001good evening everyone we're ready to begin this evening's board meeting Sergeant arms has the front lobby been attended to yes thank you Chief we request that all electronic devices be turned off for put in silent mode also please refrain from using flash photography except during the special presentations portion of the meeting I'm pleased to welcome you the june3rd 2024 Schoolboard meeting the time is 6: p.m. and this meet meeting is hereby called to order we'd like to take this opportunity to remind the members of the public of the district's Mission which is to ensure that each student achieves his or her Highest Potential and the district's Vision to be a worldclass school system on this evening's agenda we have the invocation pledge of Allegiance acknowledgements recognitions public comment consent action items which include one item
002under Board office one item under executive Services three items under academic Services five items under Business Services three items under Human Resources one of which is a good cause whenever you're ready Dr Savage please provide an explanation for this item yes chairman on Wednesday and Thursday of last week the district teacher overwhelmingly approv the fiscal year 25 talc collective bargaining agreement with an 85.4 n% voting in favor of the new agreement tonight I am recommending approval of the agreement and the addition of the item as good cause so our staff can implement the agreement in anticipation of the new fisal year on July 1 2024 and the new school year in August thank you Dr Savage as presiding officer I find there is good good cause to add this item to the agenda now we
003have nine items under operation including one which is also so good cause item Dr Savage when you're ready please provide an explanation for this one item yes sir chairman the district desires to expedite the rebuild of a school destroyed in the hurricane contract negotiations just completed with the vendor and they were successful I am bringing this item as good cause to allow work to start right away in order to facilitate the timely opening of the school by the attached timeline thank you Dr Savage as presiding officer I he Bri find good cause to add this item to tonight's agenda we also have two items under attorney's recommendation which are also good calls attorney debris Bruno whenever you're ready please provide an explanation for these two set items thank you Mr chairman item number one was
004added as a good cause because on May 23rd 2024 Dr Christopher Bernier was chosen as the next superintendent for Duval County school district pending approval of an employment contract once Dr bernier's contract with Duval County is approved all Financial Obligations per the separation agreement shall cease we anticipate that this will occur within the next week or two and before the board's next meeting of June 26 thank you attor to Bri Bruno as presiding officer I hereby find there is good cause to add this item to the agenda could you please address the second item item number two was added as a good cause in response to a formal challenge to the textbook adoption of History Alive the United States through industrialism a hearing was held as required by law and policy and the hearing officer
005issued a recommended order on Tuesday May 28th for the board's consideration and formal adoption thank you attorney debris Bruno I find as presiding officer there is good cause to add this item to the agenda after that we have one item under public hearings and four items under good of the order other business that's certainly the longest agenda I've had to read in a while up here board members is there a motion to adopt set agenda Mr persons I make a motion we adopt the agenda as presented okay second I'll second thank you okay so motion moved by Mr person second by Mr juvenile please record your vote it's not coming up for me either okay we do a roll call vote then okay okay we're going to proceed to roll call vote board docs is
006coming up so we'll start with Miss juven Elli yes Miss Patria yes please Miss Jordan I Mr persons yes Miss Langford Fleming yes Miss Morgan hi and I'm here by an i motion passes 70 okay moving on okay as is the custom of the board Miss Jordan Will introduce her guest for invocation invocation is attended for intended for the benefit of Schoolboard members as they proceed with their work this evening is not directed at the audience those who deliver the invocation May reference their religious Faith as you might refer to yours when offering a prayer we wish to emphasize however that members of all religious faiths are welcome not only in these meetings but in our community as a whole staff and members of the audience are welcome to pray or not pray after the
007invocation Mr persons will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance please stand and Miss Jordan please introduce your guest thank you I would like to welcome Reverend cologne from the episc Episcopal Church of God to give the invocation this evening from of Fort Meers thank you for joining us and please step forward good evening and thank you so much for this honor let us pray heavenly father as We Gather here today for this meeting we invite the presence of your Holy Spirit among us we are gathered with a shared commitment to the education and well-being of the students in this community fill us with wisdom so that our decisions be made with fairness integrity and a deep sense of your love as we reflect on the school year that has now come to an end
008we give thanks for the many accomplishments and Milestones achieved by our students teachers staff administrators and families we celebrate the growth and learning that have taken place throughout this year Lord we ask you grant us the wisdom to learn from this year's experiences and the inspiration to plan for an even brighter future Lord we also take a moment to honor those who came before us laying the foundation for work that we do today we thank you for their Vision dedication and perseverance we pray for those who are with us now that they may continue to build on the foundation with wisdom compassion and unity and we look ahead to those who will come asking for your guidance to leave a legacy of Excellence an opportunity for future Generations we ask for your blessings in this
009meeting and all the work that we do in the name of the father Son and the Holy Spirit we pray amen thank you God bless thank you Mr person when you're ready you'll join me with the in the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all you may be seated next on the agenda are acknowledgements the character word for June is cooperation alone we can do so little together we can do so much by Helen Keller the design displayed is by Preston treny an 11th grade student at Estero high school at this moment I also want to recognize we do not have a student representative this evening due to the start
010of summer break and we want to wish all of our students a wonderful and most enjoyable summer at this point board members if you want to join me in the pit for recognitions good evening please join me in welcoming miss Lynn Harold executive director of leadership and professional development to the lectur with great pride the school district of Lee County acknowledges the 2024 new teacher of the year firste teachers within the school district of Lee County are enrolled in the accomplished professional practices for the Lee County education system apples program and are assigned and app's Mentor for job embedded support each year the school district of Lee County honors the work and contributions of the first year teacher by recognizing a new teacher of the year a selection committee is consisting of Prior recognition recipients
011as well as a school level and District level administrative Representatives reviewed the written tasks and conducted interviews with the finalists to determine the new teacher of the year the recipient was announced during a surprise School visit and is being formly recognized this evening the school board and the superintendent are very pleased to recognize Robert Jones reading teacher of Lehi Acres Middle School as a 2023 24 school district of Lee County's new teacher of the year congratulations Mr Jones congratulations look at this is so pretty this is awesome thank you so much thank you can you stand absolutely thank you sure thank you congratulations thank you so much welcome good evening again everyone please join me in welcoming Miss Teresa Bowen exceptional Studio education director family initiatives annual autism acceptance Awards recognize and celebrate the everyday
012champions of the autism spectrum disorder community and their tireless efforts to promote inclusion education and empowerment of the autism spectrum disorder community and Beyond two of this year's four Community honores are Educators from the Lee County School District the believer award honor is an individual or organization that effectively uses its resources to positively impact individuals and families with autism the Dylan award honors an individual who has gone above and beyond for the autism spectrum disorder community and has served as an inspiration to others this year the school board and superintendent are pleased to recognize these Educators for their unwavering commitment to our students and for being exemplary Educators Mia de Pasqual ESC educator from Three Oaks Middle School as the recipient of the believer award and Carolyn King speech pathologist educator from golf Elementary as
013recipient of the Dylan award nice to see you awesome to up and then I have with how are you fine yeah I know David Brown from please join me in welcoming Mrs Angela mon Morano Chief human resource officer to the Lecter on May 23rd 24 the school district of Lee County conducted its annual longevity staff recognition Awards this event recognizes employees who have dedicated at least 25 years of service to our district as one of the largest employers in Lee County we recognize the immense value of a dedicated and dependable employee Workforce the hard work and dedication of our employees play a vital role in shaping the positive learning environment and Community within our schools this long-term commitment of our employees is an inspiration to all and a testament to the supportive and nurturing environment
014we seek to maintain the school board and the superintendent are proud to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary dedication and unwavering commitment over the years of the following employees Robert MAA 30 years of service Bonnie Maza 25 years of service thank you congratulations ready picture we're going to follow you okay all right thank you so much thank you thank you all right let's play the video okay Mr chairman board members superintendent and staff thank you for allowing me to join you virtually today to share some exciting news Florida school boards Association or fsba strives to meet the needs of its membership by offering several types of support to its members the job of board member and superintendent is extremely important doing the job correctly is even more important we know that education is one of the
015biggest economic drivers for a community and we need educated Workforce in order to enable our community to prosper you are doing more than just educating your Scholars you're creating a strong future for your Scholars as well as your community with that in mind we realized one important area of support the leadership Services team provides is professional development fsba offers learning and growth opportunities for new Schoolboard members and those members wishing to continue to strengthen their service training is available to equip boards with the necessary tools and the ability to focus on student achievement the fsba master board program is a governance team training for the school board and superintendent its purpose is to strengthen the leadership's team ability to work efficiently effectively and collectively as a governance body while maintaining focus on student achievement and
016factors contributing to the success of schools during the past several months your board members and superintendent have participated in 20 hours of professional development tailored to meet their needs so that they can serve the scholars in your District the leadership curriculum offers meaningful learning sessions concentrating on student achievement some of the skills and knowledges processes and Concepts offered through the leadership curriculum include supporting student achievement self assessment establishing trust roles and responsibilities leadership and communication Styles team development core beliefs District culture and the understanding of the importance of a district strategic plan by participating in this professional development you have sent a message that continual Improvement is important for that you're to be commended now I am pleased to present the board and superintendent with this plaque recognizing the time and effort put forth completing
017the requirements and receiving the distinction of Master board certification as a side note I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each of you thank you for deciding to be a leadership team that goes above and beyond what is required of you dedication to your Scholars will ultimately result in creating ways to improve student outcomes and better serve your Scholars on behalf of the entire leadership development team congratulations on a job well done than so as we do that we're going to move on on to next item on the agenda is public comment attorney debr Bruno please address the item of public comment please thank you 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
018to the operation of the school district please provide a public comment card and put it 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 be made from the podium in 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 deemed appropriate the purpose of public comment is to provide feedback on District issues such as duties responsibilities decisions and the general operation of the district the school board is Viewpoint neutral during
019public comment we ask that decorum be kept and respect be show 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 booing or display of temper during public comment is prohibited speakers who fail to follow proper decorum in the chambers will be ruled out of order order by the board chair of the parliamentarian any speaker continuing with such remarks will be required to relinquish the microphone per board policy 016 9.1 and may be removed from the chambers by the Sergeant at Arms per board policy 016 9.1 the time per speakers 3 minutes if there are 20 2 minutes if
020there are 30 and 1 minute if there are 31 speakers or more the maximum time allotted for public comment is 1 hour 60 speakers you'll find a countdown on the big screens in the front of the room once your time has elapsed the microphone will automatically shut off please state your name when you approach the microphone I will call you five speakers at a time please follow staff's Direction when lining up Mr chairman there are three speakers that wish to address the board this evening 3 minutes per speaker thank you attorney debris Bruno please ensure you have 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 fall the cards are located with the staff in the hallway is
021there anyone in the audience who wishes to address the board but did not fill out a public comment card please raise your hand okay I am seeing none at this point attorney debris Bruno please proceed with public comment thank you Mr chairman with the following individuals please line up Robert Daniels Chrissy divil Jason Curts Robert Daniels I was listening to the board briefing meeting earlier and I was very very pleased to hear some very open discussion about the budget overrun on the high school that's being remodeled I hope to someday soon hear a very candid discussion like that on the state of how much of the general fund is being allotted towards teacher pay when I spoke here last time I brought with me spreadsh brought you guys handouts when full teacher on it to
022show you how there's $40 million adjusted for inflation missing off the teacher pay since I started working for you it's a difference of about 9% of the general fund compared to now and then that has no longer been allocated to the teachers I went home I did some more research I thought well health insurance costs have gone crazy maybe that could make up the difference maybe that's where the $40 million is when I adjusted for inflation I found compared to 2008 our health insurance costs are only $200,000 more as of the end of last year again I don't use this year's numbers because the official numbers haven't been released and I don't want to muddy the waters I've brought you a widow with five children who has to go and stand in charity lines every
023weekend I've brought you new teachers who live like college students and in order to pay their bills their student loans their car loans and make it to work every day I have brought you dozens of teachers over the past year in small numbers at a time telling you their wos and their stories in dangers of losing their house teachers who still have not been paid out from their insurance companies that are living in Ruins from the hurricane still but still show up to work for their students every day when I came here to speak last time there were 660 open teacher positions our mission as a school district is impossible to reach without a highly qualified teacher in every classroom our mission is impossible to reach without enough support Personnel to provide the needs of
024our special needs students and our Esau students you've activated a Esau division a new Department because of how big our Esau needs are how many teachers do you have out there that have gone through alternative certifications and need that extra support so they know how to scaffold and build lessons to accommodate the now half of their students that might not be native English speakers the up to 10 kids who might have ESC needs and IEP needs in their classrooms and every year you're losing more teachers that were actually trained and have the five or plus more years experience to do that well because of the conditions with the pay thank you please no clapping Christy delli you know ironically the character word for this month is cooperation I find this funny because Cooperative is the
025furthest thing from most of my dealings with this year this year with this District you I have to ask is it Cooperative of the public records department to process payment for requests and then make the request or wait for an undetermined amount of time to fulfill that request is it cooperative for that same Department to close requests without providing all of the information requested is it cooperative for an elementary principal to tell a parent whose child is a victim of bullying to leave the school and go somewhere else rather than fixing the bullying problem is it cooperative for a high school principal footb to football for a high school principal to allow a football coach and teacher to bully a student without there being any consequence is it Cooperative of the curriculum Department to complete
026only eight of the 15 library book challenges formally lodged in July of last year is it cooperative for that same Department to make a parent wait nearly 10 months for a means to appeal a formerly challenged library book after having made numerous requests you know I said earlier that I found all of this funny but actually I don't I'm deeply disappointed in just how far in Reverse we seem to have gone in such a short amount of time it really does feel like we've gone back to 2021 so I guess all I have to say in response to that and only a few of you will understand this is game on we are Beyond apologies it is time for action good evening board members Dr Savage Kathy D Bruno and esteemed guest my name is
027Jason Curts I'm the very proud principal of Hector kafada Junior elementary school and I'm just here to thank you for your continued support of our school family I think the challenges that we have been facing are well known and the support of District staff this board and the community really have been overwhelming over the last year and a half and really just want to be here on behalf of our faculty our staff our students their families and say thank you very much that concludes public comment thank you attorney debris Bruno Dr Savage or attorney debris Bruno is there anything you do wish to address with public comment I do not thank you I do not unless the board members have any questions they'd like me to address not seeing any thank you everyone again for
028your comments it is truly appreciated by this board as well as the feed back I also want to thank I know all of us know the job that Dr Curts has been able to do under these conditions over the last couple years thank you to you and your staff and your resilient students we appreciate it moving on we're going to go to approval of action items under the agenda under 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 have regarding the recommendations some of these items have also been briefed or workshop with the board in advance of appearing on
029the action agenda board members are there any agenda items you wish to pull for discussion Under The unfin Unfinished Business taple items pors to the agenda starting with member juvell I have none thank you member Patria I pulling j3 please okay Miss Jordan I have none thank you Mr psons I have none Miss lenford Fleming I have none Miss Morgan I have none and I have none so we have one pull on that is there a motion to approve the agenda's consent action items with the exception of pulled item was it h j j3 okay j3 I have H3 in here sorry do we have a motion on that Miss Jordan I move to approve the agenda as written with the exception of j3 okay do we have a second I second okay moved by
030Miss Jordan seconded by Miss Langford Fleming please record your vote on board Docs is anyone getting yep got it okay I thank you Miss Roman motion carries 70 Dr Savage please introduce any administrators in attendance with a new assignment approved under the consent agenda I would be my pleasure chairman so the first I'd like to announce is Casey ransky from moner elementary Jo joining the position of assistant principal case I'd also like to recognize Armando aljo at Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts as assistant principal I'd also like to recognize Sarah Cox and business services the executive director for business services Dana Christopher Cypress Lake High School assistant principal Donald Stiffler Dunbar High School assistant principal Steven McGinley lemu teal midd assistant principal and last but not least Misty Gonzalez Riverdale High School assistant
031principal chairman if I may just have a minute just to address our recent appointments just as a as a love to see the show of support of course we always bring up ay when we're talking about harns Marsh midle there so I always have that piece as well but to all of our leaders whether you're an assistant principal new taking on this new mantle of responsibility or in Business Services as our executive director it is a tremendous show of faith of this board when they give you the opportunity and trust you to lead out in our community to lead in our schools to lead in our central office to remember that at our core it is our students we serve every single day and now you have that tremendous responsibility of putting that service to
032our community to our students to our families to our staff all the people who depend on you to help them realize their full potential it is an awesome responsibility a great privilege but I will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifices you're about to engage in and those loved ones who are around you today who will Embark and support you as you act in that service so a major thank you to all of you for the work ahead your you're just getting started congratulations thank you Dr Savage congratulations to to everyone we really appreciate your service to this district and feel free if you want to go enjoy the rest of your evening away from the board meeting so have a good night for those we'll take a quick brief pause as
033the boardroom exits e okay at this point we're going to move on to unfinished business tabled items we have one item to address Dr Savage please read your recommendation for the pulled item yes chairman item j3 the approval of the fiscal year 25 fiscal year 26 and fiscal year 27 Collective bargain agreement with the Teachers Association of Lee County T thank you Dr Savage is there a motion to approve Miss patrika so moved second second okay thank you Miss Jordan okay discussion I don't have much to discuss I sent out an email yall are aware not comfortable discussing what occurs during executive session so I'm just going to leave it at that okay anyone else Mr persons I will discuss something I'm very disappointed in the union we've been told that new teachers are having
034to live in like college dorms yet we offered them 8% last year 5% this year but the union gave them only 3% last year and 1% this year if they had gotten everything that we had put on the table a new teacher would be making $555,000 right now let me correct that 4940 $ 54,9 N9 exactly I just rounded it up to 555,000 instead they're going to be making $50,500 this year they got a $500 boost in beginning teacher pay that's all with this inflation you know and last year they got a 3% so instead of the 13% they got basically a total of a little over 4% in the two years and that puts us at a huge disadvantage of hiring new teachers when every other district is around us is paying more simple
035as that I know they keep talking decompression but if you're making more and everybody gets an 8% raise the people making more get a bigger raise it does decompress but the union is not looking out for those beginning teachers or even first year teachers that have finished the first year they did not even get the full amount so I'm just disappointed in them and for that reason I cannot support this and Nei comments board okay anything from Dr Savage I would stand ready to answer any questions from the board members but that's all I would offer at this time okay oh Miss Morgan so I guess I will ask the superintendent to reiterate the comment he made this afternoon about additional time because that yeah I'm happy to do that why are you saying no
036no we're going I'm happy to take clarification from the board I'm happy to reiterate but I also just would like to anything else that you'd want to clarify and based on what I said earlier today so I'm not redundant without adding new value yeah I mean I know I was on the meeting I heard what he said but that wasn't that wasn't what we discussed in executive session so regardless of what he said this afternoon what we said in the executive session was the complete opposite so that's why and I told you all in executive session that if we got here and we didn't have additional instructional time I would wasn't I couldn't support it so I'm just I just can't support it so that's why I shook my head no I'm happy to on
037that note just say what I can say which is I was not a part of your executive session I'm not aware of of I was not there to listen to exactly with the content so what I basically came to understand based on the negotiation strategy was that there was an attempt on our managerial side to offer up that we would like to make the instructional minutes of the student day a part of the negotiation That Was Then directed to those they it was entered into the record and the negotiations to which the tal in a meeting that was recorded and folks could go back and and listen to it if they were so inclined that when that was offered by the management that was an ask to do that the union response was in summary
038that is that is a managerial right clearly it is a managerial right and thusly not something that can be bargained because it is a managerial right you have the ability to unilaterally do it and as long as it does not exceed a particular aspect of it which of course the minutes offering did not and so you cannot make it a bargained issue stop making it a bargained issue if you keep doing it I'm going to keep repeating this the very next meeting when the issue was brought up again it was done instead through the interest of student learning and that the importance of improving student learning as something that we all have a mutual interest in the Union to my understanding again summarizing but I would invite anyone who wants the full to go back
039and listen was that they understood and accepted that student learning is a priority for the teachers union as well and so their position was that if we were to entertain enhancing high school student minutes or something to that effect and we were to increase that day that two different offerings would be amenable that one would be that if we wanted to increase the teacher lunchtime that would be something that we both have a shared mutual interest in and to be considered as well as they were open and amenable to if we wanted to extend the teacher day and compensate them for longer teacher work day then that's something they would but again the those things are bargainable issues not their stance was that it does not change that we have the ability to change that
040student minutes as long as we do not exceed the amount of time that we're impacting the work conditions and so forth and so I just give you that specific because that was what was entered in the record there and when you're in interest based proc process a party that has that unilateral unilateral ability to make changes that is that is just how that process plays out so I'm just recapping and summarizing what was done which I did offer to the board members as well feedback so there's that awareness I can't speak to the executive session because I was not present for that so I don't know if anything beyond what I just stated was stated if that was contemplated I can't speak to that but I can speak to what was done on the record
041in the unions as well as the information I provided to the board members which was what I just stated again so I'm happy to answer additional questions as anyone would need for the consideration of the item ahead of you today Miss juven so if this wasn't wasn't was not P does not pass tonight what does that does it have to go all the way back to the drawing board where where what happens here that's what I need to know I yeah I mean to get the full ramifications i' would love to get more but my understanding is that if it were not to be in place then essentially we have not reached an agreement because it has to be ratified by the board in order for it to be binding to all parties on this
042side so that is my understanding but I could get more information if you were to if the vote were to fail today I'd be happy to get more information on what is the ramifications of that where where we presently sit if the board were to vote this item down today and one other question what was the I know that the they vote on it the teachers vote on it what was the percentage where I know it passed but I don't know what what the percentage was I'm sorry Madam 8 85.4 n% through the chair to the board 85.4 n and how many new teachers actually are part of the union and vote of that do we know that answer I'm sorry that's I I have to take time to research to get you more of
043that information but something Mr person's brought up made me think you know do they even have a voice in the union you know so you know but do those News teachers have a voice or is it totally being ran by the union and the Reps I mean I can't speak to the that advocacy what I can say is the union is the bargaining entity that we bargain with to act in the interest of the teachers how they could speak to you about how they manag to receive their piece I can't speak to that they are the formal entity we bargain with that's fine thank you yep that's it Mr ju Miss Jordan so if I may you said it was a man management so does that mean we can regardless of what's on here we
044can add those 15 minutes well it fall as long as something doesn't impact the working terms conditions we and Falls within our managerial purview then it is that is my obligation to be able to make those changes we so often have to do as we're doing in the middle school is a good example the Middle School piece we have to make that adjustment based on the shift of the seven period day so that we have sufficient minutes to cover for those pieces we have to do that's just a function of what we have to do so we have that ability to do it and we have done it unilaterally many many times again my understanding is that maybe there was different strategy or thought consideration I just was not a part of that executive session
045I can't say how it was conveyed all I can say is what our understanding is and what the Union's understanding and recap that information that I can share with you and that's where we are today please I'm sorry just and I hear you keep saying that you were not part of that but the bargaining our bargaining team who went to speak for us they were part of that conversation regardless if you were or not so they would know what was being stated they know the conversation that was being had and that's with with respect that's what's been conveyed to me is that there was an there was an attempt to see if the union would be interested in seeing it as a mutual thing that basically we both go at together and say we want
046to increase the student minutes and so forth and the union responded in the bargaining session that was recorded this is a managerial right it is not a bargainable item it's not something that we can bargain because you can do whatever you want to do because you have that right and they shared that they put it on the record specifically so that we would not keep coming to the table with that mindset that said again it's I'm just doing my best to recap it was relayed to me from the bargaining team that this direction there was an interest in moving this direction and that I that's not I tried to recap the best I was what I all I'm sharing is I wasn't there to hear it directly and so all I'm trying to speak back
047to you is what I was explained to me if there's something different in your understanding you are more than able to to clarify but that's what my understanding was pleasure any other comments discussions questions okay seeing none we have a motion on the table so at this point we're going to move forward with a roll call vote we'll start with Miss juvell yes okay Miss Patria no thank you m Jordan hi Mr persons no okay Miss lenford Fleming no Miss Morgan yes and I and I motion carries 43 okay moving on okay next item would be under P attorney's recommendations if you could read your recommendation attorney Deb Bruno thank you Mr chairman item P1 is the approval of the Correspondents to Dr Christopher berer providing notice that his salary health insurance and retirement benefits
048will be terminated upon approval of an employment contract per Clause 7 of the superintendent separation agreement dated April 9th 2024 thank you attorney Dee Bruno is there a motion to adopt the recommendation anybody I move that we adopt the superintendent's the attorney's recommendation to approve the correspondence with Dr Christopher berer do we have a second second Miss Jordan a motion moved by Miss Morgan second and by Miss Jordan do we have any discussion okay seeing n we're going to move into another roll call vote we will start with Miss juven Elli no we can vote oh okay my apologies it was listed as goe and it's not coming up for me f how I yeah I can't get it to come up okay motion passes 70 moving on to item P2 this would be under
049make sure just double check one thing yes Dr Savage if you could read the recommendation actually that's what I okay it's listed incorrectly in here correct so item P2 is the adoption of the recommended order dismissing with prejudice a formal textbook challenge to history alive the us through industrialism okay thank you turn to Bro do we have a motion so MO have a second Miss Jordan move by Miss Patria second of Miss Jordan do we have any discussion start with Miss Patria followed by Miss Morgan just how incredibly disappointed I am at the waste of resources that this challenge caused I don't have monetary figures I did request those instead I received estimates of Staff hours and I could read those but but it's not going to have the same impact as a dollar amount
050would have I can I can say confidently that it's in the thousands of dollars 30 hours I'm sorry 30 minutes by attorney 6 hours by a paralal 35 hours by education staff that works down here at the district $1,500 in a hearing officer time I mean it's just the amount of money that was wasted for a nosh challenge is it's mindboggling to me and the other thing I'll say is you know in order to to receive cooperation you have to be cooperative and this is not Cooperative going through a process making a challenge and then not showing up it's just a waste of resources and our kids and our staff don't deserve that thank you Miss Morgan well actually I was going to make the exact same comment I'm just going to add that the
051challenge was mounted by Denise nrm who did not show up at the hearing so 35 hours staff 21 1/2 hours legal 13 hours hearing officer court reporter all those things for a challenge mounted by one individual who did not show up at the hearing that's sad that'll that's my comment any other board comments Miss juanell by Mr persons unfortunately this is the process and it's due process whether we have a cooperation that we can't control but I think allowing the process to play out and unfortunately this is the outcome so it is what it is so I mean I think we still have you know we still have to honor and respect the process and that's what I will always stand by thank you Mr persons yeah there's a process and that process ends with
052the plaintiff showing up right so miss nrom was wrong for not showing up and I don't care how you want to twist it or whatever I was disappointed in that the waste of money any other board comments okay okay at this point please record your vote item passes 70 moving on to public hearings Dr Savage please present your recommendation for this evening's public hearing item yes sir chairman item q1 approval of the amendment to the Charter School contract with Florida high school for Accelerated learning South Lee County Campus Incorporated doing business as Island Park High School for the purpose of the addition of middle school students grades 7 and 8 for the same terms and conditions as approved by the board on June 4th to 2019 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents
053thank you at this point at this point we're going to recess the Schoolboard meeting and open the public hearing the time is 6:55 p.m. as indicated the public hearing this evening is to consider Dr Savage's recommendation as previously stated at this time the public will be invited to speak on this one item the time allowed for public comment is 3 minutes is there anyone the audience who would like to address the board regarding the approval of the amendment to the Charter School contract with Florida high school for Accelerated learning South Le County Campus Incorporated doing business as Island Park High School and the purpose of the addition of middle school students grade 7 and 8 okay seeing none I will now close the public hearing and reconvene the Schoolboard meeting of June 3rd 2024 the
054time is 6:55 p.m. Dr Savage please restate your recommendation for this evening's public hearing item Mr Sir chairman item q1 approval of the amendment to the Charter School contract with Florida high school for Accelerated learning South Lee County Campus Incorporated doing business as Island Park High School for the purpose of the addition of middle school students grades 7even and 8 for the same terms and conditions as approved by the board on June 4th 2019 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents you have heard the super superintendent's recommendation with the board to approve the amendment to the Charter School contract with Florida high school for Accelerated learning South Le County Campus Incorporated doing business as Island Park High School for the purpose of addition of middle school students grade seven and8 for the same
055terms and conditions as approved by the board on June 4th 2019 this approval authorizes superintendent to execute all related documents board members is there a motion to approve Mr persons I make a motion to approve the superintendent's recommendation we have a second I'll second okay move by Mr persons seconded by m Langford Fleming is there any discussion Miss Jordan I just wanted to mention on this it's what I spoke about earlier this afternoon the increase in the number of students that walked across the stage and now entering those children in the middle school who may not make it to the high school I think it's a it's a great partnership Miss juvell and I actually would agree anything that we can do to get students across the Finish Line in graduation even if it's in
056seventh and eighth grade I think that's going to be opportunity because not every student learns the same and so this gives an opportunity for them to focus on their academics and get through school so and get a diploma so I'm I'm excited about this for students in sth and eighth grade thank you anybody else okay at this moment with motion on table we're going to move to please record your vote motion carries 70 Dr Savage attorney debr Bruno is there anything you wish to address regarding the public hearing I do not thank you Mr chairman just without being redundant with the board comment just we continue to work to expand these opportunities to support our students and families through very unique circumstances and the more offerings that we have that are out there that can
057fit to those unique profiles of how we can meet the Learners where they are and the families where they are is something we continue this is just one example but we continue to look at a lot of unique programs so just thank the board for their willingness to consider this as well so thank you thank you Mr Superintendent at this point we're going to move on to item R good of the order and other business board member comments I will start with you miss juvell okay I'll be quick I just want to wish all all the staff teachers and Paris anybody working this summer hopefully they won't have to work too much but a safe summer those that have the time off take every minute and relax and enjoy your summer and just have a
058safe summer and last day timeout for summer thank you thank you Miss Patria I have none thank you Miss Jordan I made most most of my comments earlier but I did want to say I forgot to mention about the gardens that our Gardens had produced from nine schools over 10,000 lbs of produce this year so that's really exciting and then next year we have two more coming on possibly more schools and you know being able to provide fresh fruit fruits and vegetables for our kids that's what that's a good thing so I just wanted to share that and congratulations to the corado for all of them just being past the chars thank you that's it okay thank you Mr persons yes as we know in most of the public the students are assessed at the
059beginning of the year and they're assess actually three times during the year and we had a new school this year L till and the students were excessed quite low just to be honest with you but and they had the most new teachers of any school that probably because they a brand new school and a new principal I want to give a shout out because those students approved their scores more than just about any other school in the district I think they were third on the list of how well the students did as far as Improvement they may not be the highest but from where they started to where they ended was a tremendous Improvement and I want to thank all the teachers and principal rotino for motivating them and that's just a great first year
060for that school that's all thank you Mr persons Miss lenford Fleming thank you for sharing that Mr persons I wanted to say thank you too I was able to attend an award ser ceremony where it reminded me with the gardens that the volunteer partnership with the district was given to Riverside Church they're doing a great job at partnering with one of our schools out in the East Zone and I know that there are several other Partnerships happening throughout our community and they are setting up those students for success and to be able to have a healthy and fun summer by making sure that their pantries that their houses are fully stocked so I just wanted to say thank you to them as well as all the other Partnerships like Community Cooperative that do so much
061for our students when and their those families when they are on break I had and I'll leave you with this I know that miss patrique is going to be incredibly jealous of the fact that I was asked to umpire the kickball game at Heights Elementary School it was a fabulous fabulous way to end the school year and hats off to the students at Tanglewood for beating the teachers for the first time in the history of Tanglewood Elementary at their kickball tournament that is all thank you Miss Langford Fleming Miss Morgan oh my goodness well I wish I could be so jolly but anyway I'm going to share with the public information that I shared with you the MIT living living wage calculator the annual average salary of teachers in Florida is $58,900 the salaries households
062with one adult and one child or two adults with two children must earn to support themselves with no extravagances while working full-time in Florida are 77,500 the state's current position among the 50 states in the District of Columbia for average salary is 50 these numbers pose a troubling equation and paint an uniting picture of the economic lives of many teachers in Florida where one of the worst rankings for teacher pay is matched by two other depressing numbers Florida is 48th on spending on students per person per student at 12 , 488 behind George's 14, 088 I'm going to I guess I think at every meeting bring this up and reinforce this what is it 1% increase in salary in this district is what $10 million something along that line let's find that out but it's
063it's not a matter of scraping dollars out of our budget they we're talking big numbers and the numbers that the numbers that we get are numbers that are given to us by the state of Florida by the legislature by the governor we don't get to choose our operating budget we don't get to decide on millage that is decided by the state I the only option we have as a district to increase our operating fund is through millage which is what our neighboring counties do and our called out regularly for paying higher starting salaries and higher wages than we do so I think we need to be having serious conversations about what we want to do with respect to our operational budget and our human resources in a in a in a slightly more positive vein
064I forgot to mention this afternoon about Mr Gomez's work on the legislative platform development plan which I call a jump shift to a whole another level of legislative advocacy and Mr Daniels I want to tell you that I'm sure he will be reaching out to you because he's looking to stakeholders who can share their concerns not just our concerns and not just teacher concerns but family concerns public concerns about things that we need to bring to to the legislature and those are the people who are going to make the case at the state level the state the these people aren't really interested in what we have to say we come back to them every year and we say we have to pay teachers more every year we say we have to pay teachers more we
065need more in the budget we in every single County in this state say the same thing but we're the only people talking other people need to be talking other people need to be having an impact on the people that they're putting in the legislature so gez I got awful serious again when I said I was going to be really good anyway I do want to thank Mr Gomez because I do think that we got off to a great start this year and I am really excited about the Prospect of going to the legislator with legislature with a well-defined meaningful platform for the students and staff in this district and those are my comments thank you thank you Miss Morgan I have just a few I was able to attend the wreath ceremony in remembrance of
066Captain in remembrance of Captain Daniel Edgars Daniel Edgars who died in the service who died in the service of this of this country he was a graduate of country he was a graduate of Cape Cape Coral High School that was about Coral High School that was about a week ago I think I attended it was a week ago I think I attended it was a very moving ceremony and you know prayers to his family as well as thank you to Cape Coral high school for putting that on I was also able to visit a couple schools before schools ended the wreath ceremony schools ended Pine Island Elementary I was able to get out to Santa Bel and Challenger so I want to thank the principal staff and teachers there for their kindness and being able
067to to show me around and go through a couple things so I was also able to attend the traler 8th grade promotion ceremony and that was that was really neat to see so I appreciate as well that outside of that I do not have any other comments so I'll be turning it over to attorney depri Bruno thank you Mr chairman I know that the board is aware but I know that there were stakeholders who also wanted an update so I'm pleased to announce that I have received my board certification education law board certification is a career milestone in an already Milestone year for me where I am celebrating 25 years in practice it took about a year including an in-depth evaluation of experience extensive peer review and a mini bar exam out of the 100,000
068plus attorneys in Florida only 47 have obtained their designation as a board-certified attorney in education law and about 15 work for school District this designation only strengthens your legal team as we continue to serve you the school board and the administration rendering legal opinions to support your mission vision and strategic plan thank you Mr chairman thank you congratulations attorney debr Bruno the thought of another bar exam is not something I would look forward to Dr Savage please yes thank you chairman just a few things just to kind of a nod to my colleague to my right but also to this board in the left and the work that you did with our prior superintendent just that you as a collective group while they may seem you know getting a distinction from the fsba and so
069forth what it what it demonstrates both sides even though they're different is an investment to your Collective and individual desire to be the best governance team you can be and be the best board attorney general counsel you can be and one way to continue to do that is to be constantly reflecting on what you're doing growing but also challenging yourself to to really have an objective means by which you can say yes I'm learning I am one of only a few who do that extra piece who are part of that piece and you as a board who chose it's a lot easier to be an elect official not do that but for all seven of you be willing to sacrifice the time to also do that I think it speaks very highly for everyone sitting
070up here to be a participant in that and it looks like I've got some work to do because I'm the only one who doesn't have anything else I can say on that but that said I want to shift just want a big thank thank you to all of you for doing that the next thing I just wanted to do was to say you know today is a very big day with the board thank you with the good cause approving the hector caffara K8 site I understand sometimes it doesn't you know the deal doesn't quite look as good when you're hoping it'll be cheaper and quicker and so forth but here's the reality this no one you know we do our Capital planning and all those things we always know it's fluctuating the market can change
071things can happen our economy as we've seen in our County we have experienced tremendous changes that really throw the capital plan into flux well when a hurricane hits you one of the strongest in record for us to have to deal with that isn't something that we anticipate it's not something we know that they can occur but when it actually comes and descends upon us and creates a Havoc it does it destroys people's lives both literally as well as then creates Fallout for our community have to suffer and so tonight is a momentous occasion for that school the patients and Dr K is still here today this is just a tremendous privilege for this board to have prioritized this opportunity both to rebuild what was lost but to make it stronger and to also meet needs
072it's a strategic utilization of the capacity you have at a cost that is reasonable and we'll do it to the standards we know in a defensible process that made it through and I just wanted to applaud you for that work because it is it is a challenge it's a balancing act that you have in front of you I understand that well and so I just wanted to nod to this board as well to make that decision to support our school to help our community heal to serve in that way so thank you for that hard decision that you made and appreciate that very much the last part that I just want to say I already mentioned about teachers today being the last day but I really appreciated when Mr persons's mentioned about data you know
073I am one of the people who's probably the most obsessed about reviewing and picking apart School data and so forth and while all that data is aggregated we're continuing to clean it up and there's reconciliation to get the surveys matched and so forth we will have to wait a long time to get our school grades it's not going to happen till roughly close to the end of July based on the state piece but certainly the lessons we are learning from our student data of where where our students performed it's so important and I just so appreciate that the board understands just looking at that achievement number alone doesn't always tell you where they started and how far they've come because while we have schools that will be struggling with grade potentially depending on where those
074cut scores eventually set we have so many schools that continue to do that hard work and sometimes it's even subject areas within those schools and so I just appreciate that this governance team understands there are pockets of exceptional things happening in our district and our job my job but our job collectively is to ensure that we are shining a light on those pockets of Excellence to continue to try to scale them up to a magnitude of change so that all of our schools represent some of the highest performing highest value at institutions I would tell you that people out there are working very very hard that is not the issue people are working hard the conditions are difficult all those challenges are very real the work is there we will continue to get better and
075I will say not just our teachers but our staff there will be no shortage of challenges we see them from everything that you see in our district you hear about them every day as board members you get emails you get all those aspects what I can assure to you is we will continue as a central office to really try to shine a light on the things that are working well transparently share that real data we will own the areas of improvement and all the areas in which we are falling short we will try to give you valid reliable means to assess so that it isn't something where you're looking at an unfair measure you're really looking at the best measures we can give you so that you as a governance team can feel confident in
076that but we will never stop improving the Improvement to be better than we were today than this year that is a never-ending Journey that I can assure you my entire career it has it is the expectation and I can tell you that I've had these conversations with our cabinet I will say that I've taken the Baton because that expectation was there before it will continue and then hopefully as we move forward it will continue we have to get better our families deserve it our students depend on it and you all expect it and so we will not stop trying to improve but I thank you for at least nodding that those data are in fact out there and I appreciate it we'll be bringing more data to to give it context and give you more
077meaningful hopefully by the very next board meeting we'll have something like that to share but it's going to be a while for school grades but just thank you again for all those things and I wanted to pull that together so thank you very much for the Indulgence thank thank you Dr Savage next scheduled meetings of the board on Wednesday June 26 there'll be a Schoolboard briefing at 3:30 p.m. in a Schoolboard Action meeting at 6:00 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 7:4 7:14 p.m. have a good evening everyone for