001[Music] Good evening. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome, as I call to order the July 2025 meeting of the Escamia County School Board. Whether you're joining us via live stream or in the audience, we appreciate your interest in education of the students of Escamia County. The mission of Escamia County Public Schools is providing equal access to quality public education that embraces the uniqueness and potential of each student. We are united in our mission. At this time, I ask that you silence your cell phones and electronic devices. As a reminder, there are two public forum options. There will be a public forum for agenda items only, including the consent agenda and student and employee discipline at the beginning of the meeting and then a public forum at the end of the meeting for any items pertaining
002to school district business or public education. Additionally, if you are to speak into either of the items for public hearing, you will be called to speak during the agenda public forum. If you wish to speak at either of the forums, you must complete a form located on the table at the rear of the room and bring it forth to Miss Harris at the front table. If you wish to speak at both form forms, you must fill out a form for both. All speaker forms must be submitted prior to the start of the agenda public forum. This meeting was properly advertised in the Pensacola News Journal legal number 11430679. It is the tradition of Escami County School Board to begin each meeting with an invocation or motivational moment followed by the pledge of allegiance. This month,
003Mr. Adams of District 1 will lead us. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, one thing I want to mention for the invocation is that we had a tragedy over in Texas where many children died in that flood. Whole families win. I think one story I watched the other day were uh their children were in the camp and they were in a camp ground and the whole family died in that. And so I know our hearts and prayers go out to all those that were impacted by that um situation out there and and they're certainly in our prayers. Um tonight I've invited uh Craig Heidensman, associate pastor. He also serves on our education foundation. So he he does a lot for the school district. we all stand for the invocation and r standing for the pledge. Let's
004pray. Heavenly Father, we begin uh coming for you with a heart of gratitude. I personally, God, as my son took his senior pictures at Tate High School today, God, thank you for the Escambia County School System for those who serve it for everyone who has given their heart and life to the cause of raising up now my two children through the Escambia County School Systems here. Lord, today we lift up the school board and its leadership. Guide them to lead with integrity, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility. May every decision they make be rooted in your will, compassion, and commitment to serve all children in our school system. Give them the courage to do what is right, even when it is difficult, and the wisdom to see what is best for every student. God,
005we also pray for every person in a support role in our school. For administrators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, office staff, those that I worked with today in the warehouse and all those who work daily that their work often goes unnoticed, but it is so vital. Bless them with strength, patience, and a sense of purpose. Let them know that they are seen, valued, and deeply appreciated for the ways that they care for our students. I also want to lift up our teachers as they begin a new school year. Fill them with creativity, perseverance, and compass and compassion. Renew their energy and their sense of calling to educate, to mentor, and to love their students well. Protect them from burnout and remind them daily of the incredible difference that they make. God, we especially pray for
006firsttime teachers, for these new international teachers that we pack boxes for today. Uh Lord, give them the confidence and the peace as they step into new roles and unfamiliar places. Surround them with welcoming colleagues and supportive communities. Help them adjust quickly to build meaningful relationships with their students and to find joy and fulfillment in their work. Finally, God, we lift up our students. We pray that they would not merely survive this school year, but they would truly thrive. Help them to grow in knowledge, character, curiosity, confidence. God, surround them with encouragement, friendship, and safety. And may every student know that they are valuable, valued, capable, and loved. We entrust this meeting, this school year, and every school in our county to your care. May your blessing, protection, and guidance be with us all. In Jesus
007name we pray. Amen. Pledge. I pledge allegiance allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. At this time, we'll move into the adoption of the agenda. Mr. Superintendent, are there any additions or deletions for your recommended agenda? Yes, sir. Under section 16, item C has been added. Under section 20, item B, item C, and item D have been added. Under section 22, item D has been deleted and item E has been added. Under section 31, item B has been added. Under section 44, item B has been deleted and item F has been added. Those are the additions, sir. St. stantion and schoolboard rules requires that the changes made to the agenda after
008publication be based on the findings of good cause determined by the person designated to presside over the meeting and stated in the record. Do I have a motion to adopt the agenda? So moved. I'll second. Moved and second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Item passes five to zero. Thank you. Moving into committee departmental reports and special recognition. Mr. Superintendent, we'll start with PTA update. Sir, Miss Gamble. Good evening, superintendent and board members. Thank you for allowing me to bring an update for PTA in Escambia County. This past weekend, while everyone was join enjoying the Blue Angels, we were down in Orlando. I and 10 other Escambia County PTA volunteer leaders attended Florida PTA's annual leadership convention, which brought together over a thousand parent volunteers at all levels of PTA. We also had over 150
009student members, which I believe is a record, who attended student engagement workshops tailored just for them. The workshops not only included the basics of running your PTA, but also one ones presented by community leaders from throughout the state with topics such as advocacy, health and wellness, partnership with your district, and more. The theme this year was back to basics and it resonated throughout the 4-day event renewing Florida PTA's focus on connection, advocacy, leadership, and community. Florida PTA also held its annual reflections award ceremony during the convention, first time they have done that. And four of our six state winners in Escambia County attended and were recognized for their creative talents in participation in the national PTA program which this past year the theme was accepting imperfections. I would like to thank the pr the parents
010for bringing their child to this wonderful award ceremony and for Mr. Knight, principal of MB Cook for also attending. We have photos up on our Facebook page if you want to look at them. This weekend was spent with PTA PTA leaders which included National PTA president Avon Johnson was a powerful reminder of when we focus on PTA's core mission connection, growth, and advocacy. We're stronger together. Our local unit PTA volunteers throughout Escambia County. Oops. Our local I'm sorry. Our local unit PTA leaders have returned with a renewed strength and knowledge to share with fellow volunteers throughout Escambia County. ECC PTA will be sharing all we learned at our annual at our annual fall leadership training on September 6th and we hope each of you are able to attend. We will be sending out some more
011information. As we focus on the upcoming school year, we have plans in the works to reactivate two more local units this fall, which will bring our total local units to 32. We are excited about the growth of PTA and the opportunity it brings to support all of our students and their families, our schools and teachers as we work alongside school principles and other administrators to strengthen our schools and community. In closing, I would like to share a little bit about what PTA believes. We believe that students benefit from a wide range of perspectives and experiences found in diverse books and materials while supporting the role of parents and guardians in guiding their child's reading choices. PTA believes that students should be encouraged to think critically about the materials they read and to engage in discussions
012about different viewpoints. In essence, PTA strives to balance the rights of parents with the need for students to have access to a wide range of books and ideas while opposing efforts to restrict access to information. PTA also encourages parents to engage with their children's schools to address any concerns they may have about specific books, but also emphasizes that a singles parent single parents decision about what their child can read should not dictate what is available to all students. The association has been involved in initiatives aimed at promoting and supportive in supporting diverse school libraries. ECCPTA believes that each of you will do what is right for all children in Escambia County. Again, thank you for giving me the time to speak on behalf of PTA and Escambia County. Thank you, Miss Gamble. Okay. All right.
013So, you know, we had planned on having the Northview Lady Chief softball team here tonight. They did not have enough of their team members available to come. So, we'll once again try to do it in August, but we're very proud of uh Miss Amy Holland, the coach up there, the other coaches they have, and all those ladies. So, hopefully we'll have them here in August. Tonight, I want to go ahead and ask Miss Amy Gordon to step to the podium. And Amy's probably going to get aggravated me when I tell her why. I am terrible at pronouncing names, but I'm going to try and then we'll all come around and we're going to greet these three students. We had three students from the Escambia County Public School System that are also from Pensacola High School
014get to participate in the National History Day recognition. And not only did they perform well, they outperformed most everybody else in the United States of America. So, as I Amy, you want to go ahead and say something and then I'll try to pronounce each of them's names. So, we're very very proud of all of our um students who participated and we're glad that they could all be here tonight so that we can recognize them. So, so if the board would go ahead and come around with me, I'm going to get down there to the microphone. sense of humor tonight all three names and then you can come up and I want you to tell me how bad I do Hishna Gampa. All right, let's applaud for [Applause] Hini Kandala. [Applause] I may not even have
015to look at this one. I a prince. I sir with it. Very good. Thank you. You three ladies come up and we'll give you congratulations and [Applause] My name My name is Sishna Gampa. My name is Hosni Kandala. And we received the best entry for Asian-American history award. [Applause] Hello everyone. Uh my name is Ya Prince and I received third place in senior individual performance category as well as an outstanding entry for the state of Florida. So thank you all very much for your support by the way. Thank you very Thank you very much being a graduate of Pensacola High School and also working there for 35 years. Of course, you know, I'm very proud of that. That Mr. Superintendent? Yes, sir. Okay, we will now begin the agenda public forum. All forms must be
016submitted at this time. The purpose of agenda public forum is to allow members of the public to address the school board regarding any items on tonight's agenda, including for public hearing. Speakers must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the policy and post it on the agenda. You are expected to be respectful and your address to the board. You also asked to use titles and not individual names. Personal tax against schoolboard members, superintendent, staff, employees will not be tolerated. Please direct your comments to the chair. Personal attacks against any other speakers and outbursts during another speaker's time will all will also not be tolerated. If you fail to follow these guidelines, you'll be warned by the chair and subject to removal if violations continue. Each speaker will be allotted three minutes. Miss Odum will serve as
017parliamentarian. Miss Buzzwell is the timekeep and will start the timer with your opening remarks. The buzzer will sound when your time has elapsed. When the timer sounds, please bring your comments to a close. The first speaker of the night with six minutes is Mr. John Mays. You had three minutes donated from Stephanie Hick Hickman. John Mays. Stephanie Hickman. Will you raise your hand? Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you. My name is John Mays. I've been a resident of this area since 1973. I was a month old. My family moved down here. My dad was Air Force. Uh I've been licensed to practice law in the state of Florida since 1998. Uh I'm here on 44A and it's a real important issue to me. Real important issue
018to our community because it's important that we teach our children have an open mind. Think beyond what is presented to you and think outside the box. We use that term when I grew up grew up in Gulf Breeze. Um unknowingly cloaked in white privilege. Yes, I stand here and say it. I didn't know. Thought I got a good education at G Breeze and I know I did. K through 12. Good enough to get through, get a degree from University of West Florida, went to law school, and came back here to practice law. The last portion of this recommended action on 44A states to remove the books listed by the Florida Department of Education's book removal list without further review. What that tells me is that the recommended action is the board can ban books, remove
019them from our media centers without even reading them, without reviewing them. And that's concerning because if you don't see it, if you don't hear it, if you don't read it, guess what? He hearsay, they call it hearsay in the law. They don't allow that to prove your case. So, I encourage the board, despite this recommendation, to remove books from shelves without review. Don't rely on what's going on in Tallahassee. I don't envy y'all. You got a statute you got to deal with. It acts like it doesn't provide discretion, but it really does. That's not an easy job. Y'all are in a tough spot. Now you're elected representatives and this is a real issue and it's worth it to our children to take the time read the book before you make a decision as to whether
020we're moving. And not only that, identify why. I looked at some of the books that are on the list that were attached to the materials. Anti-racist Baby one. A lot of these books boil down to racism, race laws in the States, in the history of America, and people's sexual identity. And books that have nothing to do with sexual identity are on the list because they're written by transgender people. It's almost unbelievable me growing up in this country. It's almost unbelievable that we sit here and this is what we're looking at. Books I would love for y'all to read. All these books in here, these are books I have read. I would never recommend something that I haven't read. I would encourage you all to take the time to read these books. And I'm not going
021to read through all of them and pull them out. And I know I'm almost out of time. Anal writings of Confucious and Meditations writings of Marcus Aurelius. These two books talk about humanity, not humankind, humanity. Compassion, sympathy, generosity, and disposition. Cast. This is a book that was written by a Pulitzer Po uh prize winner. Uh, it's a book that talks about, this is hard for us to admit. I'm sitting here as a white dude. This is tough. This country founded upon a cast system. We just didn't call it cast. It's not surfs and elites and all this. It was white Americans and slaves, secondclass citizens. Native Americans, secondclass citizens. Chinese in the late 1800s, the Japanese. Now we're targeting people because of their sexual identity, what country they were born in. A very interesting book
022that I encourage all of you to read. And I'm not I've got so many here and I know I'm out of time. It's uh called Hitler's American Model. Scary. And it's got a a swastika on the top. The United States and making of Nazi racy law. I just read it this weekend. Why is it interesting? They did the Germans were very comprehensive. They did a comprehensive study and comparative law analysis of race laws in the United States and juristprudence on that so that they could write the Nuremberg laws. Okay. We don't want to live in Fahrenheit 451. I encourage compassion. Commissioner, you started with a sir, your time's up. I understand. Thank you. The the uniqueness of each student. Please bear that in mind. Thank you. Um, next, Mr. Rich Holes. You have three minutes.
023Mr. Superintendent, members of the board, Mr. Chair, Miss Odum, um I look at things a little bit differently than the good counselor. Number one, kudos to you for your motion last month that got rid of those 409 books on the Florida DOE book removal list. Uh and also those that have been removed by other uh counties. Now, these things have been read. Uh that's it's it's inaccurate. Uh you know, unless you've been coming here to these things month after month, you wouldn't know. But even though we we made this giant step forward, there are still books on the shelves in clear violation of Florida statutes uh and that that fly in the face of the edicts that were issued by the the state commissioner of education and the state attorney general. Yes, this is not
024about personal opinion about a single book. This is about the law. And when the law says that children before the nth grade shouldn't be exposed to alternative lifestyles, gender fluidity, sexual uh explicit material, and that's for all the grades. Uh and um that that means that's the law. And when the attorney general wrote to the the board members of Hillsboro County, he put them on notice. They're the ones that are going to be held criminally liable for violation of Florida statute. Not anyone behind me and not even your, you know, Miss ODM, who I love, okay? They're not the ones that are going to be held uh a culpable. You will be. And uh and the attorney general and the um and the commissioner of education urged Hillsboro and and lauded the efforts of other
025leaders, board members and superintendents elsewhere in the state who were proactive. what you did last month was proactive. Kudos. There's two initiatives still on the table that are proactive and I think you need to continue to pursue them. One was was um proposed by our rep from district 2 to apply the same Florida statutes to the libraries as to the classroom. Now, that's uh and that was something that was specifically um directed by the attorney general. He said, "Apply, get these books out. Get them out now. Not just these, but those like them. Not just from the classrooms, but from the libraries." That's number one. Pursue it, sir. It's it's a good initiative. Number two was proposed at the workshop by the rep from district one. It had to do with the library review committees.
026I'm all for them if they're they're they're changed. I I'm in fact I'm going to take that back. I'm not all for them. They're not working. The rep from district 2 said they're not serving us well. They're not serving the students well. I agree. You need to pursue both of those initiatives to make sure we're in compliance with Florida statute. Thank you, sir. Next, we have Miss Linda Fossil. You have three minutes. Good evening. If we get this right this time, we prevent this from being a problem in our district decades to come. Words spoken at the May workshop. I believe that this is a correct statement. The impact to the school community will take decades to undo. The impact of removing over 400 books from the Escambia County School District will be devastating for
027all members of the school community. Books will no longer be available to support the development of empathy, critical thinking, or a global view of the world in which students live. Students will no longer recognize themselves in the books available to them as members of the LGBTQ community. But the board has made it very clear that they are not welcome here through the consistent removal of books. Black and brown students will be invisible again through the removal of classic works by African-American and Latino authors as well as students of Asian descent. All those books disappeared. You can all say over and over that you are guided by what is best for students when in actuality you are guided by what is best for you. As stated time and again, we five are liable. And in removing
028these books, by becoming more restrictive on students reading ability, you risk lower test scores through knowledge gaps, stifling a love of reading, and negatively impacting students mental health, but you firmly show that you are guided by what is best for students. Why waste taxpayer dollars in district resources if the books have already been removed in other counties? They need to be removed here in Escambia. Simply enough, even though a list to work from provided by the state department of educa even though there's a there's even a list to work from provided by the state department of education. But did you know that this list is full of issues? In 2223, the state did not distinguish between aging up books and district-wide bans. All decision in this school year were made before the equality Florida settlement
029that clarified classroom instruction limits don't apply to library books. The 2324 list still did not properly communicate when a book was removed at a school by school level versus a district-wide removal. For example, Valuchia reported in 22 23 24 as school level decisions but has since has forced the removal districtwide. The same thing is for Wakulla. They age up their books. Manatee County brought some books back, removed them, brought them back, aged them up. And if a Scampia County standard is to follow the decision of any district that removed books, then those books will be gone from our libraries, even if other districts decided to retain them without review. This list is a terrible and unreliable resource that likely won't withstand scrutiny in court, which is something you should be worried about and not rely
030on. It will work itself out. Find another way to restrict books. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. There are no more speakers. This concludes the agenda public forum. Next on the agenda is approval of the minutes. Item A, June 16th regular uh workshop. I'll move the minutes. A second. We moved and second. Any discussion? Seeing none, please vote. [Music] Approve five to zero. Thank you. Item B, June 17th regular meeting. I move we accept those minutes. I'll second. has been moved and second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Approve five to zero. Thank you. June 30th, budget workshop. No moves. Um, I'll second. It's been moved and second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Approve 5 to zero. Thank you. And last item D, June 30th special meeting. I'll second. Been moved and second. Any discussion?
031Please vote. Approved. Five to zero. Thank you very much. Moving into administrative appointments. Item A, administrative appointments. Can I get a motion? So moves. I'll second. So moved in and second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Approved five to zero. It's my pleasure to introduce to you Mr. Greg Blackman. is currently the athletic director at Tate High School to be the interim high school assistant principal at Tate High School. Mr. Blackman, please come forward and greet the board. [Applause] Good evening, Superintendent Leonard, Mr. Chairman, school board members. I stand here grateful, thankful. Um, this is year 33 for me. And before all this started, I was fixing to go in to drop. That's how far that's how close I am. But I'm honored honored to serve as interim assistant principal at Tate. Um I want
032to begin by recognizing our principal, Miss Laura Touchstone. She's in the audience. She is um a tremendous leader. Tremendous leader. Her expectations are through the roof. She challenges you every day. Um and I think that's what we need. That's what we need more of. She is an outstanding leader. Um Mr. Corson, Miss White have also been very helpful me these first few days. You know, you think you know everything in 33 years, and you do, but you don't know how to do a lot of things. And that's what I'm figuring out. Also, um I had a man tell me a long time ago, you also need to recognize your family because they're there with you all the time. And my wife Melissa, she's been in the district 31 years. my oldest daughter, she's been in,
033she's pushing 10 years in the district and then my youngest daughter starts this year. Um the only one missing is my son and he's plying his way trying to be a collegiate baseball coach. So I'm very very thankful. Um thank you for entrusting me with this role and as always, go Aggies. [Applause] Last month you approved uh this particular appointment but she couldn't be present. So we wanted to make sure we gave her the opportunity to greet you tonight. Miss Holly Shumpert who was in Title One is now the IB coordinator at Pensacola High School. Congratulations Holly. [Applause] Good evening, Mr. superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, and board members. There's a hymn I used to sing in church growing up, and one of the lines was, "Here I raise my Ebenezer." And I never understood for years
034what that line was about. But as an adult, I've learned that Ebenezers are stones of help that are placed to commemorate times where God was faithful. And looking back at the path that has led me here tonight, God has placed many stones of help in my life. And those stones have formed my path to this podium tonight. I would like to just briefly share a few of them. My first stone was placed by my family. To be honest, my dad begged me not to be a teacher. He said, "Holly, teaching is hard and you won't make any money. But the people in my life who I love and respect most are all educators. My uncle Chuck Pots was a principal at Viger High School in Mobile. My aunt Sharon Pototts was my business office education
035teacher and taught me how to type. My dad, Billy Howard, was a state championship football coach and Hall of Fame baseball coach. And my mom was an elementary school teacher for 37 years. There was truly nothing else I could imagine doing. So, I followed in the footsteps of the greatest educators I know. I'm grateful to have my mom and my aunt with me tonight, as well as my brother, who flew in from Atlanta to be here today. Mom, you're my constant my anchor and my biggest cheerleader. Ty, you're my constant support. And throughout every chapter of my life, both of you have been there with unconditional love and an open heart. I love you both more than words can adequately convey. The second stone I place is for my friends who are my chosen family.
036Your friendship has been a source of comfort, strength, and joy. Thank you for your loyalty, your love, and your unwavering presence in my life. The third stone I place is for Booker T. Washington High School. Thank you, Dr. Michael Roberts for taking a chance on me 10 years ago. Thank you to Cheryl Reeves, Valerie Cop, and Elise Glidden. Together, we redefined what it meant to have a work family. After eight years together, we really were more like sisters than co-workers. Thank you, Mr. Rick Shackle, for being an incredible leader and showing me how to be the kind of leader that does it really well. You set a high bar, but you lead with love and compassion and your own unique brand of humor. My fourth stone is for my Title One family. I spent last
037school year working alongside three amazing women to serve our district's most vulnerable students and families. Melissa Hyde, Cassandra Manis, and Megan Koselle go far and above their job descriptions every day to make sure our students are cared for and their educational needs are met in hopes that their part, which is all of our part, will help students rise above the challenges of homelessness and have access to an education that will help them break the cycle of poverty. It is said that employees don't leave workplaces, they leave bosses. And if you want to why want to know why nobody wants to leave Title One, look no f further than Dr. Laura Colo and Kim Edmonds. Together they create a workplace where high performance is the norm and their employees feel valued and supported. I'm immensely grateful
038for the year I got to spend with you. And tonight I placed the next stone on my path for Pensacola High School. Thank you, Mrs. Amy Gordon, for trusting me to take over the reigns of the international balorate program. We began working together 10 years ago and I've had the privilege to watch what exceptional leadership looks like in you. You've been a mentor in the truest sense of the word. You have invested in my growth and your belief in my potential means more than you know. Tonight, I join my three favorite Pens Pensacola High School graduates, Lauren, Ally, and Braden Shumpert, as an official Tiger. Every day that you walked the halls of Pensacola High School, you made me so proud. And I will seek to make you equally as proud as I take over
039a program that I know you all have a deep respect for. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve our students and families and work alongside the outstanding faculty at Pensacola High School to lead the IB program. I have big shoes to fill and I am grateful to Dr. Colleen Boyette for her friendship and wisdom over the last months. And finally, I am very excited to be able to end tonight with a very full full circle moment for me and say as always, go Tigers. Thank you very much. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you very much. Is that it, Mr. Superintendent? Okay. Next item is uh for public hearing item A, 2025 2026 secondary code of conduct. Can I get a motion? So moved. A second. Got it. It's been moved and second. Any discussion?
040No discussion. Please vote. Prove five to zero. Thank you. Item B, 2025 2026 Elementary Code of Conduct. So moved. A second. Been moved and second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Approve five to zero. Thank you. This brings us to the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. So moved and sec. Are there any items to be pulled? One item to be pulled is 18E. Uh I will be abstaining from voting. Uh the contract with the YMCA due to being a member of the board of directors. Any other items uh under curriculum? Any items under finance, human resources, operations, superintendent, including student employee discipline. Please vote on the consent agenda minus the one pulled item approved five to zero. The the one point item is 18E contract with YMCA.
041Can I I move the agenda item second. It's been moved and second. In discussion, please vote. approved four to zero with Mr. Williams abstaining. Thank you. Next we have items from the board. Item A, appointment of internal audit auditor. So moved. I'll second. It's been moved and second. Any discussion? Please vote. approved. Five to zero. Would you want Miss Lane? Yes. Miss Lane, please come greet the board. Congratulations. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening, members of the board, Superintendent Leonard, and colleagues. I stand before you today deeply honored and genuinely grateful for the trust you've placed in me by appointing me as the director of internal audit for our school district. This opportunity is not one I take lightly. I recognize the responsibility that comes with this role, ensuring accountability, transparency, and integrity across our systems,
042ultimately supporting the mission of the school district. I want to sincerely thank each of you for your confidence in my ability to serve in this capacity. Your belief in my leadership and professional judgment means a great deal to me, and I will strive every day to live up to the high standards this position demands. Internal audit is not just about oversight. It's about building trust, driving improvement, and helping our district operate more efficiently and ethically. I am committed to working in partnership with every department, listening carefully, and offering insight that helps move our schools forward. As we continue our shared journey of educational excellence and physical responsibility, I look forward to being a resource you can count on, a voice of integrity, a partner in accountability, and an advocate for doing what's right for our
043students, staff, and community. Again, thank you for this opportunity. I am both humbled and inspired by your support, and I'm excited to get to work. Thank you. Thank you. Moving into items from the superintendent. Item A, media center materials for removal. Can I get a motion? I'll second it. Moved and second. Any discussion? Please vote. [Music] Approved. 5 to zero. Item C, agreement of legal services. Can I get a motion? So moved. I'll second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. Approve five to zero. Item D, renewal of contract for legal services. So move. I'll second. Any discussion? Please vote. Approve. Five to zero. Thank you. Item E, renewal of contract for legal services. So moved. A second. Please vote. Approve 5 to zero. Item F, renew of agreement of legal services. Item moved in a
044second. Any discussion? No discussion. Please vote. approved five to zero. Lastly, items for internal auditing. Item A, external quality control review. Can I get a motion, please? I'll move that. No discussion. Please vote. approved five to zero. Thank you. We will now begin public forum. The purpose of public forum is to allow members of the public to address the school board on any matter regarding education and administration of our schools. In this setting, we as the board members are not compelled to answer questions or respond to you and typically will not engage in a back and forth dialogue in this venue. However, this board and superintendent will note your contact information for response if appropriate. As always, we invite you to contact any of us by phone or by email for followup. Our meeting times
045and locations are posted on the Escami County School District website. Speakers must adhere to the guidelines outlined in the policies and posted on the agenda. You're expected to be respectful in your address to the board. You are also asked to use titles and not individuals. Personal attacks against schoolboard members, superintendent, staff, and employees will not be tolerated. Please direct your comments to the chair. Personal attacks against other speakers and outbursts during another speaker's time will also not be tolerated. If you fail to follow these guidelines, you'll be warned by the chair and subject to removal if violations continue. Each speaker will be allotted three minutes. Miss ODM will serve as parliamentarian. Miss Boswell is our timekeeper and we'll start the timer with your opening remarks. The buzzer will sound when your time has elapsed. When
046the time sound, please bring your comments to a close. The first speaker we have tonight is Alton Alton Williams. You have three minutes. Good evening. I'm Alton William. My my thing is about numbers. They have to do with the standard deduction of the income tax. In 2017, it was $6,350. In 2018, it was minus $700. It wasn't $12,700. We lost $700. And you go on down, you take the 926, which was 400, $4,50. You add that to the 700 loss. That's $4,750 minus $6,000. That leave $1,250. And you come on down, you add that to the other 6 $6,000 that was left, that $1,250, that standard deduction come out to be $7,250. And the citizen said the tax will double. But and about 35 years ago, the poverty level was $7,500 for individual. But then
047this tax turned out to be 7 which 200 200 something dollars less. Thank you. And I have a copy of some of that I each one of y'all that I sent to Washington, but my math I don't have it. Thank you. Next we have Paula Montgomery. You have three minutes. Good evening and thank you for hearing me. The role of education according to the founding father Thomas Jefferson is to create an electorate that that is educated. That is important in order to preserve our democratic form of government. Every qualified citizen has a right to vote. This is how we create and preserve our democratic form of government. The people have the final word on government. So we obviously want the people to be knowledgeable about how government works and also about how important it is
048to pay attention to the issues that come up and to vote in ways that help preserve and improve our less than perfect union. Public education has four important aspects according to Jefferson. One of them, it gives us an informed electorate. It provides, it promotes individual liberty and personal development. It should be accessible to all people, not just the elite or the wealthy. It cultivates critical thinking and the ability to question ideas and authority. This last is crucial. The world seems to be full of theories and ideas that may have appeal but certainly don't stand up to scrutiny. Where do these ideas come from? Who's pushing them? How do they profit from them? What are their sources? People without skills in critical thinking are liable to accept anything that they hear loudly enough and often enough.
049They're liable to fall for any scam. They are liable to vote against making a more perfect union for us. We owe it to our children to teach them how to question, how to evaluate, how to evaluate what they hear on the internet and what they hear from other people. Teaching them how to evaluate ideas is much more important than trying to teach them what they should think. Thank you. Next we have Mr. Mickey Price, you have three minutes. I usually follow Larry D. So I'm glad I didn't do that this time. So chairman, board members, superintendent, my name is Mickey Price, a member of Marcus Point Baptist Church and a member of the men's group, Micah 68. Thank you board members and superintendent Leonard. I actually like this board, okay? I mean, I I think
050y'all are doing a great job. I appreciate your dedication to our students. I will always tell you to do the next right thing and if you don't do the next right thing, I will tell you to do the next right thing. Um, you can never go wrong if you do that. I have lived in Escami County in District 3 for 65 years. I grew up in Brent um and played baseball and grew up went to Brenwood Elementary and Brentwood Middle School and Pensacol High School and Booker T. Washington. Uh, we didn't have much when I was little or when I was young, but my parents loved us and took care of us the best they could. They taught us right from wrong. My father taught me to be a man in a word, and I've
051tried to do that. I ask you to protect our students. I ask you to teach them and train them. I ask you to correct them, especially when they have potty mouth, cuz you know, our high school students, they all have potty mouth, even the girls. I ask you to hold the students accountable for their actions. I ask you to love them no matter who they are. When I pray at my Micah men's meeting, I always close with this. I ask God that we all would run to the roar. And I ask you now to run to the roar and keep running to the roar. I will continue to pray for you. God bless you and keep up the good work. Thank you. Next, we have Pamela Swans. You have three minutes. Thank you for having
052the freedom to speak before the board. Freedom and responsibility are mutual and inseparable. We can ensure enjoyment of one only by exercising the other. Freedom for all of us depends on responsibility by each of us to secure and expand our liberties. Therefore, we accept these responsibilities as individuals, members of a free society. And we are supposed to in these responsibilities to respect the rights and to meet the responsibilities on which our liberty rests. And our democracy depends. And you've heard Miss McGomery speak about our founding fathers and what they said about power to the people when they revolted against the tyranny of King George III who called them terrorists, traitors, and we called them patriots. And we celebrated the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence just this month. I hope our democracy survives. But
053I am afraid that my government I cannot trust. We say in the pledge of allegiance, one nation under God. And in our money we say in God we trust. Well, God is the only one that I trust in today's climate of hatred and division and powerful people at every level of our country's government and in our state government and even right here in my county, I am sad to say, who are out for their own power and profit and are doing things to go along to get along with the people they perceive will keep them in power instead of exercising integrity and the courage that the patriots who wrote the Declaration of Independence and fought to form the United States of America fought for. I never thought that I would not have trust in my
054own government. And I do respect the rights that other people have. It means that I don't always agree with some of their behaviors, but I have to honor their rights in a country that professes to have the freedoms that we have enjoyed. We have the responsibilities to help freedom survive by assuming personal responsibility for its defense. And I'm sad to say that we have military people in service who experience food insecurity and the lack of respect for their service. And this has gone on historically when we have had the Navajo code talkers, Tuskegee airmen and women who have not been given credit for serving in the defense of our country. And that goes on today with our government firing people. We have these responsibilities and I hope that this school board will honor their policies
055which confuse the public and our government seems to be anti-public and anti general welfare. Thank you. Okay, that concludes our speakers. Before I join the meet this meeting tonight, I would like to mention that um Pensacola lost a a true tiding titan of um children youth and Reverend John Powell who was a personal friend of mine and um unexpected passing of him. He was a great mentor to many students uh in the Scammy County school system. Started Truth for Youth and um had a lock in many many years ago where 3 to 4,000 children would be locked in and he would would uh make sure that they had an enjoyable Christmas. So uh I just wanted to mention we we lost a great one and the community is hurting because of because of that. But
056uh in honor of him, I just wanted to mention that tonight. Anything else before we adjourn? as we're talking about people who've lost Jonathan Suarez who many of you know but never get to see who's behind the scenes with the IT for the setup of the meetings and the mics and had a loss in his family and I'd like for you all to keep him in your prayers also. Nothing else. This meeting's adjourned.