001Good evening. Good evening. All right. All right. I just want to wish uh you know to extend this warm welcome to you uh everyone that's present tonight. We've had a full day. Um so we're we're we're enjoying the energy we can feel in the room uh this evening. So the board, the superintendent and I, we're pleased that you have joined us as we celebrate student achievement. Um, we definitely have some great special recognitions for you tonight. Um, and we have a great guest with us as well. So, we're going to celebrate the great things that she's been doing. Uh, we're going to review some information tonight. We're going to make policy decisions. We do have a public hearing as well to evaluate some of our uh, policies related to the effective operation of the P
002County School Board. So, I'd like to call the April 22nd, 2025 regular school board meeting to order. Um, so if we can all stand, I would like to invite Reverend Harris if you can come forward and lead us in our invocation. And if we could all please just uh continue standing and remain standing for the pledge. Let us pray. The 863. Lord, thank you for the privilege of being able to live and represent this wonderful county and be a part of this wonderful system. I'm a Kathleen grad. I'm not ashamed of it either. 94. I'm so grateful as I look back at my academic and athletic life. I had Dr. Wright. I had Mr. Pool, I had Coach Joe, I had people who loved me and cared about me. And most of all, I had
003my mama. And I'm so grateful tonight. And I want to thank you for the mothers, the fathers, the grandparents, the aunties, the uncles, the godparents that help our students to achieve for the privilege of uh being partners. So we thank you for administrators. We thank you for our school board members. We thank you for every coach. Thank you for every mentor. We thank you for every school, every city. I'm an I'm a pastor in Lake Alfred. I thank you for the schools that are there too. Now have your way tonight. Thank you for this time of year where resurrections are possible, where reconciliation, redemption, all those things things can happen because of what we celebrated this weekend. So once again, Lord, help us to create, communicate, collaborate, think together tonight, all for your glory, all
004for your purposes. Thank you for the students. I teach eighth grade. I thank God that I see them every day. I thank you for their energy, their love, their passion. Thank you for the privilege of being able to teach them, to protect them, keep them safe, and give them hope and dreams and futures. Uh thank you for the privilege of serving you as an educator, myself, and for all the other teachers in the room today. Once again, Lord, have your way. Bless those who are coming. Bless those who are watching. Bless our conversations tonight. Yes, there there are some decisions that need to be made tonight, but I pray you would guide those who will be making them. And then when we leave this room, we will leave with a sense of oneness, community, family,
005realizing this really faith, family, and friends. And as I close this prayer, Lord, I thank you once again for my mama, K Fields. Thank you for all of the wonderful years you allow her to serve on this board. As her son, I'm proud tonight that I get a chance to do life with her. And I'm sure other young people feel the same way about their parents as well. Once again, thank you for family, Lord. Thank you for Poke County. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Reverend Harris, thank you for being with us tonight. All right. And if we can have our guest, Miss Pavitzki, if you can come forward and lead us. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one
006nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, you all may be seated except our guest this evening. Um, wow. I mean, just already we can see the accolades that's all over your uniform. So, we appreciate your service. Thank you. Um, so if you could just introduce yourself and introduce your guests. You have a full row of guests there with you as well. Okay. So, hello everybody. I'm Katherine Pavitzky. I am a JTC student at Winter Haven High School. Um, with me are my parents and a few other administration as well as my JTC instructor. Um, and this is my second year in the JTC program. Um, all of this is all from everything that I've done. Um, yeah, that's about so hobbies. I mean that's okay. Oh my goodness. Okay, so
007um I'm a part of my Raider team as well at our um within our JRTC program. This year actually we were the first female team to win become district champions as well as um second in the state. Um I love to run. I love to work out. I also am expecting to take a prep year at Georgia Military College and then um attend the United States Naval Academy for um and graduate as the class of 2030. Um so all of that's very awesome to me. Wow. Wow. Huge. And I think I read in your bio that you lead how many other individuals? Um so I am a class leader within my um within the program as well. So I lead my um specifically Yeah. my class and part of the company. I am also the
008S5 in our program. So, I um publicize our JRTC like within our Trident, our school newspaper on um anything you see on BDTV, I make sure that's all on there. Um yeah, and I also was the captain of my cross country team, my soccer team as well. So I did that before I start I joined JTC and then um then my life kind of shifted to more towards focusing on those sports. But Amazing. Amazing. And I mean I read that you're leading like 40 other cadets. Yeah, that's Yeah, we have about 40 in our company. Incredible. Thank you for your leadership. That's awesome. Um so I mean there's so many other questions we can ask. Um I think typically the next question like your favorite subject and I I read something uh in your bio
009about that. Yes, I my favorite like subject currently is computer science. Um and that would be my major at the Naval Academy. Um I've taken computer science for four years now, three years within the Cambridge program and then one now um AP. So I know um Python which is a compsai language as well as um VB and I'm look forward to learning a bunch more in the future. Um but it's truly um incredible to me to be able to work with like my teachers and all of that um to the Cambridge program is amazing at my school. Um, and I believe they have taught me a ton, whether it just be studying habits, um, or just a love for computer science and the problem solving that comes along with it. Wow. Incredible. Okay, so four
010years of that. Um, and you mentioned AP. What's the language base in that first iteration of the AP? Um, AP I'm in AP computer science principles, so that one is Python. We also have our school um, has the next step of that, which is Java, but I wasn't able to take that because it's fifth period and that's my JRTC class. So yeah, got to got to take that. Um but awesome. Very good. You told us a little bit about the Cambridge program. We're really um proud of the work that's happening within that program specifically across the district. So and you're representative of that in a big way. So thank you. Thank you. Um so maybe introduce your uh principal that you have with us as well. Um so our principal is here with us, Miss
011Gina Williams. Um she is amazing. She we see her a lot around school. Um like I swear you're everywhere I look. Um, a lot of our administrators are like Miss Bachmann as well who is with us today. Um, but yeah, our administrators at Winter Haven, I believe, are really, really amazing and are a really good representation of what um, they're able to do for the kids and um, help us to make sure we succeed. Oh, amazing. Uh, so you're so articulate. I didn't get a chance to ask the questions because you you just rattled off everything that we had. U, so really appreciate that. I mean, the biggest dreams, you know, I mean, that's the typically the last question. I mean obviously you're seeing postsecary and you're seeing some of those leaps but like way
012down in the future um once I am at the naval academy I hope to obviously graduate from there and with a computer science degree maybe go into um naval aviation the blue angels are incredibly inspiring to me they are so cool recently they were at sun and fun that was really cool um and then past that past military service if I don't do aviation doing something in cyber security and intelligence is definitely um a like goal of mine and then after the military doing like CIA or FBI intelligence work, maybe minoring in like psychology if I can. So, all of that is hopefully the path I end up taking. Yeah, very impressive. We are so happy that you're here. Uh we appreciate all the student achievement that you've accomplished and it's amazing. So, thank you
013so much. Um and thank you to our your guest for being with us as well. Uh if you can maybe you and your guest come to the middle there. We'd love to get a picture with you. And if as she's moving her way this uh towards the center, can we give her a round of applause? Well done. Well done, man. Impressive. Thank you so much for having me indeed. Thank you. Thank [Music] [Applause] you. All right, that sets the stage for us tonight. Um that's the good work that we take part in and um pretty humbling. So, thank you. Thank you. Uh board members, the first item on our agenda tonight is to accept our agenda. Superintendent Hyde, are there any revisions to the agenda as printed? Mr. Chair, members of the board, yes, there
014are. There are several amendments. Item E number two, approval of the minutes for March 25, 2025 schoolboard meeting minutes were attached and updated. Item E number five, approval of minutes from April 15, 2025 special board meeting general council interviews item was added. Item E number six, approve the minutes of April 16, 2025 special board meeting repres regarding general council interviews. An item was added. Item H number two, recommendation of bid award for the April 22nd, 2025 board meeting. One item was removed and an attachment was updated. Item K number 11, Winter Haven High School building 21 a building renovation. Attachments were updated. Item L number one, non-instructional personnel actions. Action attachment was added. Item L number two, administrative and instructional personnel act actions attachment was added. Item S number one, intram agreement with Fortress Secured
015LLC. Attachment was updated. Item S number two, charter review team nominee, Angelic Sims. Item was moved to the May meeting. Item S number three, charter review team nominee Shambria Campbell item was also moved to the May meeting. And lastly, item S number four, selection of general counsel candidate item was added. That concludes amendments for this evening, sir. All right. Thank you, superintendent. So, at this time, the chair will entertain a motion to accept the agenda for April 22nd, 2025 with the noted revisions. Do I have a motion and a second? I move. Second. All right. Mr. Keys made the motion and Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion? Seeing none, I'd like to call for a vote. So, the motion on the floor is to accept the April 22nd, 2025 school board um agenda as presented.
016All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? All right. I'll give you guys a moment to cast your vote there. I And any any opposed to that? All right. Very good. And that motion carries. Uh the next item up is our special recognitions. Superintendent, would you please lead us through our special recognitions? Mr. Chair, we do have two new administrators for this evening. If I may, um Miss Alex Wise, principal at El Elbert Elementary School, being promoted to acting senior director for school improvement. And Miss Julie Thomas, assistant principal at Elbert Elementary, is being promoted to acting principal at Elbert Elementary. All right. And then for special recognitions, at this time, I'd like to ask Mr. Justin Sharpless to step down to assist with this evening's recognitions. And if you would
017join me in welcoming Stacy Davis, director of library media services for the school library month recognition. Good evening, board members. Superintendent Hyde. Um it's very fitting that we're here tonight honoring two media specialists as April is school library month and that's the month where we get to recognize all of our library staff for the work they do to promote a love of literacy, foster inquiry, and create warm, welcoming spaces for our students, teachers, and our school families. The Florida Power Library Schools Award is a state award sponsored by the Florida Department of Education, Library Media Services, and the Florida Association of Supervisors and Media. To qualify, an applicant must be a certified library media specialist with at least three years in the library media center. The two media specialists being recognized tonight have been through
018a rigorous almost two-year process that starts with a survey of parents, students, families, community members, and then once they receive um acceptable survey um scores, then they move on to a digital portfolio. And after that, they go through an interview process with state supervisors and district library media. Um so um when they submit their portfolio, it goes well beyond just the beautiful library displays that you see when you visit our libraries, hopefully when you visit them. Um so it goes into what it takes um for collaborative instruction, what that looks like to enhance student achievement, creating a culture of reading, resource management, providing library access through regular classes and open checkout. We call that flexible scheduling, inviting uh providing an inviting inviting environment for all students and advocacy both within the school and throughout the
019community. Um and then after they submit their portfolio and they have their interview, then they wait for a few months and they see if they um get the exciting phone call that they got the award. Um so I have two of our media specialists that have this recognition. We have two more elementary media specialists that have applied. So I hope to be standing here next year and sharing that news with you as well. Um, so the first one I would like to recognize is Connie Hoffman from Davenport High School. Yeah. Yep. Go ahead and open up. So Connie gets her Florida Power Library School um designation from 2024 through 2029. So it is a 5-year award. At that time, she'll get the opportunity to renew that. And if she has friends or family, please come
020down and join them for the photo. Congratulations. [Applause] And our second recipient is Nikki Slingard from Malbury High School. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. Next, I'd like to welcome Carolyn JRO, director of recruitment and teacher engagement for the recognition of our graduates from Leading from the Classroom. Good evening. Good evening. Uh my name is Caroline JRo and I'm so excited to introduce and um celebrate some of our amazing teacher leaders. So leading from the classroom is a transform transformative program initiative that empowers teacher leaders to address campus challenges using the six sigma problem solving protocols. Participants identify and analyze issues, develop action plans, and share their solutions with principles and direct leaders to promote best practices across schools. This program fosters a collaborative environment where educators can drive meaningful change and enhance student outcomes through
021strategic leadership and innovation. We are so excited to see these teacher leaders make an impact beyond the walls of their classroom. So, we're going to go ahead and kind of go through names. We've got some awards for them and um just want to celebrate all the work they've done this year and we're excited to see the different action plans that you guys are going to initiate in your schools. Right. Our first one is Susan [Applause] Banner. All right. Meredith Brown. [Applause] Nerissa [Applause] Diaz, Jodianne Dice, [Applause] Anessa [Applause] forward, Catherine Horbett. [Applause] Tiffany [Applause] Jackson, Britney Keller, [Applause] Kimberly [Applause] McBride, Laura Northrup, [Applause] Amanda [Applause] Pope Oh, Nike Salapo. [Applause] And last but not least, Kristen Tucker. [Applause] Y I think if we could get just one round of applause. We really need to
022celebrate our teachers. Can we get everybody down for a group? Let's do a group picture. You want to come down from summer? Come on down too. And Mr. Was anybody not able to be here? Yeah, we do have a list of those who are not able to attend. Um, so we have about 30 30 total. 30 total. So it's just Do you happen to have those names tonight that you could read aloud or We can grab I don't know if we have the list of those who could not attend. We can pull it up real quick. You know what? If not, let's in we'll invite them to May 6th. Yeah, sounds good. Let's do that. Sounds good. Thank you. [Applause] Got you. And next, I'd like to invite Miss Janette Crowley, director Strategic Planning and
023Partnerships for this year's volunteer appreciation week recognition. All right. Good evening, school board chair, school board members, and superintendent Hyde. PK County Public Schools has over 20,000 approved volunteers serving nearly 130 school sites. These individuals give their time and talents to enrich the educational environment for our students by helping in media centers, front offices, and classrooms. They mentor and tutor students or they work on beautifification projects for the campus. And that's only a fraction of what these volunteers contribute to our schools. So, it's my pleasure that April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month and this week specifically is National Volunteer Appreciation Week and we look forward to honoring our school volunteer honores on Friday at our volunteer of the year award ceremony. But tonight, we want to recognize those behind the scenes at the school sites
024who make things happen for our volunteers, our rockstar volunteer coordinators and administrators. So when I as I I have three schools with us who are a model volunteer programs within our district. As I call them to join me, I will share some highlights about their specific school volunteer program. First, we have Barto Elementary Academy. Barto, please come up with principal Sarah Van Hook and volunteer coordinator Patty Cassullis. This school year, Barto Elementary Academy has over 300 volunteers providing over 3,500 service hours. BEA has one of the largest numbers of volunteers at one school site. One key to BEA success is having a high volume of parent involvement through their PTA or parent teacher association. Their PTA actively recruits parents to not only serve in PTA events, but to also take time to serve in classrooms
025and around the school. Volunteers at BEA also help in putting on the fall festival, which has raised as much as $10,000 for the school. In addition, they have been involved in schoolwide campaigns or positive behavior interventions and supports as well as attendance initiatives during FTE week. Due to the outstanding service of these volunteers, school culture has been positively impacted at BEA. We are so proud of Mrs. Van Hook and Mrs. Catsulus for their hard work and dedication by serving as an example of a great school volunteer program. [Applause] Congratulations. Next, I'd like to invite Davenport School of the Arts with principal Cindy Brighten and volunteer coordinator Carmen Morrow. Davenport School of the Arts has over 100 volunteers serving an astounding 4,100 hours this school year. And this is so far. The school prides itself on
026creating a relevant, resourceful, and welcoming community of volunteers with annual trainings, frequent communication over emails, social media, and physical flyers, and having more experienced volunteers guide the incoming volunteers. When asked about a success story, their 20th annual space night was first on their minds with volunteers involved in concessions, t-shirt sales, games, and workshops. But that's only one of many events that the school holds with volunteer support. Volunteers at DSA contribute to a sense of community and engagement where the culture is positive, the students are supported, and the parents are more invested in their child's education. Thank you so much to Mrs. Brightton and Mrs. Morrow and the team for their excellent work that you do each and every [Applause] day. Last but not least, we have Dundy Elementary Academy with principal Dr. Lana Heedley and
027volunteer coordinator Philip Daniels. Dundy Elementary Academy has over 130 volunteers this school year, putting in over 4,200 hours. One of the strategies that DEA uses for recruiting volunteers is training their staff members on the volunteer approval process to communicate with parents more effectively. The group of volunteers with the largest impact to the school is the PTA. They plan and coordinate fundraising events at the school in order to provide various items to enhance the learning environment. Volunteers also give teachers their full planning time by taking care of copies and laminations. They even financed a lesson planning program available to international balorate schools which led to learning gains and Dundy Elementary Academy earning an Agrade for the first time last school year. Congratulations Dr. Hedley, Mr. Daniels and the rest of your team for the amazing work
028at Dundy Elementary Academy. That concludes my presentation. Board members, at this time we have a another special recognition. and it's actually not on the agenda and that was done intentionally. So, I'm going to ask Miss K. Fields to please step down. That's that's okay. I should have waited till after she voted on my contract. But with all due respect, she deserves this recognition. I am absolutely thrilled to recognize Miss K. Fields on her most recent accomplishment. It's an it's an accomplishment on a long list of previous achievements and and I honored her at another meeting and wanted to do it here publicly amongst your peers. It's important that we do that. For those that don't know, board member Kay Fields was recently recognized by the NAACP as being a legendary individual in our community and
029we're thrilled to recognize you for that accomplishment. Welld deserved. And we're also very excited that your whole family is here this evening. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Y'all see my grand angry Miss Fields, the microphone is yours. And we'd love to get some photos of you and your family. Thank you, Superintendent. How you got this one totally surprised. Good. Uh, and what I would say is that God gets the glory. Nothing that I've been able to accomplish without him and without my family and without you all your support and the community support. And I'm just very appreciative. And uh and that's the end of the story. I am very proud of my two granddaughters. Come, come, come. I say we should have had grandb babies first. This is Avery. Avery, tell them what grade you're in. I'm
030in fourth grade. And where do you attend school? Windom Lakes Elementary School. Okay. And this is Ari. Come over. Oh, sorry. Okay. I go I am in fourth grade and I go to Lakeland Christian School and we're very proud of them. They're both a students and with great behavior. I think that's just as important as great uh academics. And I would like to thank the NAACP uh the Lakeland branch for acknowledging uh my work and what God has been able to allow me to do. And I know that Mr. is in the audience and I don't know if anybody else might be in but I want to thank them for the opportunity and thank God for the opportunity to serve well and for your family I don't think it comes as any surprise but when
031Mrs. Fields and I have a conversation on the phone. It always starts with a conversation about family. It always ends with a conversation about family. And she brags on every single one of you. I only hope my son turns out as good. So, congratulations. He will. Let's please take some photos. Um, come on down, sir. Am I coming back? No, you you can Mr. Sharpless. We'll take one with Mr. Sharpless in and one with you stepping out. How about that? But they're they were here and I don't they didn't come forward. Alex is here. Okay. Behind the scenes. All right. So, I don't need to call them again. No. Thank you all for helping us with the surprise. All right. See y'all later. If we didn't have work to do, I'd tell Miss Fields to
032go home. Yes, ma'am. Well deserved. Mr. Chair, that concludes special recognitions for this evening. Thank you, Superintendent Uh just a quick thank you to all those that joined us tonight. Uh next is our public comment for items on the agenda to be voted upon as adopted at the uh start of this meeting. Uh but you know before we begin I'll just sort of welcome the public and then go over our public comment process and the opportunities for the evening. Uh we'll have those three opportunities for public comment. Uh the first one would be for items on the agenda. Secondly, chair, I am so sorry. Do we miss one? Well, apparently it it got bypassed and when I read their names, they were not in the room. They're now with us now, those administrators. So, I'd
033like to have the opportunity. Absolutely. If I may, um to go ahead and recognize them. We we have with us this evening, Miss Alex Weise, principal at Elbert Elementary School, who's being promoted to acting senior director of school improvement. No, you don't get to nod. You just you got to come down here and be recognized and say a few words, please. Thank you, Superintender, as an administrator, and now as senior director under the direction of Miss Kendrick and Miss Nave. Miss Nave, who believed in me when I was just a principal at a small town and said, "Come, come to Elbert, help us turn it around. You can do it." Um to Mr. Roberts, who then continued to lead me and now here I am. Probably the most important thing is that when Miss Fields
034was up here and she was speaking with her family and she talked about serving and that is I share the same passion. I I love serving the community. It's not always easy but it's where my heart is and I hope that I can continue to do that as senior director. Thank you. Congratulations. Let me take a photo. Julie here. She was she did leave. Okay, we'll bring her back. Mr. Chair, we recognize the other, but we'll invite them back to be recognized publicly. Thank you, sir. Very good. Thank you, Superintendent. All right. So, we were uh in the middle of public comment and setting up that context. Um I'm actually going to slide down our agenda. We'll come back to public comment because we do have a total of three opportunities. There were only um
035cards signed up for non-aggenda items. So, I'll speak to that once we get to that part in the agenda. So, I'm going to slide down to E, which is the approval of minutes. Board members, we have been busy. Um we need to approve six sets of minutes and uh the first set of minutes is for the March 11th, 2025 special work session uh board retreat meeting. Uh the chair will entertain a motion to accept the March 11th um meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? So move. All right. I heard Miss Fields um make the motion and Mr. Keys second it. Any discussion? I don't see any discussion. So, I'd like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? And that motion carries.
036Give you a moment to um vote on your board docs. We'll keep that moving. Still waiting on three votes. We're good. Yes, sir. All right. Very good. Uh the second set of minutes is for the March 25th, 2025 school board meeting. The chair will entertain a motion to accept uh those meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? So moved. Second. Miss Wyatt made the motion and Mr. Keys second it. Any discussion? Seeing none, I would like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. Good. The third set of minutes is for the March 25th, 2025 work session meeting. The chair will entertain a motion to accept those meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a
037second? So move. Second. Mr. Keys made the motion and Miss Wyatt second it. Any discussion, board members? Seeing none, I'd like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any oppose. And that motion carries. The fourth set of minutes is for the April 8th, 2025 work session meeting. The chair will now entertain a motion to accept those meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? So moved. All right. I heard Mr. Sharpless made the motion and Miss Fields second it. Any discussion on those meeting minutes? All right, I'd like to call for a vote now. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? And the fifth set of minutes is for the April 15th, 2025 special board meeting general counsel interviews. The chair will
038now entertain a motion to accept those meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion and a second? Second. Miss Fields made the motion and Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion on those general counsel interviews, those meeting minutes? All right. Uh I don't see any other comments there. Uh, I will now call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed. And that motion carries. We are now down to our last set of minutes. And that's for the April 16th, 2025 special board meeting general counsel interviews. The chair will entertain a motion to accept those meeting minutes as written. Do I have a motion? All right. I've got a motion by Mr. Keys. Looking for a second. Okay. Mr. Sharpless second it. Any discussion? Seeing none, I'd like to call for
039a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. All right. The next item is approval of today's consent agenda. The chair will entertain a motion to accept the April 22nd, 2025 consent agenda as printed. Do I have a motion and a second? Second. Miss Fields made the motion and Mr. Keys second it. Any discussion on our consent agenda item. Pretty thorough, extensive consent. All right. Seeing none, I'd like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. I any opposed and that motion carries. So next we come to our action agenda for tonight and S1 is entitled the interim agreement with Fortress Secured LLC. Uh this came before us earlier today and the suggested action is to approve the interim agreement with Fortress Secured
040LLC. So the chair will accept the motion and a second. Miss Fields made the motion. Second and Miss Miller second it. Any discussion board members beyond what uh we discussed earlier today? All right. Seeing none, I'd like to call for a vote. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? And that motion carries. We are now down to S four and that one is entitled selection of general counsel candidate. Um I will accept a motion here in a moment. Um but before we do that, I just want to um try to give context. I know I've put this on record a couple times, but just to unravel uh where we were and um where we've gotten to today. So, before we take action, I just want to say thank you and congrats
041to our candidates. Uh this has been an extremely thorough uh and rigorous process. I mean, it's amazing the amount of data that we've uh had to sift through uh within the last few weeks. I would just say thanks to SGR and Doug Thomas uh for the great work you've done. Uh this important process that we're about to vote on right now was set in motion by an email that we received from Mr. West Bridges uh who sat on the end of the table over there and he said sent that to us on June 10th and the title of that email was to to sail into the sunset uh was the title of that email and it was after 26 years of dedicated service as our general counsel, Mr. Bridges announced his intention to retire. uh
042and that marked really the beginning of a thoughtful and thorough search to find his successor. SGR met with the board on January 14th to establish the timeline and the position profile and it was by January 17th that the expectations of this critical role was posted for the second time. Uh the application window closed in midFebruary and then on February 25th uh we as a board met to select our semi semi- finalist. Um, on March 25th, the board reconvened to determine our finalist. And then final briefing materials were shared with board members on April 11th. And then on April 15th, um, as the meetings reflect, the meeting minutes that we just voted on earlier, reflect that we convene as a board and met individually with each candidate. And then the preceding day on April 16th, we
043reconvened and went through an expens expansive list of interview questions with each candidate. Um, a great opportunity to engage with these amazing candidates. The final set of documents was handed uh to each board member which included an extensive reference check. And I want to say congrats to our finalists. Your qualifications and your willingness to serve our community uh are sincerely appreciated. So, at this time, uh, the chair will entertain a motion if anybody would like to make a motion. And Miss Wyatt, you are up first on the speaker list if you want to make a motion. Yes, I would like to make a motion to recommend Mr. Green as our next super as our next schoolboard attorney and sorry, Fred and um to have Dr. Allen and Mr. Mr. Murphy enter those negotiations with him
044to bring back a recommendation for contract. Can you also include Mr. Thomas and Mr. Thomas can participate in those conversations as well? Okay. Thank you, Miss Wyatt. We have a motion on the floor. Second. And Mr. Sharpless has seconded that. Uh any discussion, fellow board members, beyond um the hours of discussion we've had thus far uh to get to this point. Miss Fields, you are recognized. Thank you, Dr. Allen. We had a lot of discussion about this uh today and and last week. And I will uh say I will repeat what I said earlier today that um my concern is that Mr. Green does not reside in Pulk County and he would not be moving to Poke County until his son graduates from high school, which would be a year from now. However, interesting that
045my son prayed today and in his prayer, he said that he would want us to be unified and united. And from all indications during the work session today, it is obvious that the majority of you, if not the rest of you, are in support of Mr. Green. And because of that, I would hate for him to come thinking that he has one board member that might not uh want to work with him. So, he's not my first choice. I'll make that known. But I am willing to work with him and do whatever we need to do for the good of uh the school district and for our students and our families and our employees. All right. Thank you, Miss Fields. Any other comments, board members? Now's your opportunity. All right. Seeing none, I would like
046to call for a vote at this time. Those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Any opposed. And that motion carries. Thank you to all candidates um that participated with us. It was uh intense and a great opportunity to engage with uh some very highc caliber candidates for sure. And I see our staff uh Carolyn nodding back there. So, thank you for your time and your celebratory wave indeed. All right, we are now moving down to our public hearing. Um, again, there's three opportunities to speak. Uh, one on agenda items, secondly on our public hearing items, and then thirdly, our non-aggenda items. Uh we do not have any public um cards for the public hearing that we are about to enter into. So now I'd like to call this public hearing to order and
047we are at T1 and this basically for policy updates. This round of policies uh board members came uh before you during our February 25th, 2025 meeting and our March 25th, 2025 rule development meeting. So, we're not taking any action on this item tonight. However, this is your opportunity uh to bring forth any amendments or changes to the following policies that are in front of you. And I will list those policies. We have policy 9271 students receiving scholarships. Policy 7540.08 artificial intelligence. Policy 5505 academic honesty. So those those are the three policies that are before you on our last step in this policy development process. The next time you see it, it will come before you as an action item. So any discussion or amendments at this time? All right. I see no further comments or
048discussion on that. At this time, we will now close uh this public hearing. And the next item up on our agenda is the superintendent's report. Superintendent Hyde, do you have a report for us tonight? I do, Mr. Chair. Uh the next work session and board meeting will be held on May 6th, 2025. Work session will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the board meeting 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 Barto. I I'll just simply I'll leave um a few items on the table because I know board members will want to speak to those and I hate that I sometimes will steal your thunder. Um but there's a lot of great things happening in Pole County. We are
049in countdown mode. We are just shy of about 30 days till graduations. Um, so that's an exciting time. As you know, it's a very busy week for all of us. Um, but it's a great opportunity. Last year, we got to shake over 7,400 hands of our graduates. This year, we hope to see that number continue to increase. And as you all know, it's a fabulous event, and I get to participate not only as a superintendent, but as a dad this year. So, we're excited as a family. So, thank you for the opportunity, and thanks for all the Poke County Public Schools has done for our child. I'll leave it at that, Mr. Chair. All right. Thank you, Superintendent. Um, moving down, we have an opportunity for an attorney's report, but I don't think we have
050anything. We'll save it for next time, unless you have some words for us tonight. Just, um, I wanted to, uh, reiterate how, uh, grateful and and honored I have the opportunity to help serve in the role of interim general counsel for the school board. Um, it certainly is a privilege and it's something I do very much appreciate and um, look forward to continued um, assistance as needed. Indeed. Thank you, board members. Thank you, Mr. Murphy. All right. And then moving down, next up is the auditor's report. Um, we do not have an auditor's auditor's report tonight. Um, but since our last meeting, you've received the annual purchasing card inventory. uh Ridge Community High School payroll audit and then the Crystal Lake Elementary final payroll audit uh report as well. So if you have any concerns,
051please connect with Miss Matthews or the superintendent on those audit reports. Uh now we come to the part uh of our evening where you get a chance to reflect on uh some some things you've been involved in around the community. And I think what I'll do is I'll start with the highest number going down tonight. And that would be Miss Miller. Yay. You are recognized. Thank you. Um I just want to say that um I enjoy so much being in the community. One of my favorite events I'm glad the superintendent didn't talk about was the 96th 6th annual Pulk City cake festival or cake auction. Um that's where the city comes together and really raises money for kids. I I'm not sure what their total was this year. It was more than um we were
052bidding years before. So I think they were very successful. I think the superintendent got a cappuccino cake that was very tasty. And my husband outbid everybody for carrot cake as usual. Um it's a great fundraiser for that school. It really brings the community together. And I want to thank Mr. Bronson um who has been a long-standing supporter of Pulk City and and that entire community because he he really shows up for kids that evening. Also, um, Auburnale had the junior ROC cadet Riley Tapawan. She earned $150,000 Army scholarship for the Florida Southern School of Nursing. So, we're very proud of her and all of the Auburnale ROC. Um, Silver Garland was was just last week and that's one of my favorites as well. You know, Silver Garland isn't just students who do well academically. It's
053students who give back their time and are servant leaders. And I think we need more of that. And our youth, they're showing up and to hear about what the kids were doing. One young man already had a book published. Um it was great to see those students that evening. Um Sudden Fun was there. I think we might have mentioned that already. You had students from Winterhaven Aerospace Academy and our Lakeland campus on the ground helping all the tourists that visited and all of the people that flew their planes in. And I know they showed me around and helped me understand all things about airplanes. And so I'm not a big airplane fan, but I was that day and I learned a lot. Um Harrison celebrated 35 years at the Ritz Theater. I did not bring
054it this evening. I was going to bring um if you ever need to raise money, I have a problem at auctions. And so that evening I bid on a one-of-a-kind Grady Jud painting. So when I texted him and told him I won the painting, he said, "I'm not an artist. The painting is 15 years old. It was guns filled with paint, like water guns, and he created a crime scene that he signed, but it is one of a kind, and we were excited to get it that evening. It was a fun way to celebrate raising money for Harrison. Um they also auctioned off a Steinway piano. It was a great evening to raise money for their scholarships. Um, sending kids all over the country for summer camps to practice their art. And the last thing
055that I have listed is to recognize Lake Gibson's wrestling team. If you don't already know, they are um consistently winning and we did I think this year they did they weren't expected to win as many as they did, but they took several students who won district. They had state qualifiers. Um it was a great time to celebrate Lake Gibson wrestling. And I will leave the Winter Haven state champs to Sarah Beth even though that parade was fun. Thank you for inviting me. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Miller. And moving to district six, Mr. Sharpless, you are recognized. Thank you, board chair. Um, I want to start off um by congratulating board member Fields tonight. Recognition welldeserved. Thank you for your leadership and I think it was exemplified tonight by your decision to vote unanimously. I
056think that shows your character and I just appreciate being on the board with you. Um, one event that uh that I was able to participate in with many of my fellow colleagues here was Poke Vision's breakfast with the school board. Truly enjoyed that. Uh, you know, being a member of Leadership Poke class 18, the best class ever. Um, it was great to see for my uh to be there with my classmates as well as a school board member. Um they asked some some good questions of us. Um we have some great leaders in the alumni as well as the current class that were there. Um I would like to agree with uh board member Miller Silver Garlands. An amazing event. Um and I really like the new location of it there in the Ritz Theater.
057I I just it was was so neat this year that the students the finalists were in the tables below like below there right right there by the stage. I thought that was a neat um uh addition this year. Uh I always come away uh from that uh hopeful about the future of our country because they've got students that just give of themselves and give of themselves and just try to to make a better world and it's truly inspiring. Um, last thing, uh, want to say, uh, today is National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. And I I want to say school bus drivers, um, you're seen. You're valued. We appreciate what you do for our students. You're the first uh, smiling face many of our students see, and the last one they see for the day.
058and the fact that you bring our our students to uh our school sites in a safe manner is greatly appreciated. Um we can't really thank you enough for all you do on the front lines. Um you know just impacting our students and sometimes that smile they get at the beginning of the day sets them on a trajectory to make them successful. And so, um, this school board member appreciates you and wants to celebrate you on National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sharpless. Thank you, Mr. Sharpless. And we are now moving to district five. That would be Miss Fields. Thank you. I want to thank Superintendent Hyde for the surprise. Uh, wasn't anything that I expected, but I am very uh appreciative. I do have a question. Who was the
059cute little girl who gave me the gift? Do you know Olivia? That's Christina. Okay. She looks She's grown up. Y Olivia. Yep. She has grown up. Uh beautiful. I appreciate that. Um Mr. Keys and I both attended the about face awards uh breakfast uh the latter part of March. And that's probably my favorite event to attend where kids are have turned themselves around and and they're making some some good progress and we always want to hear that. So I want to uh commend uh Janette Crowley and her staff, her team for making sure that it's always a great event and the speaker was amazing. Uh he's an he was an alumni of our school district. He's now a police officer and he did a great job uh talking to the kids and being able to
060relate to them. So, I would say hats off to everyone that was involved in that event. And then I was able to stop by Kathleen High School for the family engagement conference that they had uh in March. And it was well attended. They had a lot of nice gifts that they were giving away to the to the students and the parents and it was uh very well organized and it was a great opportunity for our families. So, hats off to the staff who uh spearheaded that. And then I have a health strategy meeting next week. So once we have the meeting, I'll make sure that I come back and and give you all a report on what we cover. And um I want to thank John Murphy for uh stepping up and uh always being
061so uh knowledgeable and always uh being willing to advise us even when we don't want to be advised. Uh so we just want to thank him and you're not going anywhere. So we're just publicly thanking you, but you're not leaving. Okay? But we appreciate you. And uh that's that ends my report. Thank you, Miss Fields. Miss Wyatt, you're recognized. Thank you. It's that exciting time of year when all of our reports get a little bit longer. Um so since our last board meeting, I had the opportunity to attend the JA Discovery Center presentation at Tener High School. Um we had lots of great community members there, many of which have already signed up to be um sponsors of different storefronts. Um, so it was exciting to see not only all of the excitement, um, but
062we also had Congressman Franklin's office there as they're working on a, um, federal appropriation to for, um, support of that project. Um, Pulk Vision Breakfast that I know several of my colleagues have talked about. I was most excited and most proud that my biggest takeaway from the day was that we listen when Superintendent Hyde talks and he was really proud of us and that just made me feel proud. Um, we apparently are able to regurgitate the things he tells us. Well, um, so, but it was, they had great questions. Um, very, very in-depth questions. Um, and it's always nice to have I love that they include him up there with us so that we can pass the mic if, uh, anything gets too controversial. Um, Harrison, 35-y year anniversary. I will tell you to my
063colleagues, you do not ever want to be sitting between Lisa Miller and an auction because it is a scary place to be. Um I'm really glad she won because sharing a table with her, I was a little concerned as to what was going to happen had she not um gotten Grady's painting, but it is beautiful. Um city of Winter Haven, I want to give a huge thank you to the city of Winter Haven. Um, Miss Miller mentioned the parade that we were able to partake in honoring the state championships for Winter Haven. I do think it was partially a ploy to make sure that Superintendent Hyde did not go to the district tennis match that was happening because when he goes, things just don't always go in our favor. Um but we um they it
064it is a a herculean task to shut down a road during rush hour for a parade to have your staff there after hours to to facilitate to move stages. Um and they do it regularly for our students without even batting an eye. So, I want to give them huge kudos for for always doing what's best for kids and and not thinking about, you know, it would be a lot easier to say no most days. Um because they really do set the standard when it comes to great community partners. Silver Garland, there was a student there that has developed a bionic finger for their friend that played the played an instrument and couldn't do so. Um it just what all the things that they're creating are impressive and really does give you hope for the future.
065Um, also want to remind everyone that state of the county is this Thursday. I believe Mr. Sharpless is presenting with Superintendent Hyde. Um, so if you want to get a full view of what's going on in PK County Public Schools and the county at large, um, that will be at the, um, Pulk State Public Safety Building from 10:30 to 12:30. Um, and then last but not least, I want to recognize a student from Lake Region High School. Um they announced this morning that cadet Leticia Rodriguez has been award awarded the Gates Scholarship. Um she will receive funding for the full cost of attendance to Duke University. Her scholarship totals now her scholarships earned now total over $1 million. Um so again that's Cadet Leticia Rodriguez. Um and the Gates scholarship is a really big deal.
066So we want to make sure that that we recognize and celebrate her as well as all of our students that are receiving scholarships this year. And that concludes my report. Thank you, Miss Wyatt. And Mr. Keys, you are recognized. Oh my gosh. Well, I echo what Mrs. Wyatt says. It seems like when we get to this time of the year that does let's get along and and and um I appreciate everyone and us going around the county and running to each other and seeing the the commitment this board has to being there and being present is remarkable. So, I won't repeat some of those. You know, we talked about the about face awards, the leadership breakfast, um being at the city of Winter Haven for the proclamation, the girls basketball team, all wonderful things. And
067I got to do a couple other unique things that I was really happy to attend. One of those was uh Summerland Academy sophomore dining out. The superintendent was there. What an amazing event to be able to see those students and the things that they learn as far as etiquette. I will tell you what what my my wife was with me and one of her comments was like it was so refreshing to have conversation at a table because the phones are not there. Those devices are not in they're not allowed and so we're going around the table having meaningful conversations and I think that was one of the things that stood out the most is that we can still do that in this digital age. Um another one of those things was I got to attend
068was the schoolastic uh art and writing awards. Um I get emotional at these things. the amount of talent that is present in this district just never ceases to amaze me. Um, and and the commitment these students have to their craft. Um, and this is a very prestigious award and these students that get these top awards, they go on to be recognized in New York City and there's going to be a big event um, you know, at the culmination of that at Carnegie Hall Winter Stand, the winners from the the national event. So, what an honor to be a part of that and even as much so as as um and much to my detriment when I go home and tell my wife these things is that um I've become a fan of kind of purchasing
069artwork and I was able to secure I I spoke with Mrs. Perry and one of the pieces of art in the gallery just jumped out at me and um was able to um hopefully here at the end of this month acquire a piece of art that a student produced and just excited to do so. But my wife is like where are we gonna hang that at? We we'll make a place for it. But but I think it's a sense of giving back and you know and telling we're so proud of you and and I encourage you if you get a chance to go to these awards or that display that's still up at the uh Pulk Museum of Art now the actually Gibson Barnett Museum go by and look and you will not be disappointed.
070Um and then I went to uh Davenport School the Arts annual dance recital. Um again just the the amount of talent we have the time these kids pour into their craft is amazing. Um, and then I guess finally, I'll I'll ask that um you guys keep me in your prayers. I'll be traveling this this uh Friday and Saturday or Thursday and Friday coming up to going to Gainesville to the second part of the um schoolboard finance forum. Um try to learn and bring those those things knowledge that I bring back to here. And um uh I said that was final, but one more thing. Um so in my district is is 19 schools across 17 different sites. What a task to to try to complete those. So, and and in and being new to this
071role, um was able to visit the past two Mondays, 10 of those sites, and just the excitement that you see from the administrators, um the staff when you come and visit and they want to tell you all about what's happening at their campuses and the energy they pour into that is amazing. Um, everybody is so individually proud of what they're accomplishing and to see the commitment that our administrators and our staff and educators have um to their individual schools and the cultures they're building is is absolutely phenomenal. So, um, that's the end of my report. A lot of stuff, but appreciative to be able to do that indeed. Thank you board members. Um, Mr. Keys, appreciate that as well, man. Y'all are so active. Um, I I thought the Pulk Vision was a a good
072standout um event as well. And I'm thinking of superintendent's positive comments. He was like a little proud papa uh over there and commending you all for the the knowledge and um experience that you brought to that. Uh so that was a great event. Um the other one that I was going to highlight was if you get a chance to take part in the lunch and learns. I know Miss Coil uh typically tries to target uh various industry uh partners to come in and speak with students. Um I had an opportunity uh to reach out to President Martin. He's the new president at Florida Southern and he sponsored that lunch and learn at Lakeland Highlands Middle just recently and uh I think we had about 40 students that were present in that space and they were
073the prevideo game academy students. Um, so I had a chance to go over and speak about my discipline um that I teach, but I also brought two um Florida Southern students who graduated in PK County schools and had a chance to for me just to set up the context, but set, you know, step aside and let those students share their work and their discipline and uh it was really neat to see the students respond uh to to their work and what they've been working on. So uh pretty inspiring to see our PULK students um share their their knowledge and pass that down the line. So uh those sort of wrap up my comments as well. Uh we will now transition to our board um rather our public comments and this is our last item on
074the agenda. So uh this would be public comments addressing items not on our agenda tonight. So, as noted earlier, to register to speak, community members must fill out a speaker card in the lobby prior to the meeting. Um, all speakers will be given three minutes. The light will turn yellow when you have one minute left, and you'll hear a beep when your time is concluded. Please note that although uh the board encourages community participation, no immediate action will be taken on items presented during the uh public comment portion of the meeting. If a follow-up board action is required, uh then the matter may be placed on the agenda at a subsequent meeting uh in accordance with the school board policy. I have a list of individuals who have signed up to speak today. Uh could
075you please come forward when I call your name? Just state your name and your address for the record and then you'll have those three minutes to speak. Uh first off, we have Victor Chandler. So, if you can come forward, please. And then on deck, uh we would have Stephanie Yokum. And for the person on deck, there's a red line. So, if you can stand at the red line um so we can keep things moving this evening. Victor Chandler, Eagle Lake, Florida. Uh last time I brought to you a sheet and asked you for some information just to see whether you would know and if you could just leave it at the desk and I didn't expect to get it because I didn't think you knew it. The first one was the amount of actual spent
076on teacher salaries, base salaries from 2324. That gives you how much you actually paid last year. The projected amount spent on teacher salaries 2425. That would tell you how much you expect to spend this year. And of course, the increase in cost from that of 2324 hiring additional teachers. If you take how much you spent last year, you projected how much you spend this year, that is how much new reoccurring revenues are necessary. That is actually your real cost. It's called a financial procedure based on uh cash flows. If you subtract the additional teachers, then you have how much is actually spent on raises. You say, well, what is the difference? What do you do? Well, you it comes down to how you use steps. steps for teachers. You've heard it before. Step raise. There's
077no such thing as a step raise. Steps do not increase the salary schedule. They do not increase your step your cost. If you want a simple example, if we went back 50 years and said, okay, let's just take and give teachers, every teacher a step for 50 years, and let's just replace those that retire. Okay, let's do that for 50 years. What would it look like today? same salary schedule, same number of teachers, and if you had the same distribution, same cost. Step raises do not have cost. Okay? Allocating reoccurring revenues for that purpose allows you because it's not going to get spent on allows you to transfer money to other purposes. Now, now's when you get into the legal little legal hassle here. When the state says, "Okay, this amount has to be spent
078on teacher salaries." Do they mean it's an increase from what it was last year, or do they mean you can use it to cover steps, which are not a cost? And that's what you've done. You got another problem. You use it to as uh calculating their average rates. Well, if you use it to increase their average raise, a step raise is a raise for an individual but not for a position. If you use it to calculate the raise for the teachers and then you increase a position by the same percentage, they gain a financial advantage. Both of those have severe legal implications that you better consider because I will find out whether you spent the money or not. Thank you, Miss Chandler. Mr. Chandler, Miss Yokum, you're up. And then on deck, we have Octavio
079Hernandez. Stephanie Yokum, Lakeland. I'm actually speaking as a parent tonight. Um, so most of you know where my son goes. Um, I am the PTO secretary for Carlton Palmer as well and I'm on their sack committee. Um, we have come up to an interesting um, situation and I talked to Mr. Hyde about it last week. Um, and I've also emailed the Lakeland City Commission because it is my understanding that they are the ones that deal with the signage and the and the blinking lights for the school zones. So, right now on Cleveland Heights in front of Carlton Palmer, there are no blinking lights. People speed down that road during school zones all the time. We finally got signage and that took one of the other parents pretty much making Lakeland PD come to a traffic
080study and sitting there and watching this happen. We finally got signage and the times are incorrect. We are going to be working on that, but I'm asking for your help. Um, we need some flashers out there. We don't need anything fancy that has speed limits on it, you know, or the speed people are going. We need flashers to to so people can recognize that they're in a school zone if they didn't see a bunch of kids walking into school already in a big school. Um, and so the speeding on Cleveland Heights is really bad. And we're we're wanting the city commission and we would like your help um to talk to the city commissioners as well. Talk to Mayor Mutz. What do we need to do to get flashers out there? What is the cost?
081Do they need a cost share? Um and it's really not just my son's school. There are a lot of schools in this county that do not have flashers with the school zones or anything that really notes that we're in that they're in a school zone. Um, and so we are asking that our school board work with the city municipalities, with the county commission if it's a county road, so that every school has noticeable school zones so that people can slow down. Um, we've had multiple deaths over the last few years of children being killed or being hit by vehicles because they're going too fast, people are not paying attention. Um, and so we are specifically at my son's school looking for some help. But I know that there's other schools that need that help as
082well. Um, and so I'm not quite sure uh where to go from here. Um, Commissioner Landi had sent it over to public works and so I will be attending the next city commission meeting to bring this to the their attention if they did not see it. But as the school board, I'm asking on behalf of our school for your help so that we can get school zone flashers at every school, not just at Carlton Palmer. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Yoken. Octavia Hernandez is up and then we have Andrea uh Mayos on deck. Have an update. Um so staff been working on this. Miss Yokam spoke to me about it. Um there are light poles actually in front of that school and we talked we spoke about this campus earlier today because of the congestion
083and anticipated increased traffic with the YMCA expansion. Um in speaking with staff, Mr. Davis did indicate that in the past there have been instances where we've purchased the school zone flashers and signage and then the city or municipality agreed to maintain those. So, we've been working through that process. So, while Miss Yokum is obviously welcome um to attend a city council meeting or um I would encourage her to give us a little bit more time to see what solutions we may be able to propose um because again we have done that in the past and as I explained um to Miss Yokum previously and it's it's in fairness make sure the board is aware of this in our flawless opening process. So back about 3 years ago, we developed a flawless opening document. Every school
084completes it to ensure that they're prepared to start the next school year. Part of that flawless opening document this year includes a safety audit of their roadways leading to their campus. Um and whether or not they have crosswalks, whether or not they have flashers, whether or not their signage is is clearly visible, clearly clearly posted um for school start times and and things of that nature. So, we'll have a much better understanding so that we can go ahead and develop, like we spoke about earlier, a plan. It it can't all be done in one year. Um, go figure. School flashers and speed zone signs are actually on back order most of the time. So, the the manufacturing process is what it is. So, I'll be happy to provide you with an update. I'll be happy
085to provide Miss Yoken an update in her role as a parent and PTA member at Carlton B. All right. Thank you, Superintendent, for the update. And Octavia, you're recognized. Uh, good evening, school board. My name is Octavio Hernandez. I am a teacher at Hayne City High School. Uh, today I come to you as a club sponsor for our club, Nova. It's a charter at Hane City High School. Some of you guys remember it from a couple years ago from Davenport, and now we started a new one. Uh, some of our former students, uh, Andrea Maya Mayas, she's our our president. uh Samantha Perozo, Lesa Baston, Jonathan uh Filas, and Katherine Davis are going to come and speak today about certain issues that happen at Hay City High School because that's uh the concept of this
086club is things that we can't see as parents, as teachers, as community members. Only students can see from their point of view, issues that we might take for granted. And I we created this club so my students could understand how to actually make a difference and how to actually make a change in their community. Not just hit a like post on Facebook or share it with their friends on Instagram. Actually uh make a difference in their community. U come here and speak to you guys because at the end of the day you guys are the ones that have the ability to make a difference in our community and I want to show our students what it actually takes. you know, coming up here, speaking of um issues from lighting in our parking lot like in
087Davenport to our longer lunches, and I appreciate that. Thank you so much. And believe me, our students now know that we're getting 30-minute lunches, and they will tell you how happy they are. Uh at Davenport High School, they implemented that extra five minutes, and you know, my son goes there and he had told me himself, he goes, "Dad, that those five minutes make a big difference. It makes a big difference between you just getting being able to go to the bathroom instead of having to make a decision between, you know, talking to your friends, restroom, or eating." And those are the kind of changes that we want to make in the community in Poke. Things that we can change, but you might overlook because there's so many things that you have to worry about. But
088I'm so proud of these kids. Uh, you know, coming out here and driving an hour. Thank you parents for driving them and sisters to coming out here. I appreciate it. It's not an easy drive as you may know. You know, going out there to Hane City and Davenport. The traffic is uh it's ridiculous as as we know as the fastest growing county in the United States. So, I appreciate you guys welcoming my uh our students here at Hane City because at the end of the day, it's their community and it's their school and the future is theirs. And uh I'm so proud of them for them to come out here. But I would hope so that in a way in the future there's a way for our students to be able to um especially from
089the northeast side of Poke to come here and engage and have an actual discussion with you guys because it's difficult. You know, I understand that you want people to sign up before 5:00, but school ends at 2:30, by the time you get home is 3:45. And that's the students, the parents, you know, most parents get home at 5 or 6:00 to get over here on time. It's very difficult and we need to have their voices heard because they are the ones that are living through the decisions that that we are making as administrators, as teachers, as schoolboard members. And I appreciate you guys. Welcome them here because I'm so proud of them. And uh without further ado, thank you very much. Thank you, Octavia. Andrea Mihas is up and then we have Jonathan Gora. Good
090evening, school board. My name is Andrea Mahas and I am a student at H City High School and I am the president of Nova. Today I would like to reflect with you on an experience we had recently. A couple of weeks ago we got the chance to host and talk with exchange students from Germany. They share their culture and describe what their school system was like. Unlike us, they have breaks spill into their schedules which gives the students time to reset before diving into another lesson. They told us how this breaks improve their ability to focus, allow them to socialize, and most importantly prevents them from burnout. In this exchange of experiences, I realize how beneficial having breaks can be for students. They help us ultimately have a better performance since it allows our brains
091to not get overwhelmed. And the constant paste and copious information we receive every day and from every class can get very overwhelming. This problem is not just about getting to bed earlier. It's about how our school schedules are structured and the lack of time given to students to recharge throughout the day. Our classes are about 48 minutes long and it can get very stressful as we learn a topic during that time frame but must use our after school hours to apply the concepts and get the work done. Now imagine a student that just spent eight hours at school and must get home to process it all and keep working when they get to their house. We need to learn to have a balance between our school and personal life in order to maintain a healthy
092mental state. But it's hard. Some students are at the stage of life where they have jobs. Others may be part of clubs or sports and they require practice and time. While some of the extracurricular activities may be hard to manage, those students have shown to struggle with keeping up with their classes. And those activities do require more time. And unfortunately, us as students don't have the power to make days last longer. With looking at different schedules for our schools, we may be able to find what we the balance we want. A schedule with about three to four classes per day may give us the chance to implement at least two breaks that will benefit the students the most. This change will also allow students to have a subject for a longer time frame which will
093most likely result in a better understanding of the concepts and leave more room for discussions and clarifications during class time. Thank you. Thank you for your leadership. Uh Jonathan is up and then we have Caitlyn uh Davis on deck. Testing testing. Good evening everyone. My name is Jonathan Phil Garrisa and I am a student I am a student for the Nova Club at H City High School. As you may be as you may already be aware of Hay City High School is one of the largest schools in Pulk in Pulk County with over 3,000 students. Our bathrooms are too illquipped to handle everyone. As as a bathroom on average only has three stalls and two sinks, which is nowhere near enough to accommodate for all of us at the same time. And it gets worse.
094We're we are only given 7 minutes to to use the bathroom in between class changes. That may sound like a lot, but you have to consider the fact that groups of students gather at the bathrooms waiting to use it as there are only three stalls. And that time may seem seeming like a lot dissolves gone in the blink of an eye. And teachers also go through the same thing as they have to teach the students for 50 minutes and then they barely get any time to use the restroom as they have to greet the the students coming into the next period. Their only chance is during their planning period or during lunch. Now how can we combat this? We do have we have to take into we have to take into account that Hay City
095High School is a very old school and simply remodeling the bathrooms to increase its capacity is just simply not enough. I have proposed an alterior that we build that we gain funding to build portable bathrooms near our more populated areas such as building one, building 20 and near the cafeteria so that there's more accessibility and it can reduce the stress for the students. Thank you for your time and have a marvelous day. Thank you, Jonathan. Caitlyn is up next and then we have Samantha Prosa. You're recognized. Good evening everyone. My name is Caitlyn Davis and today I want to talk about why our school board should consider allocating funding for Hay City High School sport amenities. Sports play a crucial role in teaching essential life skills. Participation in sports cultivates teamwork, discipline, and leadership qualities.
096Students learn to work together towards a common goal, developing communication skills, and fostering friendships that can last a lifetime. I personally have some of my closest friendships in sports and I have no regrets about playing only on the points that arise only on the points that that I bring up. By investing in our sports facilities, the school board is investing in the personal growth of students and preparing them for the challenges they will face in life. Enhanced sports amenities can boost school spirit and community involvement. It creates an environment where school pride can flourish. Though a main issue that I myself and I'm positive other athletes experience is the mental fact that comes with knowing your school's amenities quite frankly do not look just as good as others. Depending on where you go to play,
097the funding or the budget for for things at a school can affect we the students. A prime example I hear from some of my peers is our baseball field. Though our team may play well, you can guess how much it affects a student and their playing. I asked a few classmates of mine and the general response about these fields varied from underwhelming outdated appearance to serious safety issues which I understand. Some issues brought up the fact that these issues affect their playing as well. Some not running as fast or playing to their full abilities for risk of injuring themselves. And so putting these perspectives just after their mental health could genuinely affect actual safety and health. Of course, this is just a few out of all our athletes, though I speak for a lot of
098them when I say better sport anemmones will give our players more reason to be proud of playing for their school and overall about playing. One solution we came up with is a fundraiser hosted by Hay City and other schools. Maybe an event at the beginning or end of the year, something that introduces the teams and the sports to the parents, something that can help raise the money for these sports amenities. In conclusion, funding our school's sports amenities is an investment in the health, development, and the spirit of our of our schools and community. I urge the school board to consider these benefits seriously and support our initiative for enhanced sports anemities. Thank you. Thank you, Caitlyn. And Samantha, you are up. And then we have Larsa Bashion. Good evening. My name is Samantha Barroso. I
099am a student at I am an Ivy student at Hay City High School and part of the Nova Club. Today I will be talking about accessibility of sanitary products in girls bathrooms. As you know, PK County is a title one county making our students receive free lunches as many of them can't afford them. Now consider that if a student cannot afford lunch, how can one expect them to have enough money to buy sanitary products? In the US, it's estimated that 16.9 million people who menrate live in poverty with twothirds of them struggling to afford menstrual products. If food needs should be accessible to everyone, so should basic hygiene products like sanitary products for women. School should be able to facilitate a sanitary environment and students shouldn't have to worry about having an accident because the
100teacher will let them go to the bathroom. not having enough time to go to the bathroom and change their pad during transitioning or not having any extra pads or tampons. Students should be worrying about their grades, clubs, and personal lives, not a process that their body has to go through every month. Students should at least have the reassurance that schools are able to provide these products for them when they have no access to them. One solution I learned about is installing a cabinet in girls bathrooms filled with tampons and pads. These products can be donations made by the students and a way to encourage students to donate is by creating school events and or giving them goodie bags as a form of gratification. A trash can or a place where they can dispose this product,
101the sanitary products will also be installed because it will not only help with the accessibility of these products, but it will also help to stop the problem of clogging the toilets in girls bathrooms as currently there are no trash cans and girls resort to flushing them down the toilet. Additionally, a place to dispose these items is essential as it prevents biohazards and health problems as anything having to do with blood is a biohazard. No girl or female teach or female teacher should ever be embarrassed because of their periods at school. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. And we have Liza and then Joel Vogle on deck. Good evening members of the P County School Board. My name is Le Sebastian and I attend H City Senior High. I stand before you to
102propose something necessary to have the most efficient community possible. Transparency and communication. It's time we build a stronger connection between the decisions made in this room and the people that they affect the most, the students and their families. Our schoolboard meetings should not just be places where decisions are made behind closed doors or discussed in ways that feel distant from our daily lives. What I suggest is to make a platform, an accessible and interactive space where the student body and parents can be informed about what's happening and more importantly where their inputs can be heard. Education is not one sizefits-all. Every family, every student faces different challenges. Whether it's decisions about curriculum, school safety, mental health resources, and other opportunities, it is imperative that we use we include the voices in our community in these
103conversations. What I imagine is a digital hub or app student and parents can receive updates in the policies being proposed and passed. A space where they can submit feedback, ask questions, or suggest ideas that come from their lived experiences. This isn't just about convenience. It's about making our school systems more responsive towards the community, therefore making it more effective. At the end of the day, these decisions shape our future. They shape the kind of education we receive, the environments we learn in, and the opportunities we have beyond the classroom. When students and parents are brought into the process, we're not just investing in better policies. We're investing in stronger relationships, greater trust, and a school system that reflects the needs and values of not only our students, but this community. This is about more than
104academics. It's about livelihoods. It's about preparing students not just for tests, but for lives life. And to do that, well, we need a system that is ready to listen. So, let's build that platform that allows for these opportunities. Let's make P County a leader in inclusive communitydriven education. When we work together, we don't just improve our schools, we empower the future. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Let me say thank you collectively to the group of students. Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Joel [Applause] Vogle, you are up. And then Ashley's on deck. Sorry. Good evening. Uh my name is Joel Vogel. Um and I came come to you guys today just um uh as a father and I'm here to ask for help. Um my daughter is a seventh grader.
105She's at Lakeland Highlands Middle School. Um she told uh my wife and I some very very disturbing things about some things that her teacher had said to her. um including um the teacher asking if if uh any of the students had crushes on their teacher and saying things like, "Oh, well, you know, age is just a number." Um we immediately reported to the school. Um everything was done pretty quickly as far as getting the information in. There was an investigation done. Um, and we did learn today that uh the investigation has concluded and was not fired or even suspended or anything for his behavior. Um, my daughter also reports that uh he likes to get close to female students um stand close behind them and he's done this to her um to rub their shoulders
106and breathe on their necks. She's 12 years old. Um, I don't have all the information. I don't know how many times been reported uh for this in inappropriate behavior, but I have been told this isn't the first time. Um, I know that there is due process here. I know that um we have to conduct interviews, gather evidence and everything before making uh and we don't want to make rash decisions, make decisions too quickly. Um, and we have to make sure that uh processes is followed. Um except the first job here is is really to keep our kids safe. Uh that should really be our first job especially from um from people who would pray on them and from uh especially from people who are in authority over them like a teacher. Um we have done
107what I feel like we can as far as keeping her safe. We have removed her from class. We've reported his behavior. We have applauded her for doing what many haven't. Standing up and saying something even when it was very difficult to do so. Um but at this point um there's nothing more that I know that I can do uh to really protect those um those who are the innocent. Um I know that uh I know there are more details out there that I don't have access to that I know the people in this room you guys probably have access to. And I know that um I'm convinced that anyone who asks and and does any investigation on menty or interviews any of his victims knows that he's not safe and he has no business anywhere
108near a school. Um this is not the time to hide behind any kind of due process. Time to take a stand and to do what's right because it's right and to protect our children. Thank you. Thank you, Joel. and Ashley is up next. Good evening. I'd like to read something to you. You're 12 years old and have almost finished your first year at a new school. You have you love all your teachers except for one. He makes you feel icky, but you can't quite put into words why. You've heard him make sexist and homophobic jokes, but you try to brush them off. You notice how he lingers over the girls shoulders and makes excuses to touch them and massage their shoulders the same as he does to you. He doesn't do this with the boys.
109He poses a question to the class one day. Y'all ever had a crush on a teacher? The class murmurs different nos. He doubles down. Oh, come on. When I was your age, everyone had crushes on their teachers. A boy you don't know yells, "They're like 60 years older than us." Your teacher replies, "Oh, come on. Age is just a number, right?" You go back to your classwork, head down, and start writing. He comes up behind you. You can feel his hands caress your shoulders, then grab them as he draws his face so near to yours that he can feel his you can feel his breath on your neck. This may sound like a sick writing exercise, but each and every detail mentioned came from the report that my 12-year-old daughter made to Lakeland Highlands Middle
110School two and a half weeks ago. Since then, my daughter has been removed from class per her father's and my request. She fought us on this decision because she has a friend who is timid and shy in that class who quote, "He likes to touch even more than me. and I feel like I have to protect her and comfort her after he's done caressing her. She had an A in his advanced civics class, but was moved down to a remedial civics class. Her class schedule has been changed around at the end of the year. She has been outed as the whistleblower at her school. And after all of that, came up behind her after grabbed her shoulders, pulled her close and said, "Why did you move outside of my class?" My daughters is the latest
111in a long line of accusations against and he is still teaching. Why is my daughter bearing the punishment of his inexcusable and disgusting behavior? And how many more young girls need to report him before you remove the wolf from the flock that you are here to res pro protect? I understand respect that you have due process to protect your teachers. Teachers are a valuable resource. Has been reported multiple times over multiple years by multiple young girls and is exhibiting clear signs of physical and psychological grooming behavior and why are we waiting till it escalates into abuse? Would you consider it abuse if it was your daughter that was massaged? Thank you, Miss Fogl. All right, board members. Next order of business is adjournment at this point. Any other further business to come before the board?
112And this meeting of the PK County School Board meeting is now adjourned. Thank you.