OCPS | 2019-09-24 School Board Meeting

001[Music] okay that's never happened before you guys usually I try to get your attention then it gets quiet then we start the meeting you guys got quiet got my attention now we're starting the meeting I like this this is leadership by the masses I think that's called the American Way a good afternoon or good evening actually everyone and welcome to Tuesday September 24th 2019 Orange County Public Schools meeting and I'm going to I'm going to ask miss Lopez if she would lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence moment of silence both first followed by a Pledge of Allegiance 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 for all well for those

002of you who are joining us tonight you have picked a great night we have some wonderful things that we're celebrating first we're recognizing five outstanding schools they received a special designation as Everglades foundation champion schools and here to present those schools with their awards and tell us a little bit more about the Everglades foundation is Jennifer Diaz director of education miss Diaz welcomed Orange County school board members superintendent Jenkins thank you for inviting us we are so excited to be here today launched just five years ago we consider ourselves a restoration generation right really fixing some of the the things that we caused in our environment and to an ecosystem that supplies over 8 million Floridians with their fresh clean water starting right here in Orlando right and you're single Creek semi Lakes and at

003first it was really to get teachers engaged in learning how to implement environmental education with everything that they do in their schools already and we've had over 3,000 teachers really implementing the stem-based curriculum that we've aligned to standards and we provide free to all teachers throughout this state including the professional development all the materials for it but three years ago we saw teachers just doing an amazing job and we thought we have to recognize these schools I mean they're moving outside curriculum and professional development and really thinking about how they fit into our communities and our schools are staples in our communities and they should be the environmental educators of our communities I mean most parents get their environmental education from their students and so we wanted to leverage that and we really wanted to

004recognize the schools in this state so last year was our first year in Orange County and we had two schools this year five schools doing some amazing things in their schools from native gardens to really just beyond that in thinking about stem and research and water quality testing and Shingle Creek and partnering with water reclamation facility and really getting the innovation going and the science fair projects going and really at their schools as the hub for this stem environment to learning and so today we recognize five incredible schools are first the only gold school in Orange County two years two years in a row millennial gardens elementary so we recognize schools based on a number of things that they accomplished throughout the year one of them is the curriculum professional development for all of their

005teachers other areas are how you think about research problem based learning and field studies in education and how you connect with your community through partnerships Rock Springs Elementary is our second school we like to recognize two years in a row they are silver and I know they are going for gold next year so they their Club started with eight students and you're at 24 this year really great job but the whole school is involved and these Club members these students really help to lift it throughout every grade level in their school I also like to recognize our first-year contributions from Sand Lake Elementary and Zellwood Elementary and lastly Windham Lake we just want to thank them for all they do for the school board for all they do for the incredible support of their administrators

006because really without that it'd be really hard to do everything they're doing so build culture in their school and so we're incredibly proud of Orange County Public Schools we're looking forward to 10 next year and so we'll see what happens in the coming years thank you wonderful [Applause] again the names of the five schools for again millennia Gardens Rock Springs Sand Lake Zellwood and Windham okay so what we'd like to do we normally invite you up but what we'd like to do is bring the board down because we'd like to be able to get a picture with each school individually okay so we're all gonna come down there and they're famished banners Oh banners I thought you said they're famished I was like get them out they're not cold okay [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you

007[Applause] that's because I can do it okay take a picture that's doing this okay all right well I mentioned that you picked a great day to join us for this meeting but there's one part of this meeting that I must be honest I'm not terribly excited about and that is saying goodbye to our general counsel woody Rodriguez so this will be his last official meeting here with us supposedly I have not I don't like I don't like saying goodbyes so I am confident that we will continue to see woody around and involved and I'm confident in that because he has been so much more than a general counsel for Orange County Public Schools he's provided incredible leadership and not just in terms of his legal advice but in terms of his character and the person

008that he is in the way he is just so involved in our public education I I first joined the board and I was amazed at the number of events that he turns up at and then when I found out that he's actually a coach for the Chess Club I realized okay this is a man who is really all-in he's all-in for his own kids and he's been all-in for all 212,000 of our kids so he's been an incredible joy to work with i many of you have heard this story I worked with him when I was a county commissioner and he left me then too I had him a little longer than I had him here and I was very much looking forward to the opportunity to work with such a great team and the

009people that I knew the best here were some of the board members like mrs. Gordon dr. Gordon who we've known you and I have known each other for a long time I know and in mr. Rodriguez and our superintendent and and a few of our board members that I've known quite well but I was excited to have this opportunity I will always be grateful for what you have committed and contributed to Orange County Public Schools you've left a really big shoes to fill I think it's next week we'll start trying to figure out how to do that and it won't be easy and it becomes more and more obvious every day he will be going to the Orange County Expressway Authority where he's going to be bored to tears [Laughter] and I would know that

010and that's good for him and his family and it's also in a way it's kind of good for us because I think that means he will still have time to be engaged in volunteer and we're counting on that so we have a plaque a small plaque of recognition for mr. Rodriguez and it reads thank you for the impact that you have made and the commitment to the Orange County Public Schools Community students and families and words cannot express how very much we all I personally but I know each one of us appreciates the heart and the soul that he has poured into this organization I believe his wife may be with us yeah there you are stand up judge judge Rodriguez the Honorable and his children and parents stand up parents so so now that

011I've taken a moment of everyone's time and I know how valuable time is to have a personal pity party in front of you let me say that the wonderful silver lining is that woody has spent too much time working and I know this I know this from the fact that every weekend he is responding to emails that I'm spent sending that I'm not sending so I can get an immediate response just getting it off of my of a my plate and on to his and they come right back and I know each one of us has that experience he has worked relentlessly and it's never I know him it's never far from his mind and I know the vacation was a wonderful opportunity to get him out of this environment and have him totally to

012yourself so good news kids we're giving him back to you okay and judge we're giving him back to you too god bless okay with that we will now move on mr. Rodriguez who has also been this staff well I hate human he has been the liaison and the coordinator for our unitary status committee which I think most of you know what that is but it's something we're incredibly proud of other jurisdictions have tried to decide if they could get out from under the desegregation order something that I think I've shared with you but had a profoundly positive change in my life when I was middle school but the unintended consequences has been long-long busing routes and children no longer having neighborhood schools so OCPs was committed to restore our neighborhood school concept but still make

013sure that we have equity in our schools and that we have diversity in our schools and woody has taken the lead on that so I'm going to turn the podium over or the floor over to woody - I'm sorry I did not see I kept looking before I turn this over I'm sorry member Gould I thought I looked and didn't see it it was probably the teary-eyed and then member Gordon I wondered about you guys it's like what do you I hate to tell you I love you but the rest of them not so much you know I was not here when woody was hired but I came a couple of years after that and it has been a true pleasure to really work with woody and when I came on the board I was

014the only newbie so everybody else knew what they were doing just not me so I relied on him very heavily at the beginning to help guide what I should do and shouldn't do and just kind of begin to really understand the scope of this role and he was invaluable in that and as I had said at a luncheon that we had last week we also went through kind of the what I'll call Windermere high school boot camp together in a unprecedented challenge of getting a school built in a community and and that was an experience that brought us apart and closer to the County Commission than ever before as well as our community and he did that with such dignity and such honesty and such transparency with all of our community helping me investigate every

015possible vantage point of that and it was very emotional and I can't thank you enough for your service to the the students and the families in the community but also for your friendship and guidance Thank You woody thank you a member dello thank you madam chair I haven't had the pleasure of working with the General Counsel for very long but in the short time that I have he's made a huge impact and I just want to say thank you for your guidance it hasn't always been easy sometimes we get a little anxious a little frustrating and he has a very calm demeanor and he's able to within a conversation by the end of it you're as calm as he is and I don't know how he does that I don't know if it's hypnosis I

016don't know how he gets us there but he does it and it usually starts with something like now let's think about this and then it kind of gets calm so thank you for your leadership thank you for general counsel when when I first got word that he was leaving when he made that call you know you try hard not to take it personally but there are five new here school board members on the board and then I heard this day of the school address where the chair was speaking I realized oh wait a minute it's her fault so thank you for your leadership you're gonna be so missed and I know that you'll keep in touch and we'll we'll we'll still get to hear from you so thank you well thank you member gallo and

017there's a lot of people that would probably believe that member Lopez thank you madam chair Warren you will be missed thank you for your professionalism and commitment and thank you for always responding to the phone calls in Spanish and English thank you so much I would love to take this opportunity to also congratulate your parents in our native language in Spanish so a felicidade PACU Stephanie Horton excelente gracias sacrificio al compromiso go Stephanie no con su hijo persecuted Anejo Tang asuras Aliante por la fuerza constellation Abu Dharr stayed Akua hacia Estados Unidos si se puede un gran hemp rope our America moneda thank you thank you remember cover thank you I'm I'm not gonna look at woody because I'll get emotional so I'm going to address this to his family to his wife and his

018children and parents we are so grateful for the time that you let us have your dad your husband your son you this man is a man of such great integrity and one of the reasons that he had served the children of Orange County so well is because he truly understands the mission the mission that we all serve to serve the families of this community and he has done that with honor and integrity and taught all of us so much we're so proud of him we're very sad to see him go but we place him back in your hands and keys you may now have Hawaii dad remember Kester dental thank you madam chair I was lucky enough to know woody before I was on the board since we are all in the same neighborhood and

019went to the same elementary schools as parents and I've always known woody as a person of integrity and I was not surprised to find that in working with you here on the board and I'm sad to see you go you will have you have set a great example for whoever takes on this huge role but I thank you for always being available and giving great guidance and I always felt like I trusted what you're what you always advised and that's that's rare so thank you and I wish you luck thank you remember bird yeah I'm not looking at him either but I will just say that I agree with member Gallo when she said that she thought that it was all our fault because you know when you think about what he has done this

020past nine months dealing with five new board members and the stress that must be for him I don't know how he did it the questions we have just amazing and he's always like you said just calm and he and the biggest thing I think too is that he always makes you feel like he cares genuinely about you you know it's not just about it was CPS it's about you as a person so he's amazing we're gonna miss him and sorry to see him go mm-hmm remember Thank You member bird member dr. Gordon thank you so very much I don't know how many of you watched Dancing with the Stars I think that was last night and you all know I have a favorite person on there but like you know I think that I'm I

021do better than he does because I love I love people I love people that I struggle with a lot of people that I have to argue with I love people that build together I love people that had the same goal and want the same thing and.and when we were hiring our general counsel there was no doubt about it because I meant woody but the county mayor's office well when Miss Jacobs was in charge as a commissioner and then as the mayor for eight eight years at 16 years and then I always saw woody he was always with built house always with no cows I mean it for just a standard thing that we would meet I think yeah you know you all I think he's leaving for you he's probably leaving for me okay but

022but but but it didn't matter it doesn't matter I love him and he knows that he knows that he is a person that listens Ella grace you know you're dead like she loves you kids you know judge the Honorable Judge you know that he's a family man and I think it's wonderful that he knew enough when to stop you can go so far and then you have to just dust just shake the dust and just move on his mom and dad you all have been there you know pending you know we go way back to it okay but it's a family affair with you all you've been through some rough times together and what he shared with several of us some of the rough times but I've never met a general counsel willing to learn

023willing to listen willing to learn more I'm very demanding about certain things that I would like to see come to Orange County his job and dr. Jenkins job was to get that information to the board because I was not allowed to talk to the board about so many things that we stopped and everyone that I begged him to do it was legal you need a lawyer to do it but he didn't have a team he didn't have a team and all of a sudden he just got carried away and started hiring all these people and then I just had to turn around and say now wait a minute now you have all these people you've forgotten about the eight of us and then you say no I have not I have this in this but

024to come in and put legal counsel in every department that it is needed was one of the headaches of this board that we just didn't have anybody that can handle that what he was able to come in and finish up at desegregation order help us to capitalize on the Orange County Oh CBSA's school that helped us to legally put together the Magnolia school it's a legacy because we couldn't have done anything put together the Boys and Girls Club coming together on two campuses in Orange County I can go on and on on and on on and on about the great things that he has done he has left a legacy that all of us have been involved in but he knows how to go to every board member he's a man of integrity he is

025a great man of integrity and for him to be able to follow and do all of the demands that this board gave you to do you are an incredible person I remember when we were putting together the monitoring group you know I was now wait a minute let's get this thing straight now you cannot do unitary status without the monetary group he said what you think I'm gonna be embarrassed you know when this thing comes up I don't want to be embarrassed because the monitoring group we had before never monitored they never monitor but yet he went out kept this group together for us with his team dr. Jenkins staff he has done an excellent job you don't realize most districts have just subsided they're not following their unitary status they're not following some of

026them are still on the deseg order but he sought to with that because we got from under it this is why we're able to build so many schools also that have sales pay me tax gave us the money but he was able to work and help us to put those schools in areas along with mr. John Morris in the areas if you build on that side of the town you're gonna have to build you on this side an order for it to catch up and for you to be a man of integrity to stand up in a community and with the mixed board that we had previous board and you were able to overcome that I salute you and my hats off to you you are an incredible man and you can do anything you

027want to do when you put your mind to it you have a lot in store for you so you probably will be running the entire airport when the thing is over what may be the flights won't get cancelled we I my baton Expressway Authority that's right but they're inside the airport so I that's why I have a feeling that he's gonna take it off oh my gosh I thought you meant it intentionally yeah I thought she was just had a fight with them so much I've watched those meetings right after he hits board on the expressway authorities gonna take over the airport and after you after your kids are grown he's gonna probably there you're gonna take on maybe he'll come back to Orange County Public Schools right now it's good you're gonna have some

028more families right there you go so I'm going to end with this I've admired Keyes but I've just fallen in love with Ella grace and I try to follow her when buddy pilots her and woody and I decided that some kind of way Ella grace would write my memoir Wow I love you all I love your family and when we get famous we're not coming back here I'm on the kid we're gonna go I think we I think we may do that we talked about that and this may be a little challenge for her bug town I'm looking part your family is just great I don't want to see you go but you know I want you to go because we bah blah we used to tell me and so did mr. blocker you can't

029keep good people you have to let them go and live their dreams so thank you so very much thank you remember Gordon that's hear from dr. Jenkins and then to close out we'll hear from councilmember there councilman Rodriguez thank you madam chair I think I would agree with everything that was said among the board members certainly woody is a man of integrity I know he's been laws and his children and his wife and their help Mary Mary who's been with them for so long I know they are incredibly proud of you woody I just want to add my comments man of great integrity and the unique thing about a General Counsel in the school system is that they also have to serve as counsel and legal adviser to staff and so my entire cabinet their

030behalf would I want to thank you for your brilliance the legal mind you brought to the job when questions are asked their research thoroughly and they are answered in a timely fashion and so for your great legal mind and your advisement on the job to all of my administration I want to thank you I also want to point out he's always been a team player general counsel doesn't have to show up when my emergency management team is here to get ready for hurricanes and woody is at the table he never thinks twice you don't have to ask him he volunteers to show up always putting in his time above and beyond what is required and he's managed a brilliant legal team as well I think he's hired well I think he leaves Orange County in

031good hands with the talent that he has brought onboard but issues will be hard to fill and I don't envy the eight members of this board that have to actually come to some conclusion in the next couple of weeks to find that replacement but we believe you set a standard that is going to help us for years to come here so to you and your lovely family Ella grace I would like to mention you need an agent don't write memoirs without a contract I would be willing to volunteer be your agent for for a fee for feet the last time I believe there was something else that woody and the judge had put in place some kind of stipulation on her social media time or a cell phone or something and I offered to negotiate

032that agreement worked out well for her so because what he didn't want me to negotiate and he gave in to her demands - woody Rodriguez brilliant general counsel and his lovely family we just bid you Godspeed bless you for all that you've done we know you're going to have a wonderful time at your next level mr. Edwin and chair members of the board first of all another surprise some came out from the meeting with our our reception for the members of our unitary status group that are here and this is not the reason you were invited I promise you it was really the key back Eleison stuff that you've done and thank you for your service I've enjoyed the collegiality of that group over the years and giving the district the confidence to be able

033to say that in our community we are united and we treat everyone the same when lawyers and others raise the challenge of discrimination and so forth I think we all in our legal department we take that very seriously and just recently we had a situation where two students were being disciplined and because one got a lesser treatment than the other the immediate response from opposing counsel was it was discrimination but I know the people we've hired I know the people that we put in place into a person that a single one of us looks at a student and says black white Hispanic Asian we look at the student in their totality and you help us give us that confidence by reinforcing the things that we agree to do with the community in terms of building

034our schools and doing all the right things the extracurricular activities and access to those so every one of those students has it that our diverse pool of applicants for principals and assistant principals remains diverse so thank you for being here I was going to also thank my legal team those that are here you can just stand for a moment and just be recognized because you're right dr. Gordon we have built a team and please and dr. Vasquez down here is going to nudge me later because at our annual summit you're not supposed to talk about your teams but we don't have that big a team in all respect with 25,000 employees and 200,000 students and probably three or four hundred thousand parents any one of which could be upset at any time with the legal

035department so quite frankly the little group of us of eight has done an incredible job of managing and we've grown slowly but surely to a point that where I feel comfortable and confident that no matter who's in this chair you're going to be well served as a district so thank you for that and dr. Jenkins yeah you did negotiate this snapchat thing a few years back so Ella grace I'm sure will be calling on you at some point to be her agent but for those in the audience that may not know my parents actually passed away a few years ago my mom passed away a few years ago my dad passed away right before Ella grace was born but I do have a second set of parents and Gail is actually a former principal and

036she is the reason I actually sit in this chair today because she would come home alright come home from spring break or college when I met my wife law school and she would share with me these stories about trying to effectively manage her employees and how difficult that was at times and I would give her suggestions maybe document maybe make sure you capture information and put it in writing and sometimes it was effective but most times it was not and so when the opening came up I realized there's an opportunity to make a difference so I think my other set of parents Gail and John they're very supportive and they're great yeah pinch me go ahead we have a very collegial relationship up here but we have we have basically my wife says we have

037three kids in the house we really have four because we have sort of the big sister Mary she's amazing she came to us I don't know how but she's the one that takes the kids where they need to be at all times she is more than just the nanny or someone that participates she really is she's there for the kids and so thank you Mary for being here for always being there for the kids and then Ella grace and keys to more amazing kids someone could not ask for I know it's all because your mom is a great mom so follow her lead and thank you all for being here and Ella grace has an induction ceremony which she needs to be at so I'm gonna ask that they be excused absolutely at the earliest

038moment possible so thank you all right which will be right after this picture I just do want to clarify one thing for the record so your second mom you gave her advice when she was a principal and it didn't really work and then you came and applied for the job here you obviously did not disclose that to the prior board as part of your qualifications or we wouldn't have you here so thank you for withholding a little bit of information then and sharing it only under this circumstance so why don't we get a quick picture with the board behind the diets here if we could and then we'll release the family all right I think we already released our students we did okay so mr. Rodriguez will you introduce our unitary status committee I will

039and we have some members that are not here this afternoon or this evening but I'm just going to go in in the order by by board members as appointed crane Riley could not join us today he's been our past chair and double-a-c-p past chaired that as well and a very strong voice for the for the unitary status we have pastor Frank Thompson Abbie shake their hand yeah yeah I mean I'm gonna introduce all of you I guess and and if you can come forward mark Kaiser I don't think is here tonight Susan Clary Jeanette gabay Jeanette Melanie Williams our current chair and one of our our resident troublemaker but also our former redistricting member Jim Daniels Dorothy win and Camille Evans who could not be with us this evening Ulysses floored who is an institution

040on to himself and has been a tremendous part of OCPs along with cliff Mac & Turf also a two-timer for doing redistricting Marland Daniels and Chan boo hood and Janelle Schmidt and I don't think that they are their Janelle and chant okay good [Applause] yeah what do you end up [Applause] right all right tonight we are also celebrating several proclamations we are proclaiming the month of October 2019 as breast cancer awareness month in Orange County Public Schools and to read that Proclamation on behalf of the board is member Coburn Thank You chair it's my honor to read this Proclamation and if I can just take a moment of privilege I would like to dedicate this to former school board member and breast cancer survival survivor Joey Keadle thank you and it reads as follows whereas

041breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women and whereas in 2019 more than 260,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed and whereas nearly 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year in the United States and whereas the OCPs employee wellness program is committed to provide education and screening opportunities to employees and family members and whereas this is an opportunity to raise awareness promote early screening and recognize those affected by breast cancer now therefore be it resolved that Orange County Public Schools does hereby proclaim October 1 through October 31 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month Thank You member Coburn and the next proclamation is to proclaim the month of October 2019 as LGBTQ Month in Orange County Public Schools and to prison and to read that Proclamation we have

042with us Diane Jones thank you school board members superintendent Jenkins and staff for the opportunity to present this Proclamation and speak about LGBTQ Awareness Month with in Orange County Public Schools we're committed to ensuring that all students including those who identify as LGBTQ feel safe and supported at school working in partnership with equality Florida we've provided LGBTQ awareness training to hundreds of OCPs staff Florida Statute states that all students have the right to take part in a gay-straight Alliance Club or GSA OCPs has built a structure of support for middle and high schools that wish to participate in a GSA program as a result there is now an active GSA Club in all of our high schools and thirty of our middle schools OCPs also partners with the zebra coalition drew project PFLAG Orlando Youth

043Alliance Orlando Museum of Art and many other of our community partners some of whom are here tonight to work together to bring the highest level of support to our students including club resources speakers trainings grant opportunities and community events I'd like to now read the proclamation whereas all students have the right to attend school in a safe and inclusive environment free from harassment or discrimination and in which they can reach their full potential and whereas harassment and bullying policies that specifically mention sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression are associated with students feeling more safe lower levels of bullying decreased incidents of harassment related to sexual orientation increased teacher staff intervention and greater reporting of incidents and whereas the School Board of Orange County policy currently provides protections for students and employees on the basis

044of race color religion age sex national origin marital status disability sexual orientation genetic information gender identity or expression language spoken homelessness or any other reason prohibited by law and whereas LGBTQ plus students are subject to harassment bullying intimidation and violence across the nation and whereas a lack of awareness and understanding on issues facing LGBTQ plus children and youth has contributed to higher rates of isolation depression and suicidal ideation and whereas nationals studies have revealed that discrimination at school has contributed to high rates of absenteeism under academic underachievement and school dropout among lgbtq+ youth and whereas education regarding lgbtq+ issues increases understanding and cultivates acceptance of and respect for LGBTQ children and youth and whereas Orange County Public Schools collaborates with zebra coalition and equality Florida to train our staff and faculty concerning lgbtq+ issues and

045to support our middle and high school gay straight alliances now therefore be it resolved that Orange County Public Schools does hereby proclaim October 20 2009 teen as LGBTQ plus Awareness Month thank you thank you if I could ask we've got a member that wants to speak but can I ask first for everyone who is here that is either a partner or is here in support of this Proclamation if you can stand cyst so we can recognize you all as well thank you thank you we know this makes a difference we know it makes a difference and it is one of the things I was when I ran for office I actually met with member Coburn and talked about this very issue because as a Republican you know where I stand on this issue but wasn't

046sure where the board might stand on the issue and Republicans don't have a great reputation on this issue I like to think I'm not normal in that regard but I was a little concerned and I was so relieved after meeting with member Cobert to hear the enormous progress that Orange County Public Schools had made in this regard and I think that Proclamation just speaks volumes so it was it was exciting to know that Orange County Public Schools totally gets it and that they're a model that our children have the best opportunity I think of any place in the state of Florida to feel like no matter who they are and no matter how they feel they're okay and and they fit and with that let me call a member Gallow who's also a republican i

047should mention who also gets it so there is hope there is hope folks there's hope there's more than one or two of us in this world number Gallo thank you madam chair I'm just this just makes me happy I've had the good fortune to go around the state with equality Florida I just traveled with D and E and up to Tallahassee where we met with some stakeholders and decision makers trying to get more for our LGBT youth and I just want to say thank you thank you to quality Florida thank you to the zebra coalition thank you to the every sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance in our schools thank you to P flag all of you coming together as move the needle and we still got work to do but we're getting to where

048we need to be because of all of you guys and I'm just so thankful to play a small role in it and a small part in it and yeah thank you Thank You member Cobert Thank You chair I'm especially proud of this tonight for so many reasons I do want to thank the zebra coalition and equality Florida for helping to educate us on the issues so that we can then represent all of you and when I talk to people about this issue it's not only our students but it's our employees that we represent and all means all all means all and I'm very very proud of this board you have Republicans Democrats and independents sitting before you who all agree 100% unanimously that this is important and finally I would just like to recognize Clinton

049McCracken one of our teachers at Howard middle school who's also been a great inspiration this board on this topic and just found out that he will be receiving the FA feas human and civil rights leadership award and very well deserved thank you and thank you for recognizing Clinton he reached out to me shortly after I joined the board and asked us to proclaim a time so this is really in honor of you as well as it is for all of our LGBTQ members I think it was very important to point out it's not just our students it is our teachers Thank You member covert member castor dental thank you madam chair I just want to add my voice to the rest that I am proud to be a part of a district that recognizes the

050need to support our students and teachers and other employees and their right to attend school and a safe an inclusive environment free from harassment and bullying and discrimination I think it's interesting that we are also proclaiming this month as National Bullying Prevention Month I think that's appropriate and I also want to thank Clinton McCracken for bringing this to the board and for your approach and bringing issues that are important to us and also Ian cell gesture on from from equality Florida for doing so much to help bring awareness and caring to our whole district and I know that we we serve as a model for the state and I hope other districts see how easily it can be done and it it doesn't take a lot of courage to stand up for your students so

051thank you for showing us the way thank you memory gesture Channel [Applause] nice chair Gordon thank you madam chair I do want to give a little history because I always say when you don't know your history you don't know where you going and you surely don't know where you came from in the 60s everybody was still in the closet nobody wanted to come out and none of our children in elementary school wanted to come out you don't even you don't know I really hate that cliff McIntyre left I I hate that he walked out because he was one of your main persons that started coming before this board asking for equal rights and the only reason I was doing that because he saw the injustice of the children in our public schools here in Orange

052County other counties had already picked it up and they were creating board policies but in 2000 we did not have any board and under the leadership of chairman Susan Arkans and what the present board serving under Susan we were able to formulate not making a big deal out of it because our kids didn't want the big exposure and the reason why I'm talking about this I was counselor I was counselor in many schools here in Orange County and every time we went to a school there were students that did not want anyone to know they had other preferences including my daughter and my daughter was this way and was told this to me by my my PE teacher because all the boys always wanted her playing football you know we want Tracy we want Tracy

053okay patty patty our city commissioner found out about it back then when she got to robert e lee and patty say you think that you could get her you know to come and speak Roubaix Cepeda you're gonna have to ask her you're gonna have to ask her I respect her right she's my daughter everybody know I love my daughter to death you know her and some of you saw her last Saturday okay and when patty when you know who was fighting for you to be here there were no groups you had dug head number one leader you had CTA number two leader Oh ESPA number three leader you had clips mackinder with president at that time also you had mark clips husband at that time then you had Patty and then you had the n-double-a-cp

054helping us you had Ulysses Floyd and you had me we were your voices how did we do this we came to mr. blocker in 2000 and let him know that we have to get a policy we didn't get it but dog and cliff and that group kept coming before the school board when everybody was out doing everything that they wanted to do we came up with the policy and and what he could give you the year this is not a new this is a resolution today but I want you to know the policy of Orange County School Board has always been on the books and reference to supporting our children and our families of these children and the families also that have their preference that they want to have so this is nothing new and

055you really need to know the main history because most of it came alive in rick broaches district and because patty patty sheen and in my district cat Gordon because our children were gay they had fathers and they had mothers but our children were gay they are still gay today my daughter is a guy and all my friends sons are female some have gone as far as to get the surgery and and I want people to understand this and know it all of these kids had parents fathers and mothers but this school system did not discriminate against these students they are in our districts today some of them are working in our districts some of them are top educators in our district they are top educators another district if the school system had not written these

056policies back in the day and your organization need to see when we first put it on the book and it was South Florida that helped us Susan was a little shaky as chairman about doing it so we called an executive session and then we discussed it then we brought it back to the board table we put it on consent we allow those people to come forth and speak and they spoke on your behalf and on the half of the children of Orange County so I want you to know you are the birth you're the birth of our children and they're in their forties and fifties right now so I want you to know that you're not alone nobody's going to discriminate against discriminate against you for who you are you are asset to Orange County

057Public Schools and we are family Thank You dr. Gordon that certainly paints a picture of how far in in advance of the social curve Orange County Public Schools has been thank you for sharing that with us remember remember gold I wanted to say thank you for being the leaders of not only for this cohort but you have helped to empower so many others so the fact that that you're receiving a Humanitarian Award because it's lifts and it's empowered people with different abilities it's empowered people who are struggling with depression and feel bullied for whatever the reason and there are voices now out there that are willing to come up not only the voices that speak because they they have felt as outsiders but also empowered students teachers and community members to step forward on behalf

058of others and I think that is the greatest testimony of this movement on how it's it's lifted all boats really through the efforts of stepping forward and stepping forward loudly boldly but always with respect and data so thank you member Lopez thank you madam chair I am so proud of this proclamation the proclamation means respect and inclusion for every student my my brother was part of the LGBTQ community he passed away almost 20 years ago but he was my mentor I became Who I am today because of my brother so congratulations and thank you to the zebra coalition and inquality Florida to make this possible I am so proud of this proclamation I have to repeat that again and we have to embrace every student regardless of his sexual orientation and of his gender identity

059or expression so I also want to emphasize and during my campaign I had a lot of students from the LGBTQ community knocking on doors for me so thank you so much for those students that were part of the Gypsy community knocking on doors and and saying the way they think and their vision thank you thank you much work still to be done but an awful lot to be proud of so speaking of work to be done we are also proclaiming October as National Bullying Month here in Orange County Public Schools and as we pointed out this the two could not be I am so sorry member bird that's okay thank you for making me not look bad okay thank you one mom after its member birds but I was reading these proclamations preparing for tonight's

060meeting just I was filled with such pride such pride to be a part of a district that is so emotional tonight what the heck it's all what he's fought so proud to be a part of a district that is so forward-thinking and cares so deeply about their students and the families and their employees and you know the LGBTQ proclamation the bullying prevention disability history and the breast cancer these are important topics that are affecting the lives of our children every day and their well-being and their their health and their learning all of it so I just think kudos to this district for being for being able to be brave and stand up and say these are the things that matter to us and I'm just so proud to be a part of it so thank

061you thank you okay mr. Tammy's speed F Hefner did I get it close speed Hefner yes ma'am thank you so much to be being here with us today to join us in proclaiming this anti-bullying month here in Orange County Public Schools Thank You school board members superintendent Jenkins and for this opportunity to proclaim this proclamation bullying prevention month whereas bullying is physical verbal sexual emotional harm or intimidation intentionally directed at a person or a group of people and whereas bullying occurs in neighborhoods playgrounds schools and through technology such as the internet and cell phones often refer to as cyber bullying and whereas cyber bullying can occur on social media sites at any time and whereas inappropriate and harassing messages can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a wide audience which can be a determinate

062to victim's confidence and self-respect and whereas targets of bullying and cyberbullying are more likely to experience physical emotional and learning problems and students who are repeatedly bullied often fear riding the bus going to school and attending community activities and whereas researchers have been concluded that bullying is the most common form of violence offering millions of American children and adolescents annually and whereas children who bully are at greater risk of engaging in more serious violent behaviors and whereas children who witness bullying often feel less secure more fearful feel fur fearful and intimidated Proclamation made at September 24th 2018 school board meeting now therefore be it resolved that Orange County Public Schools does hereby proclaim October 1st through October 31st 2019 as National Bullying Prevention Month and encourages teachers administrative staff support personnel and students to participate

063in activities in promotion of National Bullying Prevention Month thank you thank you and next we have a proclamation for the month of 2019 as national principals month in Orange County Public Schools and to share that Proclamation on behalf of the board is principal and nine how master principal good evening thank you school board members superintendent Jenkins and staff for this opportunity to present this proclamation of national principals month whereas the school board of Orange County honors and recognizes principals for their positive impact on learning by setting high standards for instruction achievement character and developing a positive school culture and whereas the vision of Orange County Public Schools is to be the top producer of successful students in the nation and whereas the district's mission of leading students to success depends greatly on principals as a

064catalyst for establishing inclusion supportive learning environments and continuous community engagement and whereas principals serve as the educational leader of their schools demonstrating knowledge of effective instructional strategies and providing for the learning needs of both students and teachers and whereas principals create schools where all children learn and gaps are narrowed and whereas longitudal research has shown that leadership is the second only to classroom instruction among all school related factors that contribute to student learning and whereas principals must act within rigorous federal and state accountability systems that demand more from schools and communities and they are increasingly tasked with meeting the needs of the whole child whereas partners and education contribute to resources to support principals at schools crossed Orange County and have come together to contribute thousands of dollars to the superintendent's recognition of principals throughout

065the year and whereas national principals month is October 2019 now they're therefore be it resolved that Orange County Public Schools does hereby proclaim October 2019 as national principals month thank you thank you we have one more proclamation and then we have a number of speakers that wish to speak to the proclamations so let me call now on behalf of the proclamation for October 3rd 1st through the 12th as disability history in awareness weeks in Orange County Public Schools I'm going to call on Ian's cousin tight dr. Ian goes on tight who will read the proclamation and introduce students James Walker and his mother Mary Walker and then we'll hear some public comments from some of our supporters for a number of these proclamations thank you thank you school core members superintendent Jenkins and staff for

066this opportunity to present the proclamation for disability history and awareness weeks whereas the 2008 Florida Legislature declared the first two weeks of October to be observed in public schools K through 12 as disability history and awareness weeks and whereas the goals of disability history and awareness instruction include recognition of the abilities of all students and whereas recognition results in the better treatment of individuals with disabilities in society especially youth in schools and whereas encouraging individuals with disabilities to develop a self-esteem results and more individuals gaining pride in their abilities obtaining post-secondary education entering the workforce and contributing to their communities and whereas the district reaffirms a commitment to the full inclusion of and equal opportunities for all individuals with disabilities and whereas celebrating disability history in awareness weeks encourages us to appreciate the accomplishments of

067our students with disabilities their parents teachers staff in Orange County Public Schools now therefore the resolved that the school board of Orange County Florida does hereby proclaim October 1st through October 12th of 2019 at disability history and Awareness Week um in recognition of Disability Awareness Week we'd like to welcome our two speakers and our first speaker we'd like to have come up as James Walker and dr. Austin also and we have invited James because he is an amazing graduate of the OCPs project search program within the ESC transition school while the project search James learned job skills in the Florida Hospital and was offered paid employment James will share his experience of the old CBS and a successful transition from high school to employee Thank You mr. gesundheit honorable leaders of Orange County school board

068first and foremost good evening to all of you my name is James Wolk at a third I was a student of Orange County Public Schools for many years in Orange County Florida since the late 90s I want to share my experience of being in OCPs and transition to the program called Project SEARCH in many years growing up in Orange County I've called this county my home and the schools I went to as my experience and also of my life lessons in 2009 I graduated at what kind of a high school I was the inaugural graduate of the school but I had to return to complete my credits by going to post-secondary class at Orlando Tech after completing in 2011 I was told about Project SEARCH on how it will help many of those with disabilities

069to learn about the workforce after high school I joined a program after an interview with the former director Barbara Moses and then I met with the instructors of project search such as Donna ort Everly Rutland miss Stephanie and many more who I forgot to mention my apologies they taught many folks not only about how to get jobs but also about the key things in life which is responsibility accountability maturity and also positivity which all need and communication for me it was a challenge because of the disability I have which is Asperger's but deep down I know I can do it and go beyond it after being in the program in 2011 through 12 I got a job interview through this program at advant Health Winter Park and that got the job as I really didn't

070think I was going to get it I got it and I was an administration receptionist at patient access then two years later I was promoted to work at the Transportation Department and still to this very day I worked there through the years of being employed I want to get my GED and now I am working on becoming a news anchor or radio personality when I look back on it I never imagined that I will get through it this program did not only taught me about the workforce they also encouraged me and other students of this program we can be anything we can be anything and pursue what we want the spite of our disabilities excuse me I think God every day that I have a job also and also I never gave up on it

071because life is too hard and I'm also thankful for them every day my mother who has never left me and the true people who love me truly this project search program gives hope to many people with disabilities a chance to serve a purpose in their community that they love and my hope that they will continue to give that hope in this county and beyond in many years to come thank you god bless and as our second speaker I'd like to invite miss Mary Walker his mother whose mom's absolute is also no CPS employee I don't think most everybody heard that she's also an Orange County Public Schools employee yeah wonderful we are so proud of you Thank You Gideon thank you for having me here yes this has been a journey that started from Virginia

072Beach to here and I remember the struggle I had and they were saying don't pay no more meds don't just keep wet and it was hard he was challenging but I didn't have the skills and it wasn't until he got into middle school and I found out what it was it was Asperger which is on the spectrum of autism and once I found that out and a popular middle no a popular high school started working with me then he transferred them over to La Cava and I kept praying and I was wondering God what are we gonna do he's getting older now you know this let me see where he's going to be okay I have another son he's doing well his younger brother but I always worried about James and to Seaver James is

073now is because I'm Orange County Public Schools if you gotta ask me I will be working in the school system I woulda told you know so god bless y'all I don't know how y'all do it and I pray for y'all every day but when they came to me and James about Project SEARCH it was an answered prayer it really was and it was down to the last one he was the last one a great demeanor in the group didn't have a job they said miss Walker we found him something but we need him in the interview this program is needed I worked in a pocke mill and I do the clinic but I do so much more than just the cleaning I talk to parents I just talked to another parent matter of fact yesterday

074her son has Asperger's and it reminded me of James and she said the same thing what do i do how did it talk to him this way I said ma'am don't worry about it I said was something coming back I say I have a friend he asked the same thing but your son's gonna make it I don't know how you're gonna do it but I'm saying don't get rid of it I don't care what you need me to do to keep the program I'm here to support it because these children that I see it in the PAS camila alone they struggle but they intelligent I see them every day and I'm not saying cuz it's my son is cuz I work in the school system I see it the program is needed the program is

075an asset it works I'm here as an advocate and a mother side so I told them whatever they needed anytime they need me to come and talk about Project SEARCH I would do it because it brought my child from where I didn't know what was gonna happen - now he's a grown man doing his thing you know if you asked us we would've told you no we wouldn't have made it we didn't know so thank you all know who wrote Project SEARCH I don't know I gave here but I just wanted to tell y'all thank you and to please not let it go but so many parents that I see in my school so many kids I didn't understand why God took me in the school system after 27 years in the medical field and

076switched me over to the school system but now I'm just because that's other parents like me who's struggling a figure out how do I handle a child who just can't articulate what they want to say or comprehend they didn't put the missing that component but to be able to encourage them to let them know they to know what they want to do and like they can be productive they can have their own jobs they can have their own bank accounts they can't live in this world and know that they're gonna make it but we need all of us to work together so I think all y'all forgiving my son an opportunity to come and speak to all of y'all tonight thank you for hearing me out and like I told you before any time I

077am here as an advocate for this for this program thank you yes Walker so Miss Walker thank you for your advocacy but more than anything thank you for being one great mom all right we're gonna hear we're gonna hear now from Heather Wilkie and after Heather we're gonna hear from when Miss Dorma Wendy dermal then Genesis Martinez welcome hi everyone that one's hard to follow thank you for that I'm sorry honey yeah but I'm just here I wanted to thank you all my name is Heather Wilkie and I'm a mental health therapist and also the executive director of zebra coalition an organization whose mission is to support and inspire LGBTQ youth I want to extend my sincere gratitude to each of you for this significant step that you took tonight toward creating an inclusive environment

078for LGBTQ students every day at zebra coalition we see young people who are facing life-altering challenges due to simply being themselves we work very hard to create a safe environment for these kids but we can't do it alone research has shown that having just one supportive person in the school system can significantly improve success and decrease mental health issues such as depression anxiety and sometimes unfortunately even suicidal ideation so now just taking a look at this room I can see that our students have not only one supportive person but many supportive people for them zebra coalition has worked with those CPS for many years and has an active outreach committee made up of committed leaders and organizations working to ensure our schools are safe for LGBTQ students in partnership with equality Florida and the leadership

079of e insel just removing us right now we've spent the past two years making huge strides in training teachers therapists and administration on LGBT cultural competency I want to thank everyone who has provided their time and who will continue supporting us on this journey and to OCPs thank you for sending this positive message to our students and for letting them know that they are included and supported for being themselves so that they may thrive in their educational journey supporting these kids means supporting a healthier future for everyone so thank you all Thank You Heather hi Wendy how are you good Wendy Jorma 10:20 Webster Avenue my goodness better on behalf of CTA I want to thank the school board and superintendent Jenkins for declaring October lgbtq+ a month it's essential that every student feel safe

080respected and accepted in school I just want to say I'm so proud of our school district for doing this step and for these awesome lanyards wow these are great I also want to thank ye and sigillum and equality Florida and the zebra coalition for their work to train staff and faculty on lgbtq+ issues and gives support for middle and high school gay-straight alliance club finally I want to recognize Quinton McCracken so this proclamation was proposed by Clinton McCracken a 20-year Oh CPS teacher OCT a board member bargaining team member and chair of CTAs human and civil rights committee I want to thank you in cell just strim who is with equality Florida and a member of the orange education justice Alliance as his genesis who's going to speak ian shared the model language for the

081proclamation in 2009 clinton established the Gay Straight Alliance at Howard middle school in 2012 he successfully advocated for adding domestic partner benefits to our contract in 2013 gender identity and expression was added to our school district's non-discrimination policy through Clinton's advocacy efforts in July 2017 Clinton successfully expanded a safe space lgbtq+ program district-wide to a hundred eighty eight schools this same year Clinton began working with equality Florida to have experts provide professional development to all OCPs guidance counselors safe coordinators principals and assistant principals and as Linda said CTA is very excited to announce that Clinton will receive the FE a human and civil rights award in October so thank you again to Clinton our lgbtq+ partners OCPs and Orange County School Board for your advocacy and recognizing that students have the right to attend school

082in a safe and inclusive environment free from harassment bullying or discrimination so they can reach their full potential thank you so much all right I did not know hardly any of that I just knew I got an email from Clinton when I first started as I'm sure you all did as well do you mind just did you just mind standing so we can recognize you individually thank you it was an honor you know to come out to the school and and and be able to give you a hug but I didn't even have any idea of the size of that honor Wow okay Genisys Wow hello thank you for hun huh thank you for being here oh no problem thanks for having me yes I'm talking um hi my name is Genesis Martinez I live

083at 2 2 2 1 dürer Lane in Apopka and I'm here representing Central Florida jobs with justice a coalition of community labor student and faith organizations advocating for working people we have spoken before the school board before on our ensuring quality public education for working families it is for that reason that we come before you today to speak in favor of the proposed proclamation for the lgbtq+ month to be recognized in Orange County Public Schools this proclamation has two significant impacts in creating a public education system of high quality first this proclamation leads by example that lco CPS is a welcoming and affirming place for lgbtq+ youth in our schools as young people spend most of their time most of their formative years in school being in a school district actively working against bullying and

084actively working towards acceptance through supporting gcas among other things will be life-changing for our future young leaders in Orange County the second significant impact is that this proclamation is another way that creates an affirming workplace for lgbtq+ teachers administrators staff in all instructional and support personnel a work environment in which one is able to be their whole authentic self is one that is transformative and key to a better society Central Florida jobs with justice applauds the school board in passing this Proclamation additionally we wish to recognize the dedicated work of organizations such as zebra coalition equality Florida and the work led by Ansel jest room an orange county classroom teachers association and in the word the work led by Quinton McCracken and other organizations in Central Florida seeking to improve the experiences of LGBTQ plus

085students and educational professionals alike we look forward to working with these groups and hopefully with you all on this school board in the future so that we can continue to empower those at work and are educated in our County that identifies lgbtq+ and advance progress regardless of one's gender identity or sexual orientation thank you thank you next Wesley Davis and then Jennifer Foster good evening everyone my name is Wesley Davis my address is 101 I don't know why I had to think about it 101 Lake Avenue here in or downtown Orlando my name is Wesley Davis like I said I'm the field director for equality Florida I am here representing equality Florida's not only Eaton Silvestre Mhow everyone has had loads to say positive about but I'm also here representing our members our staff and

086all our support of coalition members and our safe and healthy schools Department which is supporting districts across the state and taking on the needs of our LGBTQ youth across the state our safe and healthy schools director Ian's suggestion did everything he could to be here today but unfortunately is providing a training in Clay County at the moment but like I said I I know that I speak on behalf of our our staff across the state especially here in Orange County in in thanking all of y'all for your kind words earlier about equality Florida across the state equality Florida has been supporting 62 of Florida's 67 districts yeah Orange County has has consistently stuck out as a leader in our state and B in in being responsive to our LGBTQ students not just through the proclamation

087but through continued visibility and through your actions to ensure that our faculty and staff are well-trained and supporting LGBTQ youth as well we know that today when LGBTQ when an LGBTQ child can identify a supportive child a supportive adult and their life they are significantly less likely to attempt suicide sorry it's it's the I would say that in in all of my time I was I was the weird one in middle school and in high school that attended County Commission meetings school board meetings and I would say and even going into college and I would say that this is probably one of the most emotional meetings that I've ever been to because this is probably one of the only meetings that I have ever felt empowered and heard in my school district so I that's

088why I'm trippin up I'm usually not the person I'm usually just like Joe Saunders I'm right there I'm ready so I I do apologize but you made a critical step that that is that is super important this proclamation empowers our teachers empowers our counselors administrators and supportive and supportive staffs to be supportive adults each of you has been an incremental leader and more importantly an ally to our faculty staff and students who identify as LGBTQ thank you for all that you do today and that your continued to do and demonstrating that Orange County Public Schools are a safe place and and to quote board member Cobert from earlier all truly means all thank you all very much I thank you thank you okay and now we'll hear from Jennifer and no thanks are needed from

089the board standpoint this is a labor of love what we do here everyday and this is easy Jennifer welcome my name is Jennifer foster I reside at 11:28 woodland Drive in Orlando three to eight oh six I am the executive director of one Orlando Alliance and the one Orlando Alliance is a coalition that came together of eighteen LGBTQ organizations after the pulse tragedy we immediately came together in June of 2016 today were made up of 35 LGBTQ community member organizations thank you my arms are gonna my arms gets longer as I get older so in 2018 we identified the top ten issues that we're facing our community and we published our first annual report called the alliance agenda our 2019 report will be released in October and I'll make sure you all have a copy

090of that this is our roadmap for helping transform the Central Florida region into the most inclusive region in the world we do that by working alongside our government corporate and philanthropic community and we recognize that we all need to continue to evolve on issues around sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression but as a United community we can do that and the LGBTQ community stands beside you as we go on this journey with you so when we came up with the alliance agenda we our community determined that creating a safer community for LGBTQ it's quu excuse me be the number one priority of our community so much so that we've put it on page one of our alliance agenda and this is emotional because this is a this is a really big step for our

091community and you know we have we have the opportunity to talk about how we're transforming our community from the inside out and you all are really doing that today and so I can empathize with Wes about feeling a little bit overwhelmed today to stand here and address you all so as we've heard Orange County Public Schools has had great working relationships with many of our organizations Orlando Youth Alliance equality Florida PFLAG zebra coalition all these great organizations have been really at the forefront of protecting and ensuring safe and affirming spaces for our LGBTQ plus youth you couldn't ask for better partners than equality Florida and zebra coalition and and really the work of Heather Wilkie and Ian the the two of them they really are not just the experts on the LGBTQ youth issues in

092our community they are passionate advocates and they will fight to protect our youth and when we see leaders like that in our community who will just step up time after time it's extraordinarily heartwarming so I'd just like to take a moment to acknowledge their work and then also on behalf of the one Orlando Alliance on our thirty five member organizations just thank you thank you for this this Proclamation thanks to all of you that have put your tireless work into this you know it really does make a difference and it sends a powerful message to our youth of Orange County that they're welcomed embraced and they are loved you're affirming that they deserve to be seeing and respected in our schools in doing this you're saving lives school may be the only place where LGBTQ

093youth and that's lesbian gay bisexual transgender and very queer or questioning children can be themselves please don't ever ever underestimate the power that you have to help each and every one of them feel cared for and worthy so thank you so much we solve a lot of work to do but you all just did something transformative today and it's appropriate that it's LGBTQ History Month in Orlando because our in the in the country because you made history hero and oh thank you thank you very much told you it was a good day to be at this meeting very good day all right with that we are going to move on to our regular agenda that's an excuse if you want to to leave oh you don't have to we'd love to have you with us

094your smiling faces lift lift our spirits but we understand all right before we take up any formal action dr. Jenkins are there any changes to the consent agenda that we need to note madam chair members of the board item 8.01 is being withdrawn that is requests adoption of alternative calendar for 2019 22 due to Hurricane durian that is being held until we have an MoU from our classroom teachers Association spoken with Miss normal they are certainly looking very closely at the matter we hope to be able to bring it back to you at a later time thank you so let me ask if there's the sheriff I'm sorry chair finds cause to amend the agenda is there a motion to amend the agenda motion by member gold is there a second to amend the agenda

095seconded by member cobra1899 to please say aye opposed motion carries unanimously before we take up before we take up the motion to consider the agenda let me ask if there I know we have one member of the public wishes to speak and that's Michelle so so she left okay and I wanted to see I do want to recognize the Honorable mayor Cole who's in the audience with us and miracle if you wish to speak you are we certainly always welcome your your comments and we do have an item on the agenda regarding eat and fill school property welcome sir it's always wonderful to have you in our chambers welcome welcome welcome I'm saying welcome thank you so much it's an honor always to stand before you I'm excited about our this proposal this contract to

096me it represents the present it work and it really represents our past and our future and when I say past I think of dr. Gordon who is champion all the time she's there saying Edenvale needs to be at the table eating veal we need to respect the the past wishes of the forefathers and then I look at Miss Karen caster dental and I'm seeing this is gonna be the future and she's gonna be a part of that and then when I look at the present board that we have now we're gonna change everything because of us now the things that people have talked about for years it's gonna be behind us when I look at my friend as well as legal woody Rodriguez who I consider a true friend of mine who always makes me

097at Publix when I look at him I start seeing the heartbeat he had for our community as well that we can do something right so we will drive over there and we just vision what it's going to what it's going to look like in Eatonville one of the things we asked and I think it's in there it's just some portions of the land come back to the town that we can create some of the things that we would like to do so that's the portion of the path of dr. Gordon's wishes that we would have something that we could talk about and when I look at the future I listen to board member caster denno saying that's what I want to see because it's in my area and I know the rest of them have

098the same sentiments I know where we had chairman and what you feel about it when I look at college street and not vision I said I just get in the car and I walk over there and I can see everything is already created I call that the safety zone and so you have the library when you go down you can have healthy evil you can have what we consider our community center with the library attached and end up changing the library to a museum and more safer for the kids that they're not on the Main Street for and it goes all the way around to the Boys and Girls Club that is put more on there that the service that they're bringing so that whole Street now has become the safety zone we have something

099in Eatonville that we can say regardless of what happens on the other side we will have something that we can call our own as well if our forefathers would come back I think they would say we would amend what we wanted for the that school board properly if it means progress for my children's children's children that's the way I have to look at it so thank you so much I will say this to you our board still will have to get a good look at it as well as our council but I think I've given them the best that we can give that it could be a win-win for everyone thank you thank you so much we look forward to hearing back from your board thank yes ma'am okay all right then do we have

100a motion to adopt the consent agenda motion from the Commissioner I'm sorry from member bird and second from our Vice Chair all in favor please say aye opposed motion carries unanimously member Gordon do you want to be recognized yes I do know what to the Honorable mayor cold god bless you and and I do want to say too we had a major discussion up here I really want to say hats off to dr. Cass the dental she everyday they called me in Eatonville you know it's like my home because I've been like a long 52 years and I'm so proud of and met the people of the Vale and camp that relationship now you know I'm not just saying y'all know that this is my district you would have had all your land back but

101no but you know but I want to commend her for she went to the community and she talked with the council and she talked with communities and the general council was right there just making sure that everything is done fair to satisfy this board the superintendent the legal department but she followed her heart and that's not an easy thing to do and for you to come up with and how you all decided to do what you wanted to do I just think that this this will be history and I thank God for you I really do because nobody else sat in that seat and was able to move this project and you went back out with this board ask that you go in that community under the direction of the superintendent and legal counsel and

102you brought us back something that we all can vote on and it's never happened in history so you just made history Thank You honorable male coal thank you madam superintendent and legal counsel Rudy Rodriguez excellent it's a great effort and we do we look forward to hearing back from the town but I think tremendous progress and and likewise congratulations member Castro generally absolutely pleased you're recognized thank you madam chair thank you dr. Gordon I'm so lucky to sit next to you because I get to hear all of your comments but I appreciate your your words as that's very special and like the residents of Eatonville I am eager to move this process along and by bringing forward this joint agreement with the town we are making good on a commitment made by previous board members

103I know that my predecessor who sat here Nancy Robinson worked really hard and worked closely with the mayor and the council the residents as well and during this process we have researched historic documents and there are volumes of them I've listened to stakeholders elected officials community members and this this board made a decision to deny any more requests for extensions from a on a previous contract on the eatonville property which allowed us to update the appraisal and it came back with a much higher market value residents told us they wanted a space for the community to gather a place for kids to play an area that celebrates and honors the history and culture of Eatonville and an opportunity to develop quality housing and also to restore a much-needed tax base and I'm proud that this

104agreement that it deeds portions at the property back to the town for public use and allows OCPs to share in the proceeds of the of the sale after we clear the buildings and prepare that the ground and establishes a fair process also for determining and selecting which proposals are submitted for developing that parcel and I do want to thank our general counsel woody Rodriguez and attorney Laura Kelly for their work in making sure that they got this turn around so quickly after decades of looking at this but they were able to really wrap it up and I want to thank dr. Jenkins for your commitment to seeing this completed and the mayor Cole and the town of Eatonville the town council for your partnership for the best and highest use of this property and I

105appreciate the board support as well on this and I'm so excited to see the progress and watch the town of Eatonville continue to thrive so I appreciate your support on this today and I look forward to hearing the feedback from the Town Council thank you okay and I believe I believe we already voted on this is that correct mr. Rodriguez I thought we did and then I noticed the yeah I noticed that one of our members had press their buttons so let's move on then to we have nothing on the public hearings we have information dr. Jenkins as promised after our last board meeting this board did give me the not the consent to look at instructional minutes want to confirm we will be officially announcing at the close of this board meeting that we

106do have enough instructional minutes not to have the second makeup day and so Monday of Thanksgiving week for all of our employees all of our employees as well as our families and students remains Thanksgiving break I do have to qualify this though hurricane season is through member and so should we have another bad weather day that Monday is still our second prioritized makeup day and so as of today we are officially and I don't need as general counsel mentioned previously because we are not amending the calendar I'm simply announcing that we have enough minutes we don't need to amend the calendar for that November date and so folks who are making their Thanksgiving plans can certainly move forward with those as well happy to announce that thanks to the board for your agreement I'm sure

107thank you thank you mr. Rodriguez anything for the board board members just a couple of announcements the first is the announcement of an executive session for Tuesday October 8th these have to be read into the record the School Board of Orange County Florida will meet an executive session on Tuesday October 8th 2019 immediately following the school board meeting scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. and the superintendent's conference room ninth floor at the Ronald blocker leadership Center located at 4:45 West Amelia Street to discuss the matter of Perez Tracy as parent and next a friend of MP initials MP 9 Judicial Circuit Court case 2017 CA double zero three five three six the following persons may be in attendance all school board members dr. Barbara Jenkins is Superintendent John C Pomerania is associate general counsel Eileen

108D Fernandez associate general counsel and with tonight's vote your interim general counsel and William e Lawton Esquire and as well as a court reporter so you know at this point I think I'm gonna just add two more things first of all the eatonville contract is one that I do think Laura Kelly in the back for putting in a number of hours in the last couple of weeks that is one of those things that I hope it goes to the town council and they see the wisdom of the negotiations between Mayor Cole and board member caster dental and you as board members in the input we received over time a lot of moving parts still at some point in this process we thought we were at the goal line and first and goal and we've been

109set back some penalties turnovers and what have not football analogies aside it's disappointing because I live right down the street from that and drive by it on a regular basis and see what is being allowed to just sit there but with Mayor Cole's vision I hope in the town behind it I hope that this is the next step and that is the future as promised so we will continue to see this through and whether I'm on this board or not it's part of our community Maitland and eight and Ville in Winter Park are very intertwined so let's be hopeful and then second of all just explain a little bit about the process going forward for the for the public and for the board members I've spoken I think to all of you about the next

110steps we will have Eileen for an antigen here today with her brother Jose and she will essentially be in the same role that I've been but her and John have worked tirelessly in the past when I'm on vacation around leave to make sure the office runs smoothly and I know that under her leadership hopefully we will her and John's really combined but her as the interim general counsel she will be the personal need to turn to over these next couple of weeks but the process is moving and it's moving quickly because we got nine outstanding candidates that I think will be delivered to you of less than a week from today on Monday September 30th you will be given questions to you know ask in the first round but really the process is yours and

111in this process there will be a second round how many candidates you invite for the finalists will be up to you how we determined the voting will be up to you but our suggestion is we do a straw poll those are all public records and we tally those up after you interview on the 30th and 25 minutes a person let them answer the questions and judge them on their merits and their credentials and all of the things you'll need to judge them on I can tell you with great confidence regardless of who you put in that seat you've got a great team here and they will help that person be as successful as you need them to be so I do appreciate support you've given the legal department with that the next round after that

112would most likely be on October 8th and if October 9th I'm sorry which is a Wednesday and in between there there was a suggestion from one of the board members I could not share this with all of you because obviously that would be a violation in the sunshine but the suggestion was made as to whether or not to have individual conversations one on one sort of speak that's been done in other locations and other places you would certainly not do that in lieu of an open interview for round two but that would add another layer so I have opine that really it you know it's it's a legal process you it would be certainly permissible but I'm gonna let you all debate that issue because that's really more process and it should be the Board's

113decision but the hope is that you have someone in place by the end of October and hopefully in this chair by December so I stand ready for any questions madam chair thank you thank you mr. Rodriguez so I actually had broached that because I've been on boards where we've done both I've been on boards where all interviews were done at the board table I've been on boards where there was also one-on-one interviews so I am comfortable with either one I wanted to take this brief opportunity to just make sure that for the second part of the the interview process after next Wednesday when we when the board is able to take the nine and shortlist that down that were comfortable about how we move forward so we do have some time blocked on I have

114some time blocked on Thursday I don't know if it's showing up on everybody else's calendar but my thought is and again I want to have some input one we could have interview individual interviews or we can do it as a board like I said I'm very comfortable either way it takes a little bit more time to do interview individual interview so that's a disadvantage secondly I think it's important for the second round or that we make sure that the questions that board members have get answered in case there are questions that you all have that aren't brought up so I think it would be valuable for us to find some time to combine the questions and make sure that each board that for instance if I have a question and it's the same question that

115you have member cobra1899 guns that could be done at a board meeting or it could be done through you it obviously can't be done through me as a member of the board to coordinate the questions so I wanted to get some feedback from the board while we're sitting about those two questions first question does anybody feel strongly that they need to have individual interviews or is everyone comfortable with doing this as a board member Cobert thank you chair my thoughts are similar to yours in that if we do it as a body it could save time with redundant questions and and my other thought is that we're pretty good brain trusts together and sometimes but I would like to hear you might think of something remember bird that I haven't thought of and you might

116ask that question and I would like to hear the answers from the candidate and this way we can have a more thorough vetting by listening to each other's exchanges with the candidates yeah Thank You member gallo I think the excellent observations on that thank you manager I I think I agree with member Coburn I think feeding off of each other and getting those questions asked I did have a question when when you talked about during the one-on-ones would that be after we've narrowed down the search or that we would afterwards yeah thank you yeah and remember Gould you know when I've gone through hiring no to hiring czar the exactly the same and and often times you have a better sense of how you want to handle it after you know who the final candidates

117are I think that as a group we could do well but we may decide that we would like some one-on-one time with each of the candidates after so I don't mind holding that spot but what I want to make sure is that we all get the the ability to really see those questions in advance if we decide to do that because I do think that reaction if you repeat the question and you're doing it six times in a row the reaction is not the same and it's not as genuine because now it's just becoming an in rote answer versus kind of a real conversation so you know from from a standpoint of making sure that we're getting kind of that true honest initial response we may do better in a group setting than in the

118individuals but at the end of our groups we may say you know maybe we we would like to see how they'd react in individual interviews I it really has varied depending on the candidates once you kind of narrow it down and to get that final group okay so our goal next week will be to shortlist I would assume to three or four but I think that's going to depend on how the board scores them and I don't want to limit us to that and so is the board comfort with the idea that we each submit and and dr. Jenkins - thank you and woody and I need to talk through the amount of time and whether if we have three candidates are we trying to do them all in one evening or are we doing

119them in separate evenings thoughts there we're trying to draw them all in one evening okay then that also we can back into how much time we have based on how much endurance we have okay all right that gives us I think that gives us something to work with I see heads nodding so I would suggest submitting two to three questions - dr. Jenkins and I think anything more than three questions a person is going to take us well beyond the amount of time that we have that might take us beyond the amount of time but hopefully there'll be some redundancy in our questions and we can we can superintendent can work from there and will next week when we come back together we'll have a more defined outline for how the second half will flow

120okay okay okay you do not I'm sorry that face is not giving me confidence that you're comfortable member Gallo I hate being a body language reader but I can't resist so are you okay well a clarifying question because I'm the one that never turned in my homework so the question that you're looking from us is not for the first set of interviews is for the second set thank you I just want to make sure yes for the second set okay and I trust that just like mr. Rodriguez did not declare in his interview process that he couldn't give good advice to a principal I trust that when you're in the interview process during your campaign you also didn't disclose that you never didn't turn in your homework and nor did I acknowledge that I quit

121kindergarten so we all have our secrets okay but it's a good story yes mr. Rodriguez so I'm sorry I guess before we leave this topic and I had one more on my report we do have notebooks that will have all of the candidates there their resumes that they have submitted and all that information in there so those dr. Williams has prepared those and those should be available tomorrow morning for all of you to have so you will begin the process of reviewing those and just for the record my advice was good and is good advice it was the counsel that perhaps did not assist my mother-in-law and making those those terminations possible that's just what I wanted to clarify is the advice was good you always want to document but for whatever reason it just

122wasn't effective so okay all right okay then I they I I take back any self-deprecating comments I made as well okay all right yes dr. Jenkins I just wanted to mention to the board so in your notebooks you'll have all the information you need both all of the candidates who apply to the screening document and then those resumes of those finalists the nine that you are interviewing what we don't have in your notebooks but are certainly happy to convey to you are the eight questions for that first round because we have internal candidates we want to make sure no one believes that something's been dispensed as an advantage and so your questions we will provide to you on the 30th but you'll see in the cover document everything has been provided for you as the

123board secretary I'll just be here to tally your your decisions to try to get to a final slate of candidates all right moving anything else mr. Rodriguez under general counsel no no just thank you once again I've been that tonight was another welcome surprise and I don't want legal to be blamed for dragging these meetings on but we did really do have a great team and I've enjoyed working with each of you whether it's a short period of time or or for an extended period it's been a real blessing of my career so thank you thank you let's hear from member chairman Gallo regarding legislative affairs thank you thank you madam chair I wanted to share and of course all our teachers most of them are gone but today governor De Santis made a statement

124about the best and the brightest program that he's basically not a fan of the best and the brightest program and his own words he said he would like to do away with Florida's best and brightest teacher Bonus Program and instead replace it with his own plan to raise teacher pay and increase retention which he is yet to announce so he felt like the best and brightest was too complicated so we are encouraged by this so if you're listening please keep sending the letters to the governor to Santis it's working and hopefully we can undo some good things this legislative sessions for our teachers I am so excited to hear that thank you for sharing your welcome thank you for sharing I keep hearing good things and I really like I said I think that we

125have a governor who cares about people and I think he cares about teachers and I think he's responsive and I'm going to keep believing in the possibilities so wonderful news thank you so much for letting us close on a high note with that the meeting is now adjourned but I'm sorry member Lopez Lopez thank you madam chair I was thinking about the the boolean Proclamation yes but I was comparing the bullying situation do we have any type of club or something more than if you see something say something more than speak out because when I see for the Gay Straight Alliance is something that we are aware of the of the situation of our LGBTQ community during the whole year but I don't see anything during the whole year for every student since elementary school

126to high school related to bullying like a club something that let's say you know you're cool if you're talking about this you're cool if you recognize that you're the victim of bullying you don't have to be afraid you don't have to you know it's just I'm just thinking about this because I am receiving a lot of complaints from parents from my community talking about bullying sometimes I'm transferring the students to charter schools or private schools because they're victim of bullying so are we having something like that do we have a club do we have a movement an initiative in the school so everybody can participate and educate you know about cyber bullying bullying it's okay to look different and not everybody is from the LGBTQ community so I think that we deserve a club that

127everybody is included dr. Jenkins thank you madam chair member loez so don't believe we have anything specifically around a bullying Club but what comes close I believe is some of our efforts from the Holocaust a Center that talks about having upstanders that you stand up for others that you resist bullying you stand in you're willing to speak up for those that are being bullied but I don't know that we actually have a club let me look into that and get some more information back it's certainly useful information to consider thank you thank you I have another suggestion I heard that we used to have a Hispanic Advisory Council today when I was looking to the unitary group you know I feel so proud about that so we are for you two percent Hispanic in our

128County I believe that you know we can still have the Hispanic Advisory Council by having our school board members recommending constituents from every single district is there any possibility that we can do that absolutely absolutely so so for history sake I'm sorry madam chair yeah no I'm we can definitely do it dr. Jenkins they know that yeah that's one so there is historically we had a Parent Advisory Council that was based on our multilingual students that I remember when mr. Rodriguez came on board he redid their guidelines their charter we could certainly resurface that I believe it still exists it may just not be as active as it was before if you're speaking of past instance where there was a separate Advisory Council there used to be one for African American as well as Hispanic

129and mr. blocker actually did away with it because it was more divisive than inclusive and so the unitary status committee is not considered the replacement for his african-american Advisory Council Ron did away with that one and then bill Sublette did away with the Hispanic because it was believed that it was creating more division than unity so the unitary status committee is oversight that considers both black and Hispanic issues around those areas that we agreed with to become unitary but the separate Advisory Council and can give you more history on it if you'd like but it was it became quite contentious and was more divisive than it was unifying so first mr. blocker I think ended one group and then mr. Sublette tried to bring the two groups together tried to actually continue with the advisory

130group and it got to be more divisive and he ended it as well we can get you more history on that thank you and before okay I know I just adjourned us but we unand before we leave one just one update mr. Rodriguez has finished his review and investigation into the Orlando Science charter school situation primarily the issue of reporting and since you all haven't had a chance to see his report after the boards had an opportunity to see the report what I'd like to do is get board feedback at the meeting after you've seen it about sending some correspondence one I think to our our Commissioner on education about the concerns I suspect the board will have that there's little that we can do and how should what should that oversight be as well

131as sharing that with the governor and certainly these things happen in all schools I think the biggest concern that we had is reporting is so important and then also making sure that it's been communicated from us to DCF so those are three communications that we as the board might want to send forward but I think it would be helpful after you've had a chance to see the final report after we all have I haven't seen the final report either for us to then discuss that at appropriate time but it's one of those last pieces of business of mr. Rodriguez mr. Rodriguez you're recognized madam chair members of the board and just for summary purposes the conclusions are they're in in ink and they're drying as we speak but the finishing touches are the conclusions are

132essentially that Orlando science failed to report to either DCF or law enforcement an incident that should have been reported and then after parents asked you know weeks later while they took action on the employee and that's commendable their own policies state law are clear as to what their actions should have been so what's not commendable is the fact that during this period of time obviously they were before you seeking the approval of an application for another application you probably could not have used that information against them then but regardless you can't even take any action for their failure to follow the law by one of their administrators or principals and that's that's the part that will be troubling when you read it and that will probably call to action - what next steps you can

133do whether it's changing template contracts or requiring the law to be changed to say if your principle fails to report what are the repercussions for that charter school so it'll be a short but interesting read but the facts are all there we made repeated efforts to get confirmation they did eventually meet with the SRO but you'll read about it in the next couple of days once we conclude and I'm here through Tuesday so I don't think I'm running out the door today yes I tried to take some extra days off I will be gone for a couple of days this week but I will be here Monday and Tuesday and still cleaning and making sure we get everything organized before I walk out so thank you mr. Rodriguez all right on the mat note the

134meeting is now adjourned you