03/24/26 School Board Meeting

001Mhm. >> day March 24th, 6:00 p.m. school board meeting. Please rise for a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Presenting the colors tonight is the FPC Air Force JROTC. Joining us are Cadet Captain Prem Patel, Cadet Staff Sergeant Liam Vidal, Cadet Staff Sergeant Desiree Rosa, Cadet Airman First Class Richard Small, and FPC Air Force JROTC advisor is Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Baskerville. Now for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now for our national anthem. This is the Matanzas High School Blue Steel [music] Band. >> [music] [music] [applause] >> Thank you, you may be seated. >> [snorts] >> Can I get roll call? Olivia Delgado,

002FPC, here. Lauren Ramirez, present. Janice Ready, present. Will Furry, present. Kristy Chong. Angela O'Brien. All right, we'll move on to special announcements, our proclamations, resolutions, and the legislative updates. 2.02 is School Library Month. Presenters are media specialists Ms. Brandner and Ms. Billick from Matanzas and FPC. Whereas, April 2026 has been designated the 41st annual National School Library Month, and whereas school libraries provide materials for teachers and students that will encourage growth and knowledge, and whereas school libraries provide materials that will develop literacy skills, cultural awareness, aesthetic appreciation, and ethical standards, and whereas school libraries provide materials that reflect ideas and beliefs of different religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups, and their contributions to the American and world heritage and culture, and whereas school libraries provide access both physical and digital books to encourage children

003to read for pleasure, and whereas school libraries provide materials to meet individual needs, varied interests, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and maturity levels of the students served, and whereas school libraries serve as positive environments for all students to access and engage with a well-managed library that provides for free expression and access to ideas, and now, therefore, be it resolved by the Flagler County School Board that we do hereby recognize April 2026 as School Library Month and urge all citizens to recognize the important role our school libraries play in the education of our community's children. Thank you both so much. Okay, 2.03, our Child Abuse Prevention Month presenter is Mr. Finelli. Good evening, Chair Chung, school board members, Assistant Superintendent O'Brien. A resolution of the Flagler County School Board recognizing April as child abuse prevention month. Whereas child

004abuse and neglect are serious problems affecting every segment of our community and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone. And whereas our children are our most valuable resources and will shape the future of Flagler County. And whereas child abuse can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that last that have lasting consequences for victims of abuse. And whereas protective factors are conditions that reduce or eliminate risk and promote the social, emotional, and developmental well-being of children. And whereas effective child abuse prevention activities succeed because of the partnerships created between child welfare professionals, education, health, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, law enforcement agencies, and families. And whereas communities must make every effort to promote programs and activities that create strong and thriving children and families. And whereas we acknowledge that we must work together as

005a community to increase awareness about child abuse and contribute to promoting the physical vitality, personal growth, and long-term success of children and families in a safe and supportive environment. And whereas prevention remains the best defense for our children and families. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Flagler County School Board that we do hereby recognize April 2026 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month and urge all citizens to recognize this month by dedicating ourselves to the task of improving the quality of life for our children and families. Adopted by the members of the Flagler County School Board, Flagler County, Florida at the regular open public meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of March 2026. Signed, School Board Chair Christie Chung, Superintendent of Flagler Schools LaShakia Moore. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Finelli. Okay, call up

006Dr. Halliday, who will be presenting for Autism Acceptance Month. And her team. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, Chair Chung, school board and Assistant Superintendent O'Brien. Tonight I have with me Ms. Justine Keller, Ms. Kim Calero, and I have our Assistant Principal of the Year, Ms. Abra Say, all very strong supporters of autism going to help me read tonight with this resolution. Whereas Autism Acceptance Month aims to celebrate and promote acceptance for the condition occurring one in every 31 children as of 2025 in the United States and Whereas autism, a complex developmental condition affecting the students' ability to interact, communicate, and progress has not one but many subtypes. First held in the year 1972 by the Autism Society, Autism Acceptance Month emphasizes the need for public awareness to promote acceptance, celebrate the differences, and be

007more inclusive towards individuals with autism. And Whereas every April organizations such as the Autism Society works to build an inclusive community where individuals with autism are embraced and supported to achieve the highest quality of life possible. And Whereas the Autism Society was founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland, it is driven by the fact that autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world. The Autism Society hosted one of its first nationwide efforts of the of an awareness campaign called National Autistic Children's Week in 1972, which subsequent subsequently evolved into the Autism Awareness Month earmarked in April. And Whereas in 2021, Autism Awareness Month helped foster acceptance and ignite change. The Autism Society understood the need to foster awareness and acceptance to ignite change and a healthier lifestyle through improved opportunity for people with autism.

008The organization caters to more than 600,000 individuals on the autism spectrum who have access to tools like community partnerships with organizations, digital and print resources, and even events and referrals to spark empathy and inclusivity. And Whereas with the autism diagnosis rate increasing fast, we take these 30 days of April to celebrate the differences, learn more about, and empower autistic individuals. And Whereas in Flagler schools the number of students served under the IDEA classification of autism spectrum disorder has gone from 189 in 2018-2019 to 298 in the 2025-26. Now therefore, be it resolved by the Flagler County School Board that we do hereby join the nation in recognizing April 2026 as National Autism Acceptance Month as a symbol of our commitment to creating a culture of disability awareness and inclusion for all members of our community.

009This is adopted by the members of the Flagler communities, Flagler County School Board, Flagler County, Florida at the regular open public meeting thereof held on the 24th day of March. And I just want to thank you all very much. Number one for the opportunity to be up here and to celebrate this, but also also for your support and your your care for our young people with disabilities all through Flagler County. Thank you very much. Thank you all so much. Okay, we will now welcome Ms. Judy Busick. Yeah, we can take Okay. Thank you. All right, I'll just put this right here and we'll pick it right back All right, welcoming Ms. Busick for Florida Volunteer Month presenter. Good evening. Thank you for having us here. So whereas April is Florida Volunteer Month, National Service Recognition

010Day is April 7th, 2026, and National Public School Volunteer Week is April 20 to 24, 2026. And whereas National Volunteer Week was established as the official time to recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers at the local, state, and national levels. And whereas volunteers can connect with local community service experiences through hundreds of community service organizations including Flagler Volunteer Services. And whereas volunteers address the most pressing challenges facing our schools, our cities, countries, and our nation from educating students for the jobs of the 21st century and supporting veterans and military families to preserving the environment and helping communities recover from natural disasters. And whereas volunteering enhances the lives of volunteers, increases self-esteem and physical well-being, provides opportunities to learn new skills and abilities, and offers the chance to meet new friends and associates. And whereas

011schools, nonprofits, charities, community and faith-based groups, national service programs, and volunteer centers such as Flagler Volunteer Services have joined with state and local governments to celebrate and praise volunteers who have given tirelessly and selflessly to the service of others. And whereas volunteers are vital to our future in caring at the caring and productive nation. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the School Board of Flagler County, Florida that we do hereby recognize April 2026 as Volunteer Month and encourage residents to recognize the positive impact of volunteer service in our country and to thank those who serve and find ways to give back to their communities. Dated this 23rd day of March 2026. Thank you. Hi, I'm >> Thank you all so much. I'll go ahead. I'm Susie Gamble and I'm the executive director of Flagler Volunteer

012Services. I just wanted to share a little bit of information about things that volunteers have done in the school district this past year. Um our agency has a long history of working hand-in-hand with Flagler County Schools and this past year we provided the following assistance. We helped with our reading pals program that served VPK through third grade students. 72 volunteers, 166 students. Our giving store program allowed 95 95 I had 95 volunteers help 330 children select gifts for their family members. >> [snorts] >> And we provided volunteers to help with the first week of school, kindergarten assistance, um health screenings, holiday shops, book fairs, and other special events. We also have volunteers that serve on a regular basis as teacher's aides and in various roles throughout the school year. So they're doing amazing things in

013the community and we just really appreciate the support that Flagler County Schools has given us. Thank you very much. Wonderful. Thank you. We'd like to get a photo. Okay, we will move on to spot spotlights 3.01, the Flagler County Education Foundation. It's Teresa Rizzo. [clears throat] Good evening, board, chair, board members, and assistant superintendent. Thank you for the opportunity to share a few highlights of the incredible work that's happening through the Flagler County Education Foundation in partnership with Flagler Schools. This is an exciting time of year as we celebrate our students, their achievements, and the opportunities that are ahead of them. First, our senior scholarship program is well underway. This year, we will award over 230 scholarships in partnership with over 50 local organizations. This program represents not only financial support, but a powerful message

014to our students that their community believes in them and is invested in their future. Scholarship night is always one of those most meaningful evenings of the year, and we date we do see the direct impact and generosity of our community collaboration. This is a very passionate program of Superintendent Moore, so we are thrilled to continue it with her support. If you can run through those couple slides for us. Just a few numbers about our scholarships. We had 361 students start the application. We had 204 complete it. That is double the numbers from last year, so we are thrilled with that. We want to continue to increase that number. >> [snorts] >> And just a little bit about our scholarship program, the different parts of it. We have a platform called AwardSpring, where students and the

015local organizations are able to apply and also select the awardees. We have our parent information nights. We had our donor thank you dinner last week, which was fantastic. We also print the program of all the organizations and winners. And then, of course, on May 6th and 7th, the best nights of the year besides graduation. Um we're able to deliver those scholarships and yard signs to the families with our local partners, and it's just an incredible evening. We hope that you all can join us. Next, we're excited to host the JDC book launch on April 8th. This event celebrates our student voice and creativity through the JDC writing project, which is for students 4th through 12th grade throughout the district, including Imagine. Our student authors will have the opportunity to showcase their work. They'll sign books.

016They're so proud to be able to sign the books and share their stories. It's a powerful example of how we're building confidence, literacy, and pride in our students. And finally, we're preparing for the fifth annual Joe Rizzo Memorial Golf Classic on April 20th. This event supports our classroom to careers initiative, which connects students with real-world career opportunities and workforce pathways right here in Flagler County. It's a wonderful day, and it brings together our community partners, some of our business leaders, our school supporters, and it's all focused on investing on our students' future. As always, we are so grateful to all of you for your support and shout-outs. I heard you today in the the meeting. [gasps and laughter] Um um for our community partners, our educators who make this work possible every day. Together, we're

017truly building Flagler's future. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Rizzo. All right, we will now welcome our supervisor of elections, Ms. Katie Lenhart, for our voter guide cover design contest. Good evening, board, assistant superintendent. Um Katie Lenhart, supervisor of elections. I'm here to present a winning certificate to our winner of the uh 16th annual voters guide cover design contest. So, I can't believe it's been 16 years. This is a It's a lot. So, come on up. So, each year, um we have this program where we are able to have students in digital design classes participate in a real-world design contest. So, um Jacoby has won this year. He's a student at FPC. His family's also here in the back. Um and you all, as board members, made the selection, and y'all chose his design out of

018over 80. There were 80 from both uh Matanzas and FPC. There were over 80 submissions for this contest. So, it's really a great uh way for teachers to use this as um civics education in the classroom, because our voters guide is um some a publication that we hand out at events and to new registrants when they come into the office, when they register to vote. It talks all about how to register, how to vote, and all those things. So, it's um it's really wildly popular. At at events, we hand it out all the time. So, it's um it's great to be able to present this to Jacoby, and um I'd like to do that and maybe get a photo for him, okay? Thanks. We're going to go up front. Congratulations. >> [clears throat] >> And

019for those in attendance, I left some at the back if you want to grab one on the way out. All right, we will welcome Ms. Kristen Frank for our 4-H public speaking uh winners presentation. Good evening. We've been partnering with our local 4-H office and participating in the 4-H public speaking contest for students in grades 4 and 5 here in Flagler for over 15 years. In fact, the contest, which is currently sponsored by FPL, formerly Tropicana, has been recognized as a Florida school program since 1969. I have Hope Musgrove here, who is our local 4-H agent, in case you have any questions about our partnership and other programs that we partner with 4-H with. This year, each school has sent a fourth and fifth grade champion to the district speaking competition, and I'm excited to

020introduce them to you tonight. These students competed against their class and then against all classroom winners at their school to make it to the district competition. Their speeches are scored on both composition, including elements like hooking the audience, and elevating their topic with strong vocabulary, and presentation skills like speaking speed, voice inflection, and eye contact with the audience. So, with that, I am proud to introduce our fourth grade champion, Lucy David, from Old Kings Elementary. Yes, yes. Just wait till you hear her speech. Who will present her speech titled Wildlife Veterinarian. Hi, I'm Lucy. >> [clears throat] >> When you were my age, you may have heard an adult ask you what you want to be when you grow up. Now, it may seem like an easy question, but it's not all that simple. Today,

021I'm going to tell you about the job that I want to do when I grow up. I would like to be a doctor, but not for people. Instead, for animals. I love animals, and I love helping them, too. That's why being a veterinarian is the job for me. As far back as I can remember, I've always loved animals. If I can spend time with them and help them when they are sick or injured, it would make me happy every day. A wildlife vet takes care of animals like lions, snakes, tigers, turtles, penguins, monkeys, giraffes, and more. Many of them are not the type to sit still for an appointment. So, this job can be challenging, but never boring. One day, I might be helping a penguin, and the next day, I might be telling a

022monkey to stop stealing my lunch. Being a wildlife vet can be tricky, because animals can't tell you what the problem is or what's hurting them. Wild animals can get hurt by cars, pollution, fires, or by people destroying their homes. Wildlife vets help them, so that they can go back to the wild and continue doing important animal business, like sleeping all day or chasing things. Imagine trying to give a shot to an animal that is bigger than your car and not in a good mood. Being a wildlife vet is an important job because they help make sure that animals don't go extinct. Without these vets, the world would be a much quieter and less interesting place. And zoos would be very awkwardly empty. My great uncle was an animal trainer at SeaWorld. He was even among

023the first group of people to swim with the orcas. Now, he wasn't a wildlife vet, but he did take care of the animals and learn about their behaviors. He would travel the world just to help animals in need, rehabilitate them, and then release them back into the wild. Growing up and listening to his stories really sparked my interest in helping animals at such a young age. There are lots of different jobs out there, but for me, I know which one I want to do. I hope that I have showed you the importance of wildlife vets and the reason why I would love to be one. Well, when my parents ask me what I want to be when I'm older, I know what to say. >> [applause] >> And now I'm proud to introduce our fifth

024grade champion, Leon Kravchik, also from Old Kings Elementary, with his speech, Leon for President. >> [applause and cheering] >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, teachers, judges, and future vultures. Oh, I mean voters. My name is Leon, and today I'm running for presidency. Why? Because I believe this country needs more fun, more snacks, and a lot less homework. First of all, if I become president, I promise longer weekends. Friday will be optional, but you will get some rewards for coming to school. Monday will be canceled, and Wednesday will be called funday. Second, the teachers. All teachers must get a 500% raise. This will also include a private lounge filled with coffee machines, donuts, and treadmills. Kids, let me ask you a question. Have you ever tried

025school lunch? Well, imagine it being a five-star meal with anything you can imagine. All the kids will have ice cream Tuesday, so all the kids will love to go to school. I have not forgotten about our wonderful parents. For all moms, to reward them for the hard work, I'll give each mom a car and a free spa trip every month. While the dads will get a $100 gift card to buy their wives anything they want cuz as they say, happy wife, happy life. >> [laughter] >> Let's not forget about education. As your president, I'll make a new law. For every book that you will read, you'll get a free donut. Yum, donuts. As president, I will also fix important problems. For example, why do socks disappear in the washing machine? I will find them. I

026will bring them home and I'll make sure each sock has A BEST FRIEND AGAIN. And finally, I promise to listen to the people, especially kids, because kids know what really matters: fun, kindness, and snacks. So, remember, if you want a president who understands kids, who believes laughter's important, and who will never ever ban recess, then vote for me because I may be young, but I am very serious about fun. >> [applause] >> I'm sure if you have any questions, Leon or Lucy would love any feedback or questions. They're your audience. Be ready for your question. Maybe tell them why you chose this topic. Uh I chose this topic mainly because I want to be a president. Not necessarily of this country, I don't know. You never know. Maybe I'll be a president of my house.

027You never know. Leon, I think there's some midterm elections that might be looking for a campaign manager. Are you willing to serve? >> [laughter] >> In a few years. Yeah. Uh Like what? Um what really inspires me is I watch a lot of, you know, animal shows and I have to see animals and na- things in nature getting hurt and and sick or stuff like that. So, I want to be one person to help them, and that makes me that's why I wrote this speech today. I mean, you guys did an awesome job, and I think we definitely have some future politicians. >> [laughter] >> Let's have you come up for a photo. >> [laughter] [applause] >> All right. That was wonderful. Okay, we'll move on to approval of minutes. The chair will entertain a

028motion to approve 4.01 to 4.03. Move to approve. >> Second. Moved by Mr. Merz, second by Mr. Furry. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Do we have any additions or changes to the agenda? No changes. Changes? Get a motion to approve this agenda? Move approval. Second. Moved by Mr. Furry, second by Mr. Merz. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Motion carries. Okay, we'll move on to public comment. Anybody for public comment? We do not have any public comment. Thank you. Okay, moving on to finance consent 7.01 to 7.08. Could I get a motion, please? Move to approve. Second. Moved by Ms. Reddy, second by Mr. Merz. All in favor? Aye. Aye. >> Aye. Motion carries. Okay, academic services consent 9.01 to 9.02. Could I please get a motion? Move approval. Second. Moved by Mr. Furry,

029second by Ms. Reddy. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. Okay, and human resources services 10.01. Move approval. Second. Moved Mr. Furry, second by Mr. Merz. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Aye. And we just like to also welcome Mr. Walker and Ms. Lauren Johnson. We'd like to get a photo with y'all and just say congratulations on your new positions. If you would like to come up. Yes. >> [applause] >> We'll start with Lauren Johnston. So, it's not often that we have this opportunity to welcome two chiefs into our organization and much less two Flagler Schools alumni. So, we like to take this moment to recognize you both. I'd love for you to come up with your family first and we can get a separate picture if that's okay. Congratulations. >> [applause] [clears throat] >>

030Okay, moving on to 11.01. Could I get a motion, please? Move to approve. Second. Moved by Mr. Merz, second by Mr. Furry. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Aye. The motion carries 4 to 0. Operational services for action 17.01 to 17.04. >> These I think we have to do these Oh, are we doing this? Okay, one at a time. 17.01. Could I get a motion, please? Move approval. Second. Moved by Mr. Furry. Yeah, wait. Miss Reddy. Thank you. Um with these uh and this will be the same comment for 1701 through 1703. Uh I just wanted to reiterate my um strong recommendation that we monitor those expenditures that we're outsourcing to determine at what point it might be uh better fiscally for us to either hire internally uh additional head counts or um in the

031case of the electrical services provide a differential for perhaps somebody working in the evening hours to get that work done, which was a problem uh voiced by Mr. Bush. Thank you, Miss Reddy. Okay, I'm sorry. Was that Mr. Furry motion and second by Miss Ramirez? Okay. So, 17.01 all in favor. I. I. Motion carries. 17.02 request request board approval to advertise for mechanical services. Move approval. Second. Moved by Mr. Furry, second by Miss Ramirez. All in favor? I. I. Motion carries 4 to 0. 17.03 request board approval to advertise for plumbing services. Move to approve. Second. Moved by Miss Ramirez, second by Mr. Furry. All in favor? I. >> I. Motion carries 4 to 0. >> [clears throat] >> 17.04 approval to advertise for milk and dairy products. Move approval. Second. Moved by Mr. Furry,

032second by Miss Reddy. All in favor? I. I. Motion carries 4 to 0. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to human resource services action 18.01 our fleet participation with Mr. Walker. All righty, good evening. For discussion, can I get a motion for discussion? Move for discussion. Just just for discussion. Second. >> Okay, sorry. No worries. So, good evening, chair, school board members, assistant superintendent O'Brien. Uh this item is before you this evening following the board's request for consideration. This item is being presented for your consideration and vote to determine whether the Flagler County School District will move forward with becoming a participating member of the Florida Educators Health Trust, otherwise known as FLEET. Uh at this time, I would like to invite our repres- or the representatives from FLEET uh to please come forward

033and approach the dais as they will be able to assist in answering any questions regarding this topic should you have any. >> [clears throat] >> Board, do we have any discussion? Um Chair Chong. Miss Reddy. Um so I'm excited about um the progress that this board has made relative to things like the uh clinic in order to help uh mitigate some of the costs that are happening with health care. But in Flagler County specifically, we've long had an issue regarding exorbitant health care premiums. And this is not just a cost that's passed down to our faculty members and our staff, but to us as a board and our taxpayers. When we have higher premiums, we are contributing a higher board contribution. For example, the state of Florida's insurance premium for the employee and what their

034organization contributes together averages $2,000 a month for the high deductible health insurance program. That and that high deductible health insurance program has a $2,000 lower overall deductible. Our plan is $300 more per month. So, we share that between us as our board member contributions as well as our staff. And it's become untenable for families. For years now, the family high deductible premium is upwards of $16,000 for a year when that family may be living off of that one wage of that staff or faculty member. The average faculty salary being uh $49,000 for starting rate um $60,000 for those with a few years experience. We are uh having our employees have take-home pay far less than the median income in our own county. And so how do we handle this? What could we do? Flagler, we're

035we've gotten bigger, but we're by no means uh a Miami-Dade who often can negotiate prices at much lower rates. How many of you how many of us shop at BJ's or Costco? Why? Because you're getting a larger discount by somebody who can command a price in bulk. So, FLEET is not insurance. It is an organization, a trust that works in our fiduciary interest and is governed by a board of superintendents who serve school districts at the state level. And they have three different branches. I've summarized the 16 months of research and information that we've had speakers come to us over several over these last 16 months into um the board docs for your review. And I've made a Google LM notebook of all of those meetings, which I'm happy to share. But those three arms

036help to do three things. One, control our pharmacy costs. So, if we're going to buy, let's just keep it easy, penicillin, we can have the negotiating power of 22,000 people as opposed to our 1,300. Two, our insurance that it is our stop-loss, which we must pay when our um staff members or faculty may receive may have uh health care costs for uh exceeding what our insurance can pay for. So, think comas, think aggressive cancers. We get one to three of these a year. We can negotiate a better rate. When we work with a broker, they receive additional uh funds and monies from health care agencies and uh and the like for getting us to sign and uh opt in to their particular increases. This is not a cost we would incur with FLEET. And I

037know that our previous board uh our insurance consultant stated that they passed those rebates on to us. While that is true, there's no legal requirement for them to communicate with us what the commission or what the payment from those medical or insurance providers would be to get us to sign those uh agreements. So, yes, this plan comes at a cost because they're not getting their money from the insurance companies. They are going to get their money from the school districts, of which 19 have signed on in the last year. Be- And as this grows, we come become more powerful in our negotiation for those lower rates. We still have our own uh insurance that we choose. Our broker uh uh a relationship becomes different, and that's why the timing now is critical because that as

038we move to an RFP for our insurance broker, that scope of work would change if we accept these services. So, I'm going to turn this over to Ted Rouse, who it I would love for him to share what his background experience is in um so we can get some context and understand um uh the relationship and his motivation for creating this type of a program that can serve the best interests of our staff and our taxpayers. Thank you, board. It's a pleasure to be here with here with you all tonight. Let me first start by saying that had I known that we would have be coming on the night where the Tropicana public speech winners would have be recognized. Trying to follow that is a hard act to follow, right? Uh so just a little

039bit about my background. I have not had the pleasure and privilege of being here in front of you all uh for previous meetings uh up to this up to this time. So it's a pleasure for me to be here. Number one, I'm a former superintendent uh in a Florida school district for 8 years and I've worked in three of our North Florida counties over my 30-plus year career. Uh over that time for some reason I always got stuck on insurance and benefits committees. As a teacher and then as an assistant principal and principal and then as an assistant superintendent and so I got to learn a lot about how all that works uh during that time period. And so as a superintendent, that was one of the things that I took on because just like

040you all, you're you work every single year and you struggle every single year to try to put the very best program in front of your employees who are serving your fine young people and your kids of this community, right? And knowing how to do that and do that well was very important to me as a superintendent. So we've rebuilt our program from the ground up uh in in my previous district and opened a wellness center just like you all have done. As a matter of fact, I met with your staff here when I was still a su- uh a superintendent uh about the clinic and the wellness center process and how to get that off the ground. And so I'm excited to know that you have that going. Uh that's a very very important uh

041thing to help direct care and to save money over the long term. So just briefly if I might and uh I don't want to take uh a significant amount of time cuz I know your time is valuable, but I do want to touch on just a couple things. And I appreciate you mentioning the fact that since we started the dialogue some 16 months ago, at that time there were three districts. It was Henry, Hardee, and DeSoto. And so I did bring a slide that I'll leave with Mr. Walker here that outlines our current uh 19 uh districts that have joined. Uh our last uh six of the eight that came on board since November, six of those eight were already self-insured like you all. Uh and many of them already had very very healthy fund

042balances and were doing really well in their existing programs, but they saw an opportunity to engage at a higher level to bring greater efficiencies. I don't know of a school district in the state of Florida that has so much cash available that they that they couldn't stand trying to save a little bit more so that you all as a district could decide how to do that. As a former superintendent and serving at the pleasure uh as the executive director of Fleet working for FADS is the Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the member districts, that's what drives me every day cuz I saw year over year as an employee myself working at the school level in the rank and file that I'd get my raise that was given graciously by the school board. It

043would show up in the check and then the insurance renewal would come and that raise would go away and in many cases uh in one particular circumstance after 5 years of serving at a principal at one school, I was making less at the end of year five take home than I was at the beginning of year one. It's a function of those overall increases that we struggle with uh you know, year over year. So that's what motivates me to be a part of this work. I had intended to drift off into retirement after my time as the chancellor of K-12 at the Department of Education after having served as a superintendent uh but when this opportunity came and knowing that as a district this is your second largest health spend or cost. You know, when

044you talk about and you formulate you go through your trim process and you're developing your budgets you're always spoken to I'm assuming as a board, "Hey, our health our our our salary and benefits are costing X." You very seldom ever separate those two in the silos because that benefit structure and health insurance particularly is your second largest overall spend. So I'm excited to be a part of this work. Uh it's a pleasure to be here with you all tonight and we certainly will answer any questions uh that you all have. And I did get presented with a couple of questions. If I might, board chair, address the questions that we received via email from Mr. Walker's office. Is that okay? Yes, go ahead. Okay. So the first question was, "Does our Flagler Wellness Center remain

045unchanged?" The answer to that question is yes, it remains unchanged if you want it to remain unchanged. We do have uh as a part of our Fleet program, we have a management arm uh that helps districts that don't yet have clinics uh down a pathway to be able to obtain a clinic. Uh you already have one. One of the things that could be done at your request would be an analysis of that entire clinic or wellness center operation to determine and identify uh is there a um uh a definite return on the investment? I mean, can you answer that question? How many dollars have actually been saved since the wellness center went in? That's one of those things that we would help address, but the actual mechanics of that and if you're happy with it,

046that stays the same. I will interject that as a part of Fleet, you're not giving up any autonomy. You're going to be gaining greater autonomy and getting access at a greater uh in a greater way, volume, economy of scale to access areas that you may not be able to access currently. So you're not giving up any tools by coming to Fleet. Number two was, "Would employees experience disruption from formulary changes or specialty pharmacy access?" If the district changes what it's doing or wanting to offer as a part of its pharmacy program, [snorts] then it would change if you all directed us for to change and to bring you a a a um a repricing on your pharmacy based on your current formulary. So that again would be up to the district, but we inside of

047the health trust uh have a number of benchmarks that we use to help make sure that you're getting the very very best uh dollar uh for every spend on pharmacy. Pharmacy as you all well know drives 25 to 33% of your overall cost of your health insurance program. It's a huge driver. And so that's one of those areas that we consider to be low-hanging fruit that we would go after aggressively to help make sure that you're getting the best bang for the dollar. And then number three, the third question that we received in advance of this meeting was "What exit rights do we have as a district if the trust fails to perform up to our standards?" That's a fair question. The answer is very simple. At the end of that current policy year, you're

048not happy, you simply walk away. Remember, this is a trust that we're not vendors. We're not trying to sell you anything. That's what I love about this job that I'm having that I can do now for districts is that I'm not selling you anything. I'm offering you a service that's provided by by FADS as the sponsoring organization. And so you simply no other superintendent that sits on that management voting trustee pool that actually operates the trust. The member districts operate the trust. None of the superintendents are going to look at your superintendent say superintendent say, "You have to stay, right?" You can walk away at the end of that of that end of that policy year. The only exception to that is if you're in risk sharing in the stop-loss layer where you're risk sharing

049with other districts. And the reason for that is fairly simple. As you all would expect if you were at that tranche where you were participating in a risk sharing with other school districts that were performing well and operating their plan well like you all do, you would expect them to have the same commitment level to you as you do to them in terms of people jumping in or out on an annual basis. And so in a risk sharing type scenario, the district would would have to stay for three year for a three-year period in that risk sharing uh scenario. But again, risk sharing is not something that you have to do. I don't know why you wouldn't do it because there's significant savings. That's the meat and potatoes of Fleet as a goal uh for

050a district coming into the program is to get into that risk sharing uh category where you can experience even greater savings beyond the stop-loss and the PBM and those things that we've talked about previously with you all. So those are the three questions that we received in advance of the meeting. We're happy to uh answer any additional questions. I have Darren Bryan here with me who's also a former educator turned insurance man. So he knows all the tricks of the trade behind the other side of the nonprofit uh umbrella. And uh I'm not the industry expert. I'm not an I'm a school guy. I'm a school man. I'm a I'm a school person, right? Uh but I've learned a lot about it over the years and uh and so he's here to help um identify

051or answer any questions that you all may have that get a little deeper into the weeds. Thank you. I got I have some questions, chair. Mr. Fury. So just a couple of things here. When the um with with the brokers, it's my understanding that they have to to operate in [clears throat] in in in certain ways that align with Fleet's standards. Right now, how many brokers out there that you know of have agreed to accept the standards and requirements of Fleet? Four. We're four currently. There's there's four currently, Mr. Fury. And I would say that every every broker agent that the um that the member district board asked has agreed. No one has walked away and said, "No way do I not want to be part of that." They've all agreed to at least try.

052And uh everyone that we've that we've engaged has conformed or is conforming to the Fleet standards. Okay. And of the four, how many are actively servicing existing Fleet districts? All four? All four? Okay. And then um I if I recall that that some of the numbers that were shared with me on participation was all in, there were about six districts that were um fully participating um in and much as they can at the at this moment. But there was a number of 19 Are there now 19 members or or people that have joined the fleet program since then? So, yes, sir. Um, let me explain that a little bit. Sure. Um, as fleet has grown, its members have asked more and more things that potentially it could do for them. And when we first spoke,

053um, an active member was a member was a board that had signed their PA, had also and sent their initial capitalization fee, and had begun the active PEPM status. Since then, boards have other districts have come to us and once so once so fleet has made the decision that once a board becomes active, there's a status of onboarding now that fleet is pouring resources into districts, helping them to if even if they're already self-funded, helping them to get ready for They still declare an active day where they still begin the PEPM, but even in that time period of the board passing the PA and then becoming active, fleet is pouring resources such as helping them find an agent or broker. That's an example of what one thing that fleet is doing for two of its

054districts now is that instead of the district going out and doing that, fleet is helping them to procure those services for them. But so, ones that you can actively say that are all have gone through the the onboarding process, paid their fee, how many of that 19 do you have now? 11 as as of tonight, with the 12th being coming on board April the 1st. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, very good. >> [cough] >> Other questions, Mr. Ferry? Um, for right now, I'll yield. >> Mr. Reddy. So, uh, I believe about 6 months ago we asked for kind of some proof in the pudding and there was an analysis done, an analysis which you did pro bono, which is typically part of the services you provide. Can you dig in more or share a little

055bit about that analysis, how you um, what process did you undertake for that analysis, and what were the findings? Okay. Thank you for that question. So, uh, I'm aware of the process. I wasn't here for the meeting when that was discussed with you all, but I will tell you exactly how that process worked. And so, that was a request by this board, uh, that we do something to show, "Hey, can you give us some type of an example, you know, of what what can happen in the pharmacy spend?" I think it's also worth noting that since, I think, September, October, maybe since that was done, formularies have changed again since then. So, it's still relevant, but it's not dollars for dollars, if you will. It may be better. Uh, don't know. Uh, that would have

056to be redone, obviously, and repriced in the current market uh, where you currently stand if you all were to come to fleet. At that time, though, board member, uh, it was a 10 and 1/2 10.5% savings on the PBM, the pharmacy benefit management piece of the program. And at that time, um, it was benchmarked against the existing fleet Optum Health Trust PBM benchmark. And so, we benchmarked it against that. Uh, that's not to say that you all would have to go and take part of the Health Trust PBM. It's an option to you if you choose to do that. Uh, in one particular case, we had a district that liked the PBM they were with. They didn't want to leave their PBM, and so they simply said, "Can you leverage the power and engine that

057is fleet to try to get a better deal with our existing vendor?" And so, we went to that vendor and simply said to them, "The district really likes you all and really wants to keep you, but in order to keep you, you're going to have to make some concessions in your costs." And so, in that conversation and in that repricing, they were able We were able to leverage down their existing contract with their current vendor that they would not have been able to do by themselves as a stand-alone district without a showing that competitor, "This is where they're going to go unless you can meet it." And so, they were able to meet it. Uh, but that happens daily. That's across the spectrum of what we're doing and interacting with school districts on and about.

058Uh, and quite frankly, that's that's the that's the that's the joy in the what it is we do is to be able to come back to a district 6 months in, should you all join, we come back and we say, "Hey, at the request of the board, of course, give us an update about where we are. What has happened for us in that 6 months?" We need to be able to stand here and demonstrate that to you, right? And we will. Uh, that's what we'll that's what we'll do. So, it's an ongoing process. This is not one of those things that you simply do one time and and it's done. You know, pharmacy repricing has to be done on the regular. A lot of times they're 3-year contracts and and and they're not repriced annually,

059so you can The pharmacy market changes. I don't have to You guys watch TV just like I do sometimes. You can't watch 15 minutes of TV without seeing five drug commercials, right? The pharmacy market is very fluid, is very volatile, and we stay on top [clears throat] of that just as one example, just like we do in the stop stop-loss arena. A follow-up to that, just to clarify. When you anal- analyzed our PBN PBM, did you analyze based off of what our members are most often being prescribed? It was based on your actual data from your school district at that given point in time when that data was pulled for repricing and analysis. That's correct. Great, thank you. Mr. Mr. Ramirez, do you have anything? Uh, thank you, Chair Chong. Uh, thank you for being

060here and Mr. Darren, thank you. I know a few months ago when you're here or so, we met and you were able to answer a lot of my questions and I took a lot of notes and since then I've been researching and just not so much a question, but just the cost comparison between what we're doing now and then what fleet can offer. So, just for the public to be aware, the total would be, you know, before any type of savings, it's, you know, it's 472,000 plus, um, compared to what we have now, 133,000. Um, and so, just the differences with that, the breaking down our current broker model, and then our what your membership fee compared to the consulting fee that we're paying now, it just it's a it's a lot of, um, like

061potential avoided cost. I don't know, um, and I know the savings aren't necessarily guaranteed with this, but I do appreciate all the information that you have provided. But, um, I don't really have a specific questions, but I've have been taking in all the information from what you provided, Darren, a few months ago to me and I know all the information for the public, it's all on board docs, like the comparisons between what we're paying now and what potentially we could pay, but there's no actual guarantee on savings for our district from the information. So, thank you. All right, I just want to thank you all for taking the time. I know a lot has gone into this, so we appreciate y'all. Um, one red flag for me this evening tonight, um, you mentioned it would

062be easy to get out of, but then said it's not so easy, which I do understand cuz there is risk sharing. So, um, you know, it it is it's taking on a big thing here to to be a part of it, and if it doesn't go how we planned and hoped for, um, you know, there's a risk there. Um, and we may not be so easily able to to turn this around. Um, for me, it's just data. It's all it comes down to. Our current broker, she brings us a lot of information. I know y'all aren't there yet. Um, that's all I want to see is, um, you know, the numbers. Um, I'm not saying this is never going to happen for us. I just don't know if, uh, now is the right time to

063to be a part of fleet. Um, and those are my thoughts. Any other comments? Chair Chong. I have some questions, too. Um, Mr. Reddy. So, just as a point of clarification with the cost, um, the cost is, I believe, 355,000. Just based on the math, uh, that, um, I was doing here real quickly. I just based it on 1,300. Mhm. Um, and I think that there may be some clarification in in what we in what we charge for, right? >> $22 per insured employee, not their spouse or family. >> It's $22.25 based on 1,300 members for a year would be 347,100. And there's a one-time $10,000 fee in the initial year. That is correct. So, yes, Brown & Brown currently charges us 133. Um, and so, there is a difference, but I would argue that

064we are paying that difference, if not more, because the amount of the discount that we can negotiate. And if we had joined the day that uh, they proposed and completed that analysis, we would have immediately saved the PBM cost, making our total cost $23,000. So, essentially, reducing what we're paying out of pocket right now from 133 down to 23,000. So, I would argue that there is a real cost in continuing with this current model. And I know when they say there's no guarantee, it's because, well, they're not going to tell you that they we can save you uh $1 million because if we wait 6 months, those prices change, right? But when you sign in and then you're locked into that amount and they negotiate those prices and that's only one of the three arms

065that they can negotiate for us. They only did the one analysis. In terms of the data, I'm sure you could provide spreadsheet at a after spreadsheet of every single prescription that was provided and the cost that you are able to get, is that available to send to our team members? And you know, when we look at the information from Brown & Brown, which I have here, all of these are proposed plans. These are not um uh you know, hard and concrete uh plans until we vote them in and even so, are fluid until they determine how many people are going to join that plan. So, um you know, I this is not our personalized data. Right? You could provide our personalized data on the PBM savings, right? If you're a full member of Fleet, you're

066going to have more personalized data coming from a data warehouse that you have ownership in that doesn't come through anybody's lens or doesn't get tweaked or slanted in any particular way to tell a certain story. It's going to be your granular authentic data. And so, to your point, uh board member, we we we would we flood the district with with data in as much as they need and specific to each individual concern. Uh we have not grown, with all due respect, we have not grown from three to 19 by not performing for districts. And uh that's why we're meeting that with districts on the weekly. I applaud you all for taking a look at Fleet. We're not here to twist anybody's arm or try Again, we're not selling anything. We're here doing authentic good work

067that is returning investment for districts that are paying the PEPM. The savings are coming even well after that, uh exponentially beyond that. One of the things that I um did garner, to your point about some of the previous conversations with the board, is you know, what really is the difference between a health trust, the Florida Teachers Health Trust, and the traditional broker model. I'm not going to go into that as hasn't been asked, but I'm going to leave it here with staff if you all choose to review that individually for another conversation for another day. Thank you. May I have the floor? Mr. Ferry. Uh so, of the 11 to 12 that are in right now, how many of those have or were already self-insured versus those that were using a uh traditional model? Uh

06810 of them. Okay, so 10 10 10 were were self-insured or not self-insured? 11 total were self- were self-insured already when they came to Fleet. Of those 11, 10 of [clears throat] them came with a current agent broker that became a contract effectuator for them. One agent broker walked away when the district came to Fleet. And so, we had to procure them a contract effectuator. Okay, cuz when when I of this first six that were presented, I was told that those were all um the all the six were not self-insured districts. This is the information that I received from Fleet when I was asking questions about it. So, but you're saying you're saying 10 of the of the 11 Of the ones that I'm looking at of the 19 on the list, yes, board member,

069that's correct. >> But out of the you said there was only 11 or 12 that right now are all that are committed and in, correct? >> 11 are fully active, fully active districts [clears throat] with fully >> 11 that are fully active, how many of those were already self-insured when they came to the program? You want to look you want to look at that together with me? I mean, I can call them out by name. I don't I don't know yeah. >> Just the Uh Mr. Brian predates me uh with with Fleet and so, I'm I'm uh letting him run that calculation for you real quick. Yes, sir, it's 11. I I can read them to you if you'd like. No, no. Just want the number. So, you're you're saying So, So, you're saying all

070all 11 came to you were already self-insured like Flagler County and just joined. You weren't part of helping them become Fleet was not part of the process to to bringing them to to be self-insured. They had done that process before they even came to you. Correct. The original three, um being Hendry, Hardee, and DeSoto, were part of pre-Fleet. They were self-funded before they came to Fleet. Yes, sir. And then, Polk, Brevard, Highlands, Charlotte, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Collier, Indian River are were all self-funded before they came to Fleet. Okay. All right. >> [clears throat] >> So, here are my concerns with this program. In theory, it sounds good. I mean, uh one board member brought up using Costco and and these type of warehouse um places you can buy things in bulk. And I think that for

071most people that makes uh is a good analogy. And but they already exist and and those savings are tangible, you know, today. You can make that comparison, see dollar for dollar the difference between buying it at Publix or buying it at a at a warehouse store. So, unfortunate if throughout the hours and hours that we've invested in this and worthy of time, cuz we are 100% always laser-focused on lowering premiums for our employees and making our platform more healthy. Um but the problem is is that in in one comparison using the state as a comparison, you know, being self-insured, we our own our premiums are based on the health of those that are um members of our pool. Um so, that is a challenge and um and Brown & Brown did come in the other

072day and started presenting some potential uh options to help mitigate that outside the box. I was I was intrigued. Uh okay. So, but um that is still to be determined. Um but I I did want to clarify something cuz I heard something that I just I wasn't sure if it was correct or not. But when when Brown & Brown gave us those numbers to of consideration when they came and presented most recently, the those were those were based on our our current data, correct? Like the those were actual plans that we could vote on and and put into action? Yeah, so, when Brown & Brown presented about a month or so ago and they presented, that was based off of the data that they have from our claims data, enrollment amounts, and things like that.

073Yes. >> Okay. So, so those numbers are are real world numbers, right? And they're what we're working with right now. I just have not seen and I I've I've really tried hard, had one-on-one meetings with Fleet. Um we've had the the the workshops to really see a clear fiscal um benefit that we could really hope for or identify. And that's something where it is always well, it could be or it's going to be and just once you sign up, we can then run the numbers and then we can tell you these and this just may be the nature of the beast, but it is problematic for me to to respond or vote for something when I'm told that some of the clear benefits won't be able to be known until we get all in and

074invested. Um and and that just may the be the way that it has to work for Fleet. My other concern is, you know, we uh it is encouraging that you have brought on more since we've started this conversation. That's that's great. Um but we have 67 counties uh in in Florida and um I just I don't want to be the the guinea pig for this program, being being the first one in. I I I don't see the benefit that has been shared with me, even through the prescription, the amount of savings versus the amount of of um effort to to shift gears into this um agreement and the and the and and the financial obligation as well, um doesn't the reward is not there yet because that small margin between our current broker could be

075vaporized next week with a with a prescription drug that goes up in price. It's just not huge and yes, it sounds like a decent amount of money, but when we're talking in the millions, it's it's really a very small percentage. So, uh, and then there is the risk of of counties exiting the program as they as you said as it they can just leave. I think it's a little harder. I don't think it's easy as it may have been stated. It may be not contractual to stay, but you know, in an organization like us, we're an aircraft carrier and turning around aircraft carriers take time and money to do so. So, um, I'm not I just want to say that I'm not a I I'm not against this idea. It it it's a matter of

076timing and I [clears throat] don't know that it's going to return return the the short a short-term benefit for us to do this now rather than wait till later to potentially um, come in later when the program is matured. You know, we're we're small district and yes, we do uh, want better purchasing power, um, but we are getting some degree of that, you know, through through our our our broker and we have some things on the table from them that we still have to consider. And the other concern I have in in general is just the the fact that, um, this will sort of create like uh, a monopoly is is the way I see it for this type of coverage for the state of Florida if it's successful and you're basically going to have

077one entity covering most school districts. And so, the first one tends sometimes the first ones in in the beginning can be good, but when you if you if we if we take out competition, how does that affect it? I don't know, but I'm a supply and demand kind of guy. I think competition is what drives down prices and that's just one concern of mine in the scheme of things, right? Whether that will happen, I don't know. I I I really don't have a crystal ball. But these are just things that that, um, I have to look at um, [clears throat] before I uh, put my stamp on it. So, those are my thoughts here and I'll just I'll yield my time. Can I ask a question of Mr. Walker? Yes, Mr. Redding and then we'll

078call the question. >> Uh, Mr. Walker, um, with regard to our agreements with Brown & Brown changed and we have to go back and repay what we're exceeding in our claims. Is that correct? Correct. [clears throat] Every year as we bring insurance to the board, it is looked at what are our projections for next year? What are we expecting for medical claims cost, insurance claims costs and those things. That's when we sit down and figure out how are we going to fund the plan, right? Those are based off of projections. And now that we're in the year, uh, through I believe January we're operating at about 13% over budget as it pertains right now and that's what we shared at the board workshop, um, just a month or so ago. So, this organization who, um,

079advocates on our behalf to get lower prices, uh, would be under no different requirement than what we hold Brown & Brown who when we go over on our claims, we too have to pay different amounts based upon what we use. As a self-insured plan, we have to fund it to the level of what it's being utilized for. >> Right. Okay. Thank you. I I have a follow-up question. Um, but so our first I would want to make a statement but the our insurance numbers are actuarial. So, honestly, insurance is the best guess because I don't think anybody knows exactly how many claims or who's going to get sick or the severity of the treatments. Um, [clears throat] you could have somebody that just goes in for a quick ER visit and you can have somebody

080that is now on you know, cancer medication that it is going to be very expensive for the rest of their life. Um, so that it's true. It's not a perfect science, but at least we we do get an actuary from the insurance from Brown & Brown and that will still exist because I I if correct me if I'm wrong, there still will be when we go through our broker, who who would provide those actuaries in the future? Um, wouldn't it still be somebody? Our our actuaries within Fleet would be running your actuarial projections and funding recommendations for the board, on behalf of the district. So, that would happen inside of Fleet. Got you. So, that and that that's where I don't I have I don't have that that apples and apples comparison. So, I I

081have an actuarially expert you know, estimates from this broker. Now, mind you, we are out for proposal for a a new broker cuz our contract is up. So, we don't know uh, also what that's going to look like. And so, I don't have an actuarially, um, an actual number that I can compare the two to say, "Yeah, this is this is solid. Fleet is the way to go, right?" Um, and and and that's that's where I'm struggling at this time. Um, maybe in the future there might be more data, um, but right now I'm just not seeing the concrete evidence that we would benefit in in in in the near future. So. Okay, I would like to call the question, um, if I could get someone to state a motion, please. Did we we We've

082got a motion and a second pending right now. Okay. I'm sorry. Um, the motion is whether we are moving forward to participate with Fleet, correct? Yes, that's based on the staff recommendation. That's my understanding of what the motion was to for discussion purposes. >> was for a discussion. That's the way she phrased it. So, I think that's why she's pressing for a motion to vote on >> State exactly what we're voting on. Okay. It understood. So, so but the the the second creates the discussion. So, do we need a new motion to approve it? I I think for clarity's sake it would be a good idea if we state the motion. >> participating and going forward or not. >> Got it. Just to be clear. Okay. So, I'll make a motion that we we do

083not move forward with Fleet. I second. All in favor. I. >> I. Nay. Motion carries 3 2 1. Thank you. Thank you, board. Thank you all so much for your time. Appreciate it. All right. We'll move on to 19.01, approval of board policy 2431 ECG update with Mr. Smith for action. Could I get a motion? Move to approve. >> Second. Moved by Mr. Meraz, second by Mr. Furry. All in favor. I. >> I. The motion carries 4 to 0. >> [clears throat] >> All right. We'll move on to public comments. Do we have anybody for public comment? We don't have anyone for public comment. Thank you. Moving on to board member request. Okay. Um, upcoming board discussion topics. No. All right. We'll move on to closing comments. Good evening, board, super assistant superintendent, Miss O'Brien,

084uh, Miss Chair and school board. I would first like to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to speak on the dais on behalf of the students of FPC. Spring break did not deter the Bulldogs from doing some pretty great things, which I'll share now. In early March, FPC held the 2026 Expression Gallery Art Show and our winners were in photography, Aiden Blizzard in first place, Bryden Rowe in second, and Sydney Young in third. In drawing one, winners of first, second, and third place were Sophie Oquendo, Kealia Aguilar, Rory Volcy, um, in respective order. In advanced category, winners were in first place, Juan Russell, second place, Elana Dos Santos, and in third, Kylie Craft. The best award of the show goes to J.C. Aguilar. So, congratulations to them. Um, students in Miss Ambroski's, uh,

085Vet Assisting 2 class presented their case studies of ailing animals for which they made diagnosis based on symptoms that they received for the animals and the animals' health history on March 10th. Um, some of uh, members of the African-American Mentoring Program proudly participated in a day of celebration where mentors and students honored legacy, leadership, and impact. It was a powerful event recognizing the visionaries, leaders, and change makers who continue to shape our community. FPC TV held the annual film fest on March 11th, which was super exciting and our winners were announced yesterday. So, congratulations to all of them. On March 8th, the Mu Alpha Theta Theta team was recognized for their success as third regional champions. I would like to give a congratulations to the Formality Singers Women's Choir and the Formality Singers Mixed Choir

086for their outstanding performance at the district concert music performance assessment. Both courses received superior ratings on the stage and insight reading. They both received an invitation to state MPA. As for some of our sports, on March 7th and 8th, the Starlet JV team earned first place and the varsity earned second place at the Epoca High School competition. And in the following, the wrestlers earned all state honors at the FHSAA state championships. In third place in division in different divisions were Kevin McLean, Trey Twilly, Joe Joe from Folema Folema, Ashlar Villar, and in state runner up Alexa Caledonia. Both the girls and boys teams finished in eighth place. Some more important events at FPC included the celebration of our senior superlatives with our friends for all abilities. Super exciting as well as the recognition of Adneil

087Alonzo and Spencer Edelstein as national merit scholarship semi-finalists representing the 1% of the United States high school seniors selected from the semi-finalists. And that is just a crazy number that we have two of that 1% in our school system. I'd also like to shout out Ava Melo and Sayed Haider who were awarded as national merit commender scholars. Sayed Haider then proceeded to win February senior of the month. I would also love to extend an invitation to all Flagler County students to come and have a fantastic educational time at our teen summit on April 11th. You can contact myself or Ava for more information on that. And as I would typically turn over to my counterpart this evening, I would like to give her a shout out as she is in Orlando and and all of

088the FPC future problem solvers pirates and pirates as both the future problem solvers teams take on the affiliate level competition in Orlando, which is extremely big event where they're given real world problems to solve and they have to go about it doing it in teams similar to how we sit on the dais and as a school board go about changing problems within our community. And these are students doing that here now in Orlando. She is currently watching. She let me know that she didn't want to miss out on anything, but we're super excited to have them. I'd also like to shout out our two speakers. It just gave me so much pride and joy to see the future bulldogs that the future bulldogs and pirates that we have Miss Lucy David and Leon. That was

089just incredible to see them and hopefully one day we will see them up here on the dais. Just incredible public speakers. As for all the bulldogs have done incredible great things. Have a safe spring break. Incredible time and we just want to thank our faculty, staff, coaches, our club organizers, security team, principals, assistant principals, and of course our school board. So, thank you all and I hope you have a great evening. Well done and hello Ava. So, we miss you and congratulations. So, yes, want to thank our public speakers today. Our little ones that gave their speech, that was great. And also volunteer services that were here. Many of you don't know, they mentioned some of the programs, but our schools, whether it's the high school, middle school, or elementary, they cannot run without volunteers.

090And some are sent from volunteer services. It's not always the parent teacher or organization or the booster club, but volunteer services is a whole new or not a whole new, but a whole whole 'nother organization that really assists our school. So, I'm so glad that they were able to present today. And for this evening, I'm going to re- reiterate a little bit from the workshop, but just thanking everyone at the workshop with the discussions that we had. I know everyone doesn't have a chance to watch the workshops and a lot of times that's where the background information and magic happens. So, but there were some very important discussions supporting our staff, strengthening our systems in the back end, and then planning for long-term needs for our district. And again, Mr. Bush and plant services again

091for helping out Carolyn with our smart animal rescue with the Boston terrier that was at Buddy Taylor Middle School during spring break. So, that just shows how much you guys really truly care and thank you for continuing to do that. And again, our community partners, the mosquito control pilot TC for engaging and I see our principal over there from Wadsworth Elementary. She may have just stepped out, but that was a great experience that again our students will remember forever. And I believe that's what Flagler schools does. All of these experiences are something they will remember forever when they're adults. So, thank you all to those community partners. And again, our legislative legislative session will it's continuing. So, just keep in the know. You can watch any school board meetings. You can watch trackers. There's bill

092trackers. Budget is still being finalized. Discussions will continue in April. And again, remember the governor has to review everything and sign off. So, hopefully we'll know more as time goes. And everyone get back in the groove. Summer's coming up. Spring break just got ended. So, welcome back and have a good evening. Yeah. I think I'm going to ask Lucy and Leon for some public speaking lessons for sure. They did an awesome job. I was also surprised to hear that 2026 was the first time that there's been a a library month recognition. So, that was long overdue and thank those folks for joining. I do want to reiterate the importance of volunteers and also the work of the Ed Foundation. Both of them came in and presented today. That's really wonderful. We definitely would not be

093able to do the quality, the extra resources that we provide to students and families without the robust support of the volunteer and Ed Foundation. And I'm looking forward to passing out scholarships again this year, which is very rewarding. Um, I will say that I am disappointed that our board did not moved the next level in terms of that foresight needed for health care. If you're a parent in our district making $18 an hour and you have the individual health care plan. So, I'm not even talking about the family. By the time you pay the deductible and your premiums per year, nine weeks, 100% of your pay has to go to health care. And we're not willing at this time to think about something different that is not health care. So, it still allows us to

094go out and purchase our health care. That's why Brown and Brown numbers do not look the same as their numbers because they are going to advocate and collectively negotiate prices. And we just threw away one arm of savings that we know that we can get and two additional arms that are there waiting for us. And we are not going to be able to provide the standard of living that our fine folks can sustain. I would encourage every school board member to go to every school and listen to the stories of the folks who are working for health insurance. And I reject the notion that it is because we have a sick population. This has been an issue in Flagler County since I was a teacher and we have always experienced higher than average premiums than

095our surrounding counties. So, it is a broken leadership that is creating this environment that is soon to become unsustainable as our nation faces the health care crisis that we've been dealing with over the past 20 years. Thank you all for being here this evening. I just want to thank staff for being here from the workshop to tonight. Every board meeting, you guys just you know, you just stick it stick it out with us. Help make sure we get this job done and I just want to tell you how much I appreciate that. And you know, the it's unfortunate that there's criticism over this insurance vote. I understand some are more invested [clears throat] in this agenda item than others. But and the reality is that there's truth in some what was said that yes, insurance

096is expensive. This is a issue that everybody's dealing with across America. And Flagler schools every since I have been a member of this board, that has been one of the highest priorities that we go through every single year when it comes to bargaining is is to try and get these insurance premiums down, offer alternative insurance plans that can maybe accommodate our our staff. And I do know I've I know [clears throat] we have friends in our uh in our circle that said that they work at Flagler schools just for the insurance. And they're And that that's that's it. And their paycheck goes all to that. And that is an unfortunate a circumstance. But the reality is is it's not a lie. When you are self-insured, you collect a pool of money, right? That pool of

097money has to pay all the claims. So, therefore, if the claims are high, then the premiums are high. If the If the If the claims are low, we spend less and the hope is that eventually we could lower premiums. That's never happened as far as I can remember. But the cost of health care is real. And it is a real matter of fact. If we If we have an un uh it's not saying that we're an unhealthy community. It's just that we have some people on our insurance program that that are that we have to pay a lot out on. And that gets shared across the entire um participation. It's just It's just a math equation, really. And uh and and we've even looked at trying to join other uh government bodies in their insurance.

098And they they they were they're not interested in taking us on into their pools. This has been done This has been tried. So, yes, it's it's very complicated. But the the the the reality is it is all the money we collect has to pay the bill. And if they If we don't collect it, then it does come out of our general fund. So, it is a very important issue for all of us. And I don't think anybody takes that lightly. Uh with Fleet, they did not demonstrate to the majority of the board that they could provide a benefit. They gave us hope and promises that they couldn't back up with numbers. That's my view. And I'm not closing the door on the idea of Fleet. But for me, it's just not right now. Cuz if

099If they can show it If they could have convinced me, why would I say no? I I don't I'm not going to vote against something. This is not a principle thing. It's just I didn't see a way that they that they're going to immediately solve us for the investment they want up front and the work of the district. So, [snorts] that is where it is. The board has spoken and we're going to move on. And we are going to continue to work hard to make our health care the best it can be for all of our employees. So, um but on a I'd like to just end on another note that that um you know, our 4-H public speakers tonight, they stole my heart. I mean, I just got to say um you know, it

100is just wonderful to see the talent that we have in our schools. Uh we're seeing This is the future right here. We're seeing these kids uh articulate things that are are fantastic. We have a a future vet a veterinarian. Uh we've got a potentially a future president. >> [laughter] >> And uh and I loved it. Um and you know, for our volunteers uh out there, I just encourage you. I know my time is getting uh close. J- Just remember, we want we need volunteers. We You can make a change in a child's life by volunteering. And you don't have to even do it right at Flagler schools. We want you. But if you If you see kids in your neighborhood that you think you could help get ready for kindergarten by reading to them. Go

101to their parents and say, "Hey, can we have a little reading and cookie hour on the block?" Do it in the front yard. There are ways that we can get these children prepared for kindergarten. But it's going to take the community to come together to do it. So, thank you all and have a good night. Yeah, I just I want to people to just understand that this board of course we we want affordable health care. Um you know, we want to I think a lot of times we all want the same thing. It's just how are we going to get there? Um the reality is this is a nationwide problem. The Affordable Care Act was not affordable. Um and our whole nation is being affected by that. And I I often think about it being

102in health care that it's not going to be sustainable forever. Um but I just I appreciate our district staff and the work that they do um bringing us different options and um I do think progress has been made. Um I've you know, it can be better. It can always be better. Um I want to see our family plan change. Children are are healthy, so those costs should be lower and we'll continue to work on that. Um but as Mr. Furry stated also, the numbers were just not there enough to to convince us to move forward. All right. And yeah, just to move on from that. Um yeah, just have to reiterate what everybody said. The our 4-H speakers were wonderful. It's just it's always awesome anytime we get to see the the talent and potential

103of the next generation. So, they did such an awesome job. Um I hope everybody had a great spring spring break and got to enjoy their families. There's still so many things going on as we head towards the end of the year. Every time I'm like, "I can't believe it's approaching." But um yeah. Thank you and hope you have a great evening. All right. Leona and Lucy, thank you for your bravery representing Flagler schools so well. Our Our steel drum band, Jacoby with the voters guide. We had just such a student-filled evening. So, um love to see that that light at this meeting. Uh welcome back to learning. We hope everyone had a great spring break. Um we're headed into the fourth quarter. So, um be on the lookout. We've got report cards posting tomorrow at

1043:00. Um we've got all of our end-of-year events. So, promotion ceremonies, uh graduation, all of those dates and times, walk the halls, they'll be posting on April 2nd. So, please be on the lookout for that as well. And as Superintendent Moore would say if she were here, happy 134th day of school. Make it a great one. Thank you. All right. This motion or this meeting is adjourned.