001good evening uh ever since our student representative meeting uh me and my other representative for biotech has been asking around for students concerns or opinions with the atmosphere school life so far we have not received a big concern to be worried about however something very major that's going on this week is a steam Expo on Thursday and Ste Expo is also a c night for our seniors and something different that we're going to do this year is that the day before we're going to do a trial run for the seniors to practice we don't have too much details on how it's going to go next but from what I've heard it's going to be a practicing run where the seniors will be presenting their presentations to the underclassman and something new with our school is
002that previously uh Capstone has been a 2year course Capstone one was junior year and Capstone 2 senior year but they will begin to combine the two courses into one course for Senior year starting within upcoming class in my opinion it'll be a little bit more difficult to uh fully grasp the courses skills and opportunities that it presents for the students however I think this practice run on Wednesday will help show the future classman a future proposing um what a Capstone project and presentation will look like so I will really recommend if you're interested to come visit and see the projects and see our work that we have been you know working on for the past two years or for the Science Expo just um just the work that the students have been doing for the
003science fair and other than that we've just been readjusting since the winter break yeah thank you so much thank you seeing that there are no other student reps in the building or online we're going to move on um to our next item on the agenda which is public's comment right now we only have one person signed up Public public comment will miss Dash spell come to the podium seeing that Miss spell is not here we're going to move on to the next that concludes public comment next item on this sorry we have um some people having trouble being participating via teams can inv it okay it will look into that the next item on the agenda is minutes the first item is approval for the regular meeting from December 11 2023 are there any comments
004changes discussions regarding the content in the minutes if not I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes it's been moved by Miss Perez second second by miss cmir any edits Mr sakovic comment on page six one two three four motion on the floor and got for told me to stop being loser that's some professional Behavior I do not want that behavior repeated we should be comporting ourselves in professional man Mr just mentioned your edit thank you very okay there's been an edit to strike out the comment of Mr sakovic being a sore loser is that fine by members of the board yeah um I that's fine but I don't believe that was from the last meeting I thought that was from the meeting before last yes that's the December 11th meeting is yes stri that
005could be strien from the record pleas strike from the record that Mr is okay so please keep in the record that Mr sakovic is the sord loser any other edits or overed overruled Mr sovic this is your first warning it's going to be kept in no first of all congratulations Mr sakovic there's been an overrule of the mo motion what's been what is the point of water Mr sakovic mivic what is the point of order point of order is you are out of order you want again you to name yourself as chair representative representative of the Board of Education and if that's difficult pretend you're in the courtroom behave how you would act in the courtroom or with a client Mr not full names in the Board of Education I am referring to the specific
006language that you have addressed if you want to keep it on the record that is completely fine I am not objecting to it at first I thought you wanted that to be removed if you want to keep it in the record that is absolutely no problem by me therefore there's no need therefore there's no need for an appeal of the decision of the chair because I agree it should stay in the record so let the record reflect that we will keep the minutes as is all in favor of the minutes as is say I I any in opposition any extensions hearing none the motion passes the minutes from December December 11 2023 is approved the next item minutes for approval is minutes from December 20th 2023 our special meeting are there any comments edits or
007changes hearing none all in favor for approving the minutes from December 20th 2023 say I motion motion oh motion motion to approve made by Miss Perez second second by Miss Bane all in favor any any exension minutes from December 20th 2023 is approved the next item on the agenda is the chair Chairman's report uh let's see for my report I just want to mention some of the things that I've taken actively uh participa active participation in so as chair I've been meeting with the superintendent on a regular basis if there's any need for phone calls or something urgent to the district I've been communicating with the superintendent as well as my executive committee for any opportunities including those that I can't attend so members of this board is present and that includes a recent um
008Q&A session at harden High School uh in addition to that earlier this month the superintendent and I had an opportunity to meet with our student reps as you can tell by the content today it was not just simply an activities report but we ask that all students that participate have meaningful dialogue to understand the true reflection of leadership in this district and it what does it mean to be a student rep what does it mean for good governance as well as um actually discussing contents of Hot Topics or issues in their schools so that was an excellent meeting it was myself the superintendent Dr Levy David as well as Dr Avery on January 6th I had the opportunity to host the three kings event at Lis uh Morin school I um which was just a
009wonderful day of celebrating three kings plenty of family members showed up um it was an excellent event the mayor and several members from the delegation and city council were also there also we have an upcoming meeting with the Bridgeport delegation one of my goals as chair is to make sure that I bridge the gap between communication with the Bridgeport delegation as well as with city council so that way Communications as to the needs for the board and for the school district is heard early and not just during the advocacy time uh the meeting with the bridgeboard delegation will happen later on this week and also one last thing you'll notice on the agenda is the changing committees after Consulting with several different entities including the Connecticut Association of boards of Education also known as C
010my goal as chair is to have efficient and productive meetings actually aimed at the district so we're going to take something that's going to be a change instead of the seven to nine committees that the district normally has and see what happens with three this is experimental and hopefully we will give this a good faith effort to try and be expedient efficient and also be mindful of our staff's time um with board meetings so those are some of the most critical changes I have to report I look forward to working with you all as well as members of the community uh moving forward as chair for this year thank you mam chair point of order the chair has State your point of order I State my point of order is the chair is beyond the
011scope of her Authority by eliminating and creating committees which is a sole perview of the Board of Education as per policy 9280 which I have a copy of for everybody to look at overruled we're going to move on to the next item I appeal the chair's decision second and now we can have a discussion policy number 9280 States so let me St for the you don't Mr sakic as chair it is my opportunity to explain to the board the process and procedures with this there's been a point of order the point of order is that the chair is challenging previously done conduct from prior chairs of consolidations of committees the point of order was overruled by me it was seconded by Mr benan at this point the assembly the delegation itself has the opportunity to
012decide as to whether to approve my overrule of Mr covich's opinion or stand by Mr sovic and with the formation of committees so the way way this works each member it's only debatable one time each member will have one opportunity to speak and then after the end of each member speaking there will be a vote the vote yay is in favor for the chair's decision and a vote nay is that the point of order is wrong essentially so at this point I'll entertain who since Mr talic BR brought up the point of order he may speak first then each member the board will have an opportunity to speak followed by the vote anybody like the policies to read from be okay okay I'll [Applause] take CH of me down pleas two of us another one
013yes as board members are receiving the materials and may need time to review is anyone interested in entertaining the motion for a brief recess no okay Mrs sakovic you have the floor now may you please present your point of order back to my seat the attorney like a copy of consult sure that would be great okay point out the first B 53 92y 928 the board shall act as a committee of home on all matters coming before it except that special committees special Committees of which these these committees are special committees consider investigation problem for the performance of certain board functions may be created by a vote of the board committee members and chair shall be appointed by the chair chairman by filing a list thereof with the superintendent's office as soon as possible following
014the organizational meeting the chairperson's designation shall be made public at the first board meeting subsequent to its fin as you can see committee formation and dis solution are appr the board and if you go look at the second one official duties chairperson policy 9210 you will see 13 items of the chair's Powers responsibilities and duties what you will not see is to dissolve a committee what you will not see is to create a committee that is not the chair's perview it says actually it says the chair shall appoint the chair and members of all regular special and ad hoc committees and past practice we've got did not handle hand this one out so I apologize for that but I won't get up again on September 14th 202 2020 we had a discussion of possible approval
015to dissolve the ahw committee nailed a color and to create a standing board committee on educational diversity and inclusion and furthermore on another day where is it we created the calendar committee which was dissolved and those ad hoc committees are naturally dissolved as well we are diss olving students and families committee why we are dissolving educational diversity and education why we have not the board has not had a chance to weigh in this the public has not had any notice that these committees are going away one committee has been created merging policy procedure um governance facilities see I'm I'm sorry I forgot to hold up but there's so much work to be done on policy we've got 5,000 the whole series got to be reviewed we got a lot of policies that are out of
016compliance with State Statute that need to be reviewed and these committees contracts of personnel committees have been three hours long traditionally we've got policies and procedures in personnel and hiring that need to be monitored with contracts contracts over $225,000 all got to be vetted as you can see by the posting of the contracts committee right now right here and now there's like 10 11 items for tomorrow and three three different agendas to approve this is just irresponsible as a board dilute our ability to dissect and make decisions in the best interest of our students we're approaching a fisal cliff and finance and uh facilities have been merged which is um which is problematic because we're facing a fiscal cliff coming up and unlike other districts I I spending being accelerating we are accelerating spending while
017the districts are drawing down and and it needs to be a Shar by kep out finance and a dedicated Finance that's all I yeld the floor than Mr benan thank you madam chair um I don't know we and as he said and I will email you ask you why the reason one of my committ in family was remove it I know you as a chair you know can make decision but I feel that the lack of communication was very in this war was not very well because you know you let the know it communicate with us maybe we can understand we agree with you or not but um having so committee for so many years especially student and family student family we deal with work with parents we deal with a lot of leaders a
018lot of students in our community you know and as I say I M you I ask a question especially about the bu committee and I never have respond from you um I feel you as the chair all chair that we need to communicate each other we're not going to communicate each other we're not and I feel that at least a simple respond from you I would respect that maybe yes maybe no maybe not that but I feel like I when I you that's why I communicate with you going with committee because I never heard I never doubt I never receive until Miss cmir sent me an email telling me about the committee and thank you for that you know to let me know when she me email me 726 about commit and I was in
019sh and I said okay I appreciate M Casmir send me the email know the information was attract but I never seen nothing from you not only me all the board members because we are ners not only five so I feel that communication had to work much better like I said may we agree or disagree with a lot of things but if we don't have communication we're not going to very successful and I always said people's watching us and be here for one reason for our students thank you say Miss benan Miss brez there we go um were these committees or merged because I believe we did not get rid of committees we just merged them into three committees so can you just answer that for oh no Committee of the Board of Education was dissolved
020all the Committees were merged as in past prior practice there used to be a Personnel committee there used to be a separate contracts committee personnel and contracts were merged together last year um same thing for health and safety health and safety was created as its own separate committee Advanced by the NAACP to the board of Ed in response to the covid-19 crisis the Board of Ed created the committee which is the creation of a committee however under prior leadership the health and safety committee without approval from the full board was merged with the facilities committee enacted as such the current format uh of the committee's instruction Support Services committee would be a merger of teaching and learning students and Families diversity equity and inclusion facilities and finan is self-explanatory to the merger of two committees
021and policy personnel and contracts is a merger of governance but I wanted to focus more on policy but it is still the government governance committee essentially personnel and contracts so there's been no dissolution of any committee from the Board of Education just a merger it was also highly suggested from C that efficient School District districts typically have three committees in order to prevent board member burnout which I must say from my personal experience on the board when there are nine committee meetings requiring the superintendent attendance as well as our regular board meeting it can be draining and actually distracted from the actual work of the district point of information so therefore why therefore the decision got a point of information there's no point of information I have therefore based off my decision as well as
022being counseled by C I thought it would be an efficient and a change for this semester be or this year because even if it doesn't work we gave it to try and we're trying to model efficient successful school districts so that was the ultimate decision with the merge of the Committees I also thought in terms of for example instruction and support services just tend to flow better off the tongue instead of saying students families teaching learning diversity equity and inclusion so I wanted a more succinct name and also sought guidance for a succinct name that will actually be inclusive of all those committees as well while not losing the very essence of what this the committee is supposed to perform thank you Miss cmir no questions no comments Miss ban Mr Woodson no comment Mr
023Medina yes can you guys hear me yes um just wanted to thank uh thank you for the floor thank you Miss Perez for your question also um when you talk about efficiency uh and actions um I believe that actions speak louder than words and by by omitting the the board and I think the point on the floor is that you don't have uh the authority if not that it's it's it's us as a board working together and I think as Mr Albert mentioned that we never found out about our committees until very late if not not at all um you know we can't give a report on anything but the change or establishing of committees under the statute and the bylaws and the instruction are not your authority to do alone and I think it
024would help us as a board like I been talking before about hitting a reset and let's start working together as a board we're supposed to be working cohesively together I understand that you're the chair but you should have been known uh of the rules and guidelines that that is not under your authority to change to modify to establish or to take it out uh I think it would beh whole you to have met with us to get our ideas and get our points and that's where I'm as a member know that the public is going to be known of all the decisions that are made outside of you know our guidelines because they're holding us accountable as a board and me as an individual member of this board I is going to be held accountable
025before the public so I need to hold you accountable and say if you read those things that have been handed over to the board and I ask my colleagues to look at exactly at those documents that were given to you before you vote and just vote on the line of our what is established not what is made up if not what is established that what we can govern correctly with power and authority and I would relish the FL over to you guys thank you thank you Mr Medina Mr tror yes Mr TR pres I mean presid sorry let the record reflect that Mr tror is present online Mr tror you now have the floor I would like first like to point out I've been present since 6:15 um I signed on at 6:15 and was
026called to hold and I was L on and I am finally got on about 10 minutes ago um so I didn't hear the initial part of this discussion but I have gotten the gist of it from listening the last five or 10 minutes um and I think that a significant decision has been made without full discussion of the board and I think that's wrong on its own um I understand the point about whether this is a merger or creation or not create or or the termination of existing committee commes but it is a major discussion when we go from six to three committees um and the committee assignments are made I understand that the chair has raised the issue of uh the amount of time and effort that it takes to six committees versus three
027committees but in so doing what you've done is make committees where some board members don't even have committee assignments um and some board members only have one committee assignment so there's certainly not a lack of uh board members available to attend board meetings uh I understand that some board members in the past have had trouble making committee meetings but other board members have made board me committee meetings that they didn't even belong to so I think it's not an issue that is uh with full Merit so I think this is a decision that brought long before uh a decision to implement was made and I found out um by by seeing the agenda for this meeting that's when I found out so I think this is a decision that should not be allowed to stand
028and the full board should participate in a full review and discussion before this decision stands thank you Mr trayor thank you so as I've mentioned when inquired by Miss Perez this is not a a dissolution of any committee all the prior committees still exist just under new head lines also if you look at our committees which have been published online we are actually going to get a greater seat at the table when it comes to legislating at the state level there have been prior roles and votes um committees space a seat at the table for Bridgeport that's never been utilized with C so for example we actually now have a cave government relations liaison that's been delegated out we have the cave assembly delegation therefore there's no vote that's going to go through cave without
029bridport utilizing our three seats at the table also we're utilizing the C liaison for consistent training and opportunities so that we the Bridgeport Board of Education will not only just get the opportunity to Advocate but continue to educate ourself on changes on the state level there's also the role with the CES as well as our Charter Schools our Charter Schools liaison should be members of the Board of Education it shouldn't be paid staff being paid to go to another school organization function so taking that all into consideration we still have approximately 16 different roles and duties even with the merger of the nine committees down to three so I'm hope hoping that this is a reasonable request as nothing's been dissolved and as mentioned if there's a dire need for the recreation or reimplementation or
030separation for the committee I am all ears and open to it so that completes the appeals process now the next step in the appeal process is a vote for yay which will uphold my the next process is a vote of yet which will uphold ask the opinion of the attorney that's not that's not a motion no Mr sakovic so right now there's going to be a vote on the floor no we are elected representatives of this of this city of Bridgeport we are elected representatives so let the majority of the assembly decide as to the appropriate conduct to go forward I don't need legal interpret ation for what is the power for us as a board to do the next step is a yay for the approval for the merger merged committees or a nay
031so I'll entertain a roll call vote for yay or nay a vote yay approves my decision to merge committees and a vote of Nay does not you also have the opportunity to abstain Miss Perez I vote yay Christine Baptist Perez yay yay yay Yes Albert benam sorry oh now cmir yay Willie Medina no Jennifer perz volier Jo Mr cic no and I would like to add a brief explanation as per the bylaws have not heard from the attorney the attorney has been looking through we still don't even know have decision of if we're correct or not Robert trer Andre Woodson yeah micop is not on we cannot hear from the first so I don't know you know how you can speak allow now you know take time to go on so you want me to
032do the vote again no just read the results oh okay so there is five y three no the motion carries the merge has been approved by the full board we will move on to the next item on the agenda which is committee reports and referrals I'll take this opportunity to introduce the new committee chairs for facilities and finance it will be Miss Aisha C the mayor if you can just introduce your committee the dates you'll be meeting and uh just keep it brief yes uh facili and finance first meeting will be held on Monday January 29th at 6: p.m. thank you the next committee is instructions and support services oh any referrals to the finance and Facilities committee committee meeting uh I would like to refer Community floral the traditionally done Community forums every year
033and planing around now Mr Sak would keep it specific to the committee the community forum for our bylaws is for the community at large and not specifically for committee if you're referring to the finance one refering finance committee yes that's what we're on AR we and also like okay the community forums the I can give you more on that later Community forums of the budget and I suggest U I would also like to refer a primer on the budget for the new board members so they can have an understanding of the budget and what's going into it okay Miss Perez instructions and support services committee instruction is Support Services committee will be meeting every 3rd Tuesday so January 16th um at 6 p.m. and a location to be determined um thank you any referrals for
034committee yes I got a few referrals we got a standing referral from the old teaching and learning which is um early school start times we've got um diversity equity and inclusion be an update on RFP for services for teachers to be educated on whatever diversity initiatives are and for what other what other inclusion and learning Services um I would like to refer special education we haven't had a special education is probably over a year for teaching and learning and we definitely need to find out where our special education programs lead how we open complaints we got how many service hours we behind because that's become a problem in the past and we've been sanctioned by the state quite a few times and we' need to ensure all are getting the services they and I think
035of anything else I thank you Mr tror yes I'd like to make sure that we are still under discussion in that in what was the teaching and learning committee about the early Chang in the high school start time yes you have any referrals to the committee yes I'm referring that I want to make sure it's still on their agenda no Mr sovic just referred that as well I couldn't hear I had a little glitch no problem any other referrals to committee no hearing hearing none we'll move on yes Miss cmir sorry to interrupt one thing that I did leave out is that the um facilities and finance committee meets the third Thursday of the month with the exception of January and February thank you Miss Cass mayor the next committee is the policy personnel and
036contracts committee Tuesday sorry that was third Tuesday of the month sorry about that facilities and finance committee will meet on the third Tuesday of every month third Monday third Monday oh you killing me now okay I'm so sorry I'm nervous sorry about that the third Monday of every month with the exception of January and February sorry the third Monday of every month with the exception of January and February and it will also be posted on our website the next committee is the policy personnel and contracts committee which will be chaired by me we will meet the second Tuesday of every month the first meeting will be next month and the agenda has been posted online um yeah and as you can see with the minute the agenda posted it will have an approval of the
037policy and contracts committee last agenda as well as approval from the last governance committee meeting any referrals to committee Mrs sovic yes for the Personnel committee I would like a organizational chart new updated organizational chart there have been many changes I would like um new positions and salaries for before the board because we need we need to know how much money we spent and how fast we're spending it that's for the cont now for contracts I would like to refer a fiveyear calendar plan fiveyear calendar of expiring contracts so we can stay on top of the contracts and for policy I don't know if you're aware but in an even number of years policies are all supposed to be reviewed it hasn't been done in a decade and that was the next step for the
038policy committee we need to review all our policies because I mentioned as I've mentioned several are out of date and out of compliance with the state statute and some of them haven't been dusted off in over a decade it's been one of the most neglected committies hisory [Music] theard thank you Mr sovic the next committee that we will now have reports from I have put a case a hand up just a hand my hand I'm sorry Mr trer your hands up yes I'd like to refer I I'd like to see a full report uh go before that committee and come to us uh for the uh uh of all hirings and staff changes last July 30th uh we have not had complete reports at every board meetings of staff changes and transitions departures and promotions
039and in looking at next year's budget I think we need to see what has changed uh since then okay Mr tror thank you you're welcome okay can't see no other hands up the next committee report we'll have is a cade report so this will be done by the Cade liazon which is myself also in conjunction with the c government governance committee um appointed Personnel Mr sakovic uh there are plenty of opportunities as mentioned that occurs throughout the state in terms of advocacy um as well as trainings so the next training will be on January 24th 2024 the board the board's role of role in advocacy which will be held by cab it's a free webinar I highly suggest board m MERS attend there was also a urban District Alliance meeting on January 4th 2023 I'll
040make sure I attend all of those meetings in the interim uh going forward and that concludes the committee reports and uh any well there's no real referral that goes to C it's really our attendance and I'll report our attendance there and in terms of certain things where we would need to Advocate on a state level or if we feel that C is moving forward with a policy that would actually be harmful to urban districts like ourselves we will we will Advocate against such policies and speak out so that will be presented so at this time there's no referrals that would actually go to the C report the next item on the agenda mad is the super on um committees no I will not be serving on as L on to any chared schools so please
041remove my nameb okay thank you for your willingness to not participate the next item on the agenda is the superintendent chair my hand is up there there's a hand there's a hand ma'am yes Mr tror um this will Happ to be just regarding the cave report yes ma'am uh my hand was raised about the cave report um I attended the cab Urban initiative meeting at the C Conference uh myself and Mr sovic attended I don't recall the chair being there um but uh I was invited to attend the meeting on January 4th and prevented from attending because I was uh not given access to the internet um so I had it access to the internet down here I've been given a link but I was UN I was unable to uh access that link um
042and I was unable to arrange access to that link so I just want to note that I was invited to attend that meeting and planned on attending that meeting for the record yes I also planned on attending that meeting and wasn't given access so I've already spoke to C as well as my C mentor to ensure that I will have access as the C Lea on to attend and I appreciate your support in trying to attend I was actually given I was given access by C I was not given access by the board of V nice and from now on only the K on l 10 there's she's out of the country which is why Mr can answer that question I had given access because you were out of the country and due to IT
043issues and potential data breach concerns you weren't given access but no no if I had if the link had been forwarded to me if I had been told that as when I inquired and it had been forwarded to me the head of the cab Urban initiatives was also out of country and he's the one that pointed out to me that I could still attend so I had planned on attending so it could have been done if I had been told that and I had forwarded the email to myself on my personal email but that wasn't told until after the fact okay moving on to the next item on the agenda is the superintendent report I'll now use the floor to Dr Cela rebby David and you cannot restrict us from caves meetings we will be
044attending as well because it's an urban collaborative and we are part of that collaborative you cannot remove Mr cic you do not have the floor you'll now listen to the superintendent report by Dr Levy David good evening everyone thank you for being here it's really exciting to be here for our very very first um board meeting for the brand new year and I'm really excited to be able to share a lot of the different um activities and also priorities that we've been able to share with the community over the past few weeks um I'm actually going to begin by talking about a very important topic and that is mental health um if somebody could go to the next slide for me please um we um had the opportunity to participate along with Mr har Bell
045and his wonderful organization which is color of positive thought um to really address how we are supporting our students and the Greater Bridgeport community with mental health issues provide a great deal of information for members of the community and for parents for how we can better support our students and also support the adults in the district through our mental health measures and I'm just very pleased to see Mr Bell here thank you so much for your support sir and for the work that you're doing in the community it's been a pleasure to collaborate with you and um I actually wanted to open the floor if he had a few comments that he wanted to share regarding that report if that's okay good evening how you guys doing I'm not going to take up all your
046time uh my name is Harry Bell I run the program color a positive that is based in tremal Garden but it uh helps kids and parents around the entire city um I actually work um in the Board of Education as a security officer under office of parks I've been in that position for 10 years now um mental health is something that uh we take serious because I believe if your mental health isn't right nothing is right um we have different programs that Target uh specific areas and how to come at a kid who's dealing with mental health we have about three clinicians that part of the color of positive thought program that uh come into our uh facility and Trumble Gardens um after school through our after school program afternoon program and it been a
047success and uh prior towards Co I was uh doing I was working uh in the schools I was going to different schools under uh under um Mike testani and it was a program that I was my program that he adopted to do to the schools I was going to five different schools uh once a uh once a week and I was just uh dealing with uh some topics that some of our youth have to deal with every day and giving them me nasm that can like actually help them cope uh that was success due to co we had to stop but again I am super honored to uh partner with the board of education on any way shape per form um again um I'm dedicated to the city I'm dedicated to the youth I'm dedic
048to the people and I'm dedicated to the board of education so whatever aspect I am uh need to be uh put at do what I got to do I will execute it to the best of my ability and again thank you so much for the uh um for me having me be able to speak today and after that uh news article I actually got uh maybe 12 calls maybe 24 email emails stating what is actually are you guys partner up in so um later on when uh things get settled I I would love to get the uh actual program initiated if it's um okay with you and the board because I believe mental health is very crucial into our kids learning thank you Mr B man I really um appreciate the fact that you continue
049after your regular workday to invest in our kids and to invest in mental health I was very touched by what you shared during the coverage of that particular piece and I was very touched by seeing how you directly impact our kids each and every day I also wanted to take a moment to just thank FR reia for bringing this very important issue to the Forefront and I just want to continue to encourage our parents to establish and maintain those lines of communication with our students the older they get that the greater the need is to maintain that close contact with students and to understand exactly what challenges they face each and every day and how we can best support them we have a range of wraparound services in the district we have a range of
050clinicians and Professionals in the district that can support our students and once we know that there's an issue we very quickly work to ensure that we can support those families support those students and um Dr Albert saki who is our assistant superintendent for social emotional learning Behavioral Health and student services is actually the person who is working to organize all of those programs under one umbrella so that we can not only provide these services but also ensure that we do so year after year of intervention with our students so that it's not a one andone but that we can actually continue to support our students each and every year that they or their families need it from the time that they enroll with us in prek until the time that they graduate and go on
051the college and Beyond so this is a an initiative that we take very seriously in the district we want to ensure that we're able to provide supports that go beyond what we would normally see in a Traditional School setting because we know that after the pandemic we have come to a new understanding that the need is so much greater than what we originally understood and that we have lots of different types of trauma lots of different types of neurer Divergence and it is our responsibility as the ones who have the students 7 and a half hours a day to ensure that we can address and meet those and help them to be successful so thank you to the board ofed for allowing us to work on that piece and for allowing us to have the
052the proper Staffing to do that work if you can move to the next slide please I was able to engage in a very productive conversation with the provos for Fairfield University and to address some of the most productive ways that we can partner to support our students in their career Pathways and in their Futures Beyond High School into post um secondary work and I will continue to have that collaboration I've already been able to establish that partnership with Sacred Heart University and also with the University of bridgport with Goodwin University and also with honic University we want to ensure that our students have access to the first line of all of the different educational institutions that are right here in Bridgeport and that are willing to partner with Bridgeport and we're going to continue to
053extend those Partnerships Beyond Bridgeport with other institutions of Higher Learning that can bring quality programs to support our students to be Global Citizens in the 21st century next slide please I want to thank um the VIP organization and U Miss Teresa Wilson and her board for their annual Panza celebration which uh took place this past December it was a beautiful beautiful celebration and cultural opportunity to expand the knowledge of our students and to expand that um diversity equity and inclusion that we're hoping to achieve in Bridgeport through this particular activity that highlighted all of the Traditions all of the historical background behind Kwanza and all of the different principles that are highlighted through kuanza which are principles that any family would hope to adopt such as Unity uh self-determination purpose very positive values that we
054want to share with our students it was a beautiful Exposition not only of those Traditions but also of music of Storytelling and our students were able to participate firsthand our students here in Bridgeport were able to participate firsthand in this um this beautiful event and I just want to thank VIP for continuing to host it and hope that we'll be able to support them in making it even larger next year next slide please I had the pleasure of participating in the adult education Multicultural Fest at Central High School during the month of December and this particular event is special because it is LED and organized by our parents who are part of our adult education program which is led by Miss Lynn Stevens and it was a phenomenal uh display of all of the various
055cultures backgrounds and nationalities and languages that are spoken here in Bridgeport all of the different constituents that are part that call Bridgeport home and a way for them to Showcase integral parts of their cultures their backgrounds and share those in a family atmosphere where members of our community were able to attend with their families with their children and I just want to want to thank the members of the Board of Ed who attended this event all of our staff members who supported it and being a great success and I just I was so incredibly impressed by how large and how well attended this event uh was we have over 670 uh adults currently in our adult ed program it continues to grow each and every year and this is just a really wonderful way to
056not only support their ability to integrate into American society but to also celebrate and ackn the differences that are very unique to their backgrounds and to show how much we appreciate them being members of our community next slide please last week um I held a very different type of event I am very committed to maintaining open lines of communication with all members of the Bridgeport of Education Bridgeport Board of Education and we had a Q&A with teachers uh in person and virtually where they were able to submit questions ahead of time or ask questions live uh via teams during the event the event was posted hosted by Miss Francis macaron she did a phenomenal job as our MC and uh Mr Tim grassy did a wonderful job as our uh virtual MC to guide those
057questions that were coming in online and I was able to spend a great deal of time sharing our district priorities answering questions Germaine to the concerns that teachers have each and every day in our schools regarding their work um their working conditions regarding the changes that may be upcoming for next year regarding um their benefits their employment regarding the supports that we will have for them in the classroom with instruction and it was a very productive dialogue an open dialogue I plan to continue to have these meetings quarterly with teachers and I hope that they will continue continue to share their thoughts their concerns and their questions I want to thank the members of the board that took the time to attend uh whether you were in person or virtually it was a very very
058productive um discussion and I've had quite a bit of feedback from teachers since that discussion we actually are in the process of transcribing the entire conversation so that we can publish those Q&A those questions and answers for those who were not able to attend now slide please as you all know by now we had our first snow event in the city of bridport this last weekend and myself um our intern superintendent Deputy superintendent Dr Royce Avery and our chief of operations Mr George Garcia spent a delightful afternoon visiting all of our facilities maintenance and Tradesmen who were driving plows to clear clear our driveways our sidewalks and make our campuses safe we were there delivering hot cocoa and coffee for them to be able to warm up and we were able to actually also interact
059with our parents who were having snow fights and making snow angels with their kids and share in the hot cocoa with our families it was a really wonderful time to see firsthand the effort that it takes to do the work of maintaining SCH campuses and our streets safe and the people who do the work the ones that are the First Responders who are there to ensure that we're able to open our schools every day and they do so eagerly they do so without complaining and they do a phenomenal job of keeping our kids safe so I just really wanted to highlight how appreciative I am of their efforts how appreciative I am of them being out there in inclement weather in the cold doing what they do and I just want to continue to encourage
060them and thank them for their efforts if you see one of them on your campuses please thank them because they were there they were out there all day they were out there all day as the snow fell plowing the icing and doing everything that they could to ensure that our students and our staff were able to access and have points of access and egress safely to our facilities so thank you all for the work that you do and please know that I'm going to keep the hot chocolate and coffee coming next slide please over the holiday break we engaged in a beautiful beautiful service um activity with a lot of our central office and executive leadership staff we were able to spend a beautiful morning at the Mosaic Senior Center singing Christmas carols sharing gifts
061donated gifts uh members of our staff actually donated funds in order to create gift bags for each of the seniors in the facility and we were able to not only share that warmth and love and perform for them but also visit each of the floors for those who were not able to access the community space who had to be um shut in even at the center we were able to visit with them these are seniors who oftentimes are not able to go home with family or don't have family to go home with and this is a beautiful activity I hope that we will partake in every single year it was heartwarming it was wonderful and we were able to bring just a little bit of joy and and Sparkle and just the the joy of
062Christmas to each and every one of them so thank you all of you who participated this was a voluntary event and I know that each and every year this will also grow into something that we as the Board of Ed here in Bridgeport Public Schools will do to serve the seniors in our community so thank you so much for all of you who help organize it and all of you um especially Miss Rita V who did a lot of the work to ensure that each and every single senior was able to receive a gift that day so thank you so much for your efforts next slide please I was invited by leadership Greater Bridgeport to attend a dayong um incredible partnership to speak to all of the different nonprofits and Community leaders here in br
063Port who partner with the Boe and want to continue to grow those Partnerships and want to find Productive ways to do so and I was able to share not only our district priorities and the needs for our district but also just what makes bridgport such a special school district and such an amazing place to work and learn and many of them has have now reached out because they want to really grow those Partnerships and continue to engage with us and continue to support our our students so I'm really excited about the prospect of of sharing how they can do so and to continue to grow their input and their feedback and their contribution to the work that we do here in Bridgeport Public Schools thank you so much leadership grader Bridgeport for having me it
064was a pleasure to be there to share with you and I hope that I'm able to do this again with you in the future next slide please this last Saturday at Louise Elementary we observe a very beautiful part of Latino culture which is Three Kings Day it was a Full House of families with children who were there to not only learn about this beautiful tradition of epiphany but also um participate in um songs we did a sing along with the superintendent I was able to lead the whole group in a beautiful Rend of a Spanish Christmas Carol um we were also able to have a bomat group who performed and had drummers and uh we were able to have a lot of members of the audience including our mayor uh The Honorable Joseph ganam in
065action learning bomba and how to dance the bomba it was amazing and we were also able to enjoy many student performances performances where they sang um where they perform plays and where they actually dance bomba traditional songs it was an incredible opportunity for us to continue to extend our diversity our equity and inclusion by learning such an important part of Latino culture and also helping students to maintain their identity through understanding those very important cultural Traditions so I want to thank all of the members of the city council who participated in organizing this event and all of the members of the community who participated and donated not only food but also unwrap toys every single student who attended was able to receive a toy and I also want to thank um Miss Christine Baptist Perez
066who served as our MC Miss Jennifer Perez who was in attendance and any other board member if I didn't see you I was busy dancing and singing so I apologize but I just really want to thank you for being there to support and participate with our community this past week we held a transformative student Leadership Retreat with our student Board of Ed Representatives where they were able to learn the principles of leadership the four elements of genuine leadership and what that looks like how to conduct governance in an orderly and respectful manner where respectful dialogue is held how to actually share their ideas and gather input from their peers that they can share with the Board of Ed and also to begin guiding them in the process of using this opportunity to not only sharpen
067their leadership skills but also Propel themselves in their postsecondary careers it was an incredible event uh Dr Royce Avery supporting us in hosting that event as did uh Miss Christine Baptist Perez and they were very very excited they were very emotive and shared a tremendous amount with all of us about their experiences their expectations and just how thrilled they are to be able to have a brand new chapter in leadership in Bridgeport they're all going to be taking formal portraits in professional attire which will be shared on our district website highlighting short bios of who they are their accomplishments in our district and their future College attendance or School support plans and I'm just very very excited to be able to also announce that this particular group will form the core of the superintendent student
068advisory Council for the remainder of this year and moving forward every year this group of students who are selected by their schools to represent us at the board level will be our student advisory Council and they'll be meeting with the superintendent separate from this board meeting once per month because it's important for them to be able to speak frankly transparently and candidly without fear of reprisal it's really important for them to be able to lead in a safe space it's really important for them to be able to share their thoughts and ideas without the risk of being critiqued for those ideas and it's really important for them to ask questions in a safe um safe place we want to also protect their mental health and their leadership skills as they're learning this is a way
069for them to practice and for them to to sharpen those skills and we're just really excited to just bring an entire new way of supporting our students and leading in bridport public schools thank you for all of them they were all present they were all accounted for we were able to enjoy a beautiful lunch after our Retreat and they uh returned to their campuses to begin their new task of ensuring that they're Gathering feedback and input from their entire student body before they report to the board through every board meeting uh the full student body will be in attendance at the next board meeting so that we can introduce all of them and they will return to taking turns in alternating after that point and finally as I know my report has been long this
070time but we've had a little bit of a respit between meetings um I just want to share that we had a exciting bus ride to blackham Elementary we rode a kindergarten elementary and middle School Bus yes we did that myself and The Honorable mayor Joseph P ganam and we had a phenomenal time not only waiting at the bus stop and meeting with students and their parents and Gathering their feedback regarding what their experience is with school transportation but also talking to them on the bus about what their priorities are and what their needs are we were able to tour blackm Elementary were're able to walk our students to class and this was just a phenomenal and I hope Unforgettable will experience for our students um we also promis to return to spend the day reading
071with the kindergarten class that adopted U mayor gam there was a kindergarten class that adopted the mayor so we will be sharing more information regarding that event when it occurs and I will make sure that he does not forget this was just a phenomenal opportunity and I just look forward to sharing more uh information we'll actually have an in-depth report um where the students actually got to share their thoughts we were able to um actually have Q&A with them on the on the school bus which is a very different experience for them and we'll be able to share a more in-depth report through our website and through Paris Square with all of you real soon and that concludes my report for today Madam chair thank you are there any questions regarding the superintendent report seeing
072none we'll move on to the next item yeah I got a couple of questions just basically two oh one now the the um Social Services with color positive Bo could you tell us a little bit more about that as far as cost and implementation how much it cost and where the funding will be coming from I don't understand the question we've got a new program I would like to know the cost Associated within the program there isn't any cost this is a nonprofit program we are not currently funding this program just inh yes thank you apprciate all your services thank you any other questions or comments seeing none we'll move on to the next item which is unfinished business the first item in unfinished business is discussion and possible approval of Reed school's Park Improvement
073project with Nature's conserv through 20242 2 calendar year I believe there's a representative in the back as well as principal Smith online so uh you feel free to come forward as well as our direct um Mr Garcia and just discuss the project at hand so I want to start off by saying that we wholeheartedly support this project over reach school I know uh principal sirnah Smith also supports this project these are the types of things that we want to see in our schools these these Partnerships are very important for the district so I'll turn it over to uh representative here to give you a glimpse of what we like to do there hi everybody thank you for having me tonight to the members of the board head and the chair and the superintendent thank you
074for hearing us tonight um I think we have uh principal Smith on um on Zoom as well um so my name is Drew goldsman I'm here representing the nature conservancy we're a nonprofit organization and we've been working in partnership with the board and other groups uh across the city for uh over a decade now and the work that we've been doing at readed school has been some of the most meaningful uh we've worked with the school over the years to address uh concerns with the adjacent uh SPH Park um we've done work there to help address kind of sight lines and safety issues and so we got a grant through uh the state of Connecticut Department of energy and Environmental Protections 319 water quality program to address storm water flooding and water quality issues um
075in the p pic River but it's the island Brook which is the stream that runs right behind the school there um to develop some nature-based solutions to address water quality issues and so primarily they're going to be in Reed school I mean I'm sorry in Sp Park uh we have the parks commission's approval for that project and we're seeking approval from uh the board of ed for the component of the project that will be on the read school campus it'll be a relatively small project to address storm water um kind of in the turnaround section of the school um and I'll just close and and perhaps be able to hand it over to principal Smith by to say that this is fully Grant funded uh The Nature Conservancy will be doing the project management of
076the project we're not um expecting or in need of any additional outside resources from the the the district or the city um and we've uh been working with the city attorney's office to uh hammer out a a an access agreement so that's really what's up I think for discussion here tonight is approval of um our access agreement which yet again I'll just note that the the Parks Commission has approved it's been approved by the city attorney's office and we need the blessing here of the of the Board of Ed um but principal Smith if uh if you have some comments you want to share as well sure yes good evening thank you for having us this evening um we have been partnered with the nature conservancy prior to the pandemic um we had many opportunities
077where they came to our school we worked with students and their parents at Family engagement events um we planted trees we planted flowers um we did fall and spring activities so we're hoping that this can large portion of uh students who are very interested in science um nature um and I think that will allow them to be able to learn more and have um more hands-on experience and I I should also J I'd be remiss to not mention thank you uh for the partnership with principal Smith over these years and my colleague Cynthia folks is unable to be here tonight but she's really been um kind of leading a lot of the partnership with the read School community over the years as [Music] well okay I will open the floor to board members for any
078questions Mr benan thank you much okay just want to know they have a cost foration sorry money the there's no cost being necessary from the city or from the board this is fully funded through um it's actually federal funds that get passed through through the state of Connecticut [Music] youone okay no funds need to come from the city or the board okay thank you no more question m any other question Miss cmir um I love the idea of this project by the way thank you um when did the urban Conservatory program launch um The Nature Conservancy is um a 65 or 70 year old nonprofit um we've been active in Connecticut for 60 years or so um and uh we've been working in Bridgeport in a number of different ways over the years the last
07910 years or so um and I'll just note we've did a project at beards elementary school as well um and we've worked with a lot of different Community Partners across the city doing tree planting work and storm water management work um so if that yeah in my title I'm the urban conservation director for the chapter which is um here Statewide organization okay I love the fact that this program is Grant funded no cost to this the city and a great opportunity for students and um I noticed that um your flyer said that you're sub Contracting with a design and Bill firm uh what town is that firm located in just so we it will be decided through a competitive bidding process so we're going to put this out to bid uh once we we have
080our approvals in place and then we'll be able to put it out to bid to get the most competitive uh contractor available so they'll be on point to work with us and principal Smith in the school community on design of what makes most sense for the school and the park side of it as well and then they will be um in charge of construction so we're project managing that contract with our contractor who will be a design build firm that's all I have thank you any other questions I I see one online Mr Medina yes uh I do apologize that I'm actually away at this moment um so I don't have some of the literature that I was able to read so my question is uh two parts uh a time frame on all these
081events that are going to be happening I guess at the school grounds you have a time frame at this project uh we are eager to get it moving as quickly as possible um so our next step will be to put it out to bid and get design moving promptly and we need to spend funds down to be honest so we are eager to have um work begin as as promptly as we can though with full understanding of the school schedule and so we hope to get some components of it perhaps even done this coming summer um but that will be uh contingent upon working with the school community and principal Smith on what what is kind of of least impact to um kind of day-to-day operations but we're seeking approval to give us kind of
082the opport the the time frame to allow us to go into next school year as well with the understanding that some you know these processes can take some time and that was my second part of the question when you talk about work being done how is it going to affect the the moving around in the school or what kind of work is going to be done uh whether it's going to be some heavy machinery on property or things like that what what's that work going to look like uh yeah there would likely be some excavation uh these are generally the types of uh installations that this would look like would be a um kind of a an excavated um generally I would say we were looking at like a a 5 by 15 chunk of
083the of of ground that would be excavated out and you're essentially just recreating or trying to kind of augment the natural water cycle so you're trying to create opportunity for water to infiltrate into the ground more quickly than it would into bare soil or asphalt and I likely we're not going to be doing any deep Paving with this um but this is all pretty standard practice for any contractor who would be putting up all the required um protective fencing if if it were going to be during school session you know again we really would prioritize this being during the summer um and so but it would all be done in the you know up to code and through full fully protected from anyone you know any access would be restricted and so on okay thank
084you very much I look forward to getting a time schedule that way we can uh go visit if possible the site and see what work is being done thank you very much absolutely Mr tror yes I heard your report at the committee meeting in November uh it was uh a pleasure to hear and I'm sorry that we didn't get to this sooner uh for you I know we wanted to get to it before the end of the year and uh I look forward to seeing you move forward with this because it sounds like a very exciting project I'm happy to support it apprciate that any other questions or comments seeing none I'll entertain a motion to approve the read School Improvement project with Nature's Conservancy through 2024 to 2025 calendar year do I have a
085motion wait I need so moved so moved by Mr tror second Mr Ben second by Mr benan all in favor I I any any extensions the motion carries congratulations thank you to the board thank you principal thank you thank you very much the next item on the agenda is discussion and possible approval to amend the lease for 418 casso Street will be presenting Miss Stevens good evening we can't hear you yet so still can't hear you we're going to call and get in contact with Miss Stevens just keep yourself see our it thank God for [Laughter] it [Laughter] yeah they probably have to start good evening okay um I apologize for the Technic teal difficulties so the amendment to lease agreement is specifically to extend the lease agreement um and to take it from a
086month-by-month basis to uh through June 30th as it stands right now uh bridgport adult education uh is running on a month-by-month basis at 418 cou Street and we'd like to secure the space through June 30th okay are there any questions from board members yes Mr tror um I have no question my hand was not the it's not going down sorry no problem any questions from any board members Miss cmir yes um I faintly remember us looking for another location for adult EG can we get an update on what ever happened to that that is correct that is still in progress we don't have um we currently don't have any other locations identified but I am working um with Mr Garcia and with Dr Levy David to identify a site okay and uh I went on
087Google Maps to look at the location and I recognized it I drive there all the time um the parking lot that's next to the building is that to utilize for free for staff and students are you referring to the casso street location the parking lot that's located directly like next to the building uh next to cassu Street yes we utilize that parking lot for our for our students okay that's all I had thank you you're welcome Miss Perez want to make a motion yes motion to approve on the amendment of the lease for 418 C motion's been moved do I have a second second Mr ven second by all in any further discussion hearing none all in favor I I I any any abstentions the eyes have it the motion to approve the amended lease
088has been passed the next item on the agenda is discussion and possible approval to enter into an agreement between Bridgeport Public Schools and area Cooperative Services Aces for alternative route to certification for teachers of English language Learners the arct program and is here to present Grant nir okay I'm going to work on names New Year's resolution present on that answer to everything good afternoon everyone or good evening everyone I am here to present this inherited contract this is for uh ases area Cooperative Services it's for the artel program which is the alternate rout to certification for teachers of English Learners as you would have noticed contract has been hanging around for a little while it is for 4,750 it is for 10 current teachers it is a cost of4 five $457 per person plus a
089$75 application fee it has been in committee um there weren't any additional questions but please let me know if there's something that I could help in terms of um the terms of conditions that are listed uh the dates obviously do look the way that they do you needed to proceed to any questions from board members okay is there any motion to approve the contract Miss Perez to approve motion to approve um and enter an agreement between brial public schools and AC for alternate root certification for teachers and been moved is it second second second by Miss cir any further discussion hearing none all in favor I any in opposition any abstentions hearing none the motion carries you the next item on the agenda is discussion and possible approval of the nutrition center food bid RFP
090um good evening um we're seeking approval from the full board for the annual nutrition food service bid RFP once approv we can Source the best quality food product at competitive price for the 2425 school year thank you are there any questions from board members Miss cmir um hi I I just want to make sure that I'm reading this right because you have one SE has price comparisons and then the rest of the paperwork is like blue and white writing so the comparisons that you put up here does that reflect everything that you buy or you're just giving us comparisons to prices that have fluctuated with certain Foods I gave you comparisons to items that fluctuated the other sheet is uh combination of everything that the food and nutrition department or seek or we would like
091to purchase for this the new school year so we'll have to go out to bid for those items okay excellent that's all I have thank you thank you miss cmir any other questions Mr sakovic yes um this really this is just really a price comparison it's not really an RFP in it of itself what's the document that goes on to the um bid syn for purchases the document that goes on bidsync is the blue and white document I I was accustomed to I haven't seen one of these in a while like at least a letter of um some letter we plan to go out to bid blah blah we're seeking soliciting or offers for no because we use that form it's an updated form because we're going out to bid with multiple Food Service vendors
092so it's actually showing the items that we're requesting the brands and then we have an equal or of brand so that's really what we're requesting and vendors go in and they just select the items that they that they can source for us okay right okay I understood now thank you um yes so we'll be selecting for multiple biders and we'll see the score sheets and everything when they come back to make sure we get the lowest price correct thank you any other questions or comments one more question Madam miss cmir one more question um oh this is not on oh thank you uh what is the difference between commodity bids and Commercial bids can you just quickly explain the difference between commodity and Commercial just for my understanding um commodity bids mean we are receiving
093special government assistance for example we may rece certain amount of pounds in cheese so we'll get mozzarella sticks at $50 per case versus $110 per case based on the amount of cheese that we receive so we go out to bid based on that commodity item and then after that anything we'll have to purchase at commercial price so then we'll also go out to bid for those same items at that commercial price just in case understood thank you so much that's it thank you no problem any additional questions seeing none would anyone like to make a motion to approve the nutrition center food bids RFP so moved so moved by Miss Perez is there a second second second by Mr sakovic any further discussion seeing none all in favor I any in opposition any extensions the
094eyes have it we'll we'll move forward with the motion there's no new business items on the agenda Madam chair Madam chair yes can you hear me I'd like to make a motion that we seek a legal opinion from attorney Dugas about special meetings called by three board members okay I'll entertain a motion to [Music] adjourn item on the agenda I have second motion to adjourn has been second Madam chair the eyes have it the meeting has ajour this the second meeting in a row Madam chair that you've shut down while there's a motion on the floor V on a vote would I roll Madam chair if I could just make one comment there's no motion on the floor unless you add an item to the agenda with a two-thirds vote because the item that was
095raised is not on your printed agenda so you need there needs to be a vote attorney in Anastasia if the 2third vote passes then it's before the board that is correct so the motion needs to be voted on and then if it's voted down because I don't have the 2third then you're correct but the motion was on the floor all right Mr tror all right you've made a motion is there a second second all right it's been second second all right I'd like to speak attorney does this need to be discussed or do we need to get the 2/3 vote in order to move further and discussion it can be discussion only on the issue of adding it to the agenda but you can't discuss the substance of it okay on the agenda so the
096discussion is only limited to adding to the agenda an item that we've not been prepped for so anyone would like to discuss to continue this meeting for an item we have not been prepped on oh go ahead Mr sakovic there was a call for a special meeting with the State statue attached to it by the entire by three four members of the board sent out the meeting was not held within 14 days we made the request via email before we came out into this public to have it it was not called in 14 days meaning was then requested to be scheduled as for State Statute once again which s lieutenant and the board chair and the email was totally IGN meeting was not I mean it needs a legal opinion to see if we're violating
097State St are we op as a according to the law and I think why not get the information we're entitled to is there something we're trying to hide by not getting this legal opinion any further discussion yes I'd like to speak to the motion Mr TR I I would like to agree that we need to have a chance to speak with our attorney as we you held a meeting you called a meeting Madam chair for the new board members in December and at that meeting attorney Dugas made it clear that he represents the board all board members and we have a difference of opinion on issues that we should be able ble to discuss as a board um Mr Anastasia represents the board and the administration and we as a board have a difference of
098opinion that we need to discuss among ourselves as to whether or not we are proceeding appropriately for the board uh policies and the board law and the state law so I think it's worth it for us to consider this motion um and bringing in Mr Dugas to a meeting so that we can talk to him about what's what's the proper uh direction for us to move any further discussion hearing none we'll take the vote roll call vote B I'm sorry can we just get the can you state the motion again out loud motion is to add to the agenda to seek a legal opinion uh from the board attorney for um theity of not calling a special meeting as requested by three board members and not posting that meeting and that was called and scheduled
099by four board members any opinion on special meetings basically the gy of special meetings and how question from Miss Perez question um is this motion to be done tonight yeah well to to add it to the agenda to seek the legal opinion and then when we get the legal opinion we can have it discussed at another meeting can I ask if there's a cost Associated to seeking legal opinions from a board attorney yes there is there's a larger cost associated with violating Freedom of Information Act and I don't think this I don't think it had to dolo I think it's just violating State Statute also comes with costs there for potential C are you done with the floor Miss Perez there's an implication at hand uh there was a meeting called by at least three
100board members they did not have Quorum per the bylaws if there are reasons if there's a reason to believe that the meeting will not meet Quorum I don't have to call the meeting um board members then went forward per state statute to call the meeting yet did not follow the process and procedures to call a special meeting and then no special meeting was held so now they're seeking an opinion and we would have to give all the pertinent facts including the continuous failure to meet quum to actually hold a meeting on both dates and occasion as well as not the board members who called the special meeting failing to follow the board's process and procedures including contacting the appropriate personnel to include the certification the signature process in order to post the special meeting so
101we would be seeking legal advice in part inquiring what happens when a special meeting is called without Quorum the special meeting is not called after the 14th day period pursuing to statute the special meeting is then moved forward by a member of that uh group seeking a special meeting but then fails to continue to seek that they will have Quorum and follow the board's process and procedures in the appropriate administrative protocols that call a meeting so we would be paying our board attorney to write an opinion according to those facts so all in favor for excuse me discussion isn't over Madam chair you have to be recognized by the chair and I have not recognized you I will go around fine my hand is up so you're moving to a vote when my hand is
102up not heard from yet is up I Mr tror you've already had the floor Mr Medina thank you thank you very much for the floor I'm just wondering if you're going to quote uh the statute or to quote the facts of the matter um the first one to fail in part in communicating and Advising and figuring out what the process is it was done by the chair but not responding whatsoever I was I even emailed you and and said and text you about that I was never asked about such meeting by you uh so when was a quorum established or not established I don't know uh so I question uh the truth of the matter when if anything everything that you stated should be held you should be held to those same standards as a
103board member because you did not comply to communicate to hold the board as a board to communicate with us to give us a decency of com courtesy to communicate with the board and let's work together as a board you need to lead and you failed to do so in numerous and you fail to note that it starts with you and the leadership that we're looking for is to get the communication to get the answers necessary me as a new member I I will be leaning on every single board member that's been working uh through the years to get the facts to get their knowledge and their understanding but I don't go with hearsay I go with what is written what is the standards and what is the laws and the guidelines and we need to
104protect against even each other again as a military man I promise to serve and to protect against foreign and domestic so when I'm talking about this board I'm either Allin or I'm not and I will come against any member that's by that's going against the bylaws and the rules and regulations that are printed that are written that are there to help us govern and to help us to do things correctly and efficiently with transparency before the public and this is what you fail to to comply with and to understand and some of our colleagues fail to read and to understand what they're reading and shame that we're making decisions without having the proper understanding Mond the reason for adding something to the agenda getting into the merits which you really ought not to be debating
105unless until it's added to the agenda or print it on a subsequent agenda thank you m anastasi I wholeheartedly agree and so we will entertain the motion now Madam chair I would agree with Mr Anastasia too and you argued Merit legal Merit which is why we need the legal attorney to give us an opinion Mr TR you do not have the floor so roll call vote Miss Perez the facts as you stated them Madam chair inac Mr tror you do not have the floor no Christin Alber Ben aesa cmir no Willie Medina jennif jennif will say no josephic yes Robert tror yes Andre Woodson no motion fails motion to adjourn second all right I'll make it second all in favor eyes have it meeting has adjourned the time now is 8:22 p.m. for