School Board Meeting | February 24, 2026

001[music] >> Oh. >> [music] [music] >> Great is thy faithfulness. Oh Lord, unto me. Thank you for this board chair. Thank you for all of the board members that have assembled in this boardroom today. We thank you for Superintendent Hyde and all of the staff, Polk County Public Schools. Thank you, oh God, for the many blessings that you have already bestowed upon us. You have blessed us. You've kept us through this day and you're with us now. We ask your continued mercy and your blessings and your strength upon Jason Pitts. Ask for healing for his body. Bless his family. Thank you, oh God, for our students and all of the families that we serve throughout this district. Ask that you would be with us and ever protect us and keep us by your divine power.

002I pray that this meeting tonight will be a meeting that will be a blessing to all that will come tonight with expressions and whatever that business that will be taken care of will be taken care of properly and according to your divine power. Be with us, lead us and guide us and we will give you glory. We will give you honor. And we will tell you thank you for all things. For we ask in in the wonderful name of your son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Thank you, Bishop. Now, I'd like to invite Aleah Corella to come forward and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice

003for all. You may all be seated. However, Aleah, [clears throat] I would like for you to remain there. Sorry. Let me take a sip real quick. That was fantastic, Aleah. Thank you. Thank you. Um, can you introduce yourself and anyone that you brought with you tonight? I'm Aleah Corella and what are the people that I bring today was my mom, >> [snorts] >> my dad, my two little sisters and my big brother, and my principal, Mr. Cummings. Excellent. Yes. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Like, do you have any hobbies or other activities that you enjoy? Um, hobbies? I like to ride my bike. I like to play video games and listen to music. I love music. It's one of my favorite things. Excellent. Excellent. Um, can you tell us a little

004bit about your favorite subject in school? My favorite subject in school has to be either ELA or math. Oh, excellent. Excellent. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Um, can you also tell us what what are your biggest dreams for your future? >> [clears throat] >> My biggest dreams for my future is to become a physical therapist, help out the homeless, and make this world better. WOW. I WISH YOU SUCCESS ON ALL THREE OF THOSE FRONTS. WE need it. So, I appreciate that. Um, and I got one final question for you. Okay, I know you're in 11th grade and you're at Alta Vista I'm sorry, 11 years old. Sorry. My bad. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. Sorry, I'm not trying to make her grow up faster than that she is already. I know I have three little boys myself,

005man, they grow up fast. Um, but you're in sixth grade and you're 11 years old at Alta Vista K-8 School. Um, and I was wondering, can you tell us what you like best about your school? I like best about my school that they really care about your education. Like, they used to show up to school not with the phone on their face, but they show up knowing that they want to make a better you. They're there for us. They're there to teach us. And I like that they like to understand and check up on people's health. Oh, sounds like a real compassionate school community. So, thank you, uh, Principal for for for for setting at setting that example in the school. And Aleah, thank you for being here. And so, I'm going to ask you

006uh, if you could please come forward tonight and bring your guest with you um, because we want you to to um, to take a picture here so we can uh, you know, record this great occasion. So, come on forward, bring your guests, and everyone, can we give Aleah a round of applause for being here tonight? >> [applause] >> Family, guests, Principal, all y'all come on up. >> [snorts] >> Yes. One, two, three. >> [gasps] >> Good evening. I wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone present here today on this somewhat of a chilly evening. I know we had a you know, a little bit of a cold snap here lately. Um, on Tuesday, February 24th, the board, Superintendent, and I are pleased that you have joined us as we celebrate student achievement, review information,

007and make policy decisions related to the effective operation of the Polk County School Board. Our goal is to ensure we achieve our mission to provide a high-quality education for all students. I would like to call the February 24th, 2026 regular school board meeting to order. Board members, the first item on our agenda tonight is to accept our agenda. Superintendent Hyde, are there any revisions to the agenda as printed? Mr. Chair, members of the board, there are several amendments this evening. Item H number five, Polk County millage rate increase for travel reimbursement, an item was added. Item L number two, amendment to installation of wall on a Sheriff's Central District Command location, attachment was updated. Item L number three, right of way dedication along Gilbert Street from Pinewood Elementary, an attachment was updated. >> [cough] >>

008Item [clears throat] M number one, non-instructional personnel actions, an attachment was added. Item M number two, administrative and instructional personnel actions, an attachment was item. Item R number one, Wonder Here Incorporated two-year contract for services agreement, attachments were added. Item V as in Victor number two, tentative 2026-2027, 2027-2028, 2028-2029 instructional calendars for students, teachers, and paraeducators, the attachment was updated. Item V as in Victor number three, executive summary PEA collective bargaining settlement agreement for 2025-2026, the attachments were updated, and lastly, item V as in Victor number four, out of county travel within the state of Florida, an item was added. That concludes changes, sir. Thank you, Superintendent. >> [clears throat] >> So, at this time, the chair will entertain a motion to accept the agenda for the February 24th, 2026 board meeting with noted revisions.

009Do I have a motion and second? It's been It's been moved by board member Fields, seconded by board member Allen. Do we have any discussion? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. So, the motion on the floor is to accept the February 24th, 2026 school board agenda as presented. All those in favor, signify by saying I. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes unanimously. The next item up is new administrators. Superintendent Hyde, would you lead us through our next item? Yes, sir. We have two new administrators for this evening. Thomas, is it Malearney? I want to make sure I pronounce it correctly. Malearney. Say it again, sir. >> Malearney. Malearney. It was the assistant administrative assistant at Eagle Lake Elementary School being promoted to assistant principal at Kathleen Middle School. Thank you,

010sir. Stand a little taller. Uh Good [clears throat] evening, everyone. I'm truly honored to be here tonight and accept the role as assistant principal. I want to to sincerely thank the school board uh for the trust and confidence for me to carry out this role. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent Hyde, for your leadership and vision for Polk County Schools. >> [clears throat] >> I'm especially grateful uh to my previous uh regional uh superintendent and former principal Christopher Roberts, and my current regional super- assistant superintendent Ms. Cynthia Scandolos for their support and guidance along the way. Uh there's a couple of other thank yous I want to give, that's okay with y'all. I want to also thank some of my former principals, Mr. Dwayne Johnson from Bartow Middle, and uh Ms. Heather Lynn from Eagle Lake Elementary

011for their mentorship and example they have set. Um I also want to thank my current principal, Mr. Bucky Day, uh for his leadership and opportunity to allow me to serve at Kathleen Middle School. I also have to thank my wife, who's my biggest support. Uh she also is in the education system as well at Polk County Schools, uh for supporting me through all the wonderful uh career choices and changes and um master's degrees and all that stuff stuff and trainings. Uh my biggest fan. It is a privilege and great responsibility to serve this community. Education is not just about preparing students for tests, it's about preparing them for the for the for life. We have an incredible opportunity to shape future leaders, inspire dreams, build a foundation that extends far beyond school walls. As the

012saying goes, to serve is to lead. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead by serving our students, staff, and community every single day. So, thank you for your support. Thank you for trusting me with this role, and I'm excited for the work ahead. Congratulations. Good job. >> [applause] >> And any of your colleagues that you'd also like, we'll take a family photo first, but if any of your colleagues want to join you, we'll take a second one. Someone's happy. That's awesome. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. Uh congratulations, Justin. >> [applause] >> Next, we have Justin Martin, administrative assistant at Pinewood Elementary, being promoted to acting assistant principal at Eagle Lake. Good evening. Good evening. >> [clears throat] >> So, first I want to thank uh God for the plans that he had for me

013that allowed me to be here at this moment. Uh I want to thank uh the board, the superintendent for opening this uh gate, if you will, of opportunity uh to be here and serve in a different capacity as well. Uh I'd like to thank the regionals, uh Christopher Roberts, uh as well as Nicole Bennett and Principal Heather Lynn uh for kind of giving me the key uh to that pathway uh to be able to take a new role in serving the students, staff, and community at Eagle Lake Elementary. Uh certainly would not be here without a lot of different uh key members also who played a significant role uh throughout my career. Uh to begin with, uh Al McDaniel, who showed me uh that being a good man and being a good administrator go hand

014in hand on the daily. Um for Ms. April Campbell, who kind of looking past my uh significant background in secondary and seeing what I could uh provide to the elementary school world. Um to [clears throat] uh Dr. Jennifer Detwiler, who was always uh trying to give me uh different opportunities to grow me as a leader uh as much as I was willing to take. Uh for uh to Mr. Lewis Rios for being the example of showing that sound decisions can affect a whole school in a positive manner. To the men and women of the Florida National Guard, who I've served with for many years now and continue to serve with, I just want to thank them for their selfless service and the dedication that has helped me grow uh in more ways uh than they

015will probably ever know. Thank you to my mom and dad, who provided me the examples uh of showing how hard work and dedication is what your career deserves because of the people you serve within it. To my amazing wife, thank you for your sacrifice of sharing me with the demands of a rewarding but demanding career of almost 20 years. Whether it was the time away, the papers on the table for grading papers late at night, thank you for sharing your time, your love, your support through all of this. To my perfect combo, my little boy and my little girl, who aren't so little anymore, thank you for giving me all the memories and blessings of what it really means uh to give me joy through the the good days and the cloudy days that we

016have from time to time. And to the many faces that I imagine as I stand here today and move forward, thank you for the positive impact that you have on me, my growth, and where I am now. So, to everyone, thank you. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Hang on, one more. Team photo. >> [clears throat] [clears throat] >> Great job, sir. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Mr. Chair, that concludes uh new administrators this evening. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you, Superintendent. The next item up is our special recognitions. Superintendent Hyde, would you lead us through our special recognitions, please? Yes, sir. Thank you. At this time, I'd like to ask Dr. Allen to please step down for this evening's recognitions. First on our list of recognitions, I'd like to welcome Dr. Adrian Anthony, senior director for the

017Office of Compliance and ADA, to come forward with Ms. Concherel Adams to present the winners of the 2026 Polk County Public Schools Oratorical and Essay Contest for MLK. All right, triumphant Tuesday, everyone. I would like to say thank you to the superintendent, the school board chair, and to each and every board member for your hard work and dedication to the many citizens of Polk County, and your commitment to transforming the lives of our most valuable treasure, our students. With that same spirit of excellence, we would like to honor this historical Black History Month and give homage to the many people who sacrificed their resources and lives for American liberty. Given such a rich history, we would like to honor our Polk County School District students who wrote life-changing essays inspired by the legendary Dr. Martin

018Luther King Jr. This year's theme, Mission Possible, standing up for freedom, justice, and democracy peacefully and powerfully. So, now we're going to have a big group photo with our third-place winners, our second-place winners, and our first-place winners. So, let's get ready. I'm going to go a little fast, all right? You guys ready? Check. All right. Riley from Citrus Ridge Academy, Storm from Weston Academy of Engineering, Hayley from Jewett Middle Academy, and Natalie from Haines City High School. We'll have the parents, the administrators, the regionals, the students, teachers, paraprofessionals, assistant principals, grandparents. You're all welcome. >> [snorts] >> We'll take a quick photo. We have to get people up on the We have to put some people up on the risers here. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, that would be excellent. So, we're going to hand out

019the ribbons. Okay, yes. Come on, redeem those. Let's get our reading notes. >> [applause] >> All right. We're going to need a second. All right, great. There you go. You got the third and you got the second. All right. Round of applause. >> [applause] >> Third-place winners. Now for our second-place winners. Leia from Weston Academy of Engineering, Gia from Citrus Ridge Academy, Katherine from Davenport School of the Arts, and Zantarian from Bartow Senior High School. Come on down. Don't be shy. Thank you, ma'am. You want to start? Come on. Take your time. That's perfect. Thank you. I'm Zantarian. Hey. Congratulations. How do you Okay. It's one of the basketball ones. So, you got them all lined up right there. All right. Thank you. Easy, everyone. Give me a count. One, two, three, four. One, two,

020three. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Now for our first-place winners. Eden from Citrus Ridge Academy, Christian from Lincoln Avenue Academy, Adeline from Davenport School of the Arts, and Aleah from Harrison School of the Arts, who's also in the Army Reserves in high school. Thank you for your service. Don't block her, Dr. Ancelet. Which spots? There you go. >> [laughter] >> One, two, three. One more. One, two, three. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you again. >> [clears throat] >> We have all of our pledge leaders identified for the year? I think we should bring the Harrison young lady back. Who's in I'll work with Ms. Winchester. Okay. Next, I'd like to Ms. Leanne Bennett, senior director of career and workforce development, to come forward for to recognize our career technical education students and teachers of

021the year. Hi. Good evening. Good evening. Thank you so much for having us this evening. Um February is career and technical education month, a time when we proudly recognize students and educators who are preparing our learners for college, careers, and life beyond the classroom. CTE programs connect academics to real-world and industry certifications and meaningful career pathways. Tonight, we celebrate some of our outstanding examples of that success. So, we're going to start with our CTE secondary students in agriculture, Kendall Carlton, as a 12th-grade student at Winter Haven High School taught by Sarah Garcia. >> [applause] >> In the business management and marketing, we have Yaya Abdu Adas, an 11th-grade student at George Jenkins High School. She's He's taught by both Christie Kirkland and Jessica Salas. >> [applause] >> In communications and information services, we have Rafael

022Guerrero, 12th-grade student at Ridge Community High School taught by Maylinda Lopez. >> [applause] >> Come on down. In health sciences, we have Leah Thomas, 11th-grade student from Fort Meade Middle-Senior High School taught by Rhonda Johnson. >> [applause] >> In human services and resources, Bailey Stanley, a 12th-grade student at Bartow High School taught by Lon Lovett. >> [applause] >> In industrial manufacturing and engineering, we have Caitlin Lewis, a 12th-grade student from Auburndale Senior High School taught by Cara Baldwin. >> [applause] >> From Travis Technical Technical College, we have Benjamin Dehaven. He's an aviation student in a airframe program taught by Cynthia Rosevelt. >> [applause] >> And John Curliss from Ridge Technical College in the HVAC program taught by Mr. Michael Browning. >> [applause] >> We're going to take a picture of this group, and then we'll

023recognize the next group. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> As we know, CTE is for all students, and tonight we probably honor our CTE students with unique abilities, whose determination and achievements inspire us all. From Crystal Lake Middle, not able to join us was Analinda Morales Iglesia. Jessica James, a ninth-grade student at Mulberry High School in the health science program taught by Jason Lamar. We're coming. Oh, sorry. I got ahead of us. All right, you're going to come right over here. We have Uriel Ortiz, an 11th grade student from Ridge Community High School taught by Melinda Lopez. >> [applause] >> Justin Severhaus Severnhouse, 11th grade student from Kathleen High School taught by Mr. Aaron Murray. >> [applause] >> Do we have Justin? Okay. Oh. Sorry. Billy Humphrey, 12th grade student from Fort Meade Middle

024Senior High taught by Ashley Wheeler. Oh, [applause] we missed Uriel. You're going to have to switch. All right. And do we have Billy? There we go. All right. All right. And that's we're going to have a picture of this group. Scoot together. All right. Thank you so much. >> [applause] >> And last, we'd like to honor the stu- the teachers who do such an excellent job supporting these students. In agriculture, we're recognizing Mr. Eddie Congdon from Dundee Ridge Middle. >> [applause] >> In business management and marketing, Holly Schmidt from Haines City High School, but she could not attend tonight. >> [applause] >> In communication and information services, Aaron Murray from Kathleen High School. >> [applause] >> Eddie, you get to stay here. In health science, Stacey Grimes from Bartow High School. Unfortunately, she could not

025attend tonight. >> [applause] >> In human services and resources culinary, you have Julie Brantley from Frostproof Middle Senior High. >> [applause] >> In industrial manufacturing and engineering, our pre-engineering teacher at Sleepy Hill Middle, Amy Hamilton. >> [applause] >> Our post-secondary teachers are Ray Finder for the HVAC program at Travis Technical College. >> [applause] >> And Ms. Ashley Still for nails and facials from Ridge Technical College. >> [applause] >> Thank you all for the excellent work you do for us. [applause] Okay. I'd like to quickly add that Ms. Anderson left a challenge coin that our team all our students and teachers received. You got to receive one of those samples. Um we're pretty proud of those. So, thank you all for your support that you always give to us. Thanks. >> [applause] >> Ms. Anderson's not

026going anywhere. Next, I'd like to bring Ms. Anderson, assistant director for career and technical education, to please come forward for recognition of Ag Fest. Yes, thank you. So, we're excited that Ag Fest is very close on the horizon. It starts next week. Um on your place setting, you should have a little invitation with some goodies from Polk County Farm Bureau. They are one of the sponsors of Ag Fest. It is a trifecta partnership between Polk County Farm Bureau, Polk County Public Schools, and then University of Florida IFAS Extension. So, Ag Fest is held at the Polk County Ag Center. We hope that you might be able to come out and join us for a day. It will be March 2nd through the 6th next week and then the following week as well, the 9th through

027the 13th. This is year 37 of Ag Fest. And so, we're pretty proud of that. That is our introductory event for our fourth grade students to teach them a little bit about agricultural education. So, this year we're excited. We have huge numbers. I have 260 classrooms that signed up with 5,511 students. That's public, private, charter, and home school students. We invite all of them. Um our our partners our industry partners are the ones that actually do the teaching in the small groups that the students rotate through. And those partners are Mosaic. They will cover phosphate with students. Our Polk County Master Gardeners will do a horticulture unit. All Florida Conservation is our newest um group that we brought in last year to cover conservation of Florida. The Polk County Citrus Growers have their citrus station.

028The extension agents run the small farms. And then the Polk County County Cattlemen's Association will have a beef cattle unit. So, there's six stations that the students rotate through. We are very proud to have some sponsors like Florida Natural Growers. And then also the Duke Energy Foundation came in this year because they heard about um Ag Fest through some of our publications um from PR and reached out last year and they said, "We want to be part of this. How do we get involved?" And so, now Duke Energy has partnered with us as well. So, we're excited about that. We hope you'll come see us at Ag Fest. And I'll put in a plug. And there are plenty of spaces left if you want to sign up to volunteer for a part a part of

029your day or the entire day. An event has the sign-up. Yes. We take about 30 volunteers a day to run Ag Fest. Um so, it's lots of bodies to make sure it's safe and fun and engaging for our students. So, >> It is a lot of fun. Yeah. 9:00 to noon every day. Thank you both. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Board members, at this time, I'm going to take a little bit of special privilege with recognitions. Um as you know, last month two individuals were recognized within our community. And I'd like to recognize those two for the accolades they've received. I'd like to ask board member Fields to please come down to the floor as well as Ms. Jeanette Crowley, director of strategic planning and partnerships. Last month, both of these women were recognized

030by the Leadership Lakeland Alumni Association for their significant contributions here in Polk County. Ms. Fields received the Jerry Annis Leadership Award, which is given to a graduate who can whose continuous service has had a significant impact and positive impact on the Lakeland community. Ms. Jeanette Crowley received the Legacy Leader Award, which honors an alumnus whose service, dedication, and leadership have also left a lasting impract- impact on the association and the surrounding community. Both of these women, as you all know, are very deserving of their awards. And so, I wanted to take a moment to ensure that we congratulated them yet again publicly for their achievements. Please join me in giving them a round of applause. >> [applause] [applause] >> CONGRATULATIONS. >> [applause] >> AND MR. CHAIR, THAT concludes special recognitions for this evening. Make sure

031she gets her Best of PCPS coin challenge coin. Thank you, Superintendent Hyde. Just [clears throat] a quick thank you to all those who took the time out of their schedule to join us tonight for a special recognition. Next up is public comments for items on the agenda to be voted upon as adopted at the start of the meeting. Before we begin, I would like to welcome the public and go over our public comment process and opportunities for this evening. We will have two opportunities for public comment this evening. The first will be on for items on the evening's agenda to be voted upon. As always, during this time, comments will be limited to those items that are on the agenda. Lastly, at the end of the meeting, we will have an additional opportunity for public

032comment on items that are not on this evening's agenda. To register to speak, community members must fill out a speaker card in the lobby prior to the meeting. All speakers will be given 3 minutes. The light, should be over here, will turn yellow when you have 1 minute left, and you will hear a beep when your time has concluded. All comments should be directed to myself as board chair. As a reminder, public comments are an opportunity for us to collectively hear your thoughts and comments. This is not a question and answer session, and comments are to be not to be directed at individual board members. However, if you are seeking additional information, I encourage you to contact any of us or the superintendent's office outside of the board meeting. We would we would be happy

033to have a deeper conversation with you. The first person I would like to call up is Stephanie Yocum. You will have 3 minutes to speak. If you start with your name and address before you speak for public record, we would appreciate that. And then there's also a red line over there and that's going to be our on deck and Laura Allgood, you're on deck. You're recognized. Stephanie Yocum, president of the Polk Education Association, um 730 East Davidson, Bartow. Um tonight before you you have the ratification vote for our three Polk Education Association union contracts. Um this was a long, drawn-out, very tiring bargaining session uh this year um mainly because our state underfunds public education. And we continue to be starved of resources while billions of dollars continue to go to unaccountable private and corporate

034and homeschooling entities. And this will continue to be a point of contention until we get our state to understand that public schools constitutionally must be adequately funded. And there should be one system of quality public education in the state per the Florida Constitution. And so I am here before you to advocate for a yes vote tonight. But knowing that 2% is not enough. 2% doesn't cover inflation. Our folks are starving. They are working three and four jobs to make ends meet and when I heard Aleia, who did our pledge tonight, say what she felt she most loved about her school, that is what we fight for every single day is to have dedicated, quality, qualified staff, whether they're the bus driver in front of them in the morning or the food service worker giving them

035breakfast to the secretary that's greeting their parents to their classroom teacher or any of their support instructional personnel. We have to guarantee that not just from from our union, which is made up of the teachers and support staff in Polk County schools. It is your responsibility as elected officials to be advocating for public school funding to our public schools so that we can function. We are becoming at a critical mass here, not just in Polk County but across this state. And I would ask that as we go into the midterm elections, right now the legislature is debating all sorts of craziness but nothing in both chambers is passing that's good for schools. There's some in Senate, there's some in the House but none of neither chamber can agree to move things forward that are good

036for schools. And so until we can have adequate funding that goes back to the Jeb Bush era of the disinvestment of public schools, we will continue to have problems. And so I advocate for a yes vote but I also ask for you to please, as people are wanting you to go to fundraisers in this area that you ask them one thing, do you support fully funded public schools and the repeal of the universal voucher scheme? And if they don't, we should not be supporting them. Thank you. Next up, we have Laura Allgood. >> [clears throat] >> Laura Allgood, 3660 Wellington Place, Bartow, Florida 33830. Board members, my name is Laura Allgood and I am a proud Polk County public school music educator and a product of Polk County public schools. I was taught elementary music

037for 24 years in Polk County public schools and I currently serve on the bargaining team. This bargaining session was long, it was tireless and I believe it was not easy for either side. We had tough conversations centering around issues such as discipline and the budget. We worked to come to a consensus and an agreement, not perfect but better. This past week I spent time in Tallahassee for the legislative session. I spoke to senators and House reps. >> [snorts] >> I spoke with them about how the teacher shortage is harming our students and the unfair way that charters and vouchers are taking away from our public schools. And I urge this board to continue to advocate for proper funding for our public schools so that in that each of you will vote in November for the

038millage and so that we can better pay and maintain highly qualified teachers and staff in our Polk County public schools. >> [snorts] >> This will assure we put students first, which is what we are all about and that is our motto. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Board members, now we have to approve three sets of minutes. The first set of minutes is for the January 27th, 2025 school board work session. The chair will entertain a motion to accept the 20 January 27th, 2025 school board work session minutes as written. Do I have a motion? So moved. Moved by board member Keys. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by board member Fields. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying

039I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries unanimously. The second set of minutes is for the January 27th, 2025 school board meeting. The chair will entertain a motion to accept the January 27th, 2025 school board meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion? So moved. It's been moved by board member Fields, seconded by board member Miller. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries unanimously. The third and final set of minutes is for the February 10th, 2026 school board work session. The chair will entertain a a motion to accept the February 10th, 2026 school board work session minutes as written. Do I Is it moved by board member Keys? Do I

040have a second? Seconded by board member Allen. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. The motion carries unanimously. The [snorts] next item is approval of today's consent agenda. The chair will entertain a motion to accept the February 24th, 2026 consent agenda as printed. Do I have a motion and second? So moved. It's been moved by board member Fields, seconded by board member Wyatt. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we'll now proceed to vote. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries unanimously. Next [clears throat] up on our agenda is the action agenda. Our first item on the action agenda is V1 entitled Lake Marion site for district

041development in the northeast area for future school. The suggested action is to approve the purchase of the Lake Marion site. The chair will accept a motion. So moved. The moved by board member Wyatt. Do I have a second? Second. It's been seconded by board member Miller. We have a motion and second. Is there any discussion, fellow board members? I will now recognize board member Keys. So I know that this has dragged on a little a little while here now. And that being [clears throat] said is we're going to have an upcoming discussion regarding growth in the northeast part of the area. Um that being said, I think it probably is fair to say that we should probably get all the information before we go voting on another piece of land purchase. Also want to say

042in doing that that we're going out for a millage increase, right? Um and also with that we have coming up a comprehensive plan to do repairs throughout the district. So in a time with that we haven't seen the final results of those repairs. Um estimates early estimates in the tens of millions of dollars, most likely more than that. And to land bank in a time such as this, I am adamantly against, especially on a site that we don't know what the future development's going to be as far as roadways and water. Um so I will not be supporting this at all tonight and I would urge that we really give this can serious even though that we're pushed this can down the road quite a bit, that we really would think about what we're doing

043before going and banking land that we don't know what the future use is, if any at all. So that's all I have to say. Thank you, board member Keys. Is there any further discussion? The chair recognizes board member Allen. Thank you, chair. Uh yeah, I'll probably not be voting in favor of this tonight. Uh a couple things that I think are still unclear for me is the cost um on the 2-mile uh extension of a force main as it relates to getting infrastructure to this property. I don't think that was uh unraveled enough for me to have confidence in this vote at at you know, in this item at this point. Um, so and then secondly, I think it's clear or unclear rather uh to me what the direction is with this property. I would

044like to have a little bit more intentionality around what the property be used for. So, those are the two things that I think were uncertain to me in the process and I I think um knowing what's coming in regards to uh our development conversation, um I think that pertains to this as well and I think that's important to me as well. So, I'll probably not be voting in favor of this tonight. Board member Fields, you are now recognized. Thank you. I'm a little bit confused [clears throat] because in the work session, I thought we were going to table this. So, did that leave and I forgot? Nobody said anything. Why why is it not being tabled? Board member Fields, uh I can address that. It has someone actually has to make the motion to table

045it. And I know that. >> [laughter] >> And I thought that Mr. Keys was going to do that. Well, um Could you explain the process of There's already a motion on the floor. Sure. So, >> [clears throat and cough] >> right now the there's a pending motion that needs to be decided. Um at the work session, there was a discussion about um tabling the motion until after the I believe the [clears throat] uh retreat. Is that correct? Um so, that additional information could be um brought forward. So, first and foremost, we need to decide on what what you want to do with the motion on the table. Um There hasn't been No one made the motion to table yet. So, I'm waiting to go through the speaker list. Correct. So, just Yeah, procedural. Uh you

046could withdraw your motion. Yes. Okay. It's been withdrawn. The motion has been withdrawn. Uh Mr. Green, uh the member who made the motion has withdrawn the motion. Okay. So, there's um there's been discussion already. So, um I think at this point um uh correct correct my understanding, there was a motion to decide to whether to approve or to approve, correct? So, there's been a discussion at this point. Um we decide whether Well, let me look at let me look at withdrawing motions on whether that >> Green, could we um could we Again, is someone Let me make sure here. Familiar with parliamentary procedure? Yeah. Can we just move to postpone this item till um the April board meeting? That would be a clean way to do it if someone wanted to do that. Sure. If

047that's um the will of the board, then yes. I'll make a motion to postpone this item to a later time. No, if if we know it's Thank you. So, there's been a motion to um postpone this item V1 to the April school board meeting. It It'd be determined. Can you repeat your motion again? Board member uh Wyatt, can you please repeat your motion? My motion was to postpone it to a later date and I was told that it had to be a specific date. So, it'd be the April board meeting, which is April 1. I and I was just seeking to clarify for for the public and others who'll be watching, your motion was an open motion when the chair began to recite it. He he knew the date you were thinking of. He added

048that. You having been made having been the one to make the motion really should just amend your motion to include that and then he can ask Well, the the motion hasn't been seconded yet, so she could reword her motion. Chair Sharp, I would like to second that motion. April 28th. April 28th. Okay. So, it's been moved by board member Wyatt to postpone this to the April 28th meeting and it's been seconded by uh board member um Allen. Okay. Is there any discussion on the postponement of this item to the April 28th, 2026 meeting? Board member Keys, you are now recognized. So, I just want to be careful about that if we have any other questions, I think the proper would be to table it and then call it back off the table, would it not?

049Because then we if we postpone it, that's time certain. If we had more questions, we'd have to answer them. So, we would really have to table it and then call it off the table to be able to vote on it. Um correct me if I'm wrong, uh uh attorney, but if you table something, it has to come back at the next meeting or it is dead. Yeah, I think the if the board and uh will >> I I would think it'd be better to postpone it to a specific >> I agree. I agree. And if you know that date, then we'll decide that date now and it'll appear in that future motion future uh agenda item. Thank you. Yeah. The other The other reason I was saying that because I don't want to have to

050do it again and kick it down the road even further. Once we have the information, if we have all the information, then set an agenda because if we don't have all the information and now we're saying we're going to bring it back on that date, then we're going back and potentially postponing again. Correct, but there's not a part in parliamentary procedure, if you do if you table something and it doesn't come back at the next meeting, it is killed. And I would like I would hate for that to happen to this item as well. If you postpone it indefinitely, you're also killing the motion. So, there's really not a way to do it to where we just say, "Okay, whenever we want to bring it back, we bring it back." So, that's why um the

051the correct motion in this case would be the April 1 and if we have to postpone it from there, then we can postpone it from there. I understood that differently, but my apologies if I'm wrong. So, um board uh board attorney Green, can you weigh in on this? Am I correct or do we need to Yes, so if the board's will is to uh postpone this until future date, um then you would submit a motion, someone would place a motion um for consideration discussion on what that date is and decide on it as a board. As opposed to tabling. Right. Okay. So, uh now that we've got the ruling from uh attorney Green, um Mr. Keys, do you have any additional comment? Okay. So, board member Miller, you are now recognized. I would like to

052hear from the superintendent or staff what the um what the contract prohibits moving the date if it's if it makes the contract invalid, where we are in binding with an approval or, you know, I'm in real estate. If you don't take my deal, I'm selling it to somebody else. So, I just need you to explain that to the public. Mr. McLemore, if the board were to delay this till April, are there any implications in the current contract? Not in the current contract as as stipulated, but we have had discussions with the seller and they have indicated their desire to get this decided sooner rather than later cuz they have been approached by others. So, a delay potentially run the risk of not not having this >> increasing cost or them >> item >> going ahead

053and deciding to sell it to another party. Correct. Yes, sir. You're now recognized. Thank you. I just wanted that confirmed just so the public has all the information. Um and I understand the concerns. I understand this is the longest we've ever talked about one piece of property. Um and we've all heard from staff as well as others. So, thank you. That cleared that up. Thank you, board member Miller. Board member Allen, you are now recognized. Yeah, I mean I was again, I I think we have further conversations. Um so, I'm looking forward to hearing how that plays out. The the key things for me is um what's the time on getting infrastructure to that property and estimation of cost. Um I know it was not noted in mileage, but it's 2 miles 2 miles to

054get infrastructure to that property currently. So, I'd like to know what and and maybe there's um you know, some secret sauce that's uh not being disclosed of that infrastructure getting to that property, but I would like to know. I mean, I think that's important um because that takes time. And then the property is just sitting there and and I'm okay with that in a sense because I think that's future planning. Yes, but uh what's our intentionality for the property as well? I think those are two uh key areas that uh have not been presented to me. This it's been uncertain what the usage of the property would be. I would like to have a little bit more direction on that and that's it. And um and obviously there's going to be other things uh to

055unravel in our future uh retreat. So, chair, that's all I have right now at this moment. Thank you. Thank you, board member Allen. Board member Wallace, you are now recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I recognize that all the time and energy that our staff and board meetings, including ones prior to my joining, have taken place, but as I have further examined, um I'm not totally uh against the the purchase, but I still have outstanding questions that I have submitted to staff um that aren't fully answered to my satisfaction related to this deal. So, I think that um and they mostly are in the realm of the purchasing contracts. Um and I'll just provide a single example. Is in our personal purchasing purchasing a contract, there's no deposit amount >> [clears throat] >> uh mentioned and

056everybody I know in real estate um specifies when you're going to sign an agreement and purchase something that there is a deposit that's made to to seal the agreement and that wasn't named, that wasn't specified, nobody could tell me how much the deposit was going to be for. So, that automatically just raised some concerns. So, um I know that there's a lot of moving numbers and factors based on when the board acts and then that would set things into motion and then answer more specifics, but I when I vote for a $9 million purchase, I would like to see specific numbers and specific dates and specific timelines assuming that we were to act on the day that we approve something. So, that's just something I noticed as an example. Um and so, I think also

057now that the conversation is uh on the on the agenda for our retreat about um all the growth that it would be a missed opportunity and I'm willing to wait a couple more months since we're already um down this this far. So, that's where I sit. Thank you, Board Member Wallace. Board Member Keys, you are now recognized. Just something came to mind and then I'm I'm done talking about it. I would urge my colleagues to do your due diligence and drive out there. As somebody who's driven past this property for over 30 years, I would urge you to go out and look at it and tell me if you think it's a good site for anything that the district has. That's all. Thank you, Board Member Keys. Is there any further discussion on the item

058of business to postpone this uh item to the April 28th school board meeting? Seeing none, we will now proceed to vote on postponing this item to the April 28th school board meeting. All those in favor, signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. The motion passes. The item is now postponed to the April 28th uh board meeting. Item V2 uh we are now on, which is entitled tentative 2026-27, 27-28, 28-29 instructional calendars for student teachers and paraeducators. The suggestion suggested action is to approve the tentative 2026-27, 27-28, and 28-29 instructional calendars for students, teachers, and paraeducators. The chair will entertain a motion. So moved. It's been >> [laughter] >> It's been moved by Board Member Keys and seconded by Board Member Allen. Is there any discussion, fellow board members? Mr. Keys, you are

059now recognized. I just want to continue on the comments that were made during our work session, the hard work that goes into this and the intentionality. Um thank you for the team for spending time on that and we talked about some of those dates and how they fall and although the calendar year doesn't afford us everything that we want, I think that there was good conversation around it and I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this cuz it's a heavy lift. Thank you, Board Member Keys. Are there any other board members wish to be recognized? Board Member Wyatt, you are now recognized. Thank you. I have the great pleasure of serving on the calendar committee and this is not a process for, you know, everybody has opinions on the calendar that comes out.

060It is not a process that is taken lightly. Um it is there are probably 40 people in that room easily, all representing we have some teachers, we have um school staff, district staff, transportation, food service, literally everyone you can think of, community members. Um I really appreciate Superintendent Hyde's intentionality this year on making sure that we had principals that represented all different types of schools. Um so, not just a high school principal. Um we had an elementary, we had a middle, we had a combination school to really be able to give how things impact every level of student. Um but it really is a fascinating process and this is the end result. So, know that there was a lot of of time and brainpower from a million individuals. It's not just Superintendent Hyde saying, "This

061is what we should do." So. >> [snorts] >> Thank you, Board Member Wyatt. Is there any further discussion? Seeing none, we will now proceed to vote on the item uh to approve the 2026-27, 27-28, 28-29 instructional calendars for student teachers and paraeducators. >> [clears throat] >> All those in favor, signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed, nay. Motion passes unanimously. The final item on our action agenda is Oh, and sorry. I'll take it back. Uh the next item is V3 entitled executive summary PEA collective bargaining settlement 25-26. The suggested action is to approve the PEA collective bargaining settlement 25-26. The chair will accept a motion. So moved. It's been moved by Board Member Fields, seconded by Board Member Keys. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, we will now proceed to vote. All those in favor,

062signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries unanimously. >> [applause] >> Our final item is V4 out-of-county travel within the state of Florida. The recommended action is to amend the out-of-county travel within the state of Florida as discussed at our work session. Do I hear a motion to approve? So moved. It's been moved by Board Member Wyatt. Do I have a second? Second. It's been seconded by Board Member Keys. Is there any discussion on the motion to amend the out-of-county travel within the state of Florida as discussed at work session? Board Member Miller, you are now recognized. Just for the public, can Mr. Green just repeat what was discussed? >> Absolutely. Thank you. Sure. So, uh during the um earlier work session today, there was there were two items. I I

063sent them in email just for your reference here. Um there was a technical change that was um proposed by Neola, which is to align the policy with the statute. Um I mentioned that um there was a change in the paragraph under in-county travel uh changing the phrase um mileage shall be determined by actual odometer reading to as permitted by law since um there's two laws that can determine mileage um and odometer reading is not one of them. And uh the final has to do with out-of-county travel paragraph two where it removes the phrase when approved in advance um because in that paragraph, it talks about expenses in general whereas the statute um 10139 paragraph two only requires approval for expenses exceeding $500. And that's the one in paragraph three that's written there. So, by removing

064that phrase, it removes the perceived requirement or a lack of clarity that when approval is required. It's only required when it exceeds 500. So, removing that phrase there um takes away any ambiguity that approval's required any other time. Thank you, Mr. Green. Board Member Miller, do you have any further discussion? You're welcome. Is there any discussion, board board members? Seeing none, we will now proceed to vote. All those in favor of approving the motion to amend our out-of-county travel with the state of Florida as discussed at our work session, please signify by saying I. I. I. All those opposed, nay. Motion passes unanimously. The next item of business on our agenda is the superintendent's report. Superintendent Hyde, do you have a report for us tonight? I do, Mr. Chair. Um before I share the entirety

065of the reports that I have as far as the next meeting, just want to say thank you to PEA. Um as they mentioned and and said very well, you know, there's a lot that goes into bargaining. And, you know, I I think that this bargaining session, while a little bit protracted, really focused on some re- really key issues for our staff and and we were very open and receptive to the fact that in areas where we know financially we're hamstrung and just simply can't offer the compensation that our employees absolutely deserve on every given day, are there things within the workplace that we can help address? And I think they brought some very legitimate concerns forward. I think the board found that we reached consensus on the number of those. I you know, other you

066know, what we tried to do is make sure that there were very clear, definitive language in there that would prevent, you know, any arguments in the future or any miscommunication. Not less for our teams because we're at the table the entire time discussing it, but for those who will read it then in the contract and have to interpret it. And like I I use that phrase operationalize it in the setting. So, I want to say thank you. You know, it's it's a difficult process. Um at times, you know, it gets heated, but, you know, that's not really directed at each other. It's directed at the issue. I think we're we're all share a similar frustration with in the in regard to we wish there was more. We truly do. And as a district, we maintain

067our commitment. The board has seen that. Actually, the board heard earlier today in the workshop a lot about we're reviewing our larger significant contracts to make sure that we are benefiting from the most aggressive and the best ROI we can possibly generate both in services and potentially a reduction in cost. And then those dollars in turn can be utilized differently to support staff. So, that's our continued commitment. That's my continued commitment to you. So, I just wanted to say thank you to them and their team um and for being flexible at times with the bargaining process cuz we're we're trying to work this out so that meetings can be more productive and we can move away from showing up to meetings and one side presents their their talking points and then we feel like we

068have to go and schedule another meeting and come back. How do we If we can exchange information beforehand, we it's become more productive. So, we're trying to support that as well. It's a two-way road and we need to be mutually respectful in that regard and I I think we've made headway there. Uh I'm very pleased to share that AFSCME has also reached um on agreement at the table, but they are going out for their ratification vote. And then you will soon be seeing and and in the AFSCME vote, um they they took the raise plus they voted they elected to take maternity and paternity leave. The survey will be going out to non-union group. I I say that cuz we always refer to them as a NUG group. And it's arguably a very disrespectful term.

069Um but the non-union group will have the same choice. They'll receive that survey this week and then I'll be able to bring that back to the board as well. Um so, we're excited about that. And and I know that that was not because PEA did not have a mutual interest in that cuz I know that remains a talking point for us, but it really came down to dollars and cents and how can they make sure that their members and our employees mutually are getting the highest possible raise in this very economically challenging time. So, I wanted to share all that. Thank you, board members, for for allowing me that to do that. Uh the next work session meeting will be held on March 10th, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at the

070district office located at 1915 South Floral Avenue in Bartow. Um Mr. Chair, members of the board, while I have announced that location, um that is also in the middle of Ag Fest. So, I have reached out to see if the board were interested and willing and we don't have to say anything tonight um about relocating our meeting, the workshop, to the fairgrounds while Ag Fest is going on so that way if we convene early, you can go out and enjoy and participate, but I have to make sure there's space and and I also have to make sure the communications team has time to set up so we can broadcast the meeting. So, thank you, sir. Appreciate the opportunity to share that this evening. That concludes my report. Thank you, Superintendent Hyde. Next, we'll move to

071our our attorney's [clears throat] report, Mr. Green. You're recognized. Thank you. Um I'm requesting authority to advertise a public hearing to be held on April 28th, 2026 during the regularly scheduled board meeting for policy updates presented during the February 24th school board work session today uh for rule development. The text of the proposed rule scheduled for the public hearing will be available at the time the notice is published. Um for the record, the policies presented this afternoon included um both bylaw 0147.1 related to travel and expenses and policy 5223 related to absences for religious instruction. That concludes my report. Thank you, Mr. Green. The recommended motion is to approve to advertise the public hearing for policy updates presented at the February 24th school board work session. The chair welcomes a motion at this time. The

072motion has was made by board member Wyatt, seconded by board member Keys. Is there any discussion, fellow board members? Seeing none, we'll now proceed to vote. All those in favor, signify by saying I. I. All those opposed, nay. The motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Mr. Green. Now, we will we'll come to the part of the evening where uh we have our board members' reports. Tonight, I'm going to go in district order. So, we will start with board member Allen, District 1. Uh so, I just have a few um comments tonight. First of all, I want to say thank you to uh Dr. Wickman, uh our senior director of science and social studies, Jeff Hancock, and so many other district staff members and judges who supported the uh Polk Regional Science and Engineering Fair. It was

073held at Southwest Middle. Um and then also I had a chance to attend the Polk uh History Fair. And I mean, I was just truly blown away by the level of student work. Um I I engaged deeply with, you know, a lot of research, um a lot of history within my own discipline, and yet I heard terms uh and concepts from our students that I had never encountered before. I was just blown away. Um and that really speaks volumes to the brilliance of our students and the caliber of thinking uh that was on display. I was definitely exceptional. Uh even at the Polk History Fair that was here at the History Center in Bartow, um there were so many documentary productions. Uh there were performances um by historical figures, uh web content, uh essays being

074defended. It it it was really incredible. Um and then on this past Sunday, I just want to say thanks to David Byrd. I had a chance to um travel out and uh connect with him. I really appreciate his continued service around agriculture and the CTE programs. Uh had a chance to hear several FFA speakers uh who came from so many different counties around us uh as well as so many of our schools here uh in the district as well. Uh the setting was way out in the swamp and I man, it was way out in the swamp. And Mr. Miller, uh but it was actually a fun drive on a Sunday afternoon or Sunday morning. Uh their upcoming theme and Mr. Sharpless can probably speak to this a little bit more, but with a faith

075born not of words, but of deeds. And that was the theme of a lot a lot of the um speeches given. So, it was it was pretty amazing to take part in that. It was the first time I actually had a take chance to take part in that. Um went over to Tenoroc recently and I know, you know, we all have taken part in these initiatives as well, but the 3DE culminating event um was 10.4 for Home Depot. And, you know, I mean, to me, it's clear that the stakes continue to get higher. You know, if I go all the way back to the very beginning of the 3DE program and to see where it was and where it is now, it really is incredible. Um and there were so many like very tech-focused initiatives

076that they were bringing forward. Uh a lot of models that they were creating as well. Uh it was in the auditorium. Seemed like all of their peers all of their class peers were in the audience. It was a full house. Um can you imagine delivering a speech in the in the middle of that context. I was really impressed with those students and what they're doing. Uh and I would say as someone who enjoys DIY projects and technology, um I would have absolutely um taken part in some of those initiatives if Home Depot was to implement something like that. Um I do want to commend the superintendent for the way that you've handled uh the recent student protest across the district. I mean, I think these situations are not simple. I appreciate the balance on this

077and honoring our student voice, but also prioritizing safety. Um so, I just want to thank you for the constant communication around that, um making sure that the order was there, but the student voice was heard as well. And then um finally in my comments, uh this is the last week of Love the Bus. And uh I want to recognize our bus drivers and attendants, Superintendent. We We read your messages daily. I think maybe even a couple have come through within the last few hours that pertain to bus situations. And when those come through, just it's a constant reminder of the burden that they carry each day of transporting our children. And um that's it's a huge huge carry uh and a burden that they uh they and a tremendous responsibility for sure. So, we see

078you, our Our bus drivers and attendants. We appreciate you and we love the people uh who make these buses move. So, Chair Sharpless, that's That's all my comments for tonight. Thank you. Thank you, Board Member Allen. I now recognize Board Member Keys. Thank you, Chair Sharpless. So, wow, a busy couple weeks. Uh I like Dr. Allen went out and did the 3DE event over at Lake Region and and this had been I think the fourth time I attended one of these events and then Mr. Clevenger roped me into judging on this one. So, unbeknownst to myself when I walked in the door, but but again, I think the the the progression that I see in the students as they come through the program and they're they are presenting in front of all their peers and

079it takes a lot of courage, but I could tell you and and the team has went back to deliberate and we're talking about how well they were put together and these students at this point, they're memorizing their presentations. They're not looking back at them all the time and giving us some some I mean, some of the the suggestions they gave to Home Depot were, you know, uh there was a pod to go in and and kind of do a virtual project build and I'm like, that's amazing. Probably unfeasible. It's going to be really, you know, cost not not cost-effective, but just the ideas and they have the ability to um explore those and the research they have to do is very commendable. Wonderful program and and happy to go out and support those. Um then,

080uh another thing just absolutely amazed, went to the East Polk College and Career Fair they had at Lake Eva and let me tell you, when I walked in the door that evening, I I did it We did a college fair when I was in high school, right? And it was the gymnasium. There was maybe like 15, 20 schools there. The entire Lake Eva Event Center was packed wall to wall and [snorts] walked in there as part of the Florida tour and just so many organizations, whether be employers, universities, um career schools, just absolutely fantastic. Number one, to see that many there. Number two, as I stayed around to look, the community participation was phenomenal. So, want to say kudos um to Ms. Monique Tubbs. Wow, that's kind of quarterbacking that and and going around with

081walkie-talkie and making sure everybody was where they're at and Ms. Everett and her entire team. What a fantastic event um and I'm glad that we had the turnout the participation we did because I think that's going to ensure that that event keeps happening in the in the years to come. Next, um thank you also to Dr. Allen and and and Ms. Wyatt on our Winter Haven at the Winter Haven High School that day and we were talking about their education day and able to share those community members was was glad to take part in that. Some good questions, but I think overall, just see the community active in those programs and them pouring into education is is absolutely awesome. Congratulations again to we recognize our essay winners tonight. Um not only the ones from my

082area, but overall, I think to put your feelings and your thoughts into in on paper, right? Um it it adds time of reflection and what a healthy exercise as do that. So, congratulations to all those winners. Two more and I see the superintendent smiling cuz I know he knew it was going to come up, attended the Clays for Classrooms event for Polk Education Foundation on Friday night and through [snorts] some weird scoring error, um the team labeled this year as we're just here for the ice cream, somehow edged out the sharpshooters. Again, I I I think that there was a math thing going on there where their scores were miscalculated, but congratulations to the superintendent and and his team, they they did edge us out this year, the sharpshooters and I'm I'm I'm calling for

083a rematch. Um you can't hide behind the the the miss score for long. We're coming after you. It's a but but again, Polk Education Foundation, what a a wonderful event and and that's what Susan Copeland wanted and if you have never been able to just even go out and look at that event, I encourage you. They and thanks to Pete Glaco for letting us have that that area because they black out there's no lights and then they turn on black lights for this clay shoot in the middle of the night, right? We don't get started till after 7:00 and these clays glow and I remember the first time they did it without the spotlights that that put the the black lights out there, you could hear it audibly from those attendants, it was ooh. Ah,

084but but what a what an event and and I I spoke to Ms. Porter today and this goes directly to initiatives within Polk County Public Schools. They raised They haven't done the final tally yet, but this year was again over $50,000 education going directly to students and teachers in Polk County Public Schools. So, thank you for all the community sponsors for that. And then very last, I am going to I'm going to brag on my district, quite a few sporting accomplishments. So, Haines City Senior High School, um the Lady Hornets uh took the 7A District 9 championship in basketball. Congratulations to those ladies. Uh Ms. DJ Smith uh won the state championship for wrestling in class 3A District 9. Congratulations to Ms. Smith. Um the Lady Broncos wrestling team at Davenport High School placed 11th

085out of 60 regionals. What a phenomenal feat there in the class 1A D6. And then the Ridge Community High School, the men Bolts wrestling team um took home the class 3A District 5 championship. So, a lot happening in Northeast Polk and um just excited to be a part of these things as we can. That's it. Thank you, Board Member Keys. Now recognize Board Member Wallace. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh I'd first like to start by saying um I had the privilege of attending a portion of the EMERGE Symposium that was at the Florida Polytechnic University campus at the Barnett Applied Research Center and that was um hosted by our recruitment department and they uh teachers were given the opportunity to uh get free professional development if they wanted to on a Saturday and there were

086engaging topics like how to incorporate AI um as afforded we afford our employees AI through Copilot when they're in their Microsoft Office applications. I also saw um some science instruction classes. There was a um a session about grants and applying for grants. So, there were a lot of interesting, relevant topics and I sat in on the AI session and learned a bunch and went home and already put it to work and probably to Superintendent Hyde's great peril because I'm already using it um in my capacity as a board member. Not to cheat or cut corners, but to be more thorough and to have as assistive help. So, I also just for the public's awareness, I read an essay and it's totally changed my outlook and it's uh girded me into action. It's on Twitter or

087excuse me, X, formerly known as Twitter. The essay is called Something Big Is Happening and it's by a Matt Schumer, S H U M E R. If you're like, what is going on with AI and what do I need to do about it if at all? How's it going to impact me? Give it a 10-minute read. I think you'll find it fascinating and compelling because it was written by somebody who has a front row seat of what's going on in California and um and we're getting the the the telephone downtrodden messages about that and it is as exciting as it is scary, but read it um and it it just uh basically, the long and short of it is that it says we all ought to be engaging with AI every day somehow to get

088better and to learn it and to figure out and master it because it's here and it's coming. Um so, that just wanted to share that and I appreciated that our district was offering free resources in that lane among others. Um I also I'm glad you mentioned wrestling, but I know we have a lot of winter sports that are in their playoff phases and competitive phases and um because of my connection to Bartow High School and familial connections to basketball in particular, um I'm wishing the best of luck to the Bartow High School boys basketball program that will be competing in the regional final this coming uh Saturday, February 28th against Evans High School in Orlando. Um because Bartow has IB and Summerlin, we get to play really big urban high schools >> [laughter] >> in

089the in the playoffs. So, our boys are playing against communities that have super deep deep athletic um uh benches, if you will, literally and and and competing well and they lost to Edgewater last year, but beat them last week um also in Orlando. So, um and there's actually a bunch of Wallaces that have gone to Edgewater High School that I'm kin to. So, it's a nice family um rivalry. And I also want to congratulate Victory Christian and Santa Fe, our other Polk County schools that are also advancing um in the tournament in [clears throat] their respective classes. And Winter Haven girls basketball, not to steal thunder from my colleague, but I know they're competing um on 27th because like we've seen from the Olympics, very important to recognize the men and women in all their

090great achievements. Um and then I am looking forward to more of all of our conversations today was um a marathon. I appreciate all the staff, all the volunteers, Superintendent your team, my colleagues. Um I'm learning, trying to do a good job, not overdo it, but at the same time try to contribute and not just be an empty chair. So, thank you to uh whether I'm emailing you or asking questions, appreciate everybody's patience with me and that's it, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Board Member Wallace. Now recognize [clears throat] Board Member Wyatt. Thank you. Um and Ms. Wallace, just so you know, our Winter Haven girls basketball team who won state last year, you know, we can't say that enough. Their um star player who is a senior and a true leader on that team is out

091with an injury as of two games ago for the rest of the season. Um apparently, when they were down by 11 points going to the half, she went into the locker room and gave a very impassioned speech um with many of the things that the coaches said, "Yeah, we're not allowed to tell them those types of things." But when it's coming from your teammate, it hits a little different. So, it's it's cool always to see our kids being leaders both on and off the courts or the fields because man, what a hard season to to be out towards the end. But I have a couple other student highlights I want to do very quickly. City of Winter Haven has a new partnership with our local elementary schools. So, they did what's called a day without

092water essay contest. Have you ever thought about a day without water? All of the things that you can't do? Well, these fifth graders all got to write essays about it and the top three were two from Snively Elementary, Reina Hernandez and Skyler Lorenzo. And then one from Garner Academy, Noelis Riviera. They were all recognized at the city commission meeting last night, but they also all get to go on a special field trip this Friday to visit the city's water plant and understand the process of water. How it goes how it goes in, how it comes out, where water comes from, which is a really cool opportunity for those students and just a a great way to engage them. It's amazing how many students get really excited about an essay when you find out you get

093to go and visit a water treatment plant. Who knew? The other we also had the arts um in the park and down in Winter Haven this week. I want to give another shout out to Snively because they are on fire here lately. Their student, he's fourth grade Cody Garrett, earned first place for all elementary schools, which is really exciting. They've got a lot of great things happening there at Snively. I also on Friday had the opportunity to attend Beth Cummings retirement cabaret. It was magical. I just want to give a huge thanks to Beth for all that she's done over the past several decades that she has been with Polk County Public Schools. The cabaret was really cool in that it went through kind of her whole career path here. Lots of guests guest pop-ups,

094but to see the number of people that attended, I um was talking to a couple people sitting near me. I said, "I don't think that half of these people will come um to see me when I retire." That to have I mean there were easily 250 people there just to celebrate her and all of the good work that she's done and gave up their Saturday night to do that was a really impactful thing to see. Um And then my last thing and I will then seed my time because I know we have some guest speakers. Superintendent Hyde and I got the opportunity to go out to Valleyview and speak with a second grader that had some concerns and she is going to be here to join us tonight because we felt like it was really

095important of course as he he moved out. We felt like it was really important for the full board to get to hear her concerns. So, it was a very cool opportunity and we're excited to bring that to you guys. >> [snorts] >> Thank you, Board Member Wyatt. Sorry, that includes my report. Thank you, Board Member Wyatt. Now I recognize Board Member Fields. I have a couple of things. I wanted to say that I attended the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Alliance Faith Leaders Breakfast by the Healthy Start Coalition last week and it was a great event, great attendance from the community and I am hoping that we'll be able to support and embrace this initiative in the upcoming year. Um I also had a chance I I shared this with Superintendent Hyde. Had a chance to attend

096my first, well actually it's my second TEDx event and it was in Lake Alfred at the McKay House Preserve and there were like 18 excuse me, eight speakers, 15 minutes on different subjects and Nakisha Leatherwood, who is a principal at McLaughlin, was amazing. And I shared it with the superintendent I think it would be very good if she could share it with her peers. And it was basically just talking about a boy a student named Nathaniel and how he was advocating for himself and how he kept coming back and kept coming back wanting to go on a field trip and there wasn't any space available cuz he had not registered in time and how he just kept advocating for himself and ultimately he got his own space. So, she was just talking about how it's

097important to listen to our students and understand that they have value and that they can open up doors that we aren't able to open. So, I hope and pray that she'll be able to share that story with her peers. And then I participated in and supported Flipping for Charities Pancakes, which is the Citrus Center Kiwanis Club fundraiser and it was a great event and that event supports many nonprofits in our community giving back to our community, which is very important and primarily supporting organizations that support youth. And then last but certainly not least, very excited about one of our student at Harrison. Her name is Kennedy Davenport. She's also a part of Girls Inc. And she has been recognized in many ways over the last few months, but one of the things that she's going

098to be doing this Friday and also on Saturday, she she participated in a in an audition for the Patel Conservatory spring cabaret and she is going to be singing on stage with a live pit orchestra in Tampa at the Straz Center and it is going to be on Friday at 7:00 and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. So, we're very excited about that. And then on March she's going to be singing with the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra. She competed in another I think it was a scholarship and she's going to be receiving a scholarship, but also she's going to be singing with the live orchestra and I'm excited because I don't think I've ever I have never witnessed a student of ours singing with a live orchestra. So, she gets two two for one. So, if you're not

099doing anything and you would like to drive all the way to Tampa, my understanding is that there is no cost for the tickets. It's free admission. So, and then same thing for the Lakeland Symphony on March the 7th. So, that that ends my report. Thank you, Board Member Fields. Now recognize Board Member Miller. Thank you, Chair Sharpless. I have a couple of things. One, I want to remind people that when the bus arms come out, you have to stop. We just had a Polk Vision Board of Directors meeting with the sheriff and the tickets are not slowing down. People are not stopping. He described video that was very disturbing of kids scattering so they wouldn't be hit by vehicles. Um there will be a new marketing campaign advertising those videos. That's the last thing I

100think left to do is just start publicly posting what this looks like so people take it seriously because the tickets are still being written at an enormous rate. We really thought once we started that that it would slow down just because you would get fined, but that's not working. So, we're asking that you tell your neighbors and remind people that unless it's a divided highway, you have to stop when you see those arms extended. It's it's important and we have way too many fatalities in Polk County. So, please be aware of that. Speaking of safety, Vision Zero, which is safe streets workshops. If you live in the following areas and you'd like to have input on safety and roadways, March 5th Manatee Elementary, March 10th the Auburndale Civic Center and March 12th at Sleepy Hill

101Elementary. There will be workshops. You can find that online under Vision Vision Zero or Polk Vision site. That'll give you an opportunity to come out. This will address Kathleen some of the areas with heavy traffic and they'll be sharing data and some opportunities there for improvement. Two upcoming events. I'm glad that Ms. Fields mentioned that and I want to add that Kennedy also is a volunteer with kids. So, she is an excellent student mentor and I hope she comes back to share her her experiences with our students. But we do have two we have an upcoming event at Harrison this Friday. If you have not seen a Harrison performance, I can tell you from somebody who loves Broadway, it it is comparable to what you see in a major city. They are performing Water for

102Elephants this Friday and I can imagine the sets will be amazing and so will the talent. So, you can see that this weekend and there's tickets still available. And the other thing that's available coming up for the Polk Education Foundation to help build scholarships for our JROTC students is there'll be a luncheon Wednesday, March 11th and you will hear from speaker Colonel Mark Tillman and he was who was flying Air Force One the day of September 11th when he had to return the president back to the White House. So, it'll be a account of his experience in the military and of that day. So, that would be it'll be held it'll begin at noon. It's at First Presbyterian in Lakeland and you can get more information for tickets from the Polk Education Foundation. Um that's

103all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Board Member Miller. I will have my report now. >> [clears throat] >> Um First, I want to thank Superintendent Hyde as well as America's Sheriff Grady Judd for joining me at the Polk County Youth Fair this year. We took pictures with a lot of students from all over the county that were recognized for their successes at the Polk County Youth Fair. So, thank you again, Superintendent, for for being there. Also, want to thank the Dundee City Commission. They actually invited me out this month to come to their city commission meeting and I just introduced myself and told myself I told them I was them I was here for the for you know, I represent that city on the board here and so I wanted to make sure they

104knew who I was but a face with a name and so thank you Dundee City Commissioners for allowing me to attend. Um I'm just going to say the best of best wishes, good luck to both the Bartow High School boys basketball and Winter Haven High School girls basketball teams during the tournament. Bring home state championship for Winter Haven that'd be back to back if they did. Bartow has won numerous times but it certainly would like to them to bring back some championships here for for Polk County. Um I I attended an event at the Aerospace Center of Excellence. It was through 3DE. It was our culminating event for freshmen and it was their Arby's challenge and it was really neat. That 3DE gives students and I know board member Allen talked about this earlier but

1053DE gives students a real world problem and it asked them to go figure it out and for me it was really interesting. It was Arby's and Arby's was using the students to create an answer to the problem of why aren't 13 and 17 13 to 17-year-olds eating at Arby's, right? That demographic is one that's not captured very much. You know, they said generally it's older people and or people with families, right? And so it was interesting to me to hear all their I'm not going to go through all their suggestions but it was really cool. I mean, you're hearing yes straight from the horse's mouth so to speak, right? It was it was great. I really enjoyed it. Um Not to be confused with horsey sauce. >> [laughter] >> Correct board member Wallace. Okay, also

106this week I'm going to This week I'm going to be attending an event um or might be next week. Let me look real quick. No, it is this week. I'm going to be attending an event in Wauchula. The Florida School Board Association is having our regional meetings and so the West Central region is meeting tomorrow afternoon in Wauchula and so I will be there and you know, representing Polk County, our district and meeting with other school board members from our region. So I'm excited for that and getting to fellowship with my fellow board members. Um I went and visited Ridge Technical Center Ridge Technical College, sorry. And I visited the Steel program. This is something that we we've just recently voted on you know, as far as in for the next year and I went

107out there and I visited and got to meet the students. It's a tremendous program. It's helping some of our students some of our ESC students to gain real world skills. This is again post secondary. So this is after transition or potentially you know, when they join the program they are done with transition at that point and they're in the in the Steel program. It's a culinary program and so hearing some of them wanting to go work for Publix, wanting to work at restaurants, it was pretty cool. So board my fellow board members, if you haven't visited the Steel program at Ridge Technical College, I highly suggest it suggest it. You'll come away with a smile on your face and a better understanding of what we're doing we fund it. Um two more things, I promise.

108Ag Fest, we got the strawberries today. We got the postcard. I'm actually going to be volunteering at Ag Fest on March the 3rd. Um and so I I recommend if you haven't volunteered there yet to do that. You get to be face to face with a for our students from all over the county. You know, you get to learn quite a bit and it's just a great time to help support our our students. While as they're learning about agriculture and related industries. So highly suggest it. And the final thing I'm going to I'm going to talk about tonight um As we heard earlier tonight, it is career technical education month. Um CTE as we say it, it changed my life. I I I went in to my high school agriculture class with no real career

109direction and I left it knowing what I wanted to do with my life. And it does that for students all across our district all all all the time and so I just want to say career technical education very important and I'm glad that we have a month to celebrate it. It's also FFA week which is kind of great which is in career technical education month because as a former middle and high school agriculture teacher here in this district you know, FFA was was very impactful to my life. Um and we saw the young lady here tonight with her official dress on always looking sharp. And with that I wanted to congratulate two teachers that were recognized tonight that are in my district. First a long time friend Mr. Eddie Congdon. I've known him um since

110I was a high school student and he's which I know some of y'all may may think that's a real long time. Some people may not think it's as long but um he's he's a great agriculture teacher at Dundee Ridge Middle Academy. He he started that program. He's a legend in in not just Polk County but in the Florida as far as teaching agriculture and it was very appropriate that we recognized him tonight. Um Guys got a huge heart. The second person from my uh from one another one of my schools, Frostproof Middle-Senior High School was recognized as culinary teacher of the year. So Eddie Congdon from Dundee Ridge was agriculture teacher of the year. Culinary was Julie Brantley from Frostproof Middle-Senior High School. An amazing culinary teacher. If you you know, if [clears throat] if

111you want to know about not just at the local level here doing a great job but also her students compete at the state level too and do a great job in their in their different [clears throat] competitions. So just want to give a huge shout out to Eddie Congdon, Julie Brantley and that will be the end of my report tonight. The next item on our agenda is public comments addressing items not on our agenda tonight. As noted earlier, to register to speak community members must fill out a speaker card in the lobby prior to the meeting. All speakers will be given 3 minutes. The light which is over here will turn yellow when you have 1 minute left and you will hear a beep when your time is concluded. Please note that although the board

112encourages community participation no immediate action will be taken on items presented during this public comment portion of the meeting. If follow-up board action is required, then the matter may be placed on the agenda at a subsequent meeting in accordance with school board policy. I have a list of individuals who have signed up today to speak. Could you please come forward when I call your name? State your name and address for the record and you'll have 3 minutes to speak. Also there's a red line over here so I'm going to call the person that's on deck. When I call your name for being on deck, if you would please come down and and line up behind that line, okay? So we can make a steady flow. The first person that is speaking is Skyler Decker. And

113on deck is Maisha Reed. >> [laughter] >> Uh-oh. Say welcome to the Look at Look at Miss Sarah. Look at Miss Sarah. GO AHEAD. WOO! >> [applause] >> ARE YOU OKAY, SKYLER? YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD? OH, YES, YOU'RE GOOD. OKAY. You want me to just start start it with you? Okay. Here we go. All right. Skyler Decker, Lakeland, Florida. Skyler Decker, Lakeland, Florida. Good evening, Chairman Sharp please Vice Keys and school board members and Mr. Fred. My name is Skyler [laughter] Decker and I'm a second grade student at Valleyview Elementary. I'm here tonight to speak about something very important to me and I think many other kids and teachers at my school. >> [snorts] >> Um the toilet paper at school is not good. It is so thin you can see right through

114it. Here's an example. >> [laughter] >> There's a cause and effect to using toilet paper this thin. One, you can see right through it. >> [snorts] >> Two, it hurts. [clears throat] And three it Mr. Justin, my janitor has to replace it more often. My request tonight is that you consider changing the toilet paper at school. I know this might cost a lot of money for all the schools but I would guess that less toilet paper would have to be used if it were higher quality. Thank you for taking this time tonight and have a and I love being a Valleyview Element Elementary Thank you, Mr. Fred and Miss Sarah Beth for coming to visit me at my school to um think about my idea. Have a lovely night. Woo! Woo! Oh, Skyler, don't run.

115Don't run. We're good. So, board members, um first and foremost, I will tell you that when I met with Skyler in the room, she kicked her mom immediately out of the room. And and was very comfortable speaking with me and Ms. Wyatt. So, I know she's a great young lady and has a great personality and very outgoing, very well researched. So, she did share her concerns with us. And so, we are in a present We are currently in the process of reviewing to see if we had made a change in our toilet paper recently. And if so, are we spending more money than we did before because we thought we were getting a savings, but to Skyler's point, are we using more? And it's important that I recognize Skyler because there were two other students

116very much like her that came to us in 2021 or 2022. And their involvement, um led to us having touchless water fountains in all of our campuses. And so, for students like Skyler and others who want to advocate for things they think are important, they need to be encouraged to do that. So, Skyler, I told you then, I'll tell you this now. You're very brave. We appreciate you. And I promise you I as I will keep my promise to come back with Ms. Wyatt to visit you and give you an update, okay? Thank you, young lady. Great job. >> [applause] >> Next up, we have Maisha Reed, and on deck is Carissa Olmos. Maisha Reed, 6115 North Fork Court, Lakeland, Florida 33809. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening. My name is Maisha Reed, and I'm

117here tonight to formally address serious concerns regarding my son. I have previously reported to both the principal and the superintendent incidents in which my son has come home with physical bruises. I am deeply concerned that my child may be experiencing abuse while at school. Despite reporting these incidents on several occasions, I have not received incident reports. There has been little to no response. There has been no clear documentation provided to me. There has been no evidence of corrective action or investigation shared. My son is nonverbal. He cannot communicate what happens to him during the day. Because of that, I am his voice. I am his communicator. I am his advocate. In addition to being diagnosed with autism, my son is epileptic and experiences seizures. He is medically vulnerable and requires careful supervision and protection. This

118makes any unexplained injury even more concerning. I am also concerned that behavioral reports may be exaggerated or amplified in a way that shifts focus away from potential physical or emotional mistreatment. My request My request is simple, transparency, documentation, and accountability. I have already contacted the Department of Family Department of Children and Families to report my concerns. If this matter continues to go unheard, I will pursue further action through higher authorities to ensure my son's safety. I am not the only parent who has raised concerns of this nature. I am respectfully asking this the board to initiate an independent investigation into these incidents and into the procedures being followed at the school. >> [clears throat] >> I responded to your email with my individual concerns and never received a response. My son has not been to

119school in almost a month due to my concerns with his safety. My child deserves to be safe. Every child deserves to be safe. Thank you. Next up, we have Carissa Olmos, and on deck Rosalinda Arzenega. Good afternoon. I come before you today to respectfully request that you review and correct the excessive disciplinary action taken against my daughter, Aviana, on February 17th concerning a student protest. I have followed the proper chain of command with no satisfactory resolution. I was told that parents had been notified in advance, but I received no directives regarding this matter as my preferred method of communication is by phone. I find it very concerning that something as important as this was not listed on any website nor social media outlet for the Polk County School Board nor Lake Region High School. My

120daughter's referral cites only one violation, 5.24, leaving campus without permission. The code of conduct explicitly requires progressive discipline for this violation. Based on the district policy, her maximum consequence should have been ISS, not 3 days out of school. Furthermore, the code of conduct states on page 21 that factors student exceptionality, prior behavior, probability of recurring violation, and the overall best interest of the student must be considered in all instances. Aviana has never been in trouble before. She currently serves as Lake Region Student Council Executive President, President of Aim Academy. She's a student student representative for the SAC committee, and the former president of Latinos in Action. She was also voted voted Homecoming Queen by her peers. She is in no way a problem child. While fully acknowledging the fact that consequences are appropriate when rules

121are broken, this level of punishment is simply beyond excessive. The code of conduct exists to ensure fairness and consistency and must be followed. It simply was not in this case. Given these facts, I respectfully ask that this situation be remedied and that the unexcused absences be removed from her record. I also request that this situation be further investigated as it affects many other students that have un unjustly been d- have unjustly been disciplined. Thank you. Next up, we have Rosalinda Arzenega, and on deck is Breanna Schmitz. Can I start? Nope. Hi, my name is Rosalinda Arzenega. Um I live on 1017 Talon Lane, Winter Haven. On February 19th, I emailed all board members asking for clarification on the district policy related to this issue, but I have not received a response yet. I'm here because

122this issue remains unresolved. And it's still ongoing. I'm speaking about the recent suspension for Lake Region High School students. My child participated in a walkout to protest and was suspended for 3 days. During that time, we were initially told her teachers would not accept her assignments while suspended because a suspension counted as unexcused absences. We were told this was the district policy. So, I read the policy. The student progression plan clearly states that work missed during a student's first 3 days of unexcused absences, including suspension, is expected to be made up with reasonable time to complete it after returning. The policy did not state that work could be that work would not be submitted and accepted. After some back and forth with Principal King, with me challenging this and quoting the policy, my child was

123later told her teachers would accept her work. However, this is not the case. As of today, there is still one teacher refusing to accept her work citing the policy. The other problem is even if she had been allowed to turn in her work, other students were not notified about this. It seems that only the students whose parents pushed back received clarification. That is not right. I'm a first-generation Mexican-American. Had I been in my child's shoes, my Spanish-speaking parents would not know how to navigate policy language, email administrators, and escalate concerns. They would have accepted what they were told because they trust the system. That's why I'm here. These students were suspended after participating in a protest. And considering it's ice, how many of those students also have Spanish-speaking parents who do not feel empowered to

124question what what they were told. Suspension is the consequence. Continuing on to not allow work, what are we trying to solve here? Are we trying to punish the students by making them fail? All I'm asking is for clear policy. And if students are allowed this, the teachers need to be told this is allowed to do. So, that's all I'm here to say. Fighting for my child. Thank you. Next up, we have Breanna Schmitz. On deck is Victor Sims. Hi, I'm Breanna Schmitz, 1057 Hiawatha Avenue, Lake Wales, Florida. To the school board, >> [clears throat] >> my name is Breanna Schmitz, and I come to you as an angry and concerned parent. Two of my sons, Zane and Tyler Pyatt, attend Spook Hill Elementary. Since attending this school, my kids have lost hope and happiness while

125being in school. They both have autism. Zane is level one and in speech therapy. Tyler is level two, autistic and an echolaler. He is nonverbal, and he is also in occupational, speech, behavioral, any therapy you can think of. That being said, I feel that Spook Hill and their administration is taking advantage of the fact that Tyler cannot speak fully. September 23rd, 2025 is the day I will never forget. That is the day that Spook Hill fully failed my children's safety and my confidence that this school can protect them. My son, Tyler, was having a meltdown in his ESE classroom, to which an aide was not taking care of him. He managed to get out of the classroom, which at that time was on the other side of the school, made it to the front gates

126and got out of the school and ran two blocks away before staff finally found him. No [snorts] police were called. No paramedics were called. I was not even informed. None of us were informed. Had I not shown up at the school to pick up Tyler for a doctor's appointment, no one would have known this happened to him. I was walking up to the office to pick him up to my right. I see a staff member pulling Tyler behind her from the road. I immediately panicked and asked why was he outside of the gates, to which the out of breath staff member replied, "He ran two blocks away. I am so out of shape. I almost couldn't catch him." I was infuriated. I started to cry and I wanted my child immediately. I demanded to speak

127to the principal, to which I was only allowed to speak to the assistant principal at the time. I recorded our conversation, so there was some kind of proof this event happened. My husband and I demanded an answer as to how a 6-year-old autistic child was able to get two blocks away, where he could have drowned in Lake Gibson Lake. He could have been hit by a car or a bus or worse, kidnapped. To [snorts] which the staff and assistant principal could not give us an accurate response. >> [snorts and sighs] >> I'm going to skip cuz this is like a long message. >> [snorts] >> I'm going to go to the end. I am I am emotionally mentally done allowing my children to be abused and neglected. We as parents, our only role in life

128is to protect and love our children. And you can believe my children will have a voice and if they cannot speak for themselves, I will speak for them. I implore you the school board to hold this school accountable and right these wrongs that my children and our family have suffered. Every child should enjoy their childhood, not being afraid of what's going to happen to them tomorrow at school. I am not only speaking for my children, but I'm also speaking up for other children being abused in the school system. It is time to put a stop to abuse, the incident being swept under the rug and it's time to take a stand and do what parents do best, protect our children. Now it's your turn turn Polk County School Board, protect our children. Thank you. Next

129up is Victor Sims and on deck is Monica Williams. Hello Victor Sims, 4017 Oak Preserve Drive, Winter Haven, Florida 33880. My name is Victor Sims. I grew up in the Florida's foster care system, house to house, church to church, and school to school. But my school experience specifically, I had a IEP. I was actually deemed mentally um at a young age. And so, my IEP services are actually what literally saved my life. Um over the last year, I've heard from parents and caregivers about the IEP services that are on paper, but aren't being serviced for their children. And that gravely concerns me. Because today I stand here as a as a person who's graduated from one of the best institutions in this state, the University of South Florida, um and and received my bachelor's in

130in psychology, um I received my master's in business and my law degree. And that would not have happened if it wasn't for IEP services. So, I look at all these parents day in and day out telling me that their children aren't being served and that worries me. A year ago, I took a step because I had a foster kid in my home who wasn't being um given her IEP services. And I'm looking at her and I'm like, "Am I serving you the best I can?" And I said, "No." And I took some steps to hopefully um change that experience for her, but also for other children, right? And so, I'm just asking four different things. Um one, I ask that the board consider making a task force, um or first to conduct a district-wide audit

131of IEP services delivery, including tracking staffing gaps and compensatory services owed. Second, establish clear written district protocols for IEP implementation for every school. Third, require real-time notification to families when services are missed, along with a documented plan for when how those service when and how those services will be made up. Fourth, create a standing special education oversight review committee, whether through a committee or regular board reporting, so that this issue is monitored consistently, not reactively. So many of our parents are saying they're reporting it up to the state and not getting resolution. They're emailing people. They're giving all they can and they have full-time jobs. They're hoping that us as a school district, as a community serves them. And so, I ask that we take this into consideration. Thank you all for the time and

132everything that you you all do. Next up, we have Monica Williams. Good evening, board. Monica Williams, 1858 Alturas Circle, Lakeland, Florida. Um first off, let me say that I appreciate each and every one of you guys. I know your role is not easy. By no means do I take it lightly, your role. You have heard from each participant this evening about different things in the ESE departments, where there's allegation of abuse or services not being rendered. I come tonight as I came on January 27th talking about ESE services. They're not being given. My son, who I fought for his IEP, got him on track. Third grade ELA state testing, he was a level three. Math, he was a level four. To only two years later, he's a level one. Services not being rendered. As of

133today, no math services. And Mr. Fred Hyatt, I know he has a very busy job, but we have included him in multiple emails, as well as um members of this board. And I don't know how you guys go through your busy days to answer each parent, but I went back and looked at numerous of YouTube videos. And you have parents like me have come to the board and said, "Hey, my kids are not getting services. Our kids are not getting speech therapy. They're not getting any minutes. When will the board take a look into this? Why all these parents I went way back into 2022. These parents were not getting services. My son is not getting services. And I'm too is a product of ESE services. If I didn't have ESE services, um Chairman Sharpless,

134I'm from Frostproof. I wouldn't have my master degree and be a provider. I give back to my community. And I want my son to have the same education and opportunity as I have. He can be whatever he wants to be with the support from the Polk County school. And Attorney Green, I know you have a big role, but one thing I liked about Mr. Bridges is that it was important that he bridged the relationship between the parent and the district. Now a lot of concerns are being swept underneath the world rug or alluded as this parent is a problem parent or this child is a problem child. No, the problem is as these students are not getting their services and they're regressing academically. Please, I encourage you guys to look into this because as Mr.

135Hyatt stated that they will take the complaints as they come. Yes, I am complaining twice and each time something was always found. I don't want to have to keep complaining to the state. I want my board members, who I trusted, to do something about this. Children are not getting service. This is their future and they deserve to be serviced. I thank you for your time. Board members, our next order of business is adjournment. There being no further business, this meeting of the Polk County School Board is now adjourned. Thank you.