001Good evening. I now call to order the Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025, 6 p.m. school board meeting. Um, please rise for a moment of silence. Thank you. We will now present the colors. Presenting tonight is Flagger Palm Coast JOTC, Cadet Major Porins, Cadet Staff Sergeant Wickham, Cadet Airman Basic Buchanan, Cadet Tech Sergeant McGinty, Advisor Master Sergeant Holland. Please join me in 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. And we have a special treat tonight. Joining us are the Bullpups music department from Banell Elementary to sing the national anthem. Oh, can you see by the dawn early so proud we held at the twilight Last [Music] bright stars through
002the [Music] gallant stream. [Music] Burst [Music] gave through the night that our flag was still there. Oh stars. [Music] for the land of the free and the home of the brave. [Music] [Applause] >> Well done. You may now retire the colors. All right, please be seated. >> And thanks again to our bull pups. You did an amazing job. >> Oh, yeah. We'd like to get a little too loud. We'd like to get a picture with you up here if you could. >> Can we give them another round of applause? [Applause] All right, guys. Do me a favor. Come over here. That's our new nickname, right? We know. We know why. All right. Big smiles, guys. One, two, three. >> Thank you. Good job. [Applause] Okay, that is now time for roll call. So we'll start
003down at the end of the dis. >> Lauren Ramirez present. Janie ready. Christy Chong >> will furry present >> Lashaka Moore. >> Okay, so now we are going to move on to our special announcements and first up we have the uh bullying prevention month and presenting today is Mr. Doug Glasco and friends come right up here. >> Good evening board. Good evening, Superintendent Moore. Tonight, we have our proud Rimfire Road Runners here to help us present Miss Kaye and Miss Liliana the bullying proclamation for the month of October. A resolution of the Flaggler County School Board recognizing October 2025 as National Bullying Prevention Month in Flaggler County. >> Are you ready? Yeah. Go. Is this Mike? >> Yep. >> Yes. Okay. Go. >> Where is bullying is a physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional harm or
004intimidation and intent in intentionally directed at a person or group of people. And bullying occurs in neighborhoods, playgrounds, schools, and through technology such as the internet and cell phones. and various researchers have concluded that bullying is the most common form of violence affecting millions of American children and adults annually. Targets of bullying are more likely to occur occur physically, emotionally, and learning problems. And students who are repeatedly bullied often fear such activities as riding the bus, going to school, attending school, and community activities. And children who bully are greater risk of engaging in more serious violent behaviors. And children who witness bullying are often feel less secure, more fearful and intimidated. And the state of Florida and the school district of Florida, Flaggler County commit their resources to ensure the success of the national theme.
005Choose kindness, abences, and inclusion. >> You're welcome. Going to stand to the side. Okay. >> Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Flaggler County School Board that the month of October 25 is recognized as National Bullying Prevention Month. can be it further resolved that Flaggler schools encourages students, parents, and staff of the school district of Flaggler County to engage in a variety of awareness and prevention activities designed to make our schools and communities safer for all children and adolescents. adopted by the members of the school Flaggler County School Board, Flaggler County, Florida, at the regular open public meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of September 2025. Signed, William Furry, chair, school board of Flaggler County, Lashaka Moore, Superintendent Flaggler Schools. And we just want to take a quick moment that these two are going
006to be going back to Roomfire Elementary School and advocating proudly on their campus during the month of October and participating in all of the bullying campaigns that they have on their campus. Thank you for your time this evening. >> We'd like to get a picture, too. [Applause] [Music] up here. Smile for me. Big smile. >> Thank you guys. Thank you. All right, our next special announcement and proclamation is breast cancer awareness month and we have Mr. John Subers from Advent Health. Welcome, welcome. Thank you all very much for letting us be here for our annual breast cancer awareness month. and I have a resolution and then a few comments after that. So, if I may, a resolution of the Flagger County School Board recognizing October 2025 is breast cancer awareness month in Flagger County. Whereas
007breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. In 2025, an estimated 316,950 diagnosises of invasive fa of invasive cancer expected in women in US along with 59,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in men. Whereas one in eight women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history and 85% have no family history with an increased incident rate since 1990 being prominently in women 50 years or older. And whereas early detection with timely screening mammogs has helped to boost the breast cancer survivor rate to more than 3.8 8 million in the United States, resulting in a 40% decline in mortalities since 1989. And whereas Flagger Schools has supported the local efforts to raise awareness of breast cancer by forming teams of students, teachers, and staff to take part in our annual pink army as
008well as providing our early entertainment with cheerleaders, color guard, starlets, the Tanza Steel Band, and supporters to provide supportive environment during this special event. And whereas Advent Health Palm Coast Foundation's Pink Army with the support of our community has raised and distributed over $200,000, helped hundreds of patients, and performed over a thousand procedures in direct support of Flagger County residents battling breast cancer. Now therefore, be it resolved by Flaggler County School Board that October 25th is breast cancer awareness month in Flaggler County. And be it further resolved as Flagger schools encourage all citizens to join the breast cancer awareness campaign by encouraging all women to receive breast cancer screening and to actively educate others concerning the importance of early screening and raise the pink flag against breast cancer. adopted by members of the Flagger County
009School Board, Flagger County, Florida. At our regular open public meeting, therefore held 23rd day of September, 2025. Will Furry, board chair, Flagger Schools, Lashaka Moore, superintendent, Flagger Schools. Thank you all so very much for allowing us to be here. And I'd like to introduce Tony Papandria, chairman of the board of our Advent Health um Palm Coast Foundation. >> One of those. >> Yes. Thank you, John. Um, you know, I'm I'm going to take a second because I don't think you hear this often enough. I'm probably one of the oldest people in this room and I appreciate a good education and I want to thank Lashaka, the school board, the teachers for the things that you are teaching and mentoring all these young people. You're amazing. You really are and I thank you. And as far
010as breast cancer awareness, as far as breast cancer awareness goes, we raise the pink flag every October and no different this time. All the numbers are wonderful. They are. We do great work. 600 people have been treated over a thousand procedures and each one of those is a person who in the darkest time we held their hand and we'll continue to do so until a cure is found. So, thank you all. I'd like to introduce Cliff Scott, our chief operating officer for Advent Health. Here's Cliff. >> Thank you, Tony. Flyer County Schools have been an amazing partner to our hospital and we are very excited about the support that you're providing us this evening. So, thank you very much. On behalf of our leadership team at Palm Coast and Avent Health Palm Coast Parkway, thank
011you for supporting us. There's a lot of energy on campus as we look forward to our Pink on Parade walk and hope you can join us for that event. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. If you could come up for a picture. All right. Um, so much gentlemen. [Music] Okay, our next proclamation is disability history and awareness week and we have Dr. Kim Holidayiday coming to read this proclamation. [Music] Good evening, Chairman Furry, Superintendent Moore, members of the board, educators, families, and community members. First, I want to introduce you to Dr. Jennifer Wright. She is our new coordinator of ESSE, and she will be actively participating in our continuous improvement in servicing our students with disabilities in Flaggler County. So, just welcome. >> Welcome. >> As we approach the first two weeks and in
012October, I'm honored to recognize disability history and awareness week. A meaningful time dedicated to learning, reflection, and celebration. Signed into law in 2008, section 1034205 of Florida statute has designated the first two weeks as of October as disability history and awareness week. This observation not only helps us understand the rich history and contributions of individuals with disabilities but also reminds us of the importance of building inclusive schools where every student feels seen, supported, and empowered. This week is not just about awareness. It's about appreciation. It's about recognizing the resilience, achievements, and leadership of people with disabilities throughout history and today. Some of the accomplishments of our students include winning the district-wide abacus B, participating in the FPC formality singers at Epcot uh during Christmas Day, participating in the Buddy Taylor winter concert performance, guitar solos
013at the performing arts center, opening a studentrun trail cafe, and our elementary students participating in flag football and the art club. As a district, we have the opportunity and a responsibility to foster empathy, break down barriers, and ensure that all students, regardless of ability, have access the tools, respect, and opportunities they deserve. To demonstrate Flaggler's commitment, we have implemented the Flaggler Friends for All Abilities initiative, a robust continuum of services for students preK through transition age, district-wide ESE procedures that support consistency in our program, effective collaboration with our ESSE parent advisory, as well as the uh educational series with Vincent's Clubhouse and of course our quarterlyformational ESSE newsletter. Let's use this two weeks to spark meaningful conversations, promote inclusive education, and highlight the strengths that each students individuality brings to our classroom and our communities.
014If you will help me read this proclamation, I've got a great group of people up here with me. Miss Kim Callo, our FPC staffing specialist, Miss Justine Kell Keller, our Matanzas High School staffing specialist, Miss Kim Escobar and her son, Mario, and Erica Flores. >> Y'all just straight up Whereas in 2008, the Florida legislature designated the first two weeks of October as disability history and awareness weeks in public schools K through 12. And >> whereas the goals of disability history and awareness instruction include recognizing the abilities of all students. And whereas this recognition results in better treatment of individuals with disabilities in society, especially youth in schools. And >> whereas encouraging individuals with disabilities to increase their self-esteem results in more of them gaining pride in their abilities, obtaining post-secary education, entering the workforce, and
015contributing to their community. And >> whereas Flaggler Schools reaffirms its commitment to the inclusion of and equal opportunities for all individuals with disabilities. And whereas observing disability history and awareness weeks allows us to appreciate the accomplishments of our students with disabilities, their parents, their teachers, and staff in Flaggler schools. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the Flaggler County School Board the first two weeks of October 2025 as disability history and awareness weeks adopted by the members of the Flaggler County School Board, Flaggler County, Florida, at the regular open public meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of September, 2025. >> Thank you. [Applause] Okay. So, you have another one to to read as well. >> Sure. >> Do you can just stay right up here. Um, we're going to invite Miss Abra Nodgrass and our
016team of transition experts up and we'll just have a seat. >> Welcome. This is disability employment awareness month. Good evening, school, school board members, superintendent, and community partners. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight as we honor the proclamations for disability awareness month and disability employment awareness month. These proclamations are more than words on paper. They represent our shared commitment to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and prepare for a meaningful future. Our transition programs are thriving. Our project search program is now in its second year at Advent Health Palm Coast. We have an incredible group of interns who are already building valuable work skills and adopting their professional roles. Thank you to uh Clifton Scott and Lisa Bordis for being here. Uh the trail program continues to flourish. Our
017team absolutely loves being at the engagement center where they operate the Trail Cafe with pride and teamwork. Please mark your calendars for October 17 when we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony. Thanks to support to Advent Health, the abortis and Cliff Scott and their team, trail participants have also begun job shadowing experiences at the Advent Health North, an opportunity that helps connect classroom learning to real world employment. One of our participants is al also here from Advent Health Sire Richard and I will I'm going to invite him uh for the picture. Um our stream programs are also thriving with students running successful snack carts and cookie businesses in their schools and gaining awesome skill skills. We are proud to share that our county also uh has seen improvements in linking students with vocational rehabilitation services
018ensure ensuring smoother transition into post-secary education training and employment. We have strong teamwork with the Flaggler County Education Foundation and Able Trust which bring the high school high-tech program to both of our high schools preparing students for the workforce for tomorrow. Finally, we extend our sincere gratitude to our community partners, Granville Senior Living in Visa Cook, Advent Health and Publix for their continued support of our students and their transition goals. Um we have um Advent Health team here and as well as a stream teacher miss and they will they are going to read to proclamation. Um, Lisa Bortis, our advant health liaison. Jill Koviki, our project search teacher. Eric Derek Eggman is our intern. Stacy Grazo, skills trainer. A resolution of the Flagger County School Board recognizing October 2025 as disability employment awareness month in
019Flaggler County. Whereas in 1988, Congress declared the month of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month to recognize the contributions made by individuals with disabilities. And whereas a diverse workplace force creates the opportunity for growth and helps toward building a stronger economy for our city. And >> whereas our residents with disabilities deserve the right to live independently, enjoy self-determination, and be treated equally in the workplace. And >> whereas vocational rehabilitation, the div the division of blind services, the able trust and supporting agencies have worked with employers and community organizations throughout the state, including the Flaggler County District, Flaggler County School District to enable thousands of Florida citizens with disabilities to enter the workforce. And whereas Flaggler Schools has been an overwhelming impact on the lives of many Florida citizens with disabilities by offering services including
020job placement assistance, training, support services, and job coaching. And whereas Flaggler schools joins joins the rest of Flaggler, I'm sorry, joins the rest of Florida in recognizing the contributions of the 2.8 8 million Flidians with disabilities by celebrating October 2025 as disability employment awareness month. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the Flaggler County School Board the month of October 2025 as disability employment awareness month. adopted by the members of the Flaggler County School Board, Flaggler County, Florida, at the regular open public meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of September, 2025. William Furry, chair, school board of Flaggler County, Lashaka Moore, Superintendent, Flaggler Schools. Thanks, guys. And I would like to invite my trail team and sire, please come on for the picture. [Applause] Thank you. Well, that concludes our our proclamations for this evening
021and special announcements. So, but now we will move on to our spotlight and first up is Superintendent Moore's strategic plan spotlight. >> Good evening. Uh it is the 31st day of school and we are super excited about all the great things that are already happening here within Flaggler schools. Uh we as an instructional team, we've already started our instructional reviews where we are out um into each of our schools looking at the great learning that is happening. I want to remind families to please, please, please make sure that you are connected to Skyward. You are checking your child's grades on a regular basis and that you are connected to your child's school through parent square. If you are unable to access Skyward, please uh contact the registar for your child's school so that you can
022be up todate on all of the important information related to grading for your child. And I will stop there as I know we are anxiously awaiting um getting an opportunity to introduce our student schoolboard members. And so um I will relinquish the rest of my time as we move on to the next spotlight. I mean spotlight. Thank you, Superintendent Moore. So, that leads us to the Flagger County Education Foundation Spotlight and we have Miss Terresa Rizzo here to present. October is going to be a very busy month and I'm standing in between another very important announcement, so I will be quick. So, good evening, chair, superintendent, and members of the school board. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to spotlight the work of the education foundation. It's always an honor to show show
023how our community is supporting our students. Last week we were proud to welcome 16 new students into our take stock and children program. This program is made possible through a unique partnership between private donors and Florida legislative matching funds. Um, at the contract signing, we were honored to have the Honorable Judge Totten, who spoke to the students about the importance of a contract and what it truly means to make a commitment to themselves, to their mentors, and to their future. Next, we'd like to invite you to mark your calendars for Saturday, November 15th. That evening, we will host, I cannot believe it, is the 15th annual Josh Cruz Writing Project Gala at Channelside. And this year's theme is Once Upon a Quill, a night of fairy tales. And this gala supports the Josh Cruz Writing
024Project, which gives students in grades four through 12 an opportunity to have a creative outlet to share their stories and see their work published in an anthology. It's an inspiring program that b blends literacy, creativity, and confidence building. Tickets are on sale now and we are still um always welcoming sponsors for this one-of-a-kind event. Finally, on Thursday, November 14th, we're going to have a busy week that week. We're excited to host the second annual Flaggler Schools College and Career Fair at the Palm Coast Community Center. This event will feature over 140 colleges, businesses, and government entities for students and families to explore. In the morning, the fair will be open exclusively to our Flaggler Schools high school students. And in the afternoon from 12:30 to 3:30, it will be open to the public. It's a
025powerful opportunity for our students and our community to connect directly with future colleges and career pathways. On behalf of the foundation, I want to thank each of you for supporting us. Um together, we're really helping students dream bigger, aim higher, and achieve more. Thank you for the time. Thank you, Miss Rizzo. [Applause] Okay, so now we have uh we're very excited to welcome our 2025 and 2026 student school board members. And I'd like to invite uh Principal Raldi and uh Principal Baserette up. You're you're right there. Go for it, Mr. Randaldi. >> Chairman Furry, board, Superintendent Moore, I've put together a brief introduction of our of our representative tonight as principal Matanzis High School. It's my distinct honor to introduce Matanzas High School's new student school board representative, Miss Ava Mulun. Ava is an outstanding
026student leader with a weighted GPA of 5.0196 and has a long list of academic, extracurricular, and community achievements. She has served on the student council throughout her high school career, beginning as a freshman as class secretary, then as a sophomore year as vice president, and then during her junior year, she was class president. Her leadership extends beyond the classroom as well. She is a thirdyear vicear student manager intern for the vicear academy of business. She has also been recognized as a Hobie nominee and earned her way to being chosen as a junior marshall. Ava is also dedicated member of the future problem solvers earning three first place prizes at the state level and also being a three-time world finalist. She has received a letter of commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Program, has already earned
027her ACE diploma with distinction, and has been awarded two College Board National Recognitions, the National Rural and Smalltown Recognition Program for Outstanding Academic Achievement, and the Top School Recognition Award. In addition, she's on track to graduate this year with both her high school diploma and her AA degree from Daytona State College. her involvement in various clubs and groups such as the National Honor Society, Math Club, Key Club, Future Problem Solvers, Drum Line, Aerial Arts, and years of tutoring younger students along with more than 169 hours of community service demonstrate AA's commitment to service, leadership, and excellence. With her strong academic record, leadership experience, and passion for serving others, Ava brings an inspiring voice, and a bright perspective to our school board. Please join me in welcoming Ava Moldun as Matanis High School's new student school
028board representative. [Applause] Good evening, school board members, superintendent, and members of the community. It is my honor tonight to introduce Flaggler Palm Coast High School's student school board representative, Miss Olivia Delgado. As principal, one of the highlights of my year is interviewing the incredible students who apply for this role. At FPC, we take great pride in the diversity of our student body. And I always ask candidates how will they capture the many voices that make up our bulldog community and bring them together as one. Olivia's answer stood out. She spoke about the importance of respecting everybody's values, uniting one student body, and engaging our entire Bulldog community. Her words gave me confidence that she will represent her peers with both heart and strength. Olivia is a remarkable young lady whose leadership is already making a
029lasting impact on our campus. She is a dedicated scholar in our international baloria program with a 4.8 weighted GPA. President of the National Honor Society where she leads with service and integrity. Founder and president of seeds of hope, a project addressing food insecurities in Flaggler County by creating community garden, teaching sustainability, and engaging students in service. She's a proven leader in athletics, serving as the captain of our FPC women's soccer team and a young woman with a deep commitment to her future and her country preparing for the military service as the squad leader in the Marine Platoon squad. In her application letter, Olivia wrote, "Being part of a community is an honor, but to uphold the standard of the community is a privilege." Those words reflect the maturity, pride, and responsibility that she carries with
030her every role she takes on. Olivia's vision for this role is clear. To unite, engage, and give voice to the incredible students of FPC, our Bulldogs. With her passion, her intellect, her sense of service, and her proven leadership, I cannot think of a better representative, to speak on behalf of our students. Please join me in welcoming and congratulating Miss Olivia Delgado, our Flaggler Palm Coast High School school board representative. [Applause] So, I'd like to get a picture and then we're going to have you take your seats. [Applause] So, I just want to thank uh Principal Raldi and uh Principal Vaseret for making that introduction and we're very pleased to have you both on the board and we're looking forward to a great year with you serving on this DAS. Welcome. Okay. So, we're going to
031move on with the uh regular business of our meeting uh or our first order of business, I should say, and that is the approval of our minutes. So, at 4.01 through 4.03, I'd entertain a motion to approve the minutes. >> Move approval. I have a motion by Miss Chong. >> Second by Miss Ramirez. All in favor? >> I opposed hearing none. It passes unanimously. Okay. So now we need to adopt the agenda for this evening. Super Moira, is there any changes to the agenda this evening? >> No, sir. >> Okay. So I entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as stated. >> Move approved. Okay, I have a motion by Miss Ramirez. >> Second by Miss Chong. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Okay, we will move forward with this agenda here. So now
032this leads us to our first public comment section. We have one at the beginning and at the end of the meeting. And this one is for um any items that are on the agenda for this evening. Do we have anybody signed up for public comment? >> Yes. Okay, >> we have Brianna Lopez and Kaylee Triani to speak on an item 2.02, bullying. Very good. Welcome. Please come forward. Also just want to mention before the comments are made that uh we don't respond to comments but I want you all to know that we do take them very seriously and and and note them. So please feel free to to speak at your leisure. >> Say hi. >> Hi. My name is Kaylee Marie Triani and Lily and I will be talking about bullying. >> Bullying gets
033you nowhere in life. If anything, it gets you in more trouble, which I'm pretty sure none of us none of us wants to be in. You might just think bullying is for fun, and there is nothing wrong with it, but it causes serious issues mentally and physically. Bullying is a serious problem inside and outside of the schools. The schools hardly do anything about bullying until the person or kid gets bullied and can't take anymore and reacts. This is not fair to the wind suffering. The one the school needs to find better solutions on how to stop bullying because in this world it gets worse and worse. >> I agree with Kaye, but I know bullying isn't currently a crime, but it should be in my opinion. Bullying causes suicide. What is this? What is this?
034>> psychological breakdowns or even depression. >> Um, >> kids should not have to cry in their rooms after school every day because they were bullied. >> Wait, >> psychological is a really big thing for anyone. and messes with your brain and it could get worse. You never know in these days. In my opinion, it gets worse every day. For example, like this. The day you get bullied, the you would walk and talk. They would talk about your hair and outfit. That's not bad until the next couple weeks. They talk about your body and or they start physically hurting you. That's how bad it can be even in a couple days. As a school district and community, we all need to come together in finding solutions on bullying preventions. Help kids understand what bullying really is
035and it does mentally and physically to a person. Some ideas to help you stop bullying. >> Reward positive behavior. Use a system and that affirms good behavior more often than itizes negative >> actions. Use one on one use >> use oneonone feedback rather than public reproise. Example, Kona ice free ice cream >> body system maybe have the bully and victim have one onone time together to one another. They could end up being best buddies. Have an adult with them at all times and keep the buddy system going until they both are comfortable. PO positive affirmations can be written all over the bathroom doors, saying things like, "You never know what someone is going through, so always be kind." Treat people the way you want to be treated. Show someone you care about them today. Someone
036you think is having a hard time. Help someone in need. Give someone a hug you think that needs. >> Mr. Chair, >> I'm just We need to finish up that. We're past the three minutes now. >> Yes, sir. >> So, well, did you have one more thought to put out there? >> No. >> Okay. Well, I just want to first uh commend you on your courage for coming up and speaking your mind and speaking on behalf of your community and on your peers. So, thank you. [Applause] Do we have anybody else uh signed up for public comment? >> We have no more public comments on agenda items. >> Okay. Thank you. >> We have uh for agenda item. >> Yes. I apologize. I thought that the two young ladies at the beginning were together. >>
037Okay. Okay. >> So, we have Banna Lopez to also >> All right. Please come forward, Miss Lopez. >> Good evening. It is a pleasure to be here tonight. I started my career as a par profofessional a few months back and I have found a purpose and a passion working and supporting the students at my school. I come here to mention the lack of hands-on training that I myself and many other PAR professionals and other staff members do not have when it comes to dealing with physical behaviors that require Paris, teachers, and staff members to intervene. This training would benefit us so that we all know what we can do and cannot do when a child behavior becomes physical. And we don't want to jeopardize our jobs and our personal life if we do not have
038the proper and up-to-date training. And I want to keep my students and myself comfortable when having to intervene in a physical behavior. I myself have been in numerous situations where behaviors have become physical. And in those moments, I have worried if I was doing the right thing to deescalate and calm down the child. I believe training is important and is not a want, but it is a need for our schools, students, and our staff to flourish. And I want to address the bullying that has led to threats at our schools. And I believe every child that walks into a Flaggler County school not only has the right to an education, but an education that also does not affect with their mental well-being. Why are children resorting to violence to put a stop to something that
039they did not ask for and something that should have not started? What is being done to stop bullying before it starts? I'm not a mother by any chance, but the students I support have brought out a mother figure to me. And every day, I want those kids to come to me knowing that someone there supports them and that I will take it to wherever I have to go to. I want them to know violence is not the answer and that we can come together as a community because I care for these kids. And I hope one day someone my age would do this for my future children and the generations to come. And that's why I'm up here because I think school violence is terrible and that it should be put to an end. And
040it's not just an issue with the violence um whatever people use. I think it's more a mental health crisis that we need to implant in our schools to let kids know you can come here if you feel a certain way. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. [Applause] And does that conclude the public comment? That concludes public comment. >> Okay. Thank you. So, we have a a second agenda item 6.02, which is public comment for instructional materials K through 12. Has anybody signed up for public comment on that, English language arts? No. Okay. So, we will close out public comment for this meeting up front and we will have another opportunity at the end. So the now we're going to move on with our uh business. We are now moving on to our consent
041agenda and our consent agenda um will appear to move uh quickly. These items we will uh approve as blocks but we have workshopped these at previous meetings and these are all available on our online channels if you want to watch the discussion that was uh had surrounding these agenda items. So that leads us to our our financial consent first and that is 7.01 through 7.05. I'd entertain a motion to approve. >> Move to approve. >> I have a motion by Miss Ready. >> Second by Miss Chong. Is there any discussion on these items? Hearing none, I'll call the vote. All in favor? >> I opposed hearing. None. It passes unanimously. Okay. Okay. So now that's going to take us to academic services consent. That's 9.01 through 9.03. I'd entertain a motion to approve. >> Move
042approval. >> Okay. I have a motion by Miss Chong. >> Second by Miss Ramirez. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I opposed. Hearing none. We will pass it unanimously. Okay. That uh moves us to operational services consent 10.01. I'd entertain a motion to approve. >> Move approval. >> Motion by Miss Chong. >> Second by Miss Ready. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I opposed hearing none. It passes unanimously. That moves us on to human resources consent 11.01. Um I'd entertain a motion to approve. >> Move to approve. >> Motion by Miss Ready? >> Second by Miss Chong. Any discussion on this item? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I opposed. Hearing none. It passes unanimously. We now move on to superintendent consent 12.01. I need a motion. >> Move to approve.
043>> Have a motion by Mr. Ramirez. >> Second by Miss Ready. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I opposed hearing none. It will pass unanimously. Okay. So now this moves us to our action portion of the meeting and these items will be voted on individually and um first up is superintendent action and that's 19.01 board policy updates. Um do we have a motion? >> Move approval. >> Okay. I have a motion to approve by Miss Chong. >> Second. Second by Miss Ramirez. So now open for discussion. Is there any discussion? >> Just clarifying that what we're voting on is the advertisement correct of these. >> Uh that is thanks for that clarification. In the title it does not say that, but this is this is to advertise these um policy updates that are
044going to bring these in alignment with state statute and some other changes that the board has decided to make. >> Um u Mr. Chair, may I make one comment? >> Please do. >> If individuals are looking onto the uh onto board docs and they're looking for the changes that the board is advertising, there is a link that you click on in the description that will take you to um the PDF versions of each of these policies so that you can see them each individually. >> And Miss Moore, if I may, I did have them updated so they're all individual PDFs right there as well. >> Excellent. Thank you. >> Thank you, Marcus. Okay. Um, so we will call the vote. All in favor? >> I opposed hearing none. It passes unanimously. Okay. So, that moves
045us on to 19.02. This is a board meeting calendar. We just had to move a date because one of our meetings um landed on Veterans Day. So, we're going to have it a week earlier on November 4th. >> November 4th at 2:00 p.m. and it will be reflected on the website. >> Okay. Need a motion to approve. >> Move approval. >> Motion by Miss Chong. >> Second by Miss Ready. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I oppose. Hearing none. It passes unanimously. Okay. So that uh concludes our business for this evening and that brings us to our second public comment section and this isn't a time when uh you can speak to things on or off the agenda. Is there anybody? >> Yes, we have Katherine Cheek to speak on school safety. >>
046Okay, please come forward. Welcome. >> Good evening, board. Um, also I do have another parent that got here late and didn't sign in. Can they also have a spot for public comments? >> Um, anyone wishing to address the board just needs to go to the back table to the iPads and sign in. Thank you. What happened on Thursday, September 4th, cannot happen again. According to the sheriff's department's report, a student was on our campus with a weapon all day walking the halls with our kids. And nobody knew. And how could they? Because we do not have currently any advanced weapons detection upon the entry of our school campuses. And September 4th for me was so impactful because that was the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Appalache High School. And for me that was always
047a household name for me because that was my high school. It was my alma matter. And it is very eerily similar to Flaggler County. If I asked you to find Winder, Georgia on a map, you could not. But we also had two high schools, two middle schools, a couple of red lights near across town. And they did not have metal detectors on their campus either. And it was never any kind of realm that it could have been any kind of threat or danger there. The same as here. But Thursday, September 4th, 2024, a student brought a gun to campus and killed four people. And they evacuated the kids. I will save the gore because I know we have children here this evening, but they had to block up the hallway and they can no longer
048use their math hallway. And the parents asked for the board to install metal detectors, any kind of weapons detection, and they did not. And I don't know their reasons for not. But a month later, a second child brought a gun to school. And by God's grace alone, they caught him before he entered the campus. And he had every intention of using it. He said he wanted to be a copycat. There was not even grass on the graves of the dead kids yet. And the parents begged and pleaded, "Please do something. Have some kind of weapons detection." Because if his book bag hadn't come unzipped on the bus, they wouldn't have caught him either. And they would have had more dead kids. So, they finally approved metal detectors. They made it work. They figured it out.
049And then three months later, a third kid brought a gun to school and the metal detector stopped him. It's not a fix all. It's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. And when I tell you, if it could happen in Winder, Georgia, it can happen here. It's a matter of time. We have to do something to protect our kids. They deserve it. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be costly. It's going to take trial and error, but an inconvenience to me is worth it to make sure that our kids come home every day. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. >> Do we have another speaker? >> Yes. Next, we have Lisa Torres to speak on Paris. Good evening. My name is Lisa Torres, president of your support staff union. I
050first want to thank Miss Ruddy for reaching out to me and showing your concern. As you've heard tonight, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that our staff is properly trained um to safely and effectively engage with our students. This isn't this issue isn't isolated to par professionals. It's districtwide in many support staff um positions, but the paras have been far more the most vocal. Um I take these concerns very seriously and I have good faith though that the district is recognizing that and these short they're recognizing their shortcoming and is moving forward to address them. I just wanted to stand up and say I look forward to working with everybody to fix the shortcomings that we have because it's in the best interest of our students, our staff, and the
051district as a whole. So, I do appreciate you reaching out and I really look forward to fixing this and making moving Flaggler forward. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next comment is from Hilda Smith regarding safety. Good evening. My name is Hilda Smith. Uh, thank you board members. To the newest members, congratulations. and to the Shaka Morris. Madame Superintendent, thank you. Well, I never thought that I would see the day that I would be here at a podium that I usually watch on the news. Shocked. Uh, I'm here to talk about school safety. Never would I think of a day that I would contemplate surviving my children, the very children that I prayed for. So tired of listening to RIPs and thoughts and prayers and the screams on TV watching parents stand
052outside the fence just to wonder if their children are okay having these drills. Who can imagine? Who can imagine the gray hairs that we have here in this room? We didn't have to do this. We didn't have to do this. We actually survived our lives. We became successful, productive members of society. Why don't our children have a right? It saddens me to hear my daughter say, "I'm so tired of this." or my son say, "Oh, it's just another drill." But then what if it's not just another drill? So many things go through my mind each and every time that we hear this on TV. We took a poll on the Facebook parent page to see what we can do to combat any answer from anyone here to say, "Oh, we don't have it in the
053budget." I don't know that response. I'm just saying we tried our best and took a poll uh to see who would be able to contribute car washes, do the lawn, cupcakes, anything that we could do to raise these funds. I hear you guys are getting that together and I thank you. I trust you, Mrs. Mo. I trust you. I trust you because not only have you taken the time to personally speak to me, follow up on emails, follow up on phone calls on the football field to reassure me that our children are are safe. Bobby Bosardette as well. The school has aged him since we first met. >> Time limit has uh ended. Can you wrap up your thoughts? >> I will. >> Thank you. >> Please do something, anything to protect our children, save
054our lives, save their lives, and let's not have another victim here. Not here in Palm Coast. >> Thank you for your comments. >> Thank you. Next we have Patricia Kio to speak on job. Hello everybody. How are you guys doing today? Um, I'm here cuz I was ter I worked for public the public school system as a lead custodian at night and I was terminated and I believe it was due to my domestic violence situation. I had my abuser call up the school. I would like to have a investigation into the manner either be reinstated or just so I can have some peace. I even have a letter from the the shelter that I'm staying at if you guys want to look at it. But that's all I wanted to bring up and bring to
055you guys' focus. If you want the >> Thank you for your comment. We we we don't respond here, but we will definitely have uh there are ways for you to uh apply to have that reviewed. >> Okay. >> Great. Thank you. >> We'll have staff uh communicate that. Thanks. Our last person listed for public comment is Connie Sparks speaking on bullying. >> Welcome. >> Good evening. Um, I'm here tonight because I volunteered the last three years at two different schools and I seen quite a lot of unsettling things um with the children and the teachers. I seen one teacher put the kid up against the wall outside and I reported it to the principal um Mr. San Filippo at the time and I'm sure he took care of it. Um and just the way they
056scream at the kids all the time and it just you know if I had a child in school I I would be very concerned. I I'm disheartened in in what I've seen the last 3 years and the last two years I was doing second grade with a teacher as like an assistant helping her two days a week all day. So the kids would always come to me and for comfort and talk to me and one second grader told me about the bullying and that she wanted to kill herself and of course I talked to her and uh I had my teacher talk to her. Um, but more has to be done. There's no counseling. I see the counselors doing nothing. I took a child that was misbehaving to the counselor that day, another child, and
057she did not. She says, "Oh, I have him on my I have him on my list." Have him on your list. I'm bringing you here now because he's misbehaving in the classroom, jumping over the chairs and the desk, carrying on. How is the teacher supposed to teach all the kids? It's impossible. It just I think there be should be some kind of more support with the PTO and the parents to get more involved. My teacher told me not one parent of that second graders came to the meetings. I was like no parents come to the PTO meetings. She's like no I can't get anybody to come. So I said to her I will come. I will help whatever you need. I just was out there putting myself out there with services, whatever I can do.
058Um, but bullying is a a issue on my heart. I I just want you people to know that it's very real. It's a mental issue for these children. There was two children that I've talked to in third grade at lunch. They told me they were going to a different school because nothing was done at bullying at their school. I believe there should be zero tolerance with bullying. It's very very harmful to a child. It affects their whole being, their whole, you know, security, their self-being, of what they're going to become, what they're going to do. And you know, a parent told me one time that in another school, elementary school, and I know there's a lot of stuff that they do in high school for bullying because I've talked to someone about that, but it's
059the elementary school that it's not being taught, they're not being told, they're not being disciplined, they're not being, you know, just >> your three minutes is expired. >> Going off. Okay. Thank you for your comments. [Applause] Is there any uh other comments? >> We have no further public comments. >> Okay, [Music] then uh we will close public comment for this evening and that leads us to uh board member requests. Are there any board member requests this evening? >> Okay. Uh I just wanted to follow up on some of the items um previous requests and uh identify what the status of some of those are. Um one of them was um um a feasibility study around the metal detectors. um the um and I know it touched base with you, Miss Moore, about the um gifted
060screeners and advanced placement. That's been on the agenda for a while. I I haven't received the connection on that yet. Um, and I'm wondering uh what that status might be or when that might be placed on an upcoming agenda for some information regarding a panel of our uh gifted educators who can give us some recommendations. Um, also we should be ready to place the appropriations request on the agenda for the FTC programs uh at the next school board meeting. Uh, and we'll have some of that additional financial information available for the board. Um, back in August when the bullying in um process and investigation study was uh presented by Mr. Glasco and Mr. Finelli. Um there were three requests that came from that conversation um as a followup. Number one is to clarify the process
061or what is that identifying trigger to investigate uh bullying. um and do a spot check system to determine um the uh how accurate deans are in u converting the information into an appropriate bullying investigation that's uh being um brought into them. We also discussed um reviewing or uncovering some of the disproportionate numbers between our schools in the number of bullying reports. There's one school in particular that seemed to be um a rather large deviation from the rest. Um, and so those are some items that had been previously requested that I would like to ensure um are identified with some timelines uh coming up in the next few weeks for either information or brought to the school board for um decisions. >> Thank you, Miss Ready. Are there any others? No. Okay. hearing none, then we
062will close that out and uh we will move on to closing comments and uh so we will start with our new student school board members and um we'll start with Miss Delgado. >> Good evening board, Mr. Chairman, superintendent and school board. I'd first like to thank you all for allowing me to have this opportunity to speak on the dis on behalf of all FPC students. To begin with some updates, I would like to acknowledge with pride the following clubs, sports, and organizations. Link crew are officially beginning their link up days in which mentors will perform checks for life and for school for underassmen. FCA hosted the national flag pole event today with great success. Mu Alpha has initi initiated general tutoring and essay tutoring which is new to Flaggler. Latinos Unidos is celebrating Hispanic Heritage
063Month this month and will have an upcoming heritage day for Latino students. The SGA CHA is promoting childhood cancer awareness with motivation to wear gold as well as initiating the tiny toes initiative for premature babies. All clubs FPT FPC are are performing in a potluck on October 2nd for custodian awareness for custodial appreciation month. We also participated in an inter coastal cleanup with great success as well. We're also participating in breast cancer awareness which we would like to thank those that spoke on it. As for our sports on September 6th, the girls cross country team placed 20th out of 41 with top runners being Ariana Slaughter, Anna Gagoric, Aubrey Bowman, Sierra Morris, and Everly Mousio. The boys team finished 25th out of 51. The team was led by a strong performance from Douglas Seth who
064placed 22nd individually breaking the FPC freshman record of 1621 which was set in 1998 by Matt Sinculi. He broke this time with a record of 1617. The boys team highlights included Owen Stackpole, Braden Murray, and Ethan Green. More on some FPC record breakers. Golf player senior Sophia Stoic broke a school record with six under par. The girls and boys swim team, volleyball team, and girls bowling are all performing extremely well this season with some special shoutouts being captain captain of the girls bowling team Victoria devil Cavalera and Destiny Bonvolior. A huge shout out to Landing Gates who after recovering from a back injury placed second in Olympic and traditional in weightlifting. We also have introduced our first ever FPC step team with some other important events at Flaggler. We would like to give a special
065thanks to the Flaggler County Sheriff's Office who responded to a threat made at FPC and cleared the school quickly and efficiently, as well as a special thanks to current SRO deputy Taylor and Deputy Doug Glasson, as well as former SRO, Deputy Champion, and Nitro, the bomb response K9. Following the events, teachers held checkups for emotional and mental awareness as well as procedure in the following events. We'd like to give a special thanks to TRIO as well as highlight that the student body voice was captured this year's through our Hoko theme lights camera ho. We also voted on dressup days. Congratulations to the FPC August students of the month, Bobby Bronton, and September senior of the month, Abigail Blooming Garden. We have Vans winners, those being coach Rom Team and Francesco. Congratulations to the FPC faculty
066game changers, Mr. Lisil and Miss Battle. A special shout out to Adne Alonzo and Michael Mitchell Edelstein who have been named National Merit Scholar semi-finalists among only 16,000 semi semi-finalists nationwide as well as 70 students who were recognized by college board's recognition program. All Bulldogs are doing incredible things this year, getting involved, getting involved, and transitioning well into the school year. Thanks to our coaches, faculty and staff, club organizations, and security team. Once again, thank you all, and I hope you have a great evening. >> Thank you, Miss Milton. >> Thank you, Olivia. As this meeting comes to a close, I'd like to take the opportunity to share some great things that are going on at Matansis High School. We kicked off the school year with a successful freshman frenzy. Not only did we make
067our freshmen feel welcome by showing them around our school, but we worked with our whole school to share school culture by sharing important information and a message of pirate pride through presentations given to every grade level. To further recognize our efforts of school spirit at Matanis, we held a freshman pep rally as well as a schoolwide pep rally to start the year off strong. Side by side, students and staff celebrated MHS to help us stay motivated and bolster our sense of school community. Pirates are dedicated to striving for excellence and it shows. Last week we had nine new student inductions to our school advisory council. This will offer great student representation as this council works to support our school's continuous improvement. A big congratulations to the 48 students who received their ACE Cambridge diplomas this
068August. MHS students earned 604 industry certifications which doubled in number from the previous year. In partnership with Advent Health, we are excited to introduce our new allied health program that offers students a three to four-year program to help them prepare for a career in the medical field. Congratulations to our volleyball seniors and the whole MHS volleyball team for bringing home a win on their senior night. During their invitational meet, cross country boys and girls teams finished in the top 5% and there were seven medal winners. We celebrate as the bowling team brought home a win on the 9th. The ROC Raiders male mix team won their first place at their Raider competition in Palaca. Finally, we're cheering on our pirate football team, cheerleaders, and band members as we go up against Mainland this Thursday night.
069I would also like to mention the Hughes participation and success in the ECG athletic clearance this year, which was not only available to sports, but also to band members. Go Pirates. Tutoring and after school clubs have officially started. This weekend, the National Honor Society participated in Palm Co's 18th annual Inter Coastal Way Cleanup. PBIS continues to foster positive behavior. Most recently, they are offering students the ability to win homecoming tickets as a reward for their positive behavior. SGA's latest project is the homecoming popup where students and community members can donate dresses, suits, shoes, or accessories that will be available to students to use for homecoming. Donations are being accepted until the 26th. Some upcoming events include the custodian recognition day on October 2nd, the pink army run on October 5th, and at MHS, we are
070looking forward to homecoming week beginning October 6th. On behalf of Matanas High School and our student body, thank you all for your support, and I look forward to our collaboration this school year. All right. Well, welcome Olivia and Ava. We're very excited to have you and great job on your first day. So, thank you so much. I'd first like to start with offering prayers and condolences. We had a recent passing of a one of our Flaggler grads. So, prayers and thoughts for their family and um just know that Flaggler County is here for you and to talk about how Flaggler County is very supportive. We do have a great mental health counseling team and we we do and I think what we need to focus on is if you feel someone needs that and when
071I say you it could be the parent but perhaps there isn't a parent around. Maybe they're physically there but they're not mentally the parent. Okay? And we're seeing that more and more and more all the time. So if you as an individual notices that a child, even a teacher, if a teacher, a human being, anyone needs that type of assistance, Flaggler County, we we do offer it. We have fantastic staff. They are smart, helpful, educated, and they will go beyond means to assist, but they have to know. So if you are a parent or an individual and you see someone you see a child that doesn't have that active parent involved and it's affecting their mental state, you can see you can tell. All right? Sometimes you might not be able to tell they can
072hide it well. But if you can tell and you see that you step up if you can if you're comfortable be that mentor behind the scenes if you have to and reach out. You can reach out to Flaggler County Schools. anyone here will assist whether it's a schoolboard member but we're not the show we have a fantastic crew but we you know we're here to assist but just know that we do have that and I just wanted to make sure everyone's aware because we keep seeing it and it does start at home but a lot of people don't have that home and you you know that they don't so step up so we all need to step up and work together it starts at home but not everyone has that home so I just want
073to say that so I do thank the mental health team again. It literally I send one email, 3 seconds later I have five responses. So I do um want parents to know that they are working so hard behind the scenes and um I appreciate it. So be that secret parent, okay? Um just want to let you know. So parents and guardians and children that came today and I know a lot of them had to leave because it's bedtime, right? But uh I do thank you for coming and emailing the school board, emailing district staff because without us knowing, without the communication, we can't assist you. And it goes a long way because I want you to know uh we all have bad days and challenges and we vent, but you have to do something about
074it. Whe a child, we tell them what to do and we try to assist them, but we as adults, we need to to do that as well. So reach out and work with us. We will work with you. I promise you. And you know, sometimes it's good news and sometimes it's bad news on both ends, but we're all here to work together, but we have to do it. And I am so proud of everyone because the past, I want to say two months, this whole community, I mean, it's been great communication, like awesome. So, just keep at it. We want to hear from you. We want you to come here. We want this room full. So, it's great. So, and even those that can come to the workshop. So, it's nice to see familiar faces.
075So, thank you for that. And I do just want to encourage ideas. So, it was um a little hard to hear the two young girls earlier, but they did have some ideas. All right. So, if you have ideas, share them. No idea is going to be unheard. I have a lot of ideas that Miss Moore has heard, and sometimes they're good, sometimes she's like, "Mhm." But you know what? between what she hears from myself and other board members, we can put it together and make something happen. So, encourage your children to send the ideas because they're the ones in the classroom today. Uh lastly, um you know, thank you again for the parents. Um just get involved. I guess that's all I'm going to end with. So, parents get involved, but if you're that parent
076that is not there, you you're not going to get involved and you probably never will because you're not there. So be that secret parent that can help and involve your neighbor kids or you see you know talk to your kids but if we don't know about it if there's bullying and we don't know when I say we I mean the teacher the administrator then no one can help them. So do something about it. Pick up the phone email show up and talk in a professional manner and then we'll get it done. All right so thank you and everyone have a wonderful week and um excited to have you guys. Have a good night. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'm excited, Miss Mulun and Miss Delgado, to have you on board. Already, uh, you're off to
077an impressive start, uh, with, uh, wonderful updates. I learned a couple of new things there. Thank you. And I hope that you'll feel comfortable to share your voice and we may also even ask you to weigh in on some um, critical items from the students perspective that would be uh, very helpful in making some of the decisions that we have here. So reach out if you have any questions about agenda items, topics, and we're so very glad that you're here. Excellent choices by Mr. Raldi and Mr. Bosardet. Um so uh I will underscore what my colleague, Miss Ramirez, has said regarding bullying. Um I we're hearing a lot of these very painful and heartfelt uh experiences. First and foremost, bullying, like any other risk to our students, needs to be reported. If you're a volunteer,
078if you're a student, if you're a parent, and you see another um uh child uh being subjected uh to a behavior, an action that is not warranted. Uh every school website has a place where you can submit your bullying investigation request. You can also reach out to uh school leadership uh superintendent her staff. What I want to underscore though is this theme that I hear often in that nothing is done. Uh back in August we had Mr. Finelli and Mr. Glasgow do an extensive review of our bullying process proto protocols and discipline matrix as well as we spent several weeks uh gathering input from community members. And uh there was some legislation that allowed us to modify how we track students who maybe this time the case didn't qualify for uh a bullying designation, but
079now we can track patterns between different students. What I want to remind everybody is that let's think about what a no tolerance policy would involve. is the answer that if a student uh has a um uh an interaction with another and I don't mean to minimize it. Are we saying as a community we don't believe that student deserves an education any longer in our schools? Is that the zero zero tolerance policy that we feel is appropriate? or are we also trying to support that student who is exhibiting those bullying behaviors because research often shows that those students have either been bullied or also were the recipient of some sort of trauma in their life. So, we want to be fair and uphold the safe schools for all of our stu students, even those who may
080be exhibiting behaviors that we don't agree with and we do need to intervene. There's always room for improvement with this. Uh but it does take that reporting and it does take some um element of understanding that unlike the sheriff's office, we do not and cannot advertise the consequences that any child undergoes under our system. Uh however, if you um have concerns about repeated issues that are not being followed up on, uh I would ask you to reach directly out to myself or another school board member that you're comfortable in speaking with or Miss Moore because we will not tolerate uh bullying not being investigated. But what the feedback I'm interested in hearing is as a community, what does zero tolerance mean to us? What do you want to see in that policy? Um, I also
081thank all of the uh community members for speaking regarding school safety. Uh, and it's something that we definitely take seriously and um um we will that that's really all anything we can do to make our campuses safer uh is always worth that time and effort and I can assure you that every school board member up here has brought forward some idea or recommendation to investigate and we will continue to do that with these issues as well. Thank you so much and for the wonderful activities that are happening in our community this month. I look forward to seeing you get involved in those and I um welcome additional visits from community members and continuing to speak and collaborate with us. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Rody and Miss Ramirez. Welcome Ava and Olivia. Right. happy
082to have you here and very proud of you for stepping up and looking forward to working with you this year. It's going to be a great experience for both of you. Um, also just want to um acknowledge the comments um and the public comments that were made tonight um on bullying and safety. Um you know, we're parents too. We get it. We have kids in the school, so we're with you. Um, you know, when you hear of people taking their kids out of school, um, using vouchers, this is part of the consideration is children's mental health and what they're dealing with. Um, so we hear you and, you know, we will continue to address this. I I know that our staff will continue to to work on this. Um, we we care. We do. Like
083I said, we have our own children here as well. Um, I also just want to um take some time to address recent events in our country um that have happened over the last few weeks um with the loss of Charlie Kirk. I was proud to see our community come together last week um with a vigil just to to come together as a community to honor his life. As um mentioned uh earlier today um our school board did not we didn't all get the opportunity to participate in that vigil. So, just wanted to share my own comments tonight. Our country is in a scary place when violence is justified and people think that they can murder someone that they do not agree with. America was founded on the principles that we have a right to disagree,
084to debate one another, to believe what we choose to believe, and to have free speech. We become a culture where disagreeing with someone is treated as violence, and that actual violence is somehow justified as a response. We've got to teach our children that this is wrong. It is dangerous and that this is not how this country was founded. Our children deserve a world where they have the right to have an opinion and not be destroyed for it. Charlie was open about his faith and he stated that that was how he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith. Charlie's voice called for truth when so many choose silence. And it is incredible to see how his impact continues to spread throughout our nation as people continue to be bold and share their
085faith in Christ. While this tragedy has left a mark on our nation, what was meant for harm is now being used for good. So, it is my encouragement to you today to live like Charlie did and stand for what you believe in. One of the speakers at Charlie's memorial reminded us that courage is the easy part. It just requires your yes. This is a turning point in our nation and is up to each of us to make our communities better as parents to raise good citizens, as students and young people to be bold and stand up for what you believe in. To quote Charlie Kirk, "Only in America is it possible to say I don't like the way the country is going and to do something about it." Sorry, lost my place. There's something that
086all of us can do. So find your purpose and do it. You'll be missed, Charlie. Thank you. Have a good night. >> Thank you all for your comments and I share a lot of the same sentiments as my colleagues here, so I won't go in depth uh with with that. Um, but I I do want to, you know, put a call out there for peace amongst our nation, our communities to to realize that we can solve our differences through the democratic process. Activism doesn't mean violence. Uh, you have a voice and there are ways to express that voice through our system. One of them is happening right here through five elected officials that you've put in in charge of making the decisions on your behalf. Public speaking. Come and talk to your elected officials that
087you're not happy with what they're doing or come and encourage them that you're happy with what you're doing. You have a voice. You have a voice through emailing your elected officials. You have a voice when you meet them at the grocery store. Believe me when we all run into our constituents out there, you you do have a voice. And if you're not happy with the way things are going, the next election is usually months or just maybe uh a year or two away where you can make change with your vote. So let's use that uh to change our political and no one amongst the citizens of America should feel in danger to speak their mind. And as we referenced Charlie Kirk, he was a person that had a view and a message. And he did
088invite others. He didn't silence others. He said, "Come debate me. Come talk to me." Right? And I think that is the responsible thing to do is to invite uh invite the disscent and speak your mind. Let other people speak their own. Once you once you silence people, that's often when violence happens. Um so we that's why we have public forum because we want to make sure that every citizen gets heard here. And I just encourage our our youth to to to heed the constitution that we have. We are a constitutional republic. We practice democracy and we use our vote to change things and we can see over the history of this country amazing things have happened uh even up until tonight. So, thank you all and I'll close with that and yield my time to
089Superintendent Moore. >> Good evening. Uh, happy 31st day of school. Um, we are um excited for the start to a very great and successful uh school year. A couple things that I would like to address in my closing comments. of course to welcome our two new student school board members. We are so proud of you. We cannot wait to see the great things that you do. I want you to know that myself and this board, we are here for you, rooting you on. Um and I enjoy spending some time with you both um before this meeting. So, welcome and I cannot wait to see the great things that you do this year. Um, I also want to take a moment to uh recognize uh school board member Mr. Bars who is unfortunately unable to be
090here with us um today. His last and final day with us will be September 30th. Um, but I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge um all of the great things that he's accomplished in a short period of time. Um, he is still active and involved. He participated this morning um in um our first board meeting and he is still um engaged until that very last day. And so I just want to say thank you to him. Um we cannot wait to see the great things that he does in his new role. Um to the the comments about bullying, I agree. I just want to take it kind of to the root to say that as adults uh we are mandatory reporters. If there's something that you see or you witness, uh, please, please,
091please, beyond just speaking up and telling an administrator or adult adult on campus, if you feel like a child is being harmed, it is your responsibility to report that to the Department of Children and Family, if you want to contact the sheriff's office, but you have to report it. That is critical because there is, you know, some an area where it becomes a very much a difference. And so we want to make sure um and I want to say uh that we take that seriously and I know that I speak confidently for this board and for our entire staff to say if you can point us to a time that we have not responded that we have not taken seriously um a report of bullying and definitely any report of abuse, you call us out
092and you point us to it because we take this seriously and we do have the data to support and to show that we do. And so I say um to you that um if you see something, please or you hear something, please report it to us. We will investigate and if you don't see that that has happened, please speak up and bring it to our attention. Do not make an assumption that we know or that we condone that because we do not. Um I agree. One of the board members said maybe someone doesn't like the outcome, but we do look and we address these seriously. So, I just want to just bring that forward. I want to say to um the parents and the families that have talked about safety today that this board also
093takes that seriously. Every um October this year, it's going to be September 30th that this board is going to go into a close session where they are going to talk about safety. That's the only thing that they're going to talk about. is going to be in collaboration with their sher with the sheriff's office and the sheriff's office will walk us through uh recommendations and other things that we need to address. So, I want you to know that though you may not have heard the presentation here in the public, I want you to know that the board is responding and that those conversations are happening and I do believe that you will see that become um things that are evident that you can see. Um and so just continue to stay engaged with us. Don't just
094take our word for it. come back and continue to press us and ask us where where we are going. I will tell you to hear the parents stand before us and and say that you trust us and you trust me uh with the role that I have. We do not take it lightly at all. We want our kids to be safe. We want our staff to be safe. It is something we take so very seriously. And so I want you to know that we do hear you that we do take it uh seriously. And if to any of you that you find a time that we are not, not just in private, call me, email me, do that, but come and stand before us and call us up to a higher standard because we are
095doing our best to lead this district with high level and integrity and to be responsive to the needs of our students. And so I just want to encourage that and to remind you, we cannot always write what's done in the past, but we can fix u what is to come in the future. And so please continue to engage with us. Uh it is a great time um in education as we just continue to be responsible for educating 13,000 plus students. Uh we are excited for a great great school year. So happy 31st day of school. Cannot wait to see each of you on the 32nd and the 50th and every day that comes after that. And I hope you guys all have a great night. >> Thank you, Superintendent Moore. This meeting is now adjourned.