberty and others have no place in this County state or anywhere in this country teachers are quitting on mass and I don't blame them one single
300bit as for me I'll be making sure I vote this election season and will be encouraging everyone else my age to do so as well gay people trans people and other woke identities aren't going anywhere and will not be forced back into the closet this culture War you will not win thank most of you for your attention Conrad uh hello my name is Connor and I went to Weeki Wachee high school and I just want to say first before I start speaking I would like all board members to look at me and have their pens down while they're taking notes thank you so first I wanted to talk about the fact that we are getting closer to religious authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism which are Wars we fought against for 30 years or so now voting
301in Afghanistan fighting in Iraq fighting in Iran stop trying to stop these authoritarian regimes from spreading their religious beliefs and their religious absolutism our own country we've seen the men and women who have died protecting our rights to believe whatever we want to believe and to allow children to do whatever they want to do and yet again as I said we are going completely authoritarian here we are reporting people to the state that sentence should not make you smile when you hear it you should understand that reporting people to the state is not a good thing in a democracy you should not be able to throw people in jail is because you don't like them you shouldn't be able to get them fired because you don't like you don't believe what they are saying some
302people say it's a simple disagreement in opinions but you're disagreeing with the acknowledgment and the existence of these people at all I mean that's not very opinionated that's a call to action usually um I also wanted to say that as I went through school I went to high school here I went to middle school here I went to elementary school here I went through all my years and my teachers were fantastic my teachers were great we didn't just discuss things in class that were strictly curriculum because you can't they're people people are going to talk about things not entirely political sometimes you just want to have an interesting conversation about oh you see that new that news article about the the nuclear fusion going on sometimes you want to do things like that but relegating
303it to exclusively teachers have to say only curriculum things it's never going to work and it just makes it just makes education sound like a prison that someone else pointed out earlier I was one of the highest achieving students in my graduating year I account I took and passed almost every single AP class my school even had to take I like to think I'm at least decently educated on political Affairs and things going on and so seeing all of these rises in like a Banning books or Banning what people can say that should that strikes me as fascist and authoritarian and it should strike fear into people because fascism is a toxic ideology that hurts people it hurts people who are even people you think that are you know you consider normal people or people
304who think that oh I I'm fine with them being homosexual I just don't like that they are that that's not very good thing that's that's disrespecting someone's identity and beliefs I want to finish off by saying one more thing if you notice almost every single former student or teacher here has been forced John Stratton it's all the parents or citizens who are just saying that they are taxpayers who are against John Stratton the people who haven't been in school the school room in years those are the people giving their opinions here not the students pay attention to people in the classrooms not outside of them thank you and then the lip Tech number 67. I guess you're not here next is number 91 92 and 93. Sean swanger Cody and again maybe Diane liptek Hernando
305County quiet down pick the mic up a little bit tilt it up there you go okay thank you Diane liptak Hernando Beach I attended the last several school board meetings and was both appalled and disgusted by the performance and I do mean performance of many speaking teachers and the teachers union president always stressing the respect due to them for being Educators while they're educating consists of grooming indoctrination and brainwashing which has been so self-evident tonight superintendent Stratton is is aware of all of this and does nothing teachers and are not babysitters they are nor are they surrogate parents they are not responsible for teaching or encouraging life choice decisions that those are parental care and family issues um regarding Miss Barbie she broke the rules she showed an unapproved movie and that's the point and
306if she used your and she used your kids to make that point and she made herself a name too didn't she then there's the issue of the transgender teacher who recently threatened to murder his high school students and then commit suicide enough to uh not high school sorry um Hernando County Superintendent Stratton allegedly accepted terrible advice from the sheriff's department and others and approved this transgender teacher's return to class after sheriff's deputy relieved his Hymn of weapons worse superintendent Stratton thought he'd made a smart decision to not inform any of the parents of the situation and chose to deal with this danger this grave danger to the kids by returning him to the class he threatened to kill your lack of leadership Mr Stanton over the the years has led to today's confusion and distraction
307anger and even hatred over what your job and teachers jobs and confidence um and the buck actually stops here if if Fox Chapel uh was decisive in their decisions you have been the opposite you don't have the courage and to deal fairly legally and consistently with everyone regardless of sexual proclivity there has to be a moral standard and you obviously cannot provide that I'd like to read a few things here um not biblical but one school principal sent this letter to every teacher he hired dear teacher I have lived through a concentration camp my eyes have seen what no man should see how scientific engineers build gas Chambers how trained doctors poison children trained nurses killing babies how college students shoot and burn children and women help I'm asking you to help students become human
308beings your efforts must never lead to learned monsters trained Psychopaths educated eichmann's Reading Writing arithmetic are important only when they help our children become human Sheikh Rasheed the founder of Dubai once asked about the future of his country and this is what he said my father drove a camel my father drove a camel my grandfather did I drove a Mercedes my son drives a Land Rover my grandson will drive a landlord Land Rover but my great grandson will drive a camel and why is that because Hard Times create strong people strong people create easy times easy times create week thank you once again Sean swanger Cody Hennigan maybe and Deborah Ross good evening I'm Sean swanger I live in Spring Hill as a former student of the Hernando County school system and as someone who
309once aspired to eventually teach history but I didn't choose that for reasons made very apparent tonight um you could say that I'm invested in education as a whole um and lately there's been a bit of a commotion over a teacher being investigated for showing the children in her class a movie a movie that very very briefly mentions that one of the main characters might be gay that's it no graphic violence no other disturbing imagery just a brief scene where a possible crush is mentioned the Nexus point for this was you Mrs Rodriguez you're the one who demanded the investigation of that teacher for and I quote stripping the innocence of my ten-year-old now I have it on good authority uh through Reading various articles that you are somebody who takes the bullying issues in our
310schools very seriously but I will argue that what truly stripped the Innocence away from your ten-year-old was the hypocrisy of their mother and then being shown that a being a bully pays off if they've got power that is the end of my address to Mrs Rodriguez proper but I wish to address the audience in here as well as those who may be listening or well in orwellianly named parental rights and education bill has been among many laws enacted to limit personal Liberty and designed to engender cruelty towards those who do not fit in neat little boxes in regards to this bill in particular I wish to hit on something that I've noticed with this situation and the expansion of the more aptly named don't say gay bill all the way up to 12th grade Mrs
311Rodriguez and those in line with her do not care about the children's innocence or whatever their favorite phrase is on a given week they do not see children their own or others as people this is made evident in the expansion of the don't say gay bill as children ought to be allowed to experiment with who they are with what they identify as at least by age 13. yet we've all heard stories somebody like Mrs Rodriguez will have one of their children come to them who ought to be thank you once again I'll call speaker number 92 and 93. Cody I think it's in again and Deborah rib it's Hennepin I'm sorry it's hennikman sorry it's all good 93 yes after him good all right so my name is Cody hennekin uh I currently reside in
312Port Richey but I am an alumni of Pine Grove Elementary Explorer K-8 Challenger Ka and Weeki Wachee High School um I originally had a speech written um about my experience being a bisexual person growing up throughout our school system but seeing all the students out here today made me realize that I've been out of school system for almost 10 years uh my perspective on that particular thing is irrelevant at this point but I would like to say that through all the students that have spoken and I'm towards the end of this list of speakers has been unanimous of what the problems are and with the teachers I think there was one teacher maybe two because I think there was a youth Minister um that uh were in the opposition are people on the ground know
313what's going on uh so what I'm gonna do up here today is I'm just gonna tackle some of the some of the things that were spouted uh because that's where my expertise comes more in handy rather than ground complaints um first of all addressing the activists quote every person who shows up to a school board meeting that's not on the school board is an activist because an activist is just someone who cares enough to say something come on guys all of us have activists here I know we got some uh Stratton stays people but we also got moms for Liberty uh so we're all activists that's why we're here as far as the movie situation sure the investigation happened because of procedure what we're really addressing is the selective enforcement of procedure because teachers often
314will uh Miss Parts uh forms were set out parents were all informed but Administration didn't get the paperwork on time this enforcement was clearly biased by the fact of certain School Board council members saying that it corrupted the innocence of their child it's it's clear it was put forward all right um identical identity isn't a political statement it's not something you can change it's who you are however trying to erase identity is a political statement and that is a choice [Music] someone mentioned a teacher's job is to help kids be human okay kids are human I hate to break it to y'all but they are thank you and have a good night thank you . hello my name is Debbie and I'm from Orlando Beach 30 years from New York originally on thank you Shannon
315thank you all you do thank you for not breaking the law and doing the right thing and I never saw I never seen a biased attorney in my life and I see a lot of crazy stuff here tonight I gotta tell you I've been living here 30 years my mother is a retired manager from the cafeterias from these schools my father the bus driver and yes they do need a raise definitely but um um this is like a short notice for me so I was not prepared at all I see a lot of shady stuff going on here I used to have this whole thing was set up it was very obvious how the Republicans got I yeah very very shady this stuff but um I wasn't prepared like like all the Democrats and all
316of all the people that fall on one time weren't getting told to go but then as soon as the other side said that bully like get out of here you know this was very unfair but again I wasn't prepared and I'm I had two college degrees from Pasco Hernando State College I'm very proud of I graduated with honors twice and um I'm a retired hair stylist I have a lot of gay friends I love gay people they're my best friends in New York so I I'm not one to judge there's one judge and that one is God they will find him now because you all need him I see that I'm so glad I'm not from this generation because that's all about morals and teaching kids math science English and history none of this Republican
317Democrat um left and right stuff this doesn't belong in the school system um I'm a survey conductor and the main reason why I'm here I spoke to a woman a grandmother on the phone she said that my grandchildren want to commit suicide they're very depressed they don't know who they are from what they're learning in the schools today and they're like sponges their brain's like a sponge when they were a kid they see these things and they don't know right from wrong and they're trying to understand I'm so glad I'm not from this generation because this is a mess up here this is really a mess I am so disgusted I'm I'm glad I came but I'm not in the same sense um basically learning math English social studies and Science and uh killing themselves
318terrible but being swayed in certain ways I don't call it indoctrination it's look it's being swayed I looked it up today in the dictionary that's what it means the kids are being swayed now they're trying to find themselves and they see this stuff on in school I'd be confused too I might want my I might want to commit suicide too but I am so glad I'm not part of this generation because God bless you all and God bless America thank you next week is uh 94 95 and 96 Glenn lastra andreami and Dana Glenn it's Mike it's Mike but yeah we'll go Mike my legal name is Glenn okay good evening everyone or close to morning um I have one thing on that I want to talk about today is just truly about the school
319district and the vote of no confidence for Mr Stratton and talk about how much I believe in Mr Stratton and I believe in the school district I've been an educator in this District tomorrow will mark my 19th year in education in Hernando County as a coach as a teacher as an administrator for the last nine years and I could truly say like many of the other Educators in this room I have never worked for a superintendent that cares much about their people and about the students as Mr Stratton and I think everyone in this room a lot of people are involved in education they know what I'm about this whole board knows what I'm about I love this District I've dedicated my life to this District I graduate from the schools the County Schools my
320wife is a career supervisor for career and special programs and my kids go to these schools so when I say this everything we do is about kids here and I think there's a false narrative out there about what's happening in schools and like I said all the board knows what's going on everyone in this room knows what's going on as far as how I treat my schools even our new board members Shannon you and I have never had a bad conversation and you have told me multiple times how much you respect me as a school leader and how much you love what I do in my schools Mark you and I have worked together when I started the Gentlemans when I started the gentlemen's club at Eastside Elementary and Nick Pagano started his school you
321got involved you helped us get shirts and ties it was amazing so you know what I'm about yes you're a principal you're a principal who is making sure that their school does not have the stuff in it that shouldn't be that's illegal okay so how much time but one thing I do believe in is I believe in Mr Stratton I believe in these teachers behind me I believe in the families that attend our schools I believe the families that volunteer and we have to do better guys because everything we do if we do everything about kids this nonsense doesn't happen and I implore I've done this before I implore anyone that has to talk about what's happening in our schools to come out and volunteer I am the principal of the only d-school in the
322district my school and to talk about indoctrination we're teaching my school has gone up double digits this year in mathematics Proficiency in English proficiency one great little one of 28 points of proficiency the attendance at Eastside Elementary last year 43 of the kids were not in school 90 of the time this year it's down to 20 you don't get that without amazing teachers amazing students and amazing leadership from the district and I I just I I'm over it I'm over all of this and my only agenda is about kids and everyone knows that so please take this and I look forward to working with all you guys and you guys know this please understand that there's a lot of great people and a lot of amazing things happening in our schools thank you Andre good
323evening my name is Andre Imani 2010 2022 graduate of Springfield High School can you move the microphone closer yeah yeah um I didn't I'm not appalled but I applaud uh students teachers parents that took their time to be here um the fact that they they're at the end of the school year gone through a tough time doing that and and you couldn't even give the respect to look up um it is quite appalling [Music] um now I wrote a speech members of the school board I'm here today to speak in favor of retaining Mr Stratton as our superintendent Mr Stratton has been an exceptional leader for our district and I believe that his consistent leadership and care for our Educators easily makes him the absolute best person to lead our district since Mr Stratton has
324taken over our district has seen an 87 graduation rate which is a testament to his dedication and commitment to our students if you have ever interacted with Mr Stratton you would know why I'm here today defending his name his leadership style is one of calm steady guidance and he has a unique ability to bring people together to work towards a common goal he has always acted in the best interests of our district and is a deep understanding of the needs of our students and teachers I've come to understand that there are some who do not believe in Mr stratton's ability to run our district but I believe that these concerns are simply unfounded Mr Stratton has always been approachable open-minded and willing to listen to feedback from all he has a deep commitment to our
325district and he has worked tirelessly to ensure that our students receive the best possible education I heard the board to retain Mr Stratton as our superintendent and to give him the support he needs to continue to lead our district to success if you cannot see that perhaps maybe you're focused on the wrong problem and it may be you thank you for your attention and I hope and believe that you will make the right decision for our district thank you before you go 97 98 and 99 Tina were here Jeff Shoemake and Bart sorry left in Boris on Midas bite us okay okay Dana kublick Spring Hill Florida good evening school board members board chair and superintendent Stratton I am here this evening to speak in support of the amazing students teachers employees and the superintendent
326of our district I am a product of Hernando County schools and I have been an educator for 28 years with 22 of those years here in Hernando County I am the mom of five Hernando County school graduates and the grandmother of three future Hernando County graduates as a principal I am responsible for the culture in my school if I went room by room pointing out nothing but negative things I would very quickly find myself in trouble with a negative School culture in order to build a positive culture we need to celebrate successes uplift each other support each other and when something goes wrong we work together to problem solve and improve no one is perfect none of us stand here and pretend to be perfect in my 22 years in this District many superintendents have
327come and gone but John Stratton has been the best leader that I've ever had the pleasure to work for he is caring compassionate approachable but most of all he is a champion for the students teachers staff and families of this County teachers are leaving our profession at an alarming rate the negative negativity that has been brought to our district does not help me fill the vacant positions at my school please I implore every board member to visit our schools come into our classrooms to see the amazing teaching and learning that is happening and work together as a team the majority is speaking up please listen and support the students teachers and staff of Hernando County Schools we are public school Educators we are inclusive and we teach every child that comes through our doors thank
328you thank you Tina I was a short person first okay I was almost so excited to be able to say good morning but it's not there yet so good evening um board members board chair superintendent Stratton my name is Tina Vieira I am a resident of Hernando County um and a taxpayer who pays for taxes I am also a parent of a school-aged child and I am an employee of the district for I don't know I think like 18 years or something you lose track after a while um I wanted to start by just kind of addressing my experience with Mr Stratton as a leader I can tell you that over my 18 summer years that I have had what five different superintendents that I can count um but he is the one the only
329one that ever made an effort to come out to the schools when he was first appointed as our superintendent and meet with all the teachers not in an effort to attack us or find something wrong just to say hi and like give you their card and I was actually really taken aback that the next time that I spoke with him was several months later but he still remembered me and that has that says an awful lot about somebody who's a leader um so with that being said I don't give my husband an awful lot of credit as much as he need as much as he deserves but he is an amazing leader and one of the things that he will often tell you is that leaders own everything in their world they blame no one
330else every one of you that's up here is a leader and you cannot project your your blame onto anyone other than who's sitting here so I find it laughable that specific board members want to present a possible vote of no confidence against our superintendent when they themselves have yet to prove themselves as competent board members or leaders from questioning anything that includes the words inclusion or equity which would also be females thank you um to even erroneously suggesting that one million dollars will fund a hundred teacher allocations these board members have shown that they are in no position to question and have shown that their isolated lack of confidence stems from their own ignorance I'm disgusted that the focus of our board meetings and select board members has been eradicating books and quality Educators across
331our district as opposed to solving real problems how about we tackle the issue of behavior ensuring kids behave appropriately could easily solve the issue of non-existent bus drivers amongst many other issues detrimental to our students education as an involved parent oh you know what I only have 30 seconds left so I can't say the rest but I do want to save this part because that's why I stayed um I want to make it a point to highlight the fact that Junior service league is a community-based organization that wants nothing more than to provide for our County through their fundraising efforts they are able to support students by ensuring a young lady from each school it is treated like a queen for prom they support teachers for teacher appreciation week and provide numerous scholarships as long
332as well as other financials before you go speakers 100 101 102. Logan harifer Nicholas Smith and Richard Collins please my name is Boris beedus I'm not a current student but for 13 years kindergarten through my senior year I was so take it from me parents teachers staff students and every other member of this County a first-hand source that's attended four different schools taken classes with dozens and dozens of teachers and met and spoken with dozens more CRT is not in our school curriculum and students are not being indoctrinated those that are stating as such are fear-mongering regressive bigoted Liars I believe some school member or sorry some board members timed this very purposefully The Day After Tomorrow school lets out and I think they're betting that they're going to have three months over the summer
333to Target teachers bully them out of their permissions and they're hoping that students and parents are going to be too preoccupied to notice I'd like to say to those members you weren't there five years ago when students across this County this state and this country walked out of school and marched on the capitol after a school shooting you underestimate what they will do So eventually you will screw up you will Target the wrong teacher in a move of moronic hubris you will go after that one teacher that every student and every parent knows and loves whether or not they've taken their class and they are going to have your head on a pike over it they won't stand for it and students don't delude yourselves into thinking that they're going to stop at elementary school
334teachers you don't know or care about they will come for all of them gay or straight black or white democrat or republican because they will find someone that will tow their party line higher please look at me it would be much appreciated and with my remaining time I'd like to say just if just a few comments the things that have been said today our school was or sorry our country was founded by Christians it was also founded on secular values that's why we don't have the Bible being taught in schools if you attended you might have known that and also because everyone seems to like to bring up the pledge tonight we had God not in the pledge for two and a half times as long as we have had it in the pledge we
335added it during the Cold War as propaganda from our government and to final a final statement Mr Stratton I don't know much about your policies or what you've done I used to work in the front office at Nature Coast as a student aid every District employee that came through there looked at us with disdain I got the door for you and you shook my hand nobody else did that nobody else showed me that level of respect I have confidence in you even if these two don't thank you Logan um hello uh my name is Logan High Taffer um I am an alumnus of Nature Coast Technical High School here in Hernando County and I am a proud member of this community I speak on behalf of my kith and my kin when I say that
336John Stratton has been a wonderful superintendent he has stood for us for our teachers for our community for the parents and for everyone and I would like to uh just point that out you know um when I walked across the stage at graduation he shook my hand or any other board members there at Nature Coast graduation this last year I know that you were and I appreciate that we all love that we all love to see our board members there representing us and I would like to remind you on that front that you do represent us all of us I am a trans woman here in Hernando County and I am proud of that fact I am represented by all of you sadly especially the ones who won't even look Us in the face now
337I for some reason must have Authority for being a locally based religious leader of my own church I am a proud pastafarian of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and I would like to quote Bobby Hendrickson when I say that God has as much place in our school system as flying spaghetti monsterism anyhow I don't even care about the speech that I wrote on the way in I am going to yield my time thank you for yours thank you Nicholas before you go Taylor Elizabeth Rush Patrick green Patricia Greenwald and Dustin Thomas after all right after Richard called go ahead foreign members of the board I would like to start by saying that it is Blasphemous for some members of this board to suggest that God has so little going on in their life
338that they have to keep busy by using they're all being power to put them on the school board and is appalling that one of you could have the gall to Target specific members of this community in the way that you have and for you to force the removal of classroom Decor that doesn't adhere to the Florida best standards is tyrannical you are a civil servant your job is to make Hernando County Schools better for the students and the teachers and to represent everybody not just the people that voted for you and all you are doing by forcing this extreme measure on those students and teachers is harming those that you are meant to be helping and I can tell you all or I'm a graduate of Hernando County Schools I have volunteered for hundreds of
339hours at Hernando County schools and I can tell you all for certain that if my classrooms have been plain white cells devoid of emotion devoid of color and devoid of expression that I would have had a much harder time both paying attention as a student and keeping my students engaged and I have to say that it is outright evil that you could specifically Target the core that represents nothing but equality in the discriminatory Witch Hunt that was carried out certain members of the school board did not margin the classrooms and take pictures of Tampa Bay Lightning thighs because the student might be a maple leaves fan or a USF diplomas because a student might want to go to Arizona Tech they took pictures of the court that symbolize equality for the lgbtq community a group
340of people that is already alienated by this County and this state and rather you and whether you like it or not that Community is part of this school district a district that you're supposed to make better for everyone not just the people you like and not just the people who like you and I understand that some of you may not know much considering you are a pawn for the Theocratic extremists that are tearing the state apart but there are two things I would like to remind you of that I learned in Hernando County Schools one is Pickering versus the Board of Education which protects the First Amendment rights of public employees and two is Tinker versus Des Moines which protects the First Amendment rights of students thank you thank you Richard Richard Collins left I
341guess not Taylor hello my name is Taylor rush and I would have been in Hernando um West Hernando Elementary Western Hernando Middle School but um someone was a little too busy taking pictures of Pride flags on people's walls and instead of worrying about the fact that I was getting bullied 24 7. for my epilepsy yeah thanks for looking at me um I will be a fresh a freshman coming next year as a student I have heard a lot of negativity towards the staff who support lgbtq or who are members of the community themselves I have I am absolutely heartbroken watching amazing staff tearing down supportive and accepting decorations tearing up while standing in a room with an American flag that is supposed to represent our country but as you know we're doing what's best for
342the students not the teachers of course um so all hateful remarks and discrimination can really affect students education at when we feel supported and accepted as we are we learn better how are we supposed to learn if we don't feel safe I have gotten in the highest grades and learned the most in the classes of the teachers I know except me no matter what I'm going through or who I am I strongly believe that we should start working together not apart not segregating each other Shannon um but the schools are here for the students so we should have a say we are in a different generation [Music] foreign generation and there's been changes we are in 2023 so start acting like it please and thank you um and 2023 is a year of combinations not
343a quote-unquote traditional form of doing school so just letting you know that's why we don't go around treating people like peasants and acting like we have no feelings so thank you very much for all that thank you Patricia [Music] Greenwood um resident of Spring Hill Florida since 1982. um I am an ESU teacher at Central High School department head over six teachers temp hours and almost 70 students um I coach three different sports um I am a proud member of hcta I am the treasurer as well as being on several committees um I've gone through so many notes tonight on what I wanted to say um but anybody that knows me knows I shoot I shoot straight I don't beat around the bush I'm straightforward um there is indoctrination going on but it is by
344an alpha male by the name of Kevin and the submissive women who choose to follow him at least that's what it looks like from where we are um just everything that is said the same thing comes out of mouth after mouth after mouth where we have many different many different things that we can share about what's going on in our schools and in our lives um there are so many different things that are going on sitting in the meeting today the workshop I actually really enjoyed that there was conversation going on people agreed to disagree things were awesome there was only two things I had little issues with and one of them was remembering that when any of you are talking about the school board you need to say we not you because you were
345all members of the school board right it's not somebody else um that was one big thing that that struck me also um relevant to their lives as we went through all of the different um all the different results of the surveys talked about teaching the developments of the kids lives and then that feeling it's relatively relevant to their lives well if we are limited on teaching just what's in that book it's never going to be relevant to their lives that's one part and if people are so unhappy we heard one parent say they were not bringing their kids back to school next year Well we were just talking about all the overcrowding so if we can all find Charter Schools private schools Etc we're going to have less crowding I don't know I could get
346emails every day hey it's another kid we have a joke every time we have another student in our ESC Department hey it's a boy hey it's a girl because they just keep coming in um so I am not so worried about that I am very proud of my ese Department I know we're doing right by all of our kids um I think we would be a great model for a lot of other schools our rooms only look the way they do because we take pride in them we put work into them and we keep them that way um thank you also you have who have some support and different ways it is like it is tired I'm gonna be in my room in less than six hours but thank you all thank you Dustin before
347you go numbers 106 107 108 and it looks like Caroline Sierra I don't know it seems like about four different names we'll go with that 106 with that name Janine galbo 107. and Diane limber 108. please Nelson my name is Dustin Thomas Brooksville I teach at Parrott Middle School you have heard it said love your neighbors and hate your enemy but I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you thank you for the opportunity to speak here today the shirt I am wearing today says what's your why this is meant to encourage us to ask ourselves why why am I a teacher why am I in the education field why am I on the school board why am I taking the actions I am taking the answer to my why should
348always be for the betterment of all of our students and their education if my actions are all above water then there would be no need to sneak around in the dark like a secret agent in a movie if my why is to be here for the students then I will do my part to stop the infighting and work together among my peers if my why truly is for the education then I will do what I can to end the fear and division instead of creating and fostering it many of us are afraid to voice our concerns fear of reprisal or creating a Target on our backs but it is when you're afraid to voice our opinions that it is most necessary to do so there is a culture of fear and division being fostered in
349this country state I'm sorry this County State and Country there is fear of having the wrong posters in our classrooms will be enough to lose our certificates our careers or even our freedom my job is to give my students the best possible education I am capable of providing living and working in fear will make that job impossible to do instead of fostering this culture of fear we need to come together is the only way we can be successful in educating our students our future we need to come together to focus on things like the epidemic we are facing of middle and high schoolers that are lacking in basic Elementary skills these deficiencies are not from a lack of effort from our elementary school teachers it is like the old adage says you can lead a
350horse to water but you cannot make it drink many of our students have become apathetic to their education and in some cases resist it we need to come together to work on these issues we all have just ways of thinking different beliefs that is a good thing thank you Caroline Sierra [Music] guess not nobody getting up okay Janine galbo after Janine is Diane limbrick and then Laura Angelou receiving board members my name is Jeannie galvo I live in mukiwachi I've lived in Hernando County for 30 plus years it's late so I'm losing my boys here tonight so please excuse that um I think that the what I've listened to in the room tonight is such divisiveness it's so apparent I've seen students come up here and talk and I applaud them for their voice and
351their courage to speak and I think it's a wonderful thing but I also want to speak for all the Christian students that maybe perhaps would feel intimidated to come up here tonight what about their voice how do you think they would feel if they came up and spoke about whether or not they felt that you know some of these topics should be allowed shouldn't be allowed these students wouldn't be able to come up and speak tonight because they fear going back to school tomorrow what they may face the divisiveness in this room is in parent on the board the lack of respect by some of the people in this room and the teachers and students and everything going on here is apparent because of what's Happening Here the board members can't get along the board
352members can't work together the board members can't respect one another it trickles down we see it we watch it we've been watching it for weeks and months get your rock together it's a circus this is made not only uh local news but National News international news what's it going to take the governor we have a governor that's taking a very strong stance on on this you know these topics like it or not agree or not it's the law follow the law if the governor says that these certain uh uh Flags or things or indoctrination are not appropriate in the room follow the law and remove it it's not about a religious religion it's not about political affiliation it's not about sexual orientation follow the law I believe there is even a provision in the law
353that allows for parents to seek legal action against the school district if these uh reading materials and and other other things are not removed and if that's the case why aren't we more concerned about it can we afford any fines or or to pay any of this nonsense get your act together and Mr Stratton I was at the school board meeting where the Fox Chapel parents showed up after the incident they were concerned they had questions they were told that their questions would be answered at the end of the meeting at the end of the meeting Miss Rodriguez was the I believe maybe the only one or Mr Johnson too who address his parents and thank you for that Shannon and Mark and although this room may not reflect it you have a ton of
354supports behind you so don't let this sway you one bit I stand for you I voted for you and I'll vote for you again and the rest of the school board members let not let's not get let this be a diversion do your jobs follow the law and that's all I have to say thank you thank you Diane I had lambrook from Brooksville I have always tried to respect anyone holding a public office even if I don't always agree with them but right now that is not possible for some of this current School Board you have to give respect in order to earn it Shannon Rodriguez is rude and disrespectful to Mr Stratton all of her fellow board members but one legal counsel staff teachers and anyone attending these meetings who does not agree with
355her Mark Johnson is only slightly better you don't even respect the office you hold or you would not be out discussing School Board business in a restaurant it's obvious you don't respect the people that have been speaking here tonight because you're not paying attention to over half of them Miss Rodriguez you've made a lot of people angry with your actions and now you want a pity party because of the repercussions I don't feel sorry for you but I do feel sorry for your daughter if she's being bullied at school but you need to look in the mirror and see the cause of it kids can be mean and if a teacher they like is removed from their class they can't pick on the adult responsible for it so they go after the kids if you
356think the worst thing that your fifth grader is going to see or hear is that two and a half minutes in that movie you need a reality check in my job I have had a kindergartner ask me if I have sex with my husband I've had fifth graders who were in my class because they were drawing pictures of body parts and saying who they wanted to have sex with and I'm very offended when you keep making this remark that God appointed you to run for school board you are on this board because the politicians in Hernando County and now a couple of them in Tallahassee wanted a puppet that they could pull the strings on and now they have one you made no bones about your objective when you got on this board was to
357get rid of Mr Stratton well I sincerely hope that he doesn't let that happen I don't know what church you go to and I don't care but your Bible must read differently than mine because my Bible reads do you are to be kind compassionate and considerate to others doesn't sound like you it also warns against dishonesty lying and seeking vain Glory anyone who is a true Christian doesn't have to keep telling people that's what they are the lives they lead and the way they conduct themselves shows it somebody sent me a picture of a sign recently that I think is so appropriate kind atheists are closer thank you very much didn't mean Lauren before you go Alex record Holly original good morning my name is Lauren anzaloni I am a Hernando County Schools alumni and
358have taught here for over six years I'm speaking today to share a statement from my mother Maria Laskowski who lives in Spring Hill she is unable to attend as a longtime resident of Hernando County I have logged countless hours of volunteer time not only in classrooms but as a parent serving many years on Sac committees at JD Floyd Challenger K and Nature Coast Technical High School I did not learn for I did this to learn firsthand and get a good sense of what was happening in our schools rather than relying on hearsay hearsay in innuendo at this point in time I am befuddled to as to how Ms Rodriguez and Mr Johnson are providing anything of service to this board and more importantly to the students teachers and families in our school system Miss Rodriguez
359I do believe that your intentions are not pair apart nor sincere but come with the sole agenda to dismiss Mr Stratton from his position as superintendent and I believe your election in Mr Johnson's was engineered by others with self-serving political agenda it is not merely an opinion but virtually confirmed by public records and political contributions excuse me you have proven to be a disruptive rude disrespectful frequently unprepared and always unprofessional like it or not as a respect a representative of the school district you are held to a high standard and expect to set an example for our students on this obligation you are failing Mr Johnson when you first served on the board I did not find you at all effective and find a comical that you put forth a vote of no confidence against
360Mr Stratton I say this because I watch the meetings and have on many occasions seen you flipping through your phone which is evident to me that you are either bored or just not that interested in what's going on around you in conclusion I have no confidence either of you will serve this school district well and therefore respectfully request that you resign your positions for the good of our school district and students Marie lesaski again my name is Lauren anzaloni and just to add ever since I was a child I dreamed of becoming a teacher and helping students the way this teachers in this County have helped me last year after much anxiety many sleepless nights and debating of what the right thing to do was I left my dream career in because of what was
361happening in the field of education and in this County I completely agree with everything that my mother has previously stated and written I am proud to say that I am returning to teaching because of For Better or Worse this is where my passion lies I will stand with my colleagues I will stand with my students and I will not be intimidated away from my passion any longer thank you thank you Alex hey thanks for uh having me up there with uh my book didn't know that was gonna happen next my name is Alex record I'm a parent of three students who attend uh Hernando County Public Schools I'm an ESC teacher here and have lived in Indiana county for most of my life um a recent State mandated presentation given to all middle school students
362included the statistic that lgbtq youth for four times more likely to attempt suicide than straight kids this same presentation repeatedly referenced the importance of having a safe adult to speak with about issues students are facing you're not going to believe this but a teacher was one such example of a safe adult this was presented just days after teachers were told they must remove any non-standard space materials from their rooms which of course just meant rainbow product et cetera et cetera Flags or whatever um the day after the email was sent out to teachers about gutting their classrooms when students all over the district entered rooms that were suddenly and permanently Barren my eighth grade ELA class was watching uh videos from our state approved curriculum where Irene Butters Holocaust Survivor spoke about her experiences one
363video description read Irene warned students not to judge people based on skin color religion or preconceived notions of who they are explaining that this kind of thinking is what leads to something like the Holocaust this was that day what is this saying to our students I do not understand why members of the board would want to attempt to make any student feel unwelcome or that they don't belong or that they would feel anything but compassion and a sense of Duty to those who are four times more likely to attempt suicide rather than actively work to increase the number I don't even have my own classroom but I don't understand how a safe space sticker is in violation of promoting the overall safety and wellness of students which was later said to be an acceptable decoration
364I like Mr Stratton he's been in my classrooms multiple times over the years I appreciate Mr Stratton trying to protect my colleagues and me but compromising student acceptance and our ability to personalize our space and we spend eight hours a day in it is not right having actually been in the classroom for years the idea of grooming and indoctrination is obviously offensive and nonsensical to me but if I truly believed it was happening I would be very upset too but my believing it may be the most damning indictment of the education I received from Hernando County Schools thanks thank you all right good morning my name is Holly ruckard I live in Weeki Wachee Florida first I want to thank you all for allowing us all to speak tonight I know we're all very tired
365but we really appreciate all getting the opportunity to talk to you and voice our opinions I have three children that attend Hernando County Schools I'm a product of Hernando County Schools myself I graduated from Springstead in 2007. Mr ball was my principal I have been working for Hernando County schools for 11 years three years as an EOC para in eight years as a teacher I am currently a Civics teacher in the social studies department chair at Powell Middle School as a parent and an educator I am deeply troubled by the atmosphere that has been created in our schools by particular board members I want to let Mr Stratton know that I support you as our leader and as a teacher and as a parent I have seen my children Thrive at chokichatti and Deltona you
366have been at my kids functions and even walked through my own classroom my colleagues and I support you because we know that you support us and the students despite what some of the board members may claim you are a true leader please do not stop fighting for us because we need you now more than ever teachers have suddenly become the enemy despite all the trials that we regularly go through with our jobs I've gone to work and been kicked bitten and scratched I've been stalked harassed and threatened by students this year I had one threatened to put a bomb at my wedding I've gone to work when I was feeling sick morning losses in my family and even while having a miscarriage because I did not want to miss open house that's what we do
367we go back every day because we care we care about the students and we just keep coming back but I'm having a very hard time coming back to this agenda that's being pushed that I as a teacher am an indoctrinator and a groomer since when have equity and inclusion become bad words teachers should be able to create safe welcoming classrooms for students without fear we should welcome different backgrounds and perspectives and Views and encourage civil discourse one of my Civic standards is actually to examine multiple perspectives on contemporary issues we have some board members that could use a lesson on this feel free to come to my classroom whenever you'd wish I would like to see a board member show as much concern for the massive truancy issue that is taking place at all of
368our schools not just Fox Chapel and also the vaping issue that is taking place across the county instead of telling teachers to take down their safe space stickers on their doors in a misguided attempt to follow legislation when that's not even what the legislation says at all I wonder if some of the people in the room have read it perhaps use some of your sway in Tallahassee to get some direction on what it is exactly I'm supposed to be teaching next year because the State of Florida has given me no direction on that so I implore you all to please stand with Mr Stratton we support you thank you Tony before you go Amber Brady dependent Dasha Caitlyn candles next that's 113 114 115. okay Johnny good morning Mr Stratton I would just like to
369say as an employee of this District I definitely support you for superintendent any personal dealings that I've had any situations that have come up I've always had you treat me with respect and fairness and I love the work that you do especially the love that you have for our kids Mrs Rodriguez I want you to know that I'm here also on your behalf we all know what the problems are we've been discussing them for hours I'd like to take this in a New Direction as a school board member for seven years president of my board for two years in a year of Vice President I understand the challenges that you face as a board Mr Stratton is not solely responsible for everything that happens in this District it's a team he's willing to take the
370fall and I respect that but he also needs a strong team I support your opinions I support your passion I support your love that you have for what you do I would like to support you wholeheartedly I only ask one thing that you just hear my heart and consider that when I first came on the board at 28 I took a year and I stood back and I watched I didn't come in with an agenda because I believe that being a school board member is a service and has to be a service first and to serve we have to serve everyone if all of you can take a look at the end of this night and take away what has been clearly stated we have problems in our school that we have to address there's
371things we can do better and I know you know that and I know you'd like to fix these things Miss Rodriguez overnight and your heart is in the right place but if we fight against each other I can tell you how this is going to end up it's going to end up with a year lost of what's best for our children it's going to end up with three years recovery for the board members that go or Mr Stratton if he happens to go and come back and the the problems that it's going to to cause is going to be so detrimental to the reason we're all here so I ask all of you take a step back please find something you love about what Mr Stratton does that's what my mother taught me when I
372was young and find something you love about what Miss Rodriguez does and find that connection all of you as school board members and embrace and come together because I do believe we can fix this but not if we attack each other not if we try to give thank you Amber hello oh good morning my name is Amber Bradley and I'm a Hernando County school graduate from Spring Hill and I'd like to start off by saying the wild accusations of indoctrination in the school district are ridiculous and harmful I am so grateful that I was able to thrive in the public school systems Hernando County has to offer because someone like Stratton was at the helm Mr Stratton I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for showing that you genuinely care about
373students for being a Beacon of Hope in this hate-filled climate from my time as a student I not only learned important academic skills but I learned crucial social skills such as compassion sympathy and emotional maturity skills that some of the board members desperately struggle to display your job is to care for children and guide them not push your own personal beliefs onto them and throw unsightly Tantrums when we tell you that you need to be there for the kids you weren't supposed to act like one how dare you sit there and tell me that you care about students like myself while you turn around and try to tear down our safe spaces and ruin the lives of our favorite people you need to start thinking with your brain not your pocketbook Shannon I firmly believe
374that church and state should not mix but since you're pushing your religious agenda down my throat let me tell you that God put me here to vote you out in the next School Board election because you've made it very clear that you were unfit for this job I'm also curious if you can even name five character from the movie you claim to be pornographic I'm gonna guess you can't because you didn't do any research on it other than learning that there's a queer character what other movies set you off were you threatened by Despicable Me a single dad caring for three orphaned girls and today's society the nuclear family simply does not exist family can look like anything any color any gender any sexuality luckily I had teachers who realized this supported everyone who walked
375into their classroom and welcomed them with open arms there were critical issues that need to be addressed well there's a surprising scarcity of satanic indoctrination I did witness more important concerns a lack of air conditioning for months on end in several of my classes a gross amount of vaping and Drug in the bathrooms in a shortage of teachers and bus drivers alike there are problems ranging from A to Z why don't we focus on those instead of your personal issues it's time to grow up and do your job thank you for your time thank you don't Donna definitely Spring Hill teacher boys okay um if you are not actually consistently in a classroom you really don't know what is actually going on there no teachers are not indoctrinating kids or even swaying them into anything
376unless it's an attempt to make them into good citizens you know vote uphold the Constitution follow the law be nice radical things like that the idea that teachers are somehow indoctrinating students into some kind of literal liberal ideology presupposes for one thing that all teachers are liberals which is not actually the case and the idea that teachers are trying to turn boys into girls are Governor's words is fantastical teachers are in the business of trying to make their students adult lives easier not harder you know when I first came to this County 35 years ago there were teach there were parents who actually called up the school demanding that their kid not have any black teachers well now it's gay and trans teachers ladies and gentlemen being gay or trans is not contagious having a
377gay or trans teacher will not cause your child to follow suit it might possibly save a child's life if that child is gay or trans and is contemplating suicide because their parents don't accept the way they are that by the way is what teachers do they accept kids for who they are then they try to make them feel welcome in the classroom no matter who they are what they do not do is try to make kids think there's something that they're not it always used to puzzle me when I was a kid why swimming pools were segregated did white people think that swimming with black kids was going to somehow turn them black I assure you that's not how I gained my biracial cousins in the same way having an exposure to gay or trans
378people will not alter someone's sexuality all that being said however there are some people in this room who do want to indoctrinate kids it's not the teachers though it's the people who are so afraid of anyone who is different from them that they can't thank you Caitlin before you go Donald kildle number 116 117 and 118. Anna Kelvin or am I going to mess this one up and Vanessa looks like black snake euros well actually in curos okay and then Vanessa right okay please hi I'm Caitlin Kendall and um I'm a high school teacher here in Hernando um before I read what I wrote um and at the risk of alienating some of us in the room just immediately before I even start talking uh one I want to again applaud the the current students
379and the alumni that came to speak today that was very brave of you guys speaking to your microphone please sorry um and then also um Mr Sharon I know that you're you don't do this for the praise and uh I I don't I'm sorry for bringing more praise to you tonight but um you are the only superintendent to ever come into my room just to say hi and shake my hand and I really appreciate that um okay so School boarding Community um I have heard your concerns regarding your children's innocence and safety and I can understand wanting to protect your kids you the parent and I the teacher have the same goals to ensure that your children are loved are safe are healthy and receive their free public education that they are entitled to in
380our country however one mode of protection that I'm highly concerned about as an educator and as a lifelong learner is a focus on literature and I would like to speak on two examples 1984 and mouse 1984 has come under Fire recently for somehow being pro-communist um I highly encourage you to read this novel um it's an incredible dystopian novel written in 1949 the novel 1984 explicitly outlines the dangers of oppressive government control under a Communist party and on page 81 there's an excerpt that reads quote the party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears it was their final most essential command and I for one would want to teach my children that Free Speech free thought are delicate freedoms that we enjoy and to never allow those in power to prevent
381your education and free thought furthermore should we not read things that we disagree with merely existing in an echo chamber never exposing yourself to opposing ideas or to content that troubles you is not healthy and is that not also part of our freedom of speech we must challenge our own values and learn from one another both from fiction and non-fiction literature Mouse is a controversial graphic novel which I did read as far as my public curriculum it depicts Jewish people as mice and Nazis as cats um and I'm going to skip forward a little bit that we do not want this book for inappropriate language such as quote God damn um I promise that your kids hear much worse from their peers and also probably at home because I don't know a single adult in
382this room who doesn't cuss sorry I don't if you want to shelter your kids so badly you're gonna have thank you Donald you're next foreign good morning board I want to start by giving two quick thanks first of all Mr Stratton on my first day in this District you shook my hand and said hello to me during a new teacher orientation and then three months later you saw me at my school in my classroom and remembered who I was and that was shocking to me I also want to give actually a quick thanks to Mr Johnson I've heard you twice today mention increasing pay for either bus drivers or teachers of which by the way my name is Donald Kendall and I'm a teacher at Weeki Wachee High School forgot that part my apologies but
383I wanted to give those thanks right off the gate now with that said I am a teacher here in Hernando County Schools I have been in this County for the last five years now many students have passed through my classroom each unique person each a vibrant star only just forming each of these students have hungered for an environment in which they can develop and grow not only intellectually but socially and emotionally and these environments are found in the homes that they live in and that they visit and in the classrooms in which they are taught and none of these environments are exclusive to one another none of these are exclusive to a single need students do not cease the need for intellectual stimulation when they go home nor do they stop wanting for social interaction
384and emotional support when they arrive at school students want to feel that their classrooms are safe supportive and nurturing not cold calculated and uncaring in my time in education I have found the fastest way to disable a student's educational success is to fail to build positive rapport with those students while there are many factors that contribute to this I want you to think about it for yourself when you're faced with a boss or a supervisor or even a co-worker who you do not get along with do you give them even the slightest opportunity or do you scoff at their every word every day the students look for the classrooms the teachers and the environments that are warm supportive and inviting these same environments that we all grew up with in this room every one of
385us in the last two to three weeks about a month many teachers have reacted with fear and uncertainty at the aggressive and demanding changes that some members of our school board have enacted changes which threaten our certifications and our livelihoods on what seemed to be arbitrary Concepts I have seen now evidence of students and teachers teachers I'm sorry of teachers who have had their certifications threatened over things that seem totally unrelated to any of the new legislation that has been passed and since I'm running out of time because I always talk long students notice this quickly and because the students notice this quickly they do not want to live in those bearing jail-like classrooms they don't enjoy it they don't thank you thank you thank you I apologize for pronunciation of your name no that's
386okay today is not my first time that somebody on the school board tries to say my name in can you tell me what it is my first name is Laxmi and I'm a resident in Spring Hill Florida I've been here several times and today I decided to come because I'm a parent I am not a union member I am not an activist I am here because my children have been been the product of a wonderful education in Hernando schools I am here to support teachers I am here to support administrators and I'm here to work with anybody else who is willing to put our students education as a priority there are laws that I cannot change today there are laws that need to be enforced and I understand that any extreme in my mind is
387not a good thing but our kiss cannot be in the middle of this so I ask all of you guys to work together to pay attention to listen thank you for letting us speak anybody who's listening to me I hope you guys remember that today is not the only day you need to show up if we want these laws to change we need to keep coming if we want supported staff if we want teachers to remain here we need to provide what they need other things that need to be changed absolutely we heard lots of people talking about many many things vaping Behavior bullying esc's issues we need to provide more services but you know why we have a really good thing here in Hernando County my kids have excelled because of wonderful teachers I
388am here to support you as long as you're willing to work with us and I'm not going to stop coming I am going to make an effort to make sure I can come as much as I can I encourage each one everybody to come and do this I am so proud of all the students that who have come because they know that their voices are going to be heard in a couple of years and the Pendulum has gone a different way right now may not be what some of you guys want but guess what they're the Future Leaders and they're hearing you and they're seeing what you guys are doing we are preparing our kids in our community to be able to excel they'll be your future doctors teachers and when you are in the
389hospital bed you're not going to ask them what they read you're going to ask them are you educated enough to complete the procedure that I need to save my life so let's provide them that education I just heard today during the meeting that we're expecting 8 000 more students in the next 10 years what is the school board doing to make sure that all those kids are going to get the education we need and I'm sorry to tell you for those who don't want to hear it some of them may be different than what you're expecting because not everybody who is coming is going to be to your liking but hopefully we can provide the education to all that is part of the mission of Hernando County Schools thank you Vanessa before you go you
390have a sealed letter here from Joseph where do you want me doing it oh that's for you guys to read I don't think we can so that's like not during the time okay okay I'll give it to you 30. okay good morning my name is Vanessa quiros from Spring Hill I recently had the privilege of shaking Mr shuten's Hand at my high school graduation as an IB diploma candidate with a 4.64 GPA and as an esteemed student leader in my community my positive reputation could not have been accomplished without the influence of my parents my older peers and my teachers these powerful leaders have taught me the importance of patience kindness and inner strength and because of them I believe that one of the most effective ways of teaching is leading by example in preschool
391we are taught sharing is caring and you get what you get and you don't throw a fit yet as we age we witness more often the sad reality we see politicians stripping rights from their neighbors based on a harmless difference of beliefs and banning books and punishing teachers for showing movies which teach us about acceptance and exploration these contradictory actions can cause extreme confusion for us especially regarding school system which is supposed to prepare us for the diverse and ever-changing Society we are about to enter as I mentioned before my life has been greatly influenced by my peers who can before me one of which has asked me to speak on his behalf tonight his name is Joseph masadi he was the student representative to the Hernando County school board for the 2017-2018 school year
392and is currently a PhD student at Florida State University I will share his full speech with the council to read the part that struck me the most about a speech was a description of how many of his classmates and Future Leaders were ashamed and scared to return to Spring Hill this message does not apply only to Joe masadi and his one group of classmates I can attest that this story is true for many within the graduating class of 23 as well the lgbtq community is in Jefferson the young minds of this County are in Jeopardy and the future prosperity of Hernando is in Jeopardy regardless of a person's beliefs faith is meant to give hope and provide a Guiding Light in our lives God leads us to show unconditional love and acceptance toward our neighbors
393the same way he does for all of his children I do not see how he would ever condone any one of us turning on each other based on who we choose to love what we choose to read and how we choose to live our lives since I have a few seconds left I would like to say that limiting students minds and perspectives is the equivalent of limiting our chance for success I recently graduated from the international Baccalaureate program which emphasizes Global mindedness and cultivating a passion for learning never once have my teachers tried to turn me gay or told me which political party is the correct one or anything of the sort in school I've become a leader and a lifelong student that I am from the open classroom discussions within the IB Program being
394an avid reader of all types types of books throughout my childhood and the self-expression facilitated within the program and I would also like to say I'm happy to not be part of the normal crowd different is beautiful thank you thank you uh the next batch Donald Rosella are you here Donald roselli I got two at the same name same address that's why I'm asking no all right next number is uh 120 152 and 241 which is Amanda mom Cecilia McVeigh and Kelly Dobson Amanda yep uh Amanda molay I live in Spring Hill I am truly alarmed that there is a school board member totally out of control I am also alarmed that there is either no accountability process for school board members or that the rest of the board is allowing this person to behave
395in public in such a way that is negatively impacting both students and teachers how much worse does this need to get before there is an intervention this person claims to be appointed by God there is nothing wrong with one's personal faith I myself am a Christian this person has pole vaulted over professional and moral boundaries by bullying and harassing others based on her belief unless anyone cry Witch Hunt my concern is not with the belief itself this person has demonstrated over and over that they do not understand acceptable behavior we have all watched for six hours while students have come up and said look at me while I'm talking to you and she made a point of looking away unacceptable we are here for them the result of this behavior is that students do not
396feel safe comfortable or even welcome in their schools as a licensed therapist I work with young people who have shared with me heart-wrenching experiences of being bullied alienated and isolated by peers teachers and even their own parents the fear trauma and self-harm as a result of this cruel treatment simply cannot be understated we can pretend all we want that kids don't have their own thoughts feelings and opinions about how they experience life but this pretense while making some adults feel more comfortable only results in suffering for the future of our community our children as for what this is doing to teachers I used to be a teacher I left a profession I loved because the politics are insufferable I dreamed of being a teacher since seventh grade and I left because I came to the
397conclusion I could not support all students in the way they needed support I am now working in social work so I can reach the kids that the schools are leaving behind you can ban books you can fire teachers you can never erase the fact that LGBT kids exist and deserve to feel safe and welcome in school do better so I don't need to see your children in therapy and at the very least show them the respect to look at them when they're talking to you thank you Kelly okay hold off Kelly Kelly Dobson number 241 [Music] no how about Kelly Reeve Dr John Paul Reeve and Michelle Mandarin that's numbers 242 243 246. anybody here okay number 247 250 and 253. looks like Brian Perez Christopher dusk Rachel Perez 254 259 302. Suzanne elslet Evan
398Anderson Sean May numbers 254 259 and 302 anybody here Suzanne I'm 259. hi my name is Haven of Brooksville Florida um education is something I have always been passionate about whether it was getting my AAA before I graduated high school or sitting as the student representative on this board I was going to speak tonight but I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of the teachers terrified to be here tonight on behalf of the students who couldn't talk to their parents and now they can't speak to their teachers either on behalf of the students who are actively being erased and left behind by members of the board there's been so much said in the past months against teachers against students against future students against Administration I couldn't address all of it in these three minutes even
399if it didn't make me nauseous to do so I spent all 13 years of my education in these schools learning so much from these teachers that I just graduated with my bachelor's degree at 20 years old because at the top notch education that I received here teachers don't become teachers for the pay or for indoctrination purposes they do it because they love it they do it because they care about students and want them to be the best people they can be and anyone who's ever worked in a school or taken the time to speak to a teacher knows that my teacher is trying to no teacher is trying to convert your kid to gayism they come like that what I have learned is that there are school board members who join the board for the
400sake of their own kind of fascist indoctrination I have a friend who has a daughter that is a little taller than my knee she is the curliest hair you've ever seen the most beautiful dark skin she's just two but I'm sure to some members on the board right now she'd just be some other racial slur used by Mrs Rodriguez which was used during Jim Crow era to describe segregated places but students of color are not the only targeted group no it's already been made clear tonight that certain members of the board don't believe students in an ese program can be regular students students that are members of the lgbtqia plus Community are repeatedly told that they should be here and that their presence should be hidden no matter what these old men and women with
401too much time in their hands and too much privilege have to say you belong here to every student who came up here and spoke I'm so proud of you you deserve so much more love and support than you have been given by certain members of the board please keep speaking out against hate and biggest bigotry please keep sharing your stories keep being loud and keep being you and to the people on the board listen to them and look at them so while a couple of these hours of my time have been wasted today listening to pointless conversations about woke and Equity I mean God forbid we leave segregation and racism in the past right I couldn't help but notice how not a single teacher sat with the people causing commotion not a single person who
402has dedicated their life to helping children sat with the people trying to revelate illusionize education and to miss Duvall Miss Prescott and Mr Stratton okay thank you Sean Happy Birthday Laura thank you my name is Sean may I am a resident of Hernando County uh born and raised here look here my entire life I have been a business owner entrepreneur in this County employed dozens of individuals and most recently I've taken on a role as a high school teacher at a local private school and just like each and every one of you were elected by your your community chosen by your community I was recently uh awarded or selected as a teacher of the year in Hernando County so I feel like I have some experience both outside the classroom and inside the classroom uh
403the word appalling has been thrown around so many times uh tonight I can't count but really uh the only thing that I find appalling is the amount of hate that's been thrown around in this room uh the the personal attacks on on different individuals uh the personal attacks against Mrs Rodriguez and Mr Johnson uh to me is is appalling she's following the law she's doing what she's supposed to but most importantly she is acting as a mother first she's protecting her children and I applaud you for that I don't believe you're abusing your power I believe you're doing what you are supposed to be doing we are worried about what's being you know taught in the classrooms I want to you know tell you yeah I I was born and raised I went to Springstead
404High School under Miss Duvall and I don't remember what was on my classroom walls I don't remember uh uh you know what uh you know relationships my teachers were having with each other I do remember the hug that I got from mist of all my junior year when my father passed away The Compassion that that she showed me I don't care who you sleep with at night I don't care what that didn't mean anything to me I've been a a contributing member of this Society without being taught about a woke agenda without being told you know what it means to be gay without without being without being taught any of that stuff because I never I I didn't have any of that when I was in in high school I learned what two plus two
405was I learned the difference between a noun and a verb and I learned about our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence which states we have three inalienable light rights life liberty in the pursuit of happiness we've spent so much time here thinking that happiness is free that we should all have it listen we need to get back to the basics teaching English arithmetic history I don't care what you what you guys do at home but we need to teach our kids better thank you so then before you go Caitlin Baruch Ralph de brown D Brown and Suzanne there that's 331 332 and 333. I'm I'm 249. I'm sorry I'm 249. 249. can I call you I don't think we called you yet hold on a minute still have to put it all right I just
406want to speak you don't have that number you have a card I can't see that I gave it to them players please did I say 349.com Please Speak easier I'm a parent in Pasco County excuse me since you don't have a card can you state your name and address for directions Yingling my address is protected on a floor statute law enforcement family um I'm from Pasco I'm a stakeholder here in Hernando I do business up in here in in Hernando County I'm a little appalled by watching this board meeting and watch this my first time in a Hernando award meeting that parental rights are just not respected whatsoever the attack on board member Rodriguez is just eye-opening the the the love and inclusion and substance Community has just sat here and said well you need
407to look at me when I'm talking everybody needs to look at me when I'm talking me me me me me me me me me me me me me that would be the trans cult yep love it like it I don't care you're attacking this woman and her fundamental beliefs for her 10 year old child that's what you're doing you're attacking a 10 year old child the amount of people that came up here and stood up here to attack this mother and her fundamental rights but yet you want trans rights you want boys and girls bathrooms without telling anybody what about those girls fundamental rights you want boys playing at girls Sports what about girls rights what about it do we want to talk about transgenderism Dr John money Dr John money everybody up at that
408school board better know who he is and for those that don't know who Dr John money is I'm not going to tell you I'd prefer you look him up when you're done with that I want you to look at Alfred Kinsey the founders of gender both pedophiles suicide race look up suicide rates we don't want to talk about the large massively growing detransition population which I work with these are children that were told well maybe your trans will come join be gay you know it's okay to be gay check out you know maybe you're bisexual whatever it's all every all this sex with these books and this sex said and this curriculum and teachers with their Flags in their rooms it's all crammed down in the throats schools are supposed to be non-proselytizing what does
409that mean that means we don't promote one group over another group right we can't put Christian stickers stickers around schools but we can put rainbow Pride Flags around schools you're proselytizing one group over another this is why many people in the state work with our legislators to get laws enacted to prevent this so everybody that's in here that's upset about it the people of Florida put through these laws to support good school board members like Miss Rodriguez and I thank you Miss Rodriguez I pray for your family I've been in your situation hold strong because they're still the minority thank you number 2254 254 331 332 333. now Suzanne adulsory Maybe Catherine uru Catherine Buren um yeah I'm 331 so okay just a minute Ralph Brown and Suzanne Bayer okay you're Catherine yes I am
410please go well good morning everyone school board members Mr Stratton I have a question for you did you carry each of the 22 621 students of Hernando County in your womb or worry by their bedsides when they were sick their parents did why because those 22 621 children belong to them as they enter the doors of the schools they still belong to their parents when they drop them off at school or leave them at the bus they are trusting you to protect them we the people we the voter and we the taxpayer is here to speak about what happens when the very young are exposed to pornographic pictures drawings and writings like the ones found in the libraries of Hernando County Schools there's been a lot of talk today about book Banning let me tell
411you about the books that need to be banned in the schools the American Academy of Pediatrics June 2016 States pornography may be defined as the depiction of erotic Behavior sexual display in pictures or writing that is intended to cause sexual excitement in the viewer this is happening in even our elementary schools our middle schools our high schools consumption of pornography is associated with many negative emotional psychological and physical health outcomes these include increased rates of depression anxiety acting out violent Behavior younger age of sexual debut sexual promiscuity increased risk of teen pregnancy and a distorted view of relationships between men and women in sexual predators have purposefully exposed young children of pornography for the purpose of grooming the children for sexual exploitation these books need to stay out of the hands of the kids the
412American College of Pediatrics urges Healthcare professionals to communicate the risks of pornography use to patients and their families and to offer resources both to protect children from viewing pornography and who treat individuals suffering from its negative effects are you listening when I hear an elected School Board member state that the pornographic materials found in the books of our very libraries in Hernando County don't really matter because after all the children may be exposed to it somewhere else anyway it angers me and it should anger everyone who's an advocate of protecting the minds hearts and future lives of these children if the American College of Pediatrics finds this exposure extremely harmful then any books not immediately removed by this board is intentionally causing further harm and damage to a minor we are here to say enough
413is enough Hernando County school board for nothing else it is your job to protect the innocent thank you for your time thank you 334 337 338 Robert mizuko Judy Simpson and Alyssa Morano uh two months after this two more after this Robert step right up sorry excuse me I got five ruptured discs so nothing a little bit of stretch it's okay I I graduated from Springstead in 1996. um Miss Duvall was a principal there my sophomore year I believe she started in 94. um I am a entrepreneur here in this County I'm a licensed holder I'm a business owner um I held licenses in Minnesota multiple disciplines within the state um and fundamentally a lot of you all have a lot of your facts 100 wrong first and foremost and if you laugh and don't
414have any respect then we know who you are now first and foremost we live in a constitutional republic founded in 1776. we do not live in a democracy that is the indoctrination that you all have been fed to get to the point to where we are these are facts this is not emotion okay these are facts you may not like them but they're facts facts remain laws were broken laws have been served sir usurped to where things don't need to be voted on things get swept under the rug and then not publicize because they don't know how to handle it because of the volatility of the situation now the indoctrination that we evolve witnessed is evident in this room in the hostilities that everyone has exuded this evening while standing up here talking about equality
415and Equity I watch over a hundred people insult and Bully sitting members of this board you all should be appalled at your own actions I am addressing everyone in this room excuse you yep have some respect and I will address the board please okay thank you for trying to maintain something about awarded us please now I have first Hound account in this County of ese sld the change over between the two is be partially in part due to me okay thank you Judith Alyssa 38. 337 was Judy she's not here Judith Simpson okay hi Alyssa Morano Spring Hill teacher at Nature Coast for one more day no one is teaching your kids to be gay sometimes they just are gay I have math to teach I literally don't have time to teach your kids to
416be gay even if I cared enough to I don't I want to teach them literacy in numbers new Mercy if you will if you've spent time in a classroom you'd know it's hard enough to get your kids to put their name on their papers we do not have the power to change a part of them that has always been been part of them excuse me students are watching their teachers being picked off in a winch a Witch Hunt they're learning that people of a certain group don't matter right now and I would hate to break it to you but more of your kids were already a part of that group before they walked through my door that was under someone else's watch potentially even their parents oh they're watching their classroom walls become bare something
417this school board apparently really cares about we love bear walls our students are learning that if someone is different from them all they have to do is be a bully and their existence will become political we can hop in our Hernando County time machine and go back to 1950 and remove rights that we don't care for according to the ideology being shared I should be straight I walked into every class room throughout my entire time as a student gay with straight teachers Against All Odds I walked across the graduation stage gay uh there were no rainbows and yet there I was gay and real and human and deserving of of Rights if we are criminals because we accept people for who they are then let it be known that I literally don't care what you're
418attracted to who you want to be what you want to be called just sit down pay attention look up from your phones and look up at your teacher at the board learn some math if that's a crime cuff me now if you don't already know this students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care every single one of them gay straight black white asian trans all of them and I love them all exactly as their weird little selves are this gay teacher who accepts her students exactly the way they are outscored the county average by 15 in geometry and outscored the state by 10 percent and now a sub will take my spot in my cold bear classroom thank you now next and the last two speakers is stormy Dickerson
419and Dawn Allen who's stormy I'm stormy you go first like the weather hi there um so a couple of points that I've first of all the Spring Hill resident I have two children one who's gone through uh Elementary graduated high schools now in college another that's in high school now at Nature Coast um a couple of points I want to make and this has really kind of been brought up a few times particularly the last few speakers uh this is the first time I've ever attended in person although I've watched generally remotely but this was something obviously caused a lot of uh um attention uh but throughout the entirety of of I was sitting right here and it's the first time I've ever seen all of you face to face and I do have to
420say Mr Rodriguez I just wanna I would ask you to maybe look back at the uh video of this throughout and notice that uh and Mr Johnson as well less so but every single one of the school board members that I've never met and I every one of them looked at every speaker and was engaged and act like they actually cared about them being here and I didn't see that from you I appreciate you looking at me now and engaging with me visually thank you for that but I just wanted to bring that up from someone who just hasn't experienced it before um so there was actually Mr Johnson you said something uh there was a quote you said literally be kind and respectful that was a literal quote for me earlier tonight and I
421would say walk walk your talk right um so uh the other thing that I wanted to bring up there was a an agenda item two three one four two five regarding I ready I was a little I wasn't familiar with iready and I'll have to do a little research on it but it was interesting because the quote was it's very liberal and a very woke State assuming that that's not something that we would be interested in coming from Massachusetts um Massachusetts happens to have the highest rank for public schools across the entire country with testing and reading and math scores of every state um so it just seems like just I don't know I thought that seemed interesting to me that that would be a reason I don't know that you would say this woke
422state with great results would be a reason you wouldn't take this um and then I would finally just say that uh there's so much to say but I would finally like to just say that um maybe I've heard a lot about being woke um and I think everybody has thank you last speaker is Don Allen to God okay so this has been a very long day my name is Dawn Allen I'm Brooksville Florida um normally I don't always come out to things like this I do watch them um people like me have come out of the woodwork that normally wouldn't be activists wouldn't be coming out here doing things like this but I started paying a little more attention when I started seeing some bizarre things and my ear my ears perked up by this
423point I'm kind of fascinated I'm sick of the twisting of words and the straight up lies now why is it controversial to not want smutner School libraries No it should not be an opt-in opt out you know most parents are busy and don't respond to those things in full everyone remembers the debacle with the mask mask opt-in opt out all of you do it's not good for Child Development to have depravity in their faces I would explain that more in full but a previous speaker spoke much better on it than I could I don't care if it's my kid or someone else's yes I'm plenty aware that some kids will get a hold of things regardless the argument that they'll do it anyway is one of the weakest out there should the school also be
424handing out beer and cigarettes because many kids will locate them somehow anyway this isn't restricting books like to Kill a Mockingbird and I've heard people saying things like that this is legitimate written depictions of pornography and heavy drugs I've read them myself if you wouldn't hand it out or read it to children in public it shouldn't be in public school libraries I literally have the statute here but I'm not even going to get into that I'm pretty sure you've all read the steps next next why is it so controversial to have a problem with the teacher trans or otherwise stating that they'd like to shoot children I know the teacher was going through some stuff but it doesn't make it okay I have compassion for them but I would also expect them to be taken
425out of the classroom the absolute day it was discovered there's no excuses it does need to run through a string of people to make that decision whether sorry a teacher made threats end of story I don't care who approves of it I don't care any of that this is our children I understand people have different priorities but the end of the day that is my children that are in the school district I'm going to skip over some of this because there are some other things I want to say um something that was stated much earlier in about ese I had a an amazing brother that is well I still have an amazing brother but he um he got out of the esa program and he was in three different states that was in that had
426these programs and in Hernando County was absolutely the worst one he ever went to and never wanted to go to school because of this some of that does need fixed um I do want to State one thing about the attorney on the board your bias is showing I suggest you pull that in a little bit everyone have a good night or maybe a good morning by this point thank you that's the end of citizens input thank you yeah [Applause] let's take a uh fun I want to go home too but we need a break let's make it a seven minute break all right [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] we have now [Music] oh my God let's take our seats [Music] so this is the time for board members to speak if they have any comments uh
427I just want to let you know that if you can hold your speeches down to five or six minutes we could probably get out of here by two o'clock so let's start mark [Music] uh first off I would like to thank everybody who stayed to the end you know the lovers the haters The Inbetweeners everybody it's it's appreciated and uh thank you each and every one [Music] parents are fearful of the lack of safety in our schools teachers are confused as to what is allowed to display it in their classrooms board members and parents are upset by lack of timely communication with the perceived a real this has led to confusion chaos and disruption with a lack of communication or timely communication is real or perceived as attack for cover-ups is very detrimental to the
428children the parents in the district whether an ill-composed email to teacher is perceived as an affront to the American flag or is Justin miscommunication is very detrimental to the children parents and District whether it's perceived or real that our schools are disseminating inappropriate material to our children is very detrimental to our children parents in District whether it's real or perceived that our teachers are disrespected and underappreciated is detrimental to the children teachers in District we need a strong leader to address the real perceived issues we as a disc District are fortunate to have very many excellent hard-working and caring teachers we as a district are fortunate to have in place many strong educational and safety programs what we don't have is a strong leader to reduce fear and short time and Communications and highlight and
429document to everyone our District's many attributes specialized programs and achievements Shannon Rodriguez with correct interactions regarding the teacher who showed the Disney movie with two openly gay characters facts are this teacher has submitted a resignation prior to the viewing of this movie parents had signed a blanket authorizations at the beginning of the school year to allow the children to view PG movies and the teacher did not get authorization from the administration to use this movie state standards are quite clear on what is and what is not allowed in the classroom and the statement that it parents rights end when a child goes into school is against everything the parental Bill of Rights protects in the great state of Florida parents rights Trump those of the school districts a mother of a child has the right
430and obligation to follow through when those rights and personal values are threatened Shannon stated she did not want her child exposed to the relationship of the two characters at her daughter's age that is a conversation she and her husband wanted to have when their daughter was older that is her choice Mr Stratton sent an email stating the material that all material not aligned with the new best standards had to be removed from the classroom and that was on Thursday May 11. the email read in part all staff should become knowledgeable about the parental Bill of Rights law to prevent unintended outcomes that may require corrective action by school administrators or District officials effective immediately any materials signage or flags on display in classrooms or on campus must be in direct support of Florida's best standards
431and relevant to instruction displaying any material that does not align with instruction is prohibited some teachers removed all materials from the classrooms including all flags as referenced in the email thus causing disruption some Educators were vocal about removing pictures of loved one fellow colleagues and Educators who had passed and were maintained as attributed in their classroom um some teachers complained about removing Flags other than the American flag or the state flag of Florida I looked up the proposed best standards available in the doe website in the elementary school grade standards include recognizing the American flag the flag of the great state of Florida the Constitution the Bill of Rights the figures and likeness of the founders their names and contributions to the liberty and birth of this nation also included is to identify the students
432representatives in Congress both houses the vice president the president and how to reach them same is true the state government students learn to identify their members in the Senate and in the state house how to reach them and contact them the governor and other elected officials on the evening of Sunday March 14th a clarifying email from Mr Stratton was sent stating the removal of items pertained only to the material relating to gender and identity and sexual orientation creating more chaos in the classroom it read in part I have heard concerns regarding my last email and I would like to clarify my message in regards to items displayed in classrooms and what can and cannot be displayed the intent of my email was to ensure that all classrooms in the district are in compliance with the
433parents Bill of Rights hb1557 which went into effect this school year in preparation of HB 1069 below are some bulleted points addressing the concerns that I have heard and I have also attached both bills for your review policy board 8810 States the American flag will be displayed in every classroom this has not changed posters and decorations or quotes encouraging and promoting overall safety and wellness of students can be displayed school and classroom related posters or advertisements are allowed HP 1069 classroom instruction by school Personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in pre-kindergarten through eight except when required by State Statute and must be a matter that is age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards we as board members received a great deal of email regarding
434this confusion voicing objections and some was threatening there are two petitions circulating Hernando County want to remove Shannon and want to remove the superintendent to board members and our chair I clicked on one and my name I understand was automatically signed to the petitions I do not stand in favor of Shannon's removal I was interested to know the details of the petition I questioned the validity of this petition with the sideshow created in our district many children will be moving to homeschooling or private school settings how many you don't know yet poor choices in management are causing many to question the value of the education and the safety we provide in Hernando County for our students we can do better since November it has been open hostility between the Old Guard and the board and
435the newly elected and newly re-elected members the share is not Maine's Civility and chooses not to not as exhibited tonight by taking signs when meeting or out control of the meeting I placed the chaos resulting from these actions and in others among some of which I have not yet outlined squarely in the lack of leadership in the district Stratton is a good manager but not a leader we need a leader who can bring us together stop the divisiveness and would like at this time to call for a vote on the previously made in motion that was tabled with a second from God squadodino without passing the gavel as required for voter no confidence in John Street Stratton to lead this District so at the prior meeting there was a motion to table that motion that
436she made applying for a vote on that motion in order to bring that back before the board there needs to be a motion to lift it from the table that needs to be seconded there can't be discussion on that and if that passes then the board can address and I will make a motion to lift it off the table and to turn yourself on we need to vote what do you want hands how do you want it verbal yes [Music] vote for take it off what you're saying take it off the table so we can vote on it oh not voting on the topic the motion is to take it off the table that's been moved and seconded and so now it's a verbal vote yes passage United I've laid out my case Shannon [Music]
437well I feel that you've had an opportunity in the five years that you've been here and I feel like we've had a mask situation we've had a lawsuit against the bocc you guys earlier were wondering why you can't work with them usually when you sue somebody it doesn't make them happy and that was a needless lawsuit and it was a wasteful amount of money we have the black lives matter incident that took place we have the lgbtq training conference that we sent teachers to and paid for we have the pornographic books that stayed in the schools forever and ever and just because we're all battling trying to get them out it's slowly starting to happen but that took a long time we have the Fox Chapel incident that was serious it could have ended disastrous
438and it was not at all handled properly not from all the upper leadership we had the drag queen involvement with our local high school we have flags that had to be removed in the last two weeks out of schools that should not be there we had other items that were on doors in schools that should not be there and all the while it's not my job I'm elected and I'll do anything to help but that's not my job to carry this burden it is Mr stratton's job as superintendent to make sure that his principles at all of his schools know that we're not going to be a county that's going to have that stuff up we're not going to be like the rest of the counties and all across the states and all across the
439country that's his job to enforce that policy not mine at the end of the day the principal should know their teachers should be told it falls on leadership it falls on the fact that if you're a principal out of school it's your job that your teachers know what they can and can't hang up what they know that they can and can't do I can assure you if I was a principal at a school there isn't a teacher that would have something in there that shouldn't be that violated state law you can have your knickknacks you can have your owls you can have your frogs you can have your pictures you can have all of that stuff but you cannot have items that violates the state law that's from the governor that's from Tallahassee that is
440not from Shannon Rodriguez so under my watch in my district I'm not okay with getting emails after emails and text after text from parents asking why we're indoctrinating I don't want us to indoctrinate I want us to be a county that we can hold our head up high and say we don't indoctrinate and I know we have 98 percent of teachers that do not do it I know that we have 98 of wonderful teachers that I honor that I get behind that I would do anything to help but we do have that two percent we do have that percentage that does not want to follow the rules and they want to they want to push their agenda and they want to put whatever they want in their classroom that can't be it's not allowed so
441instead of Mr Stratton making sure that that stuff's not up instead of the principals doing their due diligence when it's happening at their schools instead it has to be a school board member that has to take effect and make sure that the stuff's not up there so we don't get penalized and we don't get in trouble so all of the things that's been said about me tonight I'm not going to stand here and plead my case and try to make any of you believe or disbelieve 99.9 of the allegations that came across tonight were 100 percent wrong so that's the stories that you guys are going to believe and I'm okay with that I'm not here to make you think different you can have your opinion I can have mine I know what I do
442and I know what I don't do but I will say that Mr Stratton you know that everything that I have done you could have put an email out and you could have told those teachers this isn't Shannon's problem you could have made it different but you're okay with letting me take the heat I'm okay with it I have broad shoulders it's not going to kill me but you could have fixed this but instead The Strife is this way and we have the problem because nothing ever gets fixed why is it my burden why do I have to carry that you're the superintendent you make four times what I make the principles it's their schools why is it that I have to be the one to make sure the stuff is out those principals walk those
443Halls they have APS you can't tell me they don't go in the classrooms and they don't take a look why do I have to get calls and have to go there and deal with the principal to get the stuff taken out of the schools that's not fair that's not my job I shouldn't have to do that but I will tell you this I'm not going to allow it to stay not in our County not in my district not under my watch because we were telling everybody in the county that we don't have that stuff and in order to be accurate it can't be there we we're not going to tell someone that we don't do it but yet behind closed doors we're going to go ahead and hang the stuff up there that is not
444okay I didn't get elected under the under the premonition that anything goes and I'm going to get in here and I'm just going to fall in line with whatever you guys want I got elected saying we weren't going to indoctrinate I got elected saying that in this County we don't do it so hanging a flag that's four foot by four foot that's huge big across the whole the whole board that makes parents feel like that teacher is pushing their personal beliefs that makes parents feel that that is a agenda that is being pushed so we can't do that because no matter what it looks and it appears to be indoctrination if you can't put Jesus next to that flag with thorns on his head four foot by five foot and you can't put the Ten
445Commandments up how can you put the flag up there you can't do an lgbtq flag black lives matter transgender flag and then expect the other stuff can't go up there either if we can't do any of it we have to keep it that way but that is what makes us look like we are indoctrinating and parents have the right to feel that way because the teachers shouldn't be putting that up in their classroom if that's not what they're promoting if they're not pushing an agenda wise it up but that is not my job to have to go in and be this person but I'll do it gladly in order to get the stuff out of our County but it falls on Mr Stratton it falls on the principle because if I was the principal I
446my teachers would know not to put me in that compromising position they would know my views on that they would know we have to follow state law or we will be in trouble they would know that I'm serious about it and our school would stay clean and we wouldn't have any of those problems but instead they want to take down all their owls and their unicorns and their pictures and the American flag all because you have to take down something that is indoctrinating so now we're going to go to a whole different length that makes no sense that doesn't even that's not even a sensible thought process so yes I do agree that we've had no leadership here I do agree that it has been complete chaos from November to current if I didn't feel
447that way I told you Mr Stratton when I started that I would never vote somebody out just to vote them out that is not me if we're going to do our job and we're going to do it effectively that's one thing but if we're not and it's going to continue to stay the way it is then we can't we can't function correctly this way there's too many mishaps this Fox Chapel incident Brevard County you didn't just stay here because you want to be with us all these people that are here rooting for you it's like baseball when you go from first base to Second and you realize somebody's already on second and you got to turn around and try to get back to first so you're not out that's what happened here he was leaving
448he was not staying here he's only here by default he's only here because he he had to take it back it was the only option he had if he had a different option he wouldn't be here so don't think for a minute that Mr Stratton wanted to be here and he just decided he loved everybody and he's just going to stay in our community because he wants to continue to watch us grow and help us be successful he left he was all but gone he's only here because he couldn't go there so this to me that alone right there tells me that you don't want to be here and you don't yeah thank you what what did you say my support of Mr Stratton is unequivocal thank you I have seen many many superintendents come
449and go he is been the most approachable he has been forthright he has been supportive of this district from the time he started here this is not new for Mr Stratton I have some other comments I'll make and when we do our final comments unless this is the final comment this was emotional floor well we have a motion on the floor so it wasn't our final but you in my opinion could never find a better superintendent you really can't and those of you who disagree I'm sorry you have not been in the classrooms you have not really seen nor heard what's gone on you have a picture that has been painted for you and it is inconsistent it is not truthful and I'm sorry I really am this District is in a mess and it's
450never been this way and it is not because of Mr Stratton you have no idea you have thoughts but you really don't have an idea it takes a strong person of moral character and strength to be in this position and Mr Stratton has demonstrated that over and over again you may not like some of his decisions or how he goes about things but everything is thoughtful careful and caring so I absolutely again support what he's done and if you know anything about me you know that I can also take the other position as I showed in a previous superintendent with very good reason so I'm not afraid to let someone go but we have no good reason so I absolutely support Mr Stratton I've had the pleasure of working with Mr Stratton as a school
451board member for almost six years now and I noticed as I go to Every School event in this past year the award ceremonies and graduations it's not the people in this room it's the community that attend those along with some of the people in this room Mr Stratton always gets the highest Applause by the community and these are parents these aren't teachers entirely these aren't anybody but the community and this year I think the applause was even stronger than it has ever been in the six years that I've been on so that to me says that the community is supporting Mr Stratton again five high schools in all parts of the county and the applause was equal to what the principals received that to me was really a measure of how this community supports Mr
452Stratton my plant and I had been to go over all of his many many achievements which would probably take me till three o'clock and it's now about a quarter till two he has been in education for 30 years he has been in this district for 18. he has served in every single position as a teacher an AP a principal when he became superintendent he was on the fast track to get certified in fact when he was presented they said it was the fastest of any superintendent he continued his education to make sure that he would be a good leader as a superintendent since he's been here we've our grades our academic achievement continues to rise at every year our students are winning millions of dollars in scholarships our students are earning thousands of credits which
453are saving our parents much expense I I just have one that I could just read and I have them all but again it would take me till three o'clock this morning to read all of the many many accomplishments okay this was the Ace Program which was started at Central High School we've had 1533 Ace exams these are exams where students earn college credit at an estimated cost savings to parents of 978 253.29 that's money that those parents were saved as we do with our dual enrollment which has jumped because of Mr Stratton our IB students our AP in my neighborhood two of my friends children graduated with Ivy diplomas one of them was a student representative on the board she graduated from the University of Florida in two years another one graduated from FSU in
454two years these programs have continued to grow because of Mr stratton's support we now have them in our elementary we have them in our military our Middle School so these are all to me indications of what a superintendent should be putting programs out there to help students succeed we have a new vocational technical school which Mr Stratton was one of the leaders in getting it started in terms of of the vision and coming together with the county and Pasco Hernando State College to make this Division come true and again I could continue talking but there is something that I do want to say that a lot of the public doesn't know before the election in 2022 the board of County Commissioners made a decision to redistrict which they're supposed to do and we as the
455school board had the choice of going along with that redistricting now what we said when it was first presented to us is we will agree to this redistricting as long as no sitting School Board member or School Board candidate will be redistricted out of out of their District well what happened is Mr Johnson as a candidate had we agreed to redistrict what the county proposed would not be sitting here tonight would not have been in the 2022 election he would not be here tonight now why am I bringing this up because the previous board including his opponent the three City members here we wanted to do the right thing even though we knew that possibly it could change the results so Mr Johnson called Mr Stratton I know and said thank you not to any
456of us as the board members but we did the right thing by allowing him to stay in the election as we would of any other candidate because we again did not look at it as politics we looked at it as what's the right thing to do so I am saying to you Mr Johnson we did the right thing by allowing you to be able to stay in the election and run for office and I'm asking you to do the right thing and withdraw your motion foreign I will not withdraw the motion okay I would like to respond to that by not withdrawing your motion you are are basically saying that all the accomplishments of Mr Stratton and also this board who did the right thing doesn't matter to you the fact that you are not
457supporting this board who supported you or the superintendent I I don't understand how you were not on this board for four years you did not see the progress that was made and yet you're willing to take down someone who has done amazing academically because you're paying a political IOU is what it comes down to well you're wrong on that I I see this school district right now in being very divisive in the middle of Chaos and this is the way I see out of it you have not sat down Susan has not sat down Gus has not sat down and tried to work with me or Shannon so there's got to be some reason and some way to get this board to work cohesively together it hasn't happened you have you've made some inroads Susan
458has not Gus has been been antagonistic especially at the meetings the way he treats uh support is of Shannon and I versus people who are against us it's evident in how he he through two people out who spoke up and yet the teacher that was sitting in the corner over here and the lady in the back did not get thrown out at tonight's meeting if he played the fair and it was a square even deal they all would have been thrown out not just the two people in the back Brett Benson probably deserve to be thrown out I'm not questioning that that is what's going on we don't have a cohesive board nobody is willing to work together and the only reason we don't is we don't have the leadership to bring us together we
459need to get together that's why I would not back down you finished yeah yeah good are you finished are you finished I'm finished my friend there is nobody that plays boats other fence equal like I do anyway yeah I threw out somebody in my own party so [Music] I have been involved in education in one form of another for over 30 years I started the I was one of the founding members of the Education Foundation which I still sit on I was on the College foundation for over 16 years I was on the Early Learning Coalition for almost as long I am here for students and all about students over these years I have worked with a lot of leadership in education I find it hard to think of anybody that is so Dynamic that
460created a a family of Educators that work like a family like our superintendent and if you think that these problems just started you're absolutely wrong all these issues that we're having they've been going on and we've been handling them the big difference is the process no I could tell you I get notices when something goes wrong in the school I do not go into that school but I know what's going on it's not my job he gets paid to do that and I go to him and if you don't handle it right then it's my job to get rid of him but I have not one I only I could say negative things about him I don't owe him any favors I just feel that he's a good leader and if you think that running
461an organization of this size over 2 000 employees 21 customers they are customers to us because that's who we serve if you think that's an easy job not to mention how many companies there are all the divisions whether it be Transportation whether it be food whether it academics this is a huge job a huge job and I think he's doing a stellar job so since we've all spoken you don't want to speak to you I'm going to call for the question well it's all yours thank you chair I want to thank everybody who came out tonight and showed support uh what you see here is 18 years of building relationships building positive relationships and valuing and supporting people and showing them the respect as a colleague and and I thank you for that uh Mr
462Johnson I I understand I I'm to be held accountable for the board not getting along according to what your logic is there but there's a far bigger problem than that and that is why we're here now at this point and this in the midst of this chaos and I feel for staff and I'm going to do my best to protect them because what we're doing now is just listing items let's talk about masks that was a board decision never a violation of the law although Miss Rodriguez you told me we violated the governor's order we did not uh bocc lawsuit again a board decision majority board decision not my decision black lives matter that teacher was exonerated not once but twice twice exonerated zero zero finding zero find zero anything zero that's when all this
463started with an outside representative that got involved there too the drag queen uh that's honestly the one time you did the right thing you called me you called me and I took care of it immediately and you took care of it on your end with the junior service league so I don't know why that's being dragged back up now the school had no idea in fact I don't think lohman's Law Firm had any idea either that there was a drag queen that was going to be the MC so I worked it out with the junior service League that they got a different MC so I don't know why that now is on the list too and then flags and stickers yes nowhere in the Statue does it mention Flags or stickers nowhere but yeah I'm
464going to protect these guys because I cannot look at them and guarantee them that you're not going to turn them in for indoctrination or something to that matter and that part of it is gray enough that I don't know and I want to be able to protect and if somebody in what I've told staff is if somebody thinks that that in some way is sharing your Viewpoint that's what I worry about because I I don't think it's it says instruction in and I think there needs to be content to have instruction but nonetheless to protect them they take it down that's when the chaos started is when those types of behavior started happening but I'll hit that in a minute let's go back to Fox Chapel every board member up here received the same exact
465texts that Friday at 4 24 you received it about the incident what was occurring with that teacher along with that teacher's name just like was mentioned by someone tonight that following Monday you received the text that there was cleared through our department sheriff's department and a therapist so Ms Rodriguez I hear you claim that you had no idea what was going on and that's not true what I've seen you do is backpedaling as far away from it as you can what you didn't know was until I think you said nine or eleven days later and my opinion what you didn't know was that it was a trans teacher so I think that was the difference and then in fact the absolute most conversation that I've had with any board member up here was with Mr
466Johnson Mr Johnson and I spoke several times about this particular teacher and their spouse Mr Johnson was extremely concerned about their well-being their mental health and their well-being on several calls in fact I got a call later before the story broke before the next board meeting warning me to let that teacher spouse know that they might not want to be there at the next board meeting because the rumor on the streets are that they're going to talk about the transgender and teacher at Fox Chapel this is before anything was known so yeah the most conversations I've had are with you and and I heard a lot of compassion during those times but then when the story hit that changed uh were there mistakes made sure absolutely have people been held accountable absolutely have changes been
467made to our policies and procedures yes have the sheriff and I talk through that to make sure that we're on the same page and that I understand what an RPO means and if they're going to go that way I understand what that means because it's completely different than what was happening on Friday night than what happened four days later so yes and and I understand and I said this before I understand people being upset about Fox Chapel I do and I understand criticism for not communicating I appreciate that I can at least wrap my mind around that but then you start listing things last time like the attendance at Fox Chapel you pulled two weeks worth of attendance at Fox Chapel and chastised me for that and put this as a reason for me to
468be a voter no confidence by the way what you didn't do was pull the two weeks of all of our middle schools and what I did and what you do see is that two of those days out of those two weeks Fox Chapel was the lowest everywhere else they were not the lowest I had others that were far lower when it came to attendance and when you look at their average daily attendance for the year they're not the lowest so they're right in par with everybody else they're one of the lowest in that but at 84 percent so again I I find that that's a fireball offense and then notifications we notify you more than we've ever notified you we notify parents all the time too we notify everybody all the time and I'm going
469to be chastised for you not knowing about a fire alarm being pulled before it hit Facebook that's a fireball offense I I don't get it indoctrination I hear a lot about that I want to be real clear T our teachers follow the law I heard some comments tonight that talked about that you need to read the law because I have and I've shared it out there it's indoctrination in and we cannot do that and I made it very clear we cannot do that I follow the law I always have I have to so I want to make sure that this the community knows we follow the laws as they're written and we wholeheartedly I wholeheartedly believe in parental rights absolutely you you know what's best for your child I don't we know how to educate
470them we know there's other things we know how to follow state standards that's what we do and I'm and keep in mind you're not a groomer because you accept everyone we're public education beliefs non-beliefs everything in between they show up a doorstep and guess what they're ours and we educate them and we love ottoman we do all that stuff we don't care about all those other things nor do we have time for that uh book Banning and porn I mentioned it earlier today that it's working it's working the way it's intended to work by law by law not by our individual choices but by law if you want to make a book challenge it goes through the process goes through the committee and you've seen the last few meetings and that was ironic because the
471last meeting we removed a book I was being chastised for books and and again that process is working so chaos you've heard again today that we have more teachers than ever leaving the profession and it's because of these things I'm talking about and the trickle-down effect it has this chaos started when you started bypassing me Mrs Rodriguez and you're going to campuses to remove books taking pictures of flags and stickers and Reporting directly to Doe you completely bypassed me you tell me I should you have to do my job yet you don't even tell me that you've got a picture of something and that I can go take care of it because anytime you've inquired about something I've looked into it that's for sure and then so again this is what's brought the chaos on
472and unfortunately these last three weeks have been filled with nothing but hateful rhetoric on both sides of the issue calling teachers groomers and and these are just distractions to our staff and our students and we should be focused on finishing out the school year strong recognizing accomplishments celebrating Student Success and motivating students to do their best at the end of the year I really do find it hard to recall many positive comments that I've heard about the accolades that this district has made and again I know teachers and them are out there just been busy preparing for final assessments motivating students planning their end of the Year celebrations all of those things the list goes on yet the last few weeks we're spending time around this and I'm not naive I know that politics play
473a huge role in every bit of this but I fail to see why it should impact our staff and our students this way I also fail to see why any board member would be okay with blatant misinformation being sent out about the work done in our schools it's just crazy to me as a leader I hold my staff accountable but I would never publicly chastise or admonish them that is done in private that is between us and it becomes yes it's a if something happens it's after 10 days it's a public record but that is will never be my leadership style by any means and again I go back to some of the behaviors I've seen openly say we don't care about teacher rights we don't care about contractual rights we don't care about labor
474laws or any of those things uh frequent lectures badgering and quite honestly yelling at me on the phone to the point where I had to get off the call and you lecture the board as well uh when I first met you you you told me that you wanted me to be an alpha male and that if I listen to all and made all of that you'd give me you'd convince the other ones that were getting elected to give me eight months and if I listen to all the changes that you wanted and just did all the changes you wanted no I said I wanted you to be a leader and and yeah I've yet to hear what those changes are because I've never heard about them so again there's been times that I've had to
475point out to you you've been on the phone on speakerphone with your husband and my staff and he's asking questions along with you that's just not professional that's not appropriate we already know you called a teacher's parent about something that's just not appropriate whatsoever and then you also told me and another staff member on separate occasions that if I just ran all Decisions by you and if I listen to you you'd give me your advice and if I listened I could choose to use your advice or not but if I followed your advice I would be doing the right thing and then you went on to say that if you were in charge you would always be doing the right thing so I also know of times when people speak out that's when you kind
476of lash back out at them and when I've informed you about resignations you've said good what about this one and you wonder why there's a lack of trust you wonder why people feel the way they do and Mr Johnson you didn't help when you walked around the district office calling people lazy so so again why are we here because chaos is here chaos has happened we don't want to be in this world that we don't want to be doing this we want to do our jobs I'm thankful for everyone out there that summer's coming I'm very thankful so we can reset and get something back on track because we're not fighting porn we're not fighting indoctrination we're not fighting these things we're going to follow the law the way they're written thank you chair thank
477you would you uh recite the so you have a motion for a vote of no confidence that was seconded and you've had discussion so I think you need to have a vote okay how do you want to vote show of hands you want to vote sure do whatever go ahead is it verbal or verbal verbal I vote in favor of the motion absolutely not vote against the motion I vote against the motion [Applause] look [Music] I know I know you guys are very emotional about all this I'm holding it all in but thank you for calming down is there any final words from anybody uh sorry um I know it's been a really long night and I I don't want to keep people here any longer but I did want to say that I appreciate
478all the calls and the texts and the emails and the beautiful arrangement for Dennis's service that Hernando schools and also the Hernando County Education Foundation sent and for those of you that attended the service I'm just overwhelmed with appreciation for the outpouring of love and support through all of this it really means a lot to me and my family so thank you very much thank you sorry Mark any final words yeah I have final words I didn't ask you how to smoke Mark final words no okay done thank you Shannon um Mr Stratton of course everything you say You're Gonna put your spin on it um of course done in private you say that everything should be done in private just like you all did about me going the library that was in private no
479that was publicly at a board meeting and that was the whole thing was set up so it's funny that you can sit there and you can act as if you want everyone to uphold and to treat you with complete honor and respect but you don't give the same back when it comes to when it comes to Fox Chapel the two lines on a text message for 11 days I never received nothing more I don't think those two lines explains what happened at Fox Chapel I phoned you and you told me you didn't have them quiet please you didn't have the information that you weren't at Liberty to discuss because you didn't want to get it wrong so no I never did know anything more than those two lines that all of us received those two
480lines does not tell the severity of the situation of what really took place there is nobody that in two lines of what gets out to us on our text could even begin for us to Fathom what really happened so no for 11 days I did not know you knew every time I made any phone calls I called you you're the one that sat there on the board and said you had no idea that I was on with doe about Fox Chapel you're the one that gave me the contact information it's still on my phone with the date and after I hung up talking to the man I phoned you back in that conversation's on my phone as well so you can say all these things you can continue to pretend as if none of this
481has happened and you've done everything on the up most and you've done everything with honor and it's all me and everything I've done my husband was on walked into my office when I was on the phone with Ralph with uh with um transportation discussing something we were discussing mechanics or something to that line and he brought me in lunch and he her Ralph was talking about pay and because we own a shop he brought up the pay and what what would be the normal pay so that one little sentence doesn't constitute that my husband's on phone calls there isn't another person that can tell you that has called and has a conference call with my husband it did not go down that way and you know it that was even explained so no different than
482when I'm on with you and you have Brandy sitting there in the background when it comes to the book Banning that did not just take place because all of a sudden I showed up here and that was just being done that wasn't being done that book Banning was delayed it was a process and like you say everything has a process it was a very very slow process it was not happening why the stuff started happening and moving along because we started trying to get the books out it wasn't a fact that it was just being handled and all of these things are when it comes to nowhere in the statute you say does it say Flags or stickers it doesn't stay in the statute that you're not allowed to have an lgbtq flag black lives
483matter and transgender flag is that what you're telling me because in my statutes it says that's not that's illegal it says you cannot have that up in a classroom so a minute ago you said nowhere in the statute that I've ever recalled does it say that you can't have Flags that's news to me I didn't know that every classroom can fly that if they want these are all the things that you're sitting here acting as if everything has been done to you and you're the victim but you guys have done so many things sitting up here on this board and I've looked at you at my car and said why did you do that up there why did you lie to me and you said oh I lied because it was public TV and I
484didn't want everybody to know these are all things that happen so you can have your stories I have my stories you have your stories I have my stories and it just goes back and forth Mrs Prescott when you say to mark that you had ethics and you guys did everything the right way on the um of wanting to keep him in the race because you have compassion if that's the case can you explain to me because I have all the screenshots and I have a million of them but can you explain to me your group chat that your Heinz 57 in with Tina Vieira with Asia Moore with Emily press can you explain because I have all of them so all of my proof can come right out but can you explain why you as
485a school board member against another school board member would be collaborating with a group that is saying horrible horrible things and threatening and being at my home and putting Google Maps right there for you to see it and showing Aerials of my house and saying they're watching my home and they're watching the cars come in and out and it's a silver Porsche and you're on all of this can you explain why you would be involved in that group you know anything no but I do I just want to say we're going to have to agree to disagree you said to me I agree to disagree why why another reason to make it up I was in that group because they were supporting Mrs Duvall and they were supporting um Mrs hatch and they were supporting
486Demi lodato that's how I got involved in that group not true because John O'Connell's in that group and he wasn't supporting none of them at the time this is now this is this week of all the verbage and all the writing from you this is right now currently this one back then wait hold on quiet I don't want to go back and forth excuse me anything my family has been threatened my business has been threatened my children have been harassed all because I'm standing up for parents and students and asking this board and the superintendent to do what's right Hernando County isn't an outlier watch TV it's everywhere parents from all over the country are pushing back against activist agendas being forced on their children Target and Budweiser are losing billions of dollars Disney has
487lost billions in market capitalization and millions of subscribers people open your eyes I won my election on the platform of parental rights you can't scare me I'm keeping my campaign promises I sit here today as the only parent on the Hernando County School Board I beat an incumbent by over 20 points because I promised I would put parents and their children first I have done that I will continue to do that I will always prioritize our parents and their children I don't care how many non-hernando County residents you get to sign your petition all of these arguments whether over inappropriate books rejected lesson plans or even showing a Disney movie stem from a disagreement about parental involvement in their children's education the debate centers on the fundamental question of who do the children belong to
488do they belong to the Hernando County School Board do they belong to Hernando County Public Schools do they belong to the teachers or do they belong to their parents the vast majority of our teachers are great they have one of the toughest jobs in the country unfortunately right now with the union and everyone else who is behind the whole curtain of all of the big grand scheme of things the teachers don't know what to think they think I'm in there going in districts pulling stuff checking classrooms since November to date I've not walked in one of my schools not one in my district and looked in a teacher's room and checked on any of their items I went into a library once I went into a library once and I've went in when I got
489the flag call to check to see if a flag was there so please okay was that you see that's how much I don't know because I didn't interrupt you because I didn't come in your room keep going keep going thank you the vast majority of our teachers are great they have one of the toughest jobs in the country watching over 20 something students for eight hours a day attempting to teach them everything they need to know so they can pass a standardized test not getting enough money for supplies and worrying about whether or not their school administration will have their back if an issue arises it is no wonder why we have a teacher shortage but let me take something off of your plate we aren't asking you to be their parents we're just asking
490you to teach our children the academic skills necessary to survive in this world a lot of time and energy has been spent on me I'm not nor should I be the focus of this debate I'm just a mother who happens to be a school board member I represent all the parents who want the final say in how their children are raised if it wasn't me if Shannon Rodriguez wasn't here it would be another parent getting attacked and for what because we have the audacity to believe that we are the ultimate authority of our children's lives make no mistake there are activists within the school system who feel like parents have stepped out of their Lane these anti-parent activists truly believe that they are more qualified to raise our children as they believe it parental rights
491no longer exist one of our teachers just told CNN that parental rights are gone when your child is in the public school system do you really think you know better about my children than I do no one can say this fight isn't over our rights as parents the anti-parent activists want to make this fight seem like it's over social issues but it's not not really this is over the very future of parenting it is over the fundamental question of is each parent ultimately the final decision maker for their family of what is right or appropriate for their child because all I've heard in here all night long is shame on me for not wanting my ten-year-old to see a movie and how ludicrous that was of me and my husband once again that's my choice
492that's my child the battle lines are drawn the activists believe our rights as parents are gone they're not look at all the people in this room defending their rights as parents look at the parents all over the country standing up in rooms just like this demanding parental rights back to these anti-parent activists I will tell you this if you think will cower you're wrong if you think we'll quit you're wrong if you think we'll lose you're wrong these are our children not yours and we will fight and never stop until you understand that God bless and thank you each and every one of you for being here calm down calm down we're almost over but I need to ask you a question how many of these teachers that believe that their rights ought to take
493over their parents job have you brought to the superintendent how many teachers you're here for every meeting so you know which ones it is you know you guys are the ones that strategically are in the loop of it all I don't know you'll have to tell me no don't throw it back on me you're the one that's making the accusations I'm saying to you it is his job to take care of that excuse me excuse me this is for the board this is a board discussion this is the board of discussion okay it would be different if I was walking in these classrooms from November to now and I had a clipboard and I was going in all the schools in my district and I was checking all the teachers rooms and I was making
494waves and I was calling doe and I was reporting teachers I reported one teacher and there's a million reasons why there's a huge story to that but of course it's not something you'd believe because it's coming from me and I'm not here to convince you I don't have to convince you but I can tell you this it was my personal story it was my child but any other teacher anything that I have found anything that people have sent me anything that principals have showed I have not reported anybody I just wanted it gone I just want us to follow the rules I just want us to be in compliance with state laws that's all I want so if I were the person that they say I am I would from November to now in my
495district be going in the schools I would be checking I would be making sure that all the stuff's not there I give the principals the respect and the honor unless something comes my way unless it's something that's come over and over and over then I go and check on it but up until then up until two weeks ago I have not been in any of the schools checking on one classroom not ever there isn't a principle here in my district that can say different every principal will tell you Shannon has not come and visited us for that matter not one time but you know what when I do get calls and I do get flags that are flown in a classroom that's lgbtq and it's as long as my body and two of me wide
496and the parents are upset rightfully so then it has to come down those are the That's the Law so we're not going to have that this county is not going to do that we're not going to let the stuff go we're not going to put the stuff on our doors we're not going to have the things that violate state law under my watch I got elected to follow the rules and that's what I'm going to do but I'm telling you because that is the thing everyone's saying I'm going in these rooms and I'm asking all these teachers I'm not asking anybody I'm not asking I'm not checking I'm not looking but if you bring it to me to my attention and it's a school in my district and it shouldn't be there and it violates
497state law yes we are taking it down we are removing it we are not going to indoctrine okay we know you got everything handled so Susan you got anything to say yes not your rude comments Susan yes sir you know anything yes sir given a social media release by Blaze and Golia asking for Mr stratton's removal as superintendent I feel compelled to comment on the chaos that has been constant for some time in my limited role I feel as though this began some time ago when he wanted a teacher at a high school fired the teacher had a course content discussion regarding a student-led question a complaint was filed the district did a thorough investigation of what actually occurred and determined that no violation had taken place so Mr Stratton declined to fire the teacher
498next it appeared that Blaze took the complaint to the state level the state had two different groups investigate the complaint and both departments found no infraction and thus the investigation slash corrective actions taken by the district were indeed correct since then Blaze seems to have consistently worked behind the scenes to remove school board members and has been behind changes in laws that will have an adverse impact on our school district for example the last thing this District needs is an elected superintendent that is all about politics our role as a school board member is not to be the leads in the newest crazed reality TV series we are supposed to be here to help all and I mean all of our schools all of our students and all of our employees to be the best
499they can be a small but vocal minority is trying to turn this District into a circus in the name of parental rights they are trampling on the rights of everyone they disagree with instead of dialogue and collaboration this group lashes out at those who dare disagree with their views they create diversions and manipulate facts all to further their political aims and not at all in any way furthering support for the schools students and staff the political disagreement with our superintendent has led to a vendetta and purposely ignoring all of the many gains the district has made under his leadership it is disheartening it is distressing and the political chaos must stop if not it is our students our employees parents district and community members who will pay the ultimate economic and personal price now and
500for some time to come finally I would like to paraphrase two quotes neither of them are mine and perhaps they've been changed over time I don't know and I don't know who the quotes are from first one beware of false knowledge it is more dangerous than ignorance and second those who can teach those who can't legislate thank you thank you Linda any pleasant words [Music] um just to kind of continue piggyback on what Mrs Duvall said in January of 2021 I went and testified before the house committee regarding the elected versus appointed and that was a bill that was introduced by our representative and he prefaced his talking I want the superintendent and the whole board replaced in Hernando County that was in 2021 fortunately our Senator was Wilton Simpson and he did not agree
501and that was never heard however we all knew when the election took place in 2022 that this would be brought back and it's very sad as Mrs Duvall said it started with the black lives matter and it started with Mr Stratton not wanting to or refusing to fire the teacher after the investigation and the election this past time um was the nastiest I've ever seen and I've lived in Hernando County for 23 years and again the whole purpose was to get rid of the board and to get rid of Mr Stratton by getting rid of the board then we could have this revised to get rid of Mr Stratton and again bringing politics into scoreboard is to me not good at all and when we go to an elected versus appointed and I provided evidence
502that's all over the country except for now in Florida that 98 of school board superintendents are appointed not elected and I I use the quote from Marion County they said we're tired of electing the winniest football coach as our superintendent we want someone with an education background the majority of our Counties have been going the other way from elected to appointed however depending upon what happens in this next election I'm they're going to have no choice but to make it an elected position and that's very sad to me because it's brought us to where we are right now and I am willing to do anything and everything to work with Mrs Rodriguez and Mr Johnson but it's very hard to work with two people who have been given the directive to get rid of Mr
503Stratton and to get rid of us three um that that's very hard to do if they can come in with an open mind and a willingness to work I'm willing to work but it is very hard to work with someone you know you know once you've gone and wants the superintendent gone thank you I came to Hernando County back in 1985 for a business and it was kind of business that had seasonal work and at that time it was called industrial Arts when I was in New York we used to go out to the high schools and hire students doing summer work and holiday work and that kind of thing when I came to Hernando County it was major was at academics and there was a little bit about agricultural but nothing industrial arts or
504anything along those lines I am not one to sit back and just complain and that's what got me involved 30 years ago to do this where we are today compared to when I came here is a huge huge difference I had very little to do with it I've been a part of it I've been on a wheel of it but today up until this year I was very happy and very proud of how the family the educational family of this District created a school district for us to be proud of I am somewhat heartbroken and if you you know me I'm probably a little more open to allow people to speak because once again like I said at the opening of this meeting men and women died for the freedom for us to express ourselves
505I'm all about freedom of speech but I got to tell you this last year has really torn my heart apart because our family is not working coherently with each other I really thought tonight by allowing a bigger group to come here for everybody to express themselves to put everything on the table that we can see that what I said before was that it's a process that's not being adhered to that's our problem I do in my heart do believe that everybody's sitting up at this table came here to do good for our students but because of not following procedures which we are not in charge of procedures he's in charge of procedures if those procedures don't work then we get on his case but I've never been so wrong in my life because I don't
506think we're looking at it any closer than when we walked in but I will not give up I believe we can come a family again I thank you all for coming out God bless you all travel safe and you can have the last word I just would be remiss if I didn't thank Sheriff's Office Guardians and all the staff that helped put this together guys thank you good night all meeting adjourned and there was no directive given by our Senator not one time quite the opposite I came to the board day one and was never given a chance because