001good evening ladies and gentlemen chairpersons is unable to attend this evening thus I'll be acting chairman tonight we are ready to begin this evening's board meeting sergeant in arms has the front lobby been attended to in the doors open for Public Access thank you Chief okay 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 prior to the start of this evening's meeting we had been enjoying music from the south fort Meers marching band this group of students is under the direction of Tyler Craner and will be performing at the Lee County marching NPA at Fort Meers high school on November 4th members of this group were also recently featured at the city of Fort
002Meers Latin music festival please give these performers another round of applause Applause I wanted to make sure on these a little bit we went to the lightning band that we had high school on Saturday and it was the first marching competition that South has been to in about 6 years and they were able to take home a couple of really nice awards from that the best we got second place in our division doua from all the schools that competed throughout CER Lee Charlotte Theo all that so that was really awesome they also took home you've been enjoying the part of our drum line tonight they took home Best in Class percussion for drum line and then shy over here our drum maer secur drum maker wait one second sir I just have to call call
003real quick I got to call the meeting to order so I'm pleased to welcome you to the October 17th school board meeting the time is 6:02 p.m. and this meeting is called to order we'll now hear one more song from this amazing group thank you Southport Meers marching band that was amazing us want the drum line to play us we will pause briefly to allow clearing of the pit area great job e is to ensure that each student achieves his or her highest personal potential and the district's Visions to be a worldclass school system okay moving on to item number two approval of the agenda this evening's agenda includes invocation presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance public comment consent action items which include three items under Board office one item under executive Services which
004is good cause Dr prer please provide an explanation for this one item I'm presenting this item to the board as good cause due to the pressing need to secure approval for our for your legislative platform promptly this will allow us to embark on our lobbying process and our visit to Tallahassee tomorrow where we Advocate on beh for the benefit of our students teachers administrators support professionals and all staff memb members for the school district of Lee County thank you Dr berer as presiding officer I find there is good cause to add this item to the agenda we also have five items under academic Services three items under Business Services five items under Human Resources eight items under operation one public hearing and I believe we are now under three items for good of the order
005other business correct yes okay I know one motion was four okay we have four items my apologies on that board members is there a motion to adopt the agenda okay Miss Jordan followed by a second I move to adopt the agenda as written thank you second from Miss Langford Fleming okay please record your vote I can I it's not up but yes motion motion carries motion motion carries 60 next up as the custom of the board I will introduce Our Guest for the invocation afterwards Mrs juven ellia will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance please stand everyone for the invocation Rabbi if you want to join us yes tonight tonight I would like to welcome rabbi movitz he is a spiritual leader and director of habad lubich of Southwest Florida thank you for joining
006us Rabbi almighty God we stand before you in prayer look favorably upon the school board Educators and students of Lee County Florida we beseech you Almighty and merciful god to extend your grace to each and every board member of this AUST body and bestow upon them the joy of life good health and prosperity bless these distinguished individuals who have been chosen to make decisions set policy guide and shape the future of education for the children of Lee County Grant these public servants wisdom and understanding in their Noble Pursuit Of Education the of educating the children of Lee County give them God guidance so that they will always be conscious of your presence and will strive to set policy with honesty and integrity in accordance with your will may they have wisdom to turn aders adversary
007into opportunity and to transform the hard challenges we face today into the seeds from which will Sprout the growth of tomorrow may our County serve as a beacon of light for people of all faith of all walks of life may the school board help achieve the goal so powerfully stated in our Pledge of Allegiance so that America is truly one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all as the whole world is praying for Israel we here in L Lee County join in prayer as well we pray that God should Avenge the blood of the murdered ensure the hostages are immediately redeemed and the wounded have complete and speedy recoveries we pray our soldiers succeed in their heroic and holy work and that they all come home safely we pray for the safety
008security and well-being of all our brothers and sisters in the holy land during this horrible war and forever now let us say Amen thank you thank you for your words rabbi please remain standing Mrs juvenile please lead us in the presentation of colors and the Pledge of Allegiance introducing the cadet who will present the national colors tonight in is Lieutenant Colonel Scott vernardo Senator excuse me senior armor Army instructor for the Cypress Lake High School jrtc program Colonel vernardo retired from the United States Army in 2017 after many years of distinguished service in positions of increasing responsibility around the world this is Colonel bernardo's seventh year as an instructor in the district thank you Colonel for your service thank you presenting the national colors tonight iset Lieutenant Colonel Ana melli KET melli is a senior
009Cypress Lake High School and an outstanding example of a leader and citizen she's a top Cadet in her jrtc program and has served as a varsity member and team captain of the panther trer team drill team and color guard and's been on the weightlifting team and is an outstanding member of the prestigious National Honor Society she has a 4.0 GPA and After High School she plans to attend Florida Southwest and University of Central Florida to pursue a career in nursing please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge of alleg to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank you thank you everyone please be seated okay this evening student representative is Nini
010Fernando a sophomore Dunbar Dunbar High School with a GPA of 4.56 she's involved in the math team TSA technology Student Association HOSA science fair and inventor Fair she aspires to pursue pursue a career in medicine and continue to raise stem awareness in her free time she enjoys singing and playing the saxophone she has been a part of the All-Star choir for two consecutive years please welcome the sheeni great to have you tonight okay moving on to item e public comment the next item attorney debris Bruno please address the item of public comment good evening and thank you Mr chairman the school board policy provides the opportunity at this point in the meeting to address the board concerning any matter on this meeting's agenda or any other matter relevant to the operation of the school district
011please 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 concerns will be addressed by the superintendent or his staff as necessary and the chair may also comment as deemed appropriate at the conclusion of public comment the superintendent 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 public comment we ask that decorum be kept and
012respect be shown which is what is expected when a government agency conducts official business therefore abusive language should is 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 and booing or a display of temper during public comment is prohibited speakers who fail to follow proper decorum in the chambers will be ruled out of order by the board chair or the parliamentarian any speaker continuing with such remarks will be required to relinquish the microphone for board policy icy 01 69.1 and may be removed from the chambers by the Sergeant at Arms for board policy 0 69.1 the time per speaker is 3 minutes if there are 20 speakers 2 minutes if there are 30 speakers and 1
013minute 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 screen 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 your names five speakers at a time please follow staff's Direction when lining up Mr chairman there are nine individuals that wish to address the board this evening the time for speaker is 3 minutes thank you attorney depri Bruno please ensure you've completed a public comment card if you intend to provide public comment the card is a public record identifying those who speak and providing contact information to staff for followup their cards are located with staff in the hallway
014is there anyone in the audience who wishes to address the board but did not fill out a comment card please raise your hand okay seeing none attorney debris Bruno please proceed with public comment thank you Mr chairman will the following individuals please line up Megan Shaw Dr Edward dra Geneva Kelly Dr meline Stewart Robert Daniels just wait till the timer comes up there you go good evening my name is Megan Shaw I am here tonight to talk about a bus stop issue that I'm having with the district I sent an email to all of you with some information to review ahead of time so that you could see pictures and the communications I'm having with the district without any success this is an issue I've been dealing with since the beginning of the school year
015I reached out to Transportation immediately when I found out where the school bus stop was I did not receive a response I reached out to the school I did not receive a response I finally reached out to the principal and finally had my information transferred to somebody monius leales I might be saying that name wrong responded and basically said according to State guidelines the stop is safe I got another email telling me per state law the stop cannot be made in a turn lane and must me be made before a turn lane Begins the driver cannot block the entrance of the community I asked for them to provide me with the law or guidelines or any information that would support what they are stating and just to give a brief overview I live in Venetian
016Point it's on the corner of Summerland and gladiola two of our most busiest roads it's 50 m an hour and the current bus stop requires that my son exit the neighborhood and walk more than $200 F feet I don't I don't do distances but it's a pretty long hike down the road where bicycles are flying by there's no curb it's a swell and wait there for the school bus to come it is extremely dangerous it's terrifying and especially when it's raining it's just not safe Middle School gets picked up right in front of the neighborhood I'm not sure where High School gets picked up but I assume it's the exact same as Middle School when I brought this to the attention I was told that they were going to move the middle school bus which
017I'm not trying to put any other kids in danger so I really don't want that to happen we have two entrances to my community and it doesn't make sense why we can't find a place for this bus to pick up our kids without being at risk of getting hit by a car going 50 m hour I was again told state law I pulled the state law I'm an attorney that's what I do for a living I pulled statutes I pulled the Schoolboard policies I do not find anything that says that you can't stop a bus in front of my neighborhood furthermore my community would not have any issue with blocking my neighborhood for the one minute it takes for the school bus to stop and the kids to get on and so I ask for
018your assistance tonight to help me get this bus stop moved to where it's a safe place for my kid and all of the other kids there's plenty of space there I've had the safety inspector come out but he his reason is just these guidelines that nobody will provide me with and so I implore you thank you ma'am thank you next speaker please good evening board members Dr berer and Miss Dupri Bruno I'm Dr Edward Drass first I'd like i' like to comment on the nature of these meetings and the general operation of the board since the newly formed board took office I have noted a significant Improvement in Congeniality and effectiveness of board workshops and board meetings and of the general work of the district I think this is no accident new board leadership has
019added cohesiveness and conservative thought to the decisions and actions produced there is however room for improvement serious important issues such as Financial transparency teacher retention and effective graduation of students with higher math and reading skills are goals to work toward with the objective of working together on such issues I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the Lee Republican executive committee the official body of the Republican party in Lee County with 274 current members now has a public public education committee which is designated Leon to the school board and District I have been chosen to chair that committee the committee is composed of individuals with expertise in school district policy and function our goal is to make the district function more effectively to improve public education to reduce spending and eliminate waste
020and to improve trust in the public face of District leadership and in the education system in general it is my hope that you and the members of the committee can work together collegially to obtain these ends look upon us as a resource in the community to help disseminate information about District activities and serve as a source of advice and recommendation for proposed District policies we would like to meet with each of you individually and do introduce ourselves and explain our purpose so in the coming days days we will schedule appointments to accomplish this additionally and this was an item that just came to my attention last week the choice of Dr berer as superintendent was well thought and since his arrival the district has been managed to a high degree of professional conduct and efficiency
021I was disappointed to read his letter stating that he will not seek the elected office continuity of Professional Management of the district is extremely important thank you for your time and please continue your endeavors for the good of the district hi my name is jennifa Kelly I'm here to request a hardship waiver for my son to change schools not in January after a nervous breakdown but now while I can save the little bit of strength he has left my son has had type 1 diabetes since he was two between needles pokes sugar highs and lows I have never seen him as defeated as he feels right now because of school he doesn't feel supported by teachers staff and was one of several kids taken out of the music program because he didn't want to join
022their marching band if I'm not mistaken Arts and Humanities is a part of the IB Program here I've spoken to the IB counselor assistant principal 504 coordinator been to student enrollment and called to speak to Dr berer himself but got a nice lady named Kim who wish she had better news for me instead my son started the year excited I've watched him go from an a student to having C's and even D's I've watched him reach out for help only to feel alone when teachers responded days later and his assignments fell behind after missing school due to other medical issues he's a good kid turning into someone I don't even recognize because of the pressure he feels he doesn't understand why he can't get answers and why it wasn't clear when we picked the school
023that the music program was changing kids acted out right we pass off bad behavior because they're teenagers we want them to be like us so we want them to suck it up and get over it but they are growing up in a completely different time with technology and a system that was not in place when most of us went to school to tell him to suck it up and ex sorry to tell him to suck it up would mean to accept something that's not working I didn't come here to badmouth his school or give advice on how to run a system with too many kids and not enough teachers I understand the challenge that we're all facing I am saying that lack of communication and support is making my son miserable on the student enrollment
024website the web page sorry the welcome page States ensuring each student achieves His Highest his or her highest personal potential I'm asking you to stand by those words today thank you good evening everyone mateline Stewart first I want to congratulate the academic Services team I don't know if they're here tonight for the outstanding process they developed for the Social Studies textbook selection I was able to participate for part of the 20-hour process and I was impressed by the structure the staff provided for Teacher input group conversation learning and deliberation what also impressed me were the things the teachers shared that they were looking for in a social studies textbook lack of bias clear factual material original sources ways to translate for non-english-speaking students engaging thought-provoking presentations and More in other words the teachers knew their
025students they knew what motivated them they knew the subject matter and were looking for a textbook that could meet those needs I think the structure that the academic Services team provided gave them that opportunity so again I congratulate the educational professionals teachers and administrative staff who took part in the process and I want to underscore that the Professional Knowledge and expertise they demonstrated is a cause for celebration in our district so congratulations s to Lake County school district and the board and Dr Bernier and Kathy Dupri Bruno thank you Robert Daniels I'll say honestly I hadn't planned to be here tonight I did not want to be here tonight I was going to give you the same gift I give my students when they're doing well they don't hear from me for a couple weeks
026unfortunately while I was listening to the workshop and graded my papers this afternoon I heard a lack of something when we talked about the legislative platform and when I went back and I listened to last week's Workshop I heard some skepticism about the necessity of the millage and the impact it might have on teachers I know one of our small counties in the neighbor area pass such a millage and it meant $10,000 a year for the teachers they might only get it for four years but I want you to think what you could do with earning your own salary on top of what you already earn across four years that's the entire time your children are in high school you could all of a sudden have a college fund you could now have an emergency
027fund you might be able to finish your hurricane repairs that your insurance didn't pay for I can't tell you how many teachers are in that situation ation I was greatly disappointed to hear that skepticism and that part of the skepticism was the question of well what do we do after the 4 years when it runs out well communicate to the teachers that it might not be there in four years and let them plan like the college educated adults they are I'm every year insulted by the fact that I have to choose between lump sum at the end of the year or pay through summer because the district does not deem me responsible enough to manage my own money to be paid in full for the 10 months I am working which perpetuates the misc conception
028that I get paid for those times I'm not working in the summer I wish my paycheck stopped in June when I stopped working would really help make making these arguments better that people understood I work 196 days I get paid for 196 days and it would fall on much more welcoming ears among the community who are struggling just as much if not more than the teachers when we ask them no hey we want our legislative delegation to say it's okay to charge them an extra time $ each on up to whatever it would cap out at for this millage that millage will make a difference to the teachers if I had had a millage return on say temporary raise of $3,000 over the last four years I'd be completely debt free and I'm in far
029better restraints than many of the teachers simply by virtue again of not having children you like to comment on the 19 million or however many million it was that enabled you to make zero cost increase for those with dependence in the insurance those are the very same people who will benefit the most from this kind of increase even if it's temporary get them through those odd teenage years where there's brazes and other unique medical expenses coming up it'll make a major difference and it's needed for morale at this point Thank you will the following individuals please line up Christine foresight Lou Navaro Joe Phillips Dr Shirley Chapman hello my name is Christine foresight I am a parent of three children in the Lee County School System I have a high schooler my problem that I'm
030here for is the school proximity for the elementary schools I have a third grade gifted child who received IEP placement at Lehigh Elementary School he can have bus transportation but my fifth grader cannot at that school I would have to change her to a school and leave my third grader who is Special Needs basically he is very highly sensitive and needs his sister along with the bus I can't have my little boy who's only seven going on eight walking home by himself he meets his sister with him so I am forced to do the drop off the child kids in the morning and then at in the afternoon I have to leave my work go pick my kids up bring them home and then go back to work for 1 hour we are Miss we
031are losing over $600 a month because of my missing work about 10 hours a week to bring my kids to and from school because we do not have a bus we live 0.6 miles from the proximity Zone which is only three streets where the last bus would be available at and I know that I've heard they were going to be making changes and arrangements for the school proximity and transportation and the lines for before school and after school but they are desperately needed by families who are struggling to pay bills and take care of their family it's very hard having to describe to my children that I have no extra money what I have is to try to pay the bills and provide groceries we had homecoming a few weeks ago and I had to
032go to a thrift store to buy my high schooler a dress which is very defeating to me and I feel like a failure as a parent because I can't get my kids to school and from school without causing financial burden on my family please help us if you can increase the busing a little bit like I said we're 0.6 miles not even a full mile from where the proximity ends and my child was placed in that school for his IEP as gifted cuz he is brilliant but I also need his sister to be with him she goes to middle school next year so I will have three children in three different schools next year but I need help this year keeping them together till the end of the school year thank you have a good
033night good evening School Board tonight's topic new taxes for property tax to pay for teacher salaries you should have thought of that when you did the half cent regressive sales tax Dr AK the previous superintendent was only interested in building buildings and capital outlay now you want to charge us prop property tax the state legislature always fails to fund anything I've known that since I was at Florida State in 72 now we have to fit the flit the bill but you're wrong overall we're paying 1.03 property taxes which ranks very high with the state now I don't care about the rhetoric of well the other counties got that property taxes you're wrong you should have done it with the sales tax and you didn't it's not the superintendent's fault either so you know we're we're
034not interested in this Miss Morgan please you know better than that anyway let's look at some of the $2 billion budget okay busing Millions triple Dippers dorg and these overpaid administrators and there's a new report coming out folks save Millions busing I like the superintendent he did a good job he's trying to eliminate a lot of busing 13 12 miles is still not good enough to save enough money we don't need school choice now the superintendent has said good ideas and he's done well but you are the fault he's leaving the board has picked to elect a superintendent because they were tired of the nonsense he's the best superintendent in 30 years shame on all of you now what else would we do the remedy don't add new taxes go back and change the regressive
035Sal Sal tax to include teacher salaries we even have a represent house bill to raise teacher salaries to 65k a year his name is Tay you can look it up I hope you like my new shirt it's called well just go ahead and look at it I promised armor but I guess he's not here again or I don't know where he is but let me tell you we need to spend time not Banning books not worrying about we thank you Mr Nar kids are time is up sir thank know anyway bless my name is smoking Joe I before I start my speech I want to say I was very happy to finally got a call from the head investigator of the ethics commission and you'll all be notified that my complaints are now going to
036be heard now let's see I'm here tonight to touch base on the Taylor English investigation which the public deserves to know about the findings of how the district spent $85,000 on investiga and nothing has been discussed about the findings this investigation should come to any nobody's surprise anyone as an employee have come forward over the years some like Carlos bionas lost their jobs when reported what others stated in investigation this employee was terminated all right the biggest concern I have is the investigation that took place only when Al Oaks brought it Forward during a court deposition but the employees for years have been ignored the Taylor English report covered employees engaging in corruption and that left and ignored and other allegation that the school board member from District three engaged in part of this corruption
037they failed to investigate the part on Al Oak's report where they he hired his own investigator and the Taylor Taylor English investigator failed to look at the employees still here that helped to cover up for these corrupt employees now listen I I wasn't planning coming tonight but I'm going to tell you I'm not stopping till I get a forensic in in investigation and Kevin K is not the one Kevin K is represented by Terry Miller so it's three more of you members and the so-called placement for your superintendent that's coming is a Terry Miller Camp under a campaign we're not going to be running Lee County by a strategy company no longer we are going to fight back and I would suggest armor and and Sam I'd suggest you put in your resignation because after
038I talk to Mr Malone today we're going to have some fireworks and my attorney's name is my attorney's name is Mr Jim I'm sorry I got three of them the one that told me to molar Jim molar if you've got anything to say to me you call Jim molar because I'm going to come after every one of you resign get resign you are all going to get it's coming out you know it's coming out but Kevin cars cannot in it's a conflict of interest he cannot conflict he cannot investigate the people that he's in bed with thank you have a nice day so long good job wherever you go in your liberal position she's amazing good evening my name is Shirley Chapman and I want to start out by saying how disappointed I was to
039hear that superintendent brine does not plan to be in the running this year I appreciate what he has done in the position since he's been there and the impact that I felt that it has had on a lot of not only the students but a lot of the St staff members who have come to speak with us now my other concern is the same thing I've had all along we need a middle school in the Dunbar TI Community we need a middle school and as I was looking around I thought about a few years ago when we thought across from James Stevens we were getting ready to have one and it didn't work out but I'm thinking that once Franklin Park is rebuilt and that area is cleared again we might have a pretty good
040chance of having one we need a middle school in our community and we'd be very grateful if we could get one I have not had an opportunity to meet some of the board members but I want want you to know that I realize that yours is a difficult job you will never please everybody so you have to do what you know is best for Lee County and the school district of Lee County and we'll be there to do what we can to support but I just I'm I'm my heart is just heavy when it comes to Dr B and I'm asking and I'm even concerned about the top two staff members that he brought in under him but anyway thank you for listening and just remember we need a middle school in the Dunbar TI
041Community thank you thank you Mr chairman that concludes public comment thank you Dr berer or attorney depri Bruno is there anything you'd like to address regarding public comment Mr chairman members of the board members of the public I think there's a couple things we need to address first first of all related to bus stops and the specific bus transportation I know there are members of the staff who are here who will also be collecting numbers I think in terms of the bus stop and safety I think it's important for those to look at what the Hazardous walking conditions look like and what makes a hazard so I will ensure that we connect staff the appropriate staff our chief operations officer will be here shortly so he will make that connection in terms of the aspect
042of some of the other Transportation issues and ensuring that IEPs and other things are being met I know Jessica Duncan is in the back with other individuals sorry Dr Duncan is in the back and we'll be more than happy to speak with those parents my concern one of my concerns is about the aspect of a student who's unhappy to school and wants out and with if we have an opportunity we have or if we have an option we have to consider it I'm really impressed that the executive director for high school still up before you even finished your comments so he will be with you as well so we can get the additional details and see what we can work out Dr Jas I'm going to go ahead I responded to your email he's gone
043I'm going to tell him anyway he's there I was I I you've already emailed me and asked for an appointment I emailed you back today to ensure that's moving forward so I will take that appointment and lastly you know I know we need a middle school in the dunar area the 10e plan is coming forward we'll get a chance to look at where that fits and how that fits based upon our enrollment numbers but I really feel like I have to address the other issues that people have raised I'm not gone I'm still here I still continue to plan to work through the terms of my contract I am excited about this job I am thrilled to be working with a board that supports me I do know every day every single day I come
044to work and I am a committed individual who believes in doing hard work but there's a little jimy Cricket on my shoulder that reminds me every day that I serve at the pleasure of seven board members that's added incentive to ensure that I communicate be transparent speak with them and continue to lead this district with honesty integrity and related to what's in the best interest of children it feels weird to be honest with you as a matter of point point of personal privileg it just feels weird like I'm leaving tomorrow I'm going to be here for a while and I'm sure somewhere along the line I will upset someone either on the staff side or the community side before this is all done but I will hopefully that upset is related to making a decision
045at the time around what is in the best interest of children so I appreciate that I appreciate the comments but I think it's time to continue to move beyond that look at the next year and look at what we can continue to accomplish before that transition occurs so thank thank you Mr chair and Mr chairman I also have a comment also to Dr dra wanted to explain a couple of things so we have two three actual board policies that address political activity with regards to the school district so one thing is if somebody comes and tries to advocate for a particular candidate that person would have been shut down by me but you did not advocate for political candidate you were explaining something with regards to the committee so that was fine to be able
046to talk to the board about that board members superintendent they're free to meet with any member of the community whenever they so choose they make no discrimination in terms of party or politics or whatever it is they're able to do that however one thing that we can do is have a board advisory committee that is tied to a political party because there are rules regarding finances and how restrictions in terms of the board utilizing any of their funds for political activities of any sense so I wanted to make sure that was clear to you when you get some responses okay thank you very much thank you Mr chairman thank you Dr berer thank you attorney to pre Bruno thank you everyone for coming out and giving your comments tonight is truly appreciated moving on to
047item M approval of consent action items the documentation for Action items is listed under consent is a available to board members seven business days before the board meeting we are expected to review all the material and we have an opportunity to speak with the superintendent with any questions we may have regarding those recommendations some of these items have also been briefed or workshopped with the board before appearing on the action agenda board members are there any agenda items you wish to pull for discussion Under The Unfinished Business taed items portion of the agenda first up Mr juell I have none thank you Miss Patria no thank you Miss Jordan I have none thank you Miss Langford Fleming I have have none thank you Miss Morgan I have none thank you and I have none at
048this point is there a motion to approve tonight's agenda consent action items I move to approve tonight's consent agenda items thank you we have a second I'll second moved by Miss Langford Fleming and seconded by Miss Jordan please record your vote everyone do we have the vote count motion carries 5 to one okay Miss Patria that should be a yes please okay can we correct that in the record to reflect that board member Patria voted yes on that item and then that thus the motion carries 60 thank you sorry you what happened sorry okay Dr berer please introduce any administrators and attendance with a new assignment that was approved under the consent agenda Mr chair members of the board members of the public we're pleased to provide you information on five appointments this evening the
049first appointment is for Eve seore she'll be working in the food and nutrition services division as the coordinator of food and service nutrition services Recruitment and operations your second is a change of assignment that is for Tanya cassen she will also be continued to working in the food nutrition services and she is the coordinator of food and nutrition services as well in the recruitment and Operations Division Elizabeth Carter will be taking the position of assistant principal at Tortuga preserve Elementary School Angela nater will be becoming the director of The Early Childhood learning services and finally Ronald Ira rusi will be joining the student services division as the D one of the directors of constituent services and student discipline Mr chair members of the public and to our candidates first of all to your families and
050your loved ones who are sitting with you to all of you thank you for the love and support that you provide these individuals to the colleagues that are sitting with them as well thank you for continuing to support them I know in some cases very excited they're moving on but I know you're also wondering how you're going to fill the hole from such great services that are leaving you and going to other places that's that's always the next problem we have to fix we make really great appointments and then we figure out how we're going to fill those holes where where you left and we'll figure out how to do that because this system will continue to move on and find great quality people but thank you to your families and your colleagues who support
051you and to our individuals I always share this is an appointment of trust it would simplifies a trust from the board and from the superintendent that you are qualified that you've gone through the processes and you are prepared to continue to do the work necessary to provide for our students because no matter what position you work in whether you're more direct as an assistant principal or away somewhere else in another part of the operation everything we do impacts the lives of students every dollar we save has an opportunity to impact our classrooms so thank you for your commitment to this to in service to the Youth of this community thank you thank you Dr berer thank you to the administrators thank you for everything you're doing enjoy tonight and I'm going to Echo or Channel
052Mr person have a great time tonight but please show up on time tomorrow so everyone's if you want you're dismissed if you want to go and enjoy the rest of your night with your family we'll take well briefly pauses everyone exits job okay we have no unfinished business so moving on to item Q public hearings Dr berer please present your recommendation for this evening's public hearing item Mr chairman we have an item q1 approval to adopt new and revised board policies in compliance with the changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be October 18th we will now recess the regular school board meeting and open the public hearing the time sorry about that we will now recess the regular
053Schoolboard meeting and open the public hearing the time is 6:54 p.m. as indicated the public hearing this evening is to consider Dr bernier's recommendation as previously stated at this time the public will be invited to speak on this one item the time allotted for public comment is 3 minutes is there anyone in the audience who would like to address the board regarding the approval to adopt new and revised policies in compliance with changes in related rules regulations and statutes to adopt best practices and pro transparency and accountability starting with board bylaws 144 to 166 chapter 1000 policies Administration 1120 to policy 1242 including new policy discretionary compensation for elected superintendent Mr chairman if we could just PA my apologies so we're going to stick first with board bylaws 144 to 166 do we have any
054public comment on those items please step up Mr Daniels and again this is just for board bylaws 144 to 166 I skipped ahead before okay well I sorry Robert Daniel I will apologize if these are under the wrong numbers I remember the titles not the numbers for those policies the one removes the used possession of tobacco on school property by students from being a nuisance schedule it just seems like you may be removing one of your more important tools from dealing with that tobacco abuse and presence in the schools I know from some of the elementary school teachers I circulate with that's becoming a growing concern with younger younger students each year and then the other second Mr Daniels yeah that's not within those Mr Daniels I'm trying I'm trying to even find which one
055you're talking about these policies are 144 term 156 legal council and 166 exempt meeting so that would not be for this one sir no it would be probably two clusters from now okay so my apologies stay close Okay so we have no speaker next is the chapter 1,000 policies Administration policy 11 1120 policy 1242 including the new policy for discretionary compensation for elected superintendent do we have any speakers for those items okay seeing none next up chapter 2000 program policy 2120 to policy 2700 So any speakers for that one noting no speakers next up chapter 3000 instructional staff 3120 to policy 3242 including new policy 3700 teachers Bill of Rights do we have any speakers for those okay seeing none moving on to chapter 4,000 support staff policy 4120 to policy 412101 do we have
056any speakers for those items seeing none moving on to chapter 5,000 student policy 5200 to policy 5610 including the new policy for school uniforms do we have any that may be you Mr Daniel that's I was trying to thank you proceed all right so Robert Daniels as I was saying the scheduling on the tobacco usage with the students it took down to board policy 5112 which has one line about what students can and cannot do with the Tobacco on campus lots of rules for the teachers board members and School Employees not much there addressing the students directly I'm just worried again that with it being a grown problem with ever younger students and an Ever broader problem what with the Vape and INF flavored things and whatnot that perhaps we shouldn't be removing any lever
057that could be pulled to help control that and I completely forgot the number associated with the book challenges but it was just very unclear trying to read that what the change would actually affect if it could be possible for someone tells in plain English what that change means with the book challenge process thank you thank you Mr Daniels do we have any other speakers for the 5,000 series say none moving on to chapter 6000 finances 61521 do we have any speakers for that okay seeing none moving on the chapter 7,000 property new policy 7421 restrooms and changing facilities do we have any speakers for those seeing none moving on to chapter 8,000 operations policy 8330 to policy 8640 we have any speakers for those items okay seen none chapter 9,000 community relations policy 9130 to
058policy 9800 do we have any speakers for those policies seeing none moving on to new policy for procurement and use of noox excuse me on that chapters 1,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 and 9,000 do we have any speakers for those items okay seeing none new policy for investigations employee discipline chapter 1,000 3,000 and 4,000 do we have any speakers for those okay seeing none at this point with no other comment I will now close the public hearing and reconvene the regular school board meeting of October 17th 2023 the time is 7 p.m. Dr berer please restate your recommendation for this evening's public hearing item Mr chair members of the board members of the board in the public item q1 approval to adopt new and revised policies and compliance with the changes in related rules regulations and
059statutes to adopt best practices and promote transparency and accountability the effective date of this adoption shall be October 18th 2023 you have heard the superintendent's recommendation that the board approved 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 October 18th 2023 board members is there a motion to approve Miss Jordan I move to approve the to approve to adopt the new and revised board policies as written is there a second I'll second Miss juvell mov by Miss Jordan and seconded by Miss juvell board members is there any discussion Ju vanelli Just real quick on the discretionary compensation for the elected superintendent I had brought this up earlier and I thought
060it was important to just REM remind everyone because I had mentioned the fact that we needed to include spal andal in in the consideration at the same time that the superintendent would get an increase and I had mentioned about an earlier situation where it administrators received a u pay pay increases when the staff did not and someone had mentioned that the my memory was our memories were different but I have to remind this board that we did give a administrative this particular board did give an administrative salary increase when spal talk did not get one at that time we were still in negotiations with that so it did happen before giving that we we did give an administrative increase before considering spout and tal and so I just want to bring that up because I
061think it's important that's why I wanted to make sure that it was in this actual policy so thank you I'm just want to bring that back up Dr berer did you want to oh sorry I thought you wereing to my apologies thank you Miss juanell do we have any other comments in regarding the motion on the floor right now okay at this point I'm going to ask everyone to please record your vote okay motion carries 60 Dr berer or attorney de brono is there anything else you'd like to address regarding this public hearing no sir I do thank you Mr chairman board policy 2522 there was a question about that is basically taking the new language from the statute from House Bill 1069 and now updating our policy to reflect that statute okay and then
062we did also make an additional change and made the end into an ore thank you thank you attorney debris Bruno moving on to good of the order and other business we are going to start with our student representative Nini Fernando please go ahead I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people in my life that have shown me the value of education and provided me with the opportunities to do so though starting with my parents my parents have always emphasized the importance of education and helped me find the right resources at Dunbar High School my principal Mr Burnside and teachers always offer my peers and I so many different stem programs such as math team HOSA TSA computer science club and so many more as a part of the math team we've
063had the opportunity to compete with some of the best math students around the country in fatel Arkansas this past summer through through HOSA we get to promote public health awareness and through TSA we get to explore many different areas of Technology from biotech to geospatial technology these opportunities and the individuals who made them possible among so many others have shown me that my goal of becoming a doctor doesn't have to be a dream it can be a reality thank you Miss Fernando okay we're going to move on next to Miss juven I just have a little bit just want to congratulate every all the promotions that happened tonight and then welcome our School School representative thank you student representative and that is really it I just wanted to commend the band tonight that was excellent
064I wish I got out here a little sooner instead having a conversation in there because I missed they were great South Myers High School band and I just wanted to just say I'm actually I want I'm thinking about Israel and I'm praying for peace and I hope that continues throughout the world thank you thank you Miss Patria so South Fort Mars was awesome I love a good marching band it just it just makes me happy and I kind of the last song reminded me of like Friday night Saturday night in college you know cuz that was a song that was popular back then M Fernando Alpha Sigma Kappa is a fraternity for women in stem so think about that when you go to college because my daughter is a woman in stem and she's now
065surrounded by other women who want to pursue science technology engineering and mouth as their future careers and there's not a lot of you women in stem is a rare thing relatively speaking so the other thing and I said this to you when you came up is every award I see every Accolade I see I see your name and your face and you really are a bright spot for for me as a board member I'm sure from my colleagues as well keep it up you're you're just amazing thank you thank you moving on to Miss Jordan okay so I have two motions to bring forward the one is from this all extends from last week as I shared during the last week's Workshop edac recommended that the board consider an exception to the attendance policy due
066to I'm sorry I'm reading off my phone due to an extenuation circumstances this evening we approved revision to board policy 9140 which now encompasses further language rela to absence and ability to participate virtually as such I would like the board to afford lency for those absent from board advisory committee meetings between September 2023 through October 17th 2023 thus I move that all of these absence from board advisory committee meetings between September 2023 and October 17th 2023 be excused and that it not count towards the two absence policy limit given the newly adopted revision to board policy 9140 there is a motion on the floor is there a second I'll second that thank you okay the item has been moved by Miss Jordan and seconded by Miss juven Elli prior to the board's discussion we'll open
067up the floor for public comment on Miss Jordan's motion under the same guidelines previously advised by attorney depri Bruno earlier in the meeting is there anyone in the audience who wishes to address the board in regards to this motion okay seeing none at this point board member Jordan has made a motion that all those absent from board advisory committee meetings between September 23rd and October 17 2023 be excused and that it not count towards a two absent policy limit given the newly adopted revisions to board policy the board policy 9140 and it was properly seconded by board member at this time the board the floor is open for any discussion and do we have any comments or discussion in regards to this board members if I may this again was from the edac meeting and
068the reason for this was because of the fact that which will be the next one the when they were informed about the meeting and then of course right now they some of them already knew that they were going to have one that they were going to be missing which would account for the two so they were ready to resign from their part in edak so that and I was asked to bring it before the board so I did as such any other comments or discussion okay at this point we'll do a roll call vote please signify by saying I or nay when your name is called Miss juven Elli I miss Patria yes please Miss Jordan I miss Langford Fleming I miss Morgan I and I am an i motion car 60 Miss Jordan please
069proceed well thank you for that the second motion is EDC also recommended a committee absence exception for their September 2023 meeting due to untimely notice to new members and reappointment members of the first scheduled meeting we have addressed alliiance for absence up to today however we should approve however we should approve our appointments in August rather than in September so all committees can have proper notice to their meeting in September therefore I move that the board advisory committee timeline be adjusted so the board appointments are completed in August for the committee members to receive proper notice for their first meeting in September there's a motion on the floor is there a second Miss Patria so item has been moved by Miss Jordan and seconded by Miss Miss Patria prior to the board's discussion we'll open
070the floor for public comment on Miss Jordan's motion under the same guidelines previously advised by attorney depri brono is there anyone in the audience that wishes to address and publicly speak on this motion okay seeing none board member Jordan has made a motion that the board advisory committee timeline be adjusted so the board appointments are completed in August for committee members to receive proper notice for their first meeting in September and it was properly seconded by board member patrika at this time the floor is open for any discussion board members comments questions none okay this again will be a roll call vote please signify by saying I or nay when your name is called miss juven I miss Patria yes please Miss Jordan I miss Langford Fleming I miss Morgan I and I an I
071motion carries 60 do you have any other comment at this time Miss Jordan I do I well first of all I want to thank all of you very much for that and I'm sure edak will be appreciative as well as as well as the other committee members that this will affect as well I just wanted to I know some things were mentioned today about the 30-year anniversary for kib Carl technical school I did want to say that Mr Brian Hart had received some awards were given out Brian Hart was given one for 20 years plus at the cape carl Technical School candy shears received an award for her 29 years in health science and Nikki Torres received an award for her 10 plus years of dedicated service so I really wanted to share that information
072the also the Pavilion was named after the second director of the technical school kib Carl Technical School it's now it's the Shyer and I apologize for mispronouncing his name schaser Pavilion so congratulations to all of those people people that were there and there were many others that were there who had been with the school for many years also I know that we spoke about the taco Cookoff so I won't speak on that but I do want to say again margerie doit Marjorie stowman Douglas High School Miss jelli and I had the opportunity to go there this weekend and tour with the some of the parents of the victims the State's Attorneys and did the whole walk through to see what the mishaps were in doing such I just feel that we have been really blessed
073with the people that we have Chief Newan again thank you I said it earlier but thank you Mr rire thank you for all you do because I know you were there and you brought all that here to us to help us to to be better and but I wanted to say that again to everybody else here and thank you to all of our security Specialists everybody we appreciate everything that you do to keep us safe and Miss Morgan I hope she's going to share what she did this weekend in their Garden cuz we saw pictures and proof that she was in the garden and again the Healthy Living collaboration I know we spoke about this a couple weeks ago I brought it up about POS well I know I'm Sorry Miss Jada Flemings brought it
074up but I had to asked that possibly we could receive some something from Miss Roy telling us what they're you know they're in the process of doing it all the good stuff that they're doing and part of a workshop or something so I just wanted to remind that we did bring that up and possibly if we could have that and that's it congratulations to n you're wonderful and that's why I said every time we see you I think you're getting an award and I see your mom's out there and your father you know is here when he can be here but that shows that you know you have loving parents that really want to make sure that you do well so congratulations to everything that you do appreciate you thank you Miss Jordan moving on
075to M Langford Fleming yes you are an outstanding young lady and you have an amazing parents that help guided you there and it's so refreshing to hear you know you say or pronounce that you appreciate the people in your life that got you here so that's just take that with you and you going to go super far you might be sitting in one of these chairs one day so if that's your dream but you know I also wanted to say too that the people that came to speak today about bus issues I know that our transportation department and I know that Dr berer is addressing all of these issues please do not ever hesitate to come and comment in front of the board you are welcome it's Aisa listen up speak up culture I used
076to tell my students all the time even though I was an elementary school teacher I used to tell them all the time listen I can't help you fix it if I don't know what's broken so I we encourage that behavior to come and comment to the board and just let us know because I know that our superintendent is stands behind that as well so and Dr Shirley Chapman I just love when you come and speak it's I don't know it's so touching you are a incredibly gifted woman so and your community is very very lucky to have you speaking up for them so thank you for all you do for the people that you love so much so I was able to do some High School tours this week and we have amazing staff we've
077got some great programs going in all these high schools things I didn't even know we had some of this stuff and but you know what else we have we've got some really cool kids in this community and every time I go to visit a school it's I'm getting the chills right now talking about it but they are our students are we have some incredibly talented young men and women just like all the way from music from this afternoon that we heard at Southport Meyers into 3D printing I didn't even know what that was when I when I went into that classroom and it's it's just it was a great visit I look forward to many many more so that's all I have thank you thank you Miss Langford Fleming Miss Morgan so I have to
078comment about the garden the garden at Heights Elementary Leisa Roy and suszie has it put together well I don't know who all was involved but Sprouts made a great contribution and I know that leysa and Susie's dream is to have a garden at every school and different levels of Gardens at each school I think Elementary is supposed to be a raised bed and then there's Towers at the middle school whatever they had it all and they did a great job we there were I would have to say there were probably I would guess around 40 people there and different people were working in dis different stations a lot of the men were working with cement blocks building I guess potting stations for kids it was fabulous and then the then the gardens and we built
079the towers and put the dirt in and put the plants in and watered them I know it's their dream to do this districtwide and I hope that students across the district at some point will have the opportunity to participate oh the little ones running around they were just playing in the dirt and helping out and oh it was great so I just hope every school has the opportunity to build this kind of garden because I suspect going back there in a couple of months you'll see lots of plants in it you'll know that they are eating out of their garden and loving every moment of it so it was a lot of fun armor is armor can can and farm too he did his part yeah he lifted a you know we did our thing
080so we had fun so those are my comments thank you thank you Miss Morgan unfortunately for my comments you're going to have to listen to me and the audience read a little bit longer so my apologies on October 23rd 2023 drug free Lee Lee County Coalition for drug free southw Florida will be honoring Red Ribbon Red Ribbon Week at the collaboratory I know that we've ack just before at our last meeting however I was invited to read a formal Proclamation and support on behalf of the school board so given the board's decision in 2021 not to have proc resolutions proclamations I will be making a motion before I make that motion let me read the resolution into the record so forgive me for a moment so resolution whereas most students in Lee County do not
081use Alcohol Tobacco or other drugs thereby exemplifying the 2023 National rad Ribbon Week theme of be kind to your mind live drug free and whereas the school district of Lee County its School Board administrators teachers and staff have all shown an outstanding commitment to spreading the message of Substance Abuse Prevention in schools and whereas this substance abuse is particularly damaging to our most valuable resource our children whereas it is a contributing factor in the three leading causes of death for teenagers accidents homicides and suicides and whereas the national Red Ribbon campaign offers citizens the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to drug-free Lifestyles no use of illegal drugs and no use no illegal use of legal drugs and whereas it is imperative that visible unified prevention education efforts by community members be launched to eliminate the
082demand for drugs of those who are using and whereas it is the goal of the national Red Ribbon campaign and the Coalition for a drug-free Southwest Florida to involve families schools businesses churches law enforcement agencies and service organizations in all aspects of the campaign and to establish an atmosphere that supports awareness education and ongoing initiatives to prevent illegal drug use now therefore be it resolved that the school board of Lee County Florida does hereby Proclaim October 23rd to 31st 2023 is National Red Ribbon Week be kind to your mind living drug free so I'm going to be moving that a proclamation in support of Red Ribbon Week be read at the drug free Lee on October 23rd 2023 on behalf of the school board of Lee County do do I have a second I second
083okay seconded by Miss Langford Fleming it has been moved by myself and seconded by Miss Langford Fleming prior to the board's discussion we will open the floor for public comment on my motion under the same guidelines previously advised by attorney debris depri Runo earlier in the meeting is there anyone in the audience that wishes to make public comments on this motion for the proclamation okay okay seeing none whoop I have made a motion that a proclamation in support of Red Ribbon Week be read at the drug free Lee on October 23rd 2023 on behalf of the school board of Lee County and it was properly seconded by board member Langford Fleming at this time the floor is open for any discussion board member comments or questions go ahead Miss Jordan and Then followed by Miss
084Morgan I was just going to say it's a great idea thank you I'm just concerned that we have a policy that says we're not going to do it and now we're going to do it and now we're going to and then that will be followed by other requests of board members to do something similar and then you know I just trying to understand why this and not no other can I follow up on that M absolutely that's why I'm ask to make a proclamation at that meeting not as of tonight I'm asking for the permission of the board to read this at that me I'm not asking for Proclamation here I know it's a difference with a distinction but a little distinction but it still is that's why I adjusted my in regards to our
085protocols I had that discussion in regards with attorney debr Bruno on this so I'm not asking for an actual Proclamation for here I'm asking for the permission to read this Proclamation as a member of the school board at the meeting go ahead Miss Patria and we I mean we've essentially already acknowledged it so I will support it tonight but I do think that Miss Morgan's comment along with the comments from our meeting two weeks ago sort of require us to put this on a workshop for us to discuss because this is the first couple times that's come up since this board has been seated this board might want to do things differently so if we have a discussion during a workshop then we will be sure to operate within our protocols because I share with
086you the desire to always be very rule oriented in our Behavior so you're not the chair always but I'm going to pretend that your armor and ask you I'm seeing a lot of shaking heads to have this placed on a workshop for a discussion I believe for a reorganization meeting it was going to be at least from chairpersons and other comments on here again as I said I'm asking for permission to speak at the meeting I'm not asking for an actual the actual Proclamation up here I know it's slightly different but that is that is why I amended my original motion on this so Mr chairman and just to clarify a little bit you noticed that the proclamation that was read does not say adopted by the school board because normally when the board has
087done resolutions in the past it would say adopted by the school board this one does not I believe what Mr Fischer is asking that he be able to read this on behalf of the school board but it's not really adopted but I understand the slight distinction Miss juven and we've had prior boards have had this the same discussion and as Miss Morgan and Miss patrique are are bringing it Forefront so my concern or my question is it's not a concern is the desire of this board to want to change that protocol where we're going to start having resolutions and proclamations because the list gets really long for a lot of that happening and that is that is how we that's how we arrived at this Point because the list became very long there was lots
088of lots of resolutions and then we decided that we would acknowledge things and that would be in the at the beginning of our meeting but we would not go into resolutions and proclamations and so forth because I think one of it would might have been the Irish one of the Irish their their month whatever it we didn't want to offend anyone at all and that was that was the main reason no we did so when we start singling different things out you become offensive that's when we don't want to do that thank you m Jordan thank you thank you Melissa Mr janelli you are correct it just all came back so yes we did have that and that's been probably like two years now where we had decided that because and that's why we moved
089it out of and it's not part of our agenda any longer because the fact that people did not want to vote on certain whatever Italian me being Italian no just kidding whatever but I'm just for certain things which then became are we offending anyone so we wanted to make sure we did not so we moved that out and we got rid of certain like resolutions if it is an action related to that if we make a resolution so and I understand what you're saying you're saying you're not doing it as the board well you are doing it as the board though you're reading it as the board on that at that committee meeting is what you're wanting to do I'm asking for permission to speak there correct on behalf of the board that's why I
090went this route yeah Miss Langford Fleming I understand what my colleagues are up here concerned about when it comes to Division and not including and making sure we cover all of our BAS but when it comes to this topic if to me this falls under the umbrella of Safety and Security for our students and I don't see any issue with having a drug-free week I don't see how that falls into the same or red wh Ribbon Week excuse me Red Ribbon Week I don't see how that falls under the same umbrella under as to what I'm hearing I know that was the maybe the old board but I really try hard to think about just us here today and not so the history of how we got here so I completely support you wanting to
091be able to do this Miss Jordan thank you it's not the old board or this board it is we have that it's written down that which we did not we have not been doing this we were supposed to even when we did the breast cancer which that when we approved that we are not supposed to do any of that unless it's brought before us and even when we're adding on to that is supposed to come before us and we're supposed supposed to do that at a board reorg even though we have allowed that to happen but it is written that we will discuss that list at the board reorg I'm sorry m is like so ju just to clarify for the board you're correct Miss Jordan so the board's protocols require and you have had
092a lot of discussion about this particular topic acknowledgements resolutions so oh my mic is on thank you thank you course is always watching out for me with regards to resolutions and with regards to acknowledgements proclamations there's been a lot a lot of discussion and where the board landed is that during your reorganization you're going to choose all of the days that you're going to recognize and that there would be acknowledgements because you didn't want to vote on them and you didn't want to read them as resolutions in the past there was a lot of discussion about that doesn't stop board member for bringing up a motion we know that but that is where you landed so in November you're going to have another opportunity to review that and make any changes that you so require
093or so desire I should say anybody else want to comment on that Miss Patria oh my apolog now and again that's why I adjusted it I do understand that so I was trying to look of a different way of doing it so it didn't go against protocol I was trying to look at it from I truly mean that I was trying to figure out the best way to to accomplish two things I know this is something that's been done before as well for National Red Ribbon Week for my understanding so I apologize if it's it's trying to go around anyway that's why I specifically said I'm asking for permission to to speak there so and I wanted to be respectful to my fellow board members with that so anything else okay board we're now prepared
094to vote in the motion this will be a roll call vote please signify by saying I or nay when your name is called Miss juven Elli I miss Patria yes please Miss Jordan I miss Langford Fleming I miss Morgan I and I am an i motion carry 60 thank you board I'm going to actually go back to just a couple comments my apologies so first off machini you sound like an amazing student it's it's been great to get to hear you up here and hear of your accomplishments one thing I'm going to ask is I've asked these students many times when you become a doctor can you come back to Lee County please be great to have you in this area so thank you to the South Fort Meers marching band before that was that
095was amazing that was truly cool I always enjoy that I attended the cap C homecoming game it was a great game unfortunately it was lost in the last minute but it was truly a fun time and I appreci appreciate principal Jackson for having me out there I also went along with many others to Cape Coral Technical College the 30th Anniversary they did a great job out there including director P out there I'm looking forward to the future expansion of that and I know the citizens of Cape cor very excited about that so also some of us went to meet president tomor the new president of FGCU that was a very good time that many of us got a chance to speak to her and I know she'd be interesting in talking to us to to
096see how we can work together in the future and that is all I have this moment those are my comments moving on to attorney debris Bruno thank you Miss chairman I continuously learned something from our student Representatives I have no idea what geospatial technology is so I had to look it up it's a new emerging field of study that consists of three major disciplines Geographic information GIS remote sensing RS and global positioning that's amazing I I still don't even understand what the concept it but that's that's really amazing I think you're going to do great as a doctor I love the fact that you stated that you want to bring awareness as you after you become a doctor to bring awareness to other young ladies and stem so I really wish that you continue to
097do that and continue to bring somebody along with you cuz you're going to go very far Nini it's hard to believe you're only a sophomore I mean that's I think the biggest thing I take away there's just so many great years ahead for you can't wait to see what you do I'm going to take a line from The Graduate right I believe it was The Graduate movie where the Futures and Plastics I want to tell you that there's something we're interested in bringing to the school district it's called cube satellites where high school students actually program the satellite and then we get a launch out of Cape Canaveral and we actually can put it into orbit so it can do and feedback the information that you programed to give it to I'm watching you smile
098and you're thinking I'm up for this challenge I had a conversation with your principal when I first got here we are still working with a company not a company a non for-profit foundation called the Aldrin Foundation related to Buzz Aldren run by his son so keep your fingers crossed that sometime before you're a senior you may be standing at the cape to watch something you build and your students build to go into space I want to just take an opportunity to just remind people related to my related to my comments this afternoon related to the safety calls that we made on Friday I want to thank our staff our administrators our teachers and our principes for all the work they do each and every day to ensure safety while Mr nulan was at his usual
099self and very professional regarding all the work we're doing to upgrade our safety procedures and materials at our school buildings safety really begins with our students and our student body so thank you again also to our parents who've had that difficult conversation with their student and set the expectations for what proper behavior is at school how to utilize soci social media in a positive manner and continue to monitor their children and their children's progress I also want to thank our law enforcement Partners who unfortunately sometimes are forced into action regarding student actions that put other students at risk again if we're going to continue to build a culture of safety at our school building as strong as the perimeters and the other walls that we're putting up we need to make sure that we're focused
100on having our students being able to if they see something to say something and then promise when they say something that we can protect the information I don't know that we can say that enough want to just take a second to write shout out to the wolf pack of Fort of Fort Meers South Fort Meers I want to recognize Tyler ker who's the band director and I think in all of this I would like to just make sure that people know that one of the reasons why they were here is to impress us and impress the community with their abilities but they were also here partially to ensure that maybe the public might step out to something they don't normally go to which is the Lee County marching music performance assessment at Fort Meers high
101school on November 4th members of the group members of the group that performed tonight as well as many other individuals and bands from across our community will have the opportunity to have their marching bands judged and receive performance assessments related to their ability it' be remiss to let this board meeting go by without recognizing just the other day the other day was boss's day I want to recognize my seven bosses at the Das I stopped using that phrase shortly after getting here because a board member chastised me that she didn't like that term but in reality you are so I appreciate all that you do each and every day on behalf of the students and finally I think just a shout out to Evergreen and some of the work you did today I think it's
102important this is the beginning of the release of the message by approving the Evergreen contract today you have put this school district under its first comprehensive job study that it's been been in in years it is an opportunity for us to look at pay differentials policies procedures how people are placed into pay scales and develop a plan moving forward to ensure that if people are doing similar jobs they're getting the similar wage so really excited about what this is going to unfold for us it will take some time we will not have paperwork and reports till a very late spring so I want to make sure people are aware lastly I would like to close out with recent Global events have evoked strong emotions and concerns worldwide it is crucial that we come together as
103a supportive and understanding Community during Times Like These it's important to acknowledge that our students and staff may have friends and family members or personal Connections in the affected regions of our globe this can play an emotional toll on these students and the events of that emotional toll can be significant we want to emphasize that we are here as a school system to provide support and resources to help those who may be in affected by the recent events we encourage parents and Guardians to reach out to our school counselors and other mental health supports if they believe their child may need additional support during this time we encourage an open and respectful dialogue amongst our students staff and parents as well as the entire community and an attempt to Foster understanding and empathy so thank
104you very much for that opportunity and thank you thank you Dr berer moving on to item five next schedule meetings of the board on Wednesday November 1st there will be a board workshop at 12:00 p.m. and on Tuesday November 7th there will be a board briefing at 1: p.m. and a board Action meeting at 6:00 at this point having no other business to come before this board and seeing no objection this meeting is adjourned the time is 7:39 p.m. have a great evening everyone thank you good job Sam