School Board Meeting | October 22, 2024

001[Music] the [Music] well good evening as it got quiet and you can actually hear that music I I can see everybody out there Jing with the music so so glad you're here I just want to extend a warm welcome to everyone present uh the board the superintendent and I were pleased that you have joined us um and we're here to celebrate celebrate student achievement review information and make policy decisions related to the effective operation of the P County School Board and we're humbled to do that uh I would like to call the October 22nd 2024 regular school board meeting to order now uh I know that we've got Dr Craig miles who's going to lead us in our invocation and if we can all please stand and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance so

002Dr CRA miles if you can step forward thank you please let me pray for you Lord we thank you so much for this day and for the grace you've given us to be here tonight Lord I'd ask your blessing upon all the proceedings that are going to go on tonight Lord we thank you for the joyous occasions Lord we thank you for the recognitions and Lord also for the challenges and serious issues that need to be dealt with Lord father ask you would calm our hearts from the busyness and the stresses of the day and Lord that all the words that are spoken here tonight will be filled with your grace Lord in your wisdom Lord we need you we are not sufficient for the problems of the day on our own but Lord we

003know that we can do all things through you and you strengthen us Lord and father we ask for that Grace tonight Lord may your richest blessings please abide upon this board tonight as they make decisions as they discuss the important issues Lord father would you please bless the staff and the faculty and Lord most of all would you bless the students of this school district and their families Lord we need your blessings at this time we call upon you we humble ourselves and we thank you that you hear and answer prayer it's in Jesus Christ's name we pray tonight Lord amen amen appreciate your uh service in the classroom at War University thanks for being here tonight all right so we have a special guest tonight that's going to lead us in the pledge so

004Miss Sarah if you can come forward and lead us in our pledge tonight I pledge of 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 right wow wow powerful all right so everybody can go ahead and take a seat except you Miss Sarah if you can step forward you are the star tonight oh she wants she wants the microphone wow absolutely hey is anybody willing to give up their seat I mean she she wants to sit up here Miss Sarah that's amazing I can tell that you are a leader just by the way that you let us you're ready to act so we're so thankful that you're here with us tonight so we're going to

005hear a little bit about you um but first of all could you maybe introduce or let us know who you have with you tonight today I have with me my principal Miss Blackman and my and one of my assist principles Mr Williams wow and my mother all right very [Applause] good Mom I'll never forget you very good and what school do you attend I attend Gardner Academy all right very good right in your neck of the woods there miss Wyatt all right very good now we need to understand a little bit about you can you tell us something about yourself well I take karate classes and I do love to dance but most importantly I want to create toys for disabled children who may not be able to learn like us M huge huge very

006good wow I'm I'm hearing all kinds of new things that we did not uh prepare for it's pretty impressive here um so by the way I love the bats yes very cool uh great timing so can you tell us um some Hobbies or anything like that well karate is one of my Main Hobbies but also I like to play with my dolls and create scenarios M yeah yeah so when I was reading your bio I saw something that you like to create stories and you like to build things with Legos yes wow one time I tried to create uh what was it oh yeah I tried to create the Barbie leg Lego sign I still couldn't do it but I never gave up even though I did give up it was a lesson learned love

007it love it that's pretty impressive so watch out yes that's amazing so you've got a little bit of arts and you've got a passion for Sciences almost like an engineering mind so keep pursuing that um so okay so tell me something about your favorite subject do you have a favorite subject in school yes my favorite subject is reading my favorite subject for reading and why is because well once I get into a book I can't get out of it it's like I'm stuck in the book and I'm a character I love it and that is amazing yes so I hear that you have a pretty high level of reading yes so far as I know I have scored a three or four and a five in my reading fast tests yes awesome all right so

008just so we can collect can we understand again what you're dreams for the future are well my dreams for the future are so that I can create some toys so that other children that may not be able to do things like other people they could still enjoy life I love it love it so all right so the last question for you is can you tell us something that you like best about your school well it's kind of hard cuz I just love my school it's a really really great school but most thing that I love about it is that even though your teachers might be strict they're not too strict and they're not too soft on you m so they're just right yep that's right we do have some great staff members as well so

009you're amazing we are so happy to have you on our board tonight it just starts it off right so I really appreciate your successes and the ability to share those with us tonight and we will take that with us as we make decisions so thank you so much so if you could um have your guest come up forward here and we're going to get a picture uh before we dismiss you amazing oh well done well done [Music] man that's amazing uh we want to have that same passion when we open a book right indeed indeed all right um 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 yes sir Mr chair members of the board Item B number one

010under new administrators that was updated item E3 approving minutes of the September 3rd 2024 Schoolboard meeting an item was added item J number one 2025 District reorganization an item was removed item K number one non-instructional Personnel actions attachments were updated item K number two administrative and instructional Personnel actions attachments were updated and item s number five settlement of the 2024 2025 asme bus employee contract salary agreement the description was updated that concludes any changes this evening sir all right thank you superintendent so at this time the chair will entertain a motion to accept the agenda for the October 22nd 2024 with the noted revisions do I have a motion and a second second all right very good I have Miss Cunningham that made the motion and Mr sharpless second it uh so the motion on

011the floor is to accept the October 22nd 2024 school board agenda as presented all those in favor signify by saying I I I all those opposed and that motion carries uh the next item up is new administrators superintendent would you lead us through our next item it would be my pleasure my pleasure introduce Dr Frederick books Brooks senior director for school Improvement is being appointed as acting Regional assistant superintendent for the Northeast region replacing Dr Ben [Music] Henry good evening chairman Allen honorable board members superintendent thank you so much for this opportunity I'm grateful I'm honored and I look forward to continuing the success of our school district this me standing here today is a Testament of the amazing team that I work with each and every day at the division of schools and also

012the strong support system that I have at home with my wife and kids I want to personally thank Mr Wayne Green for his bold leadership that he displays each and every day I also want to thank Miss Nave and Miss Kendrick for taking me under their wings and providing me with the guidance and support each and every day while under their leadership and lastly I would like to thank my wife for always being by my side even when we're climbing mountains not only when we're climbing mountains but also when we're walking through the valleys she's always there so again chairman Allen honorable board members superintendent Hyde thank you for your trust and thank you so much for this opportunity [Applause] next up we have Bucky day assistant principal at Kathleen Middle School promoted to principal

013at Kathleen Middle School not [Applause] here Ashley minitry did I pronounce that correctly all right assistant principal at Lena Vista Elementary School being promoted to principal at Lena Vista Elementary thank you to the board and superintendent Hyde I am grateful for the trust and confidence that you have placed in me I'm honored to serve as principal of Len Vista Elementary and I'm committed to giving our students staff in the community the best of me each and every day so 20 years ago I came to Lakeland on a vacation and I squeezed in this little interview at Dr Anie Roberts um it was for a first grade teacher and I accepted the job that day I had seven days to pack up move my life and move back to to Florida for tips training and what

014an amazing journey it has been so I have a few people to thank first and foremost I'd like to thank the late Tony H Tony how who believed in me when I didn't really even believe in myself um she's played a significant part in my adult life um and I miss her every day I'd like to thank Mr Roberts for giving me this opportunity I I promise to put my skills and talents to good use I'd like to thank Rachel Jones for her mentorship her advice her guidance and for always listening to me um she's definitely my biggest cheerleader I want to thank my children Nathan and Adeline um for their support their encouragement and understanding the long hours the late nights and early mornings lastly I want to thank my husband Nate for all

015the things that he does so that all of my dreams can come true um his sacrifices and unwavering love have been the foundation of My Success thank you you [Applause] board members Mr mons was not able to be with us this evening but we will invite him back as you know Mr mons came to us as a um cultural coach a schoolwide cultural coach from Palm Beach County Public Schools and he is now the principal at Crystal Lake Middle but we will invite him back unfortunately he had an emergency that arose and so we want to be respectful to him and his family's needs next we have Taran Hardy assistant principal 12-month at Socrum Elementary School being promoted to acting principal at Dixie Land Elementary [Applause] ladies gentlemen and board members and superintendent Hyde I

016stand before you today with a profiled sense of gratitude for the responsibility of the leadership position as acting principal at dixan Elementary first I would like to give my sincere appreciation to the sorry the P County school board for this opportunity the role of the leader is not to be taken lightly and is a responsibility that requires Vision empathy and dedication to our students I want to first thank my family my husband Eric and my two children for along this journey as well as my previous principal jna joak for the mentorship and guidance for the and supporting me through this journey thank you [Applause] next we have Lindsay leskis assistant principal 12 month at Sykes Elementary School being promoted to acting principal at Sykes Elementary School good evening superintendent Hyde board members and my regional

017um assistant assistant superintendent Mrs Nave I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for the tremendous opportunity that's been given to me by being selected to serve as the acting principal at James W Sykes Elementary having been the assistant principal there for the past four years the students families staff and the community at Sykes holds a special place in my heart I cannot think of a greater honor than to be chosen to lead syes in our continued efforts to inrease our student achievement and I look forward to the year ahead [Applause] congratulations so excited it's okay just take picture [Applause] next we have John monacelli assistant principal at M previously assistant principal at mberry mberry high school being promoted to acting principal at Lakeland Highlands Middle School congratulations

018sir thank you so much thank you so much um good evening chair CH I'm sorry chairman Allen honorable board members and superintendent Hyde I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to lead one of our schools in this great District uh working in public education has been you know challenging but we do it with pride each and every day we have the greatest job in the world shaping the future shaping the lives of our students um it has been the biggest reward of my professional life this is my 19th year in education I don't think it gets easier but it definitely it's a lifelong journey we learn every day uh how to improve improve our practices and our school uh I do want to thank you deeply for the support that you've

019provide you're providing us each and every day and um and know that I will continue to work hard every day to make our school and our district one of the best in the state thank you again for the opportunity [Applause] next we have leaz Coffield Harris assistant principal 11 month at chaina Lakes Elementary School being promoted to assistant principal 12 month at chaina Lakes Elementary Christine klopp assistant administrative assistant at Horizon's Elementary being promoted to assistant principal 12-month at Floral [Applause] Elementary first I would like to thank both the board and Miss Nave for this wonderful opportunity to continue to serve the students of P County second for the administrators who have mentored me and allowed me to follow in their footsteps and shown me the path to Excellence I can only truly thank you

020and finally for my family for being there for all the late nights and every time that there seemed to be a mountain in the way for knocking it down so that I could move forward thank you [Applause] congratulations next we have Zira Cordo school-based math coach at East Side Elementary being promoted to assistant principal 12-month at East Side Elementary I want to thank Paul canu public school for this opportunity a few people should also be mentioned thank you Tian for inspiring me to my former principles special Miss Munos for pushing me to pursue my degree for your trust to my husband Alexander for holding my hand and supporting me all the time and to my boy boys Kevin and suy for their unconditional love thank you [Applause] next we have Daren Bonnie administrative assistant at

021Rochelle School of the Arts being promoted to 12-month assistant principal at Dixie Land Elementary good evening just want to thank the board and all of those persons that helped me along this journey um there are many names to name so I don't want to leave anybody out but I just thank you for this opportunity to serve the wonderful students at Dixie Land I also want to thank my principal who appeared before you just a few minutes ago um for putting her trust in me to serve along with her um my wife and my children are with me today and I wouldn't be where I am I wouldn't be who I am without them so I just want to say thanks [Applause] next we have Gina Ortiz administrative assistant at Kathleen High School being promoted to

022assistant principal 12 month at Sleepy Hill [Applause] Middle good evening everyone it is an absolute honor to stand here today as a new assistant personent for the district now I'm serving as Sleepy Hill Middle School home of the Jaguars and I'm thrilled to be part of this amazing Community First I'd like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr hey our superintendent Mr Green Miss uh The Honorable school board members and Miss Kendrick for your inspiring leadership and vision for the district I appreciate your guidance and support in helping shave our path forward a very special thank goes to my principal Miss Z Clark Miss Clark you have been my mentor every day every hour your support and encouragement have meant the word to me and forever grateful that you believe in me and give me

023this incredible opportunity to serve as y of your assistant principles to miss Dyer thank you for your always having an open door and for being constant source of wisdom and support as I take this role I'm dearly aware that I am a reflection of the leaders who have trained me and mentored me Mr Blan chip Mr Jones Miss Leslie Roberts and Miss Angie Burson have led an indelible mark on who I am as an educator and as a leader I hope to continue their Legacy by investing in the people around me just as they have done for me finally I want to acknowledge my wonderful and unconditional family to my husband Jerry thank you for being my home and my safe place your love and support have carried me through this journey papacito and to

024my amazing children Emilio and Mato thank you for understanding the demands of mommy's job and for being patient with me you won't inspire me every day I'm exciting to join the team at Paul County schools and I have so much joy to work at Sleepy Hill Middle School and work with such a dedicated staff students and family together I know we continue to BU build a strong supporting environment where every student students can thrive [Applause] next we have Miss Aaron Crosby administrative assistant at George Jenkins High School being promoted to head of programs at mbery high school good [Applause] evening good evening everyone good evening to the board sharess how you doing sir Mr Hyde thank you for allowing me to speak tonight um not a very eloquent speaker so I'll be quick um would

025like to say a bunch of thank yous to a lot of people U Mr Tom Patton for pulling me out of the classroom and encouraging me and his loving way to push my way up up the chain so want to thank him um and for always believing in me and giving me the opportunity um to my GJ family for always being there for a quick phone call if I can't find the answer and always supporting me with whatever I do Mr Young for taking a chance on me I know I make him shake his head I do but thank you sir for taking this chance on me and believing in me my uh mberry family thank you for embracing me because I know I'm a lot for Miss Tracy Collins for having that conversation with

026me what are you gonna do are you GNA stay here and for believing me that I could do this job and inspiring me to become more than what I am to Matt Blankenship your principal of the Year apparently for always being available to answer my questions no matter how ridiculous they may seem and for believing in me and supporting me and to my family most importantly to one of my best friends Lisa for not letting me give up because Lord knows there's days that you want to my dad who couldn't be here tonight for instilling the drive and the work ethic needed to do this job my husband Chad for supporting me and staying married to me during this time my daughter Kaden for inspiring me and my son Colby who pushed me to take

027this job because he decided to go to school out of state and showing me what it means to to deal with adversity come on top and show everybody you ain't going to get the best of me my kids and my husband are my inspiration so with that being said after looking at all these people that I have to thank it takes a village to raise a kid it takes a village to raise an administrator for sure and I know I may have forgotten some people but thank you all and thank you for believing in me and I hope I don't mess up too bad thank you [Applause] was Crosby my only regret is you left my son during his senior year but he left him in good hands so thank you Brad the rest of

028the team have them covered next we have Caitlyn craft Student Success coach at mbery highle school being promoted to acting assistant principal 11mth at mulbury High School Miss Crosby we happily put up with you thank you Mr Hyde thank you Schoolboard members for having me tonight it is truly an honor to be trusted with this position Mr Young thank you for all the opportunities you've given me to grow as a leader but especially this one your intentionality your listening ear and your determination set the tone for us for what it truly means to put students first reflecting on what it means I know that I need to thank some Giants on Whose shoulders I stand so Jason Looney thank you for taking a chance on me giving me a second interview when my first one

029was not that great all those years ago your resilience and steadfast wisdom have had a great impact on my leadership and I'm thankful that my journey started with him Melinda Dixon summer Fisher thank you for being clear examples of what it looks like to lead with trust and support first thank you for your unwavering friendship and constant mentorship both in this career dating all the way back to my internship and in my life as well John monachelli thank you for being an example of what it looks like to truly invest in his school Community um and the Next Generation thank you for always thinking of me and how I could become a better teacher and leader mury High School is better because of his tireless efforts to all my friends and colleagues who have supported

030me and challenged me thank you sincerely and Kelsey I'm not going to thank you for always being there for me through this journey through all of the after school hours and throughout our lives your work as a teacher is nothing short of all inspiring and at the end of the day it's your team that I love being on the most I look forward to the future in this County at malberry high school as I take on this new role mberry has already given me so much over the past three years and I'm excited to pour back into a community that means so much to me so thank you thank you congratulations [Applause] any more Mr Young okay all right board members we almost done there are some admin moves I need to recognize uh you

031were informed of these previously but Jennifer dling principal at Jesse Keane Elementary School was transferred to be principal at Pinewood Elementary Miss Dorothy Ying was principal at Roberts Elementary School was transferred to Lincoln Avenue Elementary Sarah Miranda principal at Crystal Lake Middle School was transferred to principal at snively elementary Beth Smith principal at dixyland elementary school was transferred to be principal at Philip O'Brien Elementary and Amy wearth principal at Highland City Elementary School was transferred to be principal at Dr NE Roberts Elementary so that concludes administrative appointments and changes sir well thank you superintendent uh definitely a highlight uh of our meetings to see uh our leadership uh next item up is our special recognitions superintendent would you please lead us through our special recognitions it would be my pleasure at this time I'd like

032to ask board member Lori Cunningham to please step down to assist us with this evening special recognitions and next I'd like to invite representative meel Melody Bell who will have a special presentation for us this evening well good evening honorable chair and school board members it's such an honor to be here to present to you about some exciting news that's going to happen here in Poke County finally but first of all I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your service for our community and for Poke County I know being public servant is tough at times and especially your job dealing with education but you have driven the needle along with Mr Hyde and just thank you so much we appreciate you and and yesterday we had an exciting meeting with Lakeland

033Le but now the name has changed to uh connect ed connect ed yes and so we uh along with Dr Melody Ryder there's been a ongoing process for years that has been going on since Mr Hyde hit the road uh running here if you've ever heard of Biztown or Finance Park Junior Achievement is finally going to happen here in pop County back when my oldest daughter I told the story yesterday when my oldest daughter was a student at Union Academy 27 years ago so that dates me um she had the opportunity the only School in Poke County during that time to travel over to Pine Alis County to attend a bis toown the first day she started school she was um given a list of jobs that she would like to do and of course

034she picked a manager of a furniture store my youngest daughter picked being a DJ so yeah so that tells you night and day uh but anyways when they start school uh the beginning of the school they learn how to write a checkbook write a check how to balance a checkbook how to uh make payments for their car insurance how to make payments for their house insance insurance for uh to make rent payments so these students learn financial responsibility all the way until they go over and attend a day at bis toown well guess what it's coming to poke County and we're going to have it at tenaro high school with the uh help of your board and Mr Hyde has worked on this we have finally landed um bringing it you can come on up

035yeah I have Shannon Curtis here that is my uh uh District Aid here but we would like to present to you tonight a check from the Florida state of Florida for $2.5 million that will um build this bu [Applause] count so our students are actually going to have a brighter tomorrow whenever they uh attend this and and so when they graduate from high school just think about what you the production that we're going to have so thank you again indeed so board members if we could gather down I think it' be appropriate for us to collectively hi I was letting you all go first yes ma'am I'm coming EX next I'd like to invite Miss Janette Crowley director of strategic planning and Partnerships to come forward for the recog nition of our focused on Excellence

036winners chair Allan school board members superintendent Hyde thank you for the opportunity to be here with you all tonight um I'm excited to continue um highlighting the important contributions that P County Public School Employees make for students through the focus on Excellence employee recognition campaign this campaign honors staff members from different employee groups who might get overlooked among the hustle of keeping one of the nation's 26 largest school districts running efficiently each quarter the program will recognize a select group of employees through a nomination and committee process 12 employees we've increased it this year but 12 employees are selected as winners and will receive prizes from our generous sponsors as well as attend a special appreciation luncheon and be honored at a Schoolboard meeting they will also be highlighted on the district's social media channels

037website and internal and external newsletters our employees are providing exceptional public service and make the motto students first their mission as we go into our fifth year of the program I'm proud of the positive benefits this program brings and it's bringing encouragement and appreciation to our employees and impacting their lives in a positive way I would like to highlight some of our sponsors before I get into our um winners I'd like to highlight idx which is formerly image Depot Mid Florida Credit Union public supermarkets Inc sign gypsies Hand and Stone Massage and facial spa Chick Fil-A ad Morgan Central Florida Development Council CPS investment advisers connect ed pulk formerly Lakeland leads Dixie Southern Industrial Inc Orlando Health and the club at Eaglebrook thank you to these business partners who constantly support the work of our

038school district and who have graciously come alongside us making this campaign successful and due to their financial support we can give every pcps employee who is nominated through this program a special gift as well winter spotlights I'd like to share what our winners love most about their job and working for p County Public Schools I'd like to call up Angela Love Angela Angela is a principal secretary at Fort me middle senior what Angela loves most is she loves growing learning and being challenged with new things within her job she loves how the superintendent and District staff support and honor the staff through our County however she could not do what she does without the great leadership of her principal assistant principal and the support of her extended staff members she wants to thank us for

039this recognition and she says that she is truly blessed and we are blessed to have you thank you so much Le shyan she could not be with us here tonight but she is a regist at Wendell Watson Elementary and what she loves most is that her it's not just a job she said it's about helping families and making them feel as they are important her job couldn't be possible without the support and love from her staff what she loves most is being able to have the flexibility to be a parent and have a full-time career doing something she loves and she is a registar at Wendell Watson Elementary so we want to say congratulation to miss shman Jane ster Jane is a principal secretary at Philip O'Brien Elementary Jane said it's a joy to work

040in the P County public school system and she is incredibly grateful to receive this recognition for helping change the lives of our students to be a part of something so impactful is an honor she takes great pride in supporting families and staff as we work together to nurture the potential of our students [Applause] congratulations Margaret Burge Margaret is a parent educator at BTO Senior High she wants to say that she is thankful for the recognition and she's very humbled she loves working with the students who have intellectual delays and special needs within the Barto Senior High School Barto senior staff are an extension of her family and she plays a vital role and they play a vital role in her daily life and she is grateful for the opportunity thank you [Applause] next we have

041Garla McCarthy she could not be here with us but she is a par educator at Citrus Ridge a Civics Academy what she loves most about her job in working for p County Public Schools is that our students teach us just as much as we teach them their success is our success nothing is greater than a smile of a student who you know you have reached so congratulation to miss McCarthy next we have mod Frasier come on down here m is an assistant principal at Socrum Elementary now I did ask her just give me one but she said there's many but she says there's so many that things that she loves about her job in working for p County Public Schools she was born in Levy County Tod in Highlands County and now flourishes here in

042P County where she has resided and worked for 15 years throughout her many years she's been awarded many opportunities to advance her career as a teacher Reading Coach and Dean and now assistant principal and is truly a privilege to be supported by your mentors and recognized by your mentees for your hard work congratulations you're [Applause] welcome she's waving at someone hang on you got somebody coming your lime green shirt great job B next we have Brad hirers assistant principal at George Jenkin Senior High Brad says as a product of P County Public Schools he grew up surrounded by teachers administrators coaches and support staff who encouraged him challenged him and demonstrated what it means to love your school and Community he has been fortunate to receive the same support throughout his career as an educator

043his role as assistant principal gives him the opportunity to pay forward at least a portion of that support in and servanthood that has been awarded to him over and over again and for that he is grateful he is most thankful to be surrounded by such an incredible team of teachers and staff at George Jenkins High School and believes that the most important work in education is supporting our teachers to be the best instructors mentors and people that they can be doing that job well ensures that our students sit in front of a group of teachers each day who are at their best having a hand in making that happen is what makes him love what he does each and every day congratulations [Applause] Stephanie Huber Stephanie is an assistant principal at Southwest Middle School she

044said the thing that she loves most about her job is the opportunity she gets to interact with students in a positive way and build rapport she enjoys watching students find success and believes in their abilities as well as watching the growth they make throughout the tough Middle School years working for p County public schools has allowed her to impact the lives of thousands of students and she loves seeing many of those students positively contribute to our society as adults congratulations [Applause] Hillary Wright Hillary is an assistant principal at Citrus Ridge a Civics Academy Hillary loves working for p County Public Schools as an assistant principal because her scope includes students staff and families she enjoys the challenge of moving a large group of people towards a common goal and building meaningful and positive relationships in

045the process and we appreciate you you're welcome [Applause] congratulations Shannon Brown principal at Davenport Elementary [Music] Shannon says her staff truly gets it and puts maximum effort into delivering high quality instruction and it makes her job as the instructional leader so much easier our families are supportive and trust each of us each us each and every day to love on their students and grow them academically and emotionally and that says a lot she said coming to work every day is not a chore it's a gift and she is truly thankful for the family we have at Devon Port Elementary congratulations [Applause] she grew [Laughter] up Ashley manry principal yes she's back when she was nominated she was principal at Len Vista Elementary um what she loves most about her job is that every day is

046a new opportunity to positively impact the lives of our students staff and families what she loves most about working for p County public schools are the lifelong relationships that she makes over the years congratulations you're welcome the next one reti she's amazing next one Elizabeth Munoz best science in our district M Munoz is principal at Eastside Elementary and she says working for p County Public Schools allows her to do what she is most passionate about and that's collaborating with students families and her community this opportunity allows her to empower growth for the betterment of themselves and others congratulations [Applause] I want to say congratulations to our winners we are going to do one group photo but um I also want to say that um each of you um we want to put the focus on

047you so in the coming months your um information your profile will be shared on social media um we have our lunch in next week where you will be honored and celebrated again and you have courtesy of our generous sponsors you have a a tremendous Prize Package that's given to each of you um but I just want to say thank you so much for each of you and what you do new this year we added a challenge coin so each of you this is something new that we have not done before so each of you are receiving this for the first time but um I do Empower each of you as you are selected as winners to pay it back and when nominations come open again which they are now for the next um group of

048employees um to submit a nomination you know give back and support those in the next group and it's an honor to support you're within our clerical par educator and administrator group and it's an honor to support you and I look forward to recognizing you again next week so thank you for all you do [Applause] [Music] keep [Applause] thank you that concludes my presentation thank you and last but certainly not least I'd like to invite Beth Nave assistant Regional superintendent for the recognition of our principal and assistant principles of the year thank you [Music] app been a while all right good evening chairman Allen honorable board members and superintendent Hyde we'll wait just a okay on behalf of the division of schools Deputy superintendent green and the regional assistant superintendent we would like to recognize our

049principles and assistant principles of the year for each region once we have recognized each group Mr Hyde will then announce the overall District winner for principal and assistant principal for the district all regionals chose a leader based off student data School climate and culture and their overall support of District initiatives as instructional leaders all finalists were announced in front of their respective peers during the September principal and AP meetings finalists were then given a homework assignment they submitted two essay questions regarding School data and school culture the submissions were reviewed and an overall finalist for each group was submitted to Mr Green and Mr Hyde for approval the winner for or I'm sorry the winner will represent P County public schools in the Florida Department of education's principal and assistant principal of the Year recognitions

050it is a true honor to publicly recognize and celebrate these amazing and talented leaders and to announce an overall winner P County Public Schools is pleased to have each of you leading our schools and representing this incredible profession and at this time we will begin with our assistant principles and as I call your name please come forward to receive your trophy and remain standing up front so we have Elizabeth Holbrook from Griffin Elementary transformation region [Applause] we have Lori May from Brigham Academy from the central [Applause] region Ashley Hy from Davenport Elementary for the Northeast somebody get up and walk over there and ask them Rachel Jones from Sleepy Hill Elementary representing Northwest [Applause] Stephanie Huber for Southwest Middle School representing the South Region am I supped to and from the wonderful high school region

051we have Elizabeth deer from Lake Gibson High School [Applause] Mr Hyde was there anything from Mr gance no ma'am okay it's such a secret they haven't even told me so when she announced that I was going to be announcing the names I panicked and I'm searching every email I have every text message I have so my understanding is the communications department has it um what we will do is we're we're getting that for you and I know it was done because we edited so if you all will hold we're going to do the principles and then we'll just do them in just a minute thank very much yes sir all right principles so APS hold on um all right from transformation region representing Caldwell Elementary this just in hold on we're still going to make

052you wait okay okay perfect Katie Ashmore [Applause] from central region representing Chain of Lakes Elementary Miss Susie Nelson [Applause] from the Northeast region representing East Side Elementary Elizabeth Munos [Applause] from the Northwest regions Jesse Keen Elementary swetta [Applause] Perry from the south region representing alterist elementary Chuck pton good grou this time I'll put my glasses on for the high school region so I can read it from the high school region Fort me middle senior Mr Matt blankin ship can we get a picture of principles and then a picture of just assistant principles so principles if you'll make a quick group okay hold Mr Hyde we're going to do the principal of the Year first yes D so can we get a drum roll [Music] please and this year's principal of the year is Miss Susie

053Nelson principal of chandel Lakes Elementary can't tell you not ready so I have a brief summary Miss Nelson Has Been a transformational had a transformational impact on Chain of Lakes Elementary where she and her team led a schoolwide effort to boost reading performance using a variety of strategies to address students individual needs and provide teachers with specialized training as a result chain of lak Saw significant gains in student reading scores as the students became more confident in their reading abilities they increased their engagement in other subject areas which led to Broad academic growth for the school Miss Nelson is also focused on building up the school's culture she prioritizes student feedback when it comes to planning school events and celebration so the kids know they have a voice and can feel a sense of ownership

054in their school experience in addition Chain of Lakes has implemented creative scheduling for extracurricular activities specific periods are dedicated for students to participate in clubs workshops and act other activities that way students who are unable to stay after school can still have fun with their classmates ultimately Miss Nelson Has strived for culture of Engagement and belonging at Chain of Lakes where students can be successful in the classroom and Beyond congratulations [Applause] um I'm not ready okay thank you Mama Nave so when Mama Nave sent us the homework assignments I turned mine in late [Applause] I was like I can't do it can I cast in my vote somewhere else um I just would like to say thank you for the opportunity I'd like to for foremost say thank you to like God because it's really

055funny um the little girl that couldn't read is like standing here as a principal and facilitating something really big and to Mama Nave I was thinking about you so my second year of principal ship my mom had a moderate stroke and she used to be the one to like randomly call me you know to pray with me or give me a word of encouragement but since then since the stroke she hasn't really been able to communicate so like when I send you those text messages that's what you do for me you feel that whole so thank you [Applause] there's a lot of people to think I have I have my husband thank you cuz there is like no work life balance like he understands this is just what I do and he never like pressures

056me to do anything different he just he's a phenomenal cook so he makes sure we stay fed he takes care of my son he gets them to baseball basketball I don't have to worry about any of that but I can honestly just go to work and like take care of other kids to my son he's like my guinea pig so all the new theories that I want to do with instruction I run it through him and the other day I apologized to him because I was like I'm a really bad mom um because I really My Philosophy for him is if the system I put into place works then it'll positively impact him so that's what I've been running with and it works so I'm just going to say sorry and um mommy loves you

057and my BFF Heather Lynn and I also have Professor sharf here thank you for reminding me to take my head away from school sometimes and realize that there is a life to live so they try to help me out with that and they listen to all the things um into Co Nation like I love my staff like I show up every day because I love love them so much the work they do for kids is phenomenal and to stay with me you have to be ready to Pivot because I get ideas or like I see data and it's like it's time to change something or let's do this let's try this and they just run with me so I'm just very appreciative of cotion so thank you [Applause] come on family and friends she's waving

058at you for a reason you [Applause] one more drum roll for our assistant principal of the Year assistant principal and our winner is oh wait we need them all down here oh okay come on down quick quick quick got to get a picture of all of you and then he's going to announce the winner Miss colins says hurry all right one more time drum roll and our winner is Miss Stephanie Huber assistant principal at Southwest [Applause] Middle so when it comes to running a School Miss Huber always sees room for the growth since a arriving at Southwest Middle she's made it a priority to listen to teachers and staff and has worked to expand opportunities for professional development and increase support from the school's Administration Miss Huber's also focused on improving student discipline referrals were

059down more than 20% last year and with a more positive environment on the campus Southwest has begun the seen the gains in students academic performance as a result Miss Huber Prides herself on building on building a rapport with the students and the community she has high expectations and serves as a mentor and encouraging figure for her students in addition Miss Huber's worked hard to build Partnerships with local businesses and organizations leading to more opportunities and incentives for their students and staff District administrators also noted that Miss Huber played a key role in Southwest move to a new modernized campus last year please don't ask her about that Miss Huber is also quick to say that there is still much work to be done at Southwest but she is up to the challenge congratulations Miss yber

060thank you so I kind of in a way feel like I drew a short straw to follow that speech um because she had me emotional but I'm just I'm privileged I I really am there's so many days I go home and you start thinking is this for me sorry um it's a tough job but man I love it um we get an opportunity to do so much with our students that people will never see um will never appreciate and I get that opportunity like everybody else does and you've gone through the ups and downs but man those Highs are high and it gets you through those tough times but we're also surrounded with some incredible people and I've had an opportunity to work under some absolutely incredible leadership and most of the people that are

061presenting here tonight have uh have positively impacted me on this journey and I will forever be grateful um just like everybody else I have many people to thank both um the people that have led me along this path and family and friends and the understanding that it comes if you are married to somebody that is a administrator you were put on this Earth for a very special task um because it's a lot it really truly is so thank you for the opport Unity to serve and to continue to serve um I'm in year 20 which the kids never believe um I like to think I have an aged but um thank you thank you for the opportunity and for everybody that had a part in this thank you for believing and um I'm just going

062to keep moving forward um because Southwest Middle is going to resume the premier Middle School in Poke County um mark my words and we have work to do but I am looking forward to that challenge congratulations [Applause] the move everything to consent and you're done Uber Uber h u b e r i just promoted her to 12 yes ma'am when I found that about that and I met her Johnny is [Music] thank you everyone we appreciate you and your support each year of this it's a special time so thank you great job everyone thank you Mr chair members of the board Miss Cunningham I apologize that was a very long one but that does con oh no it does not I apologize we have one final special recognition yes assistant principal the year Vice chair

063sharpless board member superintendent What A Night to finish on oh my goodness um definitely a reminder we do serve the most educated dedic Workforce in the nation uh so we just want to take a moment to express our gratitude for your dedication and long-term Service as a p County Schoolboard member serving in your seat for how long 20 years yeah two decades and across five terms uh is an incredible achievement that speaks volumes about your passion for Education you even got a shout out tonight in the audience so uh and the well-being of our students so going back I think in 2004 do you realize that Facebook had just started in 2004 and Google had just opened up Gmail so you've seen a lot of change U from an educational standpoint and in your role

064so your leadership as chairwoman uh during one of the craziest times uh during that pandemic guiding the district through unprecedented times it's definitely a testament right to this um sense of staunch fortitude that's how I Define you you have that very well and you um you lead that way you you've led us um through our most recent superintendent search and um you know that was the largest applicant poll um for superintendent um within the State of Florida and and you you guided us through that and we really appreciate that and I think we we did we got the the best super superintendent in the State of Florida so I appreciate your commitment to both the Arts and Sciences as well it was noted in uh Our Guest this evening those initiatives reflect your own background

065in electrical engineering and your passion for the Arts um for me having two daughters one studying computer science and the other one who's passionate about Art thank you for setting an example for my daughter and other um females in our school district as well as your daughter as well thank um your story which I heard in 2020 on the campaign Trail um growing up in a home that spoke very little English um and starting school in first grade not speaking any of the English language and where you've come along the way is pretty impressive and uh that was quite moving and truly inspiring it's a reminder um for all of us how education always opens up doors so no matter what the obstacles are so thank you for your leadership your service and the many

066contributions you've made to PO County Public Schools you've left a lasting Legacy you've finished strong so and I know our district is stronger because of your efforts so thank you thank you thank so we do have a [Applause] plaque have a PL for you as well in your service so indeed and then we'll get a picture out there but I know you have some words for yeah just a couple yes you know me I'm never at a loss for words so but it's very brief um wow well you know the saying I am thankful grateful and blessed so I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the students and families throughout pul County I am thankful for the initiatives that I was able to introduce to bring equity and programs curriculum and Staffing to the

067east side of P County I am grateful for the confidence of the voters that placed in me to reelect me five times totaling 20 years on on the P County School Board and I am blessed to have a loving and supportive family with my husband Rick and my beautiful daughter Christina and I'm also blessed for my good health thanks to our health clinic in hannes City every little piece matters in the whole puzzle and it is my prayer that God continues to bless P County Public Schools it's dedicated employees remarkable students and families and I thank you so much for this recognition it means the world be blessed thank you so board members if we can step down he don't push his chair in thank you I appreciate I appreciate hope you're not here all

068right thank you superintendent Hyde all right board members next up is public comment for items on the agenda to be voted upon as adopted at the start of this meeting so uh before we begin we know that we've got tonight we have two opportunities to um Express public comment one for items on the agenda and then one uh for items not on the agenda so as typical uh if you're here as a guest um you're you're always free to speak and for us to have an opportunity to hear from you so to register to speak community members fill out the speaker card in the lobby prior to the meeting all speakers will be given three minutes the light will turn yellow um when you have one minute left and you will hear a beep when

069your time is concluded so all comments should be directed myself as the board chair and as a reminder public comments are an opportunity for us to collectively hear your thoughts uh and comments this is not a question and answer session and comments are not to be directed at individual board members however if you're seeking additional information uh I encourage you to contact any of us or the superintendent's office or uh anyone even our staff members who are always accessible and typically very responsive as well so um the first person I'd like to call up is Donna heger thank you and I live in Winter Haven and can I just address Miss Cunningham with your permission for one minute yes ma'am and then I'll I'll hit my agenda since that was covered thank you for what

070you've done for the county I know that each of you come up here and serve our children and sometimes I don't agree with what you're doing but I also admire you for your service and you certainly have been a very good public servant for many many years back when I had kids in school even so thank you very much for doing that and I would just like to talk very briefly about the library book purchases and say congratulations on purchasing books that are free of pornography and Pritt uh prohibitive materials that are harmful to children it's sad that it took a state law for many of our Cy's school boards to decide that we were not going to have certain materials in our classrooms but it's a very important step forward um we have a

071school board specific development plan that needs to immediately discontinue any materials or books that would not meet current state requirements if school board members had listened to all of the community comments about the inappropriate books the school board could have saved time and tax dollars but much more importantly students would not have been subjected to inappropriate materials and I think going forward that's one of the things that we need to always consider that parents want to put their children first teachers want to put the children first principles and assistant principles clearly want to put the children first and and so does the school board and sometimes putting them first means to just look at what we're offering them in the classroom and make decisions that means our kids aren't going to be subjected to things

072that are in appropriate for them and thank you for hearing me thanks for being here M all right that is all for uh public comment for our agenda items so board members we're going to now move down to the approval of the minutes and we need to approve three sets of minutes uh this evening the first set of minutes is from the September 3rd 20124 Special work session meeting so the chair will entertain a motion to accept the September 3rd 2024 special work session meeting minutes as written do I have a motion and a second second all right Miss Miller made the motion and Mr sharpless second it uh any discussion all right seeing none I'd like to call for a vote all those in favor signify by saying I I all those opposed and

073that motion carries give you a moment to vote here all right very good uh the second set of minutes is for the September 3rd 2024 school board meeting the chair will entertain a motion to accept those minutes as written do I have a motion and a second Miss Fields made a motion and Miss Miller second it any discussion board members seeing none on my speaking list I'd like to call for a vote now at this point uh those in favor signify by saying I I all those opposed and that motion carries now the third set am minutes is for the September 24th 2024 work session meeting the chair will entertain a motion to accept those minutes as written as well do I have a motion and a second so moved all right Mr sharpless made

074the motion and Miss Fields second it uh I'll Now call for a vote those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed and that motion carries moving down the next item is approval of today's consent agenda the chair will entertain a motion to accept the October 22nd 2024 consent agenda as printed do I have a motion and second for that all right Miss Wyatt made the motion and I heard it over Miss Fields made the second all right uh now I'll call for a vote or actually any discussion on this rather so any discussion on our consent um I appreciate the responsiveness by the way in regards to some of our questions that came up in the consent uh consent agenda today and some of that data as well so uh at this point

075point I'd like to call for a vote those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed and that motion carries as well all right moving down to our action agenda for this evening uh our first item on the agenda is S1 entitled Florida Department of Health 2024 through 2026 school health services plan for p County uh basically each Department of Health in Florida uh Department of Health in Florida is required per Florida statue 38156 uh to develop jointly with the school district and the school health advisory committee a school health services plan that outlines the provisions and responsibilities to provide that mandated Health Services in all pulk schools um do we have a motion to approve this item and a second Miss field may miss Fields made the motion and Miss Wyatt second

076it any discussion fellow board members on S1 all right I'd like to call for a vote at this point those in favor signify by saying I I I any opposed and that motion carries Miss Ross thanks for being here with us uh S2 is the fldoe ese policies and procedures 2023 through 24 through 2025 through 26 school year this uh item based on Florida statute requires that District School Board submit to the uh FLD doe proposed procedures for the provision of special instruction and services for uh es once every 3 years so uh we've reviewed the materials we've discussed it um do we have a motion to approve this item move all right Miss Wyatt made the motion do I have a second second and Mr sharpless second it all right uh any discussion on

077this item so I'd like to call for a vote at this point all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed and that motion carries we were down at S3 which is the Head Start continuation Grant uh the recommendation is to approve um for the district to apply for the Head Start continuation grant for the funding year of uh 2025 so this grant as we know serves 942 children in our district and this action provides uh us a requirement of 20% match from our non-federal funds which is approximately $2.4 uh million do in order to receive that 9.7 uh in federal dollars so uh you've seen this one as well so do we have a motion in a second to approve this item all right Miss Wyatt or I'm sorry rather Miss Fields

078made the motion and miss Miller second it do we have any uh discussion on this one all right seeing no comments I would like to call for a vote at this point all those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed and that motion carries for those 942 children in our district uh S4 policy updates um looking for a motion to approve policy 63 26 which is entitled bid protest uh this item came before the board during our work session and then also during our September 3rd public hearing so do we have a motion and a second to approve this uh one policy item so moved all right Mr sharpless made the motion I'm looking for a second Miss Fields made the second any discussion on this policy update seeing none I would like

079to call for a vote those in favor signify by saying I I any opposed and that motion carries we were down to S5 on our action agenda tonight and this one is settlement of 20242 asme bus employee contract salary agreement uh do we have a motion in a second to approve this item so move second all right Miss Wyatt made the motion of Mr sharpless second it any discussion and I do see a comment from Mr sharpless you're recognized sure um I just want to say thank you to our bus drivers and our bus attendants you do a job that is critical to our our school system you're the first point of contact a student sees in the day and the last one they see when they get dropped off at home I can't say

080enough how how critical Your Role is to our school district and I want to thank you personally uh for your service and I'll be voting in favor thank you Mr sharpless Miss Fields you're recognized thank you I just pretty much want to reiterate what Mr sharet said in addition uh we've come a long ways I remember when our salaries were not competitive but now they are there and we will continue to improve but uh we've come a long ways and I want to commend uh the the uh the bargaining team for being able to come to consensus and something that's going to be a long-term uh positive impact for our students and for our families thank you yeah thank you Miss Fields Miss Miller you recognized um thank you chair I just wanted to say

081the same I know that I've watched some of the leaders of that um group really try to educate our employees on what was happening through the through the process and I want to thank them for doing that I also want people to know that the people that do this every day obviously didn't get in it for the money they love those kids I um I enjoy meeting with them um throughout the day and I know it's never going to be enough we could keep adding to this and I hope we can in the future but just to know that you're appreciated and what you do matters and you are the starting point of the day for these students and the love that you give those kids first thing in the morning really um gets their

082day going and when you pick them up in the afternoon you're the last person they see and I just cannot thank you enough for your service and I hope we can still um continue to do good by you and value you and what you do thank you thank you Miss Miller uh yeah we can definitely never do enough for our bus drivers they do carry a huge responsibility of transporting our kids um I was happy to see for the 11th year that we are continuing that uh bonus for perfect attendance I know during our transportation and service at the beginning of the year uh when those individuals came up that had perfect attendance uh was pretty impressive I mean that stage was was full uh and that just again demonstrates the dedication of our employee

083base so we are so appreciative for the work that you do all right board members uh would love to make a vote on this at this point so uh all those in favor of this uh signify by saying I I I any opposed and that motion carries we are now down to S6 which is the tentative 2024-25 and 2025 through 26 school year instructional calendars for students teachers and Par Educators as provided at the September 24th work session the superintendent recommends a motion to approve the tentative uh instructional calendars um for those uh two consecutive years there uh for students teachers and parent Educators do we have a motion and a second to approve this item some all right very good I heard Miss Cunningham uh and then uh Mr Niti on the second it

084was a battle but all right so uh any discussion on this item Mr sharpless you're recognized um I just want to make sure uh well first I want to thank the calendar committee for the hard work they put into this um you know it's it's a it's a hard task to try to get this done and I want to thank them for that I also wanted to ask the superintendent to make sure that this is um what we have in front of us is what was reflective of the work session that we just had today where the six um um what early release days are going to be um adjusted because of the hurricane um cancellation is that true is that is that the one that's on there to be approved just making sure no

085sir you're approving the calendars moving forward however we did discuss that this morning okay and I got consensus amongst the board so we'll be notifying staff and families that yes we will that will be the model that we will use to address and I was looking for the dates so I could read them into the record um but if I find that I'd ask to be allowed to comment further so Mr chair just notice that's why I raised my hand so you can you can delete me all right I can delete you yes sir all right thank you superintendent and Mr sharpless as well all right so we have a motion and second any uh further discussion on this so seeing none I would like to call for a vote at this time those in

086favor signify by saying I I I any opposed and that motion carries so we were down to S7 um excited excited about this one as well General Council advertising firm strategic government resources uh this item seeks approval of strategic government resources to engage with the school board in contracted services for the recruitment of general counsel um do we have a motion and a second on this item all right Miss Fields made the motion and Miss Wyatt second it any discussion fellow board members Miss Fields you're recognized thank you um Dr Allen I just want to um thank the board members for the uh good conversation that we had earlier today and I think that we all understand and value the urgency of getting this done and I think that the company that we've selected would

087do a great job for for us and we'll be able to move it along pretty quickly so that we can get our new attorney hired and and give Mr Murphy a little bit of relief which I'm sure he'll be excited about that but uh but I'm um I'm very uh pleased with what we're going to be hopefully approving tonight so thank you de Miss Fields thank you indeed fellow board members I appreciate the work that you've done on this and the research that you've done as well and your contributions to this so um seeing no other comments I would like to call for a vote those in favor signify by saying I I I all those opposed and that motion carries all right so we are done through our action agenda item so now the

088next item on our agenda is superintendent report superintendent do you have anything for us tonight yes sir I do members of the board members of community staff um again again you've heard me say it I said it earlier in the workshop I do want to continue to commend the amazing and dedicated staff and Community uh partners that we have you know uh when we close for a hurricane event it's it's not just as simple as just opening our doors and saying welcome we have to prepare for that we have to ensure that we have food we have proper water I want to thank Publix I want to thank United Way as you know we were requested this is the first in a very long time where we were requested to open all 19 shelters simultaneously

089we we have never typically done that and that was based off of the uh assumption that uh again just looking at penel County over half a million individuals were going to be mandated to evacuate that area and move Inland um so we expected our shelters to have a higher number uh of of residents than ever before we were at 6,100 total nearly 400 pets um almost 270 280 law enforcement officers and almost 300 staff um pulk County Public School staff specifically um who dedicated their time over a 4-day period of time um to prepare and support our residents and non-residents who were moving out of the Harm's Way during the storm um as you know I gave the board regular updates as far as any damage I'm very proud of the crews that go out

090um we learned some valuable lessons during this storm the Verizon outage that occurred immediately after the storm um we we are very fortunate as an organization that we we had U backup walkie-talkie communic a systems otherwise we would have been back to driving back and forth and scheduling meetings every hour on the hour just to be able to relay information to each other um AT&T was operational but as a district by and large many of our staff utilized Verizon very pleased to see that come back online very quickly I want to say thank you to all of the utility companies as you know here in pole County we deal with over a dozen municipalities but we deal with eight different utility companies all whom prioritized getting our schools operational and our last two schools came

091came online that was mberry Middle mberry High um unfortunately Miss Winchester lives in that same zone so she was one of the last to receive power in that Community um but at the end of the day we were able to get our schools back online and just if I could for a moment summarize again what that really means you know returning the lights or being able to turn the lights on doesn't mean that we can operate school we have to then go inspect every single classroom we have to inspect all of our HVAC units we then in all 38 schools that lost power for per a specific period of time we had to dispose in inventory all the food items that were in the refrigeration systems or the refrigerators and the freezers then it has

092to be sanitized returning a shelter to operational status after a Sheltering event is an incredibly labor intensive event with all of the cleaning that has to take place um again 6,100 residents in our schools um throughout the storm and then couple that with all of the repairs and cleanup and debris removal we have to do immediately after the storm so very very pleased I think I shared with the board earlier on Wednesday when we returned students we were able to utilize Monday um the storm's timing it's it's never accurate and so the storm came a little later it actually left a little later we were very blessed as a community not to be on the north side of that storm had that been the situation I think we'd be looking at a very different impact

093here at P County um and our schools because we have older buildings in many of our communities but post storm you know again we were very blessed very fortunate um um and our power utility companies were able to get us all back online and our staff we were able to utilize Monday um to finalize assessments of damage enter work orders over 2600 work orders were entered as a result of the storm those all have to be specifically um coded so that we can seek reimbursement from FEMA and other agencies and our insurance company because they have to be specifically identified but Monday also allowed us most importantly to take staff census to check in what our staff make sure that they were safe make sure that they were in a good place and to make

094sure we'd have enough staff to even operate at the time when we were looking to reopen on Wednesday um and so our principals were able to do that on Monday on Tuesday our teachers came back um we were able to determine we had enough drivers enough staff to reopen schools um all of our campuses were undergoing cleaning tree removal um fence repairs all the things that we needed to do in order to be operational and that takes a huge team effort and and what a dedicated team we have on any given day P County we average about a 94 daily 94% daily attendance rate on Wednesday I shared with the board we were just below 93% attendance so our families wanted and needed their children to come back to school I shared earlier why we

095did not change the Thursday half day and the Friday uh teacher planning Day first and foremost again as a reminder I don't have that Authority that Authority resides with the board because you approve the school calendars I do not I make recommendations however ever it was also important for us to allow our staff and families to return after an abbreviated day and a half in school once we did our check-ins fed everybody and understood what the needs were because we did survey our staff and families as far as needs and we were able to start directing them to different agencies where they could seek support and get assistance um but it was very important for us to allow them that time also to deal with issues that also allowed us an additional two and a

096half days including Saturday for our maintenance Crews to continue with repair repairs and and schools reopening so huge team that that's dedicated to this and and for our principes and our assistant principles in particular they never leave so while we rotate teams in 12-hour shifts to cover shelters first of all once the storm hits nobody leaves because we we close down the buildings and everybody's stuck there but our principles and our assistant principles never left their buildings not because they don't have family elsewhere not because they weren't concerned about their own homes but because they truly care about our community and the people that we serve each and every day both the littles and The Bigs and I give them a lot of credit because that's a hard thing to do I mean there people

097like myself and our team have to go to EOC we have to do those things you realize that that comes with a job they're not required to do that and they do that willingly and we're thrilled to have them be a part and you saw how many administrators we recognize tonight but there are countless others equally skilled equally Adept and equally loved in their communities for all that they do so I wanted to take the opportunity tonight to recognize that and share that with the board and our our community um I'll wrap up the superintendent Report with the next work session and board meeting will be held on November 19th 2024 the work session will begin at 12:30 p.m. and the board meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m. the meetings will be held here at

098the district office located at 1915 South Floral Avenue in BTO thank you Mr chair superintendent thank you so much for that report moving down to our attorney's report Mr Murphy you recognized thank you Mr thank you Mr chair board member superintendent I have um request authority to advertise uh public hearings for policy updates that were presented to the board at the September 2024 and October 2024 Schoolboard work sessions in brief there were policies presented at the September 24th work session dealing with professional learning anti-harassment curriculum development articulation and access to Florida college system institutions professional learning anti-harassment professional development credits from other schools bullying and harassment student wellness and student records we also had policies that were presented today uh regarding legislative policymaking driver education athletic coaches part-time extracurricular Personnel athletic coaches part-time extracurricular Personnel

099equal access for non-district sponsored student clubs and activities fiscal planning public records School Safety and Security reports of suspicious activity and potential threats to schools safe School officers emergency and crisis management Emergency Management emergency preparedness and emergency response agencies transportation and those are the substance generally of the matters that I'm asking for permission to author advertis for public hearing perfect so uh board members the uh recommended action is basically I I'm looking for a motion to approve to advertise a public hearing for policy updates presented at the September and October school board work sessions do we have a motion and a second so moved Mr sharplus made the motion and Miss Fields second it any discussion on this one all right very good I'd like to call for a vote on that those in favor

100signify by saying I I any opposed and that motion carries and thank you Mr chair I just have one personal comment that I'd like to make tonight you know I've had the privilege and the honor of being uh able to serve the school board in uh in the attorney capacity since 1998 um and I've been here every step of the way with um board member Cunningham and so it certainly has been my honor and privilege to be here every step of the way with you and um I'm not going to say goodbye we will simply say we will see you around sounds great thank you that's all I have thank you very well thank you Mr Murphy uh next one is the auditor auditor report well we do not have a report tonight but uh

101you do get those via email and you can reflect on those and then U ask further questions to mith miss uh Matthews now we're moving to the board members report uh it's the part of the evening where we get to hear uh your activities and what you've been up to so what I'd like to do is start with district 7 and then work our way down so that means I'll be starting with Miss Miller you recognized thank you chair Allan you give us notice of that if you wanted to next time just kidding it's totally fine um I just want to say that I was super impressed with that little girl from Garner Sarah I'm definitely making a visit out there to um spend more time with her she inspires me and gives me hope

102and I loved her excitement and enthusiasm it reminds me of my own when she was that age um and Miss manri she mentioned that she was on vacation When She interviewed with Miss Charlene Brenson I was at the school at the time um I saw Miss manry come on as a teacher I knew she would do great things so it's exciting that she is now our principal at Lena Vista which is in my district so it's funny how uh full circle Things become I want to take a minute to thank the staff for the hurricane response um we still have staff that are hurting um I live in very North Lakeland and I have uh friends family and several staff members who had water intrusion some people cannot return to their homes um one particular

103I know she is one of our teachers our husband's one of our bus drivers and they had to move clear to the other side of Lake Wales and they're going to have to commute to work um because their house they cannot live in and so just remember the people you know and you know in my home we didn't even lose power and that's how it looks throughout P County you have people that are suffering and still suffering um so trying to help your neighbor I just want to say thank you to those people who are still and I know they show up for work every day and so just realize what people are going through um to this at this time um I want to talk about code academy I I tagged along with this

104visit with the superintendent um to code academy and we met the two two bright students like we had tonight uh Lewis bent court and Elena de were our guides they were reading they were excited to show us the Beehive and and how that works and show us the chickens and all the things do they're reading the big sting and then and Lewis told us it was unbelievable and that was his oneliner he had lots of them um he he also said they're going to turn it into a play and so they're going to be performing the play after they read the book which I think is excellent I'm going to um just acknowledge once again that code academy takes all kids um I saw kids there that would normally be in an indd unit that

105were interacting with students and so if code academy can do it all of our students can do it so I'm still going to be the voice of inclusion for kids um very proud of that school we also visited dor Sanders and I want to recognize Miss Clayton who's 38 years with dor Sanders um teach she was teaching a transition class so we got to meet some of the students there um I also met um AA the principal there is working with her Paris to become certified teachers those people love especially at our Center Schools love what they do and love those kids you'll find most of them have been there 20 years or longer um but the principal is working and with her with three of her professionals and one of them miss Emily Ronney

106just completed her ESC certification become a certified teacher and she's in one of the behavior units and so when I tell you that Emily goes in every day with Hands-On work she does so I appreciate Emily and her dedication um to those kids I think that that's all we can do is just keep telling people we're so thankful for what they do here with us um I want to say really quickly I mentioned earlier I apologize I will not be at the November meeting I will miss the swearing end of my colleagues and Mr um Travis keys I was honored to be nominated and accept the nomination for leadership Florida so I will be away and I try not to miss meetings but I will be away in Tallahassee for that meeting um and one

107other announcement if you see me more in the I know you don't see me enough Mr Hyde but I will be in the community even more um I have now taken a position with Big Brother Big Sister and so I tell everybody we need volunteers well now I'll be in your community at your place of business recruiting volunteers for our schools and I know I'm excited about it and I hope that Community is as well um and I think that's the end of my report thank you chair Allan thank you so much Miss Miller and Mr sharpless you're recognized I want to Echo the comments that was made earlier um just truly thank you to everyone that was involved with running our hurricane shelters and getting our schools back to back online after uh both

108hurricanes Helen as well as Milton um had a really exciting thing happen uh well I was part of um we all were part of these different things but um in between the last work session and today um we recognized the district six finalist for teacher of the year we they saved the best for last which is District Six and um I want I want to just congratulate on the Dias here um Miss Appling from Spook Hill Elementary for being the district six teacher the year finalist as well as Miss Velasquez from Fort me middle senior for being the school related employee of the year finalist um I'll be rooting for you at uh at the Inspire Awards next month um also tonight uh we recognize Susie Nelson for chainel Lakes Elementary uh principal of the

109year and even though she's no longer in District Six she when I first got on the board she was oh you're NY now okay sorry District three now um I'm sorry just Winter Haven Every Time I Think of Winter Haven I think of of you Sarah Beth um anyhow she's no longer in district 6 however when I was elected on the board um in uh 2022 I got really excited I wanted to get involved like I was like I want to go do stuff and um I reached out to the principes and I said hey can I go to your um to your um orientations and all that kind of stuff and Susie Nelson was one of the principls was the very first principal that invited me to come come to her school during um

110that orientation for her students and I never will forget that um and so you saw tonight her passionate um response to being uh selected as principal of the year but she truly deserves it and I wish her the best of luck and I think she's the best principal um should should win the whole state of Florida but that's I'm biased um a couple more things today I exercised my civic duty and I voted I got the I voted sticker right here okay I want to encourage everyone to go out and to um to do that to let your voice be heard um you know it's something that's very important uh men and women have uh sacrificed the ultimate sacrifice for that freedom for us and so I encourage each one of you that's listening today

111and everyone here to go exercise your right to vote and last but not least um I want to thank a mentor of mine uh publicly someone who um would give me advice stuff that we can talk about within the Sunshine Law I want to guarantee that but would give me advice on my role as a board member um helped me to get involved in the district um encouraged me to run and uh that's uh board member cunning ham I want to thank you for um your years of mentorship um a couple things that I just want to acknowledge number one the institutional knowledge that you bring to this board will be missed I am excited to welcome our new board member but um thankfully we do have Miss field still to have some of that

112institutional knowledge but yours will certainly be missed um second something that always would stand out to me about you is your advocacy for the east side of Pop County and District 2 if anything related to that I guarantee you uh board member Cunningham would say something and um you know I I uh definitely learned that you have to have a voice you have to stand up for your convictions and so that's something that I appreciate about you and finally the one thing that I that stands out to me and youve said it multiple times and I you might even say it tonight so hope I don't I'm not stealing your thunder but readers are leaders and I will I will not forget that and um the how you are passionate about reading and your story

113is something that I will never forget so thank you for your years of service thank you for your friendship and thank you for your mentorship that's all super that's all board member board chair thank you Mr sharpas for those words Miss Fields you're recognized thank you uh I think everyone here received an employee giving campaign Forum from United Way and I'm going to challenge each of you to consider um making a payroll deduction on behalf of United Way and I think what has transpired over the last few weeks should really help us to understand even more and value more what United Way do in our community because we never know when we might need help from United Way and a good example is Hurricane Milton and as a superintendent ref FR United Way and they

114have been busy doing a lot of things in the community uh helping to distribute food and getting volunteers to come and back uh food for the families and and other resources that they have uh put in place so we want to support them like our employees do and so I just would encourage you to consider uh making a a a monthly uh uh payroll deduction from uh for United Way purposes so that's my first um comment and then uh I want to thank superintendent Hyde I want to thank you for your wisdom and for your Insight as it related to the storm hurricane Milton I want to thank you for your swiftness and your promptness knowing that we needed to uh close schools and make sure that our families were in a good place and

115you did that and I want to thank you for coming back after the storm and making sure that our employees were good before you had everybody to come back to work all districts did not do that and I want to thank you for doing that then I want to thank all of the staff members that were uh that stayed at the shelters as you referenc and they could have been home taking care of their own family as well as uh volunteers from the community and then our First Responders uh and I think we've heard it from so many people it could have been a lot worse for many of us but it wasn't and we thank God for that I also want to um share that superintendent and H High attended the uh naming of

116the Fab Lab in memory of Mr Herman Jenkins you might remember Mr Jenkins uh was the World War II veteran I believe he was 109 years old when he passed I believe if my memory is correct and uh we celebrated him uh in his absence at Rochelle School of Art a couple of weeks ago and I think it was a great way to honor him and he did have some of his family present so I think that was a neat thing for us to be able to do and today was just amazing having all the staff members to come and to give their testimony on why they do what they do and then the the child who was Wow all I can say she is amazing and she's going to go places in life but

117that's what it's all about and to me we could have just ended the meeting right there the meeting had already been done uh and and that's just what we do that's hopefully why we're here to embrace our students and our employees and to always remember that they should be first and then uh lastly I want to uh wish Miss Cunningham the very best uh you have been uh a blessing for the school district and we wish you well and we hope that you will enjoy visiting uh with your daughter more and being able to focus more on your business so God bless you thank you thank you Miss Fields Miss Wyatt you're recognized thank you it's been a while since we met so I have several things but I'll try and and get it down

118to just a few um most exciting is I was able to attend Winter Haven High School's inaugural Hall of Fame award ceremony this past weekend um they honored I believe eight athletes and five coaches um who have over the years made huge impacts it was it's really humbling to be in a room with that many Olympians and World Series players and um extremely humbling but it was exciting to see all of them back in one place um I also want to give kudos to Winter Haven because they did you know you have them here for this event um which also happened to coincide with homecoming thanks to the hurricane um but they were able to get them into the school on Friday to meet with their students that they had former basketball players at the

119high school that are now in the WNBA that actually met with the basketball team Friday morning um but really took advantage of having these um legacies from our campuses here in Winter Haven and how can we utilize them that they were able to speak and give back to the Next Generation Um so excited to see that continue as we move forward um I want to Echo what Miss Fields said with the Hurricanes I think you know we've done a great job of making sure that we thank all of the people who have supported our schools but a huge Kudos needs to go to superintendent Hyde and his decision- making um not all of our surrounding counties are as Swift to pull the trigger and to to make decisions and I have heard repeatedly whether or

120not they were thrilled to have their students home for an extra day or two um they were thrilled to know going into the week that that they were going to need to figure out Child Care um also hearing from cities that you know we have several cities that will do dat schools out camps um just being able to plan accordingly um that I know the community really appreciated so thank you for for making those decisions which I know are not always popular easy um but for making them going forward um and then last but not least I certainly want to say um wishing you the best Miss Cunningham um I can't wait to see all all you do in the future and I know that you have you have a daughter that you're you're very

121excited to get to spend more time with so congratulations and wishing you the best all right thank you Miss Wyatt and Mr ni you're recognized thank you Dr alen oh wow what a great uh great evening tonight with all our super staff and our principls and vice princi and everybody they they've made such a difference and they're making a difference every day um thank you board member conham ly it's been great working next to you and you've had such a great uh run here and uh you've taught so many people so many things and uh uh this is definitely not goodbye but uh I will definitely see you again it's just been just a super evening um I attended uh two different prize patrols malur and malur high school and U willow oak school and

122we've got so many just outstanding staff members throughout the county that are making a difference and um it's uh quite heartwarming to see all the different people that are out there giving their all and trying to get our young people uh on track and just get them to be the best they can be um Sharpie and I have been to some athletic games some football games I've gone to some volleyball games and things we've got uh just outstanding teachers and staff faculty um and during this trying time with the Hurricanes uh wow these centers that we've opened up uh Mr Hyde good job of organizing them and getting them filled with everything need to be filled with and all the people that volunteered it's been a a really great teamwork and um I expect just

123super things to continue in the future um I can talk for another 30 40 minutes but I know we all want to get out of here and uh um school board members I agree with everything you said about uh what great teamwork we have here in pop County and we've just got to keep it going and um our teachers and just everybody you know bus drivers like you said the bus drivers are the people that meet the kids every morning and they say goodbye to them at night and thank goodness we can pay them at least close to what they really deserve and um I just uh hope we can continue this and uh keep positive and uh keep moving forward and uh making a difference in so many lives and U anyway thank you

124so much for all the good things you do and God bless thank you Mr Niti I'm going to give my comment and I'm I'm going to let you finish uh this evening Miss Cunningham uh so just a couple short ones I just want to say thank you superintendent Hyde um for your aggressive nature on just U moving swiftly to take care of our store our our schools and our students um you know I just reflecting back on that I just remember one short phone call that I had with you and I was expressing um you know Florida Southern having their mandatory evacuation and the uncertainty of you know our 11 trips that we had going internationally and whether they were going to make those trips or not and I had an opportunity to lead one

125of those 11 trips and the first thing that you said was oh man just give me a heads up next time U because I would love to open up a tier three um shelter for those students in the midst of that and it really to me uh spoke to just how quickly you're you're willing to extend a helping hand so um you truly are a Rich Partner to our district uh and to our counties so for that I'm grateful um so Junior Achievement man that's been with us for a long time and for that check to be sitting in our boardroom tonight $2.5 million contribution from the state uh and the heavy advocacy from state representative melan Bell uh is quite fulfilling um for a a dad who chaperoned two uh of my kids to

126BizTown and Hillsboro County and remember all the uptick of conversations around economic velopment and all kinds of different things um from a finance standpoint with my kids when they were in like third grade uh was mindboggling and I love and I'm excited about the opportunity to bring financial literacy to all of our um students here in P County because we have not had that Equitable opportunity for them to explore that and we will now so I'm so thankful to miss Bell for the work that she did around that and what we continue to do in partnership with Junior Achievement um secondly I just want to say thanks to Congressman Scott Franklin I was up in Washington DC with the Consortium of State School Board associations just recently and uh several fsba Florida Schoolboard Association members

127and myself had a chance to meet with him and um pretty much every um representative of of Florida in DC and we advocate for pul in particular I had a chance to advocate for pulk at a federal level so um it was great to meet him um in his space and as well as his staff and DC so I just want to say thank you Congressman Scott Franklin for the work that you're doing and then lastly again I just want to say thank you Miss Cunningham I mean even you just right there just sitting there with that very nice uh smile just even kill uh you're such a great leader uh and a servant so you have finished well so um that's all that I have uh this evening and I would love for you

128to finish us off this evening thank you well I want to Echo what all of my colleagues have said tonight um this poor county has been through so much in the past few weeks with two hurricanes absolutely it was bad enough when Helen came through you know and kind of touched us but it touched some worse than others and then here you go 10 days later and here comes Milton um just unbelievable and I've been through many superintendent Hyde um our house and everything was completely destroyed in 2004 when I was campaigning for this seat I had to go to one person's home to take a shower to get ready for a rally and I had to go to another person's home who had water shower and then another person who had electricity to put

129on makeup and do my hair to get to where I was going so it's kind of interesting that I came in with the hurricane and I'm exiting with the Hurricanes um but it's been very difficult for so many through all these years um and my point is I have never seen us respond through the numerous superintendents that I've served with all through the years that have done what you were able to accomplish during this storm that ravaged our County and I know you said you were hoping we weren't on the North End some of us were we were in the eye it went right through Lake Wales believe it or not um CU I was able by satellite because I thought it was over we lost everything and I was able by satellite to at

130least let my kid know we dad and I were alive which is unbelievable in this day and age um cuz yes I had Verizon unlike some of my colleagues who have better phone systems we will learn um but my point is you've done an amazing job and your leadership I understand it's the team it's the employees it's the administrators teachers volunteers throughout our district did incredible work opening shelters staying overnight taking the shifts yes leaving their families their loved ones behind because they had a greater Mission and that was to take care of families who needed us um our own as well as others coming into the county I have never in my 20 years on the board seen that type um of organization to where everybody was taking care of everybody knew where they

131were going everybody knew what they were doing we had shelters for pets we had shelters for families we had shelters for folks with disabilities it was so organized and I know you communicate but I can't even imagine the hours that you spent not sleeping trying to coordinate that the coordination efforts that we're provi I've never seen anything like I said I've been through this is my ninth hurricane in P County so I just want to say Kudos if that's the right word for your leadership and for everybody out there that worked underneath superintendent at hide you know from your assistant superintendent um all the way to our bus drivers and anyone else who volunteered cuz everybody did it in in between um it was an incredible journey and then to turn around after the fact

132and get those schools back up and running and checking for flooding and checking for Gates and oh my gosh as the as the information was coming through it was even hard I'm sitting there thinking I I don't know how does he have a you know a control room something operations room where he's pulling the pulling the information together you it is I've been there been there done that as an engineer whatever so um it's a lot of work on you and your family and I know as we talked you were out of power like we were but you uh you still rallied uh for the troops and I just want to say I appreciate that I think that was awesome um and yes I want to say thank you for the recognition for the kind

133words the cards um you guys are wonderful I've so enjoyed being here the last 20 years have been such a blessing to my family and I and I'm just really excited for Travis as you know I wasn't going to run in 20 because I had thought Travis was ready to to take the plunge and we had to wait for a little bit of a timing that was right for him and his family and we did and I'm really excited for him to take over and sit in the seat because I really do believe he's got the values that I hope you will respect um and work with CU he's really a great guy and a family man and a Christian man and I think he's going to do this seat well so I just thank

134you for 20 years of an awesome time and that concludes my report chairman Allan nice thank you Miss Cunningham all right the next item on our agenda is public comment uh addressing items not on our agenda so as noted earlier to register to speak you can fill out a speaker card uh in the lobby prior so uh we do have three speakers tonight so the first one up is Victor Chandler and then on Deck would be Glenda white so if we can speak this or come this direction um as noted before uh you'll have three minutes the light will turn yellow when you have one minute left and you'll hear a beat when your time is concluded Mr Chandler you are recognized you have a report that explains how to pay thus Florida State retirement

135for the teacher has had a massive loss of to inflation over the last 50 years while that superintendent board member and Senior Management has had a significant gain even though teachers were reported as receiving the same and at times a greater percentage raise I'm asking you read the report and if you find any changes that need to be made call and I'll meet you right here at the County office office I would like for you to make available to all teachers or at least okay as distribution all teachers have a right to know how this occurred now this report is named major cause teacher low pay thus low retirement some of you have claimed that you don't understand what I'm talking about I think if you read this you'll understand some of you uh don't

136I I've had times somebody say well I don't understand what changes need to be made it's in there if you have any doubt at all that changes need to be made I think you need to read this report because all pay raises all groups have employees should be the same an equivalent okay and everybody I don't care if you're a custodian a teacher or what you should have a right to a fair share of what are available and using different systems I think you have both a legal responsibility when you're using different systems to tell the public when you say you're giving a 2% raise to different groups but yet they're not calculated the same uh that's unethical more than unethical it's illegal some of the legal aspects are in there but this is primarily

137this is a just a first go at it okay if you see changes that need to be made call me I'll meet with you right here in this thank you very much thank you Mr Chandler next up is Glenda white and on Deck would be Bobby de good evening everyone my name is Glenda white I'm a resident of Winter Haven um education these days has become a dangerous and wasteful maze that families must navigate to receive a hoam education at best Florida doesn't sanction illegal immigration however the problems of huge numbers of illegals invading our state drugs via foreign cartels child abduction and traffic and trafficking all remain a huge concern these problems are very controllable though our government chooses not to address them seriously so they remain and become worse and worse but what

138is the biggest threat to our kids receiving a solid basic education to prepare them for life as adults in American society the overwhelming problem our children face is the education system itself We Trust our children to government to teach our kids to read right and develop ma basic math skills to run a business and manage their home as adults the government has stolen the responsibility of the parent and forced the education of their choosing down the throats of our children the gigantic politicized bloated and bureaucratic mess is today's result America is now among the worst education systems in the world though we spend hundreds of billions annually but let's move closer to home and take a look at our own school system less than half of Pok school children can read or perform math at

139grade level one out of five seniors will not graduate this year and of those who graduates we don't really know how many are truly prepared to face life as an adult the pop school budget is 2.5 billion this year yet we're still failing our kids Poke County was rated 57th out of 67 counties for Education performance across the state whether the intentions of this school board are good or political the school board is failing our kids and wasting a third of their childhood the State of Florida has created an answer for this problem every child now has the opportunity to receive an excellent education managed by their parents school choice is the answer to the problem created by the government we mistakenly trusted I encourage parents to explore the option of homeschooling micros schooling and

140private education at the Florida Department of Education website go to www fldoe.org and learn how to apply for the appropriate scholarship for your child thank you thank you Miss White Bobby D is next good evening folks my name is Bobby de I live in witer Haven Florida once again I'm here to inform the public that school board and school boards Across the Nation are failing our kids the bottom line reason for this is the indoctrination of the Socialist agenda anti-American and woke ideologies infecting our government universities institutions our schools and the teachers union liberals have taken God prayer disciplin and quality academics out of schools and replace them with CRT Dei go suck said Pride lgbtq porn and gender affirmation many of us did not know this until the beginning of Co it was then

141we discovered the teachers union and teachers were behind us indoctrination and some of these teachers are still around pornographic books are still in Pok schools the book Challenge and and opt out program initiated by this board is not working quit putting this burden on the parents when it's the board's job to keep these books out of the pop schools and there are statutes in Florida against such books for the last few years I've been coming to these meetings maybe longer this board has been hovering hovering around 57th place out of 67 counties in Florida on student performance levels not a good reflection on this board by lower ing the bar on education standards to make more Equitable for student minorities to achieve a passing grade and graduate has only succeeded in dumbing down our kids

142all in the name of equity many are graduating that can't make change for a dollar nor read very well leaving our children unprepared for Life bullying bullying in schools seems to be a lot more prevalent now than when I was in school and more dangerous some of the school shootings across the nation has been tied to bullying which is not just happening at schools but online as well leading to not just injuries or death but affecting the victim's learning performance in some cases the board is reluctant to advise the public of these incidents but there is a solution U for these problems I've mentioned more and more parents are turning to school choice putting their kids in private schools homeschooling or micro schools micro schools are popping up in churches all over P County and

143there are scholarships and vouchers available to help parents financially for more information go to www thank you Mr de thank you for being here tonight board members thanks for all the work that you do Miss Cunningham thank you for finishing strong uh if there's no further business at this time this meeting of the pole County School Board is now adjourned thank you