001[music] >> Hey. >> [music] [music] >> Hey. >> [music] [music] >> Welcome everybody. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Our special board meeting for Tuesday, April 28th, 2026. Ms. Coley, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Green, Ms. Hanson, Ms. Rutherford, Ms. Fontleroy, Mr. Harrell, >> Here. >> Ms. Martin, >> Here. >> Ms. Moore, >> Here. >> Dr. Peterson, >> Here. >> Ms. Baker, >> Here. >> Ms. McCollum, >> Here. >> Ms. Lamey, >> Here. >> Ms. Hurstus, >> Here. >> Ms. Bro, Mr. Cozen, Ms. Ruffino Gallagher. >> Here. >> All right, good evening everyone. Looks like we have some employees in the house. I would like to welcome you. I know it's a busy time of year with leap and graduation and all the other things that we have planned. So,
002thank you for fitting this into your already busy schedule. Welcome. I do want to say that Ms. Calinda Fontleroy could not be here tonight. She had a birthday trip planned before this meeting was scheduled and she wanted everyone to know that she would be here otherwise. So, we wish her happy birthday. Um during the meeting tonight, we will open the floor up for public comment. We know that many of you are here to share your perspective and we are here to listen. Um but it is our primary goal to have a very smooth, productive meeting. Uh before we get to the agenda, I do want to give Mr. Harold the opportunity to speak for as much time as he would like. Um after which we will then proceed with the agenda. Mr. Harold, would you
003like to No, it's not on the agenda. When it's not on the agenda. >> [snorts] >> Thank you so much, President Martin. I was planning on apologizing for my comment at the next board meeting, but I appreciate the opportunity to to do it now. Students, parents, constituents, employees, board members, Superintendent Jabia, Mr. Osborne. I apologize for the language that I used in the April board meeting. It was inappropriate and it does not reflect the level of professionalism that I strive to maintain. While I was frustrated after a long week and day, I take full responsibility for my words. My comments were not directed towards our employees as I truly value and appreciate the work that they do. Rather, my frustration stemmed from the conflicting information regarding surrounding the MOU and the fact that the MOU
004had been signed for weeks without being communicated to the board and the public. I should have not have allowed I'm sorry. I should have not allowed my emotions to get the best of me and make the comment that I made. I'm truly sorry and I assure you that it will never happen again. And Ms. House, I do apologize. I should have called you on Friday when I when I emailed the board. So, I'm sorry. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Harold. Um This is not an easy meeting to have. It was not an easy meeting to to call. And I feel like no matter what I do or what call I um what I decide to do tonight or even deciding to or not to call this meeting, I cannot make everyone happy. And um
005that's This is a tough situation. That being said, um I I feel like I have been given grace many times in my life. >> [snorts] >> And I appreciate that Mr. Harold has apologized. And where I I do disagree with what was said, I feel like it was managed incorrectly. We will all have the opportunity tonight to speak about his comments last the last board meeting. I feel like any resolution that is brought before this this board to vote on regarding any board member's conduct is words on paper and is far less valuable than anything you guys could say. Your opinion matters more and it's more impactful. And I believe that you guys are going to make a bigger difference and a bigger statement with what you have to say tonight than anything I can
006bring before you or before this board that carries zero legal weight. Zero. So, I understand that I might make some people very frustrated tonight and that is not my intention. But it is very, very hard to make everyone happy in a very unfortunate situation like tonight. So, it is a very difficult decision that I am going to go ahead since we have not brought agenda item A to the floor, I am going to remove it. And it will not come up for consideration before the board. We will not vote on it. That is what that means. However, we are 6 minutes into this meeting, which means anyone here who is here for public comment or wanted to speak on an agenda item, on this [clears throat] agenda item, please go and sign up for public
007comment because you will still be allowed to speak. You can sign up for public comment 30 minutes into the meeting. Because again, I feel like the impact is going to come from you, not from me. >> Point point of order. Microphone. >> Once an item is on the agenda, it becomes the agenda of the board. Um so and once the meeting begins, um it can't be changed or items removed without a vote of the body. >> So actually the agenda item has to be read and called to the floor to then be considered belonging to the board. >> And we have we have not done that not according to Robert's Rules. Mr. Harrison, would you like to? >> [clears throat] >> We did look it up before the meeting um as you were contemplating that
008depending on how the meeting played out. I think it's universal when you read the Robert's Rules of Order. The motion is owned by the mover and the resolution is the same. So pulling it is your prerogative before it's read out loud to the assembly. Once it's read out loud, once you move to that agenda item and it's read, then the removal has to come by way of a vote. That's my research, you know. >> That >> I will also tell you practically speaking once you pull the agenda item, it's off the floor. But putting it back on would require only a majority to put it back on. >> Well, then I'll make the motion to put the resolution back on. >> I second it. >> Okay. Is there discussion on that? Uh well, I guess
009I would probably >> is not it's not a debatable topic. It's either on the agenda or off. So to review, when the motion or resolution was yours, you had the unilateral right to pull it without a vote because it was not on the assembly's floor. If it had been a read aloud, which it wasn't read aloud, then the rules would have changed. So it remains off the floor and you can move to the next agenda item, which presumably is public comment. But, at this point, it you can have a vote to put it back on the floor. It does not have to be um uh you know, lateral because it's been advertised. So, you're not technically opening the agenda. >> Yes, we're going to vote. So, we are going to vote. >> Well, this is
010again, this is a procedural mechanism. You can allow public comment at your discretion, but it's whether or not you put it back on the agenda, not on the merit of it. So, if you look at Robert's Rules of Order, it says it's not debatable. >> Okay. Okay, so what I have to read the resolution before I make the motion? >> You're just making a motion to put the resolution and the agenda item number whatever it is, A, back on the floor. >> Okay, so I'm officially I got it. Okay. Okay. >> I thought we had no no public comment on this. >> We have to make the motion first to put it back and then we can make a decision then we have to put it >> [snorts] >> What? Oh. Point of order. Hold
011on. Okay, and that motion fails. So again, please everyone sign up for public comment if you have not already signed up for public comment. Yes, we are going to move to the next agenda item, which is the CBA update timeline. Mr. Jabby and Mr. Osborne are going to take care of that. >> Thank you very much, Ms. Martin. So, I just I just want to kind of go backwards just a little bit. So, you know, back in in March, Mr. Osborne and my team, we were trying to look for a way for us to get to the table and start at least having some conversation. We reached out to FMCS, our mediators who have done a really good job with us, and because of some government issues, federal government issues, they their their timetable is
012very difficult. So, we tried for weeks to get that done. We could finally agree to March 27th. As you know, we came together on March 27th and took a hard look at some things, took a hard look at negotiations and how we were going to handle this spring. Um again, I do apologize for the way that I communicated that to the board. I've let the board know that. Um I was upfront with the board officers when we discussed it, but I should have let the rest of the board know what was going on. But, on March 27th, we started that process and we signed an MOU so that we could get started so that we were we knew what we were doing moving forward. We knew the parameters, everything that we agreed to, and we
013handled that on that day. Um at that meeting, the mediator was there, and the earliest date we could get on his calendar was May 4th and 5th. So, that's where we'll move to. The very next meeting that we will have with the mediator and in the negotiations will be May 4th and 5th. The great thing is we'll be able to discuss some things in that meeting, and then we I will request from the board officers that we put an executive session on the May 7th agenda so that we can talk about where we are, what we've discussed, where we stand, anything the board would like for me to move forward with. Uh and we will do that at that time. The The biggest issue that we're running into right now, this entire state is running
014into right now, is the constitutional amendment three is not only officially on the agenda until the 16th. So, we're going to discuss some things, but we that time frame that consideration by the state of Louisiana is going to determine a lot of what's going to go on with negotiations and what's going to happen. The simple fact is we don't know if if it passes, we're pretty direct. Ms. Prevost and our team, we're pretty direct on the path that we will take at that point in time. If that's not the case, if the public says no to constitutional amendment three, then we will have to backtrack at that point because we don't know what the governor is going to do. What I did was provide you guys. So, Friday, in my Friday email to all the
015employees, I sent out these two TRSL flyers that I sent to every employee so they could take a look. Um so, real quickly, I just want to kind of under- you to understand and I want the public to understand. On the 16th, constitutional amendment three, there are some absolute guarantees that happen with a yay vote. The first guarantee is teachers receive a $2,250 guaranteed pay raise. All support employees receive a $1,125 guaranteed pay raise. That is from the state at no cost to the taxpayers of Louisiana. Zero cost. They're going to move the educational foundational funds over from those trusts to pay off the uh UAL, which is basically what you could think about it is it's all of the mortgages that have been taken out by the legislature when they didn't fund TRSL a
016very long time ago. So, basically, what they're going to do is they're going to take that money over and pay off what the board pays on top of retirement uh that is mandated to pay on top of that. Right now, on top of that, it's 4% that's paid to retirement. So, the other 17% currently is the if you think about it, is our mortgage payments we're paying to pay TRSL down. So, what that's going to do is when they move the funds over from the trusts to the UAL, it's going to knock that payment down from what's projected for next year of 19.11% down to about 14.5. Could be a little lower if depending on what the market is when that happens. That's going to significantly reduced the amount of money school systems have to
017pay TRSL. So, that money is the money that will fund the pay raises that are guaranteed in uh in constitutional amendment three. So, all that's guaranteed. The trust funds moved over, the money is freed up, guaranteed pay raise for teachers and support staff. The also the thing that's guaranteed is the governor is guaranteeing with that is that we will still continue to receive our EFF funds and our 8G funds. Those will continue to be given to us through the fourth level of um of funding from the state. So, all that money will come through level four. It will continue to be funded to all school system. We're not losing anything. And actually, if it all passes, the the funding from the state increases by $47. So, they're actually going to increase $47 per student. So,
018that translates to about $1.6 million added funding to our school system that will be funded uh from the state proceeds in Bessie. So, the school system is not losing anything. We're not losing any funding. Uh employees will get that raise from the state. And then if that all passes, then I will come to this board uh through negotiations and we will talk about what this board's able to do for our employees moving forward for this upcoming 26-27 school year. So, I remember 27th we got started. On the 4th and the 5th, we sit down with the mediators again. And then the 16th, the vote of the state of Louisiana is really going to determine because honestly, uh, and and Mr. Osborne and I and uh, my staff, we've all discussed this. We don't know what
019the governor's going to do. We have no idea if it fails, we have no idea what the governor and the legislature, what is going to happen. I don't know if they will continue to fund some kind of a stipend. I have no idea. I don't think anybody does because it, honestly, they've put a lot of money and they've put a lot of advertising into the constitutional amendment three. It it is a win for the employees. You know, I can't come out and support. I can just say those are the things that I've discussed are guarantees. That's a guaranteed item that's going to happen if it passes. Pay raises are happening. It's moving over. They're fully funding, um, the funds from the parish and the student from the state of Louisiana, and we'll get a $47,
020uh, a year credit for every uh, every student in our system. Uh, those are guarantees that are going to happen, and then we'll have to go from there. So, after that 16th happens, we have a board meeting on the 21st. We're very hopeful if it passes, we will I will request another executive session so we can discuss it further. If we can come to some kind of agreement with this board and the Federation negotiations, if we can move forward on the 21st and be able to bring something to you guys that you guys can work with, we will do it on the 21st. If we cannot agree and it cannot be ironed out in a very quick turnaround. If it can't happen, then I will request the president to either have a special board meeting
021or on the committee as a whole meeting, we could call a special board meeting on that night. So we're hoping that on the 21st, if it passes, that we can move forward. We can come to some kind of agreement. I will get with you guys and we will discuss that in executive session again and then hopefully be able to move forward. But if we cannot get it all put together by the 21st with with board members understanding exactly what's going on, then we will have to come back to you with either a special meeting at the end of the month or the beginning of June on the 4th and be able to do it at that time. Um But I I hope I was able to answer some of the questions. Really the financial opener
022I can't reiterate that enough. It's really dependent on constitutional amendment three because without the guarantees that come from that amendment the unknown is just that. We have we have no idea what the legislature and the governor is going to going to do if the public says no. So did I answer most of them Mr. Osborne that we had discussed? >> Madam President, I could just take a moment to uh speak to Mr. Harrell and accept his apology formally. I I do appreciate the apology and I would just like to set that I'm I'm just I'm taking a moment if you could grant me that moment. I just wanted to ask anybody that speaks tonight let's be respectful. Um Superintendent Javi, thank you very much for going through this. Um it seemed like um in the
023past information about collective bargaining can get people confused and frustrated. Please always reach out to us. Is it habit one? Is it Is that be proactive? That one. Reach out to us so we can educate. We don't want anybody to feel confused about the process. I will defend Frank. I know he apologized, but preferences aren't binding and he operated in good faith. He truly did. He operated in good faith and if there's something you'd like to see improved in the process, perhaps consider bringing a policy or something like that, but I truly I looked at everything objectively. He did nothing wrong. He did nothing wrong. So, if you're interested, reach out. I did some documentation, spent several hours on this looking at the whole process. But he's got a big heart. He wants to do
024what's right for employees in this process, but he's also running a school system. So, I think he did the very best he could. And like he mentioned, FMCS, they got dodged a little bit, so they're not as accessible as they used to be, but they've been a great asset to us. And we truly feel like we'll be able to bring something for the board to consider. Put that on your calendar. Um May 7th, like Superintendent Jabari mentioned, that'll be that um executive session, where you can really get in and look at the back and the fourth and all the details and be able to give your input. And that's crucial. We want that input. We just don't want you to get confused by the process. We can handle all the process, but we just want
025your input and your ideas. So, that's all. Again, I appreciate you, Superintendent Jabari, and everything you've done. Thank you, Madam Chair. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you both. Mr. Alfonso? You still have six Well, I guess anyone else want to sign up for public comment? Last minute. >> I'd like to talk on the agenda item if I may. >> Sure. On the seat Well, actually >> There's no vote. >> Yeah, there is no vote. There is no vote on the um CBA timeline update timeline, which is what we just talked about. Um did you sign up for public comment? >> Yes, I did. >> All right, I will be calling you shortly. >> Are board members going to have the opportunity to say something? >> Or should we sign up for public >> Would you
026like to? >> Well, I don't know, but I might. So, we got to sign it. Okay. >> You want to start? This is the first name there, Jean. >> Connie Knight. >> Miss Connie Knight. >> Connie Knight, parent Lake Harbor Middle School. Good evening. And now he apologized days later, which should have been the next day or that night. But anyway, I'd like to take a moment to address the concern that has been raised regarding the conduct during displayed during the recent vote to extend the CBA. First, I want to acknowledge that emotions can run high during decisions that impact our schools, our staff, our community. These are important matters and people care deeply about outcomes. However, that does not excuse unprofessional behavior, especially in a public setting where we are exposed to model the
027standards we ask of our educators, staff, and students. And there's a child sitting back there, could have been last week. The use of profanity during the unofficial proceeding is not acceptable. It undermines the professionalism of this board and distracts from seriousness of decisions being made. Our community expects and deserves respectful, thoughtful dialogue, even when there are disagreements. At the same time, it's important that we don't lose sight of the purpose behind the decision itself. The extension of the CBA is meant to provide stability and continuity to continuity of our staff and educators, sorry. Going forward, I will encourage all members of the board and staff to hold themselves higher standard of conduct. We must ensure that our actions reflect the professionalism, respect, and integrity that our roles require. Our community is watching and more importantly
028our students are watching. And I also want to address the comment that's not been brought up made by the same board member that night to the robotic students about a joking matter shooting the superintendent. Whether intended as humor or not, jokes about violence are never appropriate. Especially from someone in a position in the leadership you have. In today's world, mental health, do you not think children could shoot up a school, shoot Mr. Jabia? It is not okay. Should have not been brought as a joke. Our Our children look at adults in the district as examples. They should hear words that promote respect, responsibility, and safety, not jokes about harming others. Disagreement is part of leadership, but threats or violent humor should never be normalized. I respectfully ask this board to hold all members to a
029higher standard and ensure our students see the kind of behavior we expect from them. Had I made that comment, I would have been fired. Had a student one time made a gun shape out of a sandwich, gone. It's not appropriate. Rethink. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Knight. Mr. Jason Knight. >> How you all doing? So, I just want to start off briefly addressing what took place during the vote on the extension of CVA. There's no way around it, using profanity in a sentence is very inappropriate. These meetings are meant to reflect professionalism and respect, and that standard should be consistent with everybody. Board member, school principal, it doesn't matter. Thank you for the apology tonight, which took 5 days after the remark was made. Words matter, but accountability matters more. And that
030start with acknowledging when something is wrong. Equally troubling, like my mom just said, was a comment made to the Seneca Robotics team suggesting that if someone told them to use their robots to shoot the superintendent, they should do it they shouldn't do it. Even in jest, that is completely inappropriate in a school setting. In today's world, comments like that can be taken seriously by someone listening, which could make this dangerous and unacceptable. There's always been an ongoing disconnect between you and the educators you represent, and over time that has become a serious concern. At some point, it's worth asking whether this position is the right one for you. This role should support and advocate for teachers, and at well, just educators, not work against them. We owe our staff, our students, and this community better.
031Thank y'all. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Knight. Mr. Osborne. >> Good evening again, Madam Chair, board members, Superintendent Jabon, administration, Brian Osborne, uh Seneca Federation president. Um you know, this this table was set by the board to try to address concerns. So, I'm not here to pile on by any means. Um I just want to express something that Superintendent Jabon and I talked about today. We want to move forward. You know, uh we've worked very hard this year. My team has pushed me with the theme building bridges. We want to do business in a different way. Um yes, the the way our employees feel is important, but I accept Mr. Uh I I accept um Mr. Harrell's um apology. I think it's sincere. He said it to me directly. I accept it. Um again,
032I'm not here to pile on. Um we don't want to let this moment disrupt the progress that we've made. And so I want to express to the board um we want to continue in this fashion. Um we're not about looking backward, we're about moving forward. So um I hope the aftermath of this has demonstrated we're serious about wanting to do business in a different way and to work as a team. Um not too long ago in March um Mr. Harold and I had a really good conversation. It was after he had read the maintenance uh resolution and I and I complimented him on that. Um and actually Mr. Derman's here tonight. Since Mr. Derman left, Mr. Harold's the only board member that consistently talks about and advocates for maintenance. Not just when there's a storm
033and there's cleanup. So, you know, people can have a moment and you can hold them accountable in the moment, but also realize people wear different hats in life. So, just out of a sense of moving forward, um keep that in mind. And again, I do accept the apology. Look forward to working together. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. Osborne. Ms. Underwood. >> No, it's just mine. Stephanie Underwood, Executive Vice President of the Federation. Do y'all need me to wait? My time's ticking. >> [laughter] >> Sorry. Try Try to make light of a situation. Okay. So, um I had 15 seconds. Uh I am very disappointed um because of the fact that we represent employees in just cause hearings all of the time. Using that language is a guaranteed suspension. No matter the
034excuse. And they can't suspend The board members are elected officials. I know that. The public is the only people that can either recall or vote differently or vote for you back in. That's fine. The The only The only mechanism this board had to show people that not only do employees get held accountable, but all the way to the top board members get held accountable was this resolution. And I'm very disappointed. Because you had 5 6 days to add an executive session to that agenda and that was what you were complaining about that night. You needed one other board member to add an executive session and I think you would have had it. But depending based on the conversation I You had 5 days to add an executive session, but you didn't You didn't act. And
035now we're in this place. I think even board members need to be held accountable. And I'm very disappointed with pulling the resolution. If it failed, it failed, whatever. But I do think that this is setting a bad example for employees. Because You know how many employees use that excuse because it is real. I'm frustrated. Things happen. Yeah. Things slip out. It happens. I understand. It happens. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter when we're in just cause hearings. You said the word. You get in trouble. You know how much trauma are in these classrooms nowadays? You know how many people lose their cool not because they just feel like it, because they're pushed every day, they're kicked, all these things. They have all these weights on them from everywhere. All these assessments they have to
036do, they have to 3:30 in the afternoon they get an email, "Hey, you got to take all this stuff down off your classroom walls before testing tomorrow." People miss their grandchildren's ball games because they had to stay after school to take down their classroom stuff off the wall. Our employees are held accountable every day. It's time that Y'ALL ARE, TOO. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU, MS. UNDERWOOD. I'M LIKELY GOING TO slaughter this next name here. Um Ms. Kelly Gewirtz. Oh, awesome. And um I did receive your email um and an email from Mr. Gewirtz and I thank you for that. Thank you. Um >> The comments that I had originally planned I I I listened to y'all last week and I decided to speak from the heart cuz that's what y'all said that you like
037to listen to. But my heart is filled with a lot of what Stephanie just frustration. Was this meeting even called in good faith? I mean like she said, I have several friends and many people through the union that I know that have been brought to just causes for far less than that. The only mechanism you have is censure and you refuse to even bring it to the table to allow a vote. We don't get that. We don't get to have people vote on whether we're going to have a just cause. It just happens. And like they said, yeah, things happen, things come out of your mouth. I understand. He apologized, we accepted it, that's fine. But the consequences should still be there. And the only consequence that you had to give him was censure, and
038you didn't even let the vote board vote on it. And we're in a time right now when we can't afford to present ourselves as anything less than professional before this public. We have charter schools coming at us. We have LA Gator knocking on our door. What do you What do you think this looked like tonight to the public? It's a lack of accountability, and with tax dollars right now, that's not what people are looking for. Going forward, I mean, the whole reason this came up was because Mr. Harold chose to once again, and it's not a one-off, question the CBA. I know there's members of this board that feel a handbook is better. But if we learned nothing from 2 years ago, it's that these employees need a CBA to feel safe, to feel secure,
039to feel heard, to feel respected. And I thank y'all for voting for that extension last week to give Mr. Jabia and Mr. Osborne a chance to work on that. But I'm really afraid we're going to be back in that exact same place a year from now, and I don't want to do that again. We're tired. We just want to do our jobs. We want to help these children. We want to work with our colleagues. We don't want to come to these meetings every couple of weeks. That's why more people aren't here. People want to be here, but they have testing, they have graduations, they have ball games, they have lives. We are here for them. And they are frustrated, and they are tired. So, if anything comes out of this tonight, please don't put us
040back in that place a year from now. Let's move forward, and let's let Mr. Jabia and Mr. Osborne do their job. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Hannah Gasson. >> My name is Hannah Puseyger Gasson, and I'm am a proud educator and union member at Lancaster Elementary School. I last spoke before this board at the CBA debacle of 2024 and advocated for the importance of our collective bargaining agreement. Last summer, I traveled to Baton Rouge and spoke to our state legislatures alongside Mr. Osborne and Ms. Underwood and advocated for the importance of teacher unions. Tonight, I'm here to advocate for positive and constructive communication. Over the course of my, albeit brief, career, I've learned the power of words. Whether written, spoken, messaged, posted, screenshot, or emailed, words have a tremendous power, and with
041great power comes great responsibility. What we choose to say, what we choose to omit, whose words we choose to ignore or give consideration to can speak volumes about a person and their true values. Too often, words are used as a weapon to inflict damage and harm to others. However, I've learned it takes the same amount of breath and energy to communicate for a better outcome and to radiate kindness. As you can see, there are eyes and ears everywhere listening and watching. I choose to set a positive example for my students and teach them that when you believe in something, you use your voice to empower others instead of bringing them down, and you stand up for what's right regardless of the outcome. Our students, faculty, and staff deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,
042and with a positive collaborative communication to build a stronger St. Tammany that propels students and staff to excellence. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Gassen. Mr. Allday, Lade. >> Either way is fine. I should know. Good evening everybody. Uh most time I I really speak from the hip. But you know, I haven't been to board meeting in a while. And I thought about what would be the best thing to say. So, I Googled something. I Googled professionalism. And this is the definition it gave me. It said professionalism is the constant demonstration of competence, integrity, accountability, and respectful behavior in a work setting. It involves adhering to technical and ethical standards, maintaining high-quality work, and exhibiting mature and reliability. Key elements include dependability, specialized knowledge, and polite professional communication. I think this definition, which
043anybody can Google, says it all. And I like to also say taking that item off the agenda was not a show of good faith. I understand why you did it. I just think it was a bad move. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Ms. Karen Arabie. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening. My name is Karen Arabie. Today I wore a shirt. It said love, teach, accept, and understand. And I'm trying to understand. I can't. You remove something. This was so disrespectful. I'm going to tell you Mr. Harold came to Fifth Ward 2 years ago against the CBA. And we all sat there, and I'm going to tell you right now, I took a half a day to go there. A half a day I lost with my dad that was dying. To listen to you
044to say it didn't matter how we felt. It mattered about you and your opinion. You didn't want to listen to our opinion. And you know us employees spoke about that today, a few of us. And I sat there saying, you know what? You took a half away from my me- memories of my dad. To go in there to hear what you had to say. And you didn't listen to us. And again, you don't listen. But you disrespect us. And I will try to accept your apology. I don't know if I can. Because you disrespected us too many times. And I don't Maybe you need to learn love, teach, accept, and understand because you don't. >> Thank you, Ms. Earby. Whitney Davis. >> Good evening. Uh, bear with me. I had remarks and y'all changed things
045up, so I had to redo them. But, uh, Look, much has been said tonight about professionalism and rightly so. Uh, but I want to talk about what it means when your boss doesn't think much of you. Because that's what was communicated that night. That Mr. Harrell holds this bargaining unit in contempt. We are talking about the teachers, the bus drivers, the custodians who work tirelessly to safely educate and support the children of this parish every school day each year. And I want to keep in mind the context. We were celebrating the extension of an agreement negotiated by this board's chosen agent. This wasn't a radical new demand or a personal attack on anybody. It was a standard extension. Yet, Mr. Harrell's response, his choice of language, and his tone sent a message louder than any
046vote. It told us that our contributions do not merit basic human decency, let alone professional respect. What are we as employees supposed to do with that? Every day we walk into this precious classrooms and give so much of ourselves to our students. Why should we feel confident this district cares about us when a member of its leadership speaks to us and of us with such hostility? Your decision not to censure Mr. Harold tonight is telling. You're effectively telling every employee in this district that this is an acceptable way for a superior to treat us. You're telling us that this accountability ends when you walk behind that big desk up there. You're telling us that the support we hear about in staff meetings stops at the doors of this boardroom. You folks set the tone for
047this district and disrespect from the top trickles down. I know this. I learned it leading Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know this lack of respect doesn't make our district stronger and I know it doesn't help our students learn. You failed to stand up and address one man's comments and in doing so failed to prove to your employees that you value our work, what we do, and the people we are. Have a wonderful night. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Davis. Ms. Tammy Lammy. >> Thank you. Um I just need to say that um Sorry. Oh, I just need to say that um everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I do disagree with the fact that the censure um was taken down that that means that we are okay with that kind of language,
048that we feel it's fine to disrespect our teachers. Uh Mr. Harold explained I I spoke to him earlier than this on the phone um and he explained what he said today of what he meant by it. Didn't make it any different that he said it and I don't know if that was true or not. That is between him and God. I can't I'm not his judge, but the Lord is. And so I what I do know is coming here tonight in paint clothes from painting today because I forgot about the meeting was to stand here and say we do not agree with that. We are not okay with that. It's unacceptable behavior and it's quite embarrassing. That is why we are all sitting here tonight. She's missing her grandchild's game. Like all the things that
049y'all talked about, we're we're we have lives and and stuff too, but we knew how important being here tonight was. So, I need to say that everyone sitting up here, there is not a person that thinks it's okay that y'all were spoken to that way or you felt you were spoken to that way, that those words were muttered up here was not okay. However, I'm going to go back to employ like the the consequence, there will be a consequence. I mean, this this spotlight has been shown even brighter by this meeting. Um there's definitely a consequence that he will deal with and he has apologized. Um it was it was just caught, you know, there are plenty people that do a lot of things that they shouldn't be doing and it was caught for a
050reason and he's apologized and that's the way I feel. Um scripture tells us and then I know that this is not everybody else believe but this is what I base my decision on tonight. Um that we're supposed to call someone out when they do something wrong. And you're supposed to go to that person. And when I did and his apology and explanation and said he was doing it publicly, that to me was him being called out. When this meeting came about, I said, "Okay, I'm going to be there because I want to make a stand that we don't agree with this. This was wrong. It's not okay." The censure is also making you become the judge. I didn't vote to put him on this board. I didn't select him to work in my office. His
051constituents did that just like my constituents did just like each person. We all disagree on things, even the way we handle things, the remarks. I feel that way often about social media. When I was a teacher, it was very strict in this parish of what we could not and could not say on social media. That way we were reflected in our jobs if we said it. Today, that's not the case. I mean, people say what they think and think what they say in most places and there's plenty of stuff on social media that um is you wouldn't imagine I wouldn't imagine in the past days. I can't really hear you um talking but um anyway, so I just wanted to share that. Um so I definitely think he will have accountability um because the spotlight
052brought on this. Um the other thing I wanted to say is um somebody said was this meeting in good faith? I just wanted to say that if this was a ploy, I definitely wouldn't have showed up and wasted my time. I came here in good faith to make sure that we made a statement of how we felt. Thanks. >> Thank you, Ms. Lamie. Ms. Katie Perkins. >> Katie Perkins, teacher in St. Tammany. Um I was not expecting to speak tonight. I brought all my work with me. I was going to write thank you cards and be happy and sit there and just watch justice being done. Um I worked. I administered the LEAP test. Uh after work, I stayed late to go to a Leader in Me committee meeting. I ran home, got my kids,
053dropped them off at School of Rock, told my husband I'm going to the board meeting, you got to pick them up tonight. Here I am. Um so I am speaking from the heart. I quickly jotted down some notes uh after hearing Mr. Harold speak and after the agenda change, I decided I could not sit there quietly. Mr. Harold said this will not have never happen again and it was not the level of his professional standards that he sets for himself. Um he had a bad week. So as a teacher, would I be granted the same level of grace if I had a rough week and did the same in my classroom? He said his profanity was not directed at the employees. He did not say who the profanity was directed at. So, I don't know
054if that was supposed to be an excuse or make it okay that it wasn't directed at the employees. Y'all stated that you are professionals. You don't appreciate the idea of having to potentially be held accountable publicly for your attendance. Um you [snorts] also spoke about abstaining from a decision in which you might be personally involved with and you are going to trust each other to be a professional. I believe Miss Dr. Peterson said something about being a professional. So, voting to remove this agenda item or voting against bringing up the agenda item, um shows that you really don't care to hold each other accountable if and or when there is wrongdoing by a board member. I feel this is wrong. I do not accept the apology and I wonder at what point would the board
055hold a fellow board member accountable. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Perkins. Ms. Jennifer Bush. >> I'm sorry. I'm going to echo. I um wasn't planning on speaking. I was planning on sitting and listening and taking that off the table anyway. When we talk about professional workplace, people often focus on employee conduct, but true professionalism is a two-way street. It, like climate, must start from the top and be enforced or brought all the way from the top down. When leadership acts unprofessionally or shows a lack of respect, the impact isn't just felt in this boardroom. It ripples through every school and classroom. A district and therefore a school's culture is set at the top. When leadership is fractured, the entire foundation of the school and our system begin to crumble. First, it destroys
056employee morale. Oh my god, I can't even go there right now with the things we've heard this the last 2 weeks from people. >> [snorts] >> When educators feel undervalued or publicly undermined by leadership, we lose passion that brought us into this profession. Some stop going the extra mile and start looking for an exit. This leads to high turnover, leaving students with a revolving door of teachers, during a teacher shortage I might add, and a lack of stability for all involved. In any organization, respect from the top is the cornerstone of a thrive thriving, productive, loyal team. >> [snorts] >> In a school, respect is more. It's the invisible glue. Without it, trust vanishes and everything falls apart. For a school or district to thrive, we must be united and our leaders must lead with
057respectful integrity. Secondly, students are incredibly perspective. Perceptive. They um the things that they pick up on. They see when their teachers are valued and respected and they see when they're not. >> [snorts] >> And how can we expect a student to follow rules or respect their educators when they do not see our leadership doing the same? Finally, for the record, I'll tell you what I tell my students, Mr. Harold. I'm [snorts] sorry are two of the most useless words in the world without actions that accompany them. Especially when they took almost 2 weeks to come and only came at the threat of censure or public outcry. >> [snorts] >> Actions matter. We need to see and hear better from now on from all of you. Because all I heard tonight is that we want this
058to go away and that the top people are going to be allowed grace while the rest of us will have our feet held to fire. You need to do better and be better. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Bush. Mr. Mike Derman. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you for being patient, Mr. Derman. >> No problem. Good evening, board members. Mike Derman, resident here in the city of Covington. A former board member for 20 years. And I really came to speak about the the the CBA and and the process that it goes through. And I understand some of the you know, frustrations and some of the unknowns. And that's one of the things I think I heard Mr. Jabia talking about the potential funding and the changes that can be implemented at the state
059level for our employees, which is critical. But also some of the other negative funding that may come out through the Gator funds that, you know, for tuition cuts to our school system, charter school enrollments increasing, cutting our funding. Those are things that are critical as well to what our actual budget is and how it impacts our collective bargaining agreement with our employees. Because if we lose student count, then we lose the the number of employees that we can service those students that we have. We also lose the funding that comes with it. So, just in I I'm assuming our cost per student is somewhere around 11, 12,000 per student is what it currently is. We lose a thousand kids, we lose $12 million in a budget. So, 12 million, you're talking about gaining 1.6 from
060the add-ons that the governor's projecting right now. Well, 1.6 doesn't come anywhere near 12 million. So, those are the things that are uncertain, and those are the things that in this collective bargaining agreement process needs to be communicated with all parties, whether it's the union and Mr. Osborne, or whether it's with board members and the officers, everybody needs to understand how this moving ball that you're trying to hit is going to where it's going to be at. And right now, nobody really knows. And look, I understand the um with Mr. Harold to the other topic that was tonight. I appreciate him as a person. I've known Brandon for many, many years. It's unfortunate that he used the choice of language that he did, and I'm sure he's very If he says he's sorry, he's sorry,
061and I understand that. The The thing [snorts] that we need to all do is understand we're all human, and sometimes we screw up. And And to be really God-fearing people, we need to have forgiveness. And there's an element of professionalism that we all can hold ourselves to a higher level. This board during meetings, the way we talk to people, the way we interact with each other, these are the things that need to come out of St. Tammany Parish School Board. Professionalism. Thank you all very much, and continue the good work. >> Thank you, Mr. Dorman. Mr. Michael Nation. >> Madam President members of the board I too stand with these folks and say I'm disappointed that the agenda item was pulled. Mr. Harold deserved his day in court. You all deserve a chance to vote
062and express your opinions and these folks including me in the public deserve to have to know how you voted. So now what we're left with is everybody gets to pile on to Mr. Harold but there's he does there's no resolution to it and and public doesn't get to know uh you are not forced into an uncomfortable vote. But be that as it may Brandon Harold I'm like Mr. Durham I've known him for many years and he is just so that if folks don't know he is the husband of a public school teacher who works in this district. He is the father of children who sit in our classrooms. He does not advocate for this school system from a distance. He lives inside it. Every morning when Celeste leaves for school every afternoon when his kids
063come home every vote he has taken he has taken with parents, students and teachers in mind because they're the people sitting around his kitchen table. That is not the profile of a member who holds this system or its employees in contempt. That is the profile of a member who's invested in it more deeply than most. Yeah he spoke some words in frustration. They were regrettable. He's admitted it and nobody including me is here to pretend otherwise. But what's ironic is that he voted yes along with all of you to give these folks exactly what they asked for to extend the collective bargaining agreement. The very people that are now organizing against him are speaking against he gave them what they asked for. So read go back and look at the Facebook page for the president
064of the local union who this is a direct quote. And here's the issue as he's framed it. The source and the pattern of past behavior with this individual, referring to Mr. Harold, goes back to the bus owner operator crisis. Or in other word in other words, quote, this needs to be a movement, end quote. Or quote, planning starts this summer. What happens this summer? Well, this summer you all will be getting ready for re-election. So, will he. So, all [clears throat] this is was a political stunt to to to get their their pound of flesh out of him, get some sound bites. >> [laughter] >> And with all the pearl clutching, you know, words do matter and maybe these folks should start with the president of their own union in Washington with a third attempt
065to assassinate the president of the United States. And the president of the national union said that the president is a threat to democracy. So, words do matter. They're correct. >> Moving on. Ms. Cindy Case Brown. >> Are you kidding me? >> [laughter] >> Okay. All right. Um Mr. Jabia, Congratulations on your daughter's recent accomplishments. Um I know you're incredibly proud, so congratulations. Mr. Harold, do you know what The Leader in Me Habit number eight is? Okay. All right. Well, I'm here to model Habit eight for my eight-year-olds. Um many of you already know her father is well versed with finding his voice, and I'd like to point out that my husband, sir, would never dare to claim teaching experience by simply being married to me. Behavior influences behavior. With that being said, uh behavior is
066a huge problem across the parish with both students and employees. Your choices and your words influence the behavior of the individuals in your district and throughout the parish. The individuals protected by the CBA are on the front line and your words condone use of vulgar language and threats of violence. Mr. Harold, your apology this evening was delivered using the sandwich method. Are you familiar with that? Yeah, okay. Uh it was right your your apology was right in the middle of defl- Sorry, it was deflection. It was right in the middle of your apology. Our community needs leadership to remain calm under pressure and respond instead of reacting. You have missed the mark entirely. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Case Brown. Ms. Gallagher. >> I'm going to do mine from down here. Um first and
067foremost, I'll say that I know that the debacle of 2024, which it clearly is now being called, was my fault and I apologize. You've all spoken and I totally get it. And the vote The questions that I had last week were or whatever, 2 weeks ago were not based on not extending the CBA. It was the timing. Um maybe there's some questions I need to ask ahead of time to understand why it was so late and we had to do it and that was not necessarily but directed strictly at Mr. Osborne, but so many things come to this board last minute and we have to vote instead of giving us time. But, I will say this meeting was specifically called for the resolution for comments made at the board meeting. I personally did not understand
068why we had to call a special board meeting if there was an apology sent to Mr. Osborne, he could relate it to his people, and then we could put it on the agenda because just like everybody else, people are missing things for tonight. People are missing ball games, graduations, or what have you. And the fact that it was taken off the agenda, I'm going to agree with everyone else. I'm highly disappointed. Highly disappointed. >> [applause] >> I do not know why we even called this meeting if that was not going to be on the agenda. Um, we should have never called it. We added things to this agenda just so we had other stuff to talk about instead of just the resolution. So, again, amend constitutional amendment three has been here before this week. It
069could have been talked about last week or the last month on the board meetings. Um, the CBA could have been two weeks ago, but instead we talked about that tonight when that isn't what it what um what it's for. I had a um I had a res And the resolution was not about who voted for him. It was literally about what was said to the employees who I know I did not get as many emails as some other people, but the emails that everybody insisted people wanted us to take a stand and do it, and we said we would take a stand, and then we didn't. So, >> [applause] >> it's not about who voted for yes or no or whatever, but if we called this meeting for that resolution to take it off the
070table to me was a slap in the face for them. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Ms. Gallagher. Ms. Hurstis, do you want to stay in your seat or would you like to hear the podium? >> Oh, God. >> Okay. Michelle Hurst, the school board member, District 12. If you didn't know who I was. Okay. First, um, I just wanted to say about the whole CBA thing since y'all have it on the agenda. I think that the board had ample time to look at it. Um, the CBA, uh, agenda item, we were notified by Frank in an email the Friday before the meeting. If anyone had any questions, they had plenty of time to get anything off their chest before then. Plus, Brant had given us a timeline, um, of everything and he had
071mentioned it previously. So, if anybody had an issue with it, um, I think they had time to talk about it before the meeting. Okay. Um, I deeply, um, believe in free speech and the First Amendment. I had this previously kind of wrote out wrote out a little bit because I had a feeling maybe, you know, some things might not have gone the way that I expected. I deeply believe in free speech in the First Amendment. It is the cornerstone of who we are. But, even with that freedom, there comes a point where we must have checks and balances. Every one of us has said things that we wish we could take back. I'm not here pretending that I'm perfect, far from. I've been outspoken. I've been out of turn before, and I own that. In
072fact, I'm well aware that my own conduct has been questioned and even reported. But, this is not about me. We can have another special meeting for that if need be. This is about responsibility. There is a difference between saying something in the moment and what you do after that moment. It's how you react to it. If I ever said something that took away from a celebration from our employees, or from our community, or it seemed, you know, directed to them, I would immediately take it back and apologize. No hesitation, because people matter more than pride. What concerns me here, as well, is what was followed. What after the aftermath matters. What the response matters, or the lack of action speaks loudly as the original words. And maybe, just maybe, we could have used this moment
073as a turning point, as an example that this board, this administration, are serious about accountability, that we are serious about discipline, that we handle our business right here in St. Tammany, that we can make a standard about this. And as Ms. Gallagher had said, I'm just very disappointed that we did this meeting specifically for this. Why did we get together? Why did everybody show up if we're just going to take it away? I would be the first to say, "Let's do this." >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Madam President, I would like to make a point of parliamentary procedure. During this meeting, I had time to look up the Robert's Rules on changing agenda. This agenda was set when it was mailed out. And to um for the president to arbitrarily pull an item from
074the agenda is is not um not allowed. According to Robert's Rules, uh the agenda is set, and it requires a 2/3 majority to change the agenda. Also, we did not allow the public to comment or the board, and change this the motion that Ms. Hurstis made was debatable. So, I'm not trying to revisit all this, but I don't think we followed proper procedure to to get here. >> [applause] >> I took a screenshot of my book. It's article 1 number 17. The mover of a motion or resolution owns it until it hits the floor. It wasn't read. We're not opening the agenda. It doesn't require a 2/3 vote under open meetings law because it was advertised. The rule of having a school board vote 42:15 relates to substantive motions. And my comment was it was
075a discretionary matter for the president of this meeting to allow public comment. But, it was not a debatable topic. So, board comment would have been irrelevant. So, the public comment could have run for 20 minutes on whether to allow it on the agenda or whether to take it off the agenda. And you could have done that. But, you weren't going to get into the substance of it. The same thing would have been the board. Every board member could have voted or hit a button, take it off the agenda, leave it on the agenda. And you see what happens? It's a parliamentary procedural thing. Now, let me tell you the obvious. Since it didn't make it back onto the agenda, it wouldn't likely have not passed had it been on the agenda. Do you see that?
076Cuz if you wanted to vote for it, you would have voted to put it back on the agenda. And I tried to balance it. So, when the president pulled it, I let her do it under Robert's Rules of Order. And then I pointed out, if you want to back it on, try to get it back on. >> Thank you. Ms. Berrios. >> Ms. Berrios, I'm sorry [clears throat] Mr. Durman left cuz he was on the board in 2010 when Race to the Top came along. Governor Jindal brought brought John White from New York City, young Teach for America guy, uh to our state to privatize public education. At the time when when we when we talked, all of the board, by the way, was against it. They knew what was coming. They did their homework,
077and they fought against it for a number of years. The word privatization, when we talked together, we thought, "We can't say that. They'll think we're conspiracy theorists." But it wasn't long before John White made it quite clear it was all about privatization. Teach for America, unqualified, untrained Teach for America grads, college grads. Uh he actually had a research paper done that showed they were more effective than highly qualified, experienced teachers. It was a debacle. Members of this board formed a a group in Baton Rouge and gathered people statewide, superintendents, both unions, um university professors to fight the privatization of public education. We went to the legislature. I went to the BESE board meetings every single meeting for about 7 years. I ran for BESE three times in the school board twice. We've lost our way.
078We've lost the purpose of this board being here. It's about providing a quality education for our children. We've gone in so many different directions. Our great curriculum that the teachers wrote was disappeared. This the board at the time, I think it was about the third year uh when Eureka math uh came along and they discovered [clears throat] that gee, they're not teaching the guaranteed curriculum, they're teaching Eureka math, they voted to disappear it. But slowly it worked its way back in. This board [clears throat] needs to and the next board, because that's going to happen soon. Hopefully, the people that are elected for this next board focus on what we're about. We're about qualified educators, not temporaries, not long-term substitutes. We're about quality curriculum, which we need to bring back. We're about pushing back against
079what's happening in Baton Rouge. And I hope that turns I hope the conversation is turned around and that we can bring back St. Tammany Parish. >> Thank you, Ms. Berrios. Ms. Geo Baker. >> I don't think I have anything to add differently, but Thank you. >> I'm going to close out the meeting here. Uh there's no one else signed up for public comment. And I would like for anyone who wants to speak to me after this meeting to please stay, cuz I would like to speak to you. This is also incredibly disappointing for me. I did not come to this decision lightly. I have talked to legislators, I've talked to family friends, I've talked to board members on other boards, I have talked to teachers. And there goes my mic again. Teachers, students. What? It's
080a good one. Um and I took all of those all of those conversations to heart. I believe this entire situation was mismanaged from go. Had I been caught saying something like that on a hot mic, I would have immediately, before my car even left the parking lot, I would have called Mr. Brian Osborne. I would have been posting all over the place. I would have been trying to do as much damage control as I possibly could and I would have been apologizing to everyone who would listen to me. So, no. I do not feel like this was managed correctly by Mr. Harold. I do not agree with what he said and I completely understand why why everyone who heard that comment believes it was directed to them, okay? Because that is that's that's what it
081looks like, all right? Um I've been given no indication up until tonight that he was going to apologize. I feel like if I would have known that he would apologize, the events of tonight would have been different. If he would have apologized from go, we wouldn't be sitting here. But I can't control the actions of another board member. I called this meeting because I felt like the issue needed to have its own platform so all of you could come here and you could speak and we could hear what you had to say. And if and if the board was in agreement that we would have a resolution on the agenda so as a board we could let all of you know, the people who run this district, who do everything for our kids, that you
082guys would know that we as a collective body did not agree with with that comment, period. So, I hope you guys know that I do everything in good faith. I support you guys all the time. I I don't want you to think that my pulling this resolution was I was not trying to be hurtful. I promise you. >> And uh with no further business, I call this meeting adjourned. >> [music] [music]