06.03.26 School Board Meeting

001Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I will now call the regular school board meeting to order at 5:00 pm. Mrs. Sinclair, please call the role. >> District one, Matthew Lane >> here. >> District two, Virginia Saviedto here. >> District three, Karen Burl here. >> District four, Erica Whitfield >> here. >> District five, Gloria Branch here. >> District six, Marshia Andrews here. And District 7 Edwin Ferguson >> here. Also joining us is Superintendent Michael Burke, General Counsel Shawn Bernard, Inspector General Terresa Michael, Board Clerk Tony Sinclair. Senior staff members will join us periodically as directed by the superintendent. Tonight, the national anthem will be performed by Victoria Castro Gossit, a 2026 graduate of Palm Beach Central High School. Would everyone please stand if you can for the national anthem followed by the pledge of allegiance led by

002Gloria Branch. Oh, say can you see by the dawn early light what so brightly we held at the twilight last gleaming who brought stripes and bright stars through the peril. fight or the weed were so gallantly streams bursting proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say that star spangled for the land of the free. the home of the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Viewers and listeners can access the meeting today by either watching on Comcast channels 234 and 235, Uverse channel 99, or by using the YouTube link on our web page at palm beacheschools.org. In the event that the link is interrupted for technical reasons, please switch over to the TV channels.

003All board meetings are recorded in their entirety and posted on the district website within 24 hours. So board members, we do not have any minutes to approve. Um I do have an item to add for good cause P2 personnel addendum. Good cause exists for adding this item to the agenda so that employees can begin in their new positions as soon as possible. Mr. Superintendent, do you have any items to withdraw? >> No, Madam Chair. Board members, does anybody want to pull anything from consent? Okay, seeing none, I'll take a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Motion by Mr. Ferguson, second by Miss Whitfield. Any discussion? All in favor? All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Any disclosures and abstensions? Okay, seeing none, that's going to bring us to superintendent and board member comments. Mr. Superintendent. >>

004Yes. Thank you, Chair Bril. Well, you know, I know the board was there with me, but I for the public, I just want to again congratulate the class of 2026. They were an amazing, incredible, impressive group of young people. And I want to thank the the school district team for hosting those ceremonies. So, all of our high school principles, their respective teams, our own Eric Stern, who coordinates all of the graduation ceremonies, Sergeant Augger, he's with us tonight. He and the school police team are heavily involved. Make sure we all stay safe. And our communications team make sure that those uh ceremonies are streamed live for uh viewers around the world. And you know, we get a big turnout there at the fairgrounds. Um we have our graduates going off to all the top universities

005and colleges, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Carnegie Melon, MIT, and perhaps the most prestigious Florida State University. So, uh, we're we're again, uh, I could go on and on, but we have a a short video that will do a much better job of giving you a feel for the this year's graduates. >> One of the best moments in life is when you finally get comfortable in your own skin. >> Now, we're standing at the edge of adulthood >> and everyone is asking the same question. Who do you want to be? I want to be an AI engineer, >> firefighter, EMT. >> I want to be a lawyer. >> I want to be a pilot in the Navy. >> I want to be an ENT, an ear, nose, and throat doctor. >> But how do we actually

006make an impact? >> It's honesty, integrity, and holding yourself accountable. >> Be a person of strong character. Do the right thing even when no one is watching. >> It's the knowledge, the skills, and the work ethic to get the job done right. >> The school district of Palm Beach County gave me the spark that I needed. the spark I needed >> to ignite my future. >> To truly succeed and build something that lasts, you must have character and confidence. >> We aren't afraid of the grind. We are the school district of Palm Beach County graduates. We were raised in a community that supports us, being true to ourselves. That's the best way to influence the world. I'll be attending Yale University studying chemical engineering. >> I will be attending the Manhattan School of Music studying

007trumpet performance. Louisiana State University studying criminology on a pre-law track. >> University of Oklahoma studying in aviation. >> I will be attending MIT studying applied math. >> University of Florida studying health science. >> Carnegie Melon studying electrical and computer engineering. Harvard University studying biomedical engineering. >> On behalf of the entire school board, congratulations class of 2026. Your time is now. Your future is wide open. Go make us proud. The school district of Palm Beach County was my best choice. >> My best choice. >> Our best choice. >> The school district of Palm Beach County was my best choice. >> All right. Well, yeah. Congratulations one last time for class of 2026. And now we continue to welcome new students, including our kindergarteners, which will be the class of 2039. So, it sounds like a long

008way off. It'll be here before we know it. Uh, so any families out there looking to enroll, please go to our website, palm beacheschools.org/enroll. And then looking uh a few weeks out into the future, I want to make sure I uh congratulate all the fathers, grandfathers, and father figures in our school community and wish them a happy father's day. And lastly, just I hope everyone gets a chance this summer to to uh rest and relax a little bit and recharge h before we we start a new school year in August. So hope everyone has a great summer. that includes all of team Palm Beach and our students and our whole community. So, thank you, Madam Chair. At this point, I'm going to extend my comments because, you know, it's that time of year where we

009get to to bring on some new school leaders. Uh we've been very busy going through that whole interview process and I'm proud to report that uh based on your action this evening with the approval of your personnel addendum, we will have a principal in place for every school for the upcoming school year. And sometimes that process has, you know, gone further and deeper into the summer, but it's the earlier we can get people on board, the more time they have to prepare. So, our deputy superintendent, chief of schools, Miss Jamie Wyatt, is going to become the master of ceremonies. And we've got nine new principles to introduce to the board. I think this is the biggest table maybe we've ever assembled. And uh while everyone finds a seat, we're going to ask each of our

010new school principles to uh to introduce themselves. and you know talk about the their new job. So Miss Wyatt, >> good evening board members and superintendent Burke. It is my pleasure to announce our nine new candidates as new principles of our new of our elementary schools. Starting with on my left on the end we have Miss Samantha Estupenon um who is going to be taking over the helm of Orchard View because Orchard View is seeking a collaborative and student- centered instructional leader who values relationship building fosters trust among stakeholders and is dedicated to maintaining a high performing school culture. And we do believe we have found the perfect candidate in Mrs. Stupenon. Next to Mrs. Stupenon. Um, we have Miss Koi Lazier. Uh, Heritage Elementary is seeking an instructional leader with a vision for incre

011I'm I'm moving on way too fast. We're going to stop and let her speak. I got excited and I started going down the row. Okay, I'm thrown off. There's too many people up here. We're gonna let Mrs. Snoopen introduce herself and speak to the board tonight. >> Hi. Good evening, board chair Bril, Vice Chair Lane, school board members, and Mr. Burke. I'm truly honored to sit before you as the new principal of Orchard View Elementary School. I want to sincerely thank you for your trust in me to lead a school that I care so deeply about and have already been privileged to serve. I am wholeheartedly committed to serving this community and championing our incredible teachers, staff, and students. I will lead with consistency and purpose each and every day. I have been stren shaped

012and strengthened by my incredible family and mentors including Dr. David Samorei, Mrs. Francis Fry, Mrs. Melinda Springman Herrera, Mrs. Danielle Garcia, Mrs. Jamie Wyatt, and Dr. Rachel Capitano, who taught me the importance of discipline, leadership, integrity, and relentless focus on putting students first. Moving forward, I will remain steadfast in the belief that every decision must center on what is best for children. I will lead with a strong presence, listen with intention, and act with urgency when our students need us most. Thank you again. I'm humbled by this opportunity and I will work every day to ensure that Orchard View reflects the excellence our students deserve. All right, thank you. Okay, we're going to do this again. Next to Mrs. Duban is Miss Lazier. Uh, Heritage Elementary is seeking an instructional leader with a vision for

013increasing academic uh, achievement and high expectations in our c culturally diverse title one school. The leader will also continue to promote and maintain a positive climate and culture, embrace the school community it serves while maintaining a safe and secure school environment. And they have found the perfect candidate in Miss Lazir. Push. Good evening, board chair Bil, Vice Chair Lane, distinguished board members, Mr. Burke, Mrs. Wyatt, and all of our honored guests. There are moments in life that stop you in your tracks. Moments where everything you have worked for, prepared for, sacrificed for suddenly becomes real. For me, tonight is one of those moments. Sitting before you as the incoming principal of Heritage Elementary School fills my heart in a way that words simply cannot do justice, but I'll try. I want to begin by offering

014my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Burke, Mrs. Wyatt and each member of this board for placing your trust in me. I plan to show up every day in a way that makes you proud of the decision you made tonight. To my parents and my family, you are the reason I am sitting here today. Every sacrifice you made and every word of encouragement led to this moment. I also cannot step into this role without recognizing the people who helped build me. That is my mentors, Mrs. Wyatt, Dr. Rachel Capitano, Mrs. Valerie Haynes, Mrs. Denise Sanan, Mrs. Shante King, I thank you. You did not just shape my career, you shaped my character. And to my Heritage Elementary family, our students, our families, and our incredible staff, I want you to know that I am allin. You are

015not just getting a principal. You are getting a partner who is passionate, relentless, and fully dedicated to making sure every child who walks through our doors receives the worldclass education they deserve. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all so very much. >> All right. Thank you. And sitting to my left, we have Miss Ma Naen Woolly. Um, Palm Springs is looking for an inspiring principal to champion successful existing programs, expand advanced learning opportunities for every student, and maintain a warm, supportive culture. And they believe they have found this in Miss Woolly. Thank you, board chair Bril, Vice Chair Lane, school board members, and Mr. Burke. I'm honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the next principal of Palm Springs Elementary. It is a privilege to support the students, staff, and

016families of a wonderful school community. I look forward to working alongside the dedicated team at Palm Springs to ensure that every student, educator, and family believes in their ability to succeed in a safe, supportive, and high achieving learning environment. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the mentors who have helped shape my journey. Miss Lynn Ko, who saw the leader in me before I fully saw it in myself. Miss Megan Early, who continues to remind me that often the answer is yes. Miss Diana Perez, who trusted in my leadership, Miss Corey Ferrer, who helped me build my confidence, and Dr. Sanders and Dr. RC, who provided opportunities for me to both grow and shine. Finally, thank you to my husband, Tim, and my two favorite Palm Beach students, Eric and Owen, for their

017unwavering love and support. I'm excited for this next chapter and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the continued success of Palm Springs Elementary. >> All right. Thank you. Right. To my right, sitting to my right, is Miss Michelle Jeff. Um, and the staff of Hammock Point is looking for a strong instructional leader who's relationship centered and dedicated to building trust and fostering a positive inclusive school culture with all students and stakeholders. And they believe they have found the perfect candidate in Miss Jeffrey. Good evening, board chair Bril, Vice Chair Lane, school board members, and Mr. Burke. I am truly honored and humbled to serve as the new principal of Hammock Point Elementary School. I would like to sincerely thank the school board, Mr. Burke, and Mrs. Wyatt for your trust and confidence in me.

018I am grateful for this opportunity and committed to serving our students, staff, families, and community with dedication and purpose. I would also like to recognize the members who have shaped my leadership journey. Mrs. Edwards who encouraged me to pursue leadership while I was just a fourth grade reading teacher. Dr. Maro provided my first opportunity to serve as an elementary assistant principal and Dr. Vela who challenged me to broaden my experiences at the high school level. Their guidance, encouragement, and belief in me have been instrumental in my growth as an educator and as a teacher. To my Hammock Point family, staff, students, community, I am excited to join you. Education is more than just a profession for me. It is my passion. I believe every child deserves to feel valued, supported, and empowered to reach their

019fullest potential. I look forward to building on Hammock Point's tradition of excellence, and working together to ensure every student feels a sense of belonging, is inspired to succeed, and believes in their ability to achieve great things. Thank you for this opportunity. I am honored to serve the Hammock Point community. Go Hawks. >> Thank you. Okay, next we have Miss Jennifer Mooney. And Golden Grove Elementary is seeking an inspiring collaborative principal who thrives in a close-knit environment, close-knit environment. The ideal candidate will be a visionary instructional leader dedicated to maximizing student growth, enhancing modern classroom practices, and supporting a highly motivated faculty through purposeful professional development. and they believe that they have found the perfect candidate, Miss Mooney. Good evening everyone. I am incredibly incredibly honored and humbled to be here before you today as the

020newly appointed principal of Golden Grove Elementary. First, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the school board for your trust and confidence in my leadership. Thank you, Superintendent Mr. Burke and Deputy Superintendent Miss Wyatt for this incredible opportunity and for your unwavering vision for our district's future. I am also deeply grateful to instructional superintendent Dr. Arc for your invaluable guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this process. I want to acknowledge that this journey has been guided by many supportive individuals. I wish to express my profound gratitude to my mentors from the foundational guidance of Mr. Jeff Peg to the most recent contributions of Miss Robin Brown and Miss Christina Sanford whose wisdom, high expectations, and constant encouragement have been instrumental in shaping the leader I am today. And to my family, thank you for your

021endless love, patience, and sacrifices. Your unwavering support means everything. And this milestone belongs to all of us. Golden Grove has a phenomenal reputation built on academic excellence, dedicated educators, and a wonderfully supportive community. My commitment to you is to listen, to collaborate, and to ensure that every student who walks through our doors feels valued, safe, and inspired to reach their highest potential. I cannot wait to get to work alongside our incredible staff, families, and community partners to write the next great chapter for our school. Thank you all so much for this privilege. Let's go Gators. All right. Next, we have Miss Lauren Hman. Jerry Thomas Elementary School is seeking a principal who will be an innovative and student- centered leader capable of guiding its rich tradition of excellence. The ideal candidate will foster a vibrant,

022inclusive culture where safety, respect, and academic accountability coexists. And they believe that they have found this candidate in Miss Laura Hman. Good evening, Chairwoman Bril, Vice Chair Lane, Superintendent Burke, Deputy Superintendent Wyatt, and board members. I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the next principal of Jerry Thomas Elementary School. Thank you to the school board and district leadership for the confidence you have placed in me. I accept this responsibility with humility, enthusiasm, and a deep commitment to our students, families, and staff. I am excited to build upon the strong foundation already in place at Jerry Thomas. I look forward to supporting our dedicated educators, partnering with families, and creating an environment where every student feels valued, challenged, and inspired to reach their full potential. I would like to thank the

023mentors, colleagues, and school leaders who have guided me throughout my career. Their support and example have shaped me as an educator and leader. I am also deeply grateful to my Marshoint family. Serving alongside such outstanding students, staff, and families has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. Finally, thank you to my family for your unwavering encouragement and belief in me. Every accomplishment I've achieved has been strengthened by your love and support. As someone with deep roots in the Jupiter community, it is especially meaningful to have the opportunity to serve and give back to the very community that has helped shape me. To the students, families, and staff of Jerry Thomas, I am excited to join you. I am committed to listening, building strong relationships, and leading with collaboration, transparency, and a relentless focus

024on student success. Thank you again for this incredible opportunity. I am honored to serve, and I am ready to get to work. All right. Thank you. And next, we have Miss Jatara Simmons. Roosevelt Elementary is looking for a leader that will work to improve instruction, provide professional development opportunities, and ensure that every student reaches their full potential by building strong relationships with students, parents, and the community. The next principal will help cultivate a positive and inclusive school in school climate. And additionally, they will oversee a smooth operations, maintain high standards, and make informed decisions to support the ongoing success of the school. And we believe we have found this in Miss Chitaara Simmons. Good evening, Chairwoman Bril, Vice Chairman Lane, school board members, Superintendent Burke, and district leadership. I am truly honored and humbled to

025be selected as the new principal for Roosevelt Elementary. As a proud educator for 17 years for the school district of Palm Beach County, I have dedicated my career to supporting students and teachers while fostering a learning environment for all to thrive. I am excited to partner with the students, staffs, families, and community of Roosevelt Elementary to build upon the school's strengths while developing a culture of excellence as the standard in all areas. I embrace the responsibility of ensuring that all students are supported, challenged, and empowered to reach their highest potential. There are so many individuals that have supported me on my journey to get here today. I can't name them all, but there are a few that I would like to recognize. To my husband Cameron, my son CJ, my daughter Camille, dad, mom, and

026the rest of my amazing village. Your love and unwavering support means all the all the world to me. To my regional superintendent, Camille Long, it's been a long eight years, but I have truly have been honored to serve alongside you at the North Region office. From my first example of an amazing principal as a student with Pamela Patterson all the way to the last one that I had the opportunity to serve with, Miss Robin Brown and every principal and school leader in between that has generously poured into me. I say thank you. I look forward to this exciting journey and to serving as a principal at Roosevelt Elementary. Thank you. >> Okay. And next we have u Mr. Adrien Dada. Sorry, it was a tough one. We da. Sorry, we always say it wrong. Um,

027West Technical Education Center is I um I'm sorry, West Tech West Technical Education Center is looking for an inspiring instructional work development pioneer leader who fosters high expectation, promotes a positive and inclusive campus culture, and streng strengthens ties with families and industry partners. This is a premier opportunity to lease a vital community instit institution where technical e excellence is expected, innovation is hands-on, and every student is empowered to build a prosperous future. And we believe this that we have found this the perfect candidate in Mr. Daell. >> Good evening. >> Oh my gosh. >> Board Chair Brew, Vice Chair Lane, Superintendent Burke, Deputy Superintendent. I'm sorry. I get a little nervous sometime. >> That's okay. I did too. It's okay. >> All right. And to our board member from district 6, Miss M Miss Marsha

028Andrews and the remaining board member, thank you for this opportunity to speak. I will be brief, I promise. Um, first I want to thank my wife Cassandra, uh my daughters, Zuri and Zenia uh for their unwavering support, their patience, and their allowing me to be shared with the entire uh Glaze community. I also want to thank the board and the superintendent and Miss Wyatt for entrusting me with the leadership of Westech into the future. Um I want to offer a special thanks to Miss Moore um for her mentorship, guidance, and the support. Uh me and my family are really deeply grateful to all that she has done for us. Um in the Glaze region, we say that success is in our DNA and I look forward to carrying that spirit forward as we lead West

029on to changing lives through education and workforce development. >> All right. Thank you. Okay, last but not least, we have Mr. Joseph Cortez. The staff and community of Historic Carver envisioned a leader who would could champion and grow career and technical education programs for high school and the adult learners alike. They're looking for an instructional leader capable of building strong community and industry partnerships and they believe that they have found that exact leader in Mr. Joseph Cortez. >> Thank you. Good evening, uh, school board members, uh, Chair Bril, uh, Vice Chair Lane, and Superintendent Mike Burke. Uh, thank you for this incredible honor and for your trust in, uh, appointing me as the new principal of historic Carver Technical Education Center. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and for your belief in our shared

030vision for the future. Uh, that future is clear. um to continue strengthening our ties to the community and industry partners and expanding high quality career and technical education. I'm excited to now include and collaborate with our high schools, opening the doors to dual enrollment opportunities uh that paved the way for pathways leading from the classroom straight into high wage, high demand careers. None of this would be possible without my foundation, my family. I want to express my deepest gratitude um to Elijah, uh Noah, Alex, and of course my wonderful wife, Michelle. Uh her seemingly endless sacrifices have allowed me to pursue my passion for student achievement every single day from my very first day in the classroom all the way through my journey into adult education. I'd also like to extend a thank you to

031uh the director of adult education, Fred Bart, and uh assistant superintendent uh Jamie Wyatt uh for opening the door to expand career technical education. Uh thank you school board uh again for this tremendous opportunity to serve. I look forward to working together to ensure every student at historic Carver achieves their highest potential. >> All right, we did it. Congratulations. Thank you for your patience as we introduced our new principles this evening. >> Right. Hey, I just want to mention we have one more new principal, Miss Shannon Macowski, who could not be here this evening because she's actually on a district related assignment. Uh but she'll be our new principal at Wellington Elementary School. And uh nice job everybody. We're all counting on you. We know you're going to do great things. And just remember what

032we talked about yesterday at the leadership summit and the wisdom of the bullfrog and you'll be just fine. So all right, Madam Chair, that concludes my comments. Thank you. >> Thank you. So for board member comments and and good luck to all of you. For board member comments tonight, we're going to start with Miss Savetto. Well, it's official. School is out. Uh May was a whirlwind of uh celebrations, milestones, and unforgettable moments as we wrapped up another school year across Palm Beach County. This year, I had the privilege of attending nine high school graduations, including my two um high schools in District 2, Indian Ridge, John Learner, and Forestill High Schools. I was um also able to celebrate with students and families at do Dr. Hain Garcia Drifus Sun Coast South deck my alma mater

033Lakeworth High and Royal Palm School. Each ceremony was very special in its own way, beautiful music from talented bands, powerful performances, inspiring speeches and national anthems sung by remarkable student voices. I also had the opportunity to attend the sticktock and children ceremony which is always a powerful reminder of what mentorship, determination and opportunity can accomplish. One of the highlights of the month was being invited by Miss Ailda to Thomas Tomas Andre to serve as the commencement speaker for adult education. That ceremony holds a very special place in my heart because it is deeply personal. When my family came to this country from Argentina, I watched my parents work long days and attend attend adult education classes at night as they built a new life and a new and new opportunities for our family. We celebrated

034graduates from all ages and walks of life who balanced work, family, responsibilities, and challenges yet still chose to show up, stay committed, and finish what they started. During my remarks, I spoke about determination, resilience, and the importance of having a vision, a plan, and taking action. Most importantly, I reminded graduates that what they accomplished inspires the people around them, whether they realize it or not. Like my parents inspire me with their perseverance. Excuse me. I also attended five elementary school moving up ceremonies at Greenacres, Birkshshire, Choli Lake, Grassy Waters, and CO Taylor. A shout out to Senator M. Bernard, general counsel Sean Bernard, school board member Erica Whitfield, Judge Harper, and Chief of Staff Yolanda Morgan, who had the joy of watching someone special in their lives reach this important milestone across the stage. It

035was really nice sharing that with you. And to my friends who were also cheering on someone special at graduation, congratulations. These moments remind us that behind every graduation uh in every graduate is a network of people who encouraged, supported, and believed in them. A heartfelt thank you to all of our principles, assistant principles, teachers, support staff, district administrators, and of course, Eric Eric Stern, I think I saw him in the back, and his entire team for successfully leading this marathon of graduations and ceremonies. I also want to thank school police, Chief uh Sarah Mooney, Chief, and her entire team for helping keep our students, family, staff, and guests safe throughout graduation season and all year long. Actually, your dedication allows these celebrations to happen safely and we're grateful for your service. I also want to

036give a a special thank you to the district school food service department director Allison Munlau and her entire team entire team for their incredible support throughout graduation season. With three graduations a day, they kept the hospitality room stocked and ready for everyone working behind the scenes. For those of us attending ceremonies backtoback, their hard work and dedication helped make these long days a lot easier and it did not go unnoticed. This is why we do what we do. Education creates opportunities. It opens doors, changes lives, strengthens families, and builds stronger communities. There's nothing more rewarding than watching students reach a milestone and take the next step toward their future. Congratulations to class of 2026 to and to every student moving up to their next chapter. So now I want to uh take a moment to

037acknowledge several leadership transition as we saw here but in district 2 actually as we say goodbye to two dedicated principles and welcome new leaders in these important roles. First I want to say that I am very sad to see Dr. Jesus Arma retire. Over the past year and a half I learned that he is so respected and loved throughout the district in our community and I'm happy for him and I wish him nothing but the best. but we will certainly miss him. I also want to wish Miss Margie Row a happy retirement. Now with those retirements and a few leadership moves, we have a little bit of principal musical chairs happening in district 2. I want to welcome Miss Elena Vani to John Earner. She is coming from Lakeworth High, which brings me to Dr.

038Pamela Mcdana as the principal of Palm Springs Middle School. She has been one of my district's two principles. And of course, Palm Springs Middle is where Luca attended school. So I am sad to see her leave. The silver lining is that she's headed to Lakeworth High, my alma m. So I'm so excited for what lies ahead for Dr. Mcdana and the Trojans. I also want to welcome Asia Reyes to Palm Springs Middle School and Miss Naen Woolly who we just saw as their new principal for Palm Springs Elementary. We are fortunate to have such strong leaders stepping into these roles and I look forward to working with each of them as we continue creating opportunities for our students and supporting our families. You deserve to have an amazing summer. Happy Father's Day to Mr. Lane,

039Mr. Burke, Mr. Ferguson. And the World Cup is here. So, watch out. Argentina, here we come. Okay, thank you, Miss Whitfield. >> Thank you very much. Um, I do have some photos that I can put up. Uh, the first one is exceptionally special. Um, I really enjoyed our graduations this year. This is my daughter graduating from Sunost with my other daughter who will graduate in 2038. So, we have a a long time until that happens. Um, but I do want to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the graduation ceremonies. Um it is an incredibly well done event. And my next picture is of the gun man who makes it happen. Um Eric Stern, I just have to say a huge thank you. Oh, yay. Clap for Eric. He has been doing

040this for 16 years, which is um back then I used to work for him. Uh so very, very long time. And um he has graduated almost 200,000 students. So I just it gets better and better every year. It is so well done. And I just thank you all so much for such an incredible opportunity um to be a part of this graduation ceremony uh for my child and for so many other children. I I did attend an absolute ton of graduations. I don't even know how many, but um it is like the joy of my life to be able to be there and shake these kids' hands. It's just so much fun. All right, next slide. So this is one of the things that I think um is so important in our community. Um these

041are two of our amazing principles. Um we have Mr. Regginal Jetty from the Rise Academy and Dr. Valerie Velcourt from Cross Point uh Elementary, both in my district, both uh native Haitian Creole speakers. Um and we went on to Coulson Zumar's uh Haitian radio show, Information is Power, to talk about um back to school summer learning slide, everything that we do um ending out the school year and then what to think about starting next year's uh school year. It is an incredible opportunity to speak to our Haitian families and I just want to say a huge thank you to both of them for participating in this with me. Um, and this was uh Mr. Jetty's first time doing with us. So, thank you so much for for joining and for we're so excited for his

042uh brand new redone school. All right, next slide. Uh, so this is something I didn't know I was going to enjoy so much, but I really do. Um, Lamar Jackson recently had his jersey retired at Buon Beach High School and so I had to share this because it's in my district. Um, and I actually got to see Lamar Jackson who I would never have recognized because I am not a football person. Um, but apparently very big deal in Buon. And he came and he accepted uh his uh street named after him, his jersey being retired. And it's just such an incredible honor for Boon Beach High School. Uh it was so cool to be able to be there for this moment to have the community come out and I just wanted to take a minute

043to make sure to recognize him here at the school board meeting. Um and thank you so much to the city of Buon who coordinated this event along with um our high school and we're just so grateful uh that we have such an amazing uh person who graduated from here that went on to such good things that we were able to recognize him that day. And then I think we have one more. So this past weekend I got to go to transportation family funday. Uh and one of my favorite things to do is to serve uh the people in line and I had an absolute blast doing it with along with our own uh Mr. Joe Sanchez. I understand Miss Marshia Andrews was also there so we may see some pictures from her but I did

044not cross paths with her while we were there. But it was um so much fun. It's such a great day and I just really thank our um COO and the whole office um of transportation for recognizing these incredible uh people um and the work that they do for us. We also had the Lakes Marching Band, which I have to say is probably one of the best ones in the county. Incredible, incredible job coming out and recognizing. There was a lot of fun things happening that day. Um and just a great recognition and awesome food for our families. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, Miss Branch. >> Thank you. I did all of my comments last board meeting, but I want to say congratulations again to all the graduates and huge thank you, Eric Stern.

045Are you out there? Stand up. >> Stand up, Eric. Come on. Thank you and your team for all your hard work in making our graduation ceremonies run smoothly. Excellent job as always. And um have a great summer. >> Thank you, Miss Andrews. >> And thank you. But before I begin my pictures, I want to tell you District 6 is awesome. our superstar singer. Stand up. You just sung the national anthem. Is she here? We love you. And in the audience, if you can't see over there, just just stand up and look. The people in red, the superstars, the Hawks. A shout out to Simino Ridge girls flag football team. State champions. Two consecutive Stand Up girls, I know you're coming up here, but Stand Up Hawks, two years state champions, flag football. This is what

046it's all about in Palm Beach County. >> And I know you're going to recognize them, but I just want to tell you, they mean so much to me. Mr. Hatcher, the principal. You stand on up. Mr. Hatcher, you're there. You're the leader making it happen. Superstar women making it happen in sports. We'll see you all soon to shake your hands. Now, we'll look at the screen. And yes, it's been a lovely time for graduations. And last month, we finished all of our graduation ceremonies. It was bittersweet for me because I've uh graduated my last class with the school board as a school board member. 16 years of thousands of students crossing the stage. Uh like um Dr. Johnson always said, it is the best time of the year. It's the time where we celebrate the

047most of what we do in the classroom every day. And my youngest granddaughter graduated across the stage and I was there to see them. So we're going to start here. Mr. Ferguson, I see you up there with me with the icon from Palm Beach Lakes High School, Mr. Collins and Cheryl McKver. We were there. Lakes always throws a big celebration. And as you look over there, there we are. We were taking that group picture. It meant so much to us, but we had to move on. We had so many graduations. I can't show you all of the pictures, but Mr. Dinard Fokei Blue Devils, I see you, Mr. Burke. We were all there and it was just a lovely graduation with the Pokei Blue Devils from the Glades region superstars and yes, my own beloved

048Dr. We Garcia High School named after my friend Dr. Garcia. It was beautiful when you looked at those beautiful robes and blue. Wow, you all did it. We just had such a lovely time. And then we went on over to Palm Beach Central. We just kept it moving. Mr. Meyers, I see you up there. And all of the Broncos graduating in red, looking like a million dollars. So, we were continually moving. Let's move on. And I'm looking at myself over there at I think this one's um this is is this Glade Central? I'm looking. Is this Glade Central? Oh, there she is. Melody Balden Mars. Glade Central Raiders. I see you Jamie up there and all the team. And there's Miss Evans. We were all there. Angela Moore, it was a great graduation. The Raiders

049did it. Let's keep on moving. Wow. This is my home school in the neighborhood, Royal Palm Beach High School. Dr. Robbins and the team. This is the school where my granddaughter graduated from. Wow. I see everybody, the mayor of Royal Palm Beach, uh, Mayor Herra, and everybody, the vice mayor, all of us. We were there celebrating the superstars. And you just keep on moving. I was surprised the other day because I was invited to Lakeshore Middle School. I went to their move on up their moving on graduation and they said, "We want you to come to a special lunchon." I said, "Well, I'm still doing graduation. Get over here to the lunchon." And I went over there. They had a surprise. They had an award for me for all of the work that I had

050done over the years at Lakeshore Middle School. And it was some wonderful food. and we ate and we celebrated the years of work that I had done at Lakeshore Middle School. And then I went on back to Royal Palm Beach at Crestwood. Crestwood with Dr. Nance the moving on ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful. All of those eighth graders going to high school. Many of them going to Royal Palm Beach High School, going all over the district. And Dr. Nance, you're a superstar. Your team is great. Karen Wexel, I see you. We're there every year. the mayor of Royal Palm Beach and a wonderful student says, "Miss Andrews, may I have a picture with you?" And I said, "Absolutely." And then, yes, Erica Whitfield. Oh, before we move to Erica Whitfield, I just see this next

051picture. Let's get it up here. This is Mr. Gordon from Western Pines Middle School. 38 years. He's a legend. I don't know if he's in the audience today, but we'll see him at the retirement. Mr. Gordon, he's a legend. And I don't know if you remember Peggy Campbell. She opened Weston Pines Middle School. She was my friend and Mr. Gordon opened that school with Peggy Campbell and he's the last remaining teacher that was there when the school was open. We love you, Mr. Gordon. Your retirement celebration at Western Pines was so lovely. I ran over there and had a great time with you, to hug you, to tell you you're a superstar. and he said he's coming back to help us out in Palm Beach County. And as we move on, yes, Miss Whitfield, I

052was out there at the uh transportation family fun day and I saw all of those bicycles and children receiving bicycles and there he is, Mr. Sanchez. You did it. You had your shorts on and your shirt and you were out there cooking with me. Miss Whitfield was cooking. Mr. Ferguson, we fed a lot of people. It was absolutely fabulous. The food was great. Shane Searchwell, you're great. The transportation department, the bus drivers, you mean everything to us. You're up early in the morning and working late at night to make sure our children are take care of taken care of before and at the end of the day when they have afterchool activities. And then on Saturday night, Miss Braille, I think we had about four board members with us at the American Muslim Alliance where

053all of those scholarships were given to students from Palm Beach County, Broward, Miami, Dade, Martin. We go every year, Miss Bril. And it's been almost 15 or 16 years that we've been there. And they surprised me with that plaque. I was just in there because we go because we love our children and we celebrate them. But they said to me, "Miss Andrews, thank you for your service throughout the years with the American Muslim Alliance scholarship program where they give so many scholarships to our children." And lastly, on a sad note, I want to say that we lost an icon from Palm Beach County, an icon in education and in our community, Mr. Samuel Bruce Macdonald. He died at the age of 98. We send condolences to his family. a proclamation is being prepared for him

054and his honor and for his family. We will read that proclamation at a later date. But I just know Mr. Macdonald, I knew him personally from Roosevelt High School, just knowing all the things he did in the community with getting the new Roosevelt started up again and just knowing that everybody in Palm Beach County can relate to what he did in education for the school district of Palm Beach County. And lastly, I know my time is up. have a great summer. We're still out there getting it done because it all it's always all about our students, our community, and our schools. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Ferguson. >> So, I want to let everybody know that today, June 3rd, 2026, at least in district 7, is school board member for district 7, take your

055kids to the last board meeting of the year day. So, I have my children with me today, my son Xavier and my daughter Abby. I told him I would recognize him and I appreciate y'all for being so attentive. Um, this is this is cool. I'm not scripted, so you know, there's no telling where the shots going today. But, um, one thing I would tell you all, I'm really happy that you all are here being dominitable in anything you do. I know that's a big word for y'all, but we're working on our vocabulary and our math and our reading uh over the summer. Um, and if you do that, it's inevitable that anything you want in life, you'll you'll you'll attain. So, we have a family creed that I I wrote before my son was born,

056which seems like not so long ago back in 2016. And I won't share it with you all because I mean, after all, membership does have it have its privileges. But I will share one thing that my mother, her name was Abigail, who my daughter is named after, she used to tell me when I was a kid about their age, and I didn't quite appreciate it, but I definitely appreciate it now. Um, is that your attitude determines your altitude in life. So, all students and adults who see this, it really starts and begins with you. Your attitude determines your altitude in anything you do. So, kids, children, I call you the Munchkins, honcho one and honcho two. Um, as far as that goes, and to the Migos fans, they'll get that that joke. Uh, the world

057is your oyster, and I'm here to support you in anything that you do. Um, I want I see my friend over there, Carl Gibbons. That that head is shining just like my forehead. What's up, team? I see you back there. Yeah. You know, so I don't want Joe Sanchez to get nervous. Like I said, I'm unscripted today. you know, alpha man. Sometime get a little nervous about omega man, but uh all jokes aside, it's always good to see you. Um I will get into my my actual uh I have a few slides that we want to get into. So, first of all, we had a uh farewell to Lincoln. So, Lincoln is closing as many of you all know. And so point of levity here, uh, board member Savito, I cried more in my five

058minute speech than you have cried in your two years on this board in the four years cuz you cuz Oh, yeah. Yeah. Cuz I cuz I'm a crier, too. It's documented. So I I've shed a tear or three or four or 100 on the de as well. I even cried more than you myself and principal Mark Simmons at Rivier Beach Prep's graduation. That's how much I cried. And I cry because Lincoln Elementary truly is my school. So when we moved uh from Tallahassee, that was the school that I was assigned to go to. And I remember my dad walked me onto the campus. It was configured much differently back in the 80s. And I remember crying, crying, crying. And I he had to let me go. He had to go to work. And so it

059was like a full circle moment. I cried coming into Lincoln and I cried as the doors are closed out of a out of a sense of necessity. But I will always uh be a Lincoln Mustang. I know they changed the mascot, but for those of us who know, it's always about the green and white. Uh so Miss Taylor, she's done an amazing job. I guess I'm going to steal some of her fire. They made a B again for the second year. So, they went out with a bang. Lincoln Elementary, which had been almost like consistently C-rated school. She's changed the the dynamic there and they made a B and she made a B there while also being the principal at West Riviera. So, things are changing in Riviera Beach. I want to thank her and

060all the principles there for all the good work that that they have done and continue to do. Also, the food bank since we're talking about Riviera Beach students, it shouldn't be this hard. get your community service hours done during the summer as far as that goes. So to that point, every Thursday at 11:44 West 6th Street in Australia, I'm sorry, in Rivier Beach, there's a food bank. So every Thursday you can come there from about noon to 4. Um, so there hours and hours of of CS that you can attain there. If you're interested in helping helping feed persons who might otherw might otherwise not have a good meal healthy meal that day, please call 561201-9897. Also, uh the Black Elected Officials uh caucus of Palm Beach County, we're having our first mentorship symposium. This

061is something that I think is just important. I think we should always be educators in everything that we do. So, I proposed to the group and the group thought it would be a good idea for us to do a essentially a town hall for persons who may be interested in running for political office. So, it's going to take place in the lovely town of Lake Park, formerly District 7, now District 1, on Tuesday, June 16th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There's a a QR code there if you want to reserve so we know who all is going to attend. The room holds about 80 to roughly 90 people. So space is limited but I definitely encourage all who have interest in potentially running for office at some point in time to come. Um as

062far as that goes also project uplift. So that's an interesting point. So just to give a quick uh history lesson on project uplift. This started back in September 23. eight uh righteous brothers, not 80 uh brother Gibbons, just eight of us um came together aspiring to demonstrate mentorship uh within the spirit of friendship in the community to help kind of mobilize uh this kind of communal spirit that we need here in Palm Beach County, across the state, and across this country. And from that eight, we've grown to hundreds. In fact, this last year, you all know that I kept talking about the tonnage, how much weight we're removing in terms of garbage and pollutants from the community. We removed in just 10 months over 10,000 pounds of trash from the West Palm Beach area that

063we work, which is kind of that what's known as the greater Northwest area. Also, and I would say equally as important, more than 1,000 hours of community service were were provided to the city of West Palm Beach. And that comes out to well over $30,000 if you they have a metric that they use per volunteer hour. So, we basically contributed over $30,000 to the city of West Palm Beach. Having said all that, next year we're going to take it a level higher. So, we're going to start having tutoring sessions at our at our Project Uplift events. So, whether it's kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, if you're in need of tutoring, reading, writing, math, whatever the case may be, we're going to have tutors there. So, I encourage you all to come to the

064event. In fact, our next event will be as you see on the on the screen there on July 25th, uh, 2026 at the New Bethl Church, which is located at 911 9th Street in West Palm Beach. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to me at my law office at 561-8401846. Also, I want to recognize West Rivier Elementary. That's FC8. That's on consent. I just want to thank um Joe Sanchez and his team for overseeing what looks like an amazing project. I'm going to meet up with with Mr. Sanchez in July to do one final walkthrough. Uh it just means a lot to see the beautifification of Riviera Beach by way of the school district. Like we're having a big hand in helping to change the the profile of Rivier Beach. So,

065I thank the board members who did not think it was robbery for us to move forward with that project a few years ago. Um, the best is yet to come in that regard, but again, board members, thank you all for what you do. Also, I want to re uh echo the sentiments of my pro uh other board members, and I'm sure chair and vice chair are going to mention this as well. Congratulations to the 2026 graduates. Um, and then last but not least, again, I'm unscripted. Dr. Moody at Boron High School. You and I are going to have words the next time I see you. Everybody knows that I'm like the super Miami Dolphins fan and but for us, Lamar Jackson will not have half the money that he's attained in his time as one

066of the primitive quarterbacks in the NFL. Now, I don't know how I don't get the invite to Lamar Jackson day. Boy, remember Whitford doesn't even watch football. Everybody knows that I do. So, sir, when I see you when I see you, you and I are going to have some words. But all in all, keep doing a great job at Boon. Go Tigers. Thank you, Madam Chair. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Lane. He brought his dog. >> No, it's good. >> I'd like to talk about graduation as well. And I'd like to share with the public some of the extraordinary successes of the school district of Palm Beach County and what a successful year it was. Once again, the school district of Palm Beach County earned an A rating from the state of Florida. In addition,

067the Florida Department of Education awarded us the coveted designation of being one of Florida's academically high-erforming school districts. This year, our 24 comprehensive high schools graduated approximately 12,400 students. And our our graduates were admitted to some of the finest universities in the world including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, the Wharton School of Business, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt, the University of Florida, Florida State, University of Miami, John's Hopkins, and MIT, among others. And I'd like to share just a few of the many, many accomplishments achieved by our students this year. At Wire High School, students earned 180 Florida scholar diplomas, 158 industry certifications, 78 international baloria diplomas, 111 ACE diplomas, five associate college degrees, one Jefferson scholarship and one Duke scholarship. In addition, 48% of Dwire's graduates earned bright future scholarships. collectively received nearly $20 million

068in scholarship awards and performed more than $74,000 hours of community service. At Palm Beach Gardens High School, students earned $1.6 million in scholarship awards, received 55 Cambridge and ACE diplomas and earned $1.3 million through Bright Futures Scholarship. At Drifus School of the Arts, 100% of the students graduated. Students were awarded $14 million in scholarship, earned top honors from the National Scholastic Press Association, and participated in 116 clubs and activities. And at Sun Coast, students received five Pathfinder awards, earned the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Award, received superior ratings in vocal and instrumental music, and won National Merit, QuestBridge, and Covener scholarships. And our district successes extended well beyond the classroom. The school district of Palm Beach County was a sports powerhouse, winning state championships in basketball at Sun Coast Community High School, football at

069West Boca Raton Community High School, golf at Twire High School, and flag football at Semino Ridge. So this afternoon I'd like to recognize the professionals who sit across from us and beside us on the deis at every board meeting. The accomplishments that I just described are your accomplishments. They reflect your leadership, your vision, your very hard work. Chair Brill and I are both familiar with an expression kohhaka vote. It means all honor to you. And today that's exactly what I want to say to you. Please be proud of yourselves as I am so proud of you. Know that what you do matters. It matters to the parents and it matters to the 162,000 students who depend upon you and whose futures are entrusted to your care. I'd like to conclude my remarks with a story

070about this school board. At one of our graduation ceremonies this year, the daughter of our of one of our board members was graduating. And as many parents know, including myself, watching your child walk across the stage, is both a joyous and a bittersweet moment. When a particular song was played, that board member began to cry. And immediately, tissues appeared from the left and from the right and from behind her and from all over the place. There were so many tissues being handed to her that we could have opened an entire grocery store aisle right there on the stage at the graduation ceremony. And that's the point. This board cares about each other. We listen to each other. We learn from each other. And when one of us needs support, the others are there for us.

071That spirit of teamwork, respect, and genuine caring is what makes this board so strong and so special. I can't wait to see what all of us accomplish together in 2027. Thank you, Madam Chair. >> Thank you. So, these were very, very moving words, and I don't normally like to say anything, but I do have to add a couple things before I put us back on the agenda. I was going to, of course, recognize Eric Stern, but I need to also recognize school police and the fairgrounds for really a seamless graduation season. You all did a fantastic job. And I remember sitting up here when we debated moving the graduations to the fairgrounds. There was a lot of hesitation about it and it has been absolutely wonderful. So again, we can't thank school police, the fairgrounds,

072and Eric Stern enough for all that you do to graduate our students safely to let the families enjoy those wonderful moments. And I also have to make another comment tonight by congratulating the superintendent, his leadership team, the principles, administrators, teachers, bus drivers, school food service workers, the maintenance workers, all of team Palm Beach in a seamless close of the school year. We had a wonderful school year. You heard about a lot of our accomplishments. So, how about a big round of applause for the entire team Palm Beach? And so that now I'm going to put us on the speed track as I always do. And now, Miss Na Nolm from the communications and engagement department joins us for the June board recognitions. Good evening, NA. Board members, let's go down. Good evening, Chair Bril, Vice

073Chair Lane, board members, Superintendent Burke, staff and community. And this evening we have five recognitions on the agenda. We begin with a recognition for beginning teacher of the year and mentor teacher of the year at the elementary and secondary levels. We'll start with the beginning teacher of the year award which is presented annually to an outstanding firstear teacher in the district who has been recommended by their principal for demonstrating excellence. The award was created to honor beginning teachers dedication and hard work. Congratulations to Anna Rivera from Northmore Elementary the 2026 primary beginning teacher of the year and Kathia Oj Palm Beach Lakes Community High School the 2026 secondary beginning teacher of the year. And we also want to acknowledge the principles from those schools. Corey Heath Fest at Northmore Elementary and Rosalyn Grey McCrae at

074Palm Beach Lakes High. Let's give them all a round of applause. Congratulations. Next is the mentor teacher of the year award which is presented annually to an outstanding firstear mentor teacher in the school district. The award was created to acknowledge how mentor teachers support new educators through nurturing and teamwork. Congratulations to Katie Judge from Palm Beach Public, the 2026 primary mentor teacher of the year. Rama Ahmed from Palm Beach Lakes Community High, the 2026 Secondary Mentor Teacher of the Year, and Venata Tadapali from Lakew Worth Community High, the 2026 Secondary Mentor Teacher of the Year. And we also want to acknowledge the principles from those schools, Miss Christy Schwab at Palm Beach Public, Rosalyn Gray McCrae at Palm Beach Lakes High, and Elena Vani at Lakeworth High. Let's give them all a round of applause.

075Next we are recognizing this year's recipients of school administrators association scholarships. The scholarship recognizes seniors whose parents are school district administrators. The award is given to students to commend their hard work, dedication, and drive for success as well as for demonstrating a steady commitment to academic excellence and community involvement. Congratulations to the following students for earning a school administrators association scholarship. Please come forward as I call your name and would everyone please hold your applause until each name has been read. Congratulations to Cali Anderson from John Eye. Leonard High. Brady Burke, Olympic Heights High. Rebecca Goggler of Wellington High. Carl Gibbons, Sun Coast Community High. London Gregory, Olympic Heights Community High. Aaron Hall, Palm Beach Central High. Janetta Henderson, Drifus School of the Arts. Justin King, Semino Ridge Community High. Natalie Mamolito, William T. Dwire

076High. Briana Mahias, Wellington Community High. Jordan Reed, Olympic Heights Community High. Aelli Rivera, Santa Lucia Community High, Bryce Robinson, Dr. Wen Garcia High, Samantha Ro from Sun Coast Community High, Reagan Ross from Palm Beach Central High, Winter Shaw, Park Vista Community High School, Taylor Shelton, Santa Lucia Community High, Jacob Stafford, Wellington Community High, and Ella Thomas from Lakew Worth Community High. Let's give them all a round of applause. All right. What's wrong? Next, we want to recognize two students for their academic achievements in science. Franchesca Rodriguez is a student at Palm Beach Central High School who earned first place in earth and environmental science as well as best in fair at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Nicholas Stan is a student at Drifford School of the Arts and he earned first place

077in chemistry at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair. Both students went on to compete at the Florida State Science and Engineering Fair Back in April where they placed in the top three of their respective categories. The students also qualified to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair last month. These students are celebrated for proudly representing the district through their dedication and hard work. Congratulations to Franchesca Rodriguez and Nicholas Stan for their first place finishes at the Palm Beach Regional Science and Engineering Fair and later success at the state and international science fairs. Let's give them a round of applause. Now we are recognizing the girls flag football team from Semino Ridge Community High School. The team won the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A state championship last month with a 2719

078victory against St. Thomas Aquinus. This is their second consecutive state championship and the seventh flag football state title in the school's history. This victory capped off a 20 and2 season and a number one national ranking. Now, I believe we have a surprise congratulatory video to play for the team. >> Congratulations to the Hawks. Winning backto back state championships is no joke. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment. You guys obviously have a great connection, all of you guys. Not an e easy thing to do beating St. Thomas Aquinus, but you guys figured out how to get the job done. And the only thing I'll say is we got to run it back in 2027. Make it a three pete. I'm cheering for you guys. Let's go. >> Let's give them a

079round of applause. And lastly this evening we are welcoming Digital Vibes to present awards to the school district as well as Sunrise Park Elementary, Pineog Elementary and Okahili. middle for their top three finishes in this year's Let's Move commit to change physical activity challenge. That is a countywide initiative that focuses on physical activity, nutrition, and healthy behaviors. Uh at this time, any team representatives from Sun Sunrise Park, Pine Jo, and Okihily. And anyone from Digital Vibes is welcome to join the board members and superintendent at the front. And everyone, please welcome Miss Alicia Trice, the project coordinator at Digital Vibes for some brief remarks and award presentation. Good evening everyone. Good evening to our school board members, administrators, teachers, families, and let's move supporters. Just a brief history about Let's Move March Challenge. The Let's

080Move initiative was launched in 2010 by First Lady Michelle Obama to encourage healthier lifestyles and increase physical activity among children nationwide. And in 2012, the Palm Hill Foundation brought this vision to life by establishing the Let's Move Commit to Change Challenge. And in 2021, the Palm Hill Foundation partnered with Digital Vibes to expand its impact throughout the community. This year's participants in 2020 Let's Move March Challenge logged an incredible amount of 44 million minutes of physical activity around Palm Beach County. We would like to recognize the school district of Palm Beach County for contributing 10,956,339 minutes of physical health activity. Congratulations, guys. And we would also like to congratulate our top three schools. Sunrise Park Elementary for logging over three million minutes. Pine Jo Elementary School for nearly 2 million minutes and Okahilly Middle School

081for surpassing almost 1 million minutes. Thank Thank you to all the students, families, educators, and staff members who participated. Your commitment to health and wellness is helping to create a stronger, healthier Palm Beach County. Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and thank you for your continued support of the Let's Move initiative. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Board Chair Bril, Vice Chair Lane, board members, Superintendent Burks, staff and members of the community. This concludes the recognitions for June. Thank you everyone for your attention this evening. Okay, board members, we do not have a student government report tonight. For our committee reports, there is no academic advisory committee report. The audit committee report is attached to your agenda. The construction oversight review committee report is attached to the agenda. I don't believe there's a district

082diversity and equity committee report. Is there? Oh, yes, we have one. All right. Good evening, board chair, superintendent, um, vice chair, and everyone in your respective places. Charmaine Postol, district diversity, equity chair. The district, the district diversity and equity committee met on May 21st here in the boardroom as well, hybrid in a hybrid fashion online. There was plenty of discussions this evening or that after that morning regarding I left my notes so I have to write my notes so I apologize. There was plenty of uh discussions around ad hoc subcommittee who brought forth a recommendation to the general DDC body. The committee originally sent it back to the subcommittee giving the general committee an opportunity to weigh in. Um during our April meeting, the subcommittee weighed in, brought it back to the general body and

083during bringing that particular um which I will read in just a second and to the records, bringing that particular recommendation to the board, the following recommendation was voted on by the general population or the general body of the DDEC to be considered um by this body. The recommendation is as follows. Palm Beach County schools face ongoing challenges in staffing high need schools with effective highquality teachers resulting in persistent VA vacancies and high turnover rates. These environments often place increased demands on educators without sufficient support leading to burnout and limiting teacher retention. As as a result, students, particularly those in historical historically undeserved communities, experience inconsistent access to strong instruction impacting both academic outcomes and overall school stability. The recommendations from the DDEC subcommittee which was adopted by the original DDEC or the general DDEC body

084is to take forward to the school board the following identifying the policies practices and other conditions that are obstacles to fill in hard to staff schools with the most effective teachers. Two, change the policies and practices that contribute to the problem. Three, adopt practices that will step up teachers for success at the most challenging schools. What professional development can support these teachers and administrators? How does school culture affect the problem? What resources could help? How do we retain effective teachers at these schools? How can community partners help elevate some of the challenges? So, once again, these particular recommendations were brought forth at the April meeting. um the DDEC general body which consists of about 22 or so agencies asked that it be brought back to um the subcommittee so that they can um well so

085that everyone had the opportunity to weigh in. It came back in May. It was approved and now it is this particular recommendation belongs to this body which we will make sure that it gets to this body um in writing as well. additional conversations at the district diversity and equity subcommittee or district diversity and equity meeting. You got to say it three times. Subcommittee committee, it goes back and forth. was um a presentation by Miss Coons um excuse me a presentation by Miss Coons on uh the Holocaust the areas that is required instructions in the district around Holocaust studies and Jewish history especially in light of increased um issues around anti-semitism ensuring that we educate our students around this topic. So, special thanks to Miss Coons because not only came and talked to us about the

086Holocaust education, but she also went over in detail some of the uh concerns around the statue or not concerns, but some of the information around the statue, the education, the definition around the statue. She shared with us that this summer at the Elite Summer Institute, which is hosted by the African-American, Hispanic, and Holocaust, and Jewish history um department, they're offering sessions that reflect a broader approach to a Holocaust Jewish education. And what was unique about that session or unique about that presentation, one of the sessions this summer is going to be focused on the Black Jewish Alliance by one of our own Brian Nolles. another session focused will be focused on Latin American refuge um with the n with a national partnership. So we truly appreciate all of the presentations. We do not have any

087additional meetings until the fall in August where we will be electing another chair or vice and vice chair. And we ask again that for all of the appointments, all of the um agencies that have appointments and alternates to take a look this summer who is going to be an alternate, who is going to be a actual representation or who's going to be representing their board or their organizations and please bring that information back in August so that we can um start the ball rolling fresh in the fall. So, thank you. Have a great summer and see you all soon. >> Okay. Thank you. Deputy General Counsel, do you have a count a report to give us for the general counsel? >> Uh, no report. >> Okay. Thank you. Inspector General, do you have a report?

088>> No report. >> Okay. Thank you. That's going to bring us now to our elected officials and delegates. We'll start with James Gavlos, president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach. >> Good evening, Board Chair Brill, Superintendent Burke, Vice Chair Lane, and members of the board. I hesitated to start like this, but after seeing Tom Brady, board chair Bril, I I with all due respect to Manchester United, the cannon has roared, North London is red, Arsenal or champs. >> I'm wearing their cufflings, their watch, their tie, and everything else. Okay. Uh now to move on, as we have wrapped up uh board members, our our red apple supply for this particular academic year, I want to share some final numbers. Uh throughout the 2526 academic year, we had 3,452 teacher shops. Just two

089weeks ago, we hosted a conference for all of the various uh education foundations in Palm Beach County that operate a resource store. There are seven other counties. So, we had a number of people. We were sharing our results. The average uh participation rate is about 18 19%. Superintendent Burke, I'm pleased to say that we're running about 30%. uh just under one-third of the teachers who are eligible to shop at Red Apple Supply do so. Uh we closed the year as you have as you have heard me say before serving 105 schools. So those 3,452 teacher shops purchased a total of 1,66,890.85 worth of school supplies which of course purchase we give them to them for free. While we stopped the teacher shops the first week of May, we then provided 500 of your summer school

090teachers with an additional $70,000 worth of supplies. When you add that with the backpacks that we distributed back in uh in August this year, ladies and gentlemen, your education foundation just in terms of school supplies, I'm not even talking about our grants. Just in terms of our school supplies, we distributed to our teachers $1,617,38161. Uh, congratulations to the entire Red Apple Supply team, Lloyd Evans, Tarnishia Hatton, and everybody at the Ed Foundation. I think last week Terresa West shared with you our backpack program this year has increased by an additional 6,000. Uh, we will be stuffing, palletizing, and in the next eight weeks delivering over 36,000 fully stuffed backpacks uh to the various Palm Beach County schools. On the grant side of the house, we ask for your help. The portal is open for our

091Go Teach grants. Chair Bril, as you remember last year we distributed just over $200,000. It's been my goal to crack that window and we did last year. We distributed over $200,000 in um 88 of our Go Teach grants. The portal is open. Please ask the teachers in your district schoolboard members if they have not yet applied. The portal will be open for another uh month or so. They can attend workshops. We want to help them learn how to write a grant. We don't ever want a qualified teacher who has a great idea for a go teach grant to not apply simply because they don't know how. So we provide in-house and all types of uh grant writing seminars for them. Other than that, as we work into the summer beyond backpacks, we're getting ready for

092August 6th. Schoolboard members stuff the bus. We want to thank our partners at CBS12. This will be the third annual Stuff the Bus. Joe Sanchez, I think you're here somewhere. Thank you. who has not only graciously provided one but will provide two school buses that we hope to have completely stuffed with school supplies. We will be at the office depot on Okachobee in the parking lot at roughly 4:30 in the morning. Gloria, you don't have to be there that early. Uh you can come at 5. Uh but we'll be there throughout the day as businesses in our county come to support Stuff the Bus. Uh other than that, as I see uh Chief Mooney, we will be working with the police department and uh our education foundation facility will be hosting yet another food distribution

093the day after Stuff the Bus. Uh last year, I think we passed out about 15,000 pounds of food thanks to the police department and Chief Mooney, we can't thank you for your leadership enough. This is just one more of the services we provide, Superintendent Burke, Board Chair Bril, to you, the district, the teachers, and our students because at the end of the day, we are your education foundation serving the needs of the finest school district in Florida. Thank you and have a great summer. Go Arsenal. >> Thank you, Gordon Longher, CTA president. >> Good evening, Chair Bril, Vice Chair Lane, Superintendent Burke, other members of the board, guests, and staff present. Um, it's a great time of year. We're here. Uh we've made it to the end of another school year. Uh I think relatively

094unscathed. Um things are looking up for our students. Uh you've been celebrating some wonderful graduations. Some anecdotal evidence that I've been hearing for the last couple three weeks is that uh the students on their annual assessments are performing better than they have in even in the previous year. So we're looking forward to seeing a lot of those results as they come out. Um I know that uh Superintendent Burke has also mentioned the successes of a lot of our graduates going to some of the top colleges in the country and all of those students and many many more with the single goal of preparing themselves so that they can live their best life as they move into their uh their adult years and live that life that's uh built on purpose and and serving and accomplishing

095goals that will lead them to a successful uh time as an adult. Um that's the goal that teachers have for every one of their students each and every year that they meet them. Um we also heard earlier today at at a workshop about the the state of our federal updates and our state legislative updates that we've seen. Uh it is concerning to realize that we're having to deal yet again with another state budget being written essentially in an overtime period because they didn't get done during the regular session. the one constitutional job that is that is theirs and that is to write the budget and get it done in a timely fashion enabling us to do all of the work that we have to do when we consider uh the state of where the budget

096is with uh some of the benefits and some of the other negatives that are there. Um I simply want to add the following. On behalf of teachers, I accept Mr. Ferguson's challenge to stand with you all as one and to go to Tallahassee in both ver I'll say virtually that is through letters, phone calls, emails, whatnot, as well as physically in order to lobby the legislature for the resources that are necessary to meet the needs of all, and I do mean all of our students. We must deliver that message in the strongest possible terms. stronger and clearer than ever before. Only then are we going to be able to be successful in an effort to make sure that public education is funded in the way that it needs to be in order to serve the

097students and the communities that where we live and work. Um, and we're going to have to work together to find public education supporters whichever side of the aisle they sit in Tallahassee. This is not about party. This is not partisan. This particular issue literally is a universal standard to educate, inspire, and affirm leaders of the next generation. I stand ready to work with you on that goal. I know that teachers stand ready to do the same because that's the direction we all need to move together in order for us to not just survive, but to thrive as the best school district in the state of Florida. Thank you all very much for your service and have a good evening. >> Thank you. Erica Hen, Vice President, Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.

098>> Good evening, Chairwoman Bril, Vice Chair Lane, board members, and Superintendent Burke. My name is Eric Hen, vice president of education for Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast. As we close out FY26 and prepare for FY27, Junior Achievement is on track to serve approximately 77,000 students and delivering more than 400,000 instructional contact hours. Planning for the upcoming school year is already underway with 19 elementary JA Career Exploration Fairs and nine high school JA Career Exploration fairs scheduled with many more to come. We're getting really excited for our JA Inspire in FY27. The event dates have been secured and we have a kickoff taking place August 28th from 8 to 10 at Cacti Park of the Palm Beaches. Of course, we would love all board members to attend. JA Inspire provides students with

099meaningful interactions with industry professionals while helping them explore career pathways and future workforce opportunities. We're working closely with district leaders and school staff, expanding engagement and impact. As far as JA Bistown, the excitement continues to build for our FY27 JA Bistown mobile pilot program. This will be held at the Greenacres Youth Center. 15 schools have confirmed participation during the pilot year serving approximately 1,500 students. Our current efforts are focused Our current efforts are focused on securing storefronts, finalizing operational plans, and preparing participating schools for implementation. The tenative ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for January 6, 2027. Our team is looking forward to training teachers and volunteers in the coming months as we prepare for another successful year of delivering hands-on career readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship programs to students. Our goal is to prepare them

100for their future. As we prepare for another year of impact, I was recently reminded, this is a very emotional board meeting, I feel like, so I'm just going to get on board with that. So, as we prepare for another year of impact, I was recently reminded of the lasting influence educators have on students, colleagues, and the broader community. Recently, I experienced a meaningful full circle movement that reminded me of the educator's lasting impact. I completed my student teaching in Palm Beach County in 2004 at Birkshshire Elementary School. I was fortunate to be placed in a second grade classroom with Clara Fedora. I learned from her example as she consistently demonstrated kindness, patience, and a commitment to meeting the needs of all students. After graduation, I remained at Birkshshire teaching third and fourth grade. And during

101that time, I had the privilege of teaching Clara's son, Jonathan, for two years. Truly a special student who left a lasting impression on me. More than 20 years later, we still remain connected and he still calls me by my maiden name when I see him in the community. Today, through my work with Junior Achievement, I had the opportunity to partner with educators across our community. Recently, while supporting a career exploration fair at New Horizons Elementary School, I stepped in to cover a presentation. So, I present to the board, but I also present to pre-K students when I a volunteer was not able to attend. So, I found myself presenting to Clara Fedora's preK class, the same educator whose classroom I was in 20 years prior. So, I had the opportunity to see her impact firsthand.

102It was a powerful reminder that great educators have a legacy that expands far beyond their own classroom. I am so grateful for Clara's influence on my career and for the opportunities Junior Achievement provides to continue working alongside dedic dedicated educators like her. Thank you for your continued partnership and support. We are so grateful for the opportunity to work alongside you in preparing students for future success. We wish all of you a restful and enjoyable summer and look forward to an exciting year ahead as we continue expanding opportunities for students across our community. >> Thank you. >> Jennifer Martinez, PTA, PTSA president. Okay, I don't believe she's here. So, that's going to bring us to our agenda item, topic speakers. On behalf of the entire school board, I'd like to welcome many public speakers who are

103joining us today. The board recognizes the important right of the public to express their opinions. However, our policy provides that we do not respond to or engage with our speakers. We do make note of your issues and we follow up with district administration regarding them. As a reminder, agenda speakers comments must relate to the subject matter of the agenda item which the speaker has requested to address. Additionally, all non-aggenda speakers comments must relate to educationally relevant topics or the operations of the school district pursuant to schoolboard policy. Speakers whose comments do not relate to the topic that the speaker indicated or are not otherwise educationally relevant as required for non-aggenda topics, including the mention of a person's candidacy for elected office or whose comments disrupt or interfere with the order of the meeting, may be

104subject to having the microphone turned off, forfeiting the right to speak at the remainder of today's meeting, or after warnings removal from the meeting. We ask all participants to engage in respectful dialogue maintaining civility and decorum. You will have three minutes to address the board in accordance with schoolboard policy. The microphone will be turned off when the time limit has been reached. When you speak, please state your name for the record. And again, we thank you for joining us. So, I will call both speakers. You can come up together and speak one at a time. Tanya Hajer and Donald Pearson. Good evening. My name is Tanya Hajar. I'm the vocational health teacher at Palm Beach Lakes High School. Um, I have been certified EMT since 2002 in multiple states. In 2022, I was given the

105opportunity to become the vocational health teacher with the school district of Palm Beach County. I've enjoyed being able to teach students about the job that I do and why I love doing it. I chose EMS as a career because when I was a freshman in high school, we had an EMS intro class, but it was only available for one semester. It was taught by an FDNY female paramedic. I fell in love with EMS because of her. to be able to come full circle in my life and now be the high school teacher that can ignite that spark and have students fall in love with EMS and choose it as their career when they graduate means so much to me. When I step into the classroom, my goal is never to just deliver the facts. It

106is to spark a lifelong curiosity. My personal pedagogy is rooted in the belief that students learn best when they are active participants in their own education, not passive listeners. Because of this philosophy, I constantly refine my teaching methods to match the diverse needs of my students. Whether I'm facilitating a hands-on approach, group project, or adapting a complex lesson for a struggling student, my intentional pedagogy ensures that every learner feels challenged, supported, and truly seen. Teaching is both an art and a science, and I bring that dedication to my classroom every single day. As an educator, my primary focus is ensuring that every student in our district has the tools to succeed in an everchanging world. To achieve this, my teachings center on evidence-based datadriven instructional strategies that directly translate into measurable student growth. I do

107not view teaching as a one-sizefits-all. Instead, my dynamic approach allows me to differentiate my lessons, ensuring we close achievement gaps while simultaneously pushing advanced learners to their new heights. By aligning my classroom practices with our district rigorous academic standards, I create an environment with high expectations. My goal is to grow the medical program, the CTE medical program within the district and have it available at other high schools and to turn it into an EMT certification and not just stop at the EMR level. I'm requesting that the board renew my contract for fiscal year next year and continue to renew my contract to allow me to achieve this goal with the district. Thank you. >> Thank you, Donald Pearson. >> Good evening. Uh Don Pearson, just finished my 44th year uh in this county, which I

108love. Uh again, I'm talking about P1. Um and I'm not sure I just want to make sure that uh when I looked at the the numbers uh leave of absence uh for this is 104 right now. Um the retirement 76 have retired and separation of employment is 300. Now, a lot of people ask uh from the last meeting, oh my gosh, we got the the raise which really accounted to cost of living raise, but 250 or so positions have to be lost. And the question is um with these separations of employment, wouldn't a strategy be to actually not fill some of them or uh combine some things? because it looks like if there's this many people leaving, which is above the number that we have to get rid of, maybe in the way it's presented,

109it's not transparent enough and what it really means about the positions. So, that's kind of confusing. A lot of people ask me because I've been here so long and I don't know all the answers to that. That's why I bring them up. But in a three minute time it, you know, makes it real real tough to where people listening might not know what we're talking about. But if you look on P1, it shows you all these numbers. Separation of employment. What does it really mean? It's not transparent enough to where these answers would be easy to digest. So, uh, you know, that's really what I keep talking about, uh, when I talk about this. just be transparent with the numbers and please as a board don't use uh scare tactics about if we're talking about

110financial u the finances of teachers that if we give you this it's we're going to lose this because I think that's that's just a hard pill to swallow in an you know an a district like we are with a lot of good teachers. So, it's really about the numbers and how they're presented. So, you you've I've said this before. It's like beating a dead horse, but you know, I just wanted to to say that. And on a quick note, uh uh Mr. Gordon and Mr. Bray were my kids' favorite teachers. So, I agree with what you said. We're losing uh some good people. One of the retirements. Thank you. >> Thank you, board members. That's going to bring us to the consent agenda. I'll take a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Motion

111by Miss Whitfield, second by Miss Branch. Any discussion? All in favor? All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. We don't have any unfinished business. So, Mr. Superintendent, that brings us to new business. PT P2, personal addendum. >> I recommend the board approve the personnel addendum as submitted. Motion by Miss Whitfield, second by Miss Andrews. Any discussion? All in favor? All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. So, that's now going to bring us to our non-aggenda topic speakers. And I apologize in advance. I know I'm going to mess up some of these names. I'll call you up two at a time. We'll start with Laya Shala Shall Laurav and Sharon Merchant. if you would please come up to the microphones and just state your name, which I'm sure I messed up. Hi, my name is Lilia. I'm an incoming junior

112in Palm Beach County and I'm so happy to be here to propose my sun safety initiative focus on skin cancer prevention. I'm currently part of the national youth sker board and ever since personal experience with sun damage to my skin, I have spent countless hours learning about skin cancer prevention and public health education. The skin is the largest organ in the human body, protecting us every second. Yet, most students can graduate without ever learning to recognize skin cancer. Even though skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the US, it is also one of the most preventable. But that can occur without education. Every day, approximately 9,500 people in the US are diagnosed with skin cancer. In Florida, the risk is even higher. More than 80% of a person's lifetime sun exposure occurs

113before the age of 18, meaning the habits students develop today will directly affect their health decades from now. Lately, the newest trend has become going tanning for fun, tanning beds, and even looking for the highest UV days, all directly causing rising rates of youth skin cancer. That's where I understood the need for youth skin cancer prevention. The International Cancer Society has shown that educational presentations for youth can reduce harmful UV exposure behaviors by up to 70%. That is why I'm here at the Palm Beach County School Board meeting to discuss implementing youth sunset programs throughout the district. I would love the opportunity to provide interactive presentations and activities directly in schools. I've already seen the impact these programs can have. At my school, I organized a sun safety event for hundreds of fourth, fifth, and

114sixth grade students. Through a dermatology clinic, I gave a 30-minute presentation and was able to provide free skin cancer screenings for all teachers and gave every student SPF lip balms and an entire UVB bead sunscreen kit and educational handouts. Students walked away with knowledge they could immediately use to protect themselves. That is why I believe it would be so impactful to bring these sun safety presentations to other schools. And it can be very simply done through these slides. So presentations along with easy activities. I also had another idea on how to have a real tangible effect implementing sunscreen dispensers in schools through the impact melanoma foundation or an organization with which I am directly involved in. Many schools and parks have already received sunscreen dispensers that provide free sunscreen to students during outdoor activities. Expanding

115this to Palm Beach County schools would allow students to not only learn why sun protection matters, but have the tools to act on that knowledge every day. Palm Beach County has the opportunity to become a leader in youth skin cancer prevention. We can't change Florida sunshine, but we can change how prepared we are to live safely under it. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening, members. Um, Madame Chair, Mr. Vice Chair, and esteemed board members. My name is Sharon Merchant. I'm president of the merchant strategy and I'm here tonight representing the western Palm Beach County Community Alliance broadly a group of residents living in the western part of our uh county. I'm here to talk about Project Tango. You probably have heard this on the news more than once. It's a hyperscale data center. Uh

116that's actually two now since it's not just Project Tango. Uh West Palm Beach Logistics is the second um data center, if you will. That's part it's on that property. Um both are within 1,200 ft of Saddle View Elementary School, which is why I think it should potentially be of concern to you. The end user of this data center is as of now unknown. Um it's not public information. The acoustics level while it's regulated by the county at this point is unknown. We don't have that information. We do have current acoustic numbers on that property and they're pretty much at the maximum that's allowed by the county right now. We are told that there will be over 600 fans on that property and you can imagine the amount of noise and vibration that they might generate.

117Noise, vibration, extremely large quantities of water and power are things generally associated with this type of a project. The World Health Organization has a lot of studies about the negative impact of noise both um high frequency and low frequency on children and vibrations and the problems with learning um and also pro for people who have PTSD and over 12% of the Ardan residents are uh in that category. The pollutions that it will generate are largely unknown. Um, one of them of great concern is the use of lithium batteries because if one of those catches fire, you essentially can't put it out. It burns until it burns itself out. A similar facility that we noted, I believe in South Korea, burned for 24 hours and they do emit chemicals that can cause asthma. Um, there are

118our research basically showed that the safest distance is five miles. The safest minimal distance is five miles. So 1,200 feet or even if it gets moved back to 2,000 feet. It's too close for a safety measure for your residents and your students and teachers that are out there. I'm hoping that you guys will consider joining in voicing your concern about this to the Palm Beach County um commission. join with the residents of Wellington and West Lake and our senator, Senator Burman and Representative Weineberger and uh your teachers that are in that community to let them know that this is something they really need to step back. >> Thank you, Sue Loyel and Natalie Frasier. Hi, esteemed chair Bril and school board members. My name is Sue Loyel. I live very close right across the street

119from Saddle View Elementary School. I am here today to ask for a resolution opposing any hypers scale data center near any school in Palm Beach County. Project Tango and the second proposed, as Sharon mentioned, data center will locate be located within 2,000 ft of Saddle View Elementary School, which will pose significant environmental challenges to the students, teachers, and staff. The continuous operation of the data center will create persistent background noise and industrial vibrations. The close proximity raises major concerns regarding acoustics and low frequency humming which directly impact child's ability to learn and thrive. These centers operate massive HVA systems, cooling fans, emergency generators 247. They emit continuous noise that carries into local communities. This unrelenting noise can also severely disrupt outdoor activities, cause severe headaches, and even make children not to want to go outside

120for recess. Infrasound is also of particular concern as it can penetrate walls in the school, disturbing students and teachers. The US National Library of Medicine notes that while these deep industrial frequencies may not be heard by the human ear, but they the brain processes them constantly. This auditory assault poses severe health and educational risks that lead to cognitive impairment. Poor attention spans and lower reading comprehension in children. I ask you today to support saying no to these data centers so close to Palm Beach County schools and our children. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Uh, good evening, Chair Bril and school board members. My name is Natalie Frasier and I'm a resident of Ardan and a mother of a student in Palm Beach County schools. I'm here tonight asking the school board to

121formally intervene regarding Project Tango, the proposed Hyper AI data center and freight complex planned near Saddle View Elementary and our growing western communities. Chairman Bril was previously expressed concerns about the proximity of this project to schools and potentially impact on our students. I want to thank her for recognizing that this issue is not just about development. It's about protecting children and preserving preserving their learning environment and our student that they deserve. I respectfully ask that the entire school board stand with Chairman Bril and formally request the Palm Beach Commissioners to deny the application or at minimum delay an approval until impacts on students, teachers, and schools are fully evaluated by independent experts. The school board has a responsibility to advocate for the children that we entr entrust them with that they care for. Our students

122cannot speak for themselves and we are so asking you to be their voice. If the project would not be considered appropriate next to a new school being built today, it should not be approved next to schools that we already have. I would ask that the board consider the needs of some of the most vulnerable students at Saddle View Elementary. That the special needs, including children with autism and other sensory sensitivities. These students often require stability, predictable and low distracting learning tra environments. And our students deserve a safety a safe and healthy learning environment free from industrialcale noises, heavy truck traffic and air pollution. So again, if this project would not be considered appropriate next to a school being built today, it should not be approved next to schools that we already have. The school board

123routinely comments on developments that affect schools, traffic, students safety, and school capacity. This issue deserves the same attention. We ask that the board send a formal letter to Palm Beach County Commissioners before the July 15th deadline and hearing. We ask that the board request an independent review of any noise, traffic, emergency, preparedness, and environmental studies affecting the schools. Thank you all for your time and have a great time. Thank you, Gordon Longher and Carl Muhammad. >> Good evening again, Chair Brill, Vice Chair Lane, Superintendent Berg, members of the board. I'm not going to repeat a bunch of what you've already heard from my esteemed colleagues who've already spoken on Project Tango. I am going to bring a little bit of educator uh view to this issue of the noise and student learning. Um, it's all

124about cognitive load. How many of you have ever been in a noisy restaurant trying to hold a conversation with somebody across the table from you? If you have and you've had enough distraction going on that you really had to focus on that individual clean and I mean clearly and intently focus on them to hear what they're saying and at times even read their lips. This is what children who are disadvantaged in their learning systems but not also not just them but normal children uh with the ability to do a lot of these things what they're faced with at young ages when they have this tremendous cognitive load of distractions and they're trying to focus on how to go ahead and read or or get through um a reading passage able to find the the main

125idea how to perform process knowledge and math in order to per uh perform tasks to do computation. it just literally strains them and it uh it really harms the ability to retain what it is they're trying to learn. And that's that's from not just my own life or research, but that's also 42 years of working in in schools understanding how kids learn because it really is about how they learn. And at other times, we can get into what it does to disrupt sleep and whether or not children are prepared. But in light of those the facts that you've already heard and this little bit that I have just presented, I want to present to you part of a resolution that Miss Sinclair has already given to you that we at the as the classroom teachers

126association have subscribed to and will transmit to the board of county commissioners and ask that you consider something of this nature. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association formally opposes the development and approval of Project Tango at or near locations that impact public schools and residential communities. And be it further resolved that the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association calls upon local, county, and state officials to deny or suspend approval of the project until comprehensive independent studies are conducted addressing noise and environmental impacts on student learning and health, public safety and emergency response considerations, infrastructure strain, including energy and water usage, long-term community and economic impacts. Be it further resolved that the that the CTA advocates for the establishment of protective zoning policies and minimum buffer distances between industrial

127scale data centers and schools, parks, and residential areas. And be it further resolved that the CTA urges robust public engagement, including community hearings and transparent disclosure of all project details before any further consideration of approval and be it finally resolved, etc. you're going to see at the end of this. I'm not going to take the time because my time is up. Please support the the students of Palm Beach County in this way. >> Carl Muhammed, I wanted to start off by thanking Miss Andrews for coming to the African-American community on Mother's Day and sharing with some real love trying to show it to our family. Um, this has been another year of failure from my perspective because I've been to every schoolboard meeting except one and each and every time I ask you guys to

128give us some kind of accountability on the Florida statute3.42H and for whatever the reason is, we haven't been able to get any kind of communication and you could even see the weakness that's getting ready to take place this summer institute because it's not really measured on no kind of real accountability status. I don't think so. And we have a major problem inside of our community because it appears that you only deal with the gatekeepers that are located inside of our community. And these are people that I'm talking about that have jobs, organizations, preachers, and different ones that don't have no kind of impact on the reality of trying to bring a comprehensive knowledge to our children inside of uh Palm Beach County. And I remind you that I'm the longest volunteer in Palm Beach County's

129history as it relates to dealing with the problems of African-Americans. and to see the blatant disrespect that I receive as a result of uh me trying to champion the cause to assist the school district with the problems that is plaguing the African-American community and we don't seem to be able to link up. But I'm hoping because I know that we're supposedly preparing ourselves for four new replacements on the board. And you guys, you remember how difficult it was for youth to understand um what was going on inside of the black community, the African-American community. And you know that we haven't had any kind of representation um from the board as of yet. And we need that kind of uh partnership like what we had initially when we started this journey. Now, we're going to be

130doing some orientation classes inside of our community to try to link up so that possibly by the time you start with the next board members that we might be able to have a serious conversation with the African-American community. And we um going to be doing that this summer and as a result of that, we hopefully will have some competent people um to help you to develop some competent people inside of the school centers because we don't have it. And if I'm in error, I always like to tell people, "Show me where I'm in error." But I don't believe that you have one school, one teacher that is really qualified to really deal with the uh African and African-American curriculum as it relates to um bringing that kind of information into the community. So, I want

131to thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to fellowship with you for this year. But I can still say because I'm the longest volunteer that we haven't did anything to advance the idea of the Florida statute 10003.42 which is spec get some specificity as it relates to the problems of African-American children. Not all children are African-American children. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you Erica Hughes and Jessica Hutchinson. Hello. Thank you so much for allowing me here tonight. I'm Erica Hughes. Um, I'm with ABA Centers of Florida and I was hired as the business development representative specifically for Palm Beach County. So, I want to be more involved in Palm Beach County schooling. Basically, I'd like to briefly share what ABA Centers of Florida does and how our services can help the students

132in Palm Beach County schools. First off, we have no weight list for our ABA therapy. And this is much different than other um ABA centers. But also, what's more important is we actually do the testing, which is the gold standard in testing, and we can get this done within three weeks. So this can significantly help any parents who need their children who are to be diagnosed with autism. Uh ABA centers of Florida applies a applied behavioral analysis. So this is the ABA therapy and it's an evidence-based approach used to support children with autism. It focuses on building skills like communication, social interaction, and acts of daily living. These are all skills that can help students succeed in the hos in the classroom. Excuse me. It's important to note though that like I was saying, not

133all ABA providers are the same. Quality and approach can vary. So strong collaboration with school staff and alignment with IEP goals is key. I would love to be a contact for your e eSC coordinators and I can provide lunch and speak with them and explain to them ways that I can be their resource. Um, we have clinics in Jensen and also in Royal Palm Beach. We are trying to get one in Palm Beach Gardens um as we speak, but we focus on meeting the family where they need us. So, of course, we go to all of the schools, but we also go to the homes and the community. Our ABA services are individualized uh to each child and our team is flexible, meaning that we work nights, weekends, and even on holidays. Our RBTs as

134well are um required additional training hours before they're even allowed to interact with a child. They need 40 additional training hours. Um, and we do, as I said, the testing, which is the gold standard in ASD testing, and it's the only autism test that's accepted by insurance. I do understand that you as well need your educational testing. Um, it would be a it would be a benefit for parents and for students to have both testings done. Um, I'll stay here for a little bit, but if anybody would like to contact me and specifically ESSE coordinators, um, that would be fantastic. I'd love to be a resource for Palm Beach County schools. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, Jessica Hutchinson, if you're here. Okay. Um, Sue Davis Killian, come on up. And after Sue Davis, Killian,

135Michelle Sher. Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. My name is Sue Davis Kian. I am the director of education for the Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization. So, you old-timers or I should say longtimers on the board, not insinuating any age thing, uh will recognize me because I used to be a regular speaker at every school board meeting talking about inclusion and education of students with Down syndrome. The fact that all all half the board doesn't recognize me means that Kevin McCormack, our ESC director, has done an excellent job and I no longer have the need to come here. But tonight I am not here as a representative of Gold Coast Down organization. I am speaking as a member of the district diversity and equity committee and I was chair of the

136ad hoc ad hoc subcommittee that came up with the recommendation that our chair read to you earlier. And so just a little background, this ad hoc committee worked for a year and a half. We went down a lot of rabbit holes. We looked at a lot of things that would affects uh what teachers end up at what schools. And finally after a year and a half we realized that a small committee that meets one hour a month is never going to solve the problem. So we focused then on identifying a little more of exactly what the problem is so that we could clearly identify it for your board. And the recommendation is essentially asking you all to take on the job that we were not able to do in an hour a month. It's too

137complex. There's a lot of um contributing factors and there are things that are both u policies and practices within the district that contribute to the issue. And there's also things that are well beyond the scope of the district, you know, surrounding community issues and things like that. But I am asking you to, you know, not just listen to the DDC recommendations and say, "Okay, that's nice." and move on. I'm asking you to take a serious look at the recommendations and commit to basically having staff that will spend again more than an hour a month for a year and a half and really look into the issues and see if we can really move the needle on this issue. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. So, I'm going to read a bunch of names and I

138have been told that most of these names the people will not be here. So, I'll go through I'll start reading them. If you're here, come on up. So I called Michelle Michelle Shear, Dylan Shear, Abby D. Geronimo, Sophia Trullio, Fausto Trulio, Daniel Fineberg, Terry Tatar, and Daniel Bao. So I don't believe any of you are here. So we'll now go to Donald Pearson. And again, I'm sorry if I mess up these names, but Cassandra Corbinis, please come on up. >> That lets me know something. Uh again, Don Pearson. Um the uh what I want to talk about now that I on a non-aggenda is professional contract versus annual contract. And there's a reason I want to do that. um pretty soon we're not going to have any more continuing contracts or professional contracts in the

139county and that causes a problem. Uh and the problem is this. The reason you have those in my opinion I believe is as a professional contract I I can be fired but it has to be with cause but an annual contract doesn't have it can be without cause. So what happens is if there's something that needs to be said, a professional contract person would say, "Hey, um, if you're a principal, u, Miss Andrews, you're a principal, I can come to you and say, I think what you're doing is educationally unsound." And not be afraid of my job. I can have that conversation. But if you're an annual contractor, I'm not going to say anything because I don't want to I don't want to be non-reappointed. That becomes a big issue. And I've seen that in

140my 44 years, I've seen well really since 2011 when it happened, I've seen more and more teachers, young teachers not say anything. And there's some examples. I one example is what I talked about earlier when I called uh Miss Andrews and gave you the information about one school because I've always said policy comes down and there's things that happen in the school that never get to you, never get to the board because there's too many stops. People are stopping it. And it might be we might have some infestation at a school that you didn't know of about a year and then all of a sudden you you know it. It could be something like this. And what I'm telling you if you vet this you can find out where a principal might say to a

141to a staff, hey don't say that we have rats in the school. Call them stars. So you have to write an email that says hey I think we have three or four stars in our room. Come down and see them. That way you don't see what's happening. And then there's situations where happened to me a couple years ago and I even spoke about it here where an area superintendent said to me, "Do not contact the school board." See, you need to know that those things happen. And when we lose professional contracts, we quiet we we shut all the voices of those annual contract teachers because they have bills to pay. They're gonna say, "Listen, I'm not gonna say anything because it may cause me a problem." That's an issue. Thank you. >> Thank you. >>

142Good evening, chair, board members, superintendent, and community members. Um, I am Dr. Cassandra Corbin, that is, or Dr. Cass, as many know me. Um, I am the founder of Connect to Greatness, which is a nonprofit here in public in Palm Beach County. And it's an organization that has been serving black male students for almost a decade now. Our mission is simple, but very important. Um, it's to empower and inspire African-American black male students to be leaders and change makers and contributors in their schools, communities, and ultimately our society. People often ask us why do we specifically focus on boys? And the answer is because when boys thrive, everyone benefits. When boys grow into compassionate, emotionally healthy and responsible young men, the girls who learn beside them benefit. The women they will one day work with

143and partner with and build families with will benefit. Our schools, workplaces, and communities benefit. Healthy boys lead to healthier relationships. Healthier relationships lead to stronger families. And stronger families lead to stronger communities. So this work is not just about helping boys navigate middle school and high school. It's about long-term systemic change. It's about investing in future teachers, business owners, engineers, schoolboard members, attorneys, community leaders, and yes, sometimes the individuals can become both attorneys and schoolboard members, a nod. At Connect to Greatness, we have had the privilege of serving hundreds of students across Palm Beach County through mentoring, leadership development, family engagement, and academic support. We have watched boys become graduates, scholarship recipients, college students, skilled trade professionals, and emerging leaders. So, tonight we are simply here to share some good news with you. Some good

144things are happening with our students. uh their stories matter, their success matters, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the school district of Palm Beach County. So soon you will hear from some of our students and our parents. So thank you so much for your partnership and we are looking forward to continuing in the new school year. Thank you. >> Thank you, Betty Bruno and Germaine Mano. Hello, I'm honored to be here today to speak to you. Hi, my name is Betty Bruno. I have two boys in connected greatness and I have been in C and connected greatness family for two years now and still and I'll still be here until they kick me out of course. Um but I have a wonderful they are giving us they gave me a wonderful

145support aiding me and my boys in achieving their academic goals. Um I have one that received the four he's not here today because he's building drones that um for aerospace engineer. Um I also um have their support. They also support my boys in other areas as well. U my boys have achieved all fours and um have achieved over 3.4 four point GPA. Um they it does take a village and I am thrilled to have them um connect to greatness as a village um for me and my boys and they give me skills to assist in communicating and understanding my boys needs. I look forward to a new upcoming year and I wanted to give praise to connected greatness and thank you so much for giving me this time to communicate with you. >> Thank you.

146Hello, my name is Germaine Mano and sorry and um I have been attending connect for two years now and I enjoyed every minute of it and what else um sorry I'm very nervous um I'm going to high school with 3.6 6 GPA and and fun fact for connected greatness is even though if you don't have the best grades like they will try to help you to strive to be the best that you could be which is in our one of our um our end I mean our pledge and yeah so I was taking I'm taking algebra 1 in my eighth grade year and I got a four on my algebra one test so I'll be take I'll going to high going to um high school to go to geometry and yeah I'm very grateful to

147to be in connected greenness and yeah thank you >> thank you and congratulations okay Chandra McKini and Christopher McKini all right so good evening chair board members superintendent and staff my name is Chandra McKenna Clark and I am the proud mother of two brilliant children here in the school district of Palm Beach County. But I am also a birth doula, a housing advocate, an autism advocate, and a community leader. But I'm not here this evening regarding those things. Tonight, I am here as a proud parent to express my heartfelt gratitude for a program that has made a tremendous difference in my son Christopher's life. Connect to greatness. Middle school has not always been easy for our family. Like many students, my son has faced academic challenges. challenges with focus, organization, and a few little behavioral

148bumps along the way. But as a mother, there were times where I worried whether he would find support, encouragement, and positive influences that he needed to thrive. But Connect to Greatness stepped in to that gap. Their coaches have done far more than tutor my son. They have mentored him, encouraged him, and consistently have shown up for him. They have celebrated his successes and supported him through his challenges. They've invested in him as a whole person. When my son worked on his Eagle Scout project last year, Connect to Greatness supported his fundraising efforts and encouraged his leadership development. They have exposed him to new experiences, cultural opportunities, educational events, concerts, and community activities that have broadened his horizon and have helped him see what is possible for his future. Today I can confidently say that connect

149to greatness has ma has been one of the most meaningful programs that have contributed to my son's growth, confidence, and success. As a parent and as an advocate, I wish every child and every student here in Palm Beach County, especially those from underserved communities, had access to a mentoring program like this. Sometimes all it takes is one caring adult, one coach, one mentor to help a child recognize their greatness. And before I close, I also wanted to give a shout out to two other organizations, KOP Mentoring Group and EJS that have helped me along the way. But I thank you, Connect to Greatness. Thank you for investing in our boys. >> Thank you. Good evening, school board members, superintendent, and guests. My name is Christopher Clark, and I'm an Eagle Scout, and I recently completed

150the eighth grade at Westborne Middle School. This fall, I will be attending St. Lucia High School. I'm here today to thank to Greatness for the positive impact they have had on my life. Middle school has not always been easy. Like many students, I've faced challenges, but having mentors who believe in me, encouraged me, and pushed me to do the best has made me a hu a lot better. Through Connect to Greatness, I've learned important life skills, built confidence, and connected with people who genuinely care about my success. One of my favorite experiences was participating in a college tour. It helped me see what is possible for my future and motivated me to continue working hard in school. This year, I'm proud to earn level fives on all my state assessments. While I worked hard for

151those scores, I know that having strong mentors and support systems helped me stay focused and motivated. Another exciting opportunity happened just this week. I started an interest an internship with Congresswoman Lois Frankle. On my very first day, I learned about government leadership and like and serving the community. Opportunities like this don't happen by accident. They happen because of great mentorship programs like connect to greatness and my mom and because my mom works hard to connect me with positive people and opportunities. I want to thank my mentors, my family, my coaches at Connect to Greatness, and the Palm Beach County School District for supporting programs that help students like me to grow into young, successful adults. I'm excited about high school, college, and everything that comes next. Thank you for investing in students like me and

152for helping us become the best versions of ourselves. Thank you. >> Thank you. And congratulations, Christopher, Andre Thadius, and Alex Cornish. Good evening board. My name is Alex Cornish and I am a 2026 graduate from Atlantic Community High School. I've been a member of Connected to Greatness for 4 years now and I'm most grateful for Connect the Greatness because Connected Greatness has helped me accomplish some of my personal goals, whether that be maintain honor role or travel and learn how to live by myself for my future. Two goals that stuck out to me was winning the role of Mr. Atlantic at my school, which is a like a role model that my peers could look up to, or getting into FAMU for the summer semester. Thank you, Connect, for all the opportunities you have gave

153me. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, board. My name is Vanelli Ard. I am a 2026 graduate from Atlanta Community High School, and I've been with Connect to Greatness since my seventh grade year. Connect to greatness played a vital role in my growth in school. Before connected greatness, I wasn't the best in math. I would constantly struggle in this area and I often get low scores. I used to get so frustrated and give up. But with the help of and patience from connected greatness, I was given the opportunity to get tutored and that with that I was able to pass my algebra and geometry test and obtain the credits needed to graduate. Connect to greatness has also helped me gain acceptances from multiple colleges and has helped me gain skills like public speaking and speaking

154mannerisms which helped me gain scholarships and with their help I was recognized by the city of Boon Beach and awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award. My favorite experience with connect to greatness is going on the college tours and connect to greatness was a wonderful experience for me and I wouldn't have made it this far without the support and trust from the coaches and I'm forever grateful for them. >> Thank you. Don't go anywhere. come back up because we didn't catch your name. We don't have you on our list. So, just if you could repeat your name again. >> Vanelli Ard, >> could you spell it for the board clerk? >> V A N E L Y N V E I L L A R D. >> Okay. Thank you so much for joining

155us. >> Hello board uh board chair uh vice board or vice chair, I'm sorry, and superintendent. My name is Andre Thaddius. I am the proud executive director of Connect to Greatness. And just listening to these stories with the moms and the young men, it just it really makes me feel proud because this is something that we've we've earned, right? We tell the boys all the time, don't just ask for something. Sometimes you have to go out and earn it. You have to go out and get it. And one of the things we like to do is make them feel important, right? So in different ways like you matter, you are important. So the things that we have, just to be clear on connected greatness, we have boys from fifth grade through 12th grade in 19

156schools in South Palm Beach County. And we are on the campuses of nine of those schools um providing weekly activities uh weekly uh social emotional learning meetings. And we just want to give a big shout out to the principles of those schools that support us, the principles of those schools that really understand that it it matters, right? It kind of matters because of a lot. And a lot of people told me, "Well, Andre, don't come up here and say this, but I am." So DEI is not going to stop us, right? It's going to make us stronger. is going to make us have this opportunities for these young men to continue to thrive. And a little stat. So this year, the 25 26 school year, um we've had 32 fours and we had 37 fives.

157So that that's kind of importance whether it be from the PM ones, twos, threes on EOCC's and all the tests that they take. So, this is something that's important because like you hear from some of them, they have something to hang their hats on. And like Alex, young man right now going off the fam this summer. And when we first met him, he would never come and stand in front of you to talk. And that's one of the things we saying is like look him in the eye, say what you have to say, mean what you say, and then just leave him with whatever you leave him with. And we like to say again, thank you from Connect to Greatness. And come this September, we'll make our 10th year working with the school district. And

158on June 27th will be our eighth graduation for all of our young men moving up ceremony. And each and every one of you are are are invited. We'll get it out to you on the board, but it's in Boon Beach at the Arts and Cultural Center like we do every year. And it's an awesome event. So again, thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, our last speaker is Marcus Brown, come on up. >> Good evening, board chair, vice chair, superintendent, board members, and public. My name is Marcus Brown. I am a resident of Palm Beach County. I'm the proud father of a class of 2025 graduate from Forest Hill High School with a 4.6 GPA, ACE graduate. He is a current uh rising secondyear business student at Florida&M University. I'm also a proud member or proud

159part of the DDEC which uh chair postal presented the um recommendation to you all tonight. I do want to speak specifically about the recommendation. I served on a subcommittee that worked long and hard to try to figure out how to address the needs of the county when it comes to providing consistent highquality teaching across the county. uh like Miss uh like Sue presented earlier, uh it was not easy and at the end of the day, we just didn't have the time and the effort to really well, we had the effort, but we just couldn't figure everything out. So um my ask to the board is to use the recommendation that was provided to you that will be provided to you as a road map as a guide to help you address the issues that that

160hurt us as a county that hurt our children as they as they metriculate through school. Um one of the wonderful things I heard this evening was that we're a-rated school. You have it on your board. Imagine every school in the county with consistent high quality teaching. Imagine that being the standard and never going away. Imagine increased graduation rates, increased attendance, increased teacher satisfaction. This like was mentioned by some of our earlier speakers. The mindset of that recommendation is consistency, consistent quality across the board. I know it's something that all of you want. It's something that we want. And as my son demonstrated, if you have the correct support, if you have the correct guidance, if you have the correct mindset and not leave anybody out, the county will always be great. Thank you for your

161time. Happy Father's Day to all the dads and have a great summer. >> Thank you so much. Okay, so board members, that's going to bring us to our discussion items. The first item is my discussion item on Project Tango. I'll just explain um why I put that up there. Um but I'll start off by saying just to be clear, I'm not against data centers. So I'm not against them, but I do have some concerns over the last couple months speaking to people in the community about this particular location because it's so close to our schools. And there's been a growing list of people. Um you heard from Sharon Merchant that um we have the the village of Wellington, city of of Westlake, Indian Trails um have all reached out and expressed concerns to the county

162commissioners as well as Senator Burman who you know is um is a Democratic SE senator and Representative Meg Weinberger who's out there who's a Republican representative and their concerns are basically what you heard also CTA had a press conference they did share with us their resolution and so they had asked me we don't do resolutions like that as you know um but we have done in the past letters um to the county commission to the governor to you know legislators regarding different matters and you know I can't as your board chair write a letter without support from all of you and direction um I would have waited but they're meeting July 15th and we don't meet again until after that date so it is possible that it will get delayed, but at the at the

163chance that it doesn't, I wanted to see um if you do want me to work with the superintendent to work, you know, on on the issue of you, basically what the others have said. Um if you would entrust us to say that, you know, we want more information on what the impact would be on our students, our teachers, the neighborhood. It's not that we're opposed to it. It's just a matter of its proximity. And so even though we know the federal government is looking at slowing things down, this project has been in the works. And so I wanted to see if we have the majority that would like entrust me to work with the superintendent to send a letter to the board of county commissions prior to their meeting. Um expressing our concern in support

164of the children. And finally, you know, the last thing that I'll say is, you know, um I didn't realize I didn't even think about the sensory issues for our ESSE population having the building so close. Um I have looked into I did discuss in the past, full disclosure with Sharon Merchant about the lithium batteries. I do believe that we have the firefighters are looking into how long they would burn and what the environmental impact would be being so close to our school. So, just wanted to get your thoughts and see what you think. And so, um, Miss Andrews, you're up first. >> Thank you. I'm up first. And it is my district. Uh, we just built the new Saddle View Elementary. And I do know Sharon Merchant. I've certainly worked with Mr. Long Harper. And

165I'm in the community. I'm in that neighborhood almost every other day passing by the school. The site is so close you could almost walk to the school. It is something that uh I'm certainly opposed to having a site that close to a school center. So, I do give you uh Miss Bril the permission from me as the board member that represents district 6 to go ahead and do that letter, but I'd like for Mr. uh Burke to speak about this because it's not new. Uh the community has been talking about it for a long time and talking to me. I've spoken to the superintendent and one of the things the superintendent said that he was going to have our environmental people take a look. So before I go on with my um what the other

166pieces that I want to say, I just want to see if the superintendent can put something on the table as to whether the environmental people from the school district of Palm Beach County have been out to the site. The >> uh Miss Andrews, no, I don't really have much to add to this conversation. We've I don't think there's definitive research as far as the proximity and what we could expect. We don't have enough information to really provide the board uh direction on this. Uh you know, this is under the purview of the county commission. Uh I had reached out to ad an administrator the county just to say you know keep track of this where it is in the process and I let them know that if this moves forward we'd like to be involved

167in mitigation strategies. You know there's things that could be done. There's a there's land that the county owns between our school and this site. Uh but I really think this is a matter for the board just like you would handle your legislative platform if this is something that the board wants to take an issue, you know, and send a letter through your chair and then then staff is here to support with drafting the letter, but it's really going to be based on the conversation that we hear tonight and the points that the board would like to make. So, >> well, I'd like to continue making points because uh I just know that the noise level is so close. We've just dedicated Saddle View Elementary just about a few weeks ago. I've seen the children out

168on the playground. They're very close in proximity. When you start talking about noise, when you think about the environment itself, the concerns of health issues that we've heard uh that's been uh iriterated out with the community. They've had so many meetings in the community about this problem. I'm certainly opposed to it being built there. I remembered when uh they started uh constructing the road changers. I didn't know what that was going to be over there. And most people did not know that it was going to be an AI center until all of a sudden the palm trees came up, the roads were widened, and the next thing we knew that it was going to be an AI center. And the families that bought their homes there and building a new school there, that all came

169before this happened. and it came quickly without a lot of collaboration with the community and so on. So I'm just definitely in favor of getting the letter out ASAP. I know it's under the opaces of the county commission but we know we don't want any AI centers close to any of our schools not just saddle view and I'm hearing tonight there's another proposal for more things to happen back in that same area. It is no good for children. It is no good for the community. And as you've seen across the country, people are protesting because of the hazards. And maybe we don't have all the information now, but we just know that the noise, the fans, the electricity, the vibrations or whatever is going to be done in there, the water supply, all of the

170things will impact that community. And you almost at the 20 mile bend, folks. If you don't know where that is, it's the school and the AI center sitting there together with the community. It's a bad thing. So, I want to be on record. I think it's terrible. It never should have been built. I know the county commission is in charge. It was done hastily and the community did not know because I didn't know and I'm in the area all the time. So, I would love to see us just at least do a letter to let them know that we oppose it being close to this school or any other school within Palm Beach County School District for all of the reasons we heard tonight. And we've been hearing this for a while. And I've been

171talking to Mr. Berg. So, I'm glad it's here on the table tonight. And I'm hoping my fellow board members will say we don't want any AI center near any of our schools. Talking about five miles. You can walk to the AI center from Saddle View. It's a disgrace. Thank you. >> Thank you. So before I go to Miss Savayto, as all of you receive the um the resolution from CTA, the second page starts at now, therefore be it resolved. Um after you all speak, I'll show you those two paragraphs. I I think would be very easily incorporated into a letter. But Miss Sevayto, you're up next. >> Okay. My comment is not going to be against or in favor, but um having worked for Commissioner Weise for seven and a half years, I just left

172for a month. It'd be very ignorant of any of us to write something that you don't understand. Um I asked Mr. Burke to meet with Commissioner Weise to learn about it because they're zoned for it. So they can put 2,000 computers right now. So us saying we don't want it. So we would have to understand Miss Bril, Mr. Lane, Marshia Andrews, please give them a call, meet with them, understand the issue so we know what we're saying no to because right now they're zoned to put whatever they want almost there computer wise. You know what I'm saying? So we can say, yeah, let's say let's protect our kids. That's fine. But let's be educated exactly how um they are zoned for what they can do and cannot do. And this is like a side um

173uh building next to the big building. So um I think we should be very well-versed and educated about it and you know and write it but not write it blankly without even knowing what's all about. So, Miss Savito, I don't know you don't mean to be disrespectful, but just so you know, I've spent two months researching it. I do know that it's zoned. We're not saying don't build it. What we're saying is that it shouldn't be so close to the school until we have more information about what the unintended consequences are, the effect on the noise and environmental impacts. I've read the studies that are out there. I sent one over to Mr. Burke to have Mr. Sanchez go through. So, I'm not making this suggestion um uneducated. Um I'm making this suggestion it's not

174we don't have control over what the county commission does. But if we do have concerns about the health of our students and the health of our community, I believe it's incumbent upon us to express those concerns. So with that, I'm going to go to Miss Branch. >> Thank you. Um I do agree with Mrs. Andrews and Chair Bil that we do need to write a letter to learn more. We're not saying don't build it, but it it is kind of really close to a school, so we should be asking questions and I don't even think they may know what all the answers. So, I just wanted to say I'm agree with Chair Bril and Miss Andrews. >> And Miss Andrews, >> I want to speak again because we don't have all the answers. You've seen

175that in the CTA's information. I've been working closely with Sharon Merchant and the team out there. We don't have all the answers, but we know that building is there and we know our children are there. And if we don't get ahead of this to let people know that we are concerned that something could happen and I don't want to be on record later to say, well, I was waiting on the study. I know what I've heard already and until I can get the information to say it's not going to be any impact on any of the children or the community. I'm standing firm that it even shouldn't be there. I know I don't control it. It is a county commission issue. I've spoken to Mr. Burke, as I said before, over and over about it

176and I've talked to all of the different people within the neighborhood who have been talking to me and I am on record. I wish it was never ever zoned for that. They never dreamed people would be living out there at the 20-mi bin. Miss Saviettto, I've been driving out there for years and my schools are right there within the 20 mile bill bin going to Belglade. So, they picked an area where people didn't live, but when they decide to build it out there, people were living there. Uh, the whole Ardan neighborhood has been almost built. And this came behind the scenes after the neighborhood had been built and our school has been built and now we have little children riding their bicycles. They can see it from their school. This is something that's important to

177me that I can be clear that our kids are not going to be in danger. And I don't know that for sure yet, but I really want to know that. But I'm on record as the board member for district 6 that I know I don't control saying it can't go there. I want more information about it, but I'm worried now if it does go there, it may be harmful to our children and families. Thank you. >> So, I need more direction from other board members. Do other any other board members want to weigh in, Mr. Lane or Mr. Ferguson about whether you agree to have a letter sent from us questioning it? >> I think that Miss Branch and uh Miss Savetto raise a point. We need more information. We absolutely if if this data

178center is dangerous to our children and to our our team Palm Beach to our teachers and um our staff, we need more information. So at the beginning of your presentation, you said your letter is going to seek more information. I think we definitely need this to protect our children. So if we do put together a letter, it will be raising the points that we have in the resolution, but asking for more information, saying we need more information to make sure that it will not harm harm the students. You know, there's no guarantees in life, but we need to get more information. And so if you will entrust me to work with the superintendent and communications to send a letter, you will all get a copy of it. Okay? I can't share it to you in

179draft form. I've checked with deputy general counsel because that would violate sunshine. So, um, but it looks like we have direction and we can work together on that. >> I'm sorry. I didn't see that you did that. >> It's not a problem. So, clearly I support you on getting as much information as possible regarding this this issue of the data centers. My understanding is that they're much larger now than they were in times past. But in the event that there is information that that we receive that says that yeah, it it data centers do pollute the local uh water supply, which would be bad. They they are they are a base of noise pollution which would be bad particularly for a special needs children's uh children children's wow it is getting late children and things

180of that nature. What are we going to do about it? Because you said it's not our property. So what would we just send a a a letter to the county commission saying please don't support project tango or I mean what other >> Well, I think we can get a copy also of the letters that were sent by um Representative Weinberger and Senator Burman and see the direction. I mean, we can't stop them from doing it, but we certainly I think if they hear enough concern, particularly from us because we do have the school there, you know, I do think that they can pivot. You know, we're not saying we're opposed to it. Put it out further away. Put it five miles out as as Sharon Merchant said, you know, just get it away from there

181so that those unintended consequences. >> But wouldn't it then be in like a farm area as well? >> I don't know. I'm just saying I'm throwing out the but I I don't want it to harm anybody. Do our state representatives not already have research or did they just send a letter with >> according to what we've received they've already sent um letters expressing their reservations you know >> sure I appreciate one having reservations which is going to lead to my talking point but what facts do they have to support their reservation do have they have they secured research from other various entities that >> my understanding is that's the problem there isn't any research that we have and so I feel like type of thing I just don't want it in my backyard type of

182thing >> I understand it's it's not my backyard. I think it's, you know, that there there are concerns. There are some factual information that we know about noise levels. Um >> it is my backyard. That's the definition of my back. I don't want my backyard is normally is something that in my opinion is something that's acceptable, but it's too, you know, you don't want it there. I'm not saying I'm I'm not against having a data center anywhere, but I don't want it to be impacting people's health and school's health. So it has to be in the proper location. >> That's nimi. That definitely is nimi. >> We have different definition. >> But yeah, for sure. Send the letter. Let's see what other information we can get. I mean, we don't have much of saying the

183issue. Superintendent Burke has been pretty clear on that and I agree. But sure, I support you doing what you do as chair. >> Hopefully hopefully our letter will have an impact along with the other letters that are there. So >> yeah, let's make it happen. >> So we'll work together, Mr. Superintendent, on that. >> Yeah. Can just to make sure I'm we're on the right track. So, we want a letter that's seeking more information. We're going to highlight some of the concerns we have about the noise and public safety and the proximity to our school, but this letter is not necessarily opposing. >> So, my understanding >> by the county commission like and I just I'm not sure how realistic it is that the county commission is going to respond to this letter and give

184us a research driven, you know, report on what we can expect from this potential future site, but >> Okay. So, I if I may, I'm just going to read before I go to you, Mr. Ferguson. What CTA put in their resolution is that um they formally oppose the development and approval of Project Tango at or near locations that impact public schools and residential communities. And um they're asking they call upon local, county, and state officials. Well, we be calling upon the county to deny or suspend approval of the project until comprehensive independent studies are conducted addressing noise and environmental impact on student learning and health, public safety and emergency response considerations, infrastructure strain, including energy and water usage, and long-term community and economic impacts. So, it's basically asking for them to halt until there's more

185information, a comprehensive study. They don't have to do anything about it. They could just ignore it or they can take it into consideration. Again, we don't have control over it, but I do believe it's incumbent upon us to express that. So, Mr. Ferguson, did you want to something? So we have two of the better governmental attorneys uh in the state at minimum if not the nation here the in team Palm Beach which would be Sean Bernard and attorney Yolanda Morgan. My thought the more effective process would be simply to do a public record request which we can do. So in that in that regard hear what I'm saying. This is this is my my space here. I would ask the county what research what reports have been done addressing all those different things. I think

186that'll be a more effective use of your time because to Superintendent Burke's standpoint right now, it's just all speculative. We don't really know. So, let's find out what they know. There's no there's no exception in 119 that would allow them not to turn that information over to us. It's not like we're asking for Well, anyway, saving time. 119 would not prohibit us from doing that. So, I think the more effective letter, if there's a letter to be written, would be one requesting under Florida Statute 119 for them to provide us any studies that they have in their possession. They may not have any studies which then would give you support to say well you don't even know what the heck's going on here but if they have the studies done now you can at least

187you know be in that space that would be the more effective use of your time our time. >> What I'm thinking is that we we make the statements including what CTA has said and ask then go into asking them for the records. I would like to incorporate I agree with you. I think we incorporate what you're asking for into what we're what we're saying. Okay. So, I think that's great because it combines both. >> Just make sure you spell out pursuant to 119. So, there's no understand at that point. >> And Miss Morgan, did you catch that? Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, that's now going to bring us >> that's now going to bring us to BD2. Mr. Ferguson. >> Thank you. So, I'm going to try to be quick because the kids keep texting

188me, but y'all might be here for a few minutes. In any event, so that last DDEC meeting, um, so you all can look at the video if you want. Um, but yeah, the subcommittee came up with certain questions in regard to, hey, what are we really doing? My words, not theirs, to support black students and brown students in that regard here in Palm Beach County. And then Mr. Oswald attempted to kind of rephrase it. And I think it he did it from a I think he did it from the space he understands how we normally approve um, pro protocols and things of that nature. That's what I was getting at when I was speaking um before and then there was a little bit of friction cost. So I kind of jumped in because I am

189the liazison for DDEC. So it occurred to me that we have a school perception problem, not necessarily a school culture problem, but there are persons who perceive that we're not necessarily following 1003.42 subsection H with fidelity. And so like for example, we have this individual who comes every board meeting and say says this, that and the other, which sometimes is kind of offensive based on the work that was done by my predecessor and even by me and other board members um as well. But it occurred to me also that I don't believe we've ever actually discussed 1003.42. So I want to read it and and and I think two things are are true. I do think that we do a relatively effective job in relief facing adhering to 10.03.42 42 subsection H. But I think

190we can do a much better job, a more effective job letting the world know what we're doing. Because because of us not doing that, I do see us steadily losing black and brown students under the perception that they don't care about you. They being the district, they don't love you. Come over here. And it's really starting to hit a head based on what's happened in the last year. So I want to take time to read this statute to you because I'm pretty confident most of us have not read this stat, the current iteration. Even the person who speaks about it every board meeting, I spoke with him about a month ago and it occurred to me maybe he has not read the recent statute and he admitted he hadn't read the statute. So subsection G1

191which we actually follow with fidelity says that we are to these are mandatory requirements 103.42 things that we must do in public education. G the history of the Holocaust 1933 to 1945 the systematic planned annihilation of European Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany. a watershed event in the history of humanity to be taught in a manner that leads to an investigation of human behavior. An understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping. And an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person for the purposes of encourage tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions, including the policy definition and historical and current examples of anti-semitism as described in subse.05 05 subsection 8 and the prevention of anti-semitism. Each school district must

192annually certify and provide evidence to the department in a manner prescribed by the department that the requirements of this paragraph are met. The department shall prepare and offer standards and curriculum for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek input from the commissioner of education's task force on holocaust education or from any state or nationally recognized Holocaust educational organizations. The department may contract with any state or nationally or nationally recognized Holocaust educational organizations to develop training for instructional personnel and grade appropriate classroom resources to support the developed curriculum. I think we pretty much knocked that out of the park. I've been across the state at minimum and most counties do not execute implement that portion of the statute with the same level of fidelity that we do. So kudos to team Palm Beach in

193that regard. I holistically stand behind us making sure that we continue to keep that um in the space of educational space here in Palm Beach County. But now let's look at subsection H. And this has been changed over the last two or three years because of the conflation of DEI because this has nothing to do with DEI. This is just being factual as regard to history. Be that as it may, subsection 8 says, "The history of African-Americans is something that must be taught in our schools, including the history of African people before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the enslavement enslavement experience, abolition, and the history and contributions of Americans of the African diaspora to society. Students shall develop an understanding of the ramifications of prejudice, racism,

194and stereotyping on individual freedoms and examine what it means to be a responsible and respectful person for the purpose of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions. Instruction shall include the roles and contributions of individuals from all walks of life and their endeavors to learn and thrive throughout history as artists, scientists, educators, business people, influential thinkers, members of the faith community, and political and governmental leaders, and the courageous steps they took to fulfill the promise of democracy and unite the nation. instructional materials include the vi the vital contributions of African-Americans to build and strengthen American society and celebrate the inspirational stories of African-Americans who prospered even in the most difficult sit circumstances. Instructional personnel may facilitate discussions and use curricula to address in an age

195appropriate manner how the individual freedoms of persons have been infringed by slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, as well as topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression, Jim Crow would be an example of that. Racial segregation and racial discrimination and how recognition of these freedoms has overturned these unjust laws. However, classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles enumerated in subsection 3. Hard stop. Subsection 3 says, "The legislature acknowledges the fundamental truth that all persons are equal before the law and have inal inalienable rights. Accordingly, instruction and supporting materials on the topics enumerated in this section must be consistent with the following principles of individual freedom. No person is inherently racist, sexist,

196or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex. No race is inherently superior to another. No person should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, or sex. Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are not racist, but fundamental to the right to the pursuit, happiness, and be rewarded for industry. A person by virtue of his or her race or sex does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex. A person should not be instructed that he or she must feel guilt, anguish or other forms of psychological distress for actions in which he or she played no part committed in the past by other

197members of the same race or sex or by that way family. So instructional personnel may facilit facilitate discussions and use curricula to address in an age appropriate manner how the freedoms of persons have been infringed by sexism, slavery, racism, oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, including topics related to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in sexism, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, including how recognition of these freedoms have overturned these unjust laws. However, classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view consistent with the principles of this subsection or state academic standards. Now, why they put the same language, I know. Anyway, so picking up where I left off, each school district must annually certify and provide evidence to the department, and I

198would submit to the public at large in a manner prescribed by the department that the requirements of this paragraph are met. The department shall prepare and offer standards and curriculum for the instruction required by this paragraph and may seek input from the commissioner of education's African-American history task force or from any state or nationally recognized African-American educational organizations. The department may contract with any state or nationally recognized African-American educational organizations to develop training for instructional personnel and grade appropriate classroom resources to support the developed curriculum. Now, everybody knows what persons are are referring to. The question is what are we going to do about it? Because again, I was speaking to uh attorney Morgan a few weeks ago about this and I said, you know, I kind of I've been hearing since even before I

199got on the on the board that it's in um blender, blender, blender, blender, but some teachers tell me that it really doesn't show up in the day-to-day educational process. Others do. Attorney Morgan assures me that it definitely is there. Well, I say, "Well, then we as a district need to do a better job of explaining to people how we're executing that part of the statute with fidelity because we annually um monthly even weekly even are right in line with subsection G." And I support that. That is a very traumatic part of the the uh the human experience, which is the Holocaust, and eugenics, which was a precursor to all of those things. And we see the ugliness of humanity in that regard. But I don't see anybody worried about offending persons whose grandmother or grandfather

200was a bootststepping Nazi as far as that goes. As if it was some from some some galaxy far far away. That crap just happened and it's rearing its ugly head right now. We just had a murder in Australia. You know where I was with that chair bill as an example. So we have to kind of learn from our past or we're going to repeat it. I would argue that this DEI stuff is a conflation. And I say that because they're teachers who have told me that they're afraid to adhere to subsection 8 because they're worried about parents and other persons suing them under the parents bill of rights. What the heck are you talking about? I think we need to do a better job of educating them on that too. Because if you're adhering to

201this and again not trying to brainwash, if you will, people to see a thing a certain way, you're you're in you're in line with the mandatory requirements. So I do think we need to do a better job. Um, and I appreciate us kind of bifurcating that department because remember Brian knows quit because he said, "Hey, you guys putting too much on my plate. You got me teaching about subsection G, subsection H, subsection I. I'm going crazy over here." And you got me teaching whatever. So, we have Ethel Kennedy who who now kind of oversees, I believe, the African-American part of it. Let's make sure that we're supporting that department as well because that is that is our largest if if we did it by percentage per rat the greater number of students who are not

202retain staying with this district at least in district 7 and I suspect in all of your districts are black students and brown students and it's because there's a perception a perception I didn't say it was a reality but there's a perception that we are not trying to walk in line with 1003 uh 42H h is in Harry so I think we need do a better job moving forward. And I'm calling on you all in your respective spaces. You all have your own respective networks. You were duly elected. Um we're equals in that regard. So my voice has no more merit than yours. And I'm asking you all to use your voice whether it's as a matter of morality, as a matter of business, um whatever whatever reason you want to use to do it. Let's

203make sure that we're doing all we can to better promote that we're actually following 1003.42 subsection H and that this is your best place. Because if you think about it, charter schools when I was in school long, long long time ago, it was more so like a disciplinary section. I remember that we had Gold Coast and then I remember charter schools. I heard about this whole concept of charter schools. Charter schools, there was always like where the bad kids go, like last chance before you get kicked out of the district. And now it's being monetized and it's to the detriment of Palm Beach County, this state, and this country. So we have to do what we can while we can to tie that off and make people feel comfortable staying with us. And so that

204the confusion that not confusion the conflict that was had in the DD DDEC meeting this my words not theirs was because of the perception that we don't give a darn about the so-called black child and brown child for that for that um matter. Now I know that's not necessarily true but again when we look at how how well we follow G like I said best in the state Miami date Broward Hillsboro all the large counties they could learn a lot from us. Matter of fact, they should bring somebody down here to learn how well we get that done because we're definitely leaders of the industry in that regard. But when it comes to subsection H, not so well. And so that's why I'm speaking to you all. We have like a solid month and I'm

205asking I know y'all going to be on the on the beat sipping my ties and things of that nature. But I would ask y'all to think a little bit about 103.42 42 subsection H because I do think the life of this school district and other districts across this country and I should say this state and this country really do depend on us being outward facing in terms of our support for this statute and that's I just want to have that conversation with you all and that's my plea to you all like I said whether it's a matter of morality a matter of business I keeping more students in the in the seats and actually bringing more students back into the fold we need to get this done because if we don't Yeah I don't think

206there will be I don't think there will be a district as we know it in another 10 to 15 years. I don't think that's particularly profound statement. We got to do right by by what has historically been a marginalized community, which is the so-called black man and woman and also Latino man and woman. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. So, board members, I'll now take a motion to adjourn. Motion by Miss Branch. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Lane. I didn't see that either. Thank you. >> Yeah, I' I've been thinking that month after month after When I hear my friend Carl Muhammad speak, if we have a certification, if nothing else, provide it to car to brother Carl because he comes in month after month and says, "We're not complying. We're not complying." I suspect that

207we are. Um and and I would like to provide him with that certification that we are. I'm very familiar with the statute. I suspect we're complying with it. Please provide it with him to him. and if we need to maybe sit down with him and explain it to him so that we don't hear month after month after month that we're not complying. I suspect that we are. >> So, Mr. Lane, just so you know, and before I call on Mr. Ferguson, I have sat with Carl Muhammad. We have provided that. Um, he did want to come in as a consultant at one point. He was asking to be paid as a consultant. We are doing that, but I do agree with Mr. Ferguson. We need to do a better job of Well, no, we're not.

208>> Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. I said he wanted to come in as a consultant and he wanted to be paid. No, we're not. Sorry if >> that is not what I was suggesting. I was suggesting that someone sits down with the certification and sit down with >> But staff has I know the prior superintendent had also um done that. I believe Mr. Burke may have already sat with him too. Um but I do think we do need to do a better job promoting that we actually do follow this the statute. So I think that makes sense. Mr. Ferguson, I'll let you go. >> Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, another point that I meant to mention is that most of these most schools in a lot of schools in our school district are title one.

209So, you have SAC dollars. So, one thing I've always encouraged people in the community to do is to join your local SAC because you can directly affect how that money is spent. So, if you want to have more programming and what have you that's in line with subsection H of 103.42, for too. You can in my mind relatively easily get that done by directing the principal and their and their and the rest of the group the sack to to spend money in that fashion. Um so that's that's the one thing and definitely in district 7 I would say we shouldn't have this conversation like if if you want to if you want more programming in this regard join the sack get it done because we got a fair amount of money that can be reallocated

210in that regard. I think the bigger issue is outside of district 7 because that's primarily a minority district even now from a demographic standpoint going out to the west area west Bokea West Boon Jupiter Gardens areas where you would say that maybe the the demographics are are are more Caucasian having those communities comfortable with having this discussion as well because guess what white students need to know full ed full history full historical reference too you know it's no need to be walking out here half ignorant as a 18 and 19 year old going to colleges and whatever and not really realizing the greatness of other races. We all have greatness. I I'm kind of a history buff in that regard and I can't think of one race that has not contributed in a substantial way

211to humankind to mankind and I think we need to have an understanding as to all of those things and it's not about it's not about quotas. It's not about DEI. That's why I said at the beginning it's a conflation like we shouldn't like ignorance is really not bliss. It's really a bad thing. That's what I would tell the brother, but I know we can't speak to them, but I'm like, can somebody please pour some sense in his head? But in any event, putting him to the side, I think we owe it to the one plus 1 million plus people here in Palm Beach County to do all we can while we can to make sure that we are optimizing the educational experience for all students whose parents are not foolish enough to opt out of

212the truth. Because addressing the history and the humanity of black people is never a bad thing. and it doesn't hurt anybody, at least no reasonable minded people. And I think I'm working with a bunch of reasonable minded people up here, all six of you and everybody here in in the district. So, let's let's be as proactive as we can to let the world know, hey, we're here. We're meeting these metrics. Let's celebrate blackness. Let's celebrate our Latino brothers and sisters as well. I mean, it's all set forth in the statute, but I feel like the black part is easy enough for you all to understand because we definitely are being kind of overlooked in that regard. I'm not saying you're doing it on purpose, but I'm telling you that there is a sentiment out there

213that we as a district don't care to uplift the everything historically about black people and and if we continue to allow that to be out there, we're going to lose more and more students. The district will get smaller and smaller and smaller and at some point it'll be your job on the line if that kind of gets you to where you need to get. Um, but superintendent, board members, that's my request. Like I said, I know you're going to be sipping on my ties. me and superintendent gonna take his boat out in a few weeks. Uh, you know, go do some deep sea fishing. But that that is something u and I just want us to do all we can while we can. Next year is the most important year because it's the next year.

214So, let's improve on whatever our shortcomings were in regard to following this portion of the statute with fidelity this year and let's make sure that everybody knows, hey, we've grown and we've shown improvement. That's what I think the subcommittee of the DDEC and the DDEC at large really have been asking us to do over these years, at least since I've been on the board. and I thank you for your time. >> Thank you. So board members, I'll now take a motion to adjurnn. Motion by Miss Branch, second by Miss Whitfield. Any discussion? All in favor? All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. Enjoy your summer and and take your two cuties home. They're so grown up. >> You got a little princess there, too. >> Yeah, she's been

215text me the whole time.