02/09/2023 - Regular Meeting

001HI. I'M NADIA COMBS, CHAIR OF THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD. I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE SERVE MORE THAN 200,000 STUDENTS. THAT INCLUDES CHILDREN IN PRESCHOOL THROUGH ADULTS IN OUR WORKFORCE PROGRAM. I AM HENRY SHAKE WASHINGTON, THE BOARD VICE-CHAIR. OUR DISTRICT IS THE 7th LARGEST IN AMERICA, AND OUR TEAM IS MADE UP OF MORE THAN 24,000 PEOPLE WORKING AT NEARLY 250 SITES ACROSS THE COUNTY. OUR DISTRICT IS DIVERSE AND DEDICATED. OUR BOARD MEETINGS ARE HELD IN OUR BOARD AUDITORIUM ON SELECT TUESDAYS AT 4 P.M. THE BEST WAY TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY IS TO INVOLVE YOU, THE PUBLIC IN WHAT WE DO. YOU ARE WELCOME TO E-MAIL OR MEET WITH ANY OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND FOLLOW OUR DISTRICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. BOARD MEETINGS ARE COVERED LIVE BY

002HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOLS TV, ON SPECTRUM CABLE CHANNEL 635, AND FRONTIER CABLE CHANNEL 32. MEETINGS ARE ALSO STREAMED LIVE ON OUR WEBSITE AT HillsboroughSchools.org. CLOSED CAPTIONING IS PROVIDED ON ALL BROADCASTS AND PAST MEETINGS ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR ONLINE ARCHIVE. WE ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO SAY. WE'LL INCLUDE TIME FOR AUDIENCE COMMENTS BEFORE WE ADDRESS OUR BUSINESS ITEMS. OUR AGENDA AND ANY SUPPORTING MATERIAL CAN BE VIEWED ONLINE IN ADVANCE. THEY ARE POSTED SEVEN DAYS BEFORE EACH MEETING ON OUR WEBSITE AT HillsboroughSchools.org. OUR VISION IS PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE, AND THAT MEANS ALL STUDENTS, EVERY DAY. TODOS LOS ESTUDIANTES, TODOS LOS DIAS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN EDUCATION. WITH YOUR HELP, WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS THAT SHAPE OUR COMMUNITY'S FUTURE. Nadia Combs: THE BOARD MEETING OF FEBRUARY 9th, 2023, IS CALLED TO ORDER. MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL

003NOW LEAD US IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOLLOWED BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. PLEASE JOIN ME IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE. [MOMENT OF SILENCE] THANK YOU. NOW PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. [PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE] Henry "Shake" Washington: YOU MAY BE SEATED. Nadia Combs: MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL NOW PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR STUDENT ENTERTAINMENT. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE BARRINGTON THUNDERBOLT JAZZ ENSEMBLE ALONG WITH THE BAND DIRECTOR, MR. DAVID TRIPLET ROSA AND THE PRINCIPAL, MRS. ANDREA WHITMAN. NOW, WILL THESE WONDERFUL STUDENTS PLEASE COME UP AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES. BOY, YOU ALL LOOK SHARP. PARKY SVETTI. JAVIER GOLIANDRO. MASON. JOHN REZES. EVA. DANA, ANGEL GOMEZ. NINA RUFFNER. SCOTT MONTGOMERY. ETHAN STAY. MADELEINE. ANDRE SAILOR. JAY LORE. ANTHONY TICKLES. NIA. LUKE. THOMAS CARMONA. ELIE

004TAYLOR. EVAN WARFIELD. SIDNEY MORRIS. MATAZ. ETHAN. JULIAN GRECO. TOMMY KRAZINSKI. KATE FREDERICK. KYLE. AIDEN. STEPHANIE. LAILA. EMILY. BAND DIRECTOR, DAVID TRIP LA ROSA. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVE ANY PARENTS WHO WANT TO TAKE PICTURES, PLEASE DO SO. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS FOR DOING A GREAT JOB. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, STUDENTS. YOU PLAYED AMAZING TODAY. IT WAS SUCH A GREAT WAY TO START OUR MEETING. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: WE HAVE ONE WITHDRAWN ITEM TODAY. 1.02 SOLE SOURCE 22291-SSD-SK, XANEDU. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER GRAY. I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER WASHINGTON. ANY DISCUSSION? PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. LET THE RECORD REFLECT THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE PRESENT TODAY. BOARD MEMBERS, I'D LIKE TO GO OVER THE FORMAT OF TODAY'S MEETING. AS A REMINDER, WE'RE

005A NONPARTISAN BOARD WHO BELIEVE THAT ALL CHILDREN CAN BE EMPOWERED TO LEARN TO SUCCEED AND OUR DECISIONS WILL BE MADE WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING. TO PAVE THE WAY FOR EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE AGENDA STATEMENTS AND/OR QUESTIONS, BOARD MEMBERS WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK -- ACTUALLY, FIVE MINUTES TO SPEAK BECAUSE WE CHANGED THAT -- WITH 30 SECONDS FOR FINAL THOUGHTS. AFTERWARDS, THE SUPERINTENDENT CAN RESPOND. IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS, YOU'RE ASKED TO GET BACK INTO THE QUEUE. MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL NOW READ THE BOARD GUIDELINES. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AS WE BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON'S MEETING, LET ME QUICKLY REVIEW THE FORMAT OF OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS. PLEASE SILENCE ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. THERE ARE SPEAKERS IN THE ROOM BEHIND ME THAT ALLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO HEAR THE MEETING UPON STEPPING AWAY FROM THE DAIS. THIS MEETING

006CAN BE VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTIONING ON LIVE WEBCAST, ON CABLE TV AND ON VIDEO MONITORS HERE IN THE AUDITORIUM. IT ALSO CAN BE VIEWED WITH CLOSED CAPTIONING IN THE ONLINE VIDEO ARCHIVES. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. WE HAVE ONE ITEM SCHEDULED FOR TIME CERTAIN. THAT IS THE 6:00, AND THAT'S EMPLOYEE INPUT. AT THIS TIME, WE'LL BE MOVING UP OUR RECOGNITION. A02, THE NATIONAL PTA SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE DESIGNATION. MEMBER VAUGHN WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING THIS RECOGNITION. Jessica Vaughn: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. NATIONAL PTA SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM OPENS THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION AND CRITICAL THINKING WITHIN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES TO MAKE DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS THAT YIELD POSITIVE, LONG-TERM RESULTS. SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING AND RECOGNIZING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN LOCAL PTSAs AND SCHOOLS TO ENRICH THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND OVERALL WELL-BEING FOR ALL STUDENTS. THE SCHOOL

007OF EXCELLENCE PROGRAMS AIMS TO PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR PTAs TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT TO STRENGTHEN FAMILY SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS, BUILD INCLUSIVE AND WELCOMING SCHOOL COMMUNITIES WHERE ALL FAMILIES CONTRIBUTE TO ENRICHING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND OVERALL WELL-BEING FOR ALL STUDENTS AND HELP PTAs ATTRACT NEW ACTION ORIENTED PTA MEMBERS WHO WANT TO FOCUS ON THE ISSUES THAT AFFECT OUR CHILDREN THE MOST. THE 2021 TO 2023 NATIONAL PTA SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE ARE DESIGNATED IN RECOGNITION OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE AND WELCOMING SCHOOL COMMUNITY WHERE ALL FAMILIES CONTRIBUTE TO ENRICHING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND OVERALL WELL-BEING FOR ALL STUDENTS. WITH ONLY 242 SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE DESIGNEES NATIONWIDE AND ONLY 34 IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HAS 12 SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE PTA, PTSA DESIGNEES. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LOCAL UNITS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

008THAT EARNED THE DESIGNATION FOR THE 2021 TO 2023 SCHOOL YEAR. WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE STAND WHEN YOUR SCHOOL IS CALLED. MARTINEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA. STEINBRENNER HIGH SCHOOL PTSA. GRADY ELEMENTARY PTA. KNIGHTS ELEMENTARY PTA. LENNARD HIGH SCHOOL PTSA. LOWRY ELEMENTARY PTA. MacFARLANE PARK PTA. MULRENNAN MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA. NORTHWEST ELEMENTARY PTA. DAVIS AND MIDDLETON PTSA. ROBINSON HIGH SCHOOL PTSA. AND McKITRICK ELEMENTARY PTA. I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PTA/PTSA MEMBERS. PLEASE STAND AT THIS TIME AS WELL. AMY MARIE GRANGER WELCH. ERICA HAMLIN. NORMA MAIZE. ELLEN LYONS, ANNETTE O'MALLEY, AND VALERIE LIKOTTA. IF I SAID YOUR NAME WRONG, I APOLOGIZE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND CONGRATULATIONS. YOU MAY BE SEATED. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. WE WON'T BE VOTING ON THIS, BUT MEMBERS, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT, WE'LL START WITH

009MEMBER GRAY. Lynn Gray: SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AND OUR SUPERINTENDENT, WE COULD NOT BE MORE BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH WONDERFUL, HARDWORKING REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR PARENTS. PARENTS ARE THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR SCHOOLS, AND I HAVE TO SAY FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE WITH AMY MARIE GRANGER, HER COMMITMENT TO VARIOUS COMMITTEES OF MINE JUST REPLICATE THE DEVOTION -- I WANT TO SAY PREPARATION AND DELIVERY TO ALMOST 38,000 FAMILIES. SO WE THINK THE WORLD OF YOU. YOU'VE WORKED HARD AND THE TESTIMONIAL IS ALL THESE WONDERFUL WINNERS. SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU ALL DO, AND YOU DO SO MUCH. THANK YOU, ELLEN LYONS, AND SO MANY OF YOU OTHERS. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER GRAY. MEMBER PEREZ. Karen Perez: FOR ME, I HAVE SEEN INCREDIBLE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE TO BRIDGE THESE GAPS BETWEEN

010THE PARENTS, THE SCHOOLS, AND OUR STUDENTS. YOU GO ABOVE AND BEYOND. YOU HAVE SOME FUNDS THAT I FOUND OUT ABOUT TO ASSIST THE PARENTS WITH THE STUDENTS. JUST THE INCREDIBLE THINGS YOU DO. I KNOW AS A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, MYSELF AS A GRANDPARENT AND AS A PARENT, I JUST THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO ON A DAILY BASIS FOR THIS DISTRICT. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. MEMBER VAUGHN. Jessica Vaughn: THANK YOU. YES, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS' SENTIMENTS. PTAs AND PTSAs REALLY CAN MAKE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE TRAJECTORY OF NOT ONLY THE SCHOOL, BUT THE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOLS. YOU KNOW, PARENTAL SUPPORT, ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT YOU GUYS ORGANIZE AND AS AN ORGANIZATION HELPING OTHER CHAPTERS ORGANIZE AND GET STARTED AND REALLY TEACHING THEM THE

011FOUNDATIONS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS SO CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS. SO FOR EVERYBODY WHO HAS DEDICATED THEIR TIME AND ENERGY TO EVEN YOUR LOCAL PTA OR THE STATE OR EVEN THE NATIONAL, JUST HATS OFF. WE APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR THIS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER VAUGHN. MEMBER RENDON. Patti Rendon: YEAH, I WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BRIDGED THE GAP. YOU GUYS HAVE TAKEN PARENTS, STUDENTS, AND TEACHERS AND MADE THEM A PARTNER IN THIS EDUCATION THAT WE ENDEAVOR THAT WE ALL WORK TOWARDS. SO WITHOUT YOU, WE COULD NOT DO WHAT WE DO. OUR TEACHERS COULD NOT DO WHAT THEY DO. OUR PRINCIPALS COULD NOT DO WHAT THEY DO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING THAT BRIDGE THAT BRINGS

012IT ALL TOGETHER AND ALLOWS US TO DO WHAT WE DO AND DO IT WELL. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER RENDON. MEMBER WASHINGTON. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT EVERYONE SAID, PTSA AND PTA ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN SCHOOLS BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE SCHOOL. ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE OUTSIDE OF THE SCHOOL, MAINLY THE PTSA AND THE PTA, YOU REALLY DO A GREAT JOB. I WANT TO THANK YOU BECAUSE WHEN I WAS A PRINCIPAL AT CHAMBERLAIN HIGH SCHOOL, THE PTSA CARRIED ME, BECAUSE THEY DID A GREAT JOB. THEY SAID, SHAKE, YOU DID A GREAT JOB. NO, THE PARENTS, AND I HAD SUPPORT THAT I NEEDED. I TRULY THANK YOU ALL. AND PRINCIPALS, YOU SHOULD BE VERY THANKFUL TO HAVE THE PTA

013AND PTSAs BEHIND TO YOU HELP YOU OUT. KEEP DOING A GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. MEMBER HAHN. Stacy Hahn: THANK YOU, CHAIR COMBS. I AGREE WITH ALL OF MY BOARD MEMBERS. YOU ALL SAID SO MANY WONDERFUL THINGS. I CAN'T THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH FOR WHAT YOU DO ACROSS THE SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT. I KNOW IT'S A HEAVY LIFT FOR ALL OF US AND WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER HAHN. I ALSO, IT'S JUST AMAZING. 12 OUT OF 34 SCHOOLS IN THE ENTIRE STATE, 12 OF THEM ARE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THAT'S JUST AMAZING. I WANT TO THANK ALL THE PARENTS. WE WANT PARENT INVOLVEMENT. WE NEED PARENT INVOLVEMENT. WE NEED MENTORS. WE NEED PEOPLE IN OUR SCHOOLS. AND

014I WILL SAY FOR SOME OF MY SCHOOLS WHERE THERE HASN'T BEEN A PTA, THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE STEPPED UP WHO DON'T EVEN HAVE STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL AND CREATED PTAs. I MEAN, THE SACRIFICE THAT SO MANY OF OUR COMMUNITY DOES FOR ALL STUDENTS, REGARDLESS IF THEY ARE IN THE SCHOOLS OR NOT THE SCHOOLS, I JUST WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE LIST, IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW MUCH WORK IT TAKES FOR ALL THE PARENTS AND THE INVOLVEMENT. AND WE NEED PARENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CONTINUE BEING PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, PART OF OUR SCHOOLS. YOU KNOW, WE'RE OPENING OUR SCHOOLS AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU THERE. SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM, THROUGH

015THE CHAIR, I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE BOARD FOR MAKING THIS RECOGNITION THIS EVENING. IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO SHOW THAT IN EDUCATION WE CANNOT DO THIS IN ISOLATION. WE KNOW THAT OUR PRINCIPALS WORK SO HARD. WE'RE THANKFUL FOR YOU BEING HERE. WE ALSO THANK YOU FOR OPENING YOUR DOOR AND ALLOWING PARENTS TO BE AN INSTRUMENTAL PART OF WHAT WE DO EVERY SINGLE DAY IN EDUCATION. AT THE SAME TOKEN, OUR PARENTS HAVE STARVED TO COME BACK AFTER COVID. I KNOW WE HAD TO PUT THEM OUT AND COULDN'T GET THERE. FINDING WAYS TO BE PROACTIVE, BUT BEING ABLE TO ALLOW US TO OPEN THE DOOR FOR THEM TO COME IN, WE NEED THEM SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH AMY TO EXPAND THE INITIATIVE SO EVERY ONE OF OUR

016SCHOOLS HAS AN REPRESENTATION OF OUR COMMUNITY SO WE CAN HELP CHILDREN EVERY DAY. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. WE WILL NOW MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND IF THOSE MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE, THEY CAN, OR PLEASE STAY. THE BOARD WELCOMES COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS AND VALUES YOUR INPUT TO THE BOARD. IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE RESPONSE TO YOUR COMMENTS, OUR STAFF WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND WILL KEEP OUR BOARD INFORMED ABOUT THE RESPONSES. OUR SCHOOL BOARD RESPECTS THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD AND WE APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE. HOWEVER, IT IS REQUESTED WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD COMMENTS ARE NOT DIRECTED PERSONALLY AGAINST A BOARD MEMBER OR A STAFF MEMBER, BUT RATHER DIRECTED AT THE ISSUES. ANY BEHAVIOR INTENDED TO INTERRUPT THE ORDERLY CONDUCT

017OF THIS MEETING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED. OUR CIVILITY POLICY IS IN PLACE. WHEN ADDRESSING THE BOARD, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND SPEAK CLEARLY INTO THE MICROPHONE. THIS AFTERNOON, EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES. REMINDER THAT YOUR THREE MINUTES STARTS WHEN YOU BEGIN SPEAKING. WHEN THERE ARE 30 SECONDS LEFT, YOU WILL SEE A YELLOW LIGHT ON THE LECTERN. RED LIGHT AND CHIME WILL INDICATE WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP. I'LL NOW CALL UP THE FIRST FIVE SPEAKERS. IF THE FIRST SPEAKER WILL PLEASE APPROACH, THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, ADMINISTRATION, STAFF, PARENTS, EVERYONE WHO IS HERE. HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH. I'VE BEEN COMING BEFORE THE BOARD FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS SAYING EXACTLY THAT, AND WE ALL KNOW THAT FEBRUARY EACH YEAR SET ASIDE AS BLACK HISTORY MONTH SINCE 1976. BEFORE THAT TIME -- AND I

018WANT TO GO BACK JUST A FEW YEARS WHEN MR. WASHINGTON AND I WERE STUDENTS AT BOOKER T. WASHINGTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND EVERY YEAR YOU'LL REMEMBER, MR. WASHINGTON, WE CELEBRATED NEGRO HISTORY WEEK, 1976 IT BECAME BLACK HISTORY MONTH. ON BEHALF OF THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER, I WANT TO INVITE ALL OF YOU AND I THINK WE DID SEND SOME E-MAILS OUT TO JOIN US ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24th. YOU HAVE THE FLYERS THERE, FOR OUR SECOND ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH RECEPTION. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL BE DOING THERE IS RECOGNIZING THE MIDDLE SCHOOL IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT WON THE COMPETITION FOR THE THURGOOD MARSHALL HISTORY CLUB THIS YEAR. AND THE WINNER THIS YEAR, PROGRESS VILLAGE MIDDLE MAGNET SCHOOL. SO PROGRESS VILLAGE MIDDLE MAGNET SCHOOL WILL RECEIVE A CHECK. THEY WILL RECEIVE RECOGNITION ON

019THAT EVENING. I KNOW THAT THE DISTRICT IS GOING TO CELEBRATE THAT SCHOOL AND THE ADMINISTRATION, PARENTS, STUDENTS, THE CLUB SPONSOR FOR WINNING THIS COMPETITION. THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND YEAR WE'VE HAD IT. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. EVERY FEBRUARY AT OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH RECEPTION AT THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER, WE'RE GOING TO RECOGNIZE A MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR WINNING THE THURGOOD MARSHALL HISTORY CLUB COMPETITION. THE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO SAY IS THIS SATURDAY AT MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL STARTING AT 9 A.M., AND I THINK THE ENDING CEREMONY WILL BE AROUND 3:00 IN THE AFTERNOON. SO IT'S AN ALL-DAY ACTIVITY. WE'RE HAVING THE FINALS FOR THIS YEAR'S BLACK HISTORY BRAIN BOWL. PEPSI STARTED THIS BRAIN BOWL OVER SEVEN YEARS AGO IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THE DISTRICT HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS JOB OF SUPPORTING THOSE TEACHERS AND

020OTHERS WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. WE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY SCHOOLS NOW, MAYBE UP TO 70 OR 80 THAT PARTICIPATED LEARNING BLACK HISTORY FACTS, HAVING COMPETITION, AND THEN WE NOW ARE AT THE FINALS, WHICH WILL BE THIS SATURDAY STARTING AT 9 A.M. AT MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL. AND SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO COME OUT THAT DAY, SOMETIME BETWEEN 9 AND 3. ENCOURAGE THE STUDENTS, SUPPORT THEM. WE'D LOVE TO SEE YOU AT MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL, AGAIN, 9:00 THIS SATURDAY. AGAIN, I HAVE MORE FLYERS. YOU CAN GET TICKET INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FLYER. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. PAULA CASTAÑO. I'M THE ADVOCACY CHAIR AT GRADY. THERE WILL BE MANY SPEAKERS TODAY SPEAKING ON BOUNDARIES. WE ARE UNITED AND ASK, ONE, NOT TO

021TAKE A VOTE IN FEBRUARY WITHOUT ALL THE DATA. WXYZ'S PROCESS IS FLAWED. NUMBER TWO, FOR AN EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR THREE PHASES. A FEW KEY PROBLEMS HIGHLIGHTED. COLEMAN TO PIERCE, MANY OF THOSE STUDENTS WALK AND WILL CROSS A HIGHWAY. LISTEN TO SATELLITE IDEAS. NUMBER TWO, JENNINGS AND GRECO ARE NEWER OFFICIAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS AND NEED A MINIMUM OF FIVE TO EIGHT YEARS WITH THE SAME LEADERSHIP TO SUCCEED. THREE, CARROLLWOOD NEEDS A K-8 SCHOOL. HOWEVER, REPURPOSING ADAMS PLACES TWO RIVAL GANGS AT THE SAME SCHOOL. NEXT, HB-1 HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME IS NO ACCIDENT. THE BILL WILL DECIMATE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH AN INITIAL $4 BILLION COST. BOARD, I KNOW YOU'RE TRAVELING TO TALLAHASSEE. WILL YOU WRITE A LETTER WITH ADDISON'S SIGNATURE AND SEND IT TO TALLAHASSEE ON OUR BEHALF? NEXT, AND THIS IS A HOT-BUTTON TOPIC FOR

022ME, COMPUTERIZED DISTRICT LEVEL, MANDATED QUARTERLY MATH TESTS STARTING AT GRADE ONE. MY DAUGHTER SPENT TWO DAYS LEARNING TO TRANSFER QUESTIONS FROM A COMPUTER TO A PAPER. IT IS NOT DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE AND IT IS WRONG TO ALIGN OUR CLASSROOM TESTING WITH A STAR FAST TESTING, PARTICULARLY WITH FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT-YEAR-OLDS. SO I WANT A CHANGE THERE. I ASKED ADDISON IF A PAPER TEST COULD BE IN FRONT OF YOU AS A YOUNGER CHILD TAKING THE COMPUTERIZED TEST JUST FOR THE CLASSROOM TESTING. BOARD, ADDISON, PLEASE, YOU MUST TAKE A STAND ON SOMETHING BEFORE YOU FALL FOR EVERYTHING THE STATE IS DOING TO US, BEFORE OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM IS CRUSHED. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS STANLEY GRAY. I'M HERE REPRESENTING MYSELF AS WELL AS THE INTEREST OF THE URBAN

023LEAGUE OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, WHICH HAS A FOCUS ON EQUITY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, ESPECIALLY FOR ITS UNDERSERVED CITIZENS. I THINK IF ANYBODY WHO HAS ACTUALLY FOLLOWED THE CENSUS CHANGES, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR BOUNDARY CHANGES AND POSSIBLY FOR SCHOOL CLOSINGS. THAT IS UNDENIABLE. BUT THE THING I THINK WE NEED TO BRING INTO FOCUS ON THIS IS PERCEPTION AS WELL FACTS DO MATTER AS WE REDEFINE THE BOUNDARIES. WHEN YOU DEFINE THESE NEW BOUNDARIES, I THINK WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S -- EVERYBODY IS EQUALLY INCONVENIENCED. MAYBE THAT'S NOT A REAL GOOD TERM, BUT EVERYONE SHOULD BE EQUALLY INCONVENIENCED. THE MAJORITY OF THE PAIN SHOULD NOT BE FROM THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES. ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IS WHEN YOU ADD DISTANCE AND TIME, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU GET IS THE LACK OF

024PARENT PARTICIPATION. SO I'D REALLY LIKE FOR YOU ALL TO BE REAL MINDFUL AS YOU DEAL WITH THAT. I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY GOT MY ATTENTION WAS ABOUT 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WAS AN ADDITION MADE ON PLANT HIGH SCHOOL. AND I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY ARE WE DOING THIS ADDITION TO PLANT HIGH SCHOOL WHEN WE HAVE STUDENTS WHO LIVE ON DAVIS ISLANDS AND HARBOR ISLAND, WHY DIDN'T THEY GO TO BLAKE HIGH SCHOOL. I DON'T KNOW ALL THE NUMBERS AT THAT TIME BUT I DO KNOW NOW THAT A LOT OF THE STUDENTS AT BLAKE, THAT POPULATION IS BEING DIMINISHED BECAUSE OF HOUSING. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND WISH YOU CONSIDER MY COMMENTS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS GUILLERMO BILLATTI. I'M HERE ONCE

025AGAIN TO ASK THAT THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF NORTH BON AIR AND WESTSHORE PALMS ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE MOVED FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ASSIGNED TO. I WANT TO THANK MS. PEREZ, MS. GRAY, DR. HAHN FOR MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND LISTENING TO OUR CONCERNS IN THE DIFFERENT MEETINGS WE WERE ABLE TO ATTEND. OUR AREA HAS THE LOWEST MEDIAN INCOME IN PROPERTY VALUE OF ANY AREAS ASSIGNED TO PLANT AND COLEMAN AND IS NOW BEING CONSIDERED TO BE REMOVED FROM THAT AREA. MANY OF THE PARENTS, MANY OF THE FAMILIES IN THAT AREA ARE FIRST-GENERATION HOMEOWNERS AND COLLEGE GRADUATES AND CHOSE THAT AREA SPECIFICALLY FOR THE EDUCATION AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY SAW THAT FOR THEIR KIDS. SO PREPARING OUR KIDS FOR OUR KIDS' EDUCATION IS NOT A SPRINT; IT'S A LONG JOURNEY. AND AS PARENTS,

026WE DID WHAT WE COULD AT THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THAT JOURNEY BY CHOOSING THE SCHOOLS WE WANTED OUR KIDS TO ATTEND. SO WE ASK THAT CHOICE NOT BE TAKEN AWAY FROM US. MOST FAMILIES IN OUR AREA THAT HAVE SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN WOULD RELOCATE, WOULD GO TO PRIVATE OR CHARTER SCHOOLS DRAINING THE RESOURCES FROM HILLSBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS IF THE CHANGES TAKE EFFECT. WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH THE HILLSBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES, AND WE LEARNED ABOUT THE DISMANTLING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAPPENING IN NEW ORLEANS, IN DIFFERENT AREAS. FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, THE CHANGES, ALTHOUGH MAYBE INADVERTENTLY WOULD HAVE A SIMILAR EFFECT WITH THE PARENTS LEAVING THE SCHOOLS. SO WE ASK FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT, FROM THE BOARD THAT CONSIDER THE AREAS OF NORTH BON AIR AND WESTSHORE PALMS TO REMAIN IN THE SCHOOLS THEY ARE TODAY. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs:

027THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI THERE. I'M DANIELA LACOCCI. THIS IS MY DAUGHTER NINA. SHE IS GOING INTO KINDERGARTEN NEXT YEAR. I ALSO WANT TO THANK THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ABLE TO COME OUT TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISCUSS CONCERNS ABOUT THE SCHOOL BOUNDARIES. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. BUT WE ARE HERE TO IMPLORE YOU TO KEEP US IN GRADY, COLEMAN AND PLANT. WHILE WE LIVE IN NORTH BON AIR AS WELL, LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS NOT PART OF THE MILLION-DOLLAR HOMES THAT ARE ON THE WATER, OR WHATEVER ELSE YOU THINK ABOUT SOUTH TAMPA. THAT'S NOT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS MADE UP OF WORKING-CLASS FAMILIES FROM ALL KINDS OF ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS AND LIKELY HAS THE LAST OUNCE OF ANY DIVERSITY THAT IS LEFT AT COLEMAN AND PLANT. FAMILIES IN NORTH BON AIR

028AND WESTSHORE PALMS NEIGHBORHOODS ARE FROM BLACK, HISPANIC, WHITE, AND ASIAN BACKGROUNDS. AND, BY THE WAY, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I'VE HAD TO TAKE OFF WORK TO MAKE IT HERE IN TIME TO ENSURE THAT MY VOICE IS HEARD, BUT ALSO THAT YOU'RE HEARING THE VOICES OF ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORS WHO COULD NOT MAKE IT HERE TODAY BECAUSE THEY ARE ALSO AT WORK TRYING VERY HARD TO EARN A LIVING. MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH ATTENDED PLANT. WE BOUGHT OUR PROPERTY 12 YEARS AGO BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED, BEFORE WE HAD NINA, IN HOPES THAT SHE WOULD FOLLOW IN OUR FOOTSTEPS ONE DAY AND ALSO ATTEND PLANT. NOW THE FUTURE THAT WE'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR HER IS AT RISK. I'M SURE A LOT OF YOU ARE PROBABLY THINKING, OH, WELL IT'S FINE. IT'S EARLY. SHE'S GOING TO KINDERGARTEN.

029YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS. THERE'S TIME TO MAKE DECISIONS. BUT I'M THE MOM WHO STARTED SAVING AWAY FOR COLLEGE WHEN SHE WAS JUST TWO WEEKS OLD. SO I'M VERY CONCERNED. WHILE YOU GO INTO THESE BOUNDARY WORKSHOPS NEXT WEEK, WE HOPE THAT THE FINANCIALS BEHIND THESE PLANS ARE SHARED AND EXPLAINED SO THAT THE PUBLIC AND THE TAXPAYERS WHO VOTED ALL OF YOU IN CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT BENEFIT THERE IS TO POTENTIALLY KICKING OUR CHILDREN OUT OF THE SCHOOLS THAT THEY WANT TO ATTEND. NINA, DO YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING? GO AHEAD. PLEASE LET ME GO TO GRADY, COLEMAN, AND PLANT. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. IF I COULD HAVE THE NEXT FIVE SPEAKERS LINE UP AGAINST THE WALL AND THE NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. MY NAME IS PATRICIA CANON. I'M HERE AGAIN TO

030TALK ABOUT REZONING AND THE NORTH BON AIR AREA. THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE, I TOLD YOU ABOUT OUR HOUSE THAT WAS FLOODED MULTIPLE TIMES AND BOUGHT BY THE CITY. TODAY I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TRAUMA THAT CAUSED TO OUR CHILDREN. SO THE FIRST FLOOD THAT MY KIDS REMEMBER, THERE WAS ONE AND A HALF FOOT OF WATER IN OUR HOUSE. THEY WERE BETWEEN FIVE AND SIX YEARS OLD, AND AS THE FLOODING WAS HAPPENING, EMERSON WAS FOLLOWING AROUND STOPPING ME, SOBBING, AND ASKING ME IF WE WERE GOING TO DIE. I WOULD EXPLAIN TO HER, NO, WE'RE NOT GOING TO DIE. THIS IS REALLY INCONVENIENT. IT'S GOING TO BE AWFUL BUT NOT THAT AWFUL. I DON'T THINK SHE BELIEVED ME BECAUSE EVERY TEN MINUTES SHE WOULD ASK ME AGAIN AND ON REPEAT.

031I WAS RUNNING AROUND PICKING UP THINGS TRYING TO GET THEM OFF THE FLOOR. MY OTHER DAUGHTER, AVERY, WAS RUNNING AROUND WITH BLANKETS AND TOWELS AND TRYING TO STOP THE HOUSE FROM FLOODING WHICH NO SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SHOULD HAVE TO TRY TO DO. THEN AFTER THE FLOOD, WE EXPERIENCED LOTS OF BEHAVIORAL ISSUES. WE HAD MULTIPLE TIMES WHERE AVERY WOULD NOT WANT TO BE IN SCHOOL AND BE IN A COMPLETE MELTDOWN STATE. EMERSON WOULD WORRY HERSELF WHERE SHE COULD NOT SLEEP. WORRY HERSELF SICK THINKING THAT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO END BECAUSE THEY HAD ALSO JUST LEARNED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THEY CONNECTED THE DOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN EQUAL CLIMATE CHANGE EQUALS THE WORLD ENDING. SO WE DID LOTS OF THERAPY. THEY ARE STILL IN THERAPY, BECAUSE AS YOU MAY REALIZE CHILDHOOD TRAUMA DOES NOT GO AWAY JUST

032BECAUSE YOU'VE MOVED OUT OF THE HOUSE THAT FLOODED ON YOU EVERY TWO YEARS. SO WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO NOT OPEN UP ANOTHER TRAUMA BY PUNISHING THEM FOR MOVING FROM A HOUSE THAT WAS FLOODING EVERY TWO YEARS. WE WOULD LIKE TO STAY IN PLANT CITY. WE ARE JUST ASKING YOU TO PLEASE NOT CONSIDER NORTH BON AIR AND WESTSHORE PALMS IN THE REZONING SO THAT WE CAN STAY THERE WHEN IF WE HAD STAYED WHERE WE WERE WHERE WE DID KIND OF KEEP THE WATERS OUT AND WOULD HAVE STAYED, DOESN'T GET ANY EFFECT, ONE, TWO, OR THREE. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THE MISTAKE AGAIN BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE DOUBLE. HI. I'M LIAM SMITH, A STRAIGHT-A PRINCIPAL HONORABLE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HONOR SOCIETY MEMBER AT THE NUMBER ONE

033ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT, GRADY ELEMENTARY. I AM HERE AGAIN AGAIN BEGGING YOU TO NOT MOVE ME AWAY FROM MY SCHOOL, MY FRIENDSHIPS, MY AP CLASSES, MY AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, MY SPORTS TEAMS AND JEOPARDIZING MY HAPPINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH! MENTAL HEALTH IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR ALL STUDENTS, OBVIOUSLY, MY MENTAL HEALTH WAS ALREADY CHALLENGED WHEN I HAD TO SPEND 22 MONTHS AT HOME DURING THE COVID EPIDEMIC. I COULD HAVE EVEN GO OUTSIDE. -- I COULDN'T EVEN GO OUTSIDE. VERY SAD. DURING THE COVID EPIDEMIC, BEING SEPARATED FROM MY FRIENDS, IT WAS A TRAUMATIZING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. IT CAUSED ME TO BE DEPRESSED AND I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ANY OTHER STUDENTS. AND I DON'T WANT THEM TO EXPERIENCE WHAT I WENT THROUGH. IF THEY ARE MOVED TO A NEW SCHOOL DISTRICT LEAVING

034FRIENDS, COMMUNITIES, AND FAMILIES, THAT MIGHT HAPPEN. I BELIEVE I OWE MY ACADEMIC SUCCESS TO MY TEACHERS, STAFF, AND MY FAVORITE PRINCIPAL AND VICE PRINCIPAL, MR. -- WAIT, CAN I FIND HIM? CAN'T FIND HIM. MR. CAMPBELL AND MS. GONZALEZ FROM GRADY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY. AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE, I HAVE INVESTED MY ENTIRE CHILDHOOD INTO MY SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND THE PEOPLE IN IT. AND IT WOULD BE DISASTROUS TO TAKE THAT FROM ME AND OTHER STUDENTS FROM NORTH BON AIR AND WESTSHORE PALMS. NOT TO MENTION THAT THE TWO NEW SCHOOLS THAT I'M PROPOSED TO GO TO ARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TWO NATURAL BOUNDARIES. THE TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND THE INTERSTATE 275. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO REVIEW THE PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES. THIS IS ALL HAPPENING SO FAST, BUT IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT

035FOR YOU TO CONSIDER THIS. AND ALL THE PEOPLE IN IT. EVERYONE LOVES IT. EVERYONE LOVES OUR SCHOOLS, EVERYONE LOVES BEING IN OUR DISTRICT AND PLANT AND COLEMAN AND HAVE SET THEIR LIVES UP SO THEIR KIDS CAN EXPERIENCE THAT. AND I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEIR KID FOR WHAT THEIR DECISION WAS TO HELP THEIR KIDS HAVE BETTER SANITY AND BETTER MENTAL HEALTH. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME TALK. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. I'M BRAD SMITH. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU GUYS AGAIN TODAY. YOU JUST HEARD FROM MY SON. HE'S A STRAIGHT-A STUDENT, PRINCIPAL HONOR ROLL, NATIONAL HONOR ROLL SOCIETY, ET CETERA. I'VE BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THE PTA FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS. I WAS A BOARD MEMBER FOR FOUR YEARS. I PASSED THAT

036TORCH ON THIS YEAR. I DO THE WEBSITE. I'M ON CAMPUS EVERY SINGLE DAY. I INVESTED A LOT OF MY LIFE AS WELL AND MY TIME, ALL MY FREE TIME IN HELPING OUT THE SCHOOL. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY JUST A FEW THINGS THAT I BELIEVE THAT THESE PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES WILL HAVE A NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCE ON A LOT OF THE STUDENTS' MENTAL HEALTH. AND I THINK AS OF THESE DAYS, MENTAL HEALTH WITH STUDENTS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ISSUE. TEEN SUICIDE IS LIKE AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH RATE. HAD TO GO THROUGH DEPRESSION WITH MY OWN SON. HE HAS A BLOOD DISORDER, BEING SEPARATED FROM HIS FRIENDS, NOT HAVING FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS FOR 22 MONTHS, IT WAS INSANE. I CAN'T IMAGINE HIM GOING THROUGH IT. A FEW OTHER QUICK THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY WAS, AS FAR AS

037BEING MOVED AROUND AS A CHILD, I CAN ATTEST TO THIS. MY MOM WAS AN ARMY BRAT, AS THEY CALLED THEM. WE MOVED EVERY TWO YEARS SHE HAD TO MOVE FOR EITHER ECONOMIC REASONS OR THE FACT SHE COULDN'T SIT STILL. STILL DOES THAT TO THIS DAY. I HAD TO CHANGE SCHOOLS EVERY TWO YEARS. I WENT TO SIX DIFFERENT SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO GET THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL. IT DID NOT IN THE END AFFECT ME ACADEMICALLY. I DID WONDERFUL. GOT A SCHOLARSHIP. WENT TO -- ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP TO USF. GRADUATED THREE HONOR SOCIETIES. MAGNA CUM LAUDE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. BUT IT HAS TAKEN ME DECADES TO GET OVER THE MENTAL TRAUMA OF MOVING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER, AND JUST TO BECOME A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF SOCIETY TODAY AS AN ADULT. I MEAN, IT'S TAKEN

038ME DECADES TO GET TO WHERE I AM NOW. ALSO, MY WIFE LIVED IN THE HOUSE THAT WE LIVE IN, AND SHE WENT TO GRADY AND THEN COLEMAN AND THEN THE BOUNDARIES WERE CHANGED AND SHE WENT TO JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL. AND IT HAS HAD LONG-LASTING EFFECTS ON HER TO THIS DAY THAT SHE STILL DEALS WITH. SHE WAS EVEN A CHEERLEADER THERE. IT'S A WONDERFUL HIGH SCHOOL AND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE HIGH SCHOOL WHATSOEVER, BUT HAVING TO LEAVE HER FAMILIES, HER FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND EVERYTHING THAT SHE HAD BUILT UP AS A COMMUNITY FROM KINDERGARTEN ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL, THAT WAS THE TRAUMATIZING PART. IT WASN'T THE SCHOOL. IT WAS LEAVING ALL THE THINGS THAT SHE HAD BUILT UP, ALL THE FAMILIES, THE RELATIONSHIPS. SHE STILL HAS RELATIONSHIPS WITH STUDENTS THAT SHE'S KNOWN

039FROM COLEMAN AND FROM GRADY AND NONE FROM JEFFERSON. LASTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT THE AREA THAT WE LIVE IN, NORTH BON AIR AND WESTSHORE PALMS IS THE MOST DIVERSE PART OF THE PLANT HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, BOTH ECONOMICALLY AND ETHNICALLY. WE ARE THE MOST DIVERSE PART OF IT. BY MOVING US OUT OF THAT DISTRICT -- THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I APPRECIATE IT. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON, SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE STAFF THAT WILL NOT RECEIVE THEIR PROMISED PAY AND STEP INCREASES DUE TO THE LACK OF FIDUCIARY DUTY. [MOMENT OF SILENCE] THANK YOU. SIX MONTHS AGO, I STOOD RIGHT HERE HIGHLIGHTING AN 11-PAGE DOCUMENT OF UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF. I JUST HAVE

040A QUESTION. DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH RATS? DO YOU WANT TO WORK IN HOT ROOMS? DO YOU WANT TO WORK IN UNSAFE ENVIRONMENTS? I'M SURE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS NO, BUT THIS IS THE REALITY OF MANY OF OUR CLASSROOMS. AND SO I WANT TO KNOW WHO DO WE HOLD ACCOUNTABLE. OUR EDUCATORS ARE BURNT OUT BY UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS, AND THE CONSTANT GAS-LIGHTING THAT THEY ARE RECEIVING. HB-1, THE UNIVERSAL VOUCHER BILL IS GOING TO HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT TO THIS DISTRICT FOR SURE. THIS DISTRICT ALREADY SUBMITS REPORTS TO THE STATE DUE TO THE FINANCIAL OBSTACLES THAT WE'RE FACING AND WILL YOU REPORT TO TALLAHASSEE HOW HB-1 WILL IMPACT THIS DISTRICT? HOW WILL YOU PAY OUR EDUCATORS? WE HAVE EDUCATORS LIVING IN CARS. SOME ARE DONATING PLASMA JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET. WE HAVE EDUCATORS

041THAT HAVE MULTIPLE JOBS JUST TO SURVIVE. OUR EDUCATORS DESERVE BETTER. OUR SUPPORT STAFF DESERVE BETTER. AND OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER. AS AN EDUCATOR IN THIS DISTRICT, IT PAINS ME TO SEE OUR EDUCATOR SO FRUSTRATED BY THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY, THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY, AND THE LACK OF INTENTIONAL FOCUS WHEN MAKING DECISIONS. AND I KNOW THAT SOME OF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BOARD AND SO WELCOME. AND SOME OF YOU WERE NOT IN PLACE WHEN SOME OF THE OBSTACLES HAPPENED WITH THE FINANCES. HOWEVER, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. AND SO I'M ASKING EACH ONE OF YOU TO USE YOUR POWER AND INFLUENCE TO HELP WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TALLAHASSEE. THEY ARE GOING TO FAST-TRACK THESE BILLS, AND THEY ARE GOING TO PASS. AND THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME MAJOR IMPACTS TO THIS DISTRICT. YOU'RE ALREADY SEEING

042IT. SO I HOPE THAT YOU TAKE THIS WARNING TO ADVISEMENT THAT THEY ARE FAST-TRACKING THESE BILLS, AND IT'S GOING TO HARM THIS DISTRICT AND IT'S GOING TO HARM OUR CHILDREN. I NEED EACH OF YOU TO DO WHAT YOU ARE CALLED TO DO AND STAND UP FOR OUR STUDENTS, STAND UP FOR OUR EDUCATORS, AND STAND UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY. I YIELD THE REST OF MY TIME. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. THE NEXT FIVE SPEAKERS, IF THEY WILL PLEASE LINE UP. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS TASHA. THE ADMINISTRATORS OF URBAN TECH CARPENTRY PROGRAM FOR SAFETY. I STARTED APRIL 18, 2022. I AM A DISABLED STUDENT THAT WORK SOURCE IS HELPING ME GET BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE. I FOUND A TRADE THAT I LIKED AND STOPPED ME FROM GOING TO THERAPY THAT I'VE BEEN

043OUT OF FOR TWO YEARS, THAT I STARTED IN 2010. FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS I'VE BEEN DOING PRETTY GOOD, SO I DECIDED TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL. BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME I TRIED IT, IT DIDN'T WORK, SO I TRIED IT AGAIN. I HAD FOUR MEETINGS WITH THE ADMINISTRATORS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE. I JUST RECEIVED A SYLLABUS TWO DAYS AGO. I STARTED APRIL 18th. THE SYLLABUS CAME BECAUSE I COMPLAINED AND COMPLAINED AND COMPLAINED. CAN YOU TELL ME, WHAT ARE WE DOING? EVERY DAY IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I START, I LEAVE ONE DAY, LAYING FLOORS, I COME IN THE NEXT DAY, WE'RE BUILDING CABINETS. WE NEVER LOOKED AT THE BOOKS. I FOUND OUT THAT THE CURRICULUM IS OUTDATED. IT'S PHASED OUT OR NO LONGER EXISTS. I FILED A GRIEVANCE. THEY PUSHED MY GRIEVANCE OUT TO JANUARY 31st. AND MY

044MEETING JUST SAYS MY GRIEVANCE IS NO CURRICULUM, NO STRUCTURE, AND FOR ME A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, BULLYING, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MY DISABILITY AND DISCRIMINATION OF MY GENDER. I -- I AM NOT GOING TO SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ELSE -- I WAS ISSUED BOOKS AND ONLINE RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN PHASED OUT, SUCH AS THE ERWIN ONLINE. THE INSTRUCTOR HAS VIOLATED THE ETHICS AND THE CODE OF CONDUCT BY EXPRESSING EVERYTHING THAT I'VE SAID TO THE ADMINISTRATORS TO THE STUDENTS, WHICH GAVE ME A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. I CAN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT IT WITHOUT CRYING. I COMPLAINED ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROCTOR PROCESS AND THE CERTIFICATION PROVIDED WITHIN ONE WEEK I'VE BEEN WITHDRAWN. I TOOK A FORKLIFT TEST, DROVE THE FORKLIFT. I WAS GIVEN MY FORKLIFT CARD. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS AND THEN I WAS GIVEN A PAPER

045THE NEXT DAY, FILL YOUR NAME IN BY SOMEONE -- I MEAN, HE IS THE GUY WHO GAVE IT TO US, BUT I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS. WE TOOK A TEST, LIFT TEST YESTERDAY, TEST BROKE AFTER FOUR PEOPLE. ALL 23 PEOPLE GOT CERTIFIED. THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. IF THE CURRICULUM IS NOT THERE, IT'S NOT THERE. GIVE ME A PROGRAM WHERE -- I'VE LOST EIGHT MONTHS OF MY LIFE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NOW. EIGHT MONTHS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. AND DR. WHELAN FROM HR WILL BE SPEAKING WITH YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON, DEAR BOARD MEMBERS AND THE SUPERINTENDENT. MY NAME IS EMMA ROGIER. I'M FROM NORTH BON AIR NEIGHBORHOOD. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BOUNDARY ANALYSIS TODAY. OUR FAMILY MOVED TO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD SIX

046YEARS AGO TO GET IN A SCHOOL OF OUR CHOICES. GRADY ELEMENTARY -- PLANT HIGH. LIKE ALL OUR NEIGHBORS, WE HAVE INVESTED 100% IN OUR KIDS' EDUCATION WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE. AND RIGHT NOW MY 16-YEAR-OLD IS A SOPHOMORE AT PLANT HIGH. HE HAS WORKED SO HARD TO GET INTO A TOP ENGINEERING COLLEGE. HE HAS A GPA OF 3.92 AND IS ACTIVE MEMBER IN PLANT HONOR CLUB. HE VOLUNTEERS IN TUTORING TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO HE IS ROWING CREW SPEND TWO AND A HALF HOURS EVERY DAY IN THE BOAT ROWING IN PRACTICE. ALSO PARTICIPATE IN VARIOUS REGATTA OVER THE WEEKENDS. BESIDES DOING HIS HOME WORK. HE'S DOING WONDERFUL. AND MY 13-YEAR-OLD SON, HE IS A 7th GRADER AT COLEMAN. HE RIDES HIS BIKE TO SCHOOL ALMOST EVERY DAY, WHICH IS ONE MILE DOWN THE STREET. HOWEVER,

047ALL THIS ACHIEVEMENTS AND THE DAILY ROUTINE WILL BE TAKEN AND WILL BE ROBBED AWAY FROM US IF SCENARIO TWO AND THREE EVER TAKE PLACE. SO SOME THINGS IN LIFE JUST CANNOT BE MEASURED BY SAVING SOME MONEY, LIKE OUR FAMILY, LIKE THE COMMUNITY, LIKE TRADITION AND THE LEGACY. YOU CANNOT JUST SACRIFICE THOSE THINGS BY SAVING A FEW MILLION DOLLARS IN PAPER. IN REALITY, YOU ARE LOSING OUR TRUST AND THIS IS A SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT WILL SUFFER MORE THAN THE WORLD. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU'RE GOING TO LOSE THE DIVERSITY AND THE CULTURE AT PLANT IF YOU TAKE OUR ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM PLANT. ALSO, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON TRANSPORTATION. IF YOU FORCE US FROM COLEMAN TO PIERCE. PIERCE IS A SEVEN MILE DOWN THE HIGHWAY. COLEMAN IS ONE MILE DOWN FROM OUR HOUSE, WHICH MAKES NO

048SENSE AT ALL. THIS IMPLIES THAT THE ALGORITHM IS NOT WORKING. I'LL GET TO THAT WHEN I HAVE TIME NEXT SESSION. BUT RIGHT NOW, I JUST WANT TO SAY LIKE ALL OUR NEIGHBORS, WE HAVE TO SAY NO TO SCENARIO TWO AND THREE AND PLEAD EVERY ONE OF TO YOU CONSIDER THAT BECAUSE TRULY 2 AND 3 WILL TEAR UP OUR COMMUNITY AND LEAVE DESTRUCTIVE IMPACT. THE OTHER BETTER CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS OUT THERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. I'M KRISTIN MILLS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US AGAIN. WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS, AND ALL THAT YOU ALL DO. I'LL GET RIGHT TO THE POINT BECAUSE I HAVE SOME CATCHING UP FOR YOU ON HOW CARROLLWOOD IS DOING. YOU REMEMBER ONE OF OUR DAD CLUB MEMBERS, JOHN, WHO CAME AND SPOKE ON OUR BEHALF IN

049DECEMBER. HE SPOKE ABOUT HOW 98% OF THE KIDS WHO FINISHED FIFTH GRADE AT CARROLLWOOD END UP MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HOW OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS LOSING REALLY, REALLY GREAT KIDS WHO ARE NOT RETURNING. HE ADVOCATED FOR WANTING TO SEE INCREASED GRADUATION RATES FROM THE COUNTY AND HOW TRANSITIONING CARROLLWOOD TO K-8 IS A SOLUTION TO A HUGE PROBLEM IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. HE REFERRED TO HIS FOURTH GRADE DAUGHTER AND HIS SON WHO WILL BE IN KINDERGARTEN NEXT YEAR. AS MUCH AS JOHN AND HIS WIFE HAVE PUSHED FOR THE INITIATIVE, A FEW WEEKS AGO, THEY WERE OFFERED A SPOT AT A K-8 CHARTER SCHOOL AND THEY TOOK IT FOR BOTH OF THEIR KIDS. A SECOND PERSON YOU'LL REMEMBER IS EILEEN FROM SEPTEMBER MEETING. SHE IS INVOLVED IN OUR OWL PANTRY, PROVIDING FOOD FOR THE UNDERPRIVILEGED FAMILIES. SHE CAMPAIGNED FOR

050THE UNMATCHED COMMUNITY AT CARROLLWOOD, HOW WE RAISED $10,000 WORTH OF FOOD IN A SINGLE FOOD DRIVE AND HOW WE ARE PROUD OF OUR SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY. SHE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR SCHOOL AND ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS. UNFORTUNATELY, SHE WAS ALSO OFFERED A SPOT AT THE SAME CHARTER SCHOOL. SHE SAID IT WAS AN EXTREMELY CHALLENGING DECISION AND IT COST A LOT OF SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND TEARS. IF THE CARROLLWOOD K-8 INITIATIVE HAD ALREADY PASSED HER KIDS WOULD STILL BE AT CARROLLWOOD WITH THE FAMILY WE LOST TWO MORE CHILDREN AS WELL AS SOMEONE WHO SERVED OUR OWL PANTRY SO WELL. FAMILY MEMBER THREE ISABELLA AND MATT ARE MORE AVID K-8 SUPPORTERS. LAST WEEK THEY WERE OFFERED A SPOT AT THE SAME CHARTER SCHOOL AND THEY WENT. THE MESSAGE I GOT FROM THE VERY CLOSE FRIEND,

051SUMMARIZED AS VERY STRESSFUL. I HOPE CARROLLWOOD TRANSITIONS TO K-8 BUT WE CAN'T BET 50 GRAND ON IT BECAUSE THAT IS PRIVATE SCHOOL MONEY. SHE GOES ON TO SAY HOW AMAZING AND DEDICATED THE COMMUNITY IS AND LUCKY TO HAVE DONE SCHOOL WITH US FOR YEARS. SHE'S STRUGGLING WITH THE DECISION BECAUSE CARROLLWOOD FEELS LIKE FAMILY. HE'S HEARTBROKEN AND AFRAID. HER FOURTH GRADE DAUGHTER WASN'T EVEN THAT UPSET ABOUT LEAVING CARROLLWOOD BECAUSE ALL OF HER FRIENDS HAVE ALREADY LEFT TO SECURE MIDDLE SCHOOL SPOTS. WE HAVE AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY SCREAMING ABOUT HOW MUCH WE LOVE OUR SCHOOL, AND BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE FAMILY, BUT WE'RE BLEEDING OUT FAMILIES LEFT AND RIGHT BECAUSE OF OUR UNCERTAINTY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. SO PLEASE HEAR OUR PLEA AND ADD CARROLLWOOD K-8 TO YOUR AGENDA AND VOTE YES SOON SO WE CAN RETAIN THESE KIDS.

052THANKS AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU ALL DO. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. AND IF THE NEXT FIVE SPEAKERS WOULD LINE UP. THANK YOU. HELLO. MY NAME IS JENNA MALASI. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HAVING US TODAY. AS YOU JUST HEARD FROM KRISTA, WE ARE LOSING FAMILIES THAT ARE AMAZING WEEKLY. WE ARE IN CRISIS MODE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE A VERY SMALL FISH IN A VERY BIG BOUNDARY POND, BUT WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ADDING OUR INITIATIVE AS A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM RIGHT AWAY. PLEASE GIVE OUR WONDERFUL PRINCIPAL TIME TO PLAN AND SET THIS TRANSITION UP FOR SUCCESS. PLEASE DO NOT FAIL OUR CURRENT FIFTH GRADERS WHO ARE STAYING AT CARROLLWOOD PRAYING THAT THEY WILL HAVE A PLACE TO BELONG NEXT YEAR. BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAVE MET WITH MOST OF YOU SEPARATELY

053AND ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOUR TIME. YOU ARE HERE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND WE ABSOLUTELY KNOW THAT YOUR YES VOTE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED IN THE CARROLLWOOD COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HELLO. I'M PATRICIA HALL. THE FIRST THING I'D LIKE TO SAY IS WE REALLY NEED YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE OF HB-1 AND BOUNDARIES. AS PROPOSED BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, HB-1 ON SCHOOL CHOICE WILL COST TAXPAYERS $4 BILLION THE FIRST YEAR WITH ESCALATING COSTS THEREAFTER. VOUCHERS PROVIDE AN ILLUSION OF CHOICE BUT SEVEN OUT OF TEN ARE UNACCREDITED SCHOOLS. IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, OF 120 PRIVATE SCHOOLS, 74 ARE UNACCREDITED. AND BILLY TOWNSEND'S RECENT ARTICLE, 61% OF VOUCHER KIDS COME BACK TO DISTRICT SCHOOLS WITHIN TWO YEARS HAVING LOST ONE YEAR OF LEARNING. RELATED TO SCHOOL BOUNDARIES, PLEASE REPURPOSE SOME INNER CITY

054SCHOOLS LIKE JUST TO GIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL SEATS TO CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN BUSED OUT OF THEIR COMMUNITIES FOR 30 YEARS TO McCLAIN AND MADISON. LOOK AT THE SCHOOL MAP. STUART, YOUNG, ORANGE GROVE, FERRELL, AND FRANKLIN ARE MAGNETS WITH FEW NEIGHBORHOOD CHILDREN. MADISON IS A NINTH GRADE CENTER FOR PLANT HIGH SCHOOL OVERFLOW IS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE. PLANT AND ALL OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS BUILT BEFORE 1990 WERE DESIGNED FOR ONLY 10 THROUGH 12th GRADE. MONROE IS UNDERENROLLED BECAUSE SENT SIXTH TO EIGHTH GRADE TO TINKER ON MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE IN 2015 TO KEEP CHARTER SCHOOLS USA FROM GOING THERE. MONROE IS A MUCH BETTER ALTERNATIVE FOR OVERPOPULATION OF COLEMAN THAN PIERCE. DID WXY DRIVE FROM COLEMAN TO PIERCE? RIDICULOUS. STUDENTS NORTH OF AZEELE OR CLEVELAND ARE MUCH CLOSER TO THE INTERNATIONAL MAGNET, JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL WITH EXCELLENT WORKFORCE

055AND COLLEGE-BOUND CLASS OFFERINGS. I RAN INTO SOMEBODY WHO WORKS AT SERGEANT SMITH. SHE TOLD ME THE REASON THEIR ENROLLMENT IS LOW IS BECAUSE THEY ARE SURROUNDING BY THE FAILED CHARTER SCHOOL AVANT-GARDE THAT THEN BECAME VICTORY. SLAM AND PLATO JUST MOVED CLOSER TO SERGEANT SMITH. SO I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ALL THE COMMUNITY COMMENTS, THE PARENT COMMENTS, AND MAKE GREAT DECISIONS. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. MOST OF THE INDIVIDUALS SPEAKING HERE TODAY ARE HERE WITH A COLLECTIVE VOICE. WE ARE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PARENTS AND TAXPAYERS UNITED THROUGH THE DISTRICT WORKING CLOSELY WITH ESTABLISHED GROUPS SUCH AS HILLSBOROUGH EDUCATION JUSTICE ALLIANCE, HILLSBOROUGH CLASSROOM TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, JOBS FOR JUSTICE, AND HILLSBOROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES, JUST TO NAME A FEW. WE ALL COLLECTIVELY AGREE THAT THE PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES ARE PART

056OF A BIGGER PICTURE. THE SYSTEMATIC DISMANTLING AND PRIVATIZATION OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. WE ALL COLLECTIVELY AGREE THAT THIS ENTIRE PROCESS SURROUNDING THE BOUNDARY CHANGES HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HAS BEEN UNFAIRLY RUSHED AND MANY VOICES HAVE BEEN IGNORED IN THE PROCESS. WE ALL COLLECTIVELY AGREE THAT WXY'S PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE THREE SCENARIOS IS ENTIRELY FLAWED AS ARE THE THREE OPTIONS THAT THEY PROPOSED. DID YOU KNOW THAT ONE OF THE PROPOSED SCENARIOS WOULD PLACE TWO RIVAL GANGS AT THE SAME SCHOOL? ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL. GANGS THAT ARE ONLY PEACEFUL DURING SCHOOL HOURS. THERE'S ONLY PEACE IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS WHEN THESE CHILDREN ARE AT SCHOOL. NOW WE'RE GOING TO PUT THEM TOGETHER IN ONE SCHOOL? THAT'S UNHEARD OF. AND WE ALL COLLECTIVELY AGREE THAT YOU, THE BOARD, CANNOT POSSIBLY MAKE A VOTE IN FEBRUARY WITH THE INFORMATION AND OPTIONS

057THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU NOW. I ATTENDED THE FORUM AT PLANT HIGH SCHOOL WHERE MANY INDIVIDUALS PROVIDED SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS, OUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING FROM WHAT WXY HAD PROPOSED. AND THE REACTIONS OF THE XY REP AT THOSE ALTERNATIVES, THEY WERE DUMFOUNDED. THEY HAD NOT EVEN CONTEMPLATED SOME OF THE IDEAS BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW OUR DISTRICT. THEY DON'T KNOW OUR SCHOOLS. THEY DON'T KNOW OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. PAT HALL MADE A GOOD SUGGESTION. DID THEY DRIVE BY TO SEE WHERE THE SCHOOLS ARE AND WHERE THE BOUNDARIES ARE PROPOSED TO BE DRAWN? I ASKED, WHY NOT? HOW MUCH DID WE PAY THEM? HALF A MILLION DOLLARS TO HIRE THIS COMPANY TO CONDUCT A THOROUGH EVALUATION AND PROVIDE US WITH OPTIONS THAT WE CAN'T USE THAT ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ANYBODY? AND THEY ONLY CAME UP WITH THREE SCENARIOS, WHICH

058REALLY BOIL DOWN TO ONE. ALL OF THEIR OPTIONS LEAVE MANY QUESTIONS UNANSWERED AND NONE OF THE OPTIONS ANSWER ANY OF THE IMPLICATIONS THAT WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE CLOSED, THAT WOULD BE CLOSED, EXCUSE ME. NONE OF THE OPTIONS PROVIDE ANY CONSISTENT DATA. NONE OF THEM PROVIDE A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED SCENARIOS. MANY OF US WERE ABLE TO ATTEND THE FORUMS IF WE WERE ABLE TO LEAVE WORK EARLY OR HAVE BABYSITTERS AT HOME, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE UNDERSERVED OF OUR COMMUNITY. THOSE WHO HAD TO HEAD TO THEIR SECOND JOB OR THIRD JOB AND COULDN'T ATTEND THE FORUMS OR THOSE WHO WEREN'T ADVISED OR DON'T KNOW THAT THE BOUNDARY CHANGES ARE IMMINENT OR HAPPENING. WE ALL COLLECTIVELY AGREE THAT THE DEADLINE NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED IN ORDER TO FORMULATE A NEW

059HYBRID MODEL. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. ALEX LANDI. I HAVE A DAUGHTER IN KINDERGARTEN IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. SHE GOES TO SCHWARZKOPF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT SCHWARZKOPF. SCHWARZKOPF LABS AN A SCHOOL FOR YEARS, YEAR AFTER YEAR, AN A SCHOOL. IT DOES THIS EVEN THOUGH IT HAS A LARGE MINORITY POPULATION, 54% MINORITY AND 39% ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. THIS IS A REALLY INCREDIBLE STATISTIC. IT IS THE THIRD BEST SCHOOL IN OUR DISTRICT AND HAS GOT SUCH A HIGH PERCENTAGE MINORITY AND LOW ECONOMIC DIVERSITY. THIS IS A LARGE CREDIT TO PRINCIPAL HOLLY AND THE TEACHERS AND FACULTY THERE. AND IT REALLY IS A DEMONSTRATION FOR WHAT SCHOOLS CAN LOOK LIKE. IT'S A DIVERSE SCHOOL, ECONOMICALLY, RACIALLY, THE STUDENTS DO WELL. EVERYONE DOES WELL, BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE THREE PROPOSED

060SCENARIOS HAVE THE BOUNDARY SHIFTING AND MOVING STUDENTS AWAY FROM SCHWARZKOPF TO CLAYWELL. CLAYWELL IS A FINE SCHOOL, BUT THE THREE PROPOSED SCENARIOS HAVE SPECIFIC DIVERSITY GOING TOWARDS CLAYWELL AWAY FROM SCHWARZKOPF. SO THE THREE SCENARIOS ARE INCREASING ECONOMIC DIVERSITY AND RACIAL SEGREGATION BETWEEN SCHOOLS BY CREATING A MORE AFFLUENT AND MORE HOMOGENEOUS POPULATION AT SCHWARZKOPF WHILE SHIFTING ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS TO CLAYWELL, WHICH ALREADY REPORTS 59% OF ITS STUDENTS AS BEING ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED. THIS IS PROBLEMATIC. THIS IS OPPOSITE TO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE. THE PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES WOULD MOVE 175 STUDENTS FROM LAKEVIEW ROAD, WHICH IS A ROAD OFF OF NORTH DALE MABRY, AND IT HAS BOTH HOMES, BUT ALSO TOWNHOMES, DUPLEXES AND GOVERNMENT-SUBSIDIZED HOUSING. ALL OF THOSE HOMES WILL BE MOVED TO CLAYWELL, SHIFTING A LOT OF THE DIVERSITY THAT SCHWARZKOPF HAS AND REALLY DOES

061WELL WITH TO ANOTHER SCHOOL. AND THIS IS REALLY GOING TO SHIFT KIND OF WHAT SCHWARZKOPF LOOKS LIKE IN THE FUTURE AND CHANGE CLAYWELL, MAKING SCHWARZKOPF MORE AFFLUENT, MORE HOMOGENIZED AND MAKING CLAYWELL DISADVANTAGED, MORE DISADVANTAGED THAN IT WAS PREVIOUSLY. SO WHAT I ASK YOU TO DO IS CONSIDER THESE DATA YOU HAVE ON YOUR WEBSITES AND INFORMATION YOU'VE PROVIDED US. CONSIDER THIS GOING FORWARD AND STAND WITH ME FOR A EQUALITY IN EDUCATION AND KEEPING THE STUDENTS AT THEIR CURRENT SCHOOL ZONES. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TONIGHT. MY NAME IS DANIELLE MORRONI. I LIVE IN THE LAKE HEATHER OAKS COMMUNITY CURRENTLY ZONED FOR SCHWARZKOPF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. MARTINEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL. MY SON, AIDEN MORRONI IS A STUDENT IN MS. LOWRY'S FIRST GRADE CLASS AT

062SCHWARZKOPF. LAKE HEATHER OAKS HAS BEEN ATTENDING THESE SCHOOLS FOR GENERATIONS AND WE TAKE PRIDE IN OUR MULTIGENERATIONAL SCHWARZKOPF BEARS AND MARTINEZ MUSTANGS. WE TAKE PRIDE IN THE COMMUNITY WE'VE CREATED WITH THESE SCHOOLS, AND WE PURCHASED HOMES IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WITH THE EXCITEMENT OF ATTENDING THESE SCHOOLS. LAKE HEATHER OAKS IS CURRENTLY BEING REZONED TO CLAYWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE PROPOSED CHANGES WOULD TAKE CLAYWELL TO 107% CAPACITY WHILE LEAVING SCHWARZKOPF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT ONLY 89%. SCHWARZKOPF, WHICH IS THE NUMBER THREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, WOULD BE UNDERUTILIZED BY 70 STUDENTS. PLEASE TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION AS YOU PREPARE TO VOTE FOR ANY SCENARIO CHANGES INVOLVING THE LAKE HEATHER OAKS COMMUNITY. PLEASE KEEP LAKE HEATHER OAKS AT SCHWARZKOPF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND MARTINEZ MIDDLE SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. MARK

063KLUTHO, LARGO. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM. ALL THE SCHOOLS ARE SICK. ALL SICK BUILDINGS. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU GO. ON ANOTHER SUBJECT, OWL TREE, COLLATERAL VICTIMS. ARE YOU PUTTING OUT THAT POISON TO KILL THE RATS? WAR ON RATS CLAIMS THE LIVES OF BIRDS. DOGGONE SHAME. YOU PROBABLY THINK THAT YOU'RE SAVED BECAUSE THE SCIENTISTS HAVE ANNOUNCED THE BIG BREAKTHROUGH IN FUSION ENERGY, SO YOUR STUPID BUILDINGS WILL GET ALL THE ENERGY THEY NEED. NOT. THAT'S A COMPLETELY ASININE IDEA. FOR HOW THE BUILDINGS SHOULD LOOK. THIS IS THE PROPORTION FOR WHAT THE BUILDING SHOULD LOOK LIKE. THE ALBIDO, NOT ANY OTHER COLOR. AND AS WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID, 1960, WE SHAPE OUR BUILDINGS, THEREAFTER THEY SHAPE US. AND IN THE U.S. TODAY ON JANUARY 31st, A STUDY WAS RELEASED. CLIMATE CHANGE IS WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT. THE

064WORLD FACES A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF PASSING A CRUCIAL GLOBAL WARMING THRESHOLD EARLIER THAN SCIENTISTS HAD SUGGESTED, POSSIBLY AS SOON AS 2050, A PAPER PUBLISHED MONDAY FOUND. THE THRESHOLD IS A POINT AT WHICH THE EARTH'S OVERALL TEMPERATURE HAS INCREASED BY TWO DEGREES CELSIUS OR 3.6 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. IT'S GOING TO BE BAD. AND ALL THESE CHILDREN THAT THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY CARE ABOUT, THE WORLD IS GOING TO BE A HELL. AND YOU KEEP IGNORING SCIENCE THAT WOULD MAKE IT LIVABLE. WHAT A LEGACY. IT'S SO SAD. JUST SO SAD. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON. I AM ONCE AGAIN HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PORNOGRAPHIC BOOKS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DETERMINED TO KEEP ON LIBRARY SHELVES AND CLAIM TO HAVE NO ABILITY TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT. YOU HAVE EVEN REFUSED TO DISCUSS THESE

065BOOKS BY HOLDING A WORKSHOP ABOUT THEM UNTIL IT SEEMS THE PRESSURE BECAME TOO MUCH. THIS BATTLE THAT WE'RE ENGAGED IN IS A BATTLE FOR THE VERY SOULS OF CHILDREN, AN ENTIRE GENERATION BEING SEXUALIZED, YES, THROUGH THEIR PHONES. THAT IS A PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY AND ALSO THROUGH YOUR CHOSEN LIBRARY BOOKS, AND THAT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. AGAIN, I WILL SAY PARENTS WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN FROM BEING SEXUALIZED AND GROOMED. FOR EXAMPLE, DID YOU KNOW THAT HILLSBOROUGH CONTAINS SEVEN COPIES OF GENDER QUEER? YES, THE BOOK THAT HAS MADE NATIONAL NEWS TIME AND TIME AGAIN. IT HAS DRAWINGS OF ORAL SEX IN IT. WITHOUT MORAL GROUNDING AND NO ANCHOR POINT, HUMAN NATURE WILL SINK TO THE LOWEST OF LOWS EVEN SACRIFICING OUR CHILDREN ON THAL A TAR OF WOKE IDEOLOGY. FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE YOU SHOWN ALL OUR

066SEVENth GRADERS IN SEX ED THAT TELLS THEM THEY CAN CONSENT TO SEX WITH AN ADULT. YOU HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THIS MULTIPLE TIMES. I TRULY HOPE THAT YOUR EYES ARE BEING OPEN TO THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL THAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. YOU'VE BEEN HIDING BEHIND YOUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR BOOK CHALLENGES, DOING NOTHING TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SERVE, LEAVING BOOKS WITH SEX HOOKUP APPS ON LIBRARY SHELVES, TALK ABOUT A SLIPPERY SLOPE. THIS SLIPPERY SLOPE IS LEADING CHILDREN ON A PATH TO SERIOUS RISK AND HARM. WE KNOW THAT PEDOPHILES PREY THROUGH THESE APPS AND LEADING THEM INTO THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR AND CONFUSION, HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOR AND POTENTIALLY EVEN WORSE. ADDITIONALLY, YOU KNOW FAR TOO MUCH TO CLAIM INNOCENCE OR IGNORANCE. FOR 20 MONTHS I HAVE SPOKEN

067HERE AND SENT E-MAILS TO ALL OF YOU. I TOLD YOU ABOUT THE HORRENDOUS, VIOLENT, SELF-HARM BOOKS THAT YOU HAVE CONTINUED TO PROTECT, THAT YOU HAVE KEPT ON YOUR LIBRARY SHELVES. AND YOU KNOW THAT IT ISN'T ONE OR TWO, OR THREE BOOKS. I'VE TOLD YOU I HAVE A LIST OF HUNDREDS OF THESE BOOKS THAT CONTAIN EXPLICIT PORNOGRAPHIC CONTENT AND FOR REASONS I JUST CAN'T POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND YOU'VE TURNED A DEAF EAR TO ME. I'VE MADE MYSELF ACCESSIBLE TO YOU. FIVE OF YOU HAVE NOT REACHED OUT TO ME AT ALL DESPITE MAKING MYSELF AVAILABLE. YOU'VE COMPLETELY IGNORED COUNTLESS E-MAILS I'VE SENT. ALL I WANT TO DO IS HELP. AND JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT WE'VE REACHED THE DEPTHS OF TERRIBLE CONTENT, WE MADE A NEW COMPLETELY DESPICABLE DISCOVERY IN YOUR SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVEN'T YET TOUCHED. I PLEAD WITH

068YOU TO LISTEN TO YOUR CONSCIENCE BECAUSE THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN IS ON THE LINE. EACH DAY THAT PASSES WITH THESE BOOKS ON THE SHELVES, YOU BARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HARMING THE CHILDREN YOU SHOULD BE PROTECTING. YOU CONTINUE TO SUGGEST THAT THE BOOKS ARE APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN AND YET AS YOU WELL KNOW, THIS PORNOGRAPHIC CONTENT CANNOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST ON TV OR DISTRIBUTED. YET YOU PUT IT IN FRONT OF CHILDREN. WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, NEXT SPEAKER. HI. MY NAME IS JESSICA DUE BOY. CEO OF HPSA. IT'S REALLY HARD TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THE EDUCATION HEADLINES NOWADAYS, BETWEEN BOUNDARY CHANGES, MEN STREWAL CYCLE REPORTS, WHAT CLASSIC BOOK IS NOW BANNED FROM LIBRARIES. AS I WEED THROUGH, I WONDER WHAT IS IT THEY DON'T WANT ME TO FOCUS ON? WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING

069IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM. OVER THE 25 YEARS EDUCATION HAS SLOWLY BEEN DRAINED OF FUNDING. I'M HERE TO TELL YOU DEFUNDING, WHICH IS THE ROOT OF MANY PROBLEMS AND WHAT HPSA ADVOCATES FOR IS SADLY THE ATTACK IS ON ALL FRONTS. JUST THREE SHORT YEARS AGO, THE SUPER VOUCHER WAS PASSED MAKING ACCESS TO SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS UNPRIORITIZED. IF THAT'S NOT OUTRAGE ENOUGH, HOUSE BILL ONE IS NOW BEING REVIEWED, WILL TAKE $4 BILLION OF PUBLIC FUNDING, THAT'S TAX DOLLARS EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES TO AND MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO ANY PARENT TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO A VOUCHER AUTHORIZED SCHOOL OR EVEN HOMESCHOOL THEIR KIDS. NO STANDARDS, NO OVERSIGHT, JUST A MAJOR SHIFT OF FUNDS WITH AUTHORIZERS THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY KEEP UP. HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, WE'RE GOING THROUGH BOUNDARY CHANGES THAT DON'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

070DESERT IN THE INNER CITY AND THE FACT THAT SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE BEEN BUSED 45 MINUTES, AN HOUR AWAY FOR DECADES. AND NOW, HERE IN OUR DISTRICT, QUARTERLY CUMULATIVE TESTING, ONE OF THE ONES THAT COUNTS FOR A GRADE IS COMPUTERIZED. DO YOU THINK A FIRST OR A SECOND GRADER CAN SHOW THEIR WORK WHEN THEY ARE ASKED TO TRANSFER THEIR PROBLEM TO A SCRATCH SHEET OF PAPER? HERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO EXACERBATE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR OUR MINORITY STUDENTS THAT LIKELY CAN'T ACCESS OR PRACTICE ON A COMPUTER. WE SAW THIS PROBLEM IN COVID. LET'S NOT EXACERBATE IT AGAIN. SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS ARE CAUSED AT STATE LEVEL AND SOME THIS BOARD CONTROLS AND OWNS. WE ASK THIS BOARD DO NOT TAKE A VOTE ON BOUNDARIES WITHOUT CURRENT AND FUTURE BUSING PATTERNS AND COMMUNITY VOICES TAKEN

071INTO ACCOUNT. THAT'S THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ASKED TO BE REPURPOSED WE SHOULD HAVE SESSIONS IN THOSE SCHOOLS. WXY STUDIES WERE INCOMPLETE AND DIDN'T TAKE A LOOK AT A LOT OF EXISTING CONDITIONS. AND, BOARD MEMBERS, LET'S PLEASE NOT ACCOMMODATE OR TEACH TO A TEST, ESPECIALLY FOR SIX-YEAR-OLDS WHO ARE NOW FORCED TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON DEVICES ANYWAYS. AND PARENTS, I'M ASKING YOU THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A REALLY FLAMING HEADLINE ABOUT EDUCATION, ASK WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. DIG A LITTLE DEEPER. ASK HARD QUESTIONS, WRITE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND PLEASE GET INVOLVED. THE SAKE OF OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM DEPENDS ON IT. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS, SUPERINTENDENT, FAMILY AND FRIENDS. TINA WILLIAMS BOOSTER. I'M BACK AGAIN ON BEHALF OF MENTAL ILLNESS AND OUR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

072TO KIND OF PIGGYBACK OFF WHAT THE LAST SPEAKER SAID. I IMPLORE TODAY, BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THE ONES WHO HAVE REACHED OUT. I FEEL SORRY FOR THE ONES WHO SAID THEY WERE GOING TO REACH OUT AND DIDN'T. SHAME ON YOU. I LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT, SO WE'VE PASSED COVID. NOW WHAT? JUST AS OTHER SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, MENTAL ILLNESS DOESN'T TAKE A BREAK. IT CONTINUES. AND WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY? WE HAVE SO MANY LEADERS AND TEACHERS, THEY HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES NOT BEING ADDRESSED. NO LONGER IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO SAY WHAT YOU'RE NOT GOOD AT. TAKE A STEP BACK. IT'S JUST LIKE AA. THE FIRST STEP IS ADMITTING YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. LET'S ADMIT THOSE PROBLEMS. LET'S HAVE VALID CONVERSATIONS, AND LET'S TALK TO THE PARENTS OF THESE STUDENTS. HOW ABOUT

073WE TALK TO THE STUDENTS? NO, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SAME OLD SURVEYS THAT DON'T REALLY ASK THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS, JUST THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE DEEMED SAFE. ASK THE STUDENTS, HOW DOES THIS TEACHER MAKE YOU FEEL? OR BETTER YET, ARE YOU LEARNING ANYTHING? THE PAPERS HAVE TOLD US, DO YOU KNOW THAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AFTER FOURTH GRADE, OUR STUDENTS PROGRESSIVELY, CONTINUALLY ARE TWO YEARS BEHIND? AFTER FOURTH GRADE, OUR STUDENTS AREN'T LEARNING ANYTHING. CONTINUALLY. COVID DIDN'T REINVENT THESE PROBLEMS. IT JUST PULLED THE RUG BACK OF WHAT YOU ALL HAVE CHOSEN TO IGNORE. MY PLEA, PARENTS, TURN OFF THOSE CELL PHONES. YOU OWE IT TO YOUR KIDS TO GET INVOLVED. AND LEADERS, TEACHERS, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM KID, REACH OUT TO THOSE PARENTS. DOCUMENT, DON'T JUST IGNORE PROBLEMS AND SAY -- AND WE REALLY NEED TO COME

074INTO THE 21st CENTURY. DIVERSITY IS HERE. IT'S NOT GOING TO GO AWAY. A LOT OF YOU TALK ABOUT THE LACK OF DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY THIS, ALL STUDENTS NEED DIVERSITY. IT'S HOW YOU LEARN. I DON'T HAVE EVERYTHING TOGETHER. THIS GROUP DOESN'T HAVE EVERYTHING TOGETHER. THAT'S HOW WE LEARN. WE ALL GLOBALLY GET TOGETHER. LET'S BE MINDFUL AS WE MAKE THESE DECISIONS, IS NO ONE IS THINKING ABOUT THE STUDENTS. IT'S ALL THIS POSTURING. I DON'T WANT TO LOOK BACK. IT'S TIME TO PUT STUDENTS FIRST. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. ALAN BREWSTER, GOOD EVENING. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS. I SAID THIS ONCE BEFORE. I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. MY GRANDMOTHER ALWAYS TOLD ME YOU CAN'T SOAR LIKE NO EAGLE HANGING AROUND TURKEY. NOW, MY DAUGHTER WAS YELLED AT BY A TEACHER AT GAITHER HIGH

075SCHOOL, ELEVATED HER ANXIETY. SHE WENT INTO A MILD DEPRESSION. THE PRINCIPAL IGNORED IT. HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, BUT WHAT HE DID DO, HE CITED ME WITH THE POLICY BECAUSE I SAID A CUSS WORD AFTER I WAS TOLD TAKING MY DAUGHTER TO THE SCHOOL TO TALK TO THE SOCIAL WORKER OR THE PSYCHOLOGY. AND YOUR DAUGHTER DIDN'T COME TO SCHOOL, SO SHE NEED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. WE SAID NO PROBLEM. WE'LL WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE AVAILABLE. BUT THEY TURNED US AWAY. HE DIDN'T ADDRESS THAT. HE GAVE ME A CIVILITY E-MAIL. THE SECOND ONE WAS TO MY WIFE BECAUSE THE TEACHER WE HAD MET WITH, SHE HAD A MELTDOWN IN THE CLASSROOM, STARTED YELLING IN THE CLASSROOM. MY DAUGHTER CALLED MY WIFE AND SAY THIS TEACHER IS HAVING A MELTDOWN, COME GET ME. MY WIFE CALLED THE SCHOOL

076AND TOLD THE CONSTANT PRINCIPAL TO -- ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL TO GO GET MY CHILD OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. SHE WENT TO THE SCHOOL AND THEY WOULDN'T LET HER IN. THEY REFUSED TO LET MY WIFE IN THE BUILDING. MY WIFE TOLD THEM, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO MY CHILD, YOU BETTER LAWYER UP. THE NEXT DAY, GUESS WHAT, THE PRINCIPAL DIDN'T ADDRESS IT. HE SENT THE CIVILITY E-MAIL TELLING MY WIFE, THIS IS YOUR SECOND OFFENSE. AND THE NEXT ONE I'M GOING TO HAVE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF ESCORT YOU OFF CAMPUS. THAT'S THE STANDARD OF A LEADER AT A SCHOOL ATTACKING THE PARENTS WHEN THE SCHOOL CAUSED THE ISSUE? OF THE PRINCIPAL ATTACKING THE PARENTS WITH THE CIVILITY POLICY. WHAT KIND OF LEADER IS THAT? HOW LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE A CHANGE. NO STUDENT IS GOING TO

077LOOK UP TO HIM AS A LEADER. MY DAUGHTER DOESN'T. WE DON'T. BUT THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A PARTNERSHIP THERE WITH THE STUDENT AND THE PARENTS TO RESOLVE ANY ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE STUDENT, THAT AFFECTS MY DAUGHTER, THAT AFFECTS MY WIFE, AND THAT AFFECTS ME. I'M GOING TO KEEP COMING HERE AND TODAY MAKE A CHANGE AT GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL. THAT'S RIDICULOUS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. THANK YOU. DR. WHELAN I'M SURE WILL BE SPEAKING WITH YOU. WILL YOU SPEAK WITH THEM? WE HAVE SOMEONE GOING BACK THERE. THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON. HELLO. GOOD AFTERNOON. YOU ALL KNOW ME. GOOD AFTERNOON, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER WASHINGTON, PEREZ, ADDISON. I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE EDUCATIONAL EQUALIZERS LLC. I'M A FORMER HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EDUCATOR. I SERVED THIS DISTRICT FROM 2009 UP UNTIL 2021. I'M HERE ABOUT

078THE BOUNDARY CHANGES. WE SAT HERE AT THE WORKSHOP AND WE SAW MR. WASHINGTON MOVE TO TEARS. I'M HIS CITIZEN ADVISORY COUNCIL REP AND I AM HERE ON BEHALF OF DISTRICT 5. MY CONCERNS ARE THAT OUR NEEDS ARE NOT BEING MET. OUR CHILDREN WILL BE GREATLY IMPACTED. SOME OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES WILL PUT OUR KIDS IN DIRECT LINES OF FIRE, IN REGARDS TO GANG VIOLENCE, FROM THOSE STUDENTS BEING MOVED FROM ARMWOOD TO MIDDLETON. THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE IN CONFLICT ALL THE TIME. OUR KIDS' MENTAL HEALTH IS AT STAKE. WE HAVE GRANDPARENTS WHO ARE RAISING CHILDREN WHO DO NOT HAVE THE VEHICLES TO TRANSPORT STUDENTS FROM ARMWOOD HIGH SCHOOL TO MIDDLETON. IN DISTRICT 5, WE ARE ALREADY AT A HUGE DEFICIT IN RESOURCES. I WORKED AT ELEMENTARY FROM 2009 UP UNTIL 2017. I WORKED AT WOODSON FROM 2018

079UP UNTIL 2020. I WORKED AT OAK PARK FROM 2020 TO 2021. I HAVE BEEN MENTORED BY MANY PEOPLE IN THIS DISTRICT. MS. McRAE, GOOD TO SEE YOU. I WORKED WITH HER SISTER AT JAMES. I HAVE MANY RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS DISTRICT. I WENT TO WILLIAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL. I'M A PROUD GRADUATE OF ARMWOOD HIGH SCHOOL. MY SON IS A FIRST GRADER, PRINCIPAL HONOR ROLL STUDENT AT LOPEZ ELEMENTARY. HE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING A HAWK. NOT A TIGER, A HAWK. HE WANTS TO GO TO BURNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL OR A MAGNET SCHOOL OF HIS CHOICE, AND HE WANTS TO ATTEND ARMWOOD COLLEGIATE ACADEMY. I INTEND TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS. ADDISON DAVIS, SCENARIO FOUR IS NOT GOING TO WORK EITHER ON BEHALF OF THE NAACP, WE WANT YOU TO PAUSE. I'M GOING

080TO SAY THAT AGAIN. WE WANT YOU TO PAUSE UNTIL YOU SERIOUSLY GET SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM EAST TAMPA AT THE TABLE. AS A FORMER TEACHER, I EXPERIENCED A DEEP DEPRESSION UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF RYAN MOODY AT OAK PARK. THIS CAUSED ME TO WALK AWAY FROM MY TITLE AS A MEDIA SPECIALIST. I WAS SUPPOSED TO RETURN OCTOBER 2022. I HAD A SERIOUS CONVERSATION WITH -- HE SAID, NO, I HAVE MORE FOR YOU. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO PARTNERING WITH YOU. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO US HAVING A GREAT COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP, BUT I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. GOOD EVENING, AFTERNOON. FIRST THING, MY NAME IS CHRIS BLACKBURN. 100% OF THE NORTH BON AIR, WESTSHORE PALMS AREA FAMILY TEAM. I WANT TO THANK REPRESENTATIVE GRAY, PEREZ, DR. HAHN. I THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING TO

081THE MEETINGS, BEING PART OF OUR COMMUNITY. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME AND I KNOW IT MEANS A LOT TO THE PARENTS AND YOU SAW THE KIDS THAT WERE THERE WITH US. MR. DAVIS. I'VE SEEN YOU ENOUGH TIMES AND TALKED TO YOU AT SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS. NOT JUST OUR AREA, BUT I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT EVERYBODY'S AREA, AND OUR CHILDREN IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AND IN GENERAL. DIFFERENT ANGLES I WAS THINKING ABOUT TODAY WHEN I CAME HERE HAVE CHANGED. I AM VERY PROUD -- AND I WISH THEY WERE STILL HERE. MY SON KALEB GOES TO GRADY ELEMENTARY. HE'S JUST SPENT SIX YEARS THERE. SIX YEARS NOW. LITTLE BIT MORE SHY THAN LIAM. THEY ARE GREAT FRIENDS. THEY ALL LIVE A COUPLE OF BLOCKS FROM EACH OTHER. I WOULD HAVE MADE SURE I SAID THANK YOU,

082NOT ONLY TO PREVIOUS PRINCIPAL, BUT NOW MR. CAMPBELL AND MS. GONZALEZ. THEY DO A GREAT JOB, MR. SMITH AS WELL. PTA. THAT'S PART OF WHAT I DO. I SUPPORT THE SCHOOL MY CHILD IS IN AND I SUPPORT MY CHILD'S EDUCATION MOVING FORWARD AND I EXPECT HIM TO BE AT THE SCHOOL THAT WE'VE BEEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THAT WOULD BE COLEMAN, NEXT UP PLANT AFTERWARDS. THESE SCHOOLS PROVIDE MY SON, I BELIEVE, WITH THE BEST EDUCATIONAL NEEDS TO GET HIM TO COLLEGE AND WHATEVER THE DIRECTION HE WANTS TO DO WHEN HE GETS TO THAT POINT. I REALLY DID -- THAT MEANT A LOT TO ME, THE RECOGNITION THAT THEY GOT TODAY. OUR KIDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. LIAM TWO BLOCKS THIS WAY, WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT. TWO BLOCKS THE OTHER WAY, WE'RE SPLITTING THEM ALL UP.

083I'M NOT GOING TO STATE MY AGE, BUT I'M OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT I'VE GOT KIDS THAT ARE FRIENDS FROM SIXTH GRADE STILL. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP OUR KIDS TOGETHER. THEY WANT TO BE TOGETHER. AND THE DRAMATIC -- AND I DID SOME RESEARCH AND ALL, BUT THE ISSUES OF MENTAL HEALTH, WHATEVER WE WANT TO SAY IT IS NOWADAYS, OF SPLITTING KIDS UP. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, KEEP YOUR CHILD AT A SAME SCHOOL OR A SCHOOL IN THE SAME DISTRICT. RESEARCH HAS FOUND MOVING SCHOOLS CAN BE PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT FOR CHILDREN IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS. AGAIN, I THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING WITH US, AND LET'S MAKE THOSE RIGHT DECISIONS. THANK YOU AGAIN. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. IF THE NEXT FEW SPEAKERS WILL PLEASE LINE UP. HELLO, EVERYONE. RYAN AZINN SKI,

084FORMER EMPLOYEE OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS. OFFICIALLY RESIGNED A LITTLE OVER SIX MONTHS AGO. I WANTED TO COME AND PUT A CAPSTONE SPEECH, IF YOU WILL, ON MY SCHOOL BOARD TIME. I'M SURE YOU GUYS ARE SICK OF LOOKING AT MY FACE ANYWAY. SO, LET'S FIRST ADDRESS THE PEAK ABSURDITY THAT I SEE IN THE HEADLINES EVERY SINGLE DAY. WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN. PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT BOOKS. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, NO ONE READS. 25% OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC BASICALLY KEEPS PUBLISHING ALIVE. NO ONE READS NOW. PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT BOOKS AND THEIR KIDS HAVE TIKTOK. COME ON NOW. WAKE UP. WE ARE LOOKING AT ALL THE WRONG TARGETS. ALL THE TIME. WE HAVE AN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT IS COMPLETELY OUTMODED. IT WAS DESIGNED IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY AND MEANT FOR 20th CENTURY EMPLOYMENT. WE ARE ALMOST

085A QUARTER OF THE WAY INTO THE 21st CENTURY. EVERYTHING SHOULD BE TORN DOWN AND RE-ENVISIONED. NO ONE -- KEEP FOCUSING ON THE SAME THING. IT IS A GRAVE MISTAKE WE ARE MAKING. WE HAVE THE MOST POLITICALLY CONNECTED PEOPLE ADMINISTERING AN EDUCATION SYSTEM THAT IS NOT EVEN PUBLIC. LET'S BE REAL. HB 1, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT'S ABOUT. IT'S PROBABLY MORE VOUCHER CRAP. I WILL BE THE FIRST TO SAY WE HAVE AN EDUCATION COMMISSIONER WHO GETS, I'M ASSUMING, STILL A SIX-FIGURE SALARY FROM DORAL COLLEGE, FORMER SENATOR MANNY DIAZ, WHO DID NOTHING DURING HIS TIME IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE TO PUBLICLY BREAK ALL THIS UP AND TO PRIVE SIZE EDUCATION. IT'S ALL CRONY CAPITALISM, CORPORATE WELFARE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. I MEAN, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT. THIS IS WHERE FLORIDA IS AT.

086I WORKED AS A RECRUITER FOR ABOUT 15 MONTHS WHEN I LEFT THE CLASSROOM. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH STARTING PEOPLE AND BRAND-NEW ROLES, OUT OF COLLEGE, FRESH DEGREE, MAKING 60 GRAND. YOU GOT TO GRIND 17 YEARS IN THIS DISTRICT TO GET TO 60 GRAND. WAKE UP. EVERYBODY, WAKE UP. THIS PROFESSION IS BEING DESTROYED. I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO LAST ANOTHER 20, 25 YEARS. KIDS CAN GO ONLINE, HAVE CHAT GPT WRITE THEIR DAMN ESSAY. WAKE UP. I'VE GOT 30 SECONDS LEFT. I WANT TO OFFER SOME FINAL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO MY FELLOW EDUCATORS WHO WERE LEFT BEHIND. VICTOR FRANKEL TELLS US THAT WHEN WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO CHANGE A SITUATION WE ARE CHALLENGED TO CHANGE OURSELVES. I DEEPLY MISS THE CLASSROOM, BUT I COULDN'T NO LONGER BE A TEACHER. SO IF YOU ARE A

087TEACHER IN THIS STATE OR AN EDUCATOR OF ANY STRIPE, ESPECIALLY IN YEARS 10 THROUGH 20 OR 25, IS QUIT. THAT IS THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU. QUIT. NO ONE CARES. YOUR FAMILY CARES ABOUT YOU. YOUR STUDENTS MIGHT CARE, BUT NO ONE CARES. QUIT. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. HI. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS JERRY BOYLE. I LIVE IN THE NORTH BON AIR AREA OF SOUTH TAMPA. FIRST, I WANTED TO THANK MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH. DR. HAHN, YOU TALKED TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. I WAS DEPLOYED OVERSEAS. MS. PEREZ, I SAW YOU AT MORGAN WOODS. MS. COMBS, I TALKED TO YOU INDIVIDUALLY AT SICKLES HIGH SCHOOL. MS. GRAY, SHE CAME TO A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. SORRY I DIDN'T GET TO MEET THE REST OF YOU. ADDISON, SUPERINTENDENT

088DAVIS, THANK YOU. WE HAD A VERY GOOD DISCUSSION. I THINK YOU ARE HEARING OUR FEEDBACK. I DID WANT TO TALK TODAY ABOUT THE CONSULTING FIRM. I'M GOING TO SCREW UP THE ACRONYM BECAUSE IT'S SOMEWHAT CONFUSING SOMETIMES. BUT I DO BELIEVE, AND I SENT EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD AND ADDISON DAVIS YESTERDAY, TWO PowerPoint SLIDES, WHICH KIND OF SHOW THE AMATEURIST NATURE OF THE ROLLOUT AND I ALSO BELIEVE SOME FUNDAMENTAL ERRONEOUS DATA THAT WAS USED. THE FIRST SLIDE I SENT YOU AND I HAVE EXTRA COPIES, THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE. MY NEIGHBOR, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM US IS NOT LISTED. DOES NOT HAVE THEIR HOUSE LISTED ON THIS DATA. I SHOWED YOU SOME OF THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE AROUND IN THE WESTSHORE AREA, AND THEY DON'T EXIST. THEY ALL WENT OUT OF BUSINESS IN 2016, 2017. THE

089COMPANY CLAIMS TO USE A MILITARY PROGRAM THAT I'VE USED, AND THIS IS NOT ARCHIS. THIS IS 2016-2017 MAP. I DON'T KNOW IF IT MEANS THAT THE UNDERLYING DATA IS WRONG, BUT IT JUST, ONCE AGAIN, GOES TO SHOW THAT FROM A FEEDBACK MECHANISM, IT LOOKS AMATEURISH. BUT WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT IS THE SECOND SLIDE I SENT YOU. I WILL JUST GO DOWN TO PIERCE MIDDLE SCHOOL. IN SCENARIO TWO, SORRY, EXISTING UTILIZATION IS 67%. IN SCENARIO TWO, THERE ARE 336 STUDENTS THAT ARE REZONED TO PIERCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND THE UTILIZATION RATE GOES UP TO 81%. IN SCENARIO THREE, NO STUDENTS ARE REZONED BUT THE UTILIZATION RATE GOES UP TO 85%. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. I'M A SIMPLE MARINE, BUT FROM LOOKING AT THIS, IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO ME, AND I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS ERRONEOUS

090DATA BEING USED. BUT THE LARGER ISSUE IS THE FEEDBACK MECHANISM BECAUSE THE BOUNDARY WEBSITE WAS THE ONLY FEEDBACK MECHANISM WE HAD TO XYZ AND TO YOUR FOLKS UNLESS PEOPLE E-MAILED YOU. BUT IF THIS IS WRONG, WHAT THEY PULL OUT OF HERE WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT IT, THEN THE WHOLE SYSTEM HAS BEEN WRONGED IN HOW WE APPROACH YOU AS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. SO, I KNOW THERE'S NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO, BUT WHEN YOU DO YOUR WEBINARS OR YOUR WORKSHOPS, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT THE UNDERLYING DATA IS BECAUSE I THINK IT IS ERRONEOUS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. WE HAVE THREE MORE SPEAKERS. HI, EVERYONE. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS NICKY RIVERA. I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE TO MEET SEVERAL OF YOU THROUGH MY

091WORK AS PRO-PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. I'M ALSO A RESIDENT OF TEMPLE TERRACE, A RECENT GRADUATE FROM USF, A MEMBER OF THE PUERTO RICAN COMMUNITY AND THE LATIN X COMMUNITY AND I'M REPRESENTING THE TAMPA BAY CHAPTER OF LULAC HERE TODAY. I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE MY TIME TO ALSO DISCUSS THE BOUNDARY ANALYSI, SPECIFICALLY COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND THE PROCESS. I'D LIKE TO START BY THANKING EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, INCLUDING THE COMMUNITY FOR WORKING TIRELESSLY ON THE PROJECT. LIKE MANY OF US IN THE ROOM, I ATTENDED SEVERAL OF THE GALLERY PRESENTATIONS AND HEARD A VARIETY OF CONCERNS FROM OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS REFLECTING UPON THESE CONCERNS WHAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME WERE CRITIQUED OF THE PROCESS LACKING TRANSPARENCY AND EQUITABILITY. NOW, I'VE NEVER PARTICIPATED IN THE REDISTRICTING OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO I DID SOME RESEARCH ON

092BEST PRACTICES. AND WHAT I LEARNED IS THAT HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, AT LEAST SEEMINGLY, HAS ENGAGED IN MANY BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO DATA, RELATED TO DEMOGRAPHICS, ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS, COMPUTER MAPPING, ET CETERA. HOWEVER, THE DISTRICT HAS LACKED A ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UNTIL LATE IN THE PROCESS. WE KNOW THAT PARENTAL AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES IS VITAL AND ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH, PARTICULARLY IN REDISTRICTING AND REZONING PROCESSES. WHILE I RECOGNIZE THAT THE PHASE ONE WEBINARS AND THE PHASE TWO GALLERY OF PRESENTATIONS WERE STRATEGIES OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, OUR COMMUNITY IS CLEARLY ASKING TO TAKE A LARGER ROLE IN THIS IMPORTANT DECISION. COMMUNITY DATA COLLECTION, FOCUS GROUPS, PUBLIC WORKSHOPS, COMMUNITY COMMITTEES FOR SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT ARE ALL STRATEGIES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY THAT THE BOUNDARY ANALYSIS HAS MISSED. AT THIS POINT, WHAT YOU CAN DO IS LISTEN TO

093THE COMMUNITY AND RESPOND TO ITS FEEDBACK THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS. I ASK THAT YOU CRITICALLY ANALYZE OUR COMMUNITY'S CONCERNS AND REQUESTS IN A SYSTEMATIC WAY AND ACT BOTH WITH STUDENTS' BEST INTERESTS AND THE COMMUNITIES' WISHES IN MIND. AS A FINAL NOTE, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT I KNOW MANY TEACHERS WOULD HAVE ALSO LIKED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING, BUT WERE NOT ABLE TO BECAUSE OF THE SCHEDULED TIME AND DATE. AGAIN, I ASKED THAT YOU MAKE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO LISTEN AND TO RESPOND TO COMMUNITY FEEDBACK THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS DALLAS EVANS. I LIVE IN THE LAKE HEATHER OAKS SUBDIVISION, WHICH IS CURRENTLY ZONED FOR SCHWARZKOPF AND MARTINEZ. SINCE HAVING CHILDREN, MY WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING TO FIND

094THE RIGHT EDUCATIONAL FIT FOR MY FAMILY. MY SON STRUGGLED AT A PREVIOUS SCHOOL AND WE MOVED SEVERAL TIMES SINCE OUR CHILDREN HAVE BEEN BORN. SCHOOLING HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR PRIMARY SELECTION IN CHOOSING A HOME. BEFORE MOVING TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OUR SCHOOLS HAD UNFORTUNATELY NOT BEEN A GREAT FIT FOR US OR OUR FAMILY, BUT WE CHOSE OUR CURRENT HOME SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE WE WANTED OUR CHILDREN TO ATTEND SCHWARZKOPF AND MARTINEZ. MY CHILDREN ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED AT SCHWARZKOPF. MY DAUGHTER, SHE'S IN THIRD GRADE, VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO VALENTINE'S DANCE TOMORROW EVENING. MY SON IS IN FIFTH GRADE. HE'S ON THE PATROL. SO PROUD OF THIS HE WEARS HIS SAFETY BELT EVERYWHERE. WE HAVE TO ASK HIM TO TAKE IT OFF TO GO TO BED. MY CHILDREN HAVE ABSOLUTELY THRIVED AT SCHWARZKOPF. NOT ONLY THAT, WE FOUND THAT

095OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS A TRUE COMMUNITY, A TYPE YOU RARELY FIND THESE DAYS. WE'VE BECOME CLOSE WITH OUR NEIGHBORS FROM OUR SHARED TIME AT THE BUS STOPS, FROM CALLING AND TEXTING EACH OTHER WHEN IT'S TIME FOR OUR CHILDREN TO COME HOME AND FROM MAKING SURE EACH OTHER'S CHILDREN ARE WATCHING FOR CARS WHEN CROSSING THE ROAD. I'VE NEVER BEEN PART OF SUCH A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY. THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THIS TOGETHER IS THE CHILDREN SHARED SCHOOLING. WITH RECENT DISCUSSIONS REGARDING SCHOOL REASSIGNMENTS, MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING SCHOOL CHOICE, MAGNET SCHOOLS, OTHER OPTIONS. IT'S HEARTBREAKING THAT THIS GREAT COMMUNITY MIGHT BE DISTANCED AS THE CHILDREN NO LONGER SPEND THEIR DAYS TOGETHER AND TALK EXCITEDLY ABOUT UPCOMING SCHOOL CONVENIENCE. MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN WORRYING SHE'LL LOSE FRIENDS IN CLASS AS A RELATIVELY SMALL GROUP OF STUDENTS IN OUR

096NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD BE ASSIGNED TO A NEW ELEMENTARY. MY SON, HE'S STRUGGLED SO MUCH ELSEWHERE, GRADE SCHOOL AND HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO ATTENDING MARTINEZ NEXT YEAR WITH ALL OF HIS FRIENDS. THERE'S ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ZONED FOR SCHWARZKOPF AND MARTINEZ, WHICH WOULD BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED CHANGE FOR THE FIRST THREE OPTIONS, PRIMARILY CONSISTING OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. ALLOWING OUR CHILDREN TO STAY IN THE CURRENT SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE LITTLE IMPACT ON THE CAPACITY OF THESE SCHOOLS, AND YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HELP US PRESERVE THE WONDERFUL COMMUNITY WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WE CALL HOME, WITH NEIGHBORS THAT ARE OUR FRIENDS. I NOTICED SITTING HERE TONIGHT THAT HYBRID OPTION FOUR WOULD DO JUST THIS. I HUMBLY ASK YOU TO PLEASE CONSIDER ALLOWING OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO REMAIN ZONED FOR THE SCHOOLS THAT WE MOVED HERE

097IN ORDER TO ATTEND AND SUPPORT OPTION FOUR AS PROPOSED FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M AMANDA EVANS, WIFE OF DALLAS. I LEFT HIM TO SAY ALL THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY OR ELSE I WOULD BREAK INTO TEARS. MY SON, DYLAN, HE'S IN FIFTH GRADE GOING TO MARTINEZ ELEMENTARY -- LAKE HEATHER OAKS IS A CLOSE-KNIT NEIGHBORHOOD, FULL OF DIVERSITY. IN OUR AREA WE HAVE SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES, TOWNHOMES, DUPLEXES, SECTION 8 HOUSING, AND APARTMENTS, WHICH ONLY ADD TO THE DIVERSITY OF OUR ZONED SCHOOLS WHICH WE WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN. OUR COMMUNITY IS HIGHLY ACTIVE IN OUR SCHOOLS. I BELIEVE MARTINEZ AND STEINBRENNER HIGH SCHOOLS WERE BOTH RECOGNIZED TODAY FOR THEIR PTSA. OUR CHILDREN RUN OUTSIDE AND PLAY TOGETHER, HAVE BEST FRIENDS, CAN TALK ABOUT HOMEWORK, FRIENDS, TEACHERS, AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. THE

098PROPOSED CHANGES MAY BREAK UP THAT PEER GROUP IN A PIVOTAL TIME IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP. IN ALL THREE SCENARIOS, THEY ARE MOVING OUR CHILDREN OUT OF THEIR CURRENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DUE TO ANTICIPATED GROWTH WITHIN OUR REGION. AND I QUESTION WHERE THE GROWTH IS COMING FROM, AS THERE'S NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN OUR AREA AND JUST A COUPLE OF MILES NORTH WE'RE ALREADY INTO PASCO COUNTY. I UNDERSTAND THE NEED TO EVEN OUT UTILIZATION ACROSS SCHOOLS. AS A FELLOW PREVIOUS HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER AT ST. LEON KING HIGH SCHOOL, I UNDERSTAND THAT UTILIZATION AND USING OUR BUDGET IS IMPORTANT. HOWEVER, ACROSS ALL THE PROPOSED SCENARIOS, THERE WAS NOT MUCH CHANGE TO THE UTILIZATION THAT ARE AFFECTING OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. SO I'M ASKING THAT OUR KIDS MAINTAIN THEIR FEEDER PATTERN AND MAINTAIN THAT TARGETED UTILIZATION RATE ACROSS ALL THE SCHOOLS THAT THEY

099ARE CURRENTLY IN. SCHWARZKOPF, MARTINEZ, AND GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PUBLIC COMMENT. WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE PROCLAMATION. A 01. ADOPTION OF PROCLAMATION, CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CTE MONTH, FEBRUARY 2023. MEMBER WASHINGTON WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THIS YEAR'S CTE MONTH IS CELEBRATE TODAY AND OWN TOMORROW. THAT IS PRECISELY THE VISION FOR THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY WHO ARE PART OF OUR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION COURSES. THERE ARE MORE THAN 500 CAREER-THEMED COURSES, AND 100 CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ACADEMICS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF EDUCATORS WHO DEDICATE THEIR CAREERS TO HELPING THESE STUDENTS SUCCEED IN THESE HIGH-DEMAND PATHWAYS. DURING CTE MONTH, CTE EDUCATORS, DISTRICT STAFF, STUDENTS, AND BUSINESS PARTNERS WILL BE INVOLVED IN

100VARIOUS CAREER AWARENESS ACTIVITIES. WHICH WILL HIGHLIGHT THE NUMEROUS CAREER PATHS AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION OFFERS STUDENTS OPPORTUNITIES TO EARN HIGHLY AND VALUED INDUSTRIAL CERTIFICATIONS TO DEVELOP A MULTITUDE OF SKILLS WHILE EXPERIENCING RIGOROUS CURRICULUM WITH REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS. CTE STUDENTS WHO COMPLETE A PROGRAM OF STUDY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR MANY SCHOLARSHIPS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR FOR THAT. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. I NEED A MOTION AND SECOND TO APPROVE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CTE MONTH, FEBRUARY 2023. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER GRAY. I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER VAUGHN. ANY DISCUSSION? MEMBER GRAY. Lynn Gray: JUST NOT THE DISCUSSION AS MUCH AS I JUST WANTED TO SEND MY APPRECIATION TO CHRIS JARGO, SCOTT BROOKS, YVONNE FRYE. THOSE ARE JUST BUT A FEW THAT ARE GIVING THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL

101DISTRICT AN ADDITIONAL TRACK FROM COLLEGE, EQUALIZING ANOTHER PATH, WHICH IS VOCATIONAL TECH EDUCATION. AND THEIR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS COMMUNICATING TO THE STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY NEED TO KNOW THE GREAT PROGRAMS AND THE VALUE THAT THEY GIVE AS THEY GO THROUGH EACH OF THOSE PROGRAMS. THAT WAS MY ONLY COMMENT. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER GRAY. MEMBER WASHINGTON. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO REITERATE YVONNE FRY, CHRIS JARGO AND SCOTT BROOKS FOR DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB BECAUSE I OFTEN SAY EVERYONE IS NOT ACADEMICALLY INCLINED, BUT THERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN BE A PRODUCTIVE CITIZEN IN SOCIETY BY HAVING GREAT CAREER JOBS. I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM BECAUSE IN THE YEARS PAST, WE HAVE COME UP TO A PORTION OF OUR LIVES NOW WHERE WE WANT EVERYBODY TO

102TRY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN EVERY WAY WE CAN BECAUSE I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT. I THINK CAREER TECH IS SO IMPORTANT IN MANY WAYS. YOU COULD BE SUCCESS. WE'VE GOT PLUMBERS. WE'VE GOT ELECTRICIANS. YOU NAME IT, AND THEY MAKE A LOT OF MONEY. THEY MAKE A LOT OF MONEY. I REMEMBER ONE TIME SOMEBODY TOLD ME, I DON'T KNOW HOW TRUE THIS IS, A DOCTOR, HE DECIDED NOT TO DO, NOT TO BE A DOCTOR. HE WENT TO BE AN ELECTRICIAN. HE MADE $50,000 MORE BEING AN ELECTRICIAN THAN HE WAS BEING A DOCTOR. THAT'S AMAZING. SO I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY CONTINUE YVONNE FRY, CHRIS JARGO, SCOTT BROOKS, CONTINUE WORKING HARD SO WE CAN PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR LIFE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. MEMBER VAUGHN. Jessica Vaughn: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR.

103I APPRECIATE MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS' COMMENTS, BUT IN REGARDS TO TALKING ABOUT PLUMBERS AND ELECTRICIANS AND AS WE TALK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT OUR CAREER SOURCE OR OUR CTE PROGRAMS, ONE CAREER SOURCE NEEDS TO BE NAMED ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER NAMES WE'VE MENTIONED AS WELL AS OUR TRADE UNIONS. THEY ARE A HUGE PARTNER AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT PLUMBING, ELECTRICIANS, BUILDING TRADES AND CAREERS THAT ARE GOING TO REALLY PROPEL OUR STUDENTS TO HAVE SUCCESS AND EARNING OPPORTUNITIES, WE CANNOT NOT NAME THE OFFERED APPRENTICESHIPS. AS WE THANK PEOPLE AND USE NAMES, WE ARE ALSO TALKING ABOUT CAREER SOURCE AS WELL AS OUR TRADE UNIONS. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER VAUGHN. MEMBER RENDON. Patti Rendon: I WANT TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT AS MANY STUDENTS LOOK AT THEIR FUTURE

104AND AS THEY START INTO HIGH SCHOOL AND THEY RECOGNIZE THAT MAYBE A SECONDARY POST-EDUCATION IS NOT FOR THEM, I'M VERY THANKFUL FOR THIS DISTRICT. SCOTT BROOKS AND THE CTE COMMUNITY, THE FUTURE CAREER ACADEMY, CAREER SOURCE, AND MANY OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY LEADERS THAT ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER TO GIVE EACH OF OUR STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN AN EDUCATIONAL PATH. WE ALL NEED THESE STUDENTS TO CHOOSE VARIOUS PATHS THAT ARE GOING TO MEET THEIR NEEDS SO THEY CAN BECOME PRODUCTIVE, ACTIVE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER. SO I WANT TO THANK OUR BUSINESSES, OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS. MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE SUPPORTING IT, AND OUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER RENDON. MEMBER PEREZ. Karen Perez: ALONG WITH THE SCHOOL -- WITH THE COMMUNITY LEADERS, I'M GOING TO

105ECHO WHAT BOARD MEMBER VAUGHN SAID. YOU KNOW, WITH THE UNIONS, WHEN THEY GET OUR STUDENTS INTO A CAREER PATH, WITHIN FOUR YEARS, THOSE STUDENTS ARE ALREADY CERTIFIED TO MOVE ON TO THE PATH INTO CAREERS THAT ARE PAYING SIX FIGURES ALREADY. WHEN THEY GO INTO A COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, IN FOUR YEARS, THEY ARE JUST STARTING THEIR CAREERS. OUR UNIONS WHO ARE PARTNERING WITH US IN THE DISTRICT AND HELPING MOLD OUR STUDENTS INTO AMAZING LEADERS HERE, TO STAY. THEY ARE STAYING IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, BEING SUCCESSFUL AND BEING PART OF OUR COMMUNITY. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. I JUST WANTED TO ECHO ALL THE COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS AND SAY, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE WANT STUDENTS TO HAVE SO MANY OPTIONS. I KNOW WHEN I GRADUATED FROM USF, THERE WAS AN

10681-YEAR-OLD THAT GRADUATED WITH ME. SO AT ANY AGE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT STUDENTS PREPARED FOR WHATEVER PATH THAT THEY CHOOSE. IF IT'S COLLEGE, IF IT'S TECHNICAL, OR IF IT'S VOCATIONAL, WE WANT THEM TO CHOOSE THAT, WHATEVER THEY SEE FIT. BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS I SEE OFTEN, THE SENIOR YEAR OF STUDENTS, MOST STUDENTS HAVE ALMOST FINISHED ALL THEIR CREDITS, AND WE WANT TO GIVE THEM OPTIONS. AND IT'S NOT GOING TO ALWAYS BE HCC OR DUAL ENROLLMENT OR AP CLASSES, THE CTE CERTIFICATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD IN THIS DISTRICT ARE OUTSTANDING. HUGE INCREASES ACROSS THE DISTRICT. AND SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, THANK YOU. YOU WERE RECOGNIZED AS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR FOR THE CTE FOR ALL THAT YOU DO AND SCOTT BROOKS AND CHRIS JARGO FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. WE JUST WANT TO REMEMBER THAT

107WE WANT TO GIVE CHILDREN MANY OPTIONS. AT THE END OF THE DAY, BEFORE THEY WALK OUT OF THE DOORS, THEY NEED TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF PATH, SOME TYPE OF IDEA OF WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO. BECAUSE IF NOT, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY TAKE A YEAR OR TWO OFF AND THEN THEY STRUGGLE AND THEN THEY MAYBE START A PROGRAM AND NOT FINISH IT AND THEN GET IN DEBT. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS HAVE A PATHWAY, THEY HAVE AN IDEA, AND THEY HAVE SOME CONFIDENCE AS THEY GO OUT INTO THE WORKFORCE. SO I WANT TO THANK THE DISTRICT FOR EVERYTHING THAT THEY DO. ALL THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, UNION, FUTURE CAREER ACADEMY, CAREER SOURCE. THE COMMUNITY THAT WORKS SO HARD AND ALL THE COMPANIES THAT HAVE COME IN TODAY THROUGH HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

108AND HAVE SUPPORTED OUR STUDENTS. SO THANK YOU. NOW, PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. I NEED A MOTION NOW AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER WASHINGTON AND I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER HAHN. PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WILL NOW BE HEARD. C 7.03. 7.03, APPROVE THE HIGHEST RANKED RESPONSE FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL 22194-MST-KJ, WEB AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM GIS SERVICES. SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS ITEM. Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. THIS IS A SERVICE WE DESPERATELY NEED IN ORDER TO TRACK DEVELOPMENT IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS A GEOGRAPHICAL DATA COLLECTION THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO

109IDENTIFY OF INCOMING PROJECTED INCOMING HOMES AND ALSO STUDENTS WITH ANY ANTICIPATED DEVELOPMENT. IN ADDITION, THIS ALSO HELPS US ON OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE WHERE WE HAD THAT SCHOOL LOCATOR. A PARENT CAN GO INTO OUR WEBSITE, PUT IN THEIR ADDRESS, AND IT REALLY IDENTIFIES WHAT SCHOOL THAT INDIVIDUAL WILL BE IDENTIFIED FOR WITHIN THEIR BOUNDARY. AND LASTLY, BEING ABLE TO HELP WITH THE CHOICE WINDOW. IF WE HAVE A STUDENT THAT ATTENDS A SCHOOL AND THEIR PARENTS WANT THEM TO LOOK AT CHOICE OFFERINGS WITHIN THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, THEY CAN PUT IN THEIR ADDRESS DURING THE CHOICE WINDOW AND THAT ONCE AGAIN IDENTIFIES ALL OPEN SEATS WITHIN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT SO THAT PARENT CAN IDENTIFY WHAT CHOICE INITIATIVE OR WHAT CHOICE APPLICATION THEY WILL PUT IN IN AN EFFORT TO MOVE FORWARD. THIS IS $72,000 EXPENDITURE. AND THIS IS BEING

110USED WITH LAN PROCEEDS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. I NEED A MOTION AND SECOND TO APPROVE ITEM C .03. I HAVE A MOTION BY MEMBER GRAY. I HAVE A SECOND BY MEMBER HAHN. MEMBER RENDON, YOU PULLED THIS ITEM. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Patti Rendon: YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT, FOR TAKING SOME TIME TO MEET WITH ME EARLIER ABOUT THIS. WITH MY CONCERNS AND ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO KNOW IS WHERE IS THE DATA GOING TO GO? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE DATA? AND HOW PRIVATE IS THE INFORMATION? I KNOW THAT WE EXPLAINED THAT IT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE A GOOGLE MAP CONCEPT. HOWEVER, WE ALL KNOW THAT GOOGLE CAN PRETTY MUCH SEE THE SWING SET THAT'S BUILT IN MY BACKYARD. EXACTLY WHAT ARE WE DOING

111WITH ALL THE DATA THAT WE'RE COLLECTING? Addison Davis: THIS DATA STAYS WITH OUR GROWTH MANAGEMENT TEAM. ANYTHING IT US FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE AS IT IDENTIFIES GEOFENCES AND JUST LIKE BOUNDARY INITIATIVES FOR OUR COMMUNITIES, IT JUST GIVES A BROAD SCENARIO OF MAPS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN IDENTIFY AND LOCATE SCHOOLS. IT'S NOTHING RELATED TO ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM STUDENT, ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS. IT'S JUST MORE FOR MAPPING PURPOSES LIKE A GPS THAT WE USE IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS. AND THEN REALLY HELP US IDENTIFY DEVELOPMENTS FOR CONTINUING BUILDING IN THE DISTRICT. Patti Rendon: I WANT TO CLARIFY WE TALKED ABOUT THE NEW SYNERGY SYSTEM COMING INTO OUR SCHOOLS AND HAVING ALL OF OUR DATA AND INFORMATION. SO THAT NEW SYSTEM DOES NOT HAVE A GEOGRAPHICAL ABILITY TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION BACK TO THE DISTRICT FOR

112THEM TO PREDICT AREAS OF NEW STUDENTS, TO PREDICT AND ALLOW OUR FAMILIES TO HAVE CHOICES AS AN OPTION WHEN THEY CAN PLUG THAT IN, AM I CORRECT? Addison Davis: SYNERGY DOESN'T HAVE THAT ABILITY TO DO GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS. SO ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THIS TYPE OF SERVICE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MERGE IT AND HAVE GEOREFERENCING ALL THE WAY INTO SYNERGY SO IT WILL BE SEAMLESS TO TAKE THIS INFORMATION AND PLUG AND PLAY WITH SYNERGY AS WE LAUNCH IT. Patti Rendon: THANK YOU. Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE VOTE WHEN YOUR LIGHTS APPEAR. AND IT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. IT'S ABOUT TEN MINUTES PRIOR TO EMPLOYEE INPUT, SO, SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, IF YOU'LL HAVE YOUR COMMENTS AND THEN WE'LL DO EMPLOYEE INPUT AFTER THAT. Addison Davis: YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH THIS EVENING.

113WILL PROVIDE DISTRICT UPDATE, CELEBRATIONS, IDENTIFY SOME CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS THAT WERE APPROVED, ALSO GIVE A BOUNDARY UPDATE AND HIGHLIGHT SOME SUSPENDED AGENDA. THE STRATEGIC PLAN, ALL THE GOALS ONE THROUGH FOUR, TALK ABOUT CELEBRATIONS WITHIN OUR DISTRICT. THANK YOU TO MR. HEARNS FOR COMING THIS EVENING AND ACKNOWLEDGING BLACK HISTORY MONTH FOR 2023. THE THEME IS CELEBRATING HISTORY MAKERS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. A NUMBER OF HASHTAGS OUT THERE FOR ANY WHO WANT TO SHARE ANY OF YOUR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, ANY OF YOUR CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND ALSO WE WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THIS ENTIRE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT WE HAVE ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE AT EVERY ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY AS WE HAVE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE ONGOING RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS TO CONTINUE TO BE EXPOSED TO SOME OF THE TRAILBLAZERS FROM THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH OF 2023. TEACHERS

114WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE myON TO IDENTIFY TEXT THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO ENRICH THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BLACK HISTORY. WE HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT SCHOOL-BASED ACTIVITIES AND SPOTLIGHTS GOING ON, IDENTIFICATION OF LEADER OF THE DAY AND A LOT OF ONLINE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCES FOR US TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND THIS INITIATIVE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE POWER HOUR, SPOTLIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF SOME OF THE GREAT LEADERS, AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS THROUGHOUT THIS NATION AND ALSO BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT A NUMBER OF READ-INS. INDIVIDUALS WHO ASPIRE TO GO IN AND PUSH INTO OUR CLASSROOMS TO CONDUCT READINGS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SCHOOL. WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE PARTNER WITH NOT ONLY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY EDUCATION CONTESTS, BUT ALSO WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CONTESTS TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE STUDENTS

115FROM A LOCAL, STATE, INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. AND THEN SO MANY FAMILY RESOURCES CONTINUE TO BE EXTENDED TO SCHOOLS TO HELP THEM, ESPECIALLY THROUGH OUR FACE INITIATIVE. FACE CONTINUES TO BE THAT ADVOCATE AND ALSO BEING ABLE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE HAVE BLACK HISTORY CENTRAL AVENUE WALKING TOURS TO HELP OUR STUDENTS AND GET INVOLVED IN ADDITION TO ARTWORK WHICH CONTINUOUSLY WILL BE DISPLAYED IN OUR ROSSAC LOBBY. SO PLEASE STOP BY AND SEE SOME OF THE GREAT WORK THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE COMPETING IN AND DEMONSTRATING THEIR PASSIONS ALONG THE WAY. ALSO RECOGNIZE SOME HIGHLIGHTS. WE HAVE MAGNET SCHOOLS THAT HAVE NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS. THIS IS THE NATIONAL MERIT AWARDS RESULTS. THIS IS FOR MAGNET SCHOOLS OF AMERICA. THEY LOOK AT EVERY MAGNET SCHOOL THAT APPLIES. THEY LOOK -- THERE'S 4300 MAGNET SCHOOLS IN THE NATION THAT COMPETE FOR THIS.

116AND THEY LOOK AT ACADEMICS, DEVELOPMENT, SEGREGATION EFFORTS, PARENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. AND THEN ALSO WHAT KIND OF INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE APPLY WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. THE RESULTS HAVE COME BACK AND WE HAVE 17 NATIONAL MERIT AWARDS THIS YEAR, WHICH IS THE CELEBRATION TO OUR DISTRICT. AND WE ALSO HAVE THE TOP THREE IN FLORIDA IN TOTAL AWARDS OF EARNING. WE'RE IN THE TOP THREE. WE'LL TRY TO BE NUMBER ONE. WE'LL NEVER STOP. THEN ALSO IDENTIFIED IN HAVING THE NUMBER SIX IN THE NATION RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THIS REALLY SCHOOL INITIATIVE WITH THE NATIONAL MERIT AWARD. THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, A NUMBER OF MIDDLE SCHOOLS, A NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL MAGNETS. WE THANK THEM FOR THEIR

117DEDICATION, THEIR COMMITMENT, AND NOT ONLY JUST OFFERING THESE MAGNETS IN NAME BUT OPENLY IMPLEMENTING AND CREATING THE BEST EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND ALLOWING OUR CHILDREN TO HAVE INNOVATIVE SPACE WAYS SO THEY CAN REALLY FOLLOW THEIR PASSIONS EVERY DAY WITHIN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN. WE APPRECIATE MR. COX AND HIS EFFORTS AND THEN ALL OF OUR PRINCIPALS AND SUPPORT STAFF TO MAKE THIS A REALITY. IN ADDITION, WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TO THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS LED THE STATE IN BONUS FUNDING FOR INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION. WE ALSO LED THE STATE WITH NUMBER OF CTE CLASSES NOT ONLY STUDENTS ENGAGED IN, BUT PASSING THE CTE CERTIFICATION. WE EARNED OVER 1500 INDUSTRY CERTIFICATION FTE, BRINGING $7.2 MILLION TO THIS DISTRICT THAT GOES TO OUR SCHOOLS AND TO OUR

118TEACHERS AND TO OUR PROGRAMS. ONCE AGAIN, WE'LL CONTINUE TO SHOW AN EXPANSION OF CTE COURSES NOT ONLY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, BUT EVERYTHING WE CAN DO TO DO IT AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL AS WELL. THIS IS JUST A LITTLE TRAJECTORY OF A MAP SHOWING ALL THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE INCREASED, AND THIS IS MONEY BRINGING TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, BRINGING TO OUR SCHOOLS AND HATS OFF TO OUR STAFF WITH CTE. SCOTT BROOKS, CHRIS JARGO, FOR LEADING THIS WAY AND CONTINUING TO TAKE ON MY CHALLENGE WHEN I GOT HERE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND PATHWAYS FOR CHILDREN AND ALLOW THEM TO HAVE CREDENTIALS THAT SEPARATES THEM FROM OTHERS AS THEY COMPETE NOT ONLY LOCALLY BUT THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND THROUGHOUT THE NATION. THANK YOU TO THE BOARD FOR ALLOWING OUR STUDENTS WHO

119CONTINUE TO TAKE SOME REALLY COOL INITIATIVES. STUDENTS FROM STEINBRENNER GOING TO THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. PLANT HIGH SCHOOL IS BEING ABLE TO GO TO INDIANA FOR THE ORCHESTRA AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE GAITHER BEING ABLE TO COMPETE IN ROTC FIELD TRIPS AND THEN WHARTON BEING ABLE TO TRANSITION TO GO TO REGIONALS TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE AS WELL. AND THEN ALSO THIS EVENING, FROM GOAL FOUR, WHICH IS ABOUT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND OPERATIONS, WE WANT TO REMIND OUR COMMUNITY THAT TONIGHT WE JUST RELEASED SCENARIO FOUR AND PLEASE KNOW THE COMMUNITY THIS IS MY RECOMMENDATION. WE'LL HAVE A WORKSHOP ON MONDAY, NEXT MONDAY THE 13th. WE'LL REALLY GET SOME TRUE INTERACTION FROM THE SCHOOL BOARD AND BEING ABLE TO COME TO A RECOMMENDATION THROUGH THAT FEEDBACK PROCESS THAT WILL BE SOUND FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND IMPACT US

120IN A POSITIVE WAY. WE'LL HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS FROM FEBRUARY 20 THROUGH 23rd AND START OUR FIRST READING ON FEBRUARY 28 AND MARCH 9 AS IT SITS TODAY. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO GET FEEDBACK, GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND INTERACT WITH THAT PLAN AS WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR THIS ORGANIZATION. AND THEN FOR SUSPENDED AGENDA, FUTURE CAREER ACADEMIES CONTINUE TO MAKE STRIDES. ONE OF THE THINGS THE BOARD ASKED, HAVE ANALYTICAL DATA AND PRE-ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS GOING IN BEFORE THEY GO TO FIELD TRIP EXPERIENCES, AND WE SEE, GOING INTO STUDENTS, BEFORE THEY WENT INTO ANY FIELD EXPERIENCES, DID THEY UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME REALLY COOL JOBS AND SOPHISTICATED JOBS IN THE COMMUNITY. YOU SEE THAT 54% PRIOR TO ENGAGE IN FCE TO 82%, MEANING STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT OUR COMMUNITY

121HAS TO OFFER. ALSO BEING ABLE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OF WHERE THEY STAND RELATED TO IDENTIFYING THERE REALLY ARE SOME REALLY GOOD COMPANIES THAT THEY CAN TRANSITION INTO THE WORKFORCE, BUT NOT ONLY PAY WELL, BUT HAVE GREAT BENEFITS AND A GREAT CULTURE AND ALLOWS THEM TO SENSATIONALIZE AND ACT UPON THEIR CURRENT PASSIONS AND CURRENT SKILLS WITHIN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. YOU SEE THAT THROUGH THESE TWO ANALYTICS. IN ADDITION, WE ALSO SEE, YOU KNOW, STUDENTS, THEY REALLY KNOW WHAT KIND OF JOB THEY ARE INVOLVED IN OR INTERESTED IN. AND THAT'S FIELD EXPERIENCE. WE SEE THAT PERCENTAGE TREMENDOUSLY GO UP BY 13%, AND THAT NUMBER WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE EXPOSURES WITH OTHER CORPORATIONS AND COUNTRIES. WE THANK FCE FOR CREATING THAT SPACE AND THEN ALSO BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND

122THAT THERE ARE JOBS AVAILABLE WITHIN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. AND WE SEE THAT ALMOST DOUBLED WITH OUR STUDENTS BEING ABLE TO HAVE THAT PARTICULAR EXPOSURE. THE BIGGEST THING WE SEE OUR KIDS ARE TAKING TOURS AT AJAX TO LOOK AT CONSTRUCTION, BUILDING DESIGN. WE SEE THAT TAKING PLACE. ALSO, THEY ARE GOING TO STINGRAY CHEVROLET, WHICH IS A BIG PROVIDER AND PARTNER WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, TO RECOGNIZE IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT SALES, BUT ALSO BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, WITHIN THIS CORPORATION WITH FINANCING AND ALL OF THAT TO BE ABLE TO EXPOSE. WE THANK MR. HURLEY AND HIS TEAM FOR OFFERING THAT SPACE AND THEN ALSO BEING ABLE TO LOOK OUTSIDE OF PEPINS, WHICH IS A COMPANY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS INCREASING CUSTOMER EXPECTATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. SO LOOKING AT THESE TYPE OF EXPERIENCES, OUR STUDENTS ARE LEARNING ABOUT WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES

123ARE, AND WE THANK THE BOARD FOR CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN THIS RELATIONSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE. AND THEN ALSO ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE WISH FARMS, WHICH IS A MULTIGENERATIONAL YEAR-ROUND SUPPLIER OF STRAWBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, RASPBERRIES AND LOOK AT FOUNDATIONAL COUPLES OF HOW TO NOT ONLY START IN THIS COMPANY BUT HOW TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR. SO THESE TOURS AND SESSIONS AND EXPOSURE IS JUST STRENGTHENING OUR STUDENTS TO ALLOW THEM TO BE ABLE TO BE PREPARED AS THEY TRANSITION TO THE WORKFORCE. LASTLY, BEING ABLE TO CONNECT WITH PLANT CITY MAYOR KILTEN, BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE IN PLANT CITY FOR STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO TRANSITION TO THE WORKFORCE. SO WE APPRECIATE THIS PARTNERSHIP. WE LOOK FORWARD TO STRENGTHENING IT. THAT'S IT FOR THIS EVENING. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU SO MUCH,

124SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS. IT WAS LIKE PERFECT TIMING. RIGHT AT 6. WE WILL NOW MOVE TO EMPLOYEE INPUT. I THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE EMPLOYEE HERE TODAY. BUT WE WILL NOW TAKE EMPLOYEE INPUT EVEN THOUGH WE HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT FOR EMPLOYEES OF OUR DISTRICT TO ATTEND MEETINGS AT 4:00. THERE ARE MANY WAYS FOR EMPLOYEES TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD, INCLUDING THROUGH UNION REPRESENTATIVES, E-MAILS, PHONE CALLS, ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS, AND PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING. THE BOARD WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. WITH THIS SECTION OF OUR AGENDA, WE'RE CREATING ANOTHER AVENUE FOR EMPLOYEES TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD. WE'RE SETTING ASIDE 30 MINUTES FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DISTRICT TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD ABOUT ANY ISSUES THAT ARE ON YOUR MIND. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO

125BE A DISCUSSION ABOUT SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA BUT RATHER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SPEAK TO THE BOARD ABOUT ANY ISSUES RELATED TO YOUR JOB OR THE DISTRICT. EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES. HI. I'M FROM GAITHER HIGH SCHOOL. THE LAST TIME THAT I WAS HERE, I SPOKE ABOUT HOW MORE REQUIREMENTS WITH CANVAS AND MY STUDENT LOAD AND EVERYTHING REALLY AFFECTS ME AND AFFECTS MY TEACHING AND AFFECTS JUST IN GENERAL. BUT TODAY, I WANTED TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT HOW WE AS TEACHERS RIGHT NOW ARE REALLY BEING NOT GRACEFULLY SAID, KIND OF FIVE-MINUTED TO DEATH. WE ARE GIVEN THINGS, OH, IT WILL ONLY TAKE YOU FIVE MINUTES, SO WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING IN BUT IT'S FIVE MINUTES HERE, FIVE MINUTES THERE. I'LL JUST REMIND YOU THAT I ONLY HAVE 48 MINUTES OF A

126CONFERENCE PERIOD TO DO ANY PLANNING I HAVE FOR ALL OF MY CLASSES, INCLUDING GRADING. SO I HAVE THAT GOING ON. ONE JUST SIMPLE THING TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE IS THE IDEA TO TAKE PRINTERS OUT OF THE CLASSROOMS AND PUT THEM IN A CENTRALIZED LOCATION. SOUNDS PRETTY REASONABLE, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT MY NEAREST PRINTER IS ABOUT A TWO MINUTE WALK FOR ME. TWO MINUTES THERE, MAKE WHATEVER COPIES OR PRINTING I NEED TO DO AND THEN TWO-MINUTE WALK BACK TO MY CLASSROOM. THAT IS AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES OF TIME THAT I WON'T GET BACK. BECAUSE OF THAT, I HAVE TO FIND ALTERNATE TIMES, WHICH MEANS I'M STAYING LATER AFTER SCHOOL AND I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW ELSE TO DO THAT, WHICH LEADS ME TO TIME THAT I'VE NOT SPENT WITH MY FAMILY,

127WHICH LEADS ME TO MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. RECENTLY, I TOLD MY HUSBAND NOT TO LET MY GIRLS WATCH THIS BECAUSE I RECENTLY WAS SUICIDAL. I DIDN'T HAVE, THERE WAS NO REASON FOR ME TO BE HERE. THE STUDENTS HATE ME. PARENTS HATE ME. MY FAMILY WOULD DO BETTER WITHOUT ME. I WAS WORTHLESS. THAT'S HOW I AM. OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S NOT TRUE. I'M IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE, IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING. I DID GET PAST THAT. IT'S SOMETHING I DEAL WITH. AND THERE ARE MANY TEACHERS THAT DEAL WITH THIS. WE DEAL WITH DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AND EVERYTHING IS REASONABLY LOOKED AT AT THE KIDS AND MAKING SURE THAT THEIR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL HEALTH IS RIGHT THERE, BUT WE'RE NOT LOOKED AT. THE EDUCATORS, NOT JUST TEACHERS, THE OTHER PEOPLE ARE THERE. AND WE'RE NOT LOOKED AT. WE ARE LOOKED AT

128AS MAKE SURE THAT THE KIDS ARE SAFE, BUT WE'RE NOT LOOKED AT AS WE NEED TO BE SAFE. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE FIX THAT, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS LOOKED AT HOW TO HELP THEIR EMPLOYEES. I DON'T FEEL THAT YOU HAVE LOOKED AT HOW YOU HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING. I KNOW THE BOARD VERY, VERY, HEARS YOU. WE HEAR YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE WILL MOVE NOW TO OUR FINAL PART OF THE MEETING, WHICH IS BOARD COMMENTS. MEMBER WASHINGTON, YOU'LL BEGIN. Henry "Shake" Washington: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I WANT TO SAY HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH. THIS IS TRULY GOOD. EXCELLENT. FIRST OF ALL, I STARTED OFF YESTERDAY MORNING AT JAMES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHERE I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO

129SECOND GRADERS. AND MY TOPIC, I READ MICHAEL JORDAN, BECAUSE EVERYBODY KNOW I'M A COACH ALL THE WAY. SO I STARTED WITH MICHAEL JORDAN. THE REASON I STARTED WITH MICHAEL JORDAN, BECAUSE I WANTED STUDENTS TO REALIZE, YOU CAN BECOME GREAT EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE CUT FROM A TEAM. MICHAEL JORDAN WAS CUT FROM A BASKETBALL TEAM IN THE TENTH GRADE. HE WORKED HARD THAT SUMMER. HE WENT TO HIS PARENTS. HIS MOTHER SAID ONLY WAY YOU'LL GET BETTER IS BY WORKING HARD. HE WORKED VERY HARD AND CAME BACK AND WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST PLAYERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME. HE WAS THE GREAT PLAYER IN HIGH SCHOOL. A GREAT PLAYER IN COLLEGE, AND EVEN GREATER IN THE NBA. I JUST WANTED KIDS TO UNDERSTAND, JUST BECAUSE YOU FAIL DOESN'T MEAN IT'S OVER. THERE'S ALWAYS A TRACK

130FOR YOU TO BOUNCE BACK. AND THEY WERE REALLY ELATED. PLUS YOU KNOW I GAVE HIM SOME MONEY FOR ICE CREAM PARTY. SO THEY ALWAYS BREAK MY HEART THEM LITTLE KIDS. I DO THAT ALL THE TIME. ALSO, TOMORROW, I MEAN, SATURDAY, WE HAVE THE BLACK HISTORY BRAIN BOWL, WHICH WILL BE AT MIDDLETON HIGH SCHOOL FROM 9 TO 2. 9 TO 3. SORRY. 9 TO 3. COME OUT. YOU'LL BE SURPRISED AND LOOK AT THE KIDS WHEN THEY DO A GREAT JOB. THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AT THE BRAIN BOWL. THEY ARE REALLY GOOD. ALSO, YOU KNOW WHO REALLY DOESN'T GET A LOT OF CREDIT, AND I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS ALLISON EDGECOMB BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN WORKING WITH THURGOOD MARSHALL HISTORY CLUB FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND SHE DOES A GREAT JOB. BUT WE TALK ABOUT HIGH

131SCHOOL. WE NEVER TALK ABOUT, ALICE, I JUST WANT TO GIVE HER A SHOUT-OUT. ALSO, KRISTIN DAVIS A SHOUT-OUT. KRISTIN, YOU KNOW YOU'RE ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKERS. AND YOU REALLY DO A GREAT JOB. WHEN WE WERE IN TALLAHASSEE, I JUST ENJOYED. IT WAS GREAT. IT WAS VERY ORGANIZED. ONE OF THE BEST I'VE SEEN. BEEN AROUND IN THE LAST THREE YEARS. SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU KUDOS. YOU DID A GREAT JOB WITH THAT. I'M GOING TO CLOSE OUT, I'M NOT GOING TO BE VERY LONG HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO -- I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING HERE BECAUSE IT IS BLACK HISTORY. AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE -- ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE OR PERSON IS HARRIET TUBMAN. I LOVE TEARIETTE TUBMAN. BECAUSE YOU KNOW SHE'S THE -- I LOVE HARRIET TUBMAN. SHE IS THE

132LADY WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE THE TRAIN TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT OF SLAVERY. I REMEMBER THE WORDS. SHE SAID, IF YOU HEAR THE DOGS, KEEP GOING. SHE SAID, IF YOU SEE THE TORCHES IN THE WOODS, KEEP GOING. SHE SAID, IF THEY ARE SHINING AFTER YOU, KEEP GOING. KEEP GOING. NEVER STOP, SHE SAID. NEVER STOP. KEEP GOING. IF YOU WANT THE TASTE OF FREEDOM, YOU KEEP GOING. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THAT'S IT. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON. MEMBER GRAY. Lynn Gray: THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU, MEMBER WASHINGTON AND, INDEED, WE HAVE A LOT TO BE LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH BLACK HISTORY MONTH. BIG KUDOS TO SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS AND TO TERRY CONNOR, THE CURRICULUM STAFF, MONICA VERRA-TIRADO. SO MANY OF YOU PUT FORTH ECLECTIC PROGRAMS, EVERYTHING FROM THE WALKING TOURS TO THE AFRICAN

133AMERICAN READING SESSIONS. BUT IT REALLY SHOWS THE MOMENTUM IS REAL FROM OUR DISTRICT TO THE COMMUNITIES. AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WHATEVER DIVERSITY GROUP THAT WE HAVE, DIVERSE GROUP, THEIR CULTURE AND THEIR SENSE OF WHO THEY ARE IS NOT ONLY LEARNED BUT ALSO CHAMPIONED. AND THEY NEED THE EDUCATION SO MUCH. THANK YOU, SHAKE, FOR THAT ATHLETIC ANALOGY, TOO. SO MANY GREAT ROLE MODELS. I ALSO WANTED TO SAY, JUMPING AROUND, WE HAD A TEACHER OF THE YEAR, I'M GOING TO SAY A FEW TEACHERS OF THE YEAR, BUT THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BLACK SCHOOL EDUCATORS HAD A TEACHER OF THE YEAR. HER NAME IS NICOLE ALICIA GOLDEN. BUT SOMETIMES WE DON'T RECOGNIZE OUR BLACK AMERICAN BIG SUCCESS STORIES, AND THAT CAME TO MY DESK NOT LONG AGO. REAL QUICK, NO, NOT REAL QUICK. WE TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY

134SCHOOLS AND I RECKON THAT MOST OF US HAVE VISITED A SCHOOL OR TWO. WHAT COMES TO MIND FIRST WHEN YOU SEE A COMMUNITY SCHOOL, I MEAN, THE KIDS ARE HAPPY. THEY ARE EMBRACED, BUT MANY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS ARE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU'VE GOT THE KIWANIS CLUB. YOU'VE GOT THE MOSAIC, YOU'VE GOT FEEDING DRIVEWAY. YMCA, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. ALL THESE FOLKS ARE COMING IN AND MAKING SURE THE CHILDREN ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OF FINANCIALLY, SOCIAL EMOTIONALLY. FOOD SECURITY, ALL THESE ELEMENTS AND KATHERINE GILMORE, I KNOW MOST OF US KNOW HER, BUT SHE NEEDS TO BE REALLY RECOGNIZED. I WENT TO GIBSONTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL, WHICH IS RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD. MEMBER RENDON, THAT'S NOT FAR FROM WHERE WE LIVE, RIGHT DOWN BOYETTE. I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT UNTIL I TOOK THE

135SHORTCUT. PRINCIPAL MS. CINDY GUY, SHE'S GOING TO BE LEAVING, BUT SHE DOES A WONDERFUL JOB AS HER AP DOES AS WELL. BUT WE'RE ALWAYS REMINDED TO EMBRACE THOSE PARTNERS, TOO. I DIDN'T WRITE THEM ALL DOWN, AND THE CHILDREN'S BOARD. THE EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR, MOST LIKELY PEOPLE ON THIS DAIS WILL RECOGNIZE THEM, BUT WE DID WANT TO SAY TO NICOLETTE BARONS FROM OAK PARK, FIFTH GRADE TEACHER WAS THE TEACHER OF THE YEAR. CHINOVA, INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT OF THE YEAR FROM MEMORIAL MIDDLE ESE. ANYWAY, I KNOW THAT THE PRINCIPAL THERE, GOSH, JUST FLEW OFF MY RADAR, BUT SHE WAS ALL EXCITED. SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS, WHAT IS THE PRINCIPAL'S NAME AT MEMORIAL AGAIN? YEAH, DON'T TELL HER I FORGOT HER NAME. I'LL REALLY GET IN TROUBLE. ANYWAY, AND, OF COURSE, AT PLANT, MOHAMED KANTOR, THE JROTC INSTRUCTOR, RECEIVED THE

136IDA S. BAKER AWARD, MOHAMED KANTOR. MEMBER HAHN, I HOPE I'M PRONOUNCING THAT RIGHT. DID YOU GET THAT NAME FIGURED OUT? WHAT A WONDERFUL ROLE MODEL. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, TOO, THAT THIS BOARD NEVER MISSES IS THAT WE HAVE -- THOSE ARE THE STELLAR RECOGNIZED TEACHERS, BUT ALL THE TEACHERS DESERVE TO BE CONGRATULATED AND RECOGNIZED. AND I WISH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BIG DISTRICT. BUT AT ANY RATE, THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. GOSH, I USED UP ALL MY TIME. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER GRAY. MEMBER RENDON. Patti Rendon: THANK YOU. MEMBER GRAY AND I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF ATTENDING THE BATTLE OF THE BELTS. WE HAD 19 HIGH SCHOOLS PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE OF THE BELTS AND BUCKLE UP. WE WANT TO THANK OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF FOR PARTNERING WITH GEICO AND OUR

137SCHOOLS FOR PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO OUR STUDENTS AND OUR YOUNG DRIVERS' SAFETY. IF WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ROLL THE WINNING PSA FROM BLOOMINGDALE HIGH SCHOOL. ♪ I CAN DRIVE IT WHILE WITH IT AND RIDE IT ♪ ♪ FOLLOW ALL THE TIPS TO BUCKLE UP AND SURVIVE ♪ ♪ I WILL WRECK IT AND CRASH IT, DRIVE IT AND FLY IT AND EVERY TIME I'M IN THE CALL, ALWAYS THE SPEED LIMIT ♪ ♪ SAFETY, ♪ ♪ SAFETY R. ♪ ONE THING ABOUT ME IS I ALWAYS SAFE DRIVE. UNBUCKLED TEENS ARE LEAST LIKELY TO SURVIVE ♪ ♪ I USE MY BLINKERS, LEFT AND RIGHT AND KEEP THE STOP SIGN IN MIND ♪ ♪ THEY THINK IT'S TRENDY SO RISKY BUT NOT WORTH THE TRY. ♪ ♪ EVERY TIME YOU BUCKLE UP, HIGH FIVE, BUSY HIGHWAYS, BECAUSE IT'S WHAT

138KEPT IN MIND ♪ ♪ I HAVE A SAFETY R ♪ FIVE PEOPLE IN CAR ACCIDENTS COULD SURVIVE IF THEY WERE WEARING SEAT BELTS. NATIONAL AVERAGE PER SEAT BELT USAGE IS AT 90.7%. Patti Rendon: IT'S A GREAT ORGANIZATION THAT'S WORKING DIRECTLY WITH OUR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOLS KEEPING OUR KIDS SAFE. ALTHOUGH BLOOMINGDALE HIGH SCHOOL WON THE PSA OF THE YEAR, NEWSOME HIGH SCHOOL HAD THE HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE REGARDING THEIR BUCKLE UP CAMPAIGN. AND SO I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE NEWSOME HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL. AND ALL THE OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS THAT PARTICIPATED. I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS LAST WEEKEND WAS THE FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL'S CHEER STATE COMPETITION. OUR OWN STRAWBERRY CREST WON THE STATE FOR THE NINTH YEAR IN A ROW. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO STRAWBERRY CREST HIGH SCHOOL. SEVERAL OF OUR OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS DID VERY WELL,

139BUT STRAWBERRY CREST DEFINITELY HAS A LEADER AMONGST. THANK YOU ALL. I DO WANT TO TAKE AN EXTRA OPPORTUNITY. I KNOW THAT WE'RE KIND OF GOING INTO THE HOME STRETCH THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS. OUR TEACHERS ARE JUST WORKING OVERTIME. THEY ARE DOING A PHENOMENAL JOB AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE OF US WHO SIT UP HERE RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY SINGLE DAY, THAT THEY ARE THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR SCHOOLS. BOTH THE TEACHERS AND THE ADMINISTRATION. SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER RENDON. MEMBER VAUGHN. Jessica Vaughn: THANK YOU. FIRST, I WANT TO THANK KRISTIN DAVIS FOR ARRANGING OUR TRIP TO TALLAHASSEE. WE HAD REALLY GREAT MEETING WITH LEGISLATORS WHO WERE REALLY ENGAGED. I HAD THE HONOR OF MEETING LEGISLATORS WITH MEMBER

140PEREZ, WHO WAS A VERY STRONG ADVOCATE TO TALKING ABOUT OUR TEACHERS' MENTAL HEALTH AND ASKING OUR LEGISLATORS TO SECURE FUNDING FOR OUR TEACHERS WITH ALL THE MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING THAT WE GET. SO MUCH OF IT IS ALLOCATED TO OUR STUDENTS, WHICH WE GREATLY APPRECIATE, BUT SHE WAS A GREAT ADVOCATE AFTER WE HAD A YOUNG TEACHER HERE TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCLUDING OUR EMPLOYEES IN THAT. SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS TIMELY SINCE WE JUST HAD AN EMPLOYEE SPEAK ABOUT THAT. THEY WERE REALLY GREAT MEETINGS. AGAIN, THANK YOU, KRISTIN. YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO STAY ENGAGED WITH LEGISLATION. THAT'S WHY WE CRAFT A PLATFORM AND WHY WE GO UP AND SPEAK TO OUR LEGISLATORS. WE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE HERE TODAY TALK ABOUT HB 1

141AND THE EFFECTS OF THAT. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND EVERYONE HERE WHO CAME TO SPEAK PASSIONATELY ABOUT BOUNDARIES AND SCHOOLS AND ENGAGED IN THEIR STUDENTS' WELL-BEING UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT OUR DISTRICT AND ALL OF THE LEGISLATION. IT'S THICK LEGISLATION AND SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO PAY ATTENTION, BUT I URGE ALL OF THE FAMILIES AND OUR CITIZENS WHO CARE GREATLY ABOUT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DEFINITELY PAY ATTENTION TO LEGISLATION, ESPECIALLY THAT ONE. HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH. IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE CELEBRATIONS. I ACTUALLY HAD SOMEONE TODAY, ALLEY WILBUR AT TURNER BARTLE, SHE'S BEEN A GREAT ADVOCATE AT THAT SCHOOL, TELL ME ABOUT THEIR PTSA DELIVERED BUCKETS FOR EACH STUDENT TO BRING HOME BOOKS, 90 DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS CONTAINING ALL STORIES WITH BLACK PROTAGONISTS AND ABOUT BLACK

142HISTORY AND CRAYONS THAT INCLUDED ALL DIFFERENT SKIN COLORS. SO IT WAS REALLY NICE TO SEE THAT AND FOR HER TO REACH OUT AND THEIR THAT WITH ME. I'VE SEEN MY SCHOOLS DOING GREAT AND AMAZING THINGS. I HAVE HAD SOME TEACHERS HONESTLY REACH OUT, THOUGH, WITH SOME CONCERNS ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN SHARE AND WHAT THEY CAN'T SHARE. THERE IS A FEAR RIGHT NOW OF SHARING BLACK HISTORY AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT AND SHARE OUR BLACK HISTORY. I TOOK SOME LETTERS TO OUR LEGISLATORS FROM OUR STUDENTS HERE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. I HAD 48 DIFFERENT STUDENTS SIGN ON DIFFERENT LETTERS ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES AND I SHARED THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS I DIDN'T SHARE THAT I THINK WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, THERE WERE SEVERAL LETTERS FROM STUDENTS TALKING

143ABOUT BLACK HISTORY AND HOW IMPORTANT SEEING THEMSELVES IN THE STORIES AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE THEY CAME FROM HAS HAD SUCH AN IMPACT AND REALLY AFRAID WITH WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN WITH AP HISTORY AND TALK OF CRT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR GENERATIONS COMING THROUGH. NOT ONLY IS THAT A CONCERN FOR OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF, IT'S OUR STUDENTS WHO WANT TO PRIORITIZE THAT AND HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME, TOO. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AS WE TALK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY TO TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH, WHAT AN IMPACT IT HAS ON OUR STUDENTS AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS. ONE OF MY FAVORITE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY, WHO I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT IS LANGSTON HUGHES AND THE WHOLE HARLEM RENAISSANCE. THERE IS A QUOTE THAT I OFTEN QUOTE, WHICH SAYS, I SWEAR TO THE LORD

144I STILL CAN'T SEE WHY DEMOCRACY MEANS EVERYBODY BUT ME. AND IT'S A REMINDER AS WE TALK ABOUT DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM AND WHEN WE SAY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, THAT IT'S TO ALL, TO EVERYONE, AND EVERYBODY'S HISTORY IS JUST AS VALUABLE AND IS IMPORTANT. SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY WHO IS CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY. I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE OUR DISTRICT EMBRACE IT AND EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS. THE ONLY OTHER THING I REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SINCE WE HAD SO MUCH CONVERSATION ABOUT BOUNDARIES TONIGHT IS I KNOW THE SUPERINTENDENT WHEN HE SENT OUT THE WORKSHOP INFORMATION ALSO SENT OUT STATISTICS THAT SHOW THE FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH AS WELL AS THE RACIAL STATISTICS, AND I'M JUST HOPING EVERY BOARD MEMBER IS LOOKING AT THAT, AND SEEING THE ADJUSTMENTS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, SO WHEN

145WE TALK ABOUT EQUITY AND DIVERSITY, WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT OUR PROPOSED BOUNDARY CHANGES LOOK LIKE FOR EACH SCHOOL. THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THAT. THAT WAS A REALLY EYE-OPENING DOCUMENT. I HOPE EVERYBODY IS REALLY LOOKING AT THAT. I HATE TO CLOSE ON KIND OF A NEGATIVE NOTE. BUT I DO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF A LOT OF OUR SPEAKERS ABOUT OUR CONSULTING COMPANY THAT WE HIRED AND THE DATA THAT THEY HAVE PROVIDED US WITH. IT HAS BEEN I THINK SINCE ONE COMMUNITY MEETING THAT THEY HAVE REFUSED TO ENGAGE WITH ME AND HAVEN'T TALKED TO ME, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I ASKED OR TRIED TO ASK FOR DATA AND I'M EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED ABOUT THAT. I REALLY WANT US TO ALL REFLECT OBJECTED. WHEN WE ARE USING THIS DATA, HOW CLEAR WAS IT, WHERE

146DID THEY DRAW IT? I FEEL REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT I CAN'T GET ANSWERS ON THAT AND IT MAKES ME SUSPICIOUS OF THE DATA THAT THEY DREW. I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY IS GETTING MORE ANSWERS THAN I AM. BUT THAT'S IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER VAUGHN. MEMBER PEREZ. Karen Perez: YEAH, THIS HAS BEEN AN AMAZING FEW WEEKS HERE. FIRST, KRISTIN DID AN AMAZING JOB WITH GETTING US AROUND AND THROUGH TALLAHASSEE. SHE LEFT ME AND MEMBER VAUGHN TO OUR OWN DEVICES FOR A WHILE. AND WE WERE RUNNING THROUGH THAT, THROUGH THE CAPITOL AND REALLY ENJOYED IT. BUT I DID. I WAS ADVOCATING WITH WHATEVER SENATOR I WAS ABLE TO GET ANY TIME WITH REGARDING FUNDING. IN TALLAHASSEE, WE'RE TALKING IN APPROPRIATIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH DOLLARS. AND I THANKED WHOEVER WE WERE IN FRONT OF

147REGARDING THE MONEY THAT'S COMING TOWARDS FOR OUR STUDENTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH. BUT I ALSO SPOKE ABOUT OUR STAFF AND OUR ADMINISTRATION. I TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT OUR -- THE MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR TEACHERS IS AT A CRISIS LEVEL. IF WE DON'T HAVE TEACHERS IN FRONT OF OUR STUDENTS, THEN WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. AND IT'S IMPERATIVE FOR US TO START ADDRESSING THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF NOT JUST OUR TEACHERS, BUT THE STAFF AS WELL. WHEN I FIRST CAME, WHEN I FIRST WAS ELECTED IN 2018, WE HAD AN INCIDENT WHERE ONE OF THE SECURITY GUARDS TOOK OUT THEIR FAMILY AND TOOK THEIR OWN LIFE. AND SINCE 2018 -- WELL, THIS DISTRICT, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE BEEN VERY SILENT ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLSNESS OF OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF. AND IT REALLY NEEDS

148TO START COMING TO THE SURFACE. THIS CONVERSATION NEEDS TO BE HAD. AND SO I TOOK IT UPON MYSELF TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WHILE WE WERE IN TALLAHASSEE. I HOPE THAT PEOPLE START LISTENING. I HOPE THAT LAWMAKERS START MAKING A MOVEMENT FORWARD TO HELP PROVIDE SOME MENTAL HEALTH DOLLARS TO GO TOWARDS THE TEACHERS AND STAFF THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND BEYOND I HOPE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HEARD THAT. I ALSO WENT TO A PRO DAD EVENT -- WELL, IT ACTUALLY WAS AT CLEVELAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THE CHAMBERLAIN HIGH SCHOOL ALLIANCE, LEGACY ALLIANCE PRESENTED A $500 CHECK TO THEM, AND IF ANY ONE OF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A PRODAD EVENT, I REALLY SUGGEST THAT YOU GO. IT WAS REALLY NEAT TO SEE THE PARENTS THERE, AND THERE WERE A FEW PARENTS

149THAT DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, BUT THEY SHOWED UP. TO SUPPORT THEIR STUDENTS. I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEIR PARENTS IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH. ALSO, I WANT TO SEND A SHOUT-OUT TO TWO OF MY GRANDCHILDREN. I'LL TAKE A PERSONAL POINT HERE. OLIVIA AND AVERY. THEY GOT INTO THE NATIONAL ELEMENTARY HONOR SOCIETY. SO I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THEM. ALSO, AT THE EXCELLENCE AWARDS, EDUCATION AWARDS, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL, BUT ALSO, I RAN INTO ONE OF MY COLLEGE PROFESSORS WHO IS NOW RETIRED. AND EDUCATION, WHETHER IN HIGH SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, OR MIDDLE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE, YOU KNOW, TEACHERS ALWAYS INFLUENCE. AND SHE WAS ONE OF MY BIGGEST INFLUENCERS TO BECOME A THERAPIST. BUT THAT IS MY LITTLE REPORT FOR EVERYONE. THANK YOU. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, MEMBER PEREZ. JUST A COUPLE OF ITEMS, I WANT

150TO ECHO EVERYONE WHO HAS REALLY THANKED KRISTIN DAVIS. SHE JUST DID AN AMAZING JOB. SHE IS ONE OF THE MOST ORGANIZED PEOPLE I'VE EVER MET AND SHE REALLY HELPED US BE ORGANIZED SO WE COULD FOCUS ON OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES AND NOT WORRY ABOUT THE DETAILS. I APPRECIATE THAT. I FEEL LIKE WE HAD REALLY GREAT MEETINGS WITH REALLY GOOD CONNECTIONS AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AS MANY OF YOU NOTE, TODAY IS THE OPENING OF THE FLORIDA STATE FAIR. I WANT TO ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WHO VISITS THE FAIR TO STOP BY THE FLORIDA CENTER NEAR GATE ONE AND VIEW THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL EXHIBITS. THIS YEAR'S SCHOOL EXHIBITS HAVE RETURNED TO THE EXHIBIT AREA. FOR COVID WE DIDN'T HAVE THEM FOR MANY YEARS. THERE'S GOING TO BE MANY SCHOOLS AS WELL AS DEPARTMENTS, SUBMITTED PROPOSALS AND CREATED REALLY

151NICE EXHIBITS TO SHOWCASE STUDENT WORK AND SOME OF THE GREAT EXPERIENCES OUR DISTRICT HAS TO OFFER STUDENTS. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE WHEN YOU GO BY THERE TO MAKE SURE YOU SEE THE EXHIBITS. AND I WANT TO THANK ALL THE TEACHERS, THE STAFF, THE SCHOOLS, AND DEPARTMENTS FOR PUTTING FORTH ALL THE EFFORT AND TIME TO CREATE THOSE EXHIBITS. AND THEN IN CLOSING, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, I WAS ABLE SINCE IT'S CTE MONTH, I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND A FUTURE CAREER ACADEMY EVENT AND SPEND THE ENTIRE DAY ON A BUS WITH A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND VISITING SEVERAL DIFFERENT BUSINESSES. AND IT WAS JUST SO EXCITING TO SEE STUDENTS AND SEE THE OPTIONS AND REALLY THE BIGGEST THING FOR ME WAS THE HOPE THAT THE STUDENTS HAD, STUDENTS WHO WALKED IN AND THEY SAID, GOSH, I

152DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO AND I DIDN'T REALIZE A JOB LIKE THIS WAS AVAILABLE. THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN HIGHLIGHTED ON A LOT OF NEWS STORIES, BUT I DID WANT TO SHOW THE LAST COUPLE OF MINUTES, A CLIP FROM ABC ACTION NEWS. THERE WERE SEVERAL, BUT I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE. PABLO, IF YOU'LL CUE THAT UP. JANUARY, FEBRUARY, THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS FROM ALL 32 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN TAKING FIELD TRIPS AND VISITING COMPANIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THIS IS ALL PART OF FUTURE CAREER ACADEMY'S MISSION TO GIVE STUDENTS THE BEST OPPORTUNITY TO FIND A JOB RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. OUR ABC ACTION NEWS REPORTER ROBERT BOYD WENT ALONG WITH THEM. WELL, I'M WITH THREE STUDENTS FROM KING HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY JUST FINISHED UP A BEHIND-THE-SCENES TOUR OF BAUSCH &

153LOMB. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE ONE OF THEM WILL WORK HERE SOMEDAY. ON ANY GIVEN DAY, A BUS FULL OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WILL PULL UP IN FRONT OF ONE OF MORE THAN 100 HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY COMPANIES EAGER TO SHOW AND TELL. WE'RE VERY PROUD TO BE A COMMUNITY LEADER, AND WE WANT TO OPEN OUR DOORS TO STUDENTS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT STEP OF EDUCATION. KEN PATEN OF BAUSCH & LOMB SAYS IT'S EQUALLY BENEFICIAL FOR THEIR COMPANY. THEY ALWAYS HAVE ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS THEY ARE TRYING TO FILL, OF COURSE, WE HAD REALLY FOCUSED A LOT OF OUR ATTENTION ON COLLEGE GRADUATES, BUT THE WORKFORCE IS CHANGING, AND WE SEE IT IN FRONT OF US AND WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT TO IT AND BEING ABLE TO REACH OUT TO JUNIORS AND SENIORS

154IN HIGH SCHOOL. THE STUDENTS GOT TO WEAR THE LAB COAT AND SAFETY GLASSES, WALKING THE PRODUCTION FLOOR, SEEING FIRSTHAND WHAT GOES INTO OPERATING A DRUG MANUFACTURING FACILITY. I DIDN'T KNOW THAT, LIKE, THIS PLACE WAS A PLACE HERE, LIKE IN TAMPA. IT'S A BIG PROCESS WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING PHARMACEUTICALS, LIKE, IT'S MORE THAN JUST MAKING IT AND PUTTING IT IN A BOX. I THINK IT'S REALLY NICE HOW YOU CAN START AN ENTRY-LEVEL JOB AND THEY'LL PAY YOU TO GO TO COLLEGE. MANY TIMES THEY PREJUDGE AN INDUSTRY OR A BRAND AND WHENEVER THEY WALK IN AND SEE REALLY THE TYPES OF JOBS AND CAREER PATHS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN ANY COMPANY THAT THEY HAD NO IDEA ABOUT, THEY ARE REALLY SHOCKED AND SURPRISED AND EXCITED. AND WHEN THE FUTURE CAREER ACADEMY ISN'T ORGANIZING FIELD TRIPS, THEY

155ARE IN THE CLASSROOM, PREPARING STUDENTS ON HOW TO ENTER THE WORKFORCE AND SETTING UP JOB FAIRS. ARE YOU ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW BUSINESSES TO OPEN UP THEIR DOORS TO THE STUDENTS? YES. IF YOU HAVE JOBS, IF YOU HAVE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR STUDENTS, WE WOULD LOVE TO CONNECT. AS FOR BAUSCH & LOMB, THEY CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BUSLOAD OF SENIORS. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY STUDENTS IN THE PAST WHO ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH THE PROGRAM AND THEN CAME BACK TO WORK HERE? YES. WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO. SO IT IS A SUCCESS. IT IS A SUCCESS. IN TAMPA, ROBERT BOYD, ABC ACTION NEWS. Nadia Combs: THANK YOU, EVERYONE. AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. HAVE A NICE EVENING.