School Board Meeting | July 29, 2025

001[Music] Oh yeah. [Music] Good evening. All right. All right. Everybody's here. >> Hey, really appreciate your patience. We had a extremely extensive work session today. Uh so, thanks for just being patient with us today. And you know, you're you're here in the air conditioning. Uh so hopefully that made it a little bit more convenient. Just thinking about the heat advisories we've been under. has just been sweltering hot for sure. Um and and in the midst of that, I'm just thinking uh I'm not sure how many social feeds you're following around the school district. Um but it's it's quite affirming to see so many volunteers step up uh and do work days around so many different campuses across the district even in the midst of this crazy heat. So, I just want to say thank you

002to all the volunteers that have stepped up, uh, community leaders, cities stepping in to donate, uh, foilage and plants and all kinds of different things along the way, uh, to to set up our campuses, uh, in preparation for the students to arrive. There's something about a clean campus, uh, which is amazing. So, uh, and then on top of that, um, I don't know if you've seen these banners that have been going around, uh, PK County Schools, we are a B rated district. So there is a lot to celebrate indeed and uh we're on our way to an A. So superintendent, that's that's the goal is to be an A district. So let's get moving. So huge thank you to everyone. Um every person working to make Pulk schools the greatest pillar of hope within our

003community. So the board, the superintendent, and I were pleased that you joined us tonight. Uh and we're here to celebrate student achievement, and we're going to celebrate you tonight. uh and so many other things that are happening around the school district. So, we're very thankful for our guest tonight. Um we're going to review information. We're going to make some policy decisions tonight related to the effective operation of the PK County School Board. So, I would like to call the uh July 29th, 2025 regular school board meeting to order. Uh and at this time, if you could please stand. Bishop Mincy is going to lead us in our invocation. And we do have a special guest to lead us in the pledge tonight. >> Shall we pray? Kind father in Jesus name we're thankful for the

004gift of this another day. Thank you for your many blessings of life, health and strength. Thank you for the privilege to be in this space tonight. Thank you for this board chair and vice chair and all of the members that serve. Thank you for superintendent and all of its staff and for all of the entire Poke County District of students and teachers and paras and principles and lunchroom workers and custodial staff. We just want to say thank you for all that you have done and all that you'll continue to do for us tonight. Lord Jesus, we ask that you would look on this meeting and let this meeting be a blessing, not just to us that are in this room, but to all that will listen in. And I just ask that you would be

005with us and guide us and protect us. I thank you for absent member of the board, Mr. Ny. I ask for your strength for him and your blessings upon his life. I ask that you would bless, oh God, all that we do and let whatever we do bring glory, honor, and praise to your name. And we will tell you thank you for all that you will continue to do for us. Bless us as we prepare for this next coming up school year to begin on the 11th. And I ask that your protection will be upon this district. Be with us now. And we will give you glory. We'll give you honor. We'll give you praise. And we say thank you for all things. We ask it in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

006We pray. Amen. >> Amen. Amen. Thank you, Bishop Mincy. And Miss Foster, if you can step forward. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Well done. Well done. So, if everybody can have a seat except our special guest tonight. Wow, you just stepped right up and you led us so well. So, thank you. Thank you for doing that. Uh, so if you could uh introduce yourself and any guests that you have with you tonight. >> I have my mom and dad and my aunt and Miss Santangelo. >> Wow. All right. All right. So, if y'all can wave to us. All right. Excellent. Uh, thanks for being in the audience

007tonight. All right, so I've got How many questions should I ask because I can I can I can have so many questions, but I'll try to limit them. Okay, are you Oh, you ready? So, I will start with the first question. Um, what are some hobbies or things that you like to do outside of school? >> Um, I like to run. >> Wow, that is really impressive. So, okay. So, we we read your bio, right? So, we we know a little information, but the general public and our guest tonight, they don't know um about that one. So, you're like a avid runner. Not just like I like to run in the playground. I mean, you're an avid runner. So, can you tell me how many races or how many races you did this year? >>

008Five. Five. Whoa. Okay. Now, and then distance-wise, do you know like Yeah. So, you did five fiveks. Did y'all hear that? That is so impressive that you Yeah. Like, how do you prepare for a 5K race? And you've done five of them. That is amazing. Congratulations. Well done. All right. So, other things that you do hobbywise or other things that you're interested in? >> Painting. So, yeah, we read you're an artist. You're interested in art. So, you like to paint. So, um, what would be your favorite thing to paint? When you look back at all the work that you've done, what's the favorite thing that that you've painted? a rainbow. >> Really? Oh, that's amazing. All right. So, um, now, okay, we got your hobbies. We got your background. Um, now, okay. Very disciplined from

009what I'm seeing and understanding. So, you like to like to run. I mean, that's a very disciplined thing to be able to do that. And then you like the creativity and the art. That's amazing. Now, transition to schooling. What is your favorite subject in school? Um, all right. >> That's your favorite subject. All right. See, they can go hand in hand. That's awesome. All right. Very good. And I see you've got so many other things that you're involved in as well at school. Can you give us some ideas of what those things are? >> Reading. >> Did and help me understand this one. I I think that you're involved in 4. Yeah, that's pretty impressive. Yeah. Other things. [Laughter] Oh, I've got the list. This list is long. Long long. But you you get involved

010in cheer as well. Is that Did I see that? Wow. That is impressive. Very impressive. Um, what else do we have? Oh, this one's really interesting to me as well. So, I mean, you're very disciplined. You're a runner. You're an artist. You're creative. Uh, but you like to read, too. Is what I saw. Do you have an idea how many books that you've read? >> Um, over 150. >> Isn't that amazing? Did y'all see that? 150 AR books. All right. That is that is pretty incredible. Um, that is quite um motivating to all of us. Um, okay. So now if we can get to maybe one or two more questions, but okay, if you had the your biggest dream that you have, right? The biggest dream of what you want to be or do in

011the future, what would it be? >> Um, paint like a sky that's >> sunset. Oh, yes. Yeah, it's almost sunset right now. You probably go out and paint the sky right now. Okay, that is amazing. All right. And then your school is what? What school do you attend? >> Aliv Elementary. >> Valley View Elementary. All right. Very good. So, if you can give us one thing that you really enjoy about Valley View, what would it be? doing math in there. >> Wow, did I hear math? >> Wow, that's amazing. All right. Well, Miss Foster, we are so thankful that you joined us tonight. You are doing so many incredible things. So, thank you for sharing your journey and your educational experiences with us. So, if you could, we're going to have you step in front

012and you can have your guests join you and we're going to get a picture. And if we can give her a round of applause, [Applause] That's amazing, y'all. Five 5Ks. Did Do we have the coin, by the way? >> Did you notice earring >> earring or bow or bow? >> No. What is that? >> I feel like I need a picture of that. All right, let me see. Look at the pencils. Oh my Oh my goodness. and the color scheme and everything. >> Did you know Dr. Allen's favorite thing in the world is a pencil? >> Miss Foster, I am passionate about pencils. Um, my favorite pencil, by the way, my favorite pencil is the Blackwing 602. Yeah. So, if you don't know anything about the Blackwing 602, uh, it does have a cult following,

013by the way. Um, but it was the very first pencil to have wax injected into the graphite core. on top of that. Okay. >> Okay. Okay. We got a meeting to go to. Thank you. Thank you for wearing the pencils. That's awesome. >> All right. >> Thank y'all for being here so much. It's awesome. >> Y'all have a great night. >> All right. I guess we need to get to our meeting. [Laughter] >> All right, board members. The first item on our agenda tonight is to accept our agenda. Superintendent Hyde, do we have any revisions tonight? >> Mr. Chair, yes, sir, we do. We have several revisions. Item H number four, resolutions to amend district school budget 2024 2022. Attachment was added. Item H number five, resolutions to amend district school budget 2425. An attachment

014was added. Item I number one, staff district updates. Item was removed. Removed. Item L number six, various projects confirmation approval of contracts and contract changes under $250,000. Attachment was updated. Item L number seven, facility usage agreement with the YMCA. Attachment was updated. Item M number one, non-instructional personnel items attachment was added. Item M number one, administrative and instructional personnel actions. An attachment was added. Item V number two, tentative budget and millage rates attachments were added. And Mr. Chair, there is one other under human resources. That item is being amended as we speak. Um and that's the that's the um instructional personnel actions. That item is being amended to remove an individual from the termination list this evening. >> Thank you, Superintendent. And we'll address that when we get to the consent as well. So at

015this time uh the chair will entertain a motion to accept the agenda for July 29th 2025 with the noted revisions. Do I have a motion and a second? >> So move second. >> All right. So Mr. Keys made the motion and Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion board members on those changes or the agenda? All right. Seeing none, I'll call for a vote at this time. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Uh so uh superintendent, could you lead us through the new administrators? >> Be my pleasure. New administrators, we ask that when they call your name, please step to the podium. And if you are joined by family, friends, loved ones, colleagues, all of the above, please have them join you after you come

016to the podium so that we can get a picture with all of you together. So, Miss Lauren Hinton, acting senior director for accounting, is being promoted to senior director of accounting, not with us this evening. Lisa Hollis, acting director of benefits, is being promoted to director of benefits. Good evening. Good evening, Superintendent Hyde and PK County school board members. I am honored and excited to officially step into this role as an administrator. Thank you, Heather Jenkins, Linda King, and Alba Sustri for your mentorship and guidance. Over the past few months, I've witnessed firsthand a genuine commitment to support our employees. It's clear this district values its people. To my incredible team in benefits and leave of absence, thank you. Your hard work and commitment to supporting our employees make a real difference every single day.

017As I look ahead, I remain committed to continuous improvement. My goals include enhancing operational efficiency, streamlining processes, and most importantly, improving employee experience and engagement. I believe when we take care of our people, they're empowered to take care of our students. Once again, thank you so much for this opportunity. I look forward to collaborating with you all soon. >> Fantastic. Congratulations again. >> Thank you. Sure. First. Next we have Laura Hess, acting assistant director, ESC related services, being promoted to assistant director of ESC related services. Good evening, Superintendent Hyde, members of the school board, administrators, staff, and community members. I want to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to stand before you today. I am both honored and humbled to accept the position of assistant director of related services. It's a privilege to continue

018this work alongside a team of passionate educators who believe in the potential of every child. I'd like to take a moment to thank Jesus, my savior. Family, my friends that have become my family and my children, Madison, Elsie, and Levi, whose unwavering support and love have carried me through every step of this journey. They've grounded me, inspired me, and reminded me daily why this work matters. This role represents more than just a promotion. It's the continuation of a commitment I made to the families of Pulk County over 20 years ago. Since that time, I have been devoted to serving those families with integrity, advocating for equity, and working with heart and purpose. As I transition into this role, I bring with me my years of experience in special education, but more importantly, I bring a

019deep belief in the power that public education can change lives and that all children can learn. I'm excited for the opportunity to learn from you all, commit to continue building strong relationships in our community, and promote my promote our values and vision. Thank you again for this opportunity and for your trust in me. >> Congratulations. [Applause] Great job. And last, but certainly not least, Joseph Evans, acting assistant principal at Mclofflin Middle High School, is now being promoted to assistant principal at Mclofflin Middle High School. Congratulations. >> I just want to thank everybody for the opportunity. I mean, I've been working so hard to get to this opportunity and uh look forward to helping those students here at Mclofflin, you know, succeed and achieve their goals. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. [Applause] That concludes

020new administrator, sir. >> Thank you, Superintendent. Always enjoy hearing from our staff. Appreciate that moment in our meeting. Uh the next item up is our special recognitions. Superintendent, would you lead us through our special recognitions as well? >> It would be my pleasure. At this time, I'd like to ask Miss K. Fields to please step down to assist with this evening's recognition. And while Miss Fields makes her way, I'd like to welcome Janette Crowley, director of strategic planning and partnerships for the recognition of the Focused on Excellence sponsors this evening. Chair, school board members, Superintendent Hyde. Um it's a pleasure to be here with you tonight to recognize our Focus on Excellence sponsors. Um we're going to begin with our 2025 highlight video. >> Maybe The focus on excellence employee recognition campaign celebrates the important

021contributions of PCPS staff members from all employee groups with the hustle and bustle of maintaining one of the 30th largest school districts in the nation. Many employees can be overlooked and not receive the recognition they deserve. But Focus on Excellence is changing that. 12 employees nominated by their peers are selected each quarter as winners and receive prizes from our generous sponsors. In addition, they are invited to a special appreciation lunchon and recognized at a schoolboard meeting. All winners are also highlighted on the district's social media channels and website. Many winners say that this moment of appreciation leaves a lasting impact on them both personally and professionally. I feel so honored to be selected for Focus on Excellence. I feel like I've truly truly had a great blessing of being able to be a part of

022PK County Schools um and make a mark on it. And this I feel like is a is a great representation of the fact that my mark is being represented. People go through their their slumps. they get they get a little tired especially on different stretches and with all the testing that we do and receiving something like this you go okay you know like wow how can I get this feeling to every everybody else so they can feel the the pride and the excitement >> everybody's important in the school sometime the rest of the people not see because we working in the night or we working when the teacher are out but it's important the teach for for how the full clean, safe, and everything working. >> It recognizes people that don't get recognized. It reaches

023out to people that we'll never even hear about cuz we're all so different and spread out. This kind of brings everybody together where everyone can see that, you know, others are doing a good job when you don't even know that they even exist or what their skill or trade is. >> It means a lot. I I can't describe it. I do my job. I love my job to be able to help those um students, parents, making sure they're getting to school to and from safely. Um I may be the only light that child may see or may ever know. So to know that I'm able to be a difference. Oh my god. Again, I can't describe the feeling. This has personally motivated me to encourage people in my life and just to remember that just

024sometimes nominating someone for something, taking the time to do that can really be helpful in that person's life, maybe even changing the trajectory of their lives. And we have no idea how much influence we can have through being an encourager. There are more than 13,000 employees working hard every day to support our schools and students. We need your help to find them and tell their stories. Any PCPS employee can submit nominations during the 2025 through 2026 nomination windows at pulkschoolsfl.com/excellence. You can also like, follow, and share all the news and great happenings occurring in Pulk County Public Schools. We can't wait to spotlight more outstanding staff members in the coming months. At PCPS, we always stay focused on excellence. [Music] Say I'm proud of the impact that um this meaningful program has on our employees.

025Um, before I introduce our program sponsors, I do want to take a moment to thank all the PCPS employees who do submit nominations during the year. I want to thank the public relations and strategic partnerships team members and numerous departments throughout the district who together make this campaign successful for PK County Public Schools. We we have amazing business partners in our community who come alongside us each day because of their commitment to our community. Pulk County Public Schools and this program. We continue to excel. At this time, when I call your business name, I'd like you to please come forward. We have a special recognition of our uh a gift and appreciation. Um thank you is not enough, but we do want to publicly recognize you. Um and then just give you an opportunity if

026you want to say a few words just on on the um the support that you give for PK County Public Schools and the benefit. So, um, IDX Brands is a partner of ours. I They're not here with us tonight. We have Mid Florida Credit Union, Ryan Rogers with us tonight. Ryan, will you please come forward? [Applause] Thank you so much. >> Good evening. It's always good to see you all. Uh, thank you for the work you do. We're proud to be a partner with Focus on Excellence. Um, we love this program because healthy organizations recognize their employees and the great work they're doing. And I don't know of a better organization to support than our schools for the great work they do, whether in the classroom or supporting behind the scenes or alongside our teachers

027um, in the schools. I mean, it's investing in our future. So on behalf of Mid Florida, we're we're always excited to be a part of Focus on Excellence and the great work you all do supporting this program. So Next sponsor I'd like to recognize is Public Supermarkets, Inc. Sign Gypsies, and we have Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa with us tonight, Stephanie Schultz. [Applause] Okay, thank you. We want to thank sponsor Chick-fil-A, Barto. We also want to thank CPS Investment Advisors, Ad Morgan. Next, we have Central Florida Development Council, Lindseay Zimmerman and Sean Malot. would you please come forward? [Applause] >> Thank you so much. >> Good evening school board members. just want to say that, you know, the, you know, community success is positively correlated to the success of our schools and we

028appreciate you and appreciate the work and congratulations on the the the the B school rating and again, we're definitely behind you and we appreciate being a part of this program and really the opportunity to sponsor because really this is a way to be able to recognize the backbone of our school system. So, thank you for the the chance. So, thank you [Applause] Another program sponsor is Dixie Southern Industrial Inc. Next we have Orlando Health with us, Don Willis and Matt Latir. >> Uh, thank you, Superintendent Hyde and the school board for the opportunity to support this program. But we love working with Janette. She does an amazing job to keep us involved. But I'll just say that we are so proud of the schools with the new B rating. We work very hard in the

029medicalies and some of the schools this year and some of the other opportunities that we've been given through the school system and we're just excited to continue that as we move towards opening our hospital in 2026. So thank you. [Applause] And next we have the club at Eaglebrook, Monica Young Blood with us. >> Thank you so much. >> Well, thank you everybody for being here tonight. um the club to Eaglebrook. We love to be a part of the community wherever we can to help out. Um my father is actually a teacher in Broward County school system. Um but I know firsthand just how much effort and love gets poured into the classroom and I think it's beautiful to have an organization and things put together to appreciate like people have said that backbone um from

030every level. There's just so much that goes into the future of our community. So thank you so much. Awesome. [Music] Thank you. >> And lastly, I'd like to recognize connected Pulk, Dr. Melody Ryder for their support and partnership as well. So this she's not with us tonight, but this concludes my presentation. >> I'd like to invite Miss Crowley to remain at the podium for the recognition of the United Way campaign award winners for the 2024 United Way employee giving campaign. >> Let them get in here for a minute. Hopefully the superintendent's office won again. >> All right. Thank you, Superintendent, Chair Allen, school board me members. Um, each year a school district conducts an employee workplace campaign to support the United Way of Central Florida. For the fourth year in a row, staff have the

031opportunity to also donate to the Pulk Education Foundation through the employee giving campaign. Funds raised for United Way and Pulk Education Foundation are combined and count towards our overall giving to the United Way of Central Florida. The total amount of funds raised for the 2024 campaign is $48,6662. Um, [Applause] >> and of this amount, eight over $8,000 was raised for the Pulk Education Foundation. We had 44 schools and 12 departments participate and PK County Public Schools ranks number 23 in total giving to United Way of Central Florida out of over 500 companies. >> Wow. >> At this time, I'd like to invite Christina Kaiser Jackson, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Florida to say a few words. >> Thank you, Janette. We are so grateful to be here because we know this

032is a group effort and we know that it takes every school to participate and to be involved, but we're also so grateful for your leadership and the many ways that you support our schools in their United Way campaigns. Whether it's the um Halloween fest or if it's being in dunk tanks, you all truly step up and serve in various capacities. And we are so grateful um for this opportunity to recognize some of the schools today. So Janette. >> Yeah. All right. >> All right. It's a it's a it's a drum roll every year, but um I'd like to announce our winners now. So, when I call your name, please come forward. Um and then we have some gifts for you as well along with the certificate. So, our top high school is Lake Gibson Senior

033High. Okay. They raised $4,424 this year. >> All right. Congratulations. >> He gets it every time. Give me a chance. >> Oh, we got props. Thank you. >> Our top middle school and highest amount raised overall is Lake Gibson Middle School at $4,645. Pretty good. Thank you. >> Our top elementary school is Winston Academy of Engineering at $2,86.50. [Applause] Is it? Thank you. Our top department, Office of the Superintendent with $4,57210. >> Yeah. You want to add some more money? >> I beat the high school. I always beat Ryan, but I wanted to beat the middle school. So, I may have to throw an extra 100 bucks in there somehow. Um, do you want me to come down or >> Yeah, >> Wendy, come down. >> He really is his pride and joy. Please know

034[Music] more. And next, we'd like to recognize um a school and department with highest um gain and employee participation. We actually have two departments in one school. So, we've got the school board members. Yay. All school board members. Okay. So, this is the highest gain in employee participation from the 2023 to the 2024 year. Okay. You had 22.2% 2% in gain. Okay, that's awesome. >> Awesome. Yes. Yes. >> You want to come down for a photo? >> Yes, ma'am. Oh, shift to your left. [Music] >> Congratulations. Our school with the highest gain in employee participation was Pinewood Ever Elementary 15.85% [Music] Thank you. Our next department with the highest gain in employee participation is federal programs at 15.79%. [Applause] Hello. Um, so I get the pleasure of announcing the philanthropist of the year. Um, which

035is definitely an honor that is something to be proud of and we were so grateful to be able to help in that decision to choose that person and kind of to give you an idea of why we chose this person. Um, so you kind of heard about the dunk tanks. Um, this person sat in a dung tank in October when it was nice and chilly. Um, her husband is the one that built the dunk tank. We'll let you think about that. But, um, she sat out there, let the children throw balls and get water dunked on her for their, um, the rise of the great pumpkin. It was a great event. It brought the community together. It was just, it was amazing. um she changed schools. So unfortunately we saw the school that she left

036decreased in their participation, but that just really is a testament to how great she is as a leader and um just a philanthropist in our community. So we are so grateful to announce the philanthropist of the year is Miss Sheila Gregory. [Applause] come say a few words. >> Well, I'll say a few words on her behalf. Okay. So, last year when she left her school, she told me, "I will remain on top. I will bring my middle school to the top." And she did. So, she seriously she is passionate about the campaign. She gets her school involved. You've partnered with Lake Gibson um high school. So, I just think that the community event is just going to keep growing and growing and and we're excited to be there if we can. United Way came out.

037So, um thank you for what you do and and congratulations on your awards um not only top middle school but overall and then philanthropist of the year. So, we appreciate you. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Thank you. >> All right. If we could just do a group photo of everybody >> and then we'll be done with photos. >> We have an inter >> this was kind of planned kind of well planned on our side, not planned on Janette's side. And I know she hates surprises, but we've been celebrating a lot about the campaign with PK County Public Schools. And there is one person that makes this all work behind the scenes that puts up with James and I um during the campaign. And the reason this campaign does so well every year is

038because of Janette. And so we got you a little award as well. So, we want to present you with the United Way Elite Campaign Coordinator Award. Um, but really Janette is just a testament to kind of the person that you truly would hope to have in your schools and in your community. And this campaign really doesn't run without Janette. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> You can't go. Thank you. That's great. I appreciate that. I knew you wanted. >> Thank you. All right. Very much surprised. right here. >> Yes. >> All right. Thank you. [Applause] And this last recognition is not a surprise to Janette Crowley. Um we were just speaking to her and um mentioning that the fact that it seems like this time of year comes around so quickly every year. Um

039we're very grateful to kick off the um official United Way of Central Florida campaign on August 14th. We hope to have you all here and continue the support of the schoolboard members. I know I'm constantly inspired by these employee coordinators and they have such busy roles, but they continuously do more to impact our community. Um, as you all know, United Way is in the business of understanding the greatest needs and addressing those with I hope you okay, he didn't leave. Okay, good. With the PK County Public Schools. Um, as we change a focus from early education and academic achievement to more youth opportunities, we have excitement because we know that there's opportunities for us to still focus on our core, which are our partner agencies, Girls, Inc., Boys and Girls Club, Learning Resource Center, Early

040Learning Coalition, all of the agencies that really help us prepare our students for school. Um, but we're also looking at our partnerships and how we work with you all on a regular basis. Whether it's reading pals, community schools, children's resource center, the development classes, support groups for families with children with Down syndrome, support groups for families with children with autism, and now our rare course, which will be a new support group for families. Um, and that all comes back to also our end hunger drops because we know that no student can do their best when they're hungry, sick, or in pain. Um, we took tremendous delight and um, just were so proud of you all when the announcement was made that the district was getting a B and we're very grateful that we get to

041share one leader in common on our board. Um, and that's Superintendent Hyde. And, um, he really does go out of his way to serve our community, not only within the school district, but within community organizations. And he and Patty are such a great asset to our local community. Um, some would say he reminds us of Thor, a popular god revered for his strength, courage, and role as a protector of students. His hammer or coins are popular symbols often given out as amulets for protection of our students. The name Thor is reflected in English word Thursday, demonstrating the god's lasting influence. And even though it's Tuesday, we are so proud to have a moment this evening to thank you for your lasting influence that you are providing for Pulk County and for our schools. So congratulations,

042Superintendent Hyde. And [Music] [Applause] >> thank you all for your leadership and for all the ways that you inspire others to get involved in our local community. >> Best board meeting ever. Now that concludes my presentation. [Music] >> If if I can, I just want to jump in there real quick to to say thank you to the United Way and as the board member who sits on for the Pulk Education Foundation, we really um appreciate your partnership with us. the employee giving campaign. Absolutely fantastic. Um and the board of the PEF is also grateful for the United Way's recent contribution of $20,000 from the George Jenkins Foundation youth youth opportunity grant to help those students with the greatest need. So really we want to thank United Way and this year Pulk Education Foundation reached a

043million dollars in scholarships for the first time and it couldn't be done without partnerships like we have with United Way. So thank you guys for that. I'm going to hang this right here. See that? >> Oh, that is cute. >> Yeah. >> Spitting image. >> Oh, yeah. Closet. In the closet. In a closet. We still have one more thing to do. Last, I'd like to welcome Summer Holtzhower. I got it right. Coordinator of teacher engagement for the recognition of the high impact teacher corps. Superintendent Hyde and board members, it is always a pleasure to be here, especially when we are honoring our teachers. These teachers are recognized as high impact teachers for the state of Florida and to give them the justice that they deserve. I'm going to ask Christy Basset to come up and

044introduce them and speak on the program. >> Thank you. Thank you, Summer. Uh good evening. uh Thor, I mean Superintendent Hyde, um board members and uh district staff. Um I am Dr. Christy Basset. I am the 2015 Florida Teacher of the Year, but before that, I was the 2014 Pulk County Teacher of the Year. Um thank you for welcoming here this evening to share a little bit about five of Pulk's outstanding educators. Um, last year when my family and I returned to Pulk County, I was thrilled when the Florida Department of Education asked if I would facilitate and coach the high impact teacher corps. Um, specifically when they asked if I would coach Pulk County's teachers. I have been so impressed with all the high impact participants, but so very proud of PULK's educators. To

045even be invited into this program, these teachers have to have multiple years of exceptional student data. However, not only do they create academic environments and deliver instruction that results in outstanding academic outcomes for students, they have an eagerness to support other teachers to help make an impact in classrooms beyond their own through the high impact program. Each of them has mentored at least one colleague to help coach and collaborate with that teacher to create engaging lessons, improve instructional delivery, and guide data-driven decision-making. They have opened their classrooms to their peers, and welcomed feedback in the mentoring process. Over the last year, they have represented Pulk County and the district's commitment to students so very well. I am honored to have had the privilege of working with them and now I have the privilege to introduce

046each of them to you. So, first we have Kelly Hunginger from Tenerok High School. Sorry, Summer. I think I'm going a little bit out of order. I can do coins. That may help you a little bit if you don't mind. I really I like these coins. Um, thank you. Okay, I'll go in order now. We have Alter Grace Simon. She was at SE Shelley Espoon Middle School, but is now at Daniel Jenkins Academy for the upcoming school year. We have Hannah Sims from Davenport High School. We have Douglas Lloyd from Lake Region High School and Johansson Kolas from Lena Vista Elementary. Board members and staff, thank you so much for recognizing these excellent educators. >> Okay, >> that's awesome. Oh, that's >> Let's go ahead. If there are family, friends, and loved ones, you can

047come down and we can take individual photos as well. So, please join your Perfect. Hey, [Laughter] >> excellent. Thank you. Alter, >> did you want Okay. You're done. Very good. or at least one individual. Don't come get one individual for >> please. Kelly, will you come get one by yourself? Kelly was hoping her little one, she not only did this program, but she um also was working on a future Pulk County student this school year, but uh but they are out out in the hallway. So, um thank you so much this evening. Uh earlier Dr. Allen asked uh what the wish would be of our student who so wonderfully said the pledge and I thought, well, what would my wish be? My wish would be that every Florida student had a teacher like these five.

048So, thank you so much for honoring them this evening. [Applause] And Mr. Chair, that concludes special recognitions for this evening. >> All right. Thank you, Superintendent Hyde. Thanks to our guests for coming out tonight as well. Uh, a lot to celebrate for sure. All right, board members, next up would be public comment on our agenda. Um, and this would be for items on the agenda to be voted upon. We do not have any cards. um for that. And as just a reminder, we do have three opportunities to speak. Um so we do have some uh some comments as we get to our public hearing as well. So we're going to move down from the public comment section to the approval of minutes. So looking at your agenda, uh we've got uh looks like should be

049six sets of minutes, four sets of minutes uh that we're going to approve tonight. So, the first set of minutes is for the April 10th, 2025 special work session uh meeting. The chair will now entertain a motion to accept the April 10th, 2025 special work session meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? >> So, moved. >> Second. >> All right. Mr. Keys made the motion and Mr. Sharpless seconded that. Uh any comments? All right. Seeing none at this point, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Those opposed. All right. And that motion carries. The second set of minutes is for the April 30th, 2025 special work session uh board retreat meeting. And uh the chair will now entertain a motion to accept those

050meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second on this set of minutes? >> All right. Miss Fields made the motion and Mr. Sharpless seconded. Any discussion? Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? That motion carries. The third set of me uh meeting minutes is for the June 10th, 2025 school board um meeting. So, the chair will now entertain a motion to accept the June 10th meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? Second. Second. >> All right. Miss Fields made the motion and Miss Wyatt second it. Any discussion? >> Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. And the fourth and last

051final set of minutes would be for the uh June 10th, 2025 work session uh minutes. So the chair will now entertain a motion to accept those as written. Do I have a motion and a second? >> Second. >> All right. Miss Wyatt made the motion and Mr. Keys second it. >> All right. Any discussion? I'll call call for a vote at this time. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? And that motion carries. Give a minute here. Are we good? Make sure you get an opportunity to cast your vote there, please. Miss Miller voted. Okay. >> All right. Very good. Uh moving down the agenda at this point. We're at the consent agenda and the chair will entertain a motion to accept the July 29th, 2025 consent agenda as printed.

052Do I have a motion and a second? >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> All right. Miss Miller made the motion and Miss Wyatt second it. Uh any discussion, board members? And then superintendent, if you want to give context on that item that you noted earlier in the revision. >> Yes, sir. Actually, Mr. Chair, that that item was we were able to amend that item and upload the appropriate document. So, that individual was removed from the list. So, >> all right. Great. Thank you, Superintendent. >> Any other discussion? board members on the consent agenda. Again, these are items that we've thoroughly discussed um and then even addressed during work session today as well. So, seeing no comments at this point, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >>

053Any opposed? And that motion carries unanimously. All right. Next up, we are at our action agenda for tonight and the first item on the agenda is U1 entitled FSBA advocacy committee representative and alternate. So the suggested action uh is to approve Miss Fields for the FSBA advocacy committee representative and to approve Mr. Keys for the FSBA advocacy committee alternate. So the chair will now accept a motion and a second. So moved. >> All right. Mr. Sharpless made the motion. >> Second. >> And Miss White seconded. All right. Any discussion board members on this item? I'm really thankful for our board members to step up in this role to serve. Mr. Sharpless, you are recognized. >> Yes. Um, you know, during work session, I I recommended these two. Uh want to thank uh board member Fields

054for her work on the advocacy committee. Um and and I'm thankful that she uh uh has agreed to want to do this uh again. It's a it's a very important role uh where we set um legislative agendas for the uh Florida School Board Association that we advocate for in Tallahassee. Um so thank you very much and Mr. Keys, thank you for stepping up and and and agreeing to be the alternate. >> Thank you, Mr. Sharpless. Seeing no other comments, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed. And that motion carries. We are at U2 and this one's entitled um attendance boundary committee appointee. The suggested action is to approve the appointment of Kenneth Kip to the attendance boundary committee. So the chair will now entertain a motion

055and a second. >> So move. Second. >> Mr. Keys made the motion and Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion, fellow board members? >> Very good. Mr. Keys, you are recognized. >> So, uh, Mr. Kip was my recommendation to the attendance committee. Um, having previously served as the vice chair of that committee and stepping off, um, to pursue a seat on the school board, um, had a need to fulfill that seat. Um, Mr. Kip is a long-erving member of the community of Hay City. Um served as previously mayor in the city of Hay City, uh city commissioner um and was actually a district employee for quite some time. Um from 1998 to 2022 working for the district um both as a teacher and a dean and ended his career at H City Senior High School. um

056just wonderful advocate of the community, has um two children that went through now grandchildren coming through the public school system um and actually pulled me to the side um after coming on to the board and says, "Is there anything I can do to help out the district? Although I've retired from the district, I really feel a need fulfill, you know, a role and there's anything I can do to help." So, um I said, you know, uh ask and you shall receive. And um so when that that that um vacancy came up, I asked Mr. Kip and he emphatically said yes. He goes whatever I can do to help out. So I think he's going to be quite an addition to that having knowledge is serving as prior a mayor and a city commissioner of the

057ins and outs um that that committee will face and questions and also have being a former employee of the district. Um just a wonderful fit. Um so uh pleased to recommend Mr. Kip on that. >> All right. Thank you Mr. Keys and Mr. Sharpless. You're recognized. >> Yes. I'd like to echo uh board member Keys uh statements. Uh Mr. Kip is a is a wealth of knowledge. Um you can see his u his experience especially in in uh northeast Pulk I think is very important uh when it comes to the attendance boundary committee. We're we're focusing on growth and what pocket of Poke County is not growing faster than the northeast pocket of Poke County. And so his knowledge will be beneficial to that committee and and so great job uh board member keys for

058um uh appointing him. made it easy. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Mr. Sharpless. Um, good work, by the way. And, you know, previous to being in your role as school board members, um, it really demonstrated well today as we were talking about attendance boundary and your previous work before, uh, being a board member. So, thank you guys for that as well. All right, so we have the motion in a second. Um, no other discussion at this point. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. We're down to U3 and this is entitled Florida Educator Health Trust Agreement. So the suggested action is to approve the participation agreement um with flight and the uh basically to appoint the superintendent as well or as his representative as a trustee

059uh of the trust. So the chair will now accept a motion and a second. Second. >> All right. Miss Fields made the motion and Miss Wyatt seconded that. So, we've got a motion in a second. Any discussion, board members, on this. Uh, this is a very positive move for the district as well. Um, all right. Seeing no discussion on this one, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Next up is U4 entitled dual enrollment Warner University. And the um recommended action is to approve the dual enrollment Warner University agreement. Um as you noted in the consent, we did approve sever several other universities as well. And inside these agreements, you see language that notes a tuition waiver u providing our students

060an opportunity to earn college credit at no cost to them or their family. This is huge. I mean, this is I college success and college savings really hinge on these access points for our students. I was just looking at the district report card on this item. Um, we had about 5,000 students enroll in dual enrollment last year, uh, which is pretty impressive. So, that's an increase from the previous year as well. So, uh, the chair will accept a motion at this time. >> Second. >> All right. Miss Fields made the motion and Miss, uh, Miller second it. So, we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? I do see Mr. Sharpless, you are recognized. >> As noted at the work uh board work session earlier today, I am abstaining from this vote due to

061my relationship with Warner University as an employee. >> Thank you, Mr. Sharpless. All right, seeing no other comments at this time, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. And those opposed. And that motion carries. We are down to U5 and this one's entitled dual enrollment Southeastern University and the suggested action is to approve the dual enrollment um with Southeastern University agreement. So the chair will now accept a motion at this time. >> So moved. >> All right. Mr. Keys made the motion and Miss Fields second it. So we've got a motion and a second at this point. Uh discussion. I see Miss Wyatt, you're recognized. Thank you, Dr. Allen. I will be abstaining from this vote due to my relationship with Southeastern University and the proper paperwork has

062been filed. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Wyatt. So, at this time, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying, "I >> I." >> Any opposed? And that motion carries. All right. Thank you, board members, on your work around these items. We are now going to move to our public hearing and at this point we will go into a public hearing. Uh I now open the public hearing. The first order of business would be any comments on these two items that are before us. And I actually do have two cards. So I'll set the parameters of our uh public comment. So basically we'll now begin with the public comments portion of our public hearing uh for those who have registered. So, just as before, all speakers, uh, you're going to be given

063three minutes to speak. Uh, the light will turn yellow when you have one minute left, and then you'll hear a beep, um, when your time is concluded. All comments should be directed to myself, uh, as the board chair. And as a reminder, uh, public comments are an opportunity for us to hear your thoughts and your comments. Uh, this is not a question and answer session at this time. However, if you're seeking additional information, I encourage you to contact any of us or the superintendent uh outside of the board meetings and then we would be happy to have that deeper conversation. Uh the first person I would like to call up would be Deborah Mandale. And then on deck, and if you could, there's a red line over on this side. If you can step over

064to the red line, uh Luis Feliciano. Miss Montdale, you're recognized. >> Okay, this is new to me. Um, good evening, Chair Ellen and the board and superintendent. Um, thank you for your time to be able to let me talk. Um, uh, first off, congratulations on the B school status. Woo! Okay, you guys are and and I went through the whole 67page agenda. You guys are working really hard. I just want to appreciate that. Thank you. Um my name is Debbie Montdale. I've had two students that have gone through the public school system all the way through. My daughter's still at Pulk State now. So, um rocking on. Um I'm here tonight because the combination of local and federal funding challenges has made this a moment that deserves serious attention and clear public leadership. Um, I

065want to thank Superintendent Hyde for the u being honest with the community about the district's financial regalities this year. This kind of communication has helped people stay informed and involved. The deep cuts that Superintendent Hyde spoke of are deeply concerning. Um, and we are glad that the frozen federal funds were released this month, though concerned about any harm that was done within those few weeks. um your letter was very powerful and and it spoke to um what you were doing and what the public could do for you and we are here for you for that. We want to know what we can do to help. Um but now there's another layer we can't ignore. The proposed federal education budget for 2026 includes deep cuts to the tune of 12 billion to programs that directly impact

066students. Um, part of that would go to the Pulk County that I mean, you know how that goes. That includes teacher professional development, afterchool programs, services for English learners, and support for migrant students. These programs are not extra. They are essential in keeping education and our community accessible, equitable, and strong across the district. Tonight, we are asking this board to take two clear and important steps. First, in the same spirit of the transparency of your letter, we ask that you host a public town hall to explain what this federal budget cuts proposal would mean for Pulk County. Family and educators, families and educators deserve the opportunity to understand what's at stake and what the district might need to do to consider in this response and how it might relate to additional taxes needing to succeed.

067I mean, I know that was part of the thing on the but thing the budget agenda for today. Sorry. Um, the town hall could also give all of you and the Pulk County Public School District the ability to shine and to promote public awareness and positive recognition of the public school system that we have here. Um and uh because I think that there's a lot of misunderstanding and rumors that um you know persist and if we can give a town hall and let the people know I think that would be really awesome so you could really shine. Um the second we are respectfully asking you to review and adopt the resolution being submitted tonight. The resolution is nonpartisan and focused on planning, transparency, and making sure Pulk County stays ready no matter what happens at

068the national level. Like you, we believe every student deserves a well-funded, highquality public education. We will help. The public knows needs to know how to help. So, thank you very much for your time and continuing to take this moment seriously. Is it okay if the board would like to hand a copy to the of the resolution to review? >> Thank you, Miss Montdale. >> Take my pen. >> All right. Very good. Thank you, Miss Montdale. And next up, we have Luis Feliciano. Hello everyone. My name is Louis. I'm here because of what's happening with the federal education funding and it has real implications for students and educator here in Pole County. We are in a year where the district is navigating through budget decisions. On top of that, the proposed federal education budget for 206

069will cut or eliminate major programs that matter in this community. That includes afterchool services. It also includes um sorry It will include after school services, support for English learners, major uh professional development for teachers, and programs that assist migrant students and multilingual families. I want to thank the board for the way you've been transparent with the public about funding challenges. That kind of honesty builds trust, and I believe the moment calls for more of that same leadership. I appreciate again the um the messages by hate. Uh he was very direct and he also guide the public to how to help the board and how the board can help us. We need that kind of interaction with the public here in the community and I really appreciate that. Tonight I'm asking the board uh to take

070two important action actions. first hold a public town hall so that people impacted by the these decisions like families, educators, students uh can hear directly what this means and a chance to ask questions and offer ideas. Seconds, I want to express my full support for the resolution being introduced by uh the previous guest. I it doesn't assign blame and it simply asks P County should stay ready, stay transparent and lead with the same clarity that you have already shown this year. I want to thank everybody again for listening and for your continued leadership. >> All right, thank you so much for being here. So board members within our public hearing the first item is V1 and this is public hearing for policy updates. So, uh, this item came before the board during a previous work

071session and then a previous public hearing on June 10th. So, I'd like to read through the, uh, basically for the record the policy number and name before we vote on this. So, again, these are previous policies that we've assessed. Policy 1430.07 entitled military leave. Policy 2623, student assessment. Then we have policy 3430.0 07 military leave. Um and then we have 4330.07 entitled military leave. Uh policy 5112 entrance requirements. 5225 absences for religious holidays. care of students with chronic health conditions. 5460 graduation requirements. 5465 general education development test. 5,500 student conduct, 7100 facilities planning, 7101 building permits and the code enforcement office and then lastly we have 8510 entitled wellness. So the chair will now accept a motion at this time. Uh if you want to approve as a block or individually uh what's the will

072of the board at this point? >> Motion to approve all those as presented. All right. I have a motion for Mr. Keys. Looking for a second. Second. >> All right. Miss Fields has seconded. Any discussion? Board members on these policies. All right. Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Next is V2 and this is the 202526 tenative budget and millage rates. So we do have staff members present. If you can come forward please and present these items to us. >> Good evening. Tonight, um, we're going to vote on the tenative budget. So, we've prepared a small presentation to go over what you will find in our budget this year. Oh, yep. The first slide represents our millillage. Um, our gross

073taxable value has gone up about $5.6 billion in Pulk County this year. Um you'll see the current year is the first column, last year is the second column. Our required local effort this year is 3.042 mills compared to 3.048 of last year. That's a variance of 600,000. It did go down, but our property taxes went up and that relationship is typically um a a balance. When taxes go up, our millage will go down to keep it level. There's a formula that the state uses. Our discretionary millage is consistent at 748. Those two together give us 3.790 operating mills. And our capital outlay is 1.5 mills for a total of 5.290 mills. That will generate a little over 237 u million in required local effort, 58.3 million in discretionary for an operating total of 295 million.

074Our capital outlays projected to generate almost 117 million for our total estimated millage revenue of 412 million. This is an example of one of the ads. On July 27th, we published three ads in um the ledger. And we also posted them to our website this year. There's a new legislation where you can use that. So, we wanted to to run the ad for an one last year in the paper and put it on the website for greater exposure and to see how it was received. Um the important piece is for the required local effort we are um required to to levy um what's prescribed by the state in order to generate $867 million in state education grants. That's the general fund portion. The required portion has increased by 3.46% 46% and that represents approximately 6/10

075of the total proposed taxes. We've attached a few slides to compare the second calculation from last year to the second calculation of this year. Um 2425 is the first column. 2526 is in the center. And you'll see the variance. our total FTE has gone up um almost six almost 4,000 um but the large portion of that is family empowerment scholarships and also charter schools and we'll get into that in a little bit. From looking at this the the general consensus would say we've increased $21.7 million in gross state FEFP. Um we've had a few decreases in our transportation allocation and also DJJ and academic acceleration options is the new carve out for API um and ACE or what used to be our weighted FTE. There's a couple pages of this one. Um, when you get

076down to the bottom, you'll see total K12 funding shows an increase of 5.3 million. According to just comparing calculation to calculation, when we start to take into consideration, 4.1 million of that is required for our TSIA increase. So, that comes off the discretionary portion. there is an increase into the amount we must allocate to the charter schools based on an increase in their FTE. Um there's a charter school worksheet that calculates that for us. Title one supplements that were previously paid out of title one due to a redistribution of funding. Um this year 3.4 million of that has to go into the general fund. We have a $2.6 million increase in FRS. Um, and this bottom, the grant positions that are on hold has been removed because we did receive information that we were receiving

077that funding. In order to offset these decreases, we have chosen to increase our capital transfer. You're able to pay for those individual salaries that work on our building projects, our maintenance projects, and also our bus drivers. we've um been very conservative in in this amount. So this slide represents um a projected budgeted unassigned and assigned ending fund balance of 3.88. That's due to our um decrease in funding and our estimated assigned final assigned unassigned is 5.58%. So what goes into that calculation? We do have um some we will have vacancies. We have lab salaries. We also have there are things that we can't predict at the beginning of the year such as our utilities and a few other costs. Um and 1% of our fund balance is about 10.6%. Our total budget for this year

078is 2.5 billion. again to help you all um we added a slide on our family empowerment scholarship to help you see where the FTE has changed after the scholarship was approved and the impact it had had to district funding. The way that you read this forecasted FTE is what we what DOE forecast in the beginning of the year that was not available for this until 2324. Um we have e equal opportunity and unique abilities. Equal opportunity is um general education and unique abilities is our the ESE carveout um for the total FTE. And since since the inception of this program in 2021, it's had a $315 million impact to our our Pulk County School District funding. And Dr. Allen, on the if you all have any questions, um, let me know. And on the agenda,

079we've we've um simplified it this year for the resolutions to make it a little easier to read. >> Thank you, Miss Jenkins. >> Welcome. >> Uh okay, board members. I again, thank you for the information setting the stage here as we move through this tentative um budget. So, I'll take a motion to approve the required local effort. And I'll just restate these as noted in the documents including prior period funding adjustment millage of 3.042 mills. Do we have a motion and a second? >> So moved. >> All right. >> Second. >> Mr. Sharpless made the motion and Miss Fields has second it. Um any discussion at this point. All right. I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. We will now move down

080to the discretionary operating millillage of as stated. So, do we have a motion and a second? >> Miss White made the motion and >> second. >> Miss Fields second it. Any discussion board members on the discretionary? All right. I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> I. Any opposed. And that motion carries. And then we'll move to the local capital improvement. This is your capital outlay in the millillage of 1.5. I'll take a motion to approve that. >> So move. >> Mr. Keys made the motion. >> Second. >> And Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion on the LCI? All right, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Uh we're now moving to approve the resolution 202526

081uh 01 formally adopting the millage rates for the 202526 totaling 5.290 mills. So that total millage rate to be levied um as noted is 3.46 percentage uh points more than the roll back rate. Right. So do we have a motion and a second on that? >> All right. Miss Fields made the motion. >> Second. >> And Mr. Keys second it. Any discussion? All right. Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Miss Jenkins, how we doing? >> You're doing great. >> All right. Very good. Um board members, I'll now take a motion to approve the resolution 2024 uh 251 formally adopting the millage rates for that uh 2425. So, do we have a motion and a second on that? >> All

082right. So, Miss Fields made the motion and Miss Wyatt second it. So, I'll now call for a vote for that. Uh those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed. And that motion carries. We are now down to the um resolution and that's formally adopting the 2526 tenative budget in the amount of um $2.4 billion. Um basically 2 bill476,464,933. So, do we have a motion and a second? >> So, move. >> Second. >> All right. Mr. Keys made the motion and Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion, fellow board members? All right. I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Now, we are down to um looking for a motion from you board members to submit to the property appraiser form DR-420s

083and that's the certificate of taxable value. um which this you know ref reflects previously approved tenative millage rates and sets the final budget hearing for Tuesday September 9th 2024 no earlier than 501 p.m. at 1915 South Florida Avenue Barto Florida 33831. Do I have a motion on that one and a second? >> All right, Mr. Sharpless made the motion. Looking for a second. >> Second. >> Miss Fields has seconded that. Any discussion at this point? All right. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Thank you so much, Miss Jenkins. All right. At this time, we will now close the public hearing and we will now transition back to the superintendent report. Superintendent, you are recognized. Thank you, Mr. Chair, board members. Um, couple quick things. You know,

084obviously we've talked about it throughout the evening. We will do a more formal breakdown of the overall district performance, but I wanted to go ahead and give you and our community the benefit of hearing how we arrived at our B grade this year. And and I'm incredibly proud of the hard work that happens and takes place in each and every classroom. And I also want to be respectful and ensure that everyone understands that this is just one measure of the health of an organization of a school system. Um it is not all-encompassing. There are so many factors that are not included in the overall school grade calculation um but are difficult to measure. How do you measure empathy? How do you measure compassion? How do you measure the relationships that are established between staff and

085students and families? How do you measure the fact that a kid may have made a friend on the very first day or that day or a child finally learned how to read and had a breakthrough? Those things are not measurable right now and unfortunately that's the case. But we are incredibly proud of the B and and here are a few facts for the board and for the community to understand and again we'll go deeper in depth on this in the near future. Of the 14 metrics used to calculate a district grade we improved in 12. There were only two where we saw a decline and those were in mathematics and we'll talk about that much at at length later on and I want to make sure everyone understands that while ninth grade algebra seems to

086be an area where we and it is an area we need to improve that is not a nth grade issue that starts in kindergarten that starts in prek and we've got to do a better job of helping students overcome this mental barrier that quote unquote and I'm sure some adults in the room would would say the same thing I'm just I just wasn't good at math. and there just is no such thing. They just didn't get an opportunity to learn the right way or to succeed in mathematics and have that sense of accomplishment. And so we've got to do a better job of recreating, reinventing that culture of how we teach math and how our students embrace mathematics. Um but that's one area we want to focus on moving forward. But I'm very proud of

087the fact that across the board we saw increases um primarily in ELA. Um, our overall English language arts achievement increased four percentage points over the prior year. So, we went from 46% to 50. >> Um, third grade reading went up by one point from 51 to 52. English language arts learning gains increased by two percentage points from 53 to 55. ELA learning gains for the lowest cortile of students increased one percentage point from 52 to 53. Science achievement increased by one point from 49% to 50. Social studies achievement increased from 66 to 70. 4 percentage point improvement. Our middle school acceleration improved from 70% to 73% an improvement of three. Graduation rate, as you know, improved five percentage points over the prior year. And our college career acceleration improved from 55 to 59% or an

088increase of four percentage points. >> Mhm. Total points earned went from 671 to 690. So we improved by 19 points. The percent of total points possible increased by two and so we are a district grade of a B. Um we did see a couple isolated issues with learning gains but again the what I've reassured our staff and our principles of is at the end of the day we can always recover those learning gains. Those are students who may not have maintained their prior year's level but that's okay. We'll recover that learning. will proceed to do well. But literacy is definitely an area as you've noted over the last three years. We've continued to see success. We've had intermittent success in some mathematics, but science, social studies, civics, we do we do incredibly well at. Proud

089of the graduation rate. Hope to continue to see that improve. You know what our industry certifications have looked like improving over 1500 new industry certifications each year over the prior year for the past three years. I hope that when the data plays out, we've repeated that again. So, and board members, as you know, there are certain data points that have not been fully released to us or reported yet. And so, we will have our AP passing rates, participation rates, our Cambridge, and we will have our graduation rate as as late as November. So, I'll keep bringing the data back to the board. But I do feel that in August, I will have a sufficient the majority of data points to bring back to you so that we can talk about where those celebrations need to

090be. But again, this did not happen in isolation. It doesn't happen because necessarily it doesn't happen from my office. Hopefully, it stems from my office. We create that culture. We provide the right supports. We nurture that and we support our teachers and staff to the greatest extent possible so they can be successful each and every day with these students. And again, we we thank parents each year for trusting us with their children. We have school starting very very soon. It is awkward as a parent not to have this back to school startup. with my son having graduated last year, you know, we don't get to do the back- to-school shopping, but I knew during the summer, I knew about three weeks ago it was quickly approaching because every store already had their back to school

091supplies out and you couldn't avoid it. Um, and so for those are enjoying those last licks before school kicks off, we we appre we know what you're celebrating. We look forward to seeing them. And as you've heard me say repeatedly, there are two great days in the school year. the very first day of school and graduation. And the very first day of school is special because everybody shows up. They're bright, new, they're ready to meet their friends. They're excited to meet their teachers. And we've talked about this as a cabinet. And uh it's something that I can't take credit for. I I give credit to the Oyola school district superintendent, Dr. Shenoff, because he shared this with me and it it just resonated with me. How do we make the first day of school or

092how do we make every day of school the first day of school? How do we maintain that energy and that enthusiasm and that that emphasis on learning and caring? And so hopefully we can talk more about that and and continue that board knows this is our last year of our fifth year strategic plan and so we'll be bringing that back to you. Most of our retreats will have a dedicated portion of each time um so we can talk through those the goals and the initiatives and making sure that the measurable outcomes are those that align to your values and your interests. But I am proud of the work that we've done. I it's been four long years. You know how upset I was last year that we didn't get it. We missed it by onetenth

093of a percentage point in the overall calculation. Um so to get it this year was really a great thing for us. I I think it reinforces and reinvigorates our staff and they feel proud. I know our community is very proud and we appreciate that support. Um so that concludes the superintendence report with the exception of the next work session and board meeting will be held on August 12th, 2025. The work session will begin at 12:30 p.m. and the board meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the district office located at 1915 South Floral Avenue in BTO. Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> All right. Thank you, son of Odin. >> I said, "Thank you, son of Odin." That's >> Thor. Come on. >> You threw me. >> It's a Thor thing.

094>> It's a Thor. Yes. Yes. Sorry. >> I guess you don't watch Marvel. I don't know. All right, we are >> Yep. Yeah. We are moving down to the attorney's report. Uh Mr. Green, you are now recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have two items this evening. The first, um I'm going to be requesting authority to advertise a public hearing to be held on September 9th of this year during the regularly scheduled board meeting for policy updates that were presented earlier today during the work session for rule development. the text of all the proposed rules scheduled for the public hearing will be available at the time the notice is published. Um, at the risk of being a little redundant, I'll go through each of those policies for the record. Uh, 1210 standards of ethical

095conduct, 2215 program instruction, 2370 educational options, 2370.01 01 virtual instruction 2371 hope scholarships 2440 summer program 2445 Dropout prevention and academic intervention programs 2460 exceptional student education 2520 selection and adoption of instructional materials and equipment 2521 instructional materials program 2522 challenges to adoption or use of instructional, library, or reading list materials. 2700 Academically High Performing School Districts. 3130 Appointment Transfer and Promotion of Instructional Staff. 5130 Withdrawal from school. 5410 Student Progression. 5410.01 Promotion, Acceleration, Placement, and Retention. 5780 student parental rights. 6322 construction contracting. 6330 acquisition of professional architectural engineering landscape architectural or land surveying services. 661 instructional materials allocation. And last but not least 7440.03 03 small unmanned aircraft systems. Uh the recommended action, Mr. Chair, is a motion to approve those to advertise the public hearing for those policy updates as described. >> All

096right, Mr. Green members, you've heard the recommended motion to advertise that public hearing. I'll take a motion and a second at this point. >> So move. >> Second. >> All right, Mr. Mr. Keys made the motion and Miss Fields has seconded. Any discussion on that item? Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Mr. Green, you are recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Item two of two is a request for authority to advertise a public hearing at the September 9th, 2025 regularly scheduled school board meeting regarding revisions to the code of conduct pursuant to legislative changes presented earlier today at the board work session. This is uh specifically the um the legislative changes related to Florida statutes607 that has to do

097with wireless communication devices. Um the recommended action is a motion uh to approve the advertisement of that public hearing on the 9th. >> All right, Mr. Green. So the chair now welcomes a motion at this time. Second. >> Miss Fields made the motion and Miss Miller has seconded. Any discussion? Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Anything else, Mr. Green? No, that's all. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you so much. Great to have you with us. Thank you. Uh, next item up is our auditor's report. Miss Matthews, you are recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. As required by the charter, the annual internal audit plan is being brought to you this evening for schoolboard approval. It was previously emailed

098for your review. The audit plan is based on a comprehensive risk assessment and covers as many higher risk areas as possible given our available resources. Audit plans must be flexible to account for unanticipated demands such as unscheduled audits and investigations. Any significant deviation from the approved audit plan will be communicated to the school board through periodic activity reports. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Matthews. Uh, at this time, board members, I'll take a motion to approve the 202526 internal audit services audit plan. Do I have a motion and a second? >> All right, Miss Miller made the motion and Miss Wyatt has second it. Any discussion? >> All right, Miss Matthews, thank you for the work that you're doing. Um and just I mean just as early as today we received the Alurus uh audit.

099So appreciate the work that you are actively doing. So thank you for that. Uh at this point now I'll call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. >> Thank you so much, Miss Matthews. All right. Now we come to the part of the evening where we hear from you board members. So, we are at the board members report and I think what I'll do is I'll start at the highest number tonight and work down. So, for those that that don't know what district Miss Miller is, that's district seven. >> The highest. >> Didn't we have that conversation earlier today? Yeah, >> I can't keep up with your numbers. I know you invited me in today, but I do know I'm seven. >> Miss Fields

100is five. Um, okay. I I don't want to keep people long. I appreciate you holding out for this this very long meeting. I do want to remind the public that um the college and career fair P County public schools host um but it's at Florida Southern it's August 21st from 6:00 to 8 and that is where all of the colleges and universities and community support agencies will be and that's very important for our students to get an early start on what their their plans are for postsecary. I want to thank a young Pulk Vision youth leadership graduate named Dennis Fetty. He he joined us for a small tour of the district offices and he stayed the entire work session um which I thought was was awesome because that's a very long work session. But Dennis

101is a student at Pulk Collegiate High School and he wants to go in um to public service and specifically into politics which I think is great. He wants to be the change agent of his community. So I love that. Um I want to congratulate congratulate Lake Gibson High School's Gabby Valus. she was awarded a scholarship and she went to Erskin College to play on the inaugural the first ever women's flag football team and so we're very excited about that. Women's flag football is the new thing I hear. So I know we'll be sending more young ladies to play flag football in college. Um I got to meet some of our key club members in Davenport and the Kowanas Club of Davenport. key clubbers from Davenport and Ridge High School met on a Saturday at Laughman

102Oaks to help paint the new game room they're going to have as an incentive for students at Laughman Oaks Elementary. So, I thought that was amazing and I want to thank the staff of Laughman Oaks and the students that volunteered their time. I also want to thank one more volunteer. She's a teacher. Her name is Karen Brown. She has always tried to do a summer camp for students with unique abilities um because there's just not a lot of opportunity. Um, she's not paid to do this. It's something she does on her own. So, for three weeks this summer, she named the camp after her mother who just passed. We had the Virginia Best Summer Camp and it was an exciting time. The kids learn life skills. Um, they had fun. I went to the last

103day and and took part of their baking challenge. Um, I got to vote for the they I thought they all should win, but we got to vote for our best baked good, but I really appreciate Karen and the staff that care about these kids through the summer and I think that's amazing that we have those people with us. So once again, I want to remind everyone that was North Side Lakeland, Lake Gibson, and Lake Gibson Middle um who took that United Way took that United Way award tonight. But I can tell you it's because the culture they created Lake Gibson. Um that the great pumpkin that was my first visit and it was freezing while she sat in that dunk tank. But the whole staff turned up. It wasn't about not the right hour or

104that fact it was in an evening. They turned up for the students and the children of North Lakeland. So I really appreciate them. Thank you, chair. >> Thank you, Miss Miller. Moving to district six, and that's Mr. Sharpless. You're recognized. >> Thank you. Thank you, board chair Allen. Um, first I want to start off uh my board comments by welcoming the man who's at the end of the dis here, uh, our new school board attorney, Mr. Jim Green. Welcome. I hope you had a a great first meeting and, uh, and time here. I know I've I've already been asking you quite a few questions. You'll probably say, "Hey, they that one I mean I may need to hide from that one, but no, in all seriousness, thank you for stepping up and and um and

105and serving our district. Um certainly, absolutely. Um want to give some updates. Um, first, uh, last month, um, I was elected by the, um, membership of the Florida School Board Association to serve as the treasurer for the 2025 2026 school year. So, I'm one of five, um, statewide elected um, uh, uh, executive officers of the Florida School Board Association. And what does that mean? I think the most important thing is it gives pul a seat at the leadership table in that organization. Um, you know, I'll be asking you all for your opinions on things, uh, board members and, uh, certainly, uh, we we have great, um, b board director there, uh, and and board chair Allen as well, um, like I said earlier with advocacy with, um, Miss Miss Fields, board member Fields. But um

106you know being serving as an executive officer is an honor um and a privilege and I I look forward to uh using that position to to advance uh public education in the state of Florida. Also another thing that does is it saves us money. Uh the Florida School Board Association will now be picking up quite a bit of my cost on travel and conferences and um you know I'm always trying to be um uh cognizant of of uh our taxpayer dollars that we spend in our district. And so, yeah, school, the FSBA can pick up the tab on some of that stuff. Um, I last month also I went to the Florida FFA state convention. Those of you that know me know the FFA is an organization that is near and dear to my heart.

107I want to congratulate a couple students that um that represented or now representing the entire uh state of Florida. So, first uh Lake Gibson's own Caitlyn Robertson. um she served as the 2024 2025 uh state vice president representing Poke County. Um so she's uh great young lady and just a product of Poke County Public Schools. Um I want to make sure to congratulate her and the person who was elected to 2025 2026 is also a Poke County uh resident um Clayton Keane Jr. He's from Lake Wells High School and he's the son of our senior coordinator of vehicle services here in Pulk County for Poke County Public Schools, uh Clayton Keane, Senior. So, want to make sure they uh they get a shout out as well. Um well, a big honor for me personally at

108the FFA state convention, I was awarded the honorary state FFA degree. Um, and just as an organization that I've uh I've dedicated quite a bit of time and effort to, it meant a lot to get recognized. Um, last week I attended the Poke County Public Schools Office of Business Opportunities lunch and learn uh that focused on empowering small businesses for growth and success. So, um, we had plenty of small businesses here. um and they were they're you know trying to learn as much as they can about our district and and how u we can possibly um you know in the future uh collaborate. Um I want to congratulate and uh and thank uh board member Lisa Miller for uh her great keynote address at the uh Poke Vision youth leadership graduate graduation for class 7.

109Good job. You're welcome. Um I attended that as well. Then I left straight from there and went to Lakeland to the uh Lakeland NAACP meet the principal event. And I gotta tell you that was a very um man it was a great it was one of the best events I've been to. I it was awesome to see our principles celebrated up there meeting the uh community. Um and so I want to thank uh their president uh Mr. Con for um for uh just setting that up and all of our administrators who just that same day with from the that morning all the way through was in a in service and they went to the event afterwards. And so I got to give a huge shout out to our administrators for doing that. Um you know

110and just the public for attending. Um two more things. Last night I attended summer graduation. Um was truly a touching event. um you know, only a handful of students, um you know, a little over 20. And but what I thought was so great is that those students deserve to be celebrated just as much as the ones that that graduated at RP Center. And we did it. We we even shot the confetti out like we did at RP Center. And um yeah, I I I just want to give a shout out to u everyone involved in that. You know, it's it it's just important that we celebrate all of our students success and the fact that they like one thing Superintendent Hyde said that I I appreciate. It's not it's not when you finish, but it's

111that you finish, right? And they finished and they crossed that line. They got the gra their grad their graduation. So, I certainly appreciate that. And of course, like we've been saying, super proud of the B grade of our district. Um, you know, I represent district six and I want just want to highlight two schools out of district six that I'm very impressed with. Um, now I'm impressed with a lot of them, but these two in in particular. Mclofflin Academy of Excellence moved from a D to a C. And that's a big deal for Mclofflin Academy of Excellence. The fact that they moved that up to a C grade as well as Frost Proof Middle Senior moved from a C to a B last year. Um, and so those two improving their grades. Um, just man,

112I'm impressed. It's just been the reason why I went so long is we were, you know, almost beginning of June to the end of July. It's been a a big uh a big time that we've been apart. So, thank you all very much. And um that's my full report. Board Chair. >> All right. Thank you, Vice Chair Sharpless. And we are now moving to district five. That would be Miss Fields. You are recognized. >> Thank you. I I don't really have a lot, but I do want to say a few things. I want to um commend and congratulate Superintendent Hyde for the u involvement that uh that you've done since you've come with United Way and the emphasis that you've shown on it and uh being very excited about uh being the the the winner

113of the uh award that we're going to take from you next year. Uh, and I want to thank the board for listening. I've been pleading for some years now. I want to thank you all for stepping up uh, and making an impact in our community beyond what you already are doing. So, thank you all for that. Also, uh, want to um, commend a couple of schools as Mr. Sharpless did. I'm very, very proud of all of our schools and our employees. And lots of times when we have board meetings, uh, some words are not always kind about what we are doing and how hard our teachers and our educators and our employees, everybody in their respective places are really doing and the students and their families. And so I want to commend everybody for helping

114to ensure that uh we we're continuing to uh um do better academically. But I want to shout out to Kathleen High School going from a a D to a C. And I think Mr. Keys reference why um Kathleen had such a high percentage in choice out I believe and I think a lot of that has to do with the image and we can talk about that at another given time but that uh going from a a D to a C uh definitely can help with the image and all of my my uh my children and my husband graduated from Kathleen High School and so we're very proud of the work that's done there. also wanted to acknowledge and I'm sure superintendent hot saw this in looking at the data that the real academy went from

115unsatisfactory to um commendable >> correct >> I believe I'm not not commendable maintaining so they were they made some progress and to me that is very good especially as many of them uh relocated to other places but they still should be proud of their work and And um I want to um I want to commend Mr. Shropless for being elected as treasury for the uh school board association. That's a big deal and uh that's great representation for us. So thank you for your willingness to to do that. Um, and then this morning as I was coming to the school board um, meeting, I stopped by North Lakeland Elementary School because I didn't get to go last night. It was too late when I left from a meeting here. But, uh, Miss Barryian is the new

116principal there and she is excited. She's on fire and, uh, I think that she's going to do a great job and she's got great, uh, staff and even though they lost quite a few of their, uh, staff members, she's excited about the ones that's there. and I am too. And we just need to uh embrace and support as best we can. And the last question that I have is to superintendent Hyde. What are we going to do to celebrate making a B? We're talking about working towards an A. Let's celebrate what we just did. >> Uh and we need to come up with something. I don't know what it needs to look like, but we really need to celebrate and include the community on uh what we've been able to accomplish. >> Yes, ma'am. That's

117>> I'm challenging you on that. >> Yes, ma'am. >> And that ends my report, >> Miss Fields. Thank you so much. >> Yes, sir. >> We are moving to district 4. Miss Wyatt, you are recognized. >> Thank you. Um, as Mr. Sharpless said, it's been a long time since we met. So, there's there's been a lot of great things happening even though it's summer. Um, first, I just want to commend Superintendent Hyde and his team on a great um leadership academy at the beginning of summer. Um, I know that seems like a lifetime ago because it really was six or seven weeks ago. Um, but the energy from our principles and district leaders, having everyone in the same place for two days, which I'm pretty sure is the only two days that that happens all

118year long, um, is really exciting. I know um, Miss Pasco commented on it's the only time she's ever gotten cheers at the end of her presentation when she presented on SAP. So, um, kudos to the SAP presentation because I know it left lots of our our leaders excited about the the future of our our data systems as well. Um, but great work on on the day that you put the days that you put together and that really goes to Miss Winchester because we know that she she does a lot of that as well. Um, I also just want to give kudos to um, and I know Kim was here earlier, but to Pulk Vision and their youth leadership program. I had the opportunity to speak with them. I missed their graduation last week, but it

119is the future is bright when you talk to those students and some of the things that they're looking at. The number of them that indicated they were interested in bringing their talents back to Pulk County was exciting. Um because it's great go off and and get your education, but bring those talents back here and and see how we can contribute right here in PK County. So, it's exciting to see that they're staying involved. I know we had one join us for work session today. um but how we can continue to keep them engaged in not only PK County public schools but PK County as a whole. Um we are closing in on the summer. Um lots of exciting events coming up with back to school. Um as Mr. Sharpless mentioned, summer graduation is always an

120exciting time. Um those students made it. It may have taken a few extra weeks, but we made it. Um and getting to to celebrate with them. And I know Superintendent Hyde earlier was talking about one of the students jumping up and down and making dents on her car, but that's how excited they are when it really, you know, a lot of times those are the students that whether or not you're going to graduate is is really a question towards the end of the year. Um, and they did it and we're we're so so proud of them. Um, and I am going to leave it at that because I know we've been here a long time. >> All right. Thank you, Miss Wyatt. We are moving to district two and that' be Mr. Keys. You are

121recognized. >> Thank you, Chair Allen. And I'm going to move this very quick. Um also attended a lot of events. We had a big gap there. Um the first of those with the leadership academy. Um thought that the theme was good with every step counts. And it was as coming on new to the board to see all of our administrators that event. I walked in I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is absolutely huge." But what a great time to to come together and to celebrate each other. Um also was able to later on um go to the summer trades camp. Um their graduation, their ceremony at Ridge. We've expanded that program from one site to two sites. And to see the excitement that those students had going through the program, learning the different trades,

122I think is just uh absolutely remarkable. And to see them go through that was was fun. And and to see their excitement that later after that uh the sports hall of fame and to to see some of our students who have achieved so much and I was just amazed by some of these student athletes and the amount of recognition they've got and medals they received. and we have a very very strong and proud sports heritage here in PK County and it was uh awesome to celebrate those students. Um follow that up with not necessarily the district event but went to the Terry Hines memorial scholarship shoot and if you guys remember um Terry was a student at Lake Region who' passed away in a car accident. was an active member of FA. I believe was

123the president of the Lake Region chapter and um uh what an awesome uh time to celebrate his legacy and the things that Terry was involved in and was an avid clay shooter. Um and um kudos to the sharpshooters again for coming out victorious uh the district's team there. We we beat the other team that the district represented there, but what an awesome opportunity to to celebrate Terry's legacy. um also went to the Pulk Vision Youth Leadership Graduation to see those students go through that and I'll and I'll echo um Mrs. Wyatt saying what an awesome opportunity to be there to celebrate that to hear the amazing Mrs. Miller and her keynote address. Um but also the encouragement of those students saying they want to bring their talents back to Pulk County is absolutely fabulous and

124we love to see that. Also went to the NAACP uh meet the principles event again. I was amazed like Mr. Sharp was wow. The amount they went they had an in session all day long and the amount of not only that we had some districts out there but the principles that showed up to come and meet the community was absolutely fabulous. I I I was floored I think as a matter of fact if I'm correct there were more uh PCPS staff and administration there than there were the rest of the community. So what a shout out to to them for showing up and for being willing to to come and address the community. And then finally as as Mr. Sharp was mentioned to the summer graduation. Um, you know, not a lot of students, but

125wow. Um, strong to the finish. Um, was glad to share in that. And and and you're right, we we should celebrate all those and to have the opportunity to to share that experience with them. And and I was amazed too as well as the the confetti cannons. We we went all out on that one. and to see the excitement in those students eyes um and just the pride they had. You know, this is the end of a long summer for them, but to say, "Hey, I'm willing to step there and to walk and the pride they had in doing that." And um what an honor to celebrate their accomplishment with them. Um and that concludes my report. >> All right, Mr. Keys, thank you. And I'll try to keep mine brief as well. Uh you

126know, again, love taking part in so many of these activities that you all have mentioned as well. Um, I was just going to make a statement about the summer graduation last night. Um, you know, who knows what kind of barriers were in the way of these students. Um, but things that I saw as the students walked across to receive their diploma last night. It, you know, I think we had one student that was an honor student, had honor cords. Uh, we had, you know, several students that have committed to serve in the military. Um there's so many uh JRTC, you know, just decked out students with their awards. So, who knows what the barriers were. Um but just thanks to our administrators uh to helping them to get, you know, over that line um to

127uh cross the stage and receive that diploma, which means so much as Superintendent Hyde tells us all the time, that diploma, we want it to mean something and it means something. Uh so that was uh pretty incredible. And then uh we had that one student, one student that trickled in late after the ceremony was completely over. Uh they were late and we reimulated for that one student uh to make sure that we we called her name. She was able to walk across the stage uh which was really cool um part of that event last night. Um I I talked about the heat advisory and everything earlier in my comments during work session and also at the board meeting tonight. Um, so I just wanted to give a a little glimpse into what happened at Philip

128O'Brien. Again, you know, this is happening all across the district and it's pretty amazing. Um, but uh just recently we had, you know, approximately 60 volunteers that showed up and I just want to say thanks to Miss Reeba Coyle. I mean, our community liaison, they do the work. You know, they are building all these partnerships, but she's literally out there in the heat of the day pulling weeds alongside everybody else. It's not, you know, there's not a separation. She's coming alongside uh in the midst of that. And that's truly what a help meet is. And she's doing that for our principles. And that principal is a new principal coming into this uh uh school that has struggled. We've had several principles that have turned over at that school, but she felt um just valued to

129see that type of community support already come around. So, um I just want to say thanks to the, you know, city of Lakeland for donating all the flowers. I mean, we had a trailer full of flowers that came uh that were planted all across that campus. Uh advanced refrigeration services, they provided the lunch for the group that day. Um donations uh for toilet paper holders, all kinds of things for the bathrooms, which are much needed. Uh the P County Sheriff Office, the Lakeland Realtors, lock insurance, SND Real Estate, Andrea Anderson, uh is incredible. I mean, she truly was the leader of bringing all these volunteers around for that day. And if you don't know her, I would highly recommend it. I recommend you know her knowing her. She's serving on our halfsent sales tax oversight

130committee as well. I really appreciate the work that she did to organize that event as well. And then this is like the boring stuff from a chair standpoint. Um, and you know, we get a chance to sit in on these audit conferences. And you know, here you're in the superintendent's office. You've got all the staff members around and you have the state auditor come in and like she's been doing it since like 1987. It was a crazy long time as she's doing these audits. But I felt like I was in the principal's office, you know, where you know, she pulls you aside and asks you all these hard questions, you know, are you familiar with any fraud and yada yada, all these things, you know, I definitely felt like I was in the principal's office.

131But, uh, when I reflect and I look at the staff, um, superintendent, you've got a great team around you and you know, you I I like it. I I I think the audits are really intriguing just to see the organization around that from from an accountability standpoint. Definitely value that and the data that's being collected and assessed uh around that. But all the touch points were already in place, all the schedules in alignment. Um it was really neat to see your team uh work and and do their duties with diligence and efficiency and excellence. So um you've got a great team around you. So uh and that's why we have a B and we're moving forward with that. So there's a lot to celebrate. So I appreciate the work of our staff back there and

132that's been hanging out with us today. So um it's great to be a part of this. So that concludes my board report tonight. Board members, thank you for your work and uh everything that you all are taking part in. All right, we are going to now transition to our public comment. Thank you. Thank you for your patience. Um as noted, it's been a long time since we've been together. So, um, the next item on our agenda is public comments addressing items not on our agenda tonight. So, as noted earlier, to register to speak, you sign up early on and you fill out the card in the lobby and you've got three minutes to speak. Um, the light's going to turn yellow when you have one minute left and you'll hear be when your time is

133concluded. So, please note that although the board encourages community participation, no immediate actions going to be taken place on the items presented during the public comment portion of the meeting. Um, if a follow-up board action is required, um, then that matter may be placed on the agenda at a subsequent meeting in accordance with schoolboard policy. So, I have a list of the individuals to speak. So, if you could please come forward, uh, when I call your name. Um, Bishop Mincy was signed up and I I'm not sure if he's around. I did see him escape out. So, then we go from there. We have Josh Boram. if you can come forward, you can just state your name and your address for the record and then you'll have those three minutes to speak. And then on

134deck, we have Deborah Montdale and there's a red line over there for um Deborah, you can just get lined up over there on the side of the wall. So, Mr. Borum, you are recognized. >> Thank you. Before I get started, can I ask you a question? Just rules procedures. Um, as you can see, I put a lot of effort into this. So, I just want to ask if I can have extra minute or two if I end up short on my 3 minutes before I finish the the slides. Is that allow >> I got to keep to policy on the 3 minutes. So, if you can sort of move pretty quickly on that. >> I'd ask. Okay. Um, well, thank you and congratulations you guys for the BE rating. U, my name is Joshua Borum.

135I'm a 20-year resident of Pulk County. I'm the owner of Borum Fire Protection and uh we're at 3705 US Highway 98 South in Lakeland. For the last year, my team of employees has been servicing Pulk Countyy's fire extinguishers and Kitchen Hood uh fire suppression systems. Pulk County Schools, I'm sorry. Um near the end of the year, the project went back out to a competitive bid and a different company was awarded the bid due to the pricing numbers that came up. Um I absolutely assure you all I'm not here as a business owner who's mad about losing a big customer. That that's not that's not my angle whatsoever. Um, I'm here because a primary awardee FFP fire does not meet the requirements of being the lowest responsive and responsible bidder and it's tremendously unfair for them

136to have the award. If I had lost fair and square, I would be I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have spent the time and money on these materials I'm about to show you. My case is twofold. Number one, uh, the awardee FFP fire doesn't meet the license requirements of your bid documents. It's simple but true. It may sound unbelievable to the people listening to me. uh they do not meet it and I'll show you that here in just a moment. Uh my second point is FFP fire is clearly unfit for the logistics and the scope of this project. I've been communicating with your procurement department, Superintendent Hyde, and even your attorney. Uh but they're not making the corrections to what's needed to happen. So that's why I'm here tonight. I believe this bait is

137on the consent agenda tonight. I guess I'm late for that, but here I am. So I just want to jump right into this right here. Um your PK County Schools invitation. Sorry about that. Must been from my knees. Invitation to bid document requires bidder must have a class A license. It says must. It doesn't say should or might or want to or preferred. It says it says must. The people you guys awarded it to. FFP fire has a class C license. That's less than a class A license. This is how plain and clear it is. It's plain English. Here's an email from Superintendent Hyde saying we know they don't have the license that's required and the people that was awarded to say they're going to send it to a partner group to help them do

138the work they're not licensed for. My company Borfire has a class A license. I'm going to move fast. That clock is moving. Subcontracting is not allowed in your bid documents. Mr. Hyde's email says they're going to use a partner group to do the work that they're not licensed to do. FFP Fire does not have the capacity to do the job. They have two permitted technicians. My company has 11. They don't have the experience. They've been in business less than two years. Might have to stop early. FFP Fires run out of a home garage. This is who your procurement department has awarded this bid to a home garage company. I have five seconds left. Shall I continue or not? >> That's it. Mr. Borm, >> did you say stop? >> Yep, that is it. Thank you.

139>> I'll follow with an email. >> Thanks for being here, Miss Montdale. And then >> hand out if I may for the >> We can hand those. >> Yeah, you can hand those out. It would be fine. Josh, what is that? Ma'am, >> I already did speak. I think I might have spoke in the wrong >> category. Okay. You guys know what I want. >> All right. Thank you. And uh Lewis, did you want to wave your right as well? Okay. Thanks for being here with us throughout the whole evening as well. Appreciate your words. All right. Board members. Uh next order of business is adjournment. Superintendent. Appreciate it. Board members. Any other further business to come before the board? All right. At this time, this meeting is now adjourned. Thank you.