001good evening everyone we're ready to begin this evening's board meeting Sergeant arms has the front lobby been CLE cleared yes thank you sir we request that all electronic devices be turned off or put in silent mode also please refrain from using flash photography except during the special presentation Porche of the meeting I'm pleased to welcome you to the February 6th 2024 Schoolboard Action meeting the time is 6:00 p.m. and this meeting is called to order prior to this evening's meeting we have been enjoying Music performed by the students from Gateway High School chorus program this select group of Music students is under the direction of Jenny ryes who is recently recognized as a golden apple teacher finalist please give this Elite group another round of applause and now I welcome them to play one more
002song thank you students we'll now take a brief pause to clear the performance area thank you achieves his or her Highest Potential and the district's Vision to be a world class school system moving on to item number two approval of the agenda this evening's agenda includes moment of silence presentations of colors and Pledge of Allegiance acknowledgements recognitions public comment consent action items which include one item under Board office one item under academic Services four items under Business Services two items under Human Resources two items under operations and four items under good of the order board members is there a motion to adopt the agenda tonight I move to adopt tonight's agenda do we have a second second okay motion moved by Miss Langford Fleming second in by Miss Jordan please record your vote motion carries
00370 as is the custom of the board board member Patria will lead us in a moment of silence after which board member Langford Fleming will lead us in the presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance please stand please bow your heads in a moment of Silent prayer or reflection thank you Mrs Langford Fleming good evening introducing the cadet who is presenting the national colors for our Pledge of Allegiance tonight is first sergeant Anthony Garis Army instructor from Gateway High School first sergeant Garis served 29 years in the Army in numerous assignments and retired as first sergeant of the Army Reserve Training Center at Fort Knox this is first sergeant gas's 10th year as the JROTC instructor and his fourth year in Lee County thank you very much presenting the national colors tonight is Cadet Colonel
004Maria Carvajal the deputy Brigade commander of the Gateway High School jrtc program Cadet Carvajal is in her fourth year of jrtc in Lee County while in jrtc she has been active in all aspects of the program she has been the captain of drill Marksmanship and drone teams she has also participated in jrtc leadership and academic bow teams and Raiders kette Cara Hall volunteers for many jrtc events to include Football parking toy and food drives and School open houses kak Carvajal is an excellent student she is she currently has a 4.24 grade point average kak carvahal has joined the Florida Army National Guard this summer she will leave for basic training and advanced individual training to be a combat medic upon completion of her training she plans to enroll in Army Roc at the University of
005Central Florida please join me in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of united States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all please be seated everyone this evening's this evening's student representative is Robert CH Robert is a Junior attending Mariner High School Robert is a part of the AP Capstone program and engages in a diversity of extracurriculars he has been elected president-elect of his school's HOSA chapter vice president of French Club and participates in many other activities he is a junior varsity wrestler and a sergeant in the Cape Coral Police Department's Explorer Program following High School Robert hopes to pursue a career in Civil Service let's welcome Robert great to have you sir next up on the
006agenda the acknowledgements for the month of February Robert if you'd please proceed thank you chair fiser and good evening the character word for February is honesty to start a quote by James aler honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from turning into a failure the design you see displayed on screen was created by nied Tapia an 11th grade student at North Fort Myers High School there are two recognitions this evening first is a recognition of the 2023 to 2024 High reliability level one certified teachers and next is the 2023 to 2024 level one certification Marzano High reliability schools recognition board members please join me in the pit for recognitions okay I'd like to invite Mrs ly harell executive director of leadership professional development to please join me at the lect turn good evening
007Harold the school district of Lee County is proud to recognize four teachers for achieving high rebil high reliability teacher level one certification these teachers join a cohort of 331 certified teachers across the United States High re reliability teacher level one certification means that Educators understand Implement a model of instruction engage in deliberate practice related to growth goals and monitor the impact of instruction on student achievement to achieve certification teachers must submit a variety of tasks that are scored by expert Educators the school board and the superintendent are honored to recognize the following teachers for achieving high reability high reliability teacher level one certification first up Anastasia graphin learning and Leadership teacher in the professional development department next up Laura Jordan peer collaborative teacher kaloa Elementary School to get the door thank you thank you thank
008you door sorry next next up is Katie Marquee learning and Leadership teacher in the professional development department not very good at that part you're doing cor and Mindy Stoddard learning and Leadership teacher in the professional development department okay thank you sorry we're going to take a picture now goad go get the picture I'm picture there you go are you ready I'm ready the school district of Lee County is proud to announce the formal recognition of schools who recently achieved level one certification as Marzano High reliability schools level one certification means that each school has created a safe supportive and collaborative culture these 21 schools join a cohort of 11 previously certified level one schools in Lee County and just 672 level one certified schools across the United States to achieve level one certification teachers and
009administrators from each School participated in training collected feedback from parents students and faculty staff members and implemented action plans to address School culture certification artifacts were reviewed by an outside expert to achieve certification the school board and superintendent are honored to recognize the following schools as level one certified we're going to recognize these schools in four groups so I'm going to call out all the names in group one and then we'll clap and take a picture and then we'll go to group two till we're all through group four because there's a ton of achievement here so group one Allen Park Elementary principal Melissa Booth Colonial Elementary principal Eric Washington Fort Myers Beach Elementary principal Dr TR Tracy ker Franklin Park Elementary principal Dr Mia German Gateway Elementary principal Cher Sherry Gibson harns Marsh Elementary principal
010Cynthia Hernandez thank congratulations this is Prett this is so amazing they got to move in man move over move over get in the picture so good to see congratulations congratulations moving on to group two we have Lehi Elementary principal Jackson Morgan mirror Lakes Elementary principal Amy bobach Patriot Elementary principal Elizabeth Feliciano Pelican Elementary principal Clint garlic Spring Creek Elementary principal Julian Flora Fiora my bad and Tortuga Elementary principal for sh love the awesome congratulations thank you thank you wonderful get in the picture go that look good Jillian she's good job angel just so youall know we have two groups left moving on to Bonita middle Center for the Arts principal meliss elener Mariner Middle principal Dr Mason Clark Three Oaks Middle principal Forest Walker Jr Trafalger middle principal lean Kae the Alva School principal Dr
011Nathan shaker awesome thank you this is great so before I move on to the last group I'm going to read my last paragraph which is we congratulate these schools for earning certification a safe supportive and collaborative environment is foundational for student achievement congratulations and last but certainly not least we have group four East Lee County High Principal Tony Allen Lehigh Senior High Principal Daria Gro North Fort Meers High Principal Debbie Diggs Buckingham exceptional sener principal Dr Vicky gohagen Mosley congrat thank you awesome you're right all great job everyone I don't if we give a moment for anyone that wants to clear out of here before we get begin the rest of the meeting congratulations okay next on the agenda is public comment attorney debris Bruno please address the item of public comment thank you Mr
012chairman and good evening School Board policy provides the opportunity at this point in the meeting to address the board concerning any matter on this meeting's agenda or any other matter relevant to the operation of the school district please complete a public comment card and put in the basket provided if you need a public comment card they are provided by our staff the rules concerning public comment are posted in the back and will meet will be made from the podium and the front center aisle please be advised that the board will not respond during public comment to remarks made by speakers concerns will be addressed by the superintendent or his staff as necessary and the chair May comment as deemed appropriate at the conclusion of public comment the superintendent or board attorney may also comment if
013deemed appropriate the purpose of public comment is to provide feedback on District issues such as duties responsibilities decisions and the general operation ation of the district the school board is Viewpoint neutral during public comment we ask that decorum be kept respect be shown which is what is expected when a government agency conducts official business therefore abusive language such as cursing insults derogatory language levied against an individual or a class of people are prohibited further personal attacks such as name calling are prohibited in addition clapping hissing boo in or a display of temper during public comment is prohibited speakers who fail to follow proper Decor in the chambers will be ruled out of order by the chair or the parliamentarian any speaker continuing with such remarks will be required to relinquish the microphone per board policy
01401691 and may be removed from the chambers by the Sergeant at Arms per board policy 01691 the time per speaker is 3 minutes if there there are 20 2 minutes if there are 30 speakers and 1 minute if there are 31 speakers or more the maximum time allotted for public comment is 1 hour 60 speakers you will find a countdown on the big screens in the front of the room once your time is elapsed the microphone will automatically shut off please state your name when you approach the microphone I will call your names five speakers at a time please follow staff's Direction when lining up Mr chairman there are 51 speakers that wish to address the board this evening the time per speaker is 1 minute per speaker thank you attorney dpri Bruno please ensure
015you've completed a public comment card to provide public comment the card is a public record identifying those who speak and providing contact information to staff for follow-up the cards are located with staff in the hallway is there anyone the audience who is who wishes to address the board but has not filled out a public comment card okay seeing none oh sorry please make sure sorry about that okay okay I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight we truly appreciate it's vital that citizens such as yourselves participate in the process of open government it's one of the Bedrock principles of our nation to facilitate this process I want to reiterate this is a business meeting just as our board attorney said make sure that we conduct ourselves with civility no name calling no disparaging people
016or groups and that we abide by the time allotted we truly value your input thank you again everyone attorney dpri Bruno please proceed with public comment thank you Mr chairman well the following individuals please line up Maddie Stewart Ian Ranken Robert Daniels Pam schmith Lillian Petri good evening what benett great I just want to tell you all that there were a 100 purple group people outside demonstrating on behalf of our Public Schools today as you know we are nonpartisan advocates for public education teachers all students parents in our district so thank you very much for your work and there are many who wanted to speak but I think 60 Minutes is probably enough thank you so much to everybody from the purple group who came and demonstrated their support for our schools today thank you
017Robert Daniels as you know I've been teaching with the district for over 10 years that means I've been on annual contract but unlike all the other teachers on annual contract my job has never been defined in any way shape or form by my contract being a virtual school teacher this means me and my 40 peers come to work every day without our job being defined with any sorts of protections or limitations as is found in the contract for the normal brick and mortar teachers if you will this wasn't an issue until 2020 as we went through the throws of dealing with covid the virtual school went from 400 students to over 16,000 because there were no limitations in our contracts teachers whose full-time job would consist of 150 students some are assigned over 300 I
018asked during our bargaining session this time that be addressed and the virtual school teachers working conditions be written contract good evening my name is Lillian Petri and I have two kids in the school I came here to say that when it comes to the quote hate has no home here I completely agree with that the problem is that it only addresses some specific groups that are on the flag and I think that is should that the the gender flag should not be up in in the school system as for the pride flag is that absolutely not something that should be in the school system the academics should be limited to instructional material only and the teaching of politics religion morality sexuality and the right is all only the rights of the parents thank you your
019time is up well the following individual please line up Steven blumrosen bettyanne Sherman Joe Phillips Ryan Monroe Stephanie house good evening my name is Ian Ranken I'm here to object to the displays of specific signs in the classroom in violation of state law my comments are relative to those signs what is the obsession that this movement has with youth we've even heard of prechool cases of this indoctrination I think it's cowardice to ply your trade on these youth in the classroom out of the reach of their parents have you ever asked a parent if it was okay that you teach this to their children have you ever taken this ideology and teach ing into the adult realm let's say classes to Industry the business World union halls Etc I think not you only thank you
020your time is up sir good evening my name is Betty and Sherman I am a retired reading specialist I am not one to look back and glorify the good old days which in hindsight most often seem better than they actually were however fresh in my mind are the treasured days a mere few years ago and I shared my beloved book collection as a welcome volunteer reader in my grandchildren's classrooms students gathered around full of enthusiasm intelligent questions and creative interpretations of the literature fast forward to today my books require media specialist approval a lengthy process especially with 50,000 books now still waiting review teachers are uneasy about the possibility of offending a student which could result in a reprimand or worse for them perhaps a political party might find one of my stories touching on
021kindness an ethical or moral issue not in inherence with state approved curriculum and come after me should we no longer be surprised by how swiftly our freedoms are eroding I am beginning to Lament The Sacred rights of the good old days and hope with all my heart that you are elected Ed School Board do so as well my name is Pam Schmidt my son went through the Lee County School System graduated 2005 captain of the soccer team my his father is gay I'm gay our son is straight tolerance does not teach people to be it does not indoctrinate people it simply teaches them tolerance and acceptance and I think that's a good thing to have in the school system thank you if anyone has any audio could you please lower thank you good evening I'm
022Steven blumrosen from Bonita Springs I saw the chair of the rec on week news and he talked about some unnamed student who indicated they thought the santis had taken care of this whatever that is this was and they were offended we all know that it is okay to feel offended and is often best to express in a civilized manner which your schools teach supposedly according to law how we feel we should Express how we feel if it is true that students in high school think that to SST took care of it then this is a teachable moment you were talking about curricula earlier today and there's a lot of government that students are supposed to be learning if they think the santis can just take care of something by himself and there's no independent Judiciary
023there's no by Camal legislature Etc you got a lot of work to do I'll leave it at that my name is smoking Joe the very protest that happened outside is proof of the false accusation sound Fisher made to Cape cor Rec that parents are not expressing concern I would like to leave you with one final thought one would believe but not most of y'all have endorsed armor person's son-in-law who has been cited for dumping hazardous waste in a sterile Waterway unlike the Love Canal in Niagara Falls we don't have a Aaron Brockovich and Mica only received a $2,000 fine do you still believe these establishment coronis have your best interest as for the purple poison people who stand on the basis of moral Decay never not to sir we're not going to use derogatory terms
024against a group of people please remove them thank you what are you please remove him we're going to take immed first warning you we're going to resume this meeting everyone as I said we understand we appreciate your feedback we appreciate your input we appreciate the passion but we're setting example for the kids in our community so I'm going to reiterate no name calling no disparaging okay let's resume public comment thank you everyone hello I'm Ryan Monro I'm here today because I'm in opposition to different people's opinions about sex being taught to children and I'm here to to advocate for this school board which is supposed to be Republican board now to do their job make sure to CR our and the rainbow flag get out of our school we only need one flag the American
025flag we we don't need all these other flags different allegiances I believe that these that this this board this poster that came out this is about three years this has been going on in this district and it just bubbled up now so I believe the teacher involved should be punished and lose his job for trying trying to indoctrinate our children and I believe that this board has the power to do that no matter what it cost you in lawsuits you should protect the children children come first while the following individuals please line up Marge Cox Maria de Jesus Martinez Dr Thomas Donahue Deborah gior Jus and I apologize for mispronouncing your name and Christine Garris good evening council members my name is Stephanie house I'm a retired army Sergeant disabled veteran I joined the army
026because I believe in the United States of America I believe in the rights of freedoms all freedoms I believe in freedom of choice I don't agree with everybody's freedoms and everybody's rights but I agree to disagree I don't have the right to choose what you believe in and you don't have the right to choose what I believe in you live your life the way you want to live it and I'll live my life the way I choose to believe don't don't tread on me and I won't tread on you if I choose to have my children to read certain books they'll do that teachers should teach what they believe that should be taught in school don't tell one person what their child should do and not do that's what you hire a teacher to do
027to teach if you don't want your child to be taught then do that for your child not my child not for all children one child one person should not do that for all time is up thank you ma'am thank you good evening I'm March Cox I'm a retired library media specialist I live in Bonita Springs and I as we're thinking about all the things to celebrate and I think we have lots to celebrate in the county schools just a reminder that February is Black History Month and as we look at at books that are banned often times the ones who are written or Illustrated or feature black characters are ones that are considered inappropriate I think it's very appropriate to have all different cultures and races represented in our schools so that kids see themselves
028and also see others that are not like themselves that's how we learn more about others that's how we gain empathy to others and so as we celebrate lots of things in Lee County School let us celebrate Black History Month and the books created by black authors and illustrators thank you my name is Maria Martinez and I am here with American Revival church I basically have a question for the people in favor of the pride flag in classrooms if I were a Christian teacher do I get to bring my Jesus flag to the classroom and hang it on the wall show it to your children have them see it and pay respect to should I get the right to bring my Bible and teach your children that God created a man and a woman and that
029he States clearly that homosexuality is a sin I think we all know the answer to that so the bottom line is that teaching students anything else outside of math reading Science History Etc and encouraging them to embrace homosexuality is wrong we don't need that in the classroom it violates parental rights it's contrary to state law and it's against the word of God the Bible clearly says that God created a man and a woman and homosexuality is a sin Leviticus 18 your time is up thank you no clapping please no clapping hello my name is Dr Thomas Donahue I'm a former teacher counselor principal and superintendent I live in Fort Meers the school board's required to listen to all parents even the crazies but it's not appropriate for the school board to enable a vociferous group
030sir no disparaging please pardon me I want to give you a warning no disparaging groups please oh okay it's not appropriate for the school board to enable a vociferous group of parents to obstruct the education of other parents' children your stated mission is to ensure that each student achieves his or her highest personal potential a child cannot achieve his or her potential if you discriminate against classmates that are not exactly like them or ban certain ideas from the classroom conformity kills creativity and critical thinking your stated your vision is that you to be a worldclass school system worldclass school systems don't ban books or allow propaganda your time is up sir thank you well the following individuals please line up Heather Rodriguez wibbles lieutenant John K Thomas Ariel Martinez krie tedo Liz Matt my name
031is Deborah georgettes I'm out here with the purple group so I'm think I'm sure that you're aware of the issues and which side the colors are on the purple group have come out tonight leaving the warmth and comfort of our homes to support the Lee County School District we have faith in the district's Mission policies and procedures we want to make it clear that the opinion of the whole county is not expressed by a noisy minority a minority who will oppose anyone who prefers an open book an open mind an open heart my name is Christine Garris with American Revival church I'm also an army veteran I condemn all forms of hate and speak truth and love however the B the hate has no home here flag hanging in Riverdale High School classroom or any
032other school in Florida violates Florida's individual Freedom Act known as a stop wrongs to our kids and employees act also referred to a stop book act that was signed into law on April 22nd 2022 and remains in enforceable in our Public School System academic should be limited to instructional material only teaching anything other than stem C curriculum violat state law and parental rights why does the law continue to be violated all flages and paraphanalia promoting black lives matter transgender and lgbtq plus issues must be taken down immediately in accordance with the stop woke act the Teachers Association say they are concerned with rights but parents rights are more important because children to belong to their parents stop the indoctrination of our children stay out of parenting your time is up thank you for your comments
033hi my name is Heather Rodriguez wibbles I'm a school counselor at cloa Middle School happy National School counselor's week we do a lot in your school system to look at our job description you would not understand the pure amount of work and heart that we put in we are on Mental Health teams we assess students for suicidality we are looking at all records we I this is a short list and I'm running out of seconds so what I ask you is bargaining starts next week I hope you're looking at your budget and you're allocating money appropriately for us when you see what we do come to my school come see I want you to see a mental health team meeting see what we do for our students and oh I have an extra couple seconds
034so look at that we support education for students every school that has school counselors in it sees sees higher graduation rates higher better student climate hello my name is Pastor Ariel from American Revival church and I'm here to speak today regarding the flag obviously that's hanging in that classroom and first and foremost some of you on this panel actually I remember when I had an organization sat in front of me and answer many questions regarding things like this and ironically today I see you all sitting here and obviously you're not doing a very good job or I wouldn't be standing here it's ironic to me that we start this session praying or an invocation better said and we pledge the American flag but yet we have a flag that stands for the exact opposite flying
035in a classroom and you are sitting here doing absolutely nothing about it and taking it lightly we have a flag that represents a Marxist group black lives matter we have a flag that condones homosexuality which is an open Abomination we have a flag that confuses children that is not s derogatory comment that is the TR and if you don't like it you can give me the last warning stop pleas remove Warr exact we're going to recard the don't pushing me out for we are going to resume public comment as I said we want to hear from you all but again no disparaging people no name calling we want to get through this so okay that's what I'm asking as I said we set an example no you already spoke Mr nulan she's out of order
036we are going to Res we're going to keep going to recess if this happen so set an example for our children please okay sirar proceed I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Thomas good evening I served 22 years in Coler County as a high school math tutor I assume that the board is fully aware the State of Florida has recently passed a law that prohibits the teaching of certain specific topics that are under considered discussion this evening apparently the specifics of that law have have either been not understood or that the board may be inadvertently permitting their violation by their inaction the message we are Advocate advocating is simply that the lcsb support and ensure compliance of the law throughout the entirely County school system thank you for the time and your attention well the following individuals please
037line up Christy dagil lamb R Jones Kyle Jack with I'm sorry if I mispronounced your name Sam Stewart Barbara day good evening I'm Carrie chedo school counselor department head at norfor Meers high school high school level lead and president of Lee County school counselor Association I'm here tonight to advocate for my fellow school counselors most likely you all see through the lens of a school board member focusing on district-wide concerns my goal is to help you see what is going on in our schools through the lens of a school counselor different perspectives can create larger Visions My Hope Is that we can align our Visions which will lead to Innovative comprehensive change in districts where the vision of the school counselors administrators superintendent and board members align academic Excellence occurs a starting point to aligning
038our vision would be to require Administration to abide by the directives sent out from District leadership stating school counselor should not be tasked with duties such as holding doors assisting with car dut Dy lunch duty proctoring assessments just to name a few we have current currently we have 21 openings for school counselors and I know of two more who are leaving they are frustrated and burnt out thank you ma'am your time is up hello my name is Liz Matt I'm from Bonita Springs as was stated at the very beginning of this meeting Dr fiser or Mr fiser the mission is to help all students achieve their individual Highest Potential we have 97,000 students that you educate from K to 12 you know that number better than I it just stands to reason that in such
039a huge population there's going to be all kinds of individuals all kinds of family backgrounds tolerance is how we get through the day with that many kinds of personalities in our midst and so I stand in support of the banner that supports tolerance and I encourage you to see how that supports your mission of helping all children achieve their individual Highest Potential and I thank you and thanks again for recognizing the wonderful teachers earlier tonight good evening my name is Lane Jones and I live in Cape Coral and I would like to be thankful for our nonpartisan school board and I'd like to point out what a nonpartisan School Board is because we may no longer have nonpartisan School Board shortly but a nonpartisan School Board is not beholden to an externally imposed political template
040and they are not beholden to a deep parked party donor so what would the motivation be to insert ideology into what should be a collaborative student centered board there's no purpose other than to turn previously non-aligned officials into political operatives and persons produced by such a system would no longer have the incentive to serve Lee County instead their allegiance would be to a national political machine and they would serve their political Masters by placing ideology above education and Party Loyalty above personal integrity and I thank you so much for remaining your time is up thank you for your comments and Sam Stewart thank you for the students and the faculty that shows us what it's all about here I a school superintendent as you know for a very long time I was also a district
041superintendent who evaluated and supervised districts so I'm very aware of how districts are supposed to run and for the rational ways of solv and professional way of resolving complaints and so when I heard that someone called for a rally and attacked a teacher as a way of resolving a complaint I said wait a second this is alarming attacking teachers in this way threatens all teachers and it creates chaos and fear and that's not going to help us with the attendance rate or the achievement rate or attract teachers to the school system thank you your time is up sir good evening I'm Dr Barbara day and I spent 35 years in education as a special ed teacher director and assistant superintendent of schools in addition I spent four years as a substitute in Lee County I'd
042like to Advent to say that I probably have been in more classrooms with more different students and more teachers than the vast majority of all of you and I think it's critical that all of us keep in mind what our job really is and that's to protect students and staff and make them feel accepted as school board members that is Paramount for you all and for your job and I encourage you to take all steps to protect all students whether they be white Evangelical wealthy children or poor black kids or gay or trans that I think it's our job to protect all of them so that they feel welcome in your system thank you okay no comment or we're going to go to another recess hi Christy Dilli so the school district has an affirmative
043duty to notify parents of every student affected by the flag at Riverdale High School and given the opportunity to secure the Hope Scholarship for their child that way parents that are concerned can take immediate action to protect their students and the district can rest easy knowing they've done everything they can to protect kids this affirmative duty is clear from The Hope Scholarship statute the State Board of Education rules and the fdoe guidance The Hope Scholarship is the best way to keep students from being intimidated harassed or threatened and it is the perfect way for parents to exercise their parental rights and just a friendly reminder to any principles out there that are considering refusing to offer hope to students this is a violation of Florida law and will leave you open for possible reporting and
044potential disciplinary actions so please just do the right thing and give kids hope thank you will the following individuals please line up Anthony million Sarah Wilson synthony parate Jack katti Deborah nessel Hoff my name's Kyle jackowitz I have here the only book that's banned in Lee County Schools it's the Bible and it's the most important book because it changed my life without it and the Holy Spirit I would be an alcoholic and an abusive husband still I think that the school has a lot of depressed anxious confused kids and that kind of ideology that the flag promotes do not help them and that's about it I forgot else I was going to say thank you very much God bless you Anthony Millian Fort Meers resident father a four I've heard a lot of feelings I've
045heard a lot of opinion it's not what we're here to discuss we're discuss here to discuss the law and you sir Christopher need to stop being a coward and enforce the law and I quote hb7 HB 1557 and HB 1467 should be enforced by all of this board this has nothing to do with opinions on books or your religion or anything else enforce the law good evening my name is Sarah Wilson and I'm here with the Lee County NAACP as the political action chair he's right there is a law in place however that law speaks on instructional material which this flag is not this flag is a symbol of inclusivity to make all students feel like they are in a safe place in our Lee County schools and most importantly whether you take that flag
046down or not there will still be LBGTQ students and teachers there will still be trans students there will still be black students within the classroom speaking of that to to close out I do find it to be problematic that the black lives matter portion of that flag is covered that once that is covered the students that are in that class that are black students how does that make them feel this law does reference that making children feel a certain way about their race making them feel bad about their race that flag was put up they saw what it said and now it's being covered black lives matter is not just an organization it's a statement time is up thank you isn't this fun I'm Cindy paraly a 36- year veteran biology teacher and a resident
047of Fort Meyers I am sad that the children in Lee County attend schools that are practically devoid of books in their media centers and classrooms to read for pleasure in their excuse me because unrelated people think they have the right to ban these books rather than leaving it to their parents as an Avid Reader from the age of four my parents allowed me to read any book I desired it opened up a world for me of fantasy science history and more books are a window to the world malal USAF the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after having been shot in the head for going to school because she was a girl said one child one teacher your time is up thank you thank you good evening my name is Jack Lombardi
048I am a former resident of ill Illinois I am now a Lee County parent I'm going to tell you how this plays out I've seen it before I've seen what happened first to shoe in is the rainbow flag and all the feelings that support it and I would agree and stand by any child who was bullied simply being gay I will stand next to them however this is how it started and then it became images like I'm holding up and I'll share with you if you want them that are in Illinois schools because they were guilted in and all these great people here they're advocating for children don't realize what they're part of they don't realize how this goes I've seen it I've had my life threatened I've had pictures of my house taken they
049said they were going to execute me they said they were going to take a hatchet to me all because I stood up for my children's innocence thank you please do your job well the following individuals please line up Christopher prya Nancy Terry Suzanne zimer Margie Gonzalez Tracy b good evening my name is Deb Nestle Hoff I've been before you a couple times about a couple of different issues and I appreciate the time extra time tonight that you have given to us to speak I was an educator for over 35 years teacher and principal I also worked in a hospital for children who had long-term illnesses and I had to work with children of all cultures and backgrounds some speaking other languages I always try to look at the other person's perspective when I see a
050disagreement I just can't wrap my head around the perspective on the other side tonight the banner in question doesn't teach children to be gay it doesn't teach children to be bisexual it is trying to show I think inclusiveness and it provides a safe SP your time is up thank you thank you good evening and thank you for your service my name is Suzanne zemer I'm here for the from the social justice Committee of the Unitarian universal church and I'm a retired teacher of over 40 years and we never had ban books when I was teaching and the children were fine and happy and this is what we need to do is to give them a chance to make their own minds up and by doing that we have a free classroom with all kinds of
051ideas and let the teachers teach let them teach truth matters all truth matters and that's what I have to say that band books were in the Nazis in World War II we're better than that we' better not go back there I was a child of World War II my uncles were there and gone thank you your time is up ma'am good evening my name is Christopher prya and I'm standing here not only as a concerned citizen but as a candidate for Florida State Senate District 33 with the word of month being honesty sir I'm going to be as honest as pause we're not going to talk about politics and guards any kesy please please proceed okay I'm going to be as honest as I can without being tossed I didn't hear that rule earlier I'm
052sorry I am a bit deaf I got to stress again to get the volume turned up in here for most of the people I can barely hear a thing every time I'm in here to the Bible question that was posed earlier eating shellfish and wearing mixed Fabrics is also sins of the Bible it their claims would be more credible if they weren't cherry-picking also it's Paramount to the founding of this country country that church and state are separate the flag that's being complained about literally says hate has no home here and that should be a message that is welcoming the school boards I Call On The Board to protect our teachers our students and make sure every student feels warm and welcome in here thank you very much I'm Nancy terrari I'm so happy that
053I ended up here tonight when to see these principals and teachers being awarded and that's why we are here of the purple group is to support our teachers our principls and our students basically we felt they were being under attack that's why we're here tonight in big numbers and I think as you heard from Maddie Stewart there were over a hundred out of of us outside we're concerned that our teachers when they are trying to stand up to hate they're promoting that idea that's considered something wrong that's a crime I share my concern that in Florida culture wars have become more important than education and by allowing children to grow in their as they should and feel safe in the schools I'm afraid that our teachers now live in fear and that's not the environment
054we want in our schools I thank you your time is up your time is up my name is Tracy Bay I heard about the protest against the teacher and the counter protest I showed up not a part of a group though the purple folks have welcomed me I come here because I was that kid in high school who was figuring out that she was gay and I implore you all to remind to remember that you need to create a safe environment for your students that poster was not trying to indoctrinate children to be any of those it was trying to tell those kids that are different that they had a safe place to go in that school and I think as if you want all of your students to get reach their optimal level then
055you need to be willing to stand by your teachers that are there to help those students feel safe and comfortable that is the best learning environment and that I think is your true job thank you for your time good evening I'm Dr Marge Gonzalez I just want to tell you that my great-grandfather Manuel Gonzalez was the very first settler of Fort Meyers and his wife my great-grandmother evina Weatherford Gonzalez was the first teacher in Fort Meyers she taught her brood of kids and then the other settlers kids that came I'm here to say that hate is bad and love is good as Educators we have always stayed on the side of those who are bullied and we cannot support an agenda that asks the majority to close their hearts to the marginalized for being who
056they are just for being who they are hate is bad so I applaud the school for having a banner that says hate has no home here consider the irony that there's a house bill right now that's house bill number 359 which is going to protect The Monuments thank you your time is up ma'am well the following individuals please please line up Yori Alvarez miles love Karen Ed Edison Monica shintani Dr Paula Porter Mr Alvarez you can just go to the microphone hello my name is jori Alvarez I was born and raised in Lee County and I was a substitute teacher for one year I have two beautiful half sisters and one of which is rolled in Riverdale High unfortunately or ultimately I'm here simply because I want them to be able to focus on their
057higher education I want them to focus on making friends and volunteering I don't want them to focus on the politics that are going on in the building here I don't want them to always worry about what person or group is going to try and attack them here either and I don't want them to worry about their words or violence I want them to read and I want them to read every single thing that they can get their hands on just as many of the other bright men and women throughout history has had the opportunity too as well thank you good evening thank you for listening to all these good points people are making this is what America is about America is the home of the free and the Brave and our public schools are an
058extension of that freedom freedom to be who you are freedom to speak about who you are freedom to listen and learn learn from one another we're here listening to one another and this is exactly what a classroom should be no limits on curiosity because students who are not allowed to be curious are not allowed to learn students who are in class with fear teachers who are in class with fear of what might come up will limit learning and we want a worldclass education we must teach about what the world contains thank you for listening ma'am name for the record please oh Karen andison from Fort Meers thank you sorry hello my name is Monica shintani and I'm a full-time residental Cape Coral and my message is simple if you are against an anti-hate flag you
059are pro- haate and the flag in the classroom in question is about inclusion not exclusion a woman all women on this board and in this room know that what that means and that should never forget that the struggles are brothers are grandmothers in every woman for them suffering suffer through the years of Oppression and exclusion again this flag this Banner is about inclusion so keep the flag in the classroom hate has no place in our classrooms thank you Mike love NAACP when I went to school the symbol of inclusion on the walls were dead white presidents and white principles we rallied around colors and we rallied around Flags now little black boys and girls brown boys and girls and little white girls aspire to be president because of a black man we should be afraid
060of the 5:00 6: and 7:00 busting up for children my question to you is when will dunar and TI have a middle school so you can stop busting our kids at 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning thank you well the following individuals please line up Ray Classen Gary Robbins Kathy horn Michael Levan and Kylie good evening Dr Paula Porter Lehi Acres teaching is not indoctrination teaching is not grooming teaching is guiding Learners to acquire new Knowledge and Skills to impart information ideas and develop critical thinking skills those these words are harmful distractions from what teaching is about and what's really going on in the classroom what is not acknowledged is that indoctrination usually occurs in the home setting embed and embedded in the child by the age of six according to educational psychologist P this
061is well documented research that we use in education as a professor of Education I have yet to find any valid reliable credible research that clearly indicates teachers are indoctrinating or grooming students in the classroom where is the proof my name is Ray clayon I'm a former teacher and I have five grandchildren in our school system of the vile lies percolating in our society the most pernicious in my view is the one that describes teachers as indoctrinator even groomers hate has no home here maybe it should read hate should have no home here beneath the words are five Hearts symbolizing love three of which clearly reference groups in our society at which considerable hate has been directed I put it to you that a great number probably more than we could ever think of our students
062and staff strongly identify with at least one of those three hearts quite a slap in the face to them if the flag is removed the middle heart a depiction of the American flag stands above the others representing the idea that we are all Americans whatever our your time is up sir thank you good evening oops good evening my name is Anne Kylie I live here in Fort Meyers I am a mother and a grandmother I am here to support all the teachers and in particular the teacher that is presenting the banner that's under contention I agree with the definition of indoctrination is not the same thing as education and learning there are there are children that are born with ambiguous genitals and ambiguous hormonal balance probably about 1 in 5,000 births okay so to indoctrinate
063someone your time is up thank you good evening Michael leas Lee County I've heard a lot of words thrown around lately and I'm hearing them repeated here again honesty Duty responsibility and tolerance stop hate hate has no home those are all redundant those are all a given we are responsible adults obviously we love one another but minus out of all of that is truth case in point you should all know that we were offered the group that is that to avoid today they would appease Us by removing the black lives matter symbol from the flag as long as the rest would stay up what does that say to you this is all false this isn't truth this isn't honesty this isn't a sport that we all show up wearing our colors the only color I
064want to see is red white and blue this is America stop putting each other in boxes this is about our posterity and future it is not some Pastime for after we retire your time is up sir thank you will the following individuals please line up Tara Jenner Reverend Greg Cranston Leslie jander Donna Lusk Jay Jennings Kathy horn Estero the administration thought it fair tonight to allow 20 people from the purple group and 20 people from the other group to have cards to speak tonight but what you might not know if you weren't up front is that while there were over a 100 people one second ma'am no from the audience uhuh that's it nothing stop stop stop we're going to go to a recess again nothing from the crowd got it okay okay please remove
065Mr Mr chairman listen folks we really want to be able to move forward and finish the public comment as the chairman indicated we want to hear everything that everyone has to say stop okay we're going we're taking a recess okay everyone we're going to resume this meeting and we're going to resume public comment again as I said it's our please please quiet down as I said please please quiet down let's all as I said we want to hear you as I said but it's important whether you agree with someone or disagree let's show respect here okay please continue with public comment thank you Kathy horn Estero the administration tonight thought it fair that people in the purple group and people in the other group each had 20 cards to stand up and speak tonight however
066you should know that there were over a hundred people in the purple group standing outside and fewer than 25 in the other group this tells me you have the strong support of the majority of Lee County in providing a broad-based fact-based open-minded curriculum that supports all your students I'd like to ask you to turn that into action make it a legislative priority for you in Tallahassee to fight against a nonsensical puritanical and politically driven agenda that is attacking our schools these days and try to get you've done a great job I think in working within the law it's time to change some of the laws I support the person with the flag in their in their school be and I think that if somebody's got a problem with hate has no place in our school
067I think they're saying well then hate does have a place in our school and it shouldn't it's not very Christian thank you ma'am I just want to confirm did we get your name before sorry I just wanted to make sure thank you my name is Gary Robbins I'm member of the unarian universal Congregation of Fort Meers where our first principle is the acknowledgement of the inherent worth and dignity of every every individual John Philip new gave a presentation one time on the sacred light that we are born with that everybody carries within them and after the presentation was over he asked a Mohawk Indian Elder to comment on the presentation and the Mohawk Elder got up and said I wonder with tears in his eyes he said I wonder where I'd be tonight and I
068wonder where my people would be tonight and I wonder where the Western world would be tonight if the people who came to this land centuries ago had come looking for the light in US perspective is everything and thank you for recognizing the light your time is up sir thank you lesle jander North Fort Meers if you are confused or anxious about your sexuality or your gender the truth the way and the light Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name our kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but Deliver Us from Evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the
069glory forever amen amen Tara Jenner I hear the news all the time and all of our politicians and all of our newscasters regularly say and bemoan the fact that we're losing our democracy and I would go a little bit further and say we're actually getting a democracy what we're losing is our constitutional republic a constitutional republic protects the Liberties of the minority over the will of the majority whereas a democracy is Mob rule so those that decry and tout and brag that they had more people well let's look at that the majority over the rights of the minority you had as a word honesty honesty is there's not a single person in this room that I would say wants hate in our schools not a single person believes that but if you want to say
070that the top part of that flag must by definition agree with what is on the bottom of that flag that is dishonesty right there I ask right now that you guys look thank you your T good evening I'm Reverend Craig Cranston I'm the senior pastor of St John the Apostle MCC here in Fort Meers and wow lots to say but let me start with I'm an a academically trained Theologian and here's what I'm going to tell you I will radically disagree with the biblical exegetics of some of the folks that have spoken tonight and I will also disagree with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in the manner in which it was given because the truth is that is a prayer rooted in the Hebrew text and it's one of Liberation not of restriction hate
071has no place in schools 25,000 school children commit suicide every year in this country so while you may be required by the law to do a particular thing like remove that flag here's what I would implore this board to do how do you creatively respond to students who need your support because an lgbtq student is not engaged in sin they are engaged in what it means to be a beautifully created child of God well the following individuals please line up Kathy Michaels Michael De desiah Joyce compana Rachel Brown good evening my name is Donald Lusk I go by Donna because after 50 years of trying to be someone I was not I finally was able to become the person that I should be when I was born there was a choice whether I be male
072or female and my parents chose male and I've been fighting with that for the rest of my life in school I was I was born here in Florida and raised in the South because my father was in the service I also served in the service during the Vietnam era in the United States Navy I just want to let you know that there is no room for hate in our world and we should very very femin or whatever make sure that our kids are safe no matter what it takes thank you very much good evening board my name is Jeff Jennings there's a difference between free speech and free Behavior people often confuse the two and for a teacher to hold students hostage in a classroom and subject them to their personal views is not only
073ethically wrong but it's morally wrong and if the school board doesn't want to or chooses not to enforce the laws of Florida then they should resign thank you good evening board members and fellow citizens that are still here thank you my name is Joyce Campana and I'm here just to voice my opinion that the world is bigger than Lee County it's bigger than the school district if it's about children which that's our business of being here is about children the flag that's in the classroom saying that there's no place for hate is an issue we should all want to train and give and discuss with our children where are parents to discuss the little hearts below which I find it interesting we're fixating on those symbols below they're not even as far as I know
074the official flags of the organization supposedly represented below so I would stress that to give our children the tools to go out into the world we talk about honesty and we talk about no hate and Civics what has happened to that the world is Big your time is up thank you hi my name is Kathy Michaels and it's 2024 not 1950 and I'm embarrassed to be from Florida while the governor is calling the state the freedom State and taking rights away daily book and history Banning the flag and word Banning Banning even discussing Equity hate has no place is correct and should be supported the teacher did nothing to be punished for and if a flag is indoctrinating then the American flag is indoctrination too you going to remove that I am grateful and thankful
075that my grand children that are School here in Florida are smart enough to understand that all the Banning is not in their best educational interest for their future and by the way everyone does not believe in the Bible as is our right and shouldn't dictate anything that is thank you your time is up ma'am thank you hello my name is Rachel D Brown I live in Lee County and I value public education the police who arrested Rosa Parks were enforcing the law clearly the law is not always moral thanks to desantis's censorship many children will not learn this in school when I was a kid gay was an insult no one knew what trans was I only learned about trans people from talking to one in college and I'm very happy to see that kids
076these days are much more accepting of each other and have context for words that were once used as insults also I wanted to mention that I saw a news truck out there and they were out to lunch during our protest of the genocide on Gaza on December 11th so don't know why that happened thank you Michael loosha Fort Myers my name is Michael loosa I'm a 30-year veteran teacher and a 2024 Golden Apple teacher of Distinction a couple of weeks ago I submitted my letter of resignation ending my 30-year career I resigned after entering my classroom that morning and finding that 600 of my books had been removed from my classroom I realized that I can no longer teach in good conscience under current authoritarian conditions I can no longer be the teacher I've always
077aspired to be and I'm not alone since then countless teachers have reached out to me to say they wish they could do the exact same thing that I had done that does not bode well for this fine District please protect your valuable teachers they cannot live with anger and fear for the things that they have that they may say in class they cannot police themselves at the level that they are expected thank you Mr chairman that concludes public comment thank you attorney T Bri Bruno and thank you everyone I'm going to ask Dr berer or attorney depre Bruno is there anything you'd like to address regarding public comment tonight yes sir before addressing the majority of the speakers let me take go back and remind ourselves that we had several teachers come up tonight talking
078about the contractual process and bargaining I would share that I will make sure that message is carried directly to our bargaining team and hope that those individuals who made those comments will also make sure that's carried directly to the union staff so that when we get involved with our collaborative bargaining sorry or they interest based bargaining then we can have the same interest on the table at the same time I hope some of our guidance counselors are still in the room thank you for staying as a former principal I used to say the one thing I wasn't really good at was carebear I could wipe the tears and I could get a student to the point where I could get them to a counselor and then as far as I know miracles happen because you
079do amazing work with children each and every day and to your point about our graduation rate greater student achievement increasing school grades you are a very significant Link in our process to ensure children reach their highest personal potentials and from me the staff that I represent and from the school board it was going to be in my closing comments anyway but we do wish you a very successful National counselor's week and an information is coming from me to all of you I was waiting till midweek to send it so looking forward to a chance to recognize you through email and all the counselors of of our of our great staff and and our and of our schools lastly I think what I should address in terms of the middle school is we've heard the comment
080now we've heard it from them daacp we have a 10-year strategic plan set out for our Capital Improvement and I want to be clear that currently there is not a middle school planned for either the Dunbar Dunbar or now Ty Community we will take with our chief operations officer our construction team this matter continues to be under advisement and we will come back to the board if we have the possibility and we can see the programmatic need based upon student population and student growth finally I guess I would like to thank everyone who came this evening doesn't matter what group you represent I think it's very vital in a in a situation to take in the input from our community ensuring the Safety and Security of our students on our staff in their learning and
081working environment is one of our parent Paramount responsibilities ensuring that our community environments are safe for our staff members and our students as well as all of our CI citizens is also a high priority the commitment is the leading reason why the school district of Lee County will not and does not tolerate hate hate or harassment in our schools moreover we seek to Foster accepting and enriching educational environments for all where our teachers have the flexibility to deliver education while adhering to board policies Florida standards and federal guidelines so I'd like to thank you for the input this evening and your participation as it contributes to the vital Community dialogue and our and the knowledge of your positions can help steer our work thank you attorney to PR Bruno do you have anything thank you
082Mr chairman given the comments this evening a lot of that dealing with various laws I would appreciate the opportunity the school district of Lee County aims to create a learning environment that nurtures tolerance promotes understanding and prepares our students to thrive as well as provide an environment for teachers in which they can Aspire and Inspire their students in that light members of the public should be aware of board policies 1362 2260 and many others that address anti-discrimination anti-harassment and anti-bullying in the Le County School District these policies are based on equal protection Clause of the United States con Constitution multiple federal laws the Florida Constitution and Florida statute 101 1.05 which specifically addresses non-discrimination and the public education system these laws and policies prohibit discrimination based on race color sex religion sexual orientation and other
083classifications these policies also align with the district's Vision to be a worldclass school system and its mission to ensure each student achieves his or her highest personal potential and both teachers and students are safe and secure in their learning environment through its policies the school board has made it abundantly clear that it will not tolerate discrimination in any form therefore the district cannot and will not tolerate hate hate truly has no place in any classroom or any part of the Lee County School District members of the public should also be aware of board policy 578 0.01 and Florida statute 104.4 the parents Bill of Rights in line with law and policy the school board recognizes the rights and its obligation to reinforce the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control
084of their children and this board and the school district of Lee County is committed to honoring those rights I have heard quite a bit this evening about the individual freedoms act commonly referred to as the stop woke act which was passed into law in 2022 and prevents the instruction of certain Concepts relating to race color national origin and sex Florida statute 1 1.42 codifies HB 1557 which prevents instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools as you can see the legalities are multiple and very complex as a school district strives to be a worldclass school system and ensures that each student reaches their highest educational potential and a safe and secure environment for students and teachers it must also abide by all laws and the school board and district will do just that thank
085you Mr chairman thank you attorney debris Bruno I just want to Echo everyone's comments thank you thank you thank you I know we had a few bumps in the road but I really and I know I know this board does really appreciates everyone coming out and letting us know and giving your voice I can tell you everyone's Voice Was Heard tonight truly appreciate that look at how amazing this process look at for our student representative up here how he got to see this process tonight how amazing was that for his first time up here he gets to see this he gets to see how it works but that's important and I'm glad to show that so thank you and we're as I said we will follow continue to follow the law in this District and
086we'll continue doing our number one job which is the education of our students so at this point I will'll give a few minutes if anyone wants to leave before we get clear out before we get to our next portion thank you okay everyone we're going to move on to approval action items under the consent agenda the documentation for Action items listed under consent is made available to board members seven business days prior to the board meeting we're expected to review all the material and we have an opportunity to speak with the superintendent with any questions we may have regarding the recommendations some of these items have also been briefed or workshop with the board in advance of appearing on the action agenda board members are there any agenda items you wish to pull for discussion
087under the unfinished business or tabled items portion of the agenda Miss juvell I have none thank you Miss Patria no thank you Miss Jordan I have none thanks Mr persons I have none Miss lenord Fleming I have none Miss Morgan I have none and I have none is there a motion to approve the agenda's consent items tonight okay I move to approve the consent agenda items as written okay is there a second I'll second that okay motion moved by Miss Jordan seconded by Mr persons please record your vote okay motion carries 70 Dr berer please introduce any administrators in attendance with a new assignment approved under consent agenda there's only one individual who was approved this evening as an administrator he is not in attendance his name is Matthew Chester he will be joining as
088on the grants and program development office he will become the new director director of Grants and program develop he was not aable to attend this evening but I think it's worth mentioning that we have a new leader in our grants and program Development Division thank you okay microphone one of these days okay we're going to move on to item R go to the order and board comments I promise that I'll make sure to get to our student representative first Robert go ahead sir make sure this thing is on it's a pleasure to be able to speak tonight I had the pleasure of being a student in the Le County School District since 2019 when I moved to the state as a middle school student admittedly my school experience has been comparatively static compared to some
089of my peers as I transitioned from Mariner Middle to Mariner High a truly extreme distance of all 40 ft though little change as far as scenery I had the great ability to see the school district and my peers change and grow in response to adversity as I've observed both the covid-19 pandemic and hurricane Ian's respective impact on the school district's goal of trying to educate the County's Youth if there's one thing I've gained it's a wholehearted respect for the academic environment and the opportunities that have been hard fought for us despite such impediments in the same vein that compels my greatest desire for improvement as I wish more of the incoming freshmen and especially their middle school counterparts held the same level of interest and respect for what the school district and the schools themselves
090have to offer for them from my personal experience as a student who had predominantly seek out most forms of after school involvement I believe it would be extremely beneficial for each school to tailor a compulsory welcome that introduces new students to the range of opportunities available from clubs and Athletics to Career Technical education Pathways and special electives I wholeheartedly believe that with increased student awareness comes greater student involvement which is sure to create a more community-driven environment at each and every one of the district schools and in coming here I had no idea that such contention would be displayed before me and the school board as a students as a as a student representative for the meeting I feel compelled to compel all of those in attendance who have children in the school board to
091listen and learn from those who have to spend all of their time at school thank you for your time thank you Robert I'm G to keep it down at that end Miss Morgan I really have no comments other than I want to thank robt for his comment because we welcome suggestions about those things that we can do to encourage student engagement particularly start we talk often about how kids come into high schools and oh nice thank you thank you I was thanking Robert for his comments about student involvement because we are very concerned that students coming into the high schools are aware of the opportunities that they have and in fact we would like them to be aware before they even choose their High School what opportunities they might have at the different high schools
092so thank you for your input and I appreciate you being here this evening and I do appreciate everybody in the public who came and spoke those who spoke respectfully of one another thank you those are my comments thank you moving on to miss Langford Fleming yes Robert this is the second time in a row I've heard a student up here talk about organizations and things after school extracurriculars to get Buy in from fresh from freshman to buy into their High School career so note taken second time in a row you're going to do great things in life you should be very proud thank you to Gateway for such an amazing music performance I'm always I say it every time but I'm I'm still always amazed at the talent that the Lee County school district has
093at every single school when they come up here public comment was heard you know I I respect so much people that take the time and opportunity away from family to come up to the district to talk to the board and we are hearing and we are listening and while some people I know tonight was their first night and realize that the board cannot say something that's just our policy we don't speak after each comment so just because we don't comment at that time doesn't mean that we didn't hear you it did not fall in deaf ears I'm always incredibly grateful actually that Mr Daniels comes and I learn something new from him every time and that is something I would really like to have a conversation with the superintendent about defining that contract of virtual
094school just so that I am understanding of what that definition looks like for our Virtual School leaders and I know that was such a I was a teacher throughout that time and leaving education and it was just such a foggy Smoky time and hopefully we never have to go back there but thank you for coming up and letting us know that I have several friends who are school counselors I worked very closely with school counselors and when I spoke or when I taught excuse me because I did teach in the ESC departments you all are just such a wealth of knowledge not just to the classroom teacher but also such a great resource between teacher and parent so thank you for being that vessel between the two to have those discussions and I'm grateful for
095your work and happy counselor's week I hope you do something fun Friday whenever the week is over I think it would be I think it's important for me to at least comment about the comments that were made about the flag or the bulletin board that was discussed this afternoon so I had to write something down we have policies that prohibit political signs and symbols in the classroom as a board member it is our duty and job to follow the laws in place and this poster or bulletin board that displayed symbols the one part I do agree with is hate has no home here hate has no home anywhere here Church home work amongst your peers amongst your friends inside of a classroom however there should not be political symbols of any any sort Republican Democrat
096Pro this anti- that Pro or anti- any political movement this instance is a perfect example of why we do not allow political symbols because in my opinion what it has become is a distraction and takes away from the teaching and the focus on our curriculum therefore if we adhere to the law if we continue to allow parents to have the final say in what's best for the child and get back to teaching those basics then we will be doing what's best for our children that's all I have thank you Mr person some wise politician once said if both sides are mad at you must be doing something right this is probably the first time we've had an issue where it hasn't been one side very upset with the board and the other side very happy
097with the board what we did this is both sides wanting more from the board and they're very diff different the classroom as Miss lenford Fleming said needs to be a place of neutrality what happened here tonight shows that this disruption is not neutral and I just think that for a child to do their maximum learning which several people had talked about we just need remove all these and they're distractions is what they are as M lenford Fleming said I don't think anyone on this board I can't speak for everybody has a problem with no room for hate here that's not the issue the issue is there's several symbols on that flag that represent different groups that don't represent every group you know and you saw today one group wants this one group wants that you'd
098have to have a million different Flags to be all inclusive unless you just had one flag which is the United States flag so that's where I stand on that Robert thank you did great thank you Mom out there she I'm sure she was worried about her son a little bit so thank you for hanging in there with all of us and that's all I have to say thank you Miss Jordan thank you Robert I just want to thank you as well for being here I've have seen you from the beginning of the student advisory to this point right now which I've seen you've grown to be an officer as well for student advisory and again speaking on behalf of other students I really appreciate that as Miss lenford Fleming mentioned and Miss Morgan mentioned as
099well because that's really vitally important to us to make sure that we have students like you out there with the other bringing us information so I do appreciate that and Mr Daniels thank you I wrote that down in a minute you said that I was like virtual virtual why do we keep coming to Virtual so I really believe that we need to and I know Dr berer mentioned that so that he'll be looking into that and I appreciate that because I had no knowledge of that so that was something that I made sure I took note on that thank you to our counselors as well we really appreciate everything that you do we need you out there and I know we keep hearing about the middle school and I know that Dr berer mentioned something
100regarding that as well and looking at numbers to see where we're at on that and where that it's not that the plan is already made for the 10-year plan but keep it in mind that we hear that you're what you're saying there and just thanking everybody for being here and even though we may disagree sometimes on things it is really important for you all to come and share your point of views so thank you thank you Miss Patria Mia is that your name okay good thank you for being here I know that every time we have a student who comes here it just it to me it's so refreshing because it reminds me why I sit here and why I do what I do and you were just so incredibly well spoken and convicted you
101know you knew what you wanted to say and you knew what message you wanted us to receive and I received it and I'm just grateful you were here so thank you also I will never walk out into the boardroom again without giving water to our sro's I learned that from you tonight I never even thought about that I come and I have my drink and I never think to give them one so you taught me something new and I appreciate that I'm a little Barbie as a school counselor I don't know your name or your school because I didn't write it down but I'm going to get that information from staff and take you up on your offer to come out and see you and see what you do I think I have a sense
102of what you do but I don't know for sure what you do so I appreciate the invitation and I will be out and I'm sorry to call you Barbie but he that's what your T-shirt says so and then you know in terms of the feedback that we got tonight from the public I'm a little torn as to what I can say what I should or shouldn't say I will say that hate has no home here hopefully is obvious to everyone but I didn't have that sense listening to the public comment tonight I had the sense that there is quite a bit of hate out there and I feel badly that our students and our staff feel targeted by that I feel embarrassed to be associated with a party that makes hate has no home here
103the sour that they want to fall on I mean that that makes no sense to me and also the symbols on that flag are not a distraction they are not taking away from the learning environment they represent real people who have real struggles who are really bullied and who are really marginalized by people who pound the Bible and say what you do is wrong so I'm just I'm just kind of torn as to what I can and what I can't say I will say that I'm I think I'm just going to leave it at that I I hope that I hope that our teachers our staff and our students feel supported by the leadership in this District despite some of the hate that was on parade here tonight those are my comments thank you Miss
104juvenile thank you real quick a quick reminder we used to have a middle school in the East Zone used to be Lee middle which is now James Stevens so I went to Lee Middle so we had one in the East Zone and it was a great school when I went there I want to bring up a couple things stastics is this weekend and the Ed the junior parade is Sunday stastics is on Saturday at the clusa sound and then the following weekend Saturday night is the grand parade I hope everyone would attend it's free to everyone I want to bring up that I believe that we're all Americans and we all have a constitutional rights and all those rights are going to be protected by this school board to include parents rights our classroom should
105be a neutral space where knowledge is imparted critical thinking is nurtured and personal growth is encouraged however the in introduction of political posters May inadvertently divide us and limit the open exchange of ideas when one side is offended then you lost the neutrality neutrality and made it political for the one side we must strike a balance between addressing bulling and maintaining a neutral classroom environment that encourages open-mindedness and critical thinking without undermining anyone's rights to include a parents rights as we educate minors we must respect the law we must understand that someone might be offended by another statement and that becomes one-sided when we are not garnering another idea that might be different from that statement we limit another Viewpoint to only push one idea then we limited the ability for real discussion I just
106think that we have to come Together As Americans and because we are Americans and we need to be kind to everyone we can be anything in this world one thing let's just be kind thank you thank you Robert thanks for being up here you had a heck of a night I'm sure so I'm glad you got to see this process but thank you and thank you for what you do Gateway High School great job before I also want to thank our Administration and Chief newand and for running a orderly and smooth night really appreciate that means a lot to me me personally I'm going to Echo what Miss Langford Fleming and what Mr persons said so to me schools are sacred ground and it's important we are content and Viewpoint neutral with that's why I
107want to make sure that our number one job is focusing on the education of our kids so I want to reemphasize that personally I think that's really something that's just kind of getting lost in some of these conversations so I respect everyone and I agree hate has no home here I don't think anybody disagrees with that so but I want to make sure we're doing the right thing and making sure we're focusing on the education of our students so I've spoken enough tonight I think so I will move on next to attorney de pre Bruno thank you thank you Mr chairman I have no comments Dr berer just a couple just a couple sir and members of the board first of all Robert I remember when I first met you in student student advisory he's
108gone so I'll let him I'll let him hear about this anyway I remember when I first met him in student advisory and when he was elected to a position how excited I was to see a different type of person that I had seen previously in the environment he raises very important issues for all of us and as a board as we take an examination and as our principles take an examination of what is referred to oftentimes as the maker break year that freshman year how important it is that entrance plan for incoming eighth graders to ninth grade that they have that connection and somehow we make the bigness smaller I know that my Deputy superintendent and CAO took cop's notes because they've been working on this project for over a year and it's one of
109the reasons why our grad rates are improving another big factor with our grad rates improving is the work of guidance counselors staff teachers licensed mental health professionals Food Service workers bus drivers anybody that interacts with a child and helps them continue towards the goal of graduating so thank you Robert for your comments today they have not fallen on deaf ears and I'm glad they reinforc the work that what is already underway in the school district to Gate Weight high school thank you it's always amazing I'm just going to credit for an opportunity I love to hear corals programs sing but I so enjoy the fact when there is a balance of voice in a chorus when you have both the female voice and the male voice it just makes for a richer experience with a
110piece of music F well not finally national school counselors week I've said it already but again a reminder to all of our counselors how vital they are to all of us one a note of February 21st and 22nd I hope that it's on board members calendars if it's not we'll make sure that it's there the state will be convening here in the clusa hatti room and I when when I mean the state all of the counties will be represented here in the clusa hatchee room discussing the Bureau of school improvement process and Lee County has been highlighting because of our ability to remove our three schools from the B BSI list lastly I want to thank everyone here tonight for their information all the individual all the individuals on this dis believe that hate has
111no place place in our country our state community and especially in our schools tolerance is a value we must all uphold thank you for your input and participation and thank you for contributing to vital thank you for contributing to the vital Community dialogue that will be necessary as we continue to support our students teachers parents and Greater Community thank you board members thank you Mr superintendent chair Mr chair oh through the chair may I ask the superintendent yes of course sorry would you mind reading that about Robert again since he's sitting out there I think he would really needs toar I don't know that I can read it was just I'll F you Robert I just wanted to before you step back to go home because you deserve to go home at some point I
112clearly understand it we discussed it one of the recesses do you have a curfew and you said I don't think tonight I do I remember you coming to student advisory and I remember the process of you getting elected to a position and I think it what amazed me was how honored you were that your fellow students would see that leadership in you I don't know that often you would raise your hand and volunteer for something like that and you may have experienced a little bit of all and told but you accepted the position you accepted the responsibility I've watched you flourish in that environment thank you for continuing to bring to our attention the importance of a freshman year transition it's something our staff has already been working on it's something that your high school
113principes and all the staff in the high school are working on because it's where we lose our children if we don't make a successful transition into a freshman year the situation grows worse so thank you for being a voice of the student and reminding us again of the work that we're supposed to be doing and happy to report in many cases both my Deputy superintendent my cioo and all those individuals at the school base are already on that issue making sure that we have a compr comprehensive way to welcome our freshmen and align them into a place to make the big campus seem smaller so thank you for for your support appreciate you we good double checking so thank sir next schedule mean the board is Wednesday February 21st there will be a Schoolboard workshop
114at 12:00 p.m. followed by a Schoolboard briefing at 2:30 p.m. followed by a Schoolboard Action meeting at 6 p.m. at this point having no other business to come before this body and seeing no objection this meeting is adjourned the time is 8:28 p.m. have a good evening