001good evening everyone we're be ready to begin this evening's board meeting Sergeant arms has a Lobby been attended to thank you Chief 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 presentations portion of the meeting I'm pleased to welcome you the March 4th 2025 Schoolboard Action meeting the time is 6 p.m. and this meeting is hereby called to order prior to tonight's performance we've been enjoying music from the Oak Hammock Middle School Latin Jazz Ensemble directed by Keith doxy this exciting new group is Making Waves throughout Lee County having already performed its sastic Day of Discovery they will also be showcasing their talents at this year's Lee County School District Arts walk on April 4th now we're going to
002listen to one more song from this group e e e great job everyone we're going to take a moment to clear the performance area thank you again you guys did amazing e e e awesome job we're now going to take this opportunity to remind the members of the public of the district's Mission which should ensure that each student achieves his or her highest personal potential and the district's Vision to be a worldclass school system moving on this evening's agenda includes the invocation presentations of colors and Pledge of Allegiance acknowledgements public comment consent action items which include two items in Board office three items under executive Services seven items under academic Services one item under Business Service three items under Human Resources 18 items under operations three items under public hearing and four items under good
003of the order board member is board members is a motion to approve tonight's agenda I move to approve tonight's agenda okay I'll second the motion moved by Miss Langford Fleming second by Mr Ribble please record your vote are you getting mine's not yeah please record my vote as an i Mo as is the board Mr R will introduce his guest vation after Mr persons will introduce the cette cadet presenting the national colors of her Pledge of Allegiance please stand everyone good evening for our invocation I'm pleased to introduce will k who has dedicated nearly 20 years to helping individuals overcome addiction and life-controlling struggles through Teen Challenge and as a mental health counselor here in Lee County will yes yes thank you let bow father I thank you for your goodness and your mercy that
004is new today and that follows us that carries us that protects us I thank you for being here and for caring about each and every person in this room every concern everything that they bring everything in their heart I thank you for listening tonight God I ask for God just freedom of speech and expression that's within a framework of peace and Harmony God I just ask for humility and Justice and mercy God I ask for Unity Lord I just lift up these proceedings and I pray over this board and the burdens that they carry and the great responsibility I lift up each teacher each support staff School administration everybody Lord just ask for your provision and your protection and Lord we just lift up our students as well that is why we are all here
005Lord everything for our students that you would continue to raise them up and and make good leaders and and allow them to to be good citizens and to have good homes but God I just thank you for being here I thank you for hearing us I thank you that you do care Lord and we love you and we honor you and it's in Jesus name we pray amen amen introducing the cadet who is presenting the national colors of our pledge of Allegiance tonight is Lieutenant Colonel Derek Carlson the senior Army instructor from Estero High School Lieutenant Colonel Carson served 22 years in the Army in numerous assignments as a field artillery and Military Intelligence officer his last assignment on active duty was serving as the professor of military science at both Morehead State University and
006the University of Pikeville in Kentucky Lieutenant Colonel Carlson has a Doctorate in Education and is currently in his fifth year as a Joc instructor in the district thank you thank you sir presenting the colors tonight is Cadet major Daphne doden Daphne is a junior she serves as a color guard and drill team captain she's a member of our Marksmanship Sharp Shooting team she's a member of our jotc leadership and academic Bowl team and she serves as our executive officer of our wild capitali dapan has a 3.8 GPA she tends to be a librarian dapy routinely works with students from throughout the schools throughout the district and her positive attitude and presence and commitment to her fellow Cadets is a main state in our program please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge
007allegiance 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 thank you thank you sir please be seated next on the agenda is acknowledgement the character word for March the character word for March is courage courage is resist resistance of fear Mastery of fear not absence of fear Mark Twain the design displayed on the screen was created by Carmen Rich an 11th grade student at North Fort Meers High School okay thank you okay now we're going to move on to the item of public comment attorney debris Bruno please address the item of public comment thank you and good evening School Board policy provides the opportunity at this point in the meeting to address the board concerning any
008matter on this meeting's agenda or any other matter relevant to the operation of School District please complete 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 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 public comment we ask that decorum be kept and respect be shown which is what is expected when a government agency conducts official business therefore abusive language defined
009as swearing use of profanity or name calling is prohibited in addition clapping hissing booing or 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 board chair of the board attorney any speaker can continuing with such remarks will be required to relinquish the microphone per board policy 01691 and may be removed from the chambers by the Sergeant at Arms for board policy 01691 the time per speaker is 3 minutes if there are 20 2 minutes if there are 30 speakers in 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
010has 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 we have 14 speakers this evening the time is 3 minutes for speaker thank you madam attorney 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 is sta for followup the cards are located with staff in the hallway is there anyone in the audience who wishes to address the board but did not fail a comment card please raise your hand okay I seeing none so attorney Bri Bruno please proceed with public comment thank you Mr chairman will the following individuals please line up
011Joshua kraal Johnny streets Britney pnone Anthony call Robert Daniels hi my name is Joshua krackow I'm a lifetime resident of Lee County I graduated from our Public School System here I actually learned how to drive in this parking lot and as I was coming here I it dawned on me how big are bureaucratic system of governance of our school board has gotten since 2007 when we actually moved into this facility which was originally the Metro Mall and I think that we need to continuously decrease the size of bureaucracy as you guys are talking about Dei right now and removing a position of Dei because of legislation but yet we are put we're positioning that person into another position that we just decided to fill to keep that employment rather than getting that those resources to
012positions that we are desperately in need of like bus drivers where we are talking about lowering our standards of bus drivers to be High School potentially High School dropouts and I'm sure that these bus drivers already have a problem with parents gaining their face and being disrespectful and with the lowering of the standards I believe that these bus drivers are going to get even worse treatment because we continuously lower our standards and expectations as we grow the bureaucracy of our school board and District I think we need to continuously focus on reducing the bureaucracy and trying to make the School site or the school board smaller whether it's getting into smaller pod classes and emphasizing that or whether it's getting these breaking the board up into different districts and having multiple districts so that way
013the burdensome of the of the bloat that we have here that teachers are able to operate more efficiently they're able to feel like they're heard I feel like with how big our school system has become our citizens do not feel represented we have such little representation so few people actually follow any of the political aspects of the elected board and I think that we need to start focusing on reducing the size of our school board and getting the money back to the teachers thank you good evening to The Honorable chairman honorable superintendent honorable board members attorneys and staff I just want to speak briefly in regards to Dei I know that you all didn't make the choice to present that to the News Press or the TV stations of what we presented but I felt
014that indeed I need to speak on it for the future perhaps sometimes the people in tahashi our legislators will get back to home rule where the local counties and cities make the decisions that will catapult our students to the best of their ability and the teachers one of the things I will say is that most people say Dei diversity equity and inclusion for those who may have lost their jobs because of this ruling even from the federal bench they walk away and I support them that they earn it de I they earn it so diminished understanding and empathy increase social Division and conflict hinders academic and Professional Services and success perpetuation of systemic inequities damage to Civic engagement and the creation of a hostile learning environment I think if not I know all of you
015but I I think that if we have the opportunity to revisit this and I think we will at sometimes but whatever monies that are available that may come from dismissing the office or for another position but if there's enough money particularly Federal money I agree with the gentleman just spoke give it to the bus drivers and give it to the teachers and I think that I know again you're doing a great job but it wasn't you that made this decision so thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight and I'm honored and you're the best I know you are thank you I'm Robert Daniels I've been a teacher with the district for well over 10 years now I'm going to be reading some numbers here all the numbers I say are in dollars adjusted
016to the current year and all the information I talk about was taken from the doe website with the financial reports that this district has submitted to them I like to go back to 2010 when I first began my teaching career this District was competitive people were waiting in line for every position you opened it took me a year and a half to get a job at the district and every time I went in for an interview there were 12 people ahead of me we were beaten down the door I don't know right now how many positions we have open today but I'm pretty sure it's over a hundred easily and we've already cut again our class loads for the kids from eight classes to seven so they're getting less and we need fewer teachers overall
017going back to 2010 to now the amount or proportion of the general fund which can go to salaries 10% less of it goes to the teachers that works out to roughly $40 million and then some since the last time I was able to update that's enough to give each teacher another $8,000 raise just in round numbers before we address anything else during that same time the amount of administrative loo here Nationwide is out of control I don't have the numbers for this District but the Federal Department of Education in 2022 did a study they said over the last 20 years at that time the student population had grown by 7.6% the teacher population had grown by 8.7% the administrative population grew by 87.6% nearly doubled when our goal is to have each student live up
018to their fullest potential does it seem that an almost 90% growth rate almost doubl in the amount of Administrators is the way to do that or doubl in the amount of teachers they have when you visit classrooms have you visited classrooms on and out schools on and out make sure to observe every class and see how overcrowded some of our most important classes are have you looked in an algebra one classroom and wondered to yourself how the substitute is teaching 40 students algebra these are primary skills our students need and they do not have the teachers to get those skills one of the main hurdles we have is the money I know this because we're offering $3,000 of movement expenses for teachers to come here and teach but before we do that let's work on
019keeping the teachers we already have by making sure that they can afford to stay in the county not every teacher you have thank you for your comments your time is up will the following individuals please line up India Palencia Robert Rio Sandy Clark Erica Davis L naara good evening members of the school board my name is Britney compon and I'm here tonight as a deeply concerned parent of a second grade student at adaner elementary I am here because my daughter along with her classmates are being subjected to an unsafe and disruptive learning environment that has gone G unaddressed for far too long I am here because no child no teacher and no parent should have to worry about violence in the classroom there is a student in my daughter's class who has repeatedly exhibited aggressive
020and dangerous Behavior the student has attempted to throw chairs flip chairs over and jump on them has hit classmates attempted to hit the teacher screamed and completely disrupted the ability of the class to function the situation escalated to a Breaking Point when this student spit in my daughter's face forcing me to file a police report for battery the day after I filed the police report the student attempted to throw a pair of scissors at another child thankfully Miss Miranda was able to intervene quickly and protect the other students yet despite multiple incidences of physical aggression despite the emotional and psychological toll this is taking on the other students despite parents raising concerns the school has done nothing to effectively resolve this issue our children are being placed In Harm's Way every single day let me
021ask you what would you do if it was your child in that classroom what if your child had to sit next to the very student who just threaten them hit them or spit in their face because the school refuses to act would you accept the excuse that there's nothing we can do except change my child to a different classroom leaving the other 21 students and the teacher to sit still be in fear because that is the response I as a parent have been given but I refuse to accept that I refuse to wait until a child's seriously hurt before something is finally done and this is not just about the students what about the teacher Miss Miranda like every other teacher has a right to feel safe in her work environment she should not have
022to come to work every day worrying about being hit screamed at or dealing with an uncontrollable student without proper support teachers are already overworked underpaid and now we expect them to act as Crisis Intervention Specialists behavioral therapists and security guards all while trying to teach 22 other students that's not fair to them how long before a teacher gets hurt before one finally says I can't do this anymore and leaves a profession because that will happen if the situation is not addressed we cannot afford to lose good teachers so I asked the board what is the threshold for Action does a child need to be seriously injured does a teacher need to be physically harmed does the entire class need to fall behind because they can't focus in a hostile environment at this rate it's not
023a question of when something worse will happen it's I'm not if it's when I'm not asking for a child to be abandoned but I am demanding that the safety of majority of the students and staff be prioritized this student clearly needs help but that help cannot come from at the expense of the safety and well-being of an entire classroom this child needs to be placed in an environment that is appropriate for their needs not one that puts others at risk I am demanding immediate intervention whether that means removing the student from the general classroom providing one-on-one supervision or placing them in an appropriate behavioral program something must be done the safety of the students teachers and the inte thank you for your comments your time is up ma'am good evening board my name is Anthony
024call thank you Miss Vanessa for coming and visiting our compound I really do appreciate it sorry I wasn't here last week when you gave us compliments thank you board for putting a chief in it's actually taking care of a business he's a wonderful person and he's he's taking care and things are changing and I understand that unlike the gentleman before I am I do not have a high school diploma I have 20 7 years of Driving Experience parents request me all the time parents are upset when I have to do other routes to cover other people I do understand that yes you want qualified people in there I am qualified a lot of people are qualified when you guys remove that high school diploma thing a lot of us drivers came over that would normally
025be driving like me 27 years in the towing business people that have been driving dump trucks our hardest part is getting parents to understand that there's a reason for rules there's a reason that we ask you to be there 10 minutes before the bus stop last week well actually the beginning of the week it was posted on Facebook where a parent chased me down because I was actually on time to the bus stop but she was watching the app that has a delay she proceeded to get out of her car stand in front of the bus door and cuss me out in front of a Bus full of children that happens every day to every bus driver and you know that's why we're late we're getting held up by parents that can't be on time
026want to stand there and argue I run my route on time yes we are short on drivers and yes it's sometimes kids don't get to school on time you have parents that are late and then if the bus is there a minute early we got to turn the bus all the way around with a full thingers to go back and get the child because that's the rule if they're there when they're supposed to be there the email that you guys have sent out we would be there a lot sooner and we try to get there as as you know as soon as possible possible when it allows we are definitely trying all of our all of our drivers are including me Miss Langford you're in Northport Myers High School I love the I love the
027staff there but the problem we have is the people are stopping on orange gr Boulevard to let their students out and when we put the when I asked the security officer he said we tried the sheriff's department won't do anything but that's safety for children you know I almost hit somebody who stopped to let their kid out you know it's you know we got to look around and see the safety for our buses too there's some concerns that I brought up and hopefully they'll get done Mr Nolan is sure trying and I appreciate you guys for for pushing forward and helping Transportation as much as you can thank you my name is India Palencia good evening members of the board and District leadership I stand for you tonight perplexed perplexed by the priorities of our
028district by the decisions being made with taxpayer dollars and by the message those decisions send to the Educators and students in our district not long ago the district negotiated with talk to pay teachers a mere fraction of what were they were actually owed for work they had already done work that went beyond their contracts because they care about their students was the issue a lack of funds well that was the implication and yet here we are today looking at a 20 $70,000 expenditure on an outside lobbying firm I have to ask what exactly are they lobbying for this District already has a government relations position and you all as elected officials have a direct responsibility to advocate for the needs of our schools you've even reduced the number of Schoolboard meetings from twice a month
029to Once bringing up even more time to do just that so why are we Outsourcing a responsibility that should already be handled in house this district is one of the 10 largest of the state yet it consistently ranks near the bottom in performance teachers here are among the worst paid in the nation we struggle to recruit and retain Talent our students are falling behind in Reading in graduation rates and in the very Foundation of their education and then this is how we choose to spend our resources imagine what could be done with $270,000 if we invested it where it truly matters we could incentivize our own employees to advocate for us in Tallahassee employees who actually understand the needs of our classrooms we could put that money toward ensuring teachers are properly compensated showing them
030that their time their commitment and their sacrifices are valued we could be making decisions that directly benefit students rather than adding another expense that at best creates distance between the people making the decisions and the people those decisions impact this is not just a question of money it is a qu question of priorities of Integrity of whether this District truly values the Educators and students it serves because a budget reflects your values what are you reflecting it is time to reconsider you cannot serve two masters you cannot serve the interests of lobbyists and Consultants while turning your back on the people who are on the front lines making a difference every single day it is not a choice we should have to make but in this moment the choice is clear and it is time
031to show that real work of advocacy starts right here with you and I'll add my 9-year-old kid says teachers should be paid double the most money that anyone can ever make because they could never make that money without a teacher a 9-year-old gets it I think you guys can too thank you good evening everybody Robert Ryu wfy District really quickly I had a paper like three four pages I printed like 10 of them for you guys for the wages remember I came here and I said the wages went down I had a young lady called me from the district I returned her called and never called me back give you an example we had a plumber who just left to work for Lee County makees $6 more an hour than our plumbers his insurance is
032$70 for his whole family while if we put our family in it's $67 $800 we all work for Lee County guys why are we so different than the county we can do better Dr Carlin I heard you went to Riverdale glad to hear that you know you're going around and looking at schools we need more of that but we need your help people are leaving whether it's a bus driver or construction okay do something what's that old saying just Do It forget about lobbyist the lobbyist should be Lee County all your parents all these people they're your lobbyists you should be listening to them and not pay somebody for that we're better in that and another one thing is the union what's going on with that nobody's gotten to me on that I don't believe
033we're at 60% let's move thank you hello board members my name is Sandy Clark I've been a teacher at the district for 13 years thank you for letting me speak tonight as a public educator in Lee County I believe that we are facing a crisis of unseen proportions student apathy a lack of Interest enthusiasm or concern and we are part of the problem over the past decade we have been pushing more rigor more technology shorter class periods higher standards faster faster a middle school student today has been through four different sets of increasing standards and high stakes assessments since kindergarten of course Educators and administrators recognize that students can't possibly keep up with the ever increasing standards in fact across the State of Florida and within our very District 70% of students are less than
034proficient in the new grade level reading standards in grades 6 seven and 8 50% of students are testing unsatisfactory and 25% of students are inadequate on grade level standards how have we addressed this problem we create exemplars which are graded on a huge curve one correct out of six multiple choice questions and you receive a passing grade we create workarounds if you have an individual education plan you don't need to pass the high rigor assessments we promoted grade with Grace students should not be given a failing grade due to family hardships we instituted no zero policies all assignments have to receive a minimum 50% score then we used quality points students no longer receive a percentage for their grade each quarter with a minimum 60% to pass and 240 points needed for the year now
035students can literally earn a c in quarter 1 and score all zeros or be absent for the remainder of the school year and still earn their credit the trouble is that all of these Solutions mask the real problem the standards are too high students are being forced to move at a pace where they cannot keep up so they quit trying there is no accountability to our students for their grades there is no accountability to our students for their learning there is no accountability to our students for their attendance and there is no accountability to our students for their behavior something needs to change thank you will the following individuals please line up Gwen gens jacqulyn Perez Joe Phillips Sergio Cruz good evening my name is Erica Davis I'm a special education teacher at a middle
036school in the district I here not just as a special education teacher but as a representative for my colleagues and my students in our district I am here because we have a crisis one that is putting the safety well-being and the education of both students and staff at risk we all believe in inclusion we believe in supporting students with disabilities but inclusion cannot come at the cost of safety over the past few years we have seen serious incidents that have been ignored dismissed and excused under the claim of inclusivity I have personally been cornered in a classroom sexually touched and spit on by a student who continues to exhibit the same behaviors towards others my colleagues have had feces and urine thrown at them a child was thrown down a flight of stairs only for
037the aggressor to face no consequence because his behavior plan states that he might fight others in all cases the victims were told to adjust while the aggressors were allowed to continue this is not just about individual instances this is a systemic failure one that the district is upholding right now the district is systemically blocking any change of placement for students with behavior plans no matter how dangerous the behavior is Teachers staff and even administrators have asked for more support for alternative placements for intervention that will actually help these students and protect others in the process and every single time we are met with roadblocks so I ask you what will it take for things to change does a teacher need to be seriously injured does a student need to end up in the hospital because
038if we don't act now it's only a matter of time inclusion does not mean ignoring violent or dangerous Behavior inclusion does not mean sacrificing the safety of students and staff inclusion is not about allowing unsafe Behavior to persist it is about about appropriate support accountability and ensuring that every student has a safe and Equitable learning environment we need better policies and we need real consequences we need action now before it gets worse thank you good evening School Board superintendent lunar retired teacher talk member once again I'm toting my own horn about Veterans Day none of this board did as jdance said is there no thank you Mr valinsky is there no thank you School Board now I'm happy to announce St John's County School Board will revise their District calendar and make Veterans Day a
039holiday I spoke with the president of the Union funny these people talk to me but tal ignores me and they don't tell me where their $90,000 Grant from FEA went for Hurricane Ian here's the documents from the school district I'm going to leave him with you I was proud to hear from the school board chair as well I'm asking the board tonight to contact Mr Mike G Lardo into tassi and see if we can start together you me and the board a state holiday since half do and half don't and there is no policy I'm sure the go might like that he likes to relegate from Tallahassee tonight I'm asking the board to table the appointment of Mr Charles Bradley the district has closed the Dei Department department has been dismantled as per Trump and
040the Secretary of Ed now tonight you want to make a new fake job for him pseudo job I'm submitting to you documentation from my colleague Mr Dave J triple Dippers dorg here it all is you will have it to peruse and on this Mr Bradley is a triple Dipper he's retired tonight he'll get $647,000 when he walks away but you want to give him another job in a pencil pushing position I want this decision to be tabled because the facts are here about him and the triple Dippers here at the district you know if we cut this triple dipping out folks you could be giving teachers an $80,000 starting pay in the bus drivers 50 bucks an hour come on this is bureaucracy that Trump's trying to cut where's my triple Dipper friends radar Roger
041Lloyd how about Dr Spyro these guys are still hanging around and I've been retired 15 years shame on you all if I run for school board my first priority is to going to I'm going to invite elen musk to come here with his chainsaw cuz you guys need that I've got extra 10 seconds where's miss ganelli I miss her none of you call me anymore give me a ring I don't bite good night folks please hold thank you for your comments time is up what it call oh here he comes yeah give that to Jennifer good evening board and everyone thank you to the speaker that went ahead of me I read an article called literacy home liter literacy environment and emergent literacy skills by Carol Holman Weir and barudi the focus of the article
042was home literacy and socioeconomic status just to quote it supporting children and their families is layered complex and holistic it's critical towards effective educational programs to include involvement of the whole family with an incorporation of fam's Heritage languages as well as commitment of the teaching staff programs that involve the whole family can affect family relations Child Development sense of belonging parent and child literacy and parenting skills so I have a couple of questions for you first of all you stated that the exit of Dei programs you will still adhere to the laws relating to discrimination my question is if the hardworking underpaid educators are not exposed or taught those laws how do they affect how does this affect children and how they handle potential incidents how will you do that the second question is how
043will adult Educators learn to understand the critical influence of culture home literacy and socioeconomic status on the education and achievement of students I ask you to step out of the mold realize that all children are not the same and their cultures and socioeconomic status is critical to their academic success doing so is a win-win for us all better student parent community relations and closing the achievement Gap make an effort to learn how the culture affects their learning being awake to this issue is not the four-letter word of being woke I am sure most of you saw my OP ED in the News Press regarding your salaries don't throw anything at me and if you haven't please read it and open-mindedly consider the suggestion another point I want you to please think about signing up to
044sub you listen to people and teachers come every time you have a meeting and talk about the conditions I sub periodically and trust me what these parents are saying and what these people are saying is very much the case I'm asking you step away from the group and the checking what checking the box and speak up for children thank you good evening good to see you guys again my name is Sergio Cruz I'm a parent advocate and I did want to touch on a few things but I think after one of the other people spoke I did want to kind of touch on inclusion and just highlight the need for a new direction of our district for the ESC department so you got two flips of the coin I would obviously kind of maybe go
045against the other public commenter in regard to inclusion and kind of what it means as far as instead of placing the blame on the child I'll put it on the on the school the staff and the district as far as what resources accommodations and services they are providing to make it appropriate as opposed to just dropping a child into a general educational setting without the proper supports and that's usually when you find somebody who has a disagreement with inclusion whether it be from the staff District level whether it be from another parent or whatever maybe with those same rhetorics and rebuttal it's usually down to that point is because there's not adequate appropriate Services put into place to address those situations and there's usually a kind of a binary conversation versus is it working or
046isn't it not working versus what can we do to make it work and I'm sure that they have as far as teachers or or or staff in the classroom has plenty of ideas but what I can say is what the years and the data have shown is nothing is working so that's also a testament to their concerns as well of not getting support or being able to have Avenues to approach those conversations appropriately but to blame it on the child or to put it on the child I think is a little bit offut as well again it to me highlights the fact that when you have Equitable conversations with the stakeholders actually involved you will solicit a little bit more information versus having somebody who maybe isn't in touch with that side that kind of
047full soer brings up back back a little bit to the Dei I don't usually get into those conversations per se because when I look at Dei I look at inclusion specifically with individuals with disabilities and kind of how that affects and I can say that my quorums with the district my grievances over the years has never surfaced to a level where I said it's because that person is a Dei hire is the reason why I have my grievances it's usually been because that person is unfit inadequate or just doesn't fit the bill to to be in that position has nothing usually to do with that what I would say that was supposed to have been a positive but what I what I would perceive as the Dei initiatives is because it would have allowed somebody
048who is who has a disability to sit at that table and to have a voice because there are nuances that it comes to even when it comes to where bathrooms are placed or different things like that you would need that voice on let alone when it comes to the everyday classroom things like what kind of supports do we need to put in place for you know teachers and and students who have behavior issues but it is not a binary conversation it a spectrum and I think you only have that discourse and be able to get that in introspective with having this your time is up thank you for your comments good evening board after receiving numerous messages from members of your staff I'm compelled to be here to speak on their behalf tonight several months
049ago prior to the election many promises were made for change in the culture of the district those promises have been broken many months ago the interm superintendent closed a government layers on position at the district and stated that it was no longer necessary because the elected board members had good relationships with the local elected officials right after that two positions were created as some form of government lassance one's a coordinator and one a director this is in addition to a contract you presently have with a lobbying firm called gray Robinson and tonight on your agenda you are hiring another lobbying firm which has ties to a campaign manager that many of you have utilized for help in your campaigns that contract is $270,000 plus expenses significantly higher than the district has ever paid for any
050lobbying firm before interestingly this same company has a contract with the County Commissioners for a mere $120,000 while many Educators work tirelessly for the last year or more giving up their planning time to cover other classes and many have not been paid for their hard work for your employees to watch how you give contracts and create positions for friends and promote others without any consideration to them denying denying many the opportunity for advancement is insulting degrading and exactly what you all claimed you would not allow to happen most of you claimed that you wanted to clean up this toxic culture of cronyism and nepotism and yet here we are to hear the educators of our district reach out to me in despair of not being paid was promised to them is truly heartbreaking these Educators
051in your District after being treated so poorly still continue to freely donate their time to tutor students and help in their schools they are the backbone of this district and they are continuously being taken advantage of you struggle to recruit and retain talent and our students are falling behind in reading math and graduation rates but you find the budget to award these outlandish contracts when you should be lobbying for the district yourselves I cannot begin to compreh end how you think it's okay to utilize public funds in the creation of contracts and new administrative positions at the district when it will have no beneficial impact on raising our achievement rates and retaining Educators and bus drivers so I plead with you to please look and see if there's any compensation that you can find for
052the Educators that have not received any money at all please thank you ma'am if you could just state your name I know your name Bud Jacqueline Press thank you thank up here some of my biggest fans I am smoking Joe I'm here to speak on behalf of the children teachers and support staff that have reached out to me taxpaying citizens of Lee County have a right to question the actions and outof control waste and abuse of their money everyone on this board has campaigned as a conservative your actions are not the definition conservative as most of us understand stand conservatives believe in less government while under the direction of superintendent Carlin we have increased the number of employees in high paid positions even at this very meeting she intends to PR promote another friend to
053a newly created associate superintendent position I stopped counting after two 10 new positions were approved by this board every one of you venly stated that you were opposed to the school board being political and having more government yet tonight you're here to add an additional lobbyist firm that you all have ties to how is it possible that you can vote there's when there's clearly a conflict of interest giving a contract to Bor and Associates is nothing more than placing the campaign manager Terry Miller that you all sold your soul to giving him complete power to destroy Lee County whether while in other venues some of you proudly Tout The Power of the cabal even posting cabal all strong you have no shame in your questionable character while this board has created two positions for other
054known Miller rights to be government relations positions with salaries of $97,000 and the other $122,000 and you want us to just sit back and while you hire another lobbyist firm at the tune of $270,000 a year plus expenses every one of you have proven liars and I plan on telling everyone who will listen unlike this Board of pinocchios I would like to know how yall decide what you can subject to us next do you s around scheduling you since you stop scheduling a meeting once a month do y'all sit around with armor drinking dum dum juice and playing rock paper scissors I'm smoking joke have a great night Mr chairman that concludes public comment thank you attorney debris Bruno thank you everyone for your comments your feedback it is appreciated now we're going to move
055into the consent agenda okay next is the approval of the action items in the agenda under consent 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 may we may have regarding the recommendations some of these items have also been briefed or workshopped with the board in advance of appearing on the action agenda board member there any items that you wish to pull for discussion under unfinished business or table items Mr Ribble Miss Jordan I'm sorry I do have one and I know I did supposed to tell you in advance but I cannot find the exact number so I have to apologize if you
056could it's the one regarding the contract and I'm TR number in that please it's a G3 so you're pulling G3 yes please thank you any other pulls okay Mr persons I have none Mrs Langford Fleming I have none Mrs chaviano I have none and I have none okay is there a motion to approve the agenda's consent action items with the exception of pulled item G3 G3 D G3 I'll make the motion to approve the action do we have a second I'll second it okay move by Mr Ribble second by Mr persons please record your vote tell okay thank you okay approve 60 we now address pulled item G3 Dr Carlin whenever you're ready please read your recommendation for the pulled item G3 thank you Mr chairman my recommendation is approval of the contract for Professional
057Services with ballot Partners to provide fed federal legislative service to the board including legislative and governmental relations activities assistance for the school district of Lee County During the period of March 5 2025 to March 5 2026 the estimated expenditure of $180,000 is for the one-year contract period approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents thank you Dr Carlin is there a motion to adopt Dr Carlin's recommendation I'll make the motion to adopt the recommendation we have a second I'll second moved by Mr Ribble second Miss lenford Fleming do we have any discussion proceed Miss Jordan thank you I just wanted to hear the correct amount because I know there was another amount that was stated so I wanted to make sure that amount was out there of the correct amount that is on this
058contract and then that also wanted to make sure that from my understanding and conversation that I had is that fort Fort Meyers is has nothing to do with Bard and Fort Meers does not have anything to do with this contract anyone working in Fort Meers does not have anything to do with this contract that is correct that is a provision in the contract okay so the people that we are hiring for this is for the people who work out of Washington and there are certain individuals that we are looking to take care of the District correct this is a is that on this is a contract for federal lobbying that is correct Federal Lobby so it's Tracy Pew and another person that we had yes spoke about okay that's I just want to clarify that
059thank you and thank you for allowing me to do that board members is there any other discussion okay I think this would be a roll call vote I this will be a roll call vote signify your vote by saying I or nay Mr Ribble I miss Jordan hi Mr persons I miss Langford Fleming hi Miss chavano hi and I and I motion carry 60 okay superintendent Carlin I believe you want may want to address some administrators and attendance with new position it would be my pleasure Mr chairman so it's my pleasure to introduce our new coordinator of government compliance and investigations Jennifer Fuller you can stand there you go next up is our new associate superintendent for Adult Career Technical and alternative education Mr Ed Matthews and finally this evening principal of South Fort Meers
060High School on an interim basis till the end of the year Angel Gomez congratulations and we are very excited for you and we can't wait to see the great work that you're going to do in your respective positions thank you for serving thank you Dr Carlin thank you everyone and again I will continue to Echo what Mr Pon has said before enjoy tonight but we'll see you tomorrow at work so moving on to item s public hearings whenever you are ready superintendent Carlin please present your recommendations for this evening's public hearing items thank you Mr fiser is my pleasure to read a couple of our public hearing items this evening our first one approval to adopt the 2526 code of conduct for students prek through 12th grade in compliance with changes in related rules regulations
061and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 20125 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents our second item is approval to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for adult students in compliance with the changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 2025 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents and finally our third item approval to adopt new and revised board policies in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 4th 2025 thank you Dr Carlin we will now recess
062the regular school board meeting and open the public hearing the time is 7:02 p.m. as indicated the public hearing this evening is considered Dr Carlin's recommendations as previously stated this time the public will be invited to speak on these three items the time allowed for com for public comment is three minutes so we'll first start with item number one is there anyone in attendance would like to address the board regarding the approval to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for students prek K to 12 in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effective data of this adop option shall be March 5th 2025 approve approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents is there anyone in the audience that wishes
063to address said topic okay I am seeing none I recognize none out there number two is there anyone in the audience who like to address the board regarding the approval to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for adult students in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effectiv data of adoption shall be March 5th 2025 approval authorizes a superintendent to execute all related documents is there anyone wishing to comment on said matter okay seeing none I see none out there moving on to item number three is there anyone in the audience who' like to address the board regarding the approval to adopt new and revised board policies in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt press practices
064and promote transparent accountability the effective data of this adoption shall be March 4th 2025 we will start first by chapter chapter 1000 Administration is there anyone wishing to make any comment on rules related to that seeing none chapter 3000 instructional staff seen none that wishes to comment on that chapter 4,000 support staff does anyone wish to make a comment seen none chapter 7,000 property does anyone wish to make a comment seeing none I will now close the public hearing reconvene the Schoolboard meeting of March 4th 2025 the time is 7:05 p.m. Dr Carlin please restate your recommendation for this evening's public hearing items one at a time thank you chair Fisher number one approval to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for students prek through 12th grade in compliance with changes in related rules
065regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 2025 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents thank you Dr Carlin you've heard the superintendent's recommendation that the board approved to adopt the 2025 code of conduct for students prek to 12th in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and pro transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 202 5 approval approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents board members is there a motion to approve Mr persons I make a motion to approve the superintendent recommendation for student code of conduct okay and a second second okay Miss okay moved by Miss person second by Miss Jordan is
066there any board discussion right now okay okay we'll move on will this be a digital Vote or a hand vote okay then please record your vote okay policy passes 60 number two item if you can yes sir I will be happy to read it absolutely approval to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for adult students in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and to promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 2025 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related documents thank you Dr Carlin you have heard the superintendent's recommendation that the board approved to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for adult students in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and pro
067transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 5th 2025 approval authorizes the superintendent to execute all related contracts we have a motion to approve I'll move to approve to adopt the 2025 2026 code of conduct for adult students okay do we have a second I'll second okay moveed by Mrs lenford Fleming and then second L Mr chavano do we have any discussion okay please record your vote if you're ready code of conduct passes 60 for the adult now we're moving on to item three Dr car thank you sir approval to adopt new and revised board policies in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 4th 2025 thank you Dr Carlin you've
068heard the superintendent's recommendation that the board approv to adopt the new and revised board policies and compliance with changes and related rules regulations and statute to adopt best practices and promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be March 4th 25 do we have a motion to approve I'll motion to approve the new and revised board policies do we have a second I'll second okay move by Mrs chaviano seconded by Mr Ribble okay do we have any discussion up here okay please record your vote then okay approve 6 moving on to good of the order other business board member comments and reports we will start with Mr Ribble very quickly most of these items were talked about at the workshop I think M Jordan covered just about everything that all of us
069attended last week so I'm not going to I'm not going to review that but I did have a chance along with Jada to attend the safety and health committee it was the first time I sat in there and I was really impressed with how organized they were how structured and the talents that were assigned in the district to our nurses and counselors that were in that room but the reason I wanted to speak up about this was the presentation that they did on vaping if you don't think vaping's a crisis when you get home tonight or when you get a chance put vaping in a Google Search and read up about it's like the number one crisis for kids and for young students in fact these tobacco companies are really focusing in on marketing all
070their Wares on vaping to the younger children and in some cases a lot of them are getting engaged so if you're not sure what your child's doing look in the book bag or check their room and see if there's a vaping pipe there because there's a good chance they are taking this ugly habit which is very very addictive so I just wanted to pass that on thank you thank you Mr Ribble Miss Jordan yes I just have two other items that I did not speak about this afternoon one is we met at the career Advisory board meeting we met at Fort Meers technical school with business is throughout Lee County and Beyond actually and we had the opportunity to hear about all the amazing opportunities that our technical colleges have to offer as well as
071they were able to speak to the businesses and see what they are looking for in the future then we were able to take a tour of the facility and see all the great things that are taking place and that you know how our kids and adults are coming out you know in a year with a certificate and ready to work also the Dak report even though the minutes are not have not been transcribed yet Dr Shaker started or or I'm sorry I'm trying to read from this little thing here Dr Shaker shared the safe start initiative with the group and they were asked to respond to three specific questions in addition to any questions they had Dr Shaker and Mr McKenna answered the question if there were specific recommendations in the minutes we will share
072on the board update but I know that I went through some of the trans transcriptions and the three questions that I seen that popped out was do we have currently have enough transportation for the new plan concerns over K8 and high school same start time for parents and the middle school is being dismissed and late for activities they were three of the main ones that I had focused on and that I had noticed and I just want to say too I was listening to a lot of the people speak today and the word that kept coming out is accountability accountability and I know this afternoon I asked that question who is accountable for for things taking place and how do we make that happen so I hope that you know that we heard you know
073the comment and that you know we can definitely you know take key to what they what they were sharing with us so that's all I have to say thank you thank you Miss Jordan Mr persons yeah guess what this is read Across America week and the whole board pretty much is going all across the district reading at all different schools mostly Elementary I got to start this morning at Bayshore Elementary right to a kindergarten in a first grade class the kindergarten asked me if I really was Dr Seuss I guess I am looking a little old here but I guess that's better than Smurf so which I've also been called with the spear but anyway it's it's a great time to spend with the kids I do some other days other than just this week
074but reading to them I read one little book it was called a frog on a log but the Frog didn't want to be on a log it wanted to be on a mat but a cat is on a mat and the whole book went on and on and on like that it always rhymed until the very last page when there was a dog and the Frog says what does the dog dog sit on well what rhymes with dog frog so the next page showed the dog sitting on the edge of the frog and a big sign that said help it was a great book the kids loved it and I'm sure we're all the board will enjoy the whole week reading to the kids that's all Mrs lenford Fleming thank you and I have to
075remove my hat or I won't be able to focus on what I'm saying here yeah my thank you to all of the folks that came out this evening we take copious notes and I know our superintendent does as well so don't be surprised if someone from staff reaches out to you especially our instruct instructors I have to say something about the Jazz Band today I don't know if anybody noticed but those young students didn't have any sheet music which is so it's so incredibly hard to be able to memorize that I don't think I think they had it for the whole time so I cannot wait to see them perform again that was outstanding by the time we meet next we will have had spring break and I just want to tell our teachers and
076staff to please shut your laptops go take time for yourself do something fun bus drivers you know take a take several days off enjoy the sunshine I you very much appreciated and we are hearing your concerns about all of the things you bring to the table it's not falling on deaf ears and I just want to tell you once again how much we and I appreciate all that you all do thank you thank you m l from Fling Mrs Chavana yeah so I've made my way I did like six School visits within the last month kind of going through most of like Fort Meyers and C Coral I've been given peppers I've taken home from the gardens different little things throughout so it's really cool to just see the culture and the different things that
077are happening in all the schools and the classrooms it's pretty awesome we have some truly amazing teachers in our schools and it's it's nice to see them doing what they love and you see it on their face and you see it with the kids so it's nice to be a part of that I have a district Town Hall happening next week on the 12th it's going to be at Oak Hammock Middle school it's going to be at 5:30 so if you're in that area you know anyone in that area please invite them out that is the opportunity to connect with myself and Dr Carlin you know to for us to share what you know our goals are and what we're doing in the district but of course for you guys to share your pieces as
078well so please take part in that there there are questions that you're able to submit online to have them asked during that town hall so please take that off opportunity to submit those there outside of that we doing the read Across America doing those pieces and I had onboarding last week and it was like a really like quick date onboarding and I'm going to come back to my departments to really do a better sit down but it's impressive what everyone is doing here and the passion that they have for what they do here and their dedication to the district and truly making us the best and it's a turning ship right there's there's new leadership there's new leaders here at the dis it's not going to happen overnight and to mirror what Miss fluming said
079we take notes and we take them back and we have plenty of conversations about what comes to us so it we are listening please call us please email us we do see them so thank you please enjoy your Spring Break spend time not on technology if you can and do put your feet on some grass and get some sun and just kind of hang out and relax but that's it thank you thank you Mrs chaviano I have a couple things I'll try to make this quick I did go out to Fort Meers Tech as a bunch of us like Miss Jordan said that was really good I appreciate that we all went out to Paul Lawrence dunor Middle School to take part in the garden opening that was really great really appreciate that some good
080vegetables out there I went made my way around District 5 so thank you to the principals at Orange River Elementary Manatee Elementary School Oak Hammock got to see some of the kids out from tonight in fact there so mirror Lakes G Weaver hips Lehi Elementary lame teal I actually met up with Mr persons and Regional associate superintendent nater we actually got a quick kind of behind the scenes tour the black box and I know we talked about this it's it's going to be fabulous it's really amazing great job out there I'm excited for the kids out at veterans Park and lame teal I think it's going to be really amazing I also went to eastle high school Veterans Park Academy Varsity Lakes Riverdale High got to see some of the where we're at with the
081construction that will look so the gym two that will be really nice so it will be fabulous for the students out there River Hall and the last one I attended and Miss lenford Fleming had talked about this before was Alva that was fantastic we really got I got to go see the cow as well and the pigs and the program out there in fact so excited about it we on our next Workshop I've asked to have people from the Alva school including the FF ffh students come out do presentation I'm hearing we might get a salad from them too so I'm excited for that many of us also went to the FSB Regional event I thought we had some really good productive conversations there and we had a good panel going through some discussions Golden
082Apple events we talked about great job to the foundation Golden Apple social was really good thank you to and Miss Jordan had mentioned this before to Senator Martin coming out to Franklin Park and arranging that and getting to see all the parts of the community programs out there I was able to speak at buac as well past week and they had some really good informative questions I know Miss juven jelen I went to the Press lunch and that was really good to hear some of the direction of our legislator legislator excuse me before they go up to Tallahassee stemtastic I don't know if we talked about I know we did that Fab ous time thank you to the all the sponsors and the foundation I know I truly enjoyed it my kids enjoyed it so
083and last but not least and M L for FL brought that off thank you to Tanglewood Elementary and Mrs Holland their teacher as well as the their National Honor Society students that came in and kind of asked us some questions in a mock board meeting so it was really amazing so that is all I have moving on to turn to BR Bruno I have nothing thank you Mr chairman okay Dr Carlin thank you sir so I have have a couple of comments this evening first of all like you I've had the privilege of of visiting numerous schools over the past couple of weeks as matter of fact there was about 17 of them that I got out to see one of our public commenters tonight talked about Riverdale just a pleasure to see what was
084going on out there as well as our other schools I just want to thank our principls and our team members and our students for such a warm welcome you know I am the new superintendent around here I'm not going to be able to say that a whole lot longer but had the privilege of walking classrooms and really getting back back to the why why do we do why do all of us do the work we do and it's about the children it's about the staff and about our schools so just thank you for your warm welcome also we talked earlier today the Florida legislative session has begun and I'm looking forward to working with all of you on our 2025 legislative priorities and forwarding that work up in Tallahassee and with the approval tonight also
085continuing to work on some of the work up in the Washington DC looking at Appropriations and looking at other opportunities for our students that we have never been able to access before so I really am very proud of our board for passing that tonight also just a quick update on some of our top priorities they used to be called Dr Carlin's priorities they are now our district priorities Safety and Security is always my top priority last week I had the opportunity to attend Florida's very first national Summit on school safety at which best practices were shared Chief Dave nulan and I went over to went to Orlando we had the opportunity to hear about experiences from the margerie stowman Douglas parents so if you've never had the opportunity to hear I would encourage you to
086Google that go on YouTube it really again emphasizes why we put financial and other resources into school safety we were challenged to remember do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of our children and I take that to heart and I know you do as well also improved student achievement is also one of our one of our priorities and what I'll share with you is this past two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend data chat we now have our principal sitting down collaboratively and talking about best practices so they look at their progress monitoring data and they are totally transparent with their colleagues they sit down they take a look at how their children are doing and they make real time adjustments based on that data and I'm so proud of our principals
087and so proud of our school leaders who don't just wait until the end of the year when their data comes in when they get some summative data they Dive Right In and they start making those changes and I'm I just couldn't be prouder of them and really appreciate their collaboration in this District we are laser-like focused on student achievement we are headed to the top and I appreciate the board's support for that as well and then fiscal responsibility is also another one of our priorities and I shared this with the board earlier this week and I'm very proud to announce that we have modeled the way here at the district office we have asked for a 5% reduction a minimum of a 5% reduction from each and every Department in this district office which is
088yielding us $15.9 million that is a huge commitment from this these departments down here I am very proud of that and we're going to continue to go this is round one what we are committed to doing is to take those dollars and reinvest in our priorities one of which is employee compensation so we will be having those conversations and then in addition to that we are also continuing to rightsize the organizational chart of this district office so I have to give credit to Dr Savage who's been my partner on this he is affectionally known as the Doge here in Lee County but he is he is absolutely partnering with our Chiefs and with our division heads to try to find those additional dollars and we will be rightsizing this district office in terms of our
089organizational chart and finally just want to piggyback on a couple of my board member colleagues up here spring break is coming and I remember when I was teaching in the classroom and I was a principal it was that last break before summer and I just want to wish all of you a very happy spring break please take the advice of our board colleagues go to the beach take out a good book put that computer away take some time for you take some time for your family we as Educators invest in everybody else's children this is your opportunity to invest in your own family and spend some real real good qual quality time and just finally thank you to our board members I will share with the public as much as I possibly can that they
090share the goal with us with me of moving this District to become the number one achieving District in the State of Florida some people say that's not possible I don't believe it we have the best students amazing teachers we have principals School leaders and District administrators and a fabulous board who have R up their sleeves and they are committed to doing what's right for our children and right for for our schools so I just thank you for your leadership of the board I just want you to know it is a true P privilege to serve as your superintendent so thank you thank you superintendent Carlin scheduled meetings of the board on Tuesday April 4th there'll be a Schoolboard workshop at 1M filed by a Schoolboard Action meeting at 6 p.m. at this point having no
091other business to come before this body and seeing no objection this meeting is hereby adjourn the time is 7:27 p.m. have a good evening thank you