[0:49] [Music]

[0:50] [Music]

[0:51] [Music]

[0:52] [Music]

[0:53] Good evening. The second public

[0:55] hearing of the School Board of

[0:56] Broward County, Florida for the

[0:57] 2026 2027 millage and budget is

[0:59] now called to order. Our

[1:00] primary focus is to create a

[1:02] safe and productive environment

[1:03] for all participants. Please be

[1:04] reminded of the exit doors that

[1:05] are clearly marked for

[1:06] emergency exiting while while

[1:08] in the board room, refrain from

[1:10] obstructing the exit doors. All

[1:11] attendees must occupy a seat

[1:12] with the exception of media.

[1:14] Once the board room is reached,

[1:15] its seating capacity attendees

[1:16] will be directed to a

[1:18] designated overflow space,

[1:19] which is located in the area

[1:20] adjacent to the vending

[1:23] machines. If the fire alarm

[1:24] sounds, exit the room calmly

[1:25] continue outside the building

[1:26] and remain there until

[1:28] authorities give clearance to

[1:29] return. Thank you for your

[1:31] cooperation. All please rise

[1:32] for the Pledge of Allegiance to

[1:33] the flag of the United States

[1:38] of America.

[1:39] >> Allegiance to the flag of

[1:41] the United States of America,

[1:43] and to the Republic for which

[1:47] it stands. One nation under GOD,

[1:48] indivisible, with liberty and

[1:56] justice for all.

[1:57] >> As we prepare to begin our

[1:59] public hearing, we are reminded

[2:00] that our vision is 100%

[2:02] proficiency for all students.

[2:03] As an a rated school district,

[2:06] our vital task is to is to

[2:07] sustain this achievement. We

[2:09] will continue educating all

[2:10] students to reach their highest

[2:12] potential. Now let's write this

[2:14] next chapter together. Today's

[2:15] public hearing will operate in

[2:16] accordance with School Board

[2:18] Policy 1020, and the board will

[2:20] review the items as advertised

[2:21] and presented by the

[2:23] superintendent. The purpose of

[2:25] this meeting is for the School

[2:26] Board of Broward County,

[2:27] Florida to conduct the official

[2:28] business of the district and

[2:30] any other items the board deems

[2:32] necessary. Today, the board is

[2:33] considering the following

[2:36] business item one Adopt

[2:40] resolution 27-11 for final 2020

[2:42] 627 millage rates and item two

[2:46] adopt resolution 27-115 final

[2:49] 2026 2027 budget. The

[2:50] superintendent released a

[2:51] revised agenda with certain

[2:52] changes for this meeting and

[2:53] published it on the school

[2:54] district's website. The chair

[2:56] finds pursuant to section 120

[2:58] .525 Florida statutes, that

[3:00] good cause exists for such

[3:01] changes and accepts the revised

[3:03] agenda. Doctor Hepburn, are

[3:05] there any changes to the agenda?

[3:07] >> No changes. MADAM Chair.

[3:09] >> MAY I have a motion and a

[3:10] second to close the agenda?

[3:12] Move by DR. Zeman, second by

[3:13] MISS Hixon. All in favor of

[3:15] closing the agenda? Say aye.

[3:17] Any opposed? Say no. The agenda

[3:19] is now closed. We will soon

[3:21] hear from our registered public

[3:22] speakers. We ask that decorum

[3:24] be maintained in civility and

[3:26] respect, be shown during public

[3:27] comment. Our General Counsel

[3:28] will assist the chair in

[3:30] maintaining decorum during this

[3:31] period. We also want to remind

[3:33] our public speakers of the

[3:33] rules and expectations

[3:35] regarding the agenda. Public

[3:36] comment portion of the Special

[3:37] School Board meeting, as well

[3:39] as board policy. MADAM General

[3:41] Counsel, please explain the

[3:42] rules of public comment.

[3:44] >> Thank you and good evening.

[3:45] Public comment is governed by

[3:47] School Board Policy 1020 and is

[3:48] intended to provide input on

[3:50] the board's duties, decisions

[3:51] and the overall operation of

[3:53] the school district. The school

[3:54] board is viewpoint neutral

[3:55] during public comment per

[3:57] school board policy 1020. The

[3:59] procedures are as follows.

[4:00] Speakers must state their name,

[4:02] city of residence and whether

[4:03] they are a lobbyist before

[4:05] beginning their remarks, all

[4:06] remarks must be directed to the

[4:08] board as a whole. The board

[4:09] will not respond to or engage

[4:11] with speakers during public

[4:12] comment, and no action will be

[4:14] taken unless the item is on the

[4:16] agenda. During the agenda

[4:17] speaking time, speakers will

[4:18] have up to three minutes per

[4:20] item and up to one minute on

[4:21] motions or amendments. The

[4:23] chair MAY adjust the order of

[4:25] speakers as deemed fit. A

[4:26] visible timer will be used in.

[4:27] The microphone will be turned

[4:29] off when the time expires.

[4:30] Speakers must limit their

[4:32] comments to agenda items in

[4:35] this public hearing must remain

[4:36] relevant to the specific items.

[4:38] Comments MAY not address

[4:39] matters that are pending

[4:41] litigation. Quasi judicial

[4:42] proceedings, active

[4:43] investigations or

[4:45] administrative hearings,

[4:46] solicitation and lobbying

[4:47] activities must comply with

[4:49] applicable school board

[4:50] policies. Abusive language

[4:52] defined as profanity

[4:54] threatening or name calling is

[4:55] prohibited. In addition,

[4:57] clapping, hissing, booing,

[4:58] shouting, yelling or other

[4:59] disruptions from the audience

[5:01] are not allowed. Speakers who

[5:02] fail to follow proper decorum

[5:03] in the chambers will be ruled

[5:06] out of order by the board chair.

[5:07] Failure to comply MAY result in

[5:08] the microphone being turned off

[5:11] or recess being called. After a

[5:12] warning. The chair MAY also

[5:13] direct removal from the meeting

[5:15] by law enforcement or the

[5:17] Sergeant at Arms. MADAM Chair.

[5:19] >> Thank you, MADAM General

[5:20] Counsel. The board wants to

[5:21] hear from the public, and we

[5:22] appreciate your cooperation in

[5:24] maintaining a respectful,

[5:25] orderly and productive meeting

[5:27] environment. When it is time

[5:28] for public speakers, I will

[5:30] call the first speaker to the

[5:31] podium, and I will likely call

[5:33] five names at a time so you can

[5:35] line up behind the podium with

[5:37] the speaker at the mic, so we

[5:38] can move through public comment

[5:41] efficiently. So please line up

[5:42] behind the podium with one

[5:43] person at the podium at a time,

[5:46] and then the line of the rest

[5:46] of the speakers behind them.

[5:48] Please follow the staff's

[5:49] directions when lining up and

[5:50] approaching the podium. When

[5:52] your allotted time is up,

[5:53] please yield the mic and exit

[5:55] the podium and follow staff's

[5:57] direction. This evening, the

[5:58] board is considering the

[6:00] following business item one

[6:01] resolution adopting final

[6:03] millage rates. Item two

[6:05] resolution adopting the 2627

[6:07] budget. And before I ask for a

[6:09] motion on item one, I just want

[6:12] to remind our board members who

[6:14] are online to please either

[6:15] text me or the superintendent

[6:16] if you'd like to speak, so I

[6:19] can add you to the list. And

[6:20] without objection, since our

[6:21] Vice Chair is not here tonight,

[6:22] I'd like to designate MISS

[6:27] Hixon as Vice Chair. All right.

[6:28] Could I get a motion in a

[6:30] second? Bringing item one to

[6:32] the table. Move by MISS

[6:34] Thompson, seconded by MISS

[6:35] Hixon to bring item one to the

[6:38] table. So I just want to

[6:39] welcome everyone to the second

[6:41] and final public hearing for

[6:43] the 2627 millage rates and

[6:44] budget. This hearing is the

[6:45] final step in the district's

[6:47] annual budget adoption process

[6:48] and provides an opportunity for

[6:50] the board, district staff and

[6:51] the community to review the

[6:53] proposed final financial plan

[6:55] and hear the public input for

[6:57] prior to final action this

[6:58] evening, the School Board will

[7:00] consider the adoption of the

[7:01] final millage rates and the

[7:03] final 2627 budget. These

[7:05] actions complete the required

[7:07] truth in millage or trim and

[7:08] budget adoption process for the

[7:10] year. I now turn it over to the

[7:11] superintendent, who will give a

[7:13] brief overview of the budget.

[7:14] >> Thank you, MADAM Chair, and

[7:15] good evening. Welcome to our

[7:17] board members, staff, families,

[7:18] community members and all those

[7:21] joining us this evening.

[7:23] Tonight, I'm presenting the

[7:25] 2627 final millage rates and

[7:26] final budget for the school

[7:27] board's consideration and

[7:29] adoption. This budget continues

[7:30] to support our core priorities,

[7:32] strong academic outcomes, safe

[7:34] andecure schools, high

[7:35] quality instruction, student

[7:37] services, and a workforce that

[7:38] makes that possible. Our

[7:39] students and schools continue

[7:41] to achieve exceptional results.

[7:43] For the third consecutive year,

[7:44] Broward County Public Schools

[7:46] has earned an a district rating

[7:48] along with strong academic

[7:49] performance and outstanding

[7:50] graduation outcomes. These

[7:51] achievements reflect the hard

[7:53] work and commitment of our

[7:57] students. Educators, school

[7:58] leaders, support staff,

[8:00] families, and community, and

[8:02] they reinforce why our

[8:04] financial decisions must remain

[8:05] focused on protecting the

[8:07] classrooms and the learning

[8:08] environment at this time. I'll

[8:10] turn it over to the budget team

[8:12] to answer any questions that

[8:13] the board MAY have.

[8:16] >> And thank you and good

[8:19] evening. Task assigned. Chief

[8:20] Financial Officer Omar Shim.

[8:22] And beside me, I have Jeff

[8:24] Whitney, who's assistant

[8:25] director of budget, and I have

[8:27] budget staff here also. I'd

[8:28] really like to thank them for

[8:30] all the hard work they've done

[8:32] this year. So I'll briefly

[8:34] review the budget and the final

[8:36] millage rates being presented

[8:39] for adoption this evening. And

[8:41] again, I'd like to thank the

[8:42] board for their feedback. Last

[8:44] week when we discussed the

[8:47] budget. Tonight's's preseseation

[8:48] proves the financial

[8:49] informioio supportrtg g the

[8:52] boboard's for for theoaoard's

[8:54] consideration of the 2020 627

[8:56] millage rates and the budget,

[8:58] we'll review the general fund

[9:00] budget, final millage rates,

[9:02] the total budget and the key

[9:04] financial consideration,

[9:05] including risks and

[9:12] opportunities in this budget.

[9:15] This slide shows the proposed

[9:17] general fund budget totaling

[9:21] approximately $3.5 billion. And

[9:23] when you account for the fund

[9:26] balance and internal transfers,

[9:29] the amount for new general fund

[9:33] revenue is 3 billion. This

[9:35] includes 568 million for

[9:38] charter schools and 377 million

[9:40] for family empowerment

[9:42] scholarship, otherwise known as

[9:45] fees, so that totals 945

[9:48] million, which is 31 point, I'm

[9:50] sorry, 31% of the of new

[9:55] funding, 2.1 billion, or 69% is

[9:58] for district run schools. So

[9:59] it's important to see that

[10:01] growth in the overall general

[10:03] fund does not necessarily mean

[10:05] that additional resources are

[10:06] available for district operated

[10:13] schools. At first glance, the

[10:15] total general fund resources

[10:19] increased by $49.8 million. You

[10:22] can also see that this year's

[10:25] revenues rely more on local

[10:26] property taxes and less on

[10:29] state revenues. This

[10:31] appropriation district

[10:32] appropriations are declining by

[10:35] approximately $45 million, so

[10:37] this decline also includes

[10:39] funding for the required

[10:41] commitment. Of the funds are

[10:43] 11.8 million. So if removed,

[10:46] combined with the $45 million

[10:48] reduction, it only it leaves

[10:50] $57 million less for other

[10:53] district priorities. Year to

[10:56] year charter schools and fees

[10:58] funding increased by 12.7

[11:01] million and 51 million,

[11:03] respectively. So the key point

[11:05] is that revenues available to

[11:07] support district operations is

[11:09] declining as enrollment

[11:10] declines, even though the total

[11:13] general fund appears larger,

[11:15] district schools, unweighted

[11:18] FTEs declined by more than

[11:20] 11,300 students, while the fees

[11:24] increased by more than 6200.

[11:34] Fte. Next slide. This slide

[11:35] shows where funding is

[11:38] allocated in the budget. School

[11:40] appropriations increased by

[11:43] approximately $28 million, with

[11:45] the high schools increased to

[11:48] meet the needs of programs and

[11:49] to support the scheduling

[11:52] requirements. Other costs

[11:54] increased by which which would

[11:56] be the operational costs

[11:58] increased by 29 million, but

[12:01] this includes $41 million

[12:02] increase for facility and

[12:04] maintenance fund funded by

[12:06] capital transfer, while other

[12:09] costs associated with operating

[12:10] schools show an overall

[12:14] decrease. Appropriations for

[12:16] divisions decreased by

[12:18] approximately $22 million.

[12:20] District operating budgets

[12:23] increased by approximately 36

[12:26] million. But this. This is

[12:27] supported by the increase in

[12:29] capital transfer for facility

[12:32] funding. As mentioned, the

[12:33] available fund balance

[12:35] decreased by approximately $50

[12:37] million, leaving district

[12:39] operated, district operating

[12:41] resources, including fund

[12:42] balance about 14 million lower

[12:50] than last year. Our ending fund

[12:54] balance is projected to be

[12:55] 156.6 million. The assigned and

[12:59] unassigned portion is 84.4

[13:03] million, which is 3.5% of

[13:05] revenues. This is above the

[13:09] state's minimum 3% minimum 3.5

[13:11] is only about 11 million, above

[13:16] the 3% 1% increase in fund fund

[13:19] balance equates to $25 million

[13:23] to get from 3.5% to 5% in the

[13:25] current fund balance policy, it

[13:28] would cost approximately 36

[13:31] million at only 3.5%. Fund

[13:33] balance. We're entering the new

[13:35] fiscal year with a

[13:36] significantly smaller financial

[13:45] cushion. The total property tax

[13:51] revenue is about 2.23. Billion.

[13:53] Operating capital referendum

[13:55] and debt service details are

[13:57] shown on on this slide. And the

[14:05] next slide. So this this slide

[14:11] shows the the rollback rate the

[14:13] millage rate that would

[14:14] generate approximately the same

[14:16] property tax revenues as the

[14:19] prior year, excluding new

[14:22] construction. So it's 3.38%

[14:26] above the rollback rate.

[14:28] Increase to the overall

[14:30] rollback rate was driven by

[14:32] taxable value growth. So

[14:35] basically the property values

[14:40] grew in their overall value to

[14:44] include debt. The total debt

[14:46] including the total millage

[14:52] rate including debt is 6.4527,

[14:55] which is less than last year's

[15:03] millage rate. This slide shows

[15:05] the total budget, including all

[15:10] funds. And after fees and

[15:12] interfund transfer adjustments.

[15:14] It's approximately 4.7 billion,

[15:16] including all funds. This is

[15:18] the budget that's presented for

[15:26] adoption. Now on this slide. It

[15:28] shows some of the risks that we

[15:29] discussed last week, with the

[15:31] largest immediate risk

[15:34] continuing to be enrollment,

[15:36] approximately 1000 unweighted

[15:38] fte equates to roughly $10

[15:40] million in funding. So

[15:42] continued enrollment losses can

[15:44] quickly create a meaningful

[15:47] revenue shortfall. And we know

[15:50] we're looking up to the next

[15:51] state report that provides us

[15:53] the third calculation and could

[15:56] have potential changes to our

[15:58] revenues. Other assumptions

[16:00] built into the budget also

[16:01] carry risks, including

[16:04] anticipated savings, salary

[16:07] lapse and operational

[16:09] efficiencies, unplanned costs

[16:11] or new funding requirements

[16:13] could add further pressure.

[16:14] Many of the district's costs

[16:16] are fixed and cannot be reduced

[16:19] quickly enough to fully offset

[16:21] a sudden revenue loss, such as

[16:23] the third calculations. Because

[16:24] when the state provides that,

[16:26] they basically just reduce our

[16:31] our revenues. If these pressure

[16:32] materializes without

[16:33] corresponding reductions, the

[16:35] fund balance would be impacted

[16:37] and we would be at risk of

[16:46] state restrictions. Several

[16:48] opportunities have been

[16:49] identified. As we discussed

[16:51] last week, where additional

[16:54] savings are possible. These are

[16:56] preliminary ranges and

[16:57] shouldn't be viewed as

[17:00] guaranteed savings. The largest

[17:02] potential range comes from

[17:03] continued central office

[17:05] vacancy management and through

[17:08] our hiring freeze and other

[17:09] opportunities include health

[17:12] care efficiencies, contracted

[17:14] services, travel and purchasing

[17:16] restrictions, and our and

[17:21] program adjustments. So note

[17:23] that the savings related to

[17:25] changes in employment insurance

[17:28] premiums payments are already

[17:32] factored into the budget. The

[17:35] estimates for the insurance the

[17:38] health care relate to the glp

[17:40] one weight loss, prescription

[17:42] drugs, and any potential

[17:44] savings that we get from the

[17:46] people. One contract that we

[17:48] approved together, the

[17:49] preliminary range is

[17:53] approximately 15.2 million to

[18:01] 52 million. So the next steps

[18:03] are we're recommending that the

[18:04] board adopt the final millage

[18:08] rate, adopt the $4.7 billion

[18:09] final budget, continue to take

[18:11] steps to minimize financial

[18:13] risk while protecting

[18:14] classrooms and the learning

[18:17] environment. We'll create a. We

[18:18] will create opportunities by

[18:20] pursuing sustainable cost

[18:22] reductions and operational

[18:23] efficiencies. And as we

[18:25] mentioned in the beginning,

[18:27] we'll provide the board monthly

[18:29] updates on the budget and. And

[18:31] since the budget is fluid, we

[18:33] will amend the budget as it

[18:34] changes or as we're directed by

[18:40] the board. This concludes my

[18:42] presentation. Thank you.

[18:44] >> Thank you. We will now take

[18:46] public comment on item one,

[18:48] which is resolution adopting

[18:49] final millage rates. Again,

[18:51] I'll read five names at a time.

[18:54] Please line up behind the

[18:56] podium when the timer goes off.

[18:58] When your time is up, please

[18:59] exit and follow the direction

[19:03] of staff. So I have Amy Edelman,

[19:06] Liliana Ruido, Amos Armstrong,

[19:12] Samuel Hull and Yvonne Moniz.

[19:14] >> Amy Edelman, Contrails

[19:17] Elementary. Well, I didn't see

[19:20] any line in there about teacher

[19:22] raises, so that's very

[19:28] disappointing. MR. Howard.

[19:30] Superintendent trying to do a

[19:33] better job, I see, but I have

[19:34] some board members up there

[19:36] that I remember voting that

[19:39] really nice package for Doctor

[19:40] Runcie and giving him all that

[19:43] money at the end. So my point

[19:47] is, why do the teachers have to

[19:49] suffer? I was supposed to be a

[19:53] top salary when my son finished

[19:56] college. He's way, way out of

[19:58] college. I'm nowhere near that.

[20:00] I mean, the thought of retiring

[20:05] is very difficult. I'm just one

[20:08] of a whole entire staff that

[20:12] feels defeated, deflated. But

[20:14] we had a meeting the other day.

[20:17] It was just. Yeah. And the yeah,

[20:20] the class sizes are getting

[20:22] higher. People are walking in

[20:24] and out of my staff's rooms

[20:27] every five seconds with the

[20:30] premise that. They're just

[20:34] coming in to help. It would

[20:37] help if we had more staff in

[20:41] our schools, and it would also

[20:44] help if we had a raise. So

[20:47] think about that. I didn't see

[20:48] anything. That's great. But the

[20:53] thing is, is that. I didn't ask

[20:55] everybody to spend to send them

[20:56] away with thousands and

[20:58] thousands of dollars. The last

[20:59] three superintendents, I can't

[21:01] even remember two of their

[21:03] names. That's how quickly they

[21:05] came and gone. But they came

[21:07] and gone with so much money at

[21:08] the end that it's not even

[21:12] funny. Except that we're

[21:14] suffering for it. So when you

[21:17] think about us, I would like to

[21:19] hold you to giving us that

[21:21] raise this year. I'd like to

[21:25] have my going out salary at a

[21:27] point where when I go to Social

[21:30] Security and I go to get my

[21:33] pension. That they could tell

[21:36] me that I could actually live

[21:38] and go to the supermarket,

[21:40] which is outrageous, and buy

[21:42] food for myself to eat. And

[21:44] it's not funny and I'm not

[21:46] making it up. This is how the

[21:49] teachers feel, especially in my

[21:51] school. They don't. They can't

[21:53] even lift their head every

[21:56] single day. I asked them to

[21:59] spend five minutes at a bcu

[22:01] meeting. After the meeting the

[22:03] other day, and three quarters

[22:05] of them got up and left. They

[22:06] just walked out because they

[22:10] can't even handle listening to

[22:13] me talking about two specific

[22:16] things, because they were just

[22:18] deflated. That's it.

[22:22] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[22:25] >> My name is Sam Hull. I am a

[22:26] product of the Broward County

[22:28] Public school system as an

[22:30] individual, but also now as a

[22:31] teacher. As testament to this,

[22:34] I even work in the same room. I

[22:35] learned it in fourth grade. So

[22:38] it's very full circle. I'm here

[22:40] to show just how important that

[22:43] 4% is. I make roughly $50,000,

[22:46] and 4% of that is roughly 2000.

[22:47] I've been living with my

[22:48] parents for the past few years

[22:49] because I was not able to

[22:51] afford an apartment. I finally

[22:52] hit a point where I was like,

[22:54] well, I guess I can sort of

[22:56] afford it, so I'll do it.

[22:57] $2,000 is one full month of

[22:58] rent for me, essentially, right?

[23:00] So I'm not really asking for

[23:02] much at all. Not just me, but

[23:03] all people here. And I think

[23:05] that's the issue that we have

[23:06] that we're not asking for a

[23:07] whole lot amount. We're simply

[23:09] asking for a month worse, one a

[23:12] month worth of rent. I say that

[23:15] because it's not just the rent

[23:16] itself. It's the amount of time

[23:18] that I can put towards any

[23:20] individual student. So if I'm

[23:21] sitting there worrying about

[23:22] whether or not I'm going to

[23:23] make that next month rent, or

[23:25] at least comfortably make it,

[23:26] then that just siphons away the

[23:28] time that I can be spending on

[23:29] dwelling on a student that

[23:31] needs it. I now have four more

[23:33] students in my two classes that

[23:34] I worry about as a 4 or 5 math

[23:36] and science teacher, than I did

[23:38] when I started teaching three

[23:39] and a half years ago. So again,

[23:42] for MAY, you might be able to

[23:43] say it's not that much, just

[23:45] like another $1,800 or 2000 is

[23:46] not that much for a month of

[23:48] rent, but everything counts.

[23:49] And it's hitting a point where

[23:51] all these little, little

[23:52] everything things that pile

[23:54] together become a lot of things

[23:56] and it becomes a huge issue. If

[23:57] I'm wondering constantly, am I

[24:00] going to be able to buy a house

[24:01] someday? That kind of thought

[24:03] has left, has left my mind. But

[24:04] at the very least, I'm hoping

[24:06] for comfortability in my life.

[24:07] I'm going to yield the rest of

[24:09] my time, but I do want to make

[24:11] it very clear that until

[24:13] teachers are prioritized, when

[24:14] there's more work being put on

[24:16] their plates, your scores are

[24:17] not going to increase the

[24:19] overall metrics that you need

[24:21] to continue your jobs and to

[24:22] continue the budget, and so on

[24:24] and so forth, will not improve.

[24:26] You have to put teachers first,

[24:27] just like you do students.

[24:29] Thank you.

[24:33] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[24:35] >> Hi, my name is Yvonne Moniz.

[24:38] I am an Esq facilitator. I work

[24:39] at a local school right here,

[24:41] Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Check

[24:44] our scores vs elementary. We're

[24:45] doing really great. 25 years of

[24:47] a. We're very proud of

[24:50] ourselves. Yes, you know who we

[24:52] are. I know a lot of you. I've

[24:54] like campaigned in some of your

[24:56] things. I've volunteered for

[24:58] one of you for facility

[25:00] committee. I've seen you at the.

[25:06] What was that? The parade. And

[25:07] I'm here to say is we're having

[25:09] real success because I'm

[25:11] passionate about what I do,

[25:13] passionate. So I work with the

[25:15] complex learners. And you MAY

[25:17] think it's silly, but we have

[25:18] movements. For all the letter

[25:20] sounds movements. When you say

[25:22] a, we have an apple when they

[25:23] are reading and they get stuck

[25:25] on f, I start fanning and they

[25:26] get it. I've got kids that go

[25:28] up into third grade and you see

[25:30] they get stuck on a letter and

[25:32] they'll start going, t t t t t

[25:34] we're having success. Love what

[25:37] I do. Passionate, love it. But

[25:39] if that referendum and that 4%

[25:41] doesn't come, I MAY not be able

[25:43] to stay here. I am so sad about

[25:45] it. It's the reality of what

[25:49] the cost is. I raised three

[25:50] children, Broward County

[25:53] schools. One was in parkland

[25:56] that fateful day. One was a

[25:58] teacher and she has left

[26:00] teaching already because she

[26:02] has to go to the private sector.

[26:04] She doesn't make enough to pay

[26:07] that rent. But I want to thank

[26:10] you for dedicating your careers

[26:12] to public service. All the

[26:15] teachers here. Thank you for

[26:17] dedicating your lives, your

[26:20] careers to public service.

[26:22] Legislators hear that often

[26:24] teachers do not. It's very

[26:25] important what we do, the

[26:27] passion that we bring, the

[26:29] passion that we continue to

[26:30] have with what we're doing. And

[26:32] we all want to stay where we're

[26:37] at. Can we all afford it? We

[26:38] all can't afford it. I'm so sad

[26:41] to say we can't. Cost of living.

[26:43] It's a difficult time. You all

[26:45] know it. You go to the grocery

[26:46] stores too. You're getting

[26:48] those Uber Eats and you're

[26:49] getting your groceries

[26:51] delivered. It's expensive. It's

[26:54] getting difficult. So I'd love

[26:56] to. Please think of me. Think

[26:58] of the success I'm having with

[26:59] those complex learners. I love

[27:02] what I do, I love what the kids

[27:06] are learning. I love how they

[27:07] respond to the movements that

[27:11] we've created. Let's continue

[27:12] the good work we're doing.

[27:13] Thank you very much for your

[27:16] time, everybody.

[27:17] >> Thank you. Next, speaker.

[27:19] And then I'm just going to read

[27:21] the final names that I have for

[27:23] this specific item, the millage

[27:28] rate. So Anna Fusco, Chavez and

[27:32] Trudy Germanovich and Don

[27:33] Campbell, the rest of the

[27:34] registered public speakers I

[27:37] have are on the next item. The

[27:40] budget. Welcome.

[27:42] >> Good evening. My name is

[27:45] Amos, and I'm not here

[27:49] associated with any. Party. And

[27:51] I was told to be here. I'm not

[27:53] sure if I'm in the right place

[27:55] or not, but I was told to come

[27:59] to voice my opinion. And what I

[28:00] would like to say is I was

[28:02] sitting and I was listening to

[28:04] the speaker, and he was talking

[28:05] about the proposed budget for

[28:09] next year, for 2027. Now, he

[28:11] said most of the money was

[28:12] coming from the private sector,

[28:14] which was the my issue is

[28:15] probably a lot different from

[28:17] the teachers. The issue that

[28:19] I'm talking about now, and he

[28:21] proposed that the budget for

[28:24] next year, for the 4.7, what

[28:26] trillion million dollars for

[28:28] the budget for next year was

[28:29] coming from the private sector,

[28:31] which was going to be from the

[28:33] property taxes. That's why I'm

[28:35] here. I'm here for the property

[28:36] taxes. I'm here because of the

[28:41] fact that last year, this time,

[28:42] SEPTEMBER the 22nd, my mom

[28:44] passed. And when she passed,

[28:47] she had the house homesteaded

[28:50] in her name. I'm trying to

[28:52] understand how did the taxes go

[28:56] from $3,500 a year all the way

[29:00] up to $9,000 a year? I'm trying

[29:02] to figure out where did a

[29:04] $5,000 increase come from to

[29:06] make my property taxes go up

[29:09] that much? Mind you, I don't

[29:11] stay out west in Coral Springs.

[29:13] I don't stay on the other side

[29:15] of 75 in Weston or Wellington.

[29:17] None of those places. I stay in

[29:19] the hood in the ghetto, and I'm

[29:21] trying to figure out how come

[29:24] my property taxes are up $5,000

[29:25] extra compared to what I'm

[29:27] already paying? Basically, what

[29:30] you guys are telelng me I I that

[29:32] you guys s are fororng m me o out o

[29:33] mymy home, that I don't bee

[29:35] ththe e fo over 30 years. The

[29:37] house is bought and paid for.

[29:39] Yes, mind you, it MAY not be

[29:42] fancy. It MAY not be a modern

[29:43] home, but. But still, though

[29:44] it's our home, something that

[29:47] we worked hard for to get. I'm

[29:51] just trying to understand that

[29:52] I agree with the teachers. Yes,

[29:54] they need more pay. They need

[29:56] more money 100%. But I don't

[29:59] think they take no four point

[30:00] $7,000,000,000 trillion to get

[30:01] that, and not especially

[30:02] forcing a person out of their

[30:03] home. They don't have been

[30:05] there for over 30 years. I

[30:07] don't think that's right.

[30:09] Because somebody answer me that,

[30:10] which I know y'all can't speak,

[30:12] but can y'all answer me that?

[30:13] >> Yes. And thank you for the

[30:14] comment, sir. Thank you.

[30:16] Actually, in the wrong meeting,

[30:18] this is more for the property

[30:20] appraiser. Okay. And so if you

[30:23] go to outside and stand by that

[30:24] table, I'll make sure MR.

[30:26] Sullivan has a team member who

[30:28] can help you look that up and

[30:30] know what meeting, specific

[30:31] meeting to actually go to.

[30:32] >> Okay. Thank you.

[30:34] >> Thank you.

[30:42] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[30:45] >> Liliana. Broward Teachers

[30:48] Union. So I was looking at the

[30:50] budget. I didn't see any

[30:52] anywhere that says teacher

[30:55] salary raise at all. So what's

[30:57] going on here? The reality here

[31:02] is if you don't see the need of

[31:05] the teachers at this time, it's

[31:08] it's a problem. Also, you don't

[31:10] stop with the amount of demands.

[31:12] Do this. Do more, more and more.

[31:15] Not stopping. But yeah, there

[31:18] is no money for teachers. So

[31:20] it's extremely important for

[31:23] you to make a space and to

[31:25] allocate money for salary

[31:26] raises. And I'm going to tell

[31:28] you why you continue

[31:31] mistreating the teachers and

[31:33] not value them. Then it's going

[31:35] it's going to be a massive

[31:37] exodus of teachers. You don't

[31:39] appreciate them, you don't

[31:43] value them. Plus, it's just

[31:44] insane that you keep talking

[31:46] about class size. You keep

[31:48] saying about class size. Have

[31:50] you been in the schools? Have

[31:53] you been in a classroom of 60

[31:55] students? So you are condensing

[31:56] 2 or 3 classrooms in one

[31:58] classroom and you're saying

[32:00] there is not enough students?

[32:03] You are right. So again, you

[32:05] need you really need to revise

[32:06] what you're doing right now.

[32:07] We're watching what you're

[32:10] doing and your message is, you

[32:12] know what? We don't care about

[32:14] you. And that's a problem.

[32:16] Because when you sit there and

[32:18] when you are sitting right now

[32:20] is to represent us and do the

[32:22] right thing by the teachers and

[32:24] employees, and you're not doing

[32:26] it. It's very, very

[32:28] disappointing, especially for

[32:33] those who were once teachers.

[32:37] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[32:39] >> My name is Doctor Trudy

[32:42] Germanovich. I am going to talk

[32:44] a little bit about the millage.

[32:47] I think one of the things that

[32:48] we just found out from the

[32:51] former speaker right before

[32:54] Liliana was that you don't

[32:56] communicate very well what

[32:59] millage means. Millage means

[33:01] the same thing every year on

[33:04] our taxes and what happened

[33:07] with him. I have had happened

[33:10] to a lot of friends where they

[33:11] inherited a property, and then

[33:14] the property tax goes up

[33:16] tremendously. You MAY say

[33:19] that's not our problem, but it

[33:22] is your problem because the

[33:24] problem is you're not

[33:26] communicating what you're

[33:28] really doing. When you set this

[33:31] millage rate, it is the same as

[33:33] always. And sometimes I think

[33:35] it even goes down a little bit.

[33:36] Since I nerd out coming to

[33:39] these meetings, but I really

[33:42] think you need to make people

[33:43] understand that when they look

[33:46] at that big, long tax bill and

[33:48] they know that it's not going

[33:50] to be affected by proposition

[33:52] three, supposedly, although

[33:54] there are going to be a lot of

[33:55] things that are going to be

[33:58] affected by that. What you

[34:00] really need to do is to explain

[34:03] that this money is what you

[34:06] need just to, to operate the

[34:11] budget at all. So I again,

[34:13] people will look at it and say,

[34:16] well, since the the cost of the

[34:18] housing is going up, you should

[34:20] lower your millage rate. You

[34:22] have to explain to them why you

[34:25] can't do that, because while

[34:27] their houses are going up, so

[34:31] are all of your costs, our

[34:35] costs. And so again, it's

[34:37] communication, communication,

[34:40] communication. And you need to

[34:41] start doing a better job with

[34:44] that. I think that that's

[34:47] what's missing. Whenever these

[34:49] these conversations come up and

[34:50] the referendum I will talk

[34:52] about during the next thing,

[34:54] but I don't think you're doing

[34:57] a good job on, on the

[34:59] referendum. You need to say we

[35:02] need to really put out lots of

[35:04] things. And you say, well, we

[35:05] can't do it because the state

[35:07] law says we can't tell people

[35:09] how to vote. The thing that you

[35:12] put on the website was so

[35:13] boring that I couldn't even

[35:17] read it. So please, let's think

[35:20] about what you do. Have a

[35:25] contest. Find somebody to fund

[35:29] how we can get this referendum

[35:32] passed. Find somebody else. If

[35:34] if it can be done through the

[35:36] Broward Foundation, do it there.

[35:39] If you can't, you've got the

[35:41] union. The union always does it.

[35:43] So work with them on how to do

[35:45] it.

[35:49] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[35:50] >> I am.

[35:50] >> An.

[35:51] >> Educator for Broward Schools,

[35:53] and I also work for the Broward

[35:56] Teachers Union. I'm very

[35:58] concerned that there is no talk

[36:01] of a race. You know, I've been

[36:03] here a lot and I hear all of

[36:05] you, every single person except

[36:08] for the lawyer, talk about, yes,

[36:11] we we respect our educators. We

[36:15] value our educators. We assure

[36:19] you that we are looking very

[36:21] strongly to ensure that you get

[36:24] a raise next year. Please be

[36:27] patient with us. We know that

[36:31] you're struggling. So if you

[36:33] spent an entire year saying

[36:37] that, what is going on? Did you

[36:40] lie? Were you not telling the

[36:42] truth? Were you just saying

[36:43] things just to make people

[36:47] happy? What were you doing?

[36:49] Because this is not showing us

[36:54] that you care at all in any

[36:57] which way and form. This is a

[36:59] slap in the face to every

[37:03] single employee that you have,

[37:05] and that should be a concern

[37:07] for you. Every single one of

[37:10] you, even those of you on your

[37:11] phones, not paying attention to

[37:18] me. So here are some data. The

[37:21] cost of living has increased

[37:23] 10.5% in Broward in the past

[37:27] year. And you're not willing to

[37:29] even talk about a raise. You're

[37:32] not even willing to say, hey,

[37:35] we're going to make this happen.

[37:37] What you're willing to talk

[37:39] about is we need to get rid of

[37:42] more employees. What you should

[37:45] be talking about is what can we

[37:46] do to get back those students

[37:48] who've left us to charter

[37:52] schools and private schools?

[37:54] What do we need to do as a

[37:57] school district to entice those

[37:58] students and parents to come

[38:00] back to our school district?

[38:01] That's the conversation that

[38:04] needs to be had here, because

[38:07] it is not the fault of the

[38:09] educators. We are doing our

[38:11] jobs. We are taking full

[38:12] responsibility for the

[38:15] education of the students.

[38:18] Please do your job. Please make

[38:21] sure that every educator gets

[38:23] the raise that they truly

[38:27] deserve, and they have earned.

[38:29] Thank you.

[38:31] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[38:33] >> Anna Fusco, teachers union

[38:34] PRESIDENT. What's that hat say?

[38:37] School board Cervera.

[38:39] >> Pay the teachers.

[38:43] >> Oh. Thank you. Okay, so

[38:44] obviously the millage needs to

[38:46] get passed. And it was

[38:48] explained as best that it could

[38:51] be explained. We did have one

[38:52] person sitting in theudience

[38:54] that clearly didn't understand

[38:56] it, and that was your

[38:58] opportunity to explain it live.

[39:00] And it's there's live feed

[39:02] going on so everybody can hear

[39:04] it. I, we appreciate him being

[39:06] sent out and getting explained

[39:07] one on one, but it was your

[39:10] opportunity to talk. You've got

[39:13] this ridiculous notion that we

[39:15] can't talk back and forth. Come

[39:17] on. These are these are real

[39:19] people in here that he had a

[39:21] real concern that felt that the

[39:24] Broward School District was the

[39:27] reason the taxes affected him.

[39:29] That's we there are taxes that

[39:32] affect every single constituent

[39:33] in Broward County, but for

[39:35] different rationales and why

[39:37] you guys feel like, let me just

[39:40] sit here and, you know, play

[39:41] dumb. I don't even know. I

[39:43] don't know what to say anymore.

[39:46] I'm at a loss. But it is

[39:49] concerning to not see this

[39:50] millage explanation a little

[39:52] bit more in depth. I don't know,

[39:55] is it that it's the clips

[39:57] version? Is it purposely done

[39:58] that? Let's just get through.

[40:00] Let's just push it through. I

[40:02] don't know what questions or

[40:04] you know, are going to be asked

[40:05] by individual board members

[40:07] which ones are going to, we

[40:09] know which ones are going to be

[40:10] scripted. It's clear as a bell

[40:11] which board member scripts it

[40:13] with. The superintendent. That

[40:16] is not okay. I was oh, I'm

[40:19] always expecting real questions

[40:21] to come out on your own that

[40:22] you guys didn't have your back

[40:26] door conversations. And for the

[40:27] people that are not here all

[40:30] the time that they don't get it,

[40:33] but obviously you're going to

[40:34] pass it because it's there. We

[40:38] know that the budget money has

[40:39] gone up, but students have gone

[40:40] down. There's a lot of things

[40:44] that are not well understood in

[40:45] that little version that was

[40:48] put out there. And I hope that

[40:50] you're going to take a lot of

[40:53] time between the board members

[40:55] to have a real deep

[40:57] conversation so people actually

[40:59] understand. And I'm going to

[41:03] keep saying it. It was gravely

[41:04] affected in our schools that

[41:07] even though we've lost students,

[41:10] we still have less teachers to

[41:11] meet the needs of the students.

[41:13] The class sizes are inflated

[41:16] and it has to matter. And

[41:16] they're still being treated

[41:18] that they're not professionals

[41:21] of these unnecessary

[41:23] walkthroughs by district

[41:25] personnel. It's uncomfortable

[41:27] to them. I don't know why you

[41:29] think it's not. It is things

[41:31] like that, the pressures of our

[41:32] teachers and not making their

[41:34] rent or making their mortgage

[41:36] is real. Yeah.

[41:38] >> Thank you. And I still have

[41:43] Don Campbell.

[41:44] >> Good evening.

[41:46] >> Good evening.

[41:47] >> When I walked in this room,

[41:49] I saw something on that board

[41:53] and it said a rated school and

[41:55] you wouldn't have a rated

[41:57] school unless you had a

[42:00] dedicated force, a force of

[42:03] teachers and educators and

[42:04] guidance counselors and

[42:06] custodians and all of them

[42:08] working for the effort to make

[42:11] Broward County what it is and a

[42:12] love for what they do. Growing

[42:16] up, I would hear teachers say,

[42:17] I'm not working for the money.

[42:19] I'm working because I love to

[42:21] do what I'm doing. But you need

[42:23] to have money in order to pay

[42:26] your bills. A consideration

[42:29] need to be given for teachers.

[42:30] As a young man growing up in

[42:33] Broward County, my parents did

[42:35] not have the education, neither

[42:37] one of them. They was out there

[42:39] picking beans in the field, but

[42:41] they worked hard to send 17

[42:44] children. We had 12 go to

[42:47] college. Through hard work and

[42:48] dedication. And for the love of

[42:51] the teachers, that was there, I

[42:53] sit on a board and I know what

[42:55] it's like to sit behind that

[42:57] desk and listen to our

[43:00] community voiced their concerns,

[43:01] and some of my members that sit

[43:04] on the board with me are

[43:06] watching. Their phones are not

[43:08] paying attention or say, I've

[43:10] heard all of this before, and

[43:12] it bounces off their heart and

[43:13] their mind, and they go on to

[43:15] other things. They believe that

[43:17] it's important. But I'm telling

[43:22] you now, teachers are important.

[43:24] Education is important. And I

[43:27] wouldn't be here, here now if

[43:28] it wasn't for dedicated

[43:30] teachers. That made me pay

[43:32] attention, and I thank them for

[43:34] that. I thank you teachers,

[43:36] principals and even the board.

[43:37] Some of you have been on there

[43:39] for quite some time. Some of

[43:40] you just getting on there. But

[43:42] there's a love of school that

[43:45] these people are doing. I have

[43:47] three kids in education and a

[43:49] wife that's in education. I

[43:50] know my kids are still living

[43:52] with me because they can't move

[43:54] out because of the salary that

[43:55] they earn. And I know, you know,

[43:57] the percentage. We looked at

[43:59] what West Palm Beach and Miami

[44:01] pay and over the nations. I

[44:02] know, and I'm not going to bore

[44:04] you with all the statistics.

[44:06] I'm just going to tell you that

[44:07] you need to consider paying

[44:09] them. I heard tonight care,

[44:11] disappointment, communication

[44:13] and follow through. If they're

[44:15] coming here telling you they're

[44:16] concerned, don't just write it

[44:19] off, meet with them, listen to

[44:21] them, and you can learn

[44:22] something when you move away to

[44:25] get higher, you have less

[44:26] contact in the position that

[44:29] you have. These are the foot

[44:31] soldiers of our community. They

[44:33] know what's happening. You only

[44:35] hear certain portion of it. My

[44:36] daughter and all these teachers,

[44:38] I guarantee, take their own

[44:39] personal money and buy things

[44:41] for their schools. I know my

[44:43] daughters do that. Always copy

[44:45] and paper, always something

[44:46] that they're adding. Well,

[44:48] thank you for the time.

[44:51] >> Thank you so much. So now

[44:55] for we will sorry. We will vote

[44:58] on item one, and then we will

[44:59] go to item two and take the

[45:01] rest of the public speakers.

[45:02] But before we vote, of course,

[45:04] we'll do board discussion. And

[45:05] could I please have decorum in

[45:07] the audience so that the board

[45:09] can discuss in a civil and

[45:12] orderly manner? MISS Hixon.

[45:15] >> Thank you. I want to ask a

[45:16] question of beacon in the back

[45:18] there. Can you put back up

[45:22] slide 18? From the presentation

[45:25] that MR. Shim shared with us.

[45:28] Thank you. So first, I want to

[45:31] say thank you very much to the

[45:33] Budget Finance Department for

[45:35] putting all of this together. I

[45:37] asked for slide 18 to come up

[45:39] because I think it's important,

[45:40] as one of our speakers

[45:42] mentioned, to educate the

[45:45] public. So if you look at slide

[45:47] 18, it shows the millage rate

[45:50] from 2020 all the way to now.

[45:51] And I just really wanted to

[45:53] point it out because there's a

[45:54] couple of things. First of all,

[45:57] this is usually dictated by the

[46:02] state on what we we have to, to

[46:04] levy. Thank you. So if you look

[46:07] on 2020, it was 6.5. And if you

[46:10] look at today's. Millage that

[46:12] we're going to be voting on

[46:14] today, it's 6.45. So the

[46:16] millage has gone down and you

[46:17] can go across and see it went

[46:19] down. And then it went up one

[46:21] year and then it went back down.

[46:23] So I, I think it was important

[46:26] to point out that to the people

[46:27] who have come that are

[46:28] specifically concerned about

[46:30] the millage rate because, you

[46:32] know, we we don't increase it

[46:35] often it increases because your

[46:37] property value has increased.

[46:39] And also, I personally went

[46:41] through my, my taxes when it

[46:43] came. And just want to point

[46:45] out that usually what's the

[46:47] biggest thing on your taxes is

[46:50] the, the millage, your city or

[46:52] municipality levies. The school

[46:54] board isn't the the biggest

[46:56] number on there. But as someone

[46:57] pointed out, this is the only

[46:59] way we get funding or the main

[47:01] way that we get funding. So if

[47:04] we weren't to levy taxes, there

[47:07] would be no income for public

[47:09] schools. There just wouldn't.

[47:11] And we we could go through this

[47:12] whole thing also how we're a

[47:15] donor district. And what

[47:16] happens with taxes is they go

[47:19] into a big bucket. And then the

[47:21] state decides how that gets

[47:23] distributed out to different

[47:24] districts. If you didn't do it

[47:26] that way, rural districts that

[47:28] had very little property taxes

[47:30] would have no public schooling.

[47:31] So I don't know if the

[47:33] superintendent wants to add on

[47:35] to that, to just kind of give a

[47:38] quick lesson on, on what

[47:40] millage is. So that because I

[47:41] see that the one public speaker

[47:45] came back in just to understand

[47:47] what that is, but I just wanted

[47:48] I thought it was really

[47:49] important because this is in

[47:50] the appendix. So everybody

[47:52] might not have seen it, but

[47:57] from 2020 to 2026, our levy of

[47:59] millage actually went down.

[48:01] >> Yes. So thank you, MISS

[48:03] Hixon. And I'll ask MR. In a

[48:05] minute to kind of hop in. But

[48:06] yes, you're absolutely correct.

[48:08] Some of it is required local

[48:09] effort that we have to levy

[48:12] levy per state of Florida, as

[48:13] you mentioned too. We're also a

[48:15] donor district. So the state

[48:19] virtually collects what we

[48:20] actually access from our

[48:21] required local effort, kind of

[48:23] put it in a big bucket and

[48:24] spread it out amongst all the

[48:25] other school districts. So

[48:27] there's equity in funding as

[48:29] much as possible from county to

[48:30] county. You have some counties

[48:32] that have more cows than people

[48:33] in the state of Florida, so

[48:35] they don't have the same real

[48:36] estate advantage that some of

[48:38] the larger counties have. We

[48:40] also have opportunity for

[48:42] discretionary millage, an

[48:43] additional amount that we can

[48:45] levy to make sure that we can

[48:46] operate the district. As many

[48:48] of the speakers pointed out,

[48:50] cost of living is severely high

[48:52] in South Florida and continues

[48:56] to go up. So, as well as for

[48:58] homeowners with not just your

[48:59] mortgage or your rent, but also

[49:02] the expenses to live in your

[49:05] house, the utilities, the water,

[49:06] all the other maintenance

[49:08] things that are also increasing

[49:10] as well helps out with the

[49:11] discretionary millage that

[49:14] we're able to leverage. And I

[49:15] know some people talked about

[49:16] referendum as well. The

[49:18] referendum is another mechanism

[49:20] where required. Local local

[49:22] effort gives us gives us the

[49:23] ability to actually keep our

[49:25] schools safe and secure and

[49:27] meet and meet and exceed some

[49:28] of the state mandates for that

[49:30] to support our students with

[49:31] mental health concerns, which

[49:32] are very constant and daily,

[49:34] and also to provide

[49:36] supplemental compensation to

[49:37] our educators, especially our

[49:39] teachers in the classroom as

[49:42] well. And MR. Smith or MR.

[49:43] Whitney, if there's anything

[49:44] else you want to add.

[49:47] >> That that was a lot. So the

[49:49] only thing that I'll add is

[49:52] that the state funds the

[49:55] majority of our education

[49:56] component with the Florida

[49:59] Education Finance program. And

[50:01] there's the the state funded

[50:03] portion, which generally comes

[50:05] from sales tax, most of it does.

[50:08] And then there's the local

[50:10] required local effort. And the

[50:12] state decides howucucthey

[50:15] wiwi provivi I statete funngng

[50:18] d d how muchee levy locally.

[50:20] And we have to levy levy

[50:22] exactly what they say.

[50:23] Otherwise, we can't have

[50:25] education funding at all. And

[50:27] that that's that's basically

[50:28] how it works is the state tells

[50:31] you what the tax locally. So

[50:32] that's the first thing that

[50:34] I'll say. And then the other

[50:39] thing is that the, you know, as

[50:40] you said, our taxes are going

[50:43] down, the rate is going down.

[50:46] But what generally affects most

[50:48] homeowners the most is the

[50:49] changes in in their property

[50:52] tax values. And that can have

[50:54] happen for a number of reasons,

[50:55] particularly when properties

[50:58] change hands. The value of the

[51:01] property changes. And if

[51:02] there's homestead exemption or

[51:03] other circumstances that

[51:05] changes the property. And that

[51:06] has more to do. As the

[51:07] superintendent pointed out,

[51:09] with the local property

[51:10] appraiser's and the rules

[51:15] behind that. So thank you.

[51:17] >> Thank you.

[51:18] >> DR. Zeman thank you chair. I

[51:20] just want to make three points

[51:23] today. Thank you again, MR.

[51:26] Shim, for all of this work. You

[51:28] correctly point out that

[51:30] assigned and unassigned balance

[51:33] of $84 million is just over the

[51:35] required state minimum before

[51:38] triggering some negative

[51:40] consequences by $11 million of

[51:44] the 3.0 level that roughly 3.5.

[51:45] You also rightly point out that

[51:47] it would take another $36

[51:49] million to get to the 5.0,

[51:51] which is the policy of Broward

[51:52] County School Board to maintain

[51:56] a fund balance equal to 5%. Any

[51:58] economist would tell you that

[52:00] sailing into an 80 mile an hour

[52:01] headwind, like the referendum

[52:03] is, or could be, you would want

[52:05] to increase your cash on hand,

[52:07] your fund balance, because

[52:09] you've got to protect some

[52:11] resources in case the

[52:13] referendum does not pass. I

[52:14] just want to share with the

[52:15] board and the community that we

[52:17] are not doing that right now.

[52:19] We are not holding off any more

[52:20] cash than is absolutely

[52:23] minimally required, and

[52:26] therefore this budget is a

[52:27] risky budget in the sense that

[52:29] if the referendum does not pass,

[52:30] we're going to have to do more

[52:32] next year than we would had we

[52:34] husbanded more resources. So

[52:35] throw a little cold water on

[52:38] the budget. But that's what

[52:39] economists do professionally

[52:44] all the time. Second point,

[52:45] Doctor Hepburn, this board has

[52:49] asked you to report monthly on

[52:52] any departmental expenditures

[52:55] that exceed the monthly

[52:57] departmental budget. Do you

[52:59] intend to comply with that over

[53:01] the course of this year?

[53:04] >> Yes, we're plus more. Yes.

[53:06] >> Thank you, sir, very much. I

[53:08] wanted to say that because the

[53:09] community while they're here,

[53:11] needs to recognize that we're

[53:13] just skimming over the top of

[53:15] the state level of 3.0. We're

[53:17] not holding enough money back,

[53:18] you know, to be cautious. We're

[53:21] just storming straight ahead.

[53:23] But we also have zero tolerance

[53:25] for overspending. The budget

[53:26] this year, we should have

[53:27] always had zero tolerance

[53:30] because the board's very rare

[53:31] authority that we have is to

[53:33] set the budget. And once we set

[53:35] a budget, we should expect our

[53:38] leaders to follow it or

[53:40] consider something else. The

[53:43] third point, chair, is that we

[53:44] haven't talked enough today

[53:47] about the referendum. It's the

[53:50] proverbial 800 pound gorilla.

[53:54] It will provide if it passes

[53:57] $358 million in revenue for the

[53:59] 2728 year, we could have shown

[54:01] an alternative budget, Doctor

[54:03] Hepburn, that would have shown

[54:04] what we need to do next year

[54:07] had this not passed. That would

[54:08] be interesting because when you

[54:10] lose 16% of your operating

[54:13] budgets, you do heroic things

[54:15] just to keep the doors open.

[54:16] The things that we have talked

[54:19] about today at our school board

[54:20] workshop and our special school

[54:23] board meeting, and even today

[54:26] is interesting, but it's not as

[54:27] interesting as losing 16% of

[54:29] your operating dollars. And we

[54:31] need to just be aware of that

[54:33] and inform people aut what

[54:35] the options that they have in

[54:37] terms of continuing that 1.0

[54:42] mil ad valorem tax. Why is that

[54:44] important? Because this board

[54:46] has talked a lot about $64

[54:49] million, 64 is a lot less than

[54:53] 358. And so for us to find the

[54:54] $64 million out of this budget

[54:56] to pay a 4% raise this year,

[54:58] we're going to have to make

[55:01] some decisions about where to

[55:04] cut, and we're going to have to

[55:06] be very mindful about the

[55:07] referendum and the total

[55:08] revenue that we're going to be

[55:10] able to forecast for next year

[55:11] as we make decisions about this

[55:13] year. So, chair, thank you very

[55:15] much for your recognize me. I

[55:17] cease my comments at this point.

[55:19] >> Thank you. Any other board

[55:24] discussion on item one? MR.

[55:25] Shim, is there something that

[55:27] needs to be read in the record

[55:28] before we vote on item one? I

[55:30] know we have to separate the

[55:31] item. We were going to separate

[55:33] the items out. Yep.

[55:34] >> Good evening. Jeff Whitney,

[55:35] the assistant director of the

[55:37] budget department. I will read

[55:39] resolution for item number one

[55:40] into the record before the

[55:42] board takes their vote. The

[55:44] school Board of Broward County,

[55:47] Florida, resolution number

[55:48] 27-114. Florida Department of

[55:50] Education resolution

[55:51] determining revenues and

[55:53] Millages levied resolution of

[55:54] the District School Board of

[55:55] Broward County, Florida.

[55:56] Determining the amount of

[55:59] revenues to be produced and the

[56:00] millage to be levied for the

[56:01] General Fund for the District

[56:04] Local Capital Improvement Fund,

[56:05] and for district debt service

[56:07] funds. For the fiscal year

[56:10] beginning JULY 1st, 2026 and

[56:13] ending JUNE 30th, 2027. Whereas,

[56:16] section 1011.04 Florida

[56:18] statutes requires that upon

[56:19] receipt of the certificate of

[56:21] the property appraiser giving

[56:23] the assessed valuation of the

[56:25] county and of each of the

[56:27] special Tax school districts,

[56:29] the School Board shall

[56:30] determine by resolution the

[56:32] amount necessary to be raised

[56:35] for current operating purposes

[56:37] and for debt service funds and

[56:39] the millage to be levied for

[56:40] each such fund, including the

[56:43] voted millage. And Whereas

[56:46] section 1011.71 Florida

[56:48] statutes provides for the

[56:50] amounts necessary to be raised

[56:51] for local capital improvement

[56:53] outlay and the millage to be

[56:55] levied. And whereas, the

[56:57] certificate of the property

[56:59] appraiser has been received,

[57:00] therefore, be it resolved by

[57:02] the District School Board that

[57:04] the amounts necessary to be

[57:05] raised as shown by the

[57:06] officially adopted budget and

[57:08] the millage millage is

[57:11] necessary to be levied for each

[57:13] school fund of the district for

[57:16] the fiscal year are as follows.

[57:17] These are all based on a

[57:26] certified taxable value of

[57:27] $360,655,894,590. The required

[57:32] local effort millage 3.081

[57:41] excuse me, 3.0180 Mills raising

[57:43] $1,044,921,110. Prior period

[57:47] funding adjustment millage is

[57:54] 0.028 mills, raising $9,694,431.

[57:56] The total required millage will

[58:01] therefore be 3.0460 mills,

[58:07] raising $1,054,615,541.

[58:09] Discretionary operating millage

[58:18] of 0.748 Mills will raise

[58:20] $258,979,785. The additional

[58:21] operating millage, which is the

[58:24] referendum millage, is one mill

[58:31] that will raise $346,229,659.

[58:33] Local capital improvement is

[58:41] 1.5 mills, raising $519,344,489.

[58:43] And finally, the voted debt

[58:48] millage at 0.1587, mills will

[58:54] raise $54,946,647. The total

[58:56] millage rates to be levied

[58:58] exceeds the rollback rate

[59:01] computed pursuant to section

[59:04] 200.065. Sub one Florida

[59:09] statutes by 3.38%.

[59:12] >> All right. The question is

[59:13] on the approval of item one.

[59:15] All in favor of approving item

[59:16] one, say aye.

[59:16] >> Aye.

[59:18] >> All opposed? Say no.

[59:21] >> No.

[59:22] >> Item one adopting the

[59:26] millage rate passes with one

[59:27] dissenting vote from MR.

[59:30] Cervera. Could I get a motion

[59:31] and a second on item two,

[59:33] please move by DR. Zeman.

[59:36] Seconded by MISS Hixon. We will

[59:38] go ahead and do public comment

[59:40] on item two, which is a

[59:42] resolution adopting the 2627

[59:44] budget. So I'll call five names

[59:49] at a time. Anna Fusco, Sophie.

[59:51] Aminab, Trudy Germanovich,

[59:54] Samuel Hull and Melissa Sherman.

[59:58] So if you heard your name.

[1:00:04] Please approach the podium.

[1:00:10] >> Yes, sir.

[1:00:11] >> My name is Doctor Trudy

[1:00:13] Germanovich. A family of four

[1:00:15] with two working adults and two

[1:00:16] children. Needs an annual

[1:00:22] pretax income of $117,358 to

[1:00:24] cover basic living expenses in

[1:00:27] Broward County, according to

[1:00:31] mit survey. On what a living

[1:00:33] wage means, no matter where

[1:00:34] they work, just about every

[1:00:37] school teacher in South Florida

[1:00:38] agrees on one thing they are

[1:00:40] underpaid and overworked in

[1:00:42] order to pay the bills.

[1:00:43] Everybody has some sort of side

[1:00:46] hustle who teach who from a

[1:00:49] teacher that teaches at Western,

[1:00:52] our nbc annual survey drew

[1:00:54] responses from 1400 teachers in

[1:00:57] Miami-Dade and Broward. 99%

[1:00:59] said teachers are not paid

[1:01:02] fully, fairly, and 90. Nearly

[1:01:04] 99% said they have concerns

[1:01:06] about the high cost of living.

[1:01:09] After 14 years of teaching, one

[1:01:11] teacher tutors, students and

[1:01:14] tens bar on weekends to

[1:01:17] supplement her base salary

[1:01:18] $52,000 a year. And that

[1:01:21] roughly comes out to $900 a

[1:01:24] week. Every teacher we spoke to

[1:01:27] said the desire to inspire kids

[1:01:29] keeps them going to veteran

[1:01:33] teachers said. I always have to

[1:01:34] tutor or pick up side jobs just

[1:01:36] to be able to stay down here.

[1:01:37] It's purely for the love of

[1:01:39] teaching that I stay in this

[1:01:41] profession. Another said it

[1:01:44] makes me feel undervalued.

[1:01:46] We're expected to teach all of

[1:01:48] these kids more and more every

[1:01:50] year, and we always rise to the

[1:01:51] occasion. We get it done and

[1:01:54] our paychecks never reflect the

[1:01:56] amount of work and effort we

[1:01:59] put in. I can't keep doing this,

[1:02:00] said another teacher with 22

[1:02:03] years experience. I shouldn't

[1:02:05] have to work three jobs to pay

[1:02:10] for a starter home. So does one

[1:02:12] of our favorites here, Giordano

[1:02:15] was quoted here. Egan, who

[1:02:16] teaches at tropical. They're

[1:02:18] not respecting us as

[1:02:19] professionals. If literally I

[1:02:22] make the same exact money as a

[1:02:25] server working at night, it's

[1:02:29] pretty sad. Starting salary in

[1:02:32] Miami Dade Public Schools is

[1:02:36] 50,000, and ours is 51,400.

[1:02:37] Those numbers are augmented by

[1:02:42] the voter approved referendum

[1:02:43] 9,696% said they have

[1:02:44] colleagues who have moved out

[1:02:47] of South Florida. Florida is

[1:02:49] ranked 49th in the nation for

[1:02:52] average teacher pay. We need to

[1:02:54] get that referendum passed.

[1:03:00] Thank you.

[1:03:01] >> Melissa Sherman, Fort

[1:03:04] Lauderdale I'm a teacher in her

[1:03:05] 25th year of service to this

[1:03:07] district, and I want to be sure

[1:03:08] that we're all clear about

[1:03:10] something that this is not a

[1:03:11] conversation about whether we

[1:03:13] would like more money. This is

[1:03:14] a conversation about whether

[1:03:16] experienced professionals can

[1:03:18] continue to afford to work for

[1:03:20] Broward County Public Schools.

[1:03:22] You need to stop calling

[1:03:23] reductions in employee health

[1:03:24] care cost savings when those

[1:03:25] savings are being created on

[1:03:28] the backs of employees. If the

[1:03:29] district saves money by

[1:03:30] shifting more of the cost of

[1:03:32] health care onto teachers and

[1:03:34] other staff, the cost is not

[1:03:35] disappeared. It simply moved

[1:03:36] from the district's budgets

[1:03:38] into ours. That doesn't make

[1:03:40] health care cheaper. That makes

[1:03:42] employees delay care, skip

[1:03:43] appointments, put off

[1:03:44] procedures, stretch their

[1:03:45] medications and hope their

[1:03:46] problems go away on their own.

[1:03:48] That's not savings that makes

[1:03:51] people sicker and sicker.

[1:03:52] Employees cost more and lost

[1:03:54] work time, medical costs,

[1:03:55] burnout, and people deciding

[1:03:57] they simply cannot afford to

[1:03:59] keep working here. You cannot

[1:04:01] balance a budget by making

[1:04:02] access to medical care less

[1:04:03] affordable for the people,

[1:04:06] keeping the system running year

[1:04:07] after year. The employees in

[1:04:09] your classrooms have absorbed

[1:04:10] the difference. We've adjusted

[1:04:12] our budgets. We've postponed

[1:04:13] our purchases. We've taken

[1:04:15] second jobs. We've tutored.

[1:04:17] We've told our children, no, we

[1:04:19] MAY do, but there is a limit to

[1:04:21] how much of the district's

[1:04:22] financial problems can be

[1:04:23] transferred onto the personal

[1:04:25] finances of its employees, and

[1:04:27] we have reached that limit. I

[1:04:28] want to be very clear about

[1:04:30] what happens next. If

[1:04:31] compensation does not

[1:04:33] meaningfully improve, teachers

[1:04:34] will leave not because they

[1:04:36] stop caring about children, not

[1:04:37] because they stop believing in

[1:04:39] public education. They leave

[1:04:41] because caring about children

[1:04:44] does not pay their bills.

[1:04:46] Commitment does not cover our

[1:04:48] heads and dedication does not

[1:04:50] fund our retirements. You can't

[1:04:52] build your school system around

[1:04:54] the expectation that highly

[1:04:56] educated professionals will

[1:04:58] indefinitely subsidize their

[1:04:59] employment with personal

[1:05:01] sacrifice. At some point, we

[1:05:03] value our teachers has to show

[1:05:05] up somewhere other than a

[1:05:07] slogan. It has to show up in

[1:05:08] the budget. It has to show up

[1:05:11] in our paychecks and in the

[1:05:11] district's willingness to

[1:05:12] protect our health care.

[1:05:14] Instead of shifting more of the

[1:05:16] costs onto us. Because when the

[1:05:17] message is constantly, we

[1:05:18] appreciate you, but we cannot

[1:05:20] afford to pay you fairly. What

[1:05:22] we hear is we expect you to

[1:05:24] keep doing more for less,

[1:05:25] because we believe you will

[1:05:28] tolerate it. That is not

[1:05:29] respect that is being taken for

[1:05:31] granted. And we are tired of

[1:05:32] being told that things are

[1:05:33] improving when our own bank

[1:05:35] accounts tell us otherwise. We

[1:05:36] are tired of hearing that

[1:05:37] compensation is a priority

[1:05:39] while watching our purchasing

[1:05:40] power shrink, we are tired of

[1:05:42] being thanked publicly and

[1:05:44] squeezed privately. Teachers

[1:05:45] know how to read evidence. We

[1:05:47] teach students every day not to

[1:05:48] accept a claim that's

[1:05:51] unsupported by facts. So please

[1:05:52] understand when you tell us

[1:05:53] that we are valued, we are

[1:05:55] looking for the evidence. A

[1:05:56] meaningful raise is evidence.

[1:05:58] Affordable health care is

[1:05:59] evidence, a salary that allows

[1:06:01] a professional educator to live

[1:06:02] in the community. Where she

[1:06:04] works is evidence. Without that,

[1:06:06] the words begin to sound hollow.

[1:06:08] And that's why we're angry.

[1:06:11] >> Thank you.

[1:06:13] >> Thank you so much. Next

[1:06:17] speaker, please. Next speaker,

[1:06:24] please. All right. So again, I

[1:06:27] called Anna Fusco. She. We

[1:06:29] heard from Trudy Germanovich

[1:06:32] Samuel, Samuel Hull, Don

[1:06:34] Campbell, Marjorie Cook,

[1:06:36] Malcolm, Carolyn Harvey,

[1:06:43] Lorraine, Maurice Vachon.

[1:06:44] >> Good afternoon. My name is

[1:06:47] Margaret Malcolm and I live in

[1:06:56] Pembroke Pines. I know well, i

[1:06:57] heard the promise. Well, first

[1:06:59] let me start with the budget.

[1:07:01] There is no evidence of teacher

[1:07:03] salary on any of the line items

[1:07:05] for the budget. And I know I

[1:07:07] was excited a few months ago

[1:07:10] when I was heard that at least

[1:07:13] 4%, at least 4% salary increase,

[1:07:15] I was excited. In fact, I was

[1:07:17] one of them who said, yes, let

[1:07:20] me vote. I'm going to say yes

[1:07:21] because I want to make sure

[1:07:22] that if they're going to be 4%,

[1:07:24] then for my health insurance, I

[1:07:25] don't mind paying as long as

[1:07:27] I'm going to get some money to

[1:07:29] put back whatever I'm going to

[1:07:30] pay for my health insurance. So

[1:07:32] I was one of those who said,

[1:07:34] yes, let me go with the health

[1:07:35] insurance because I'm going to

[1:07:36] get my 4% increase. But

[1:07:37] obviously, looking at the

[1:07:39] budget, there is no place for

[1:07:41] 4%. There's not even a little

[1:07:43] mention of 4% or an increase

[1:07:46] for teacher salary. But let me

[1:07:49] tell you, teachers are feeling

[1:07:51] it. So right now, I stand in

[1:07:53] the gap for the teacher who sat

[1:07:55] in my classroom last week,

[1:07:57] overwhelmed, crying tears

[1:07:59] because it was too much. I also

[1:08:01] stand a gap for the teacher who

[1:08:03] goes to the grocery store and

[1:08:05] has to use a credit card to pay

[1:08:06] for the food items for the for

[1:08:09] their house, because they're

[1:08:12] salary already completed is is

[1:08:14] way with the mortgage, the car

[1:08:16] payments, whatever it is, bills.

[1:08:18] And I also stand in the gap for

[1:08:22] the teacher who has to postpone

[1:08:24] important life decisions like

[1:08:26] having a child because the

[1:08:28] money will not cover. And not

[1:08:31] only that, teacher. What about

[1:08:32] the other teacher who said, you

[1:08:34] know what? I have to. Even if I

[1:08:36] do have my baby, I have to wait

[1:08:38] just two weeks and come back.

[1:08:39] Maybe let me try to work with

[1:08:41] the numbers, work with the days

[1:08:43] so that I can come back and get

[1:08:45] my salary because I cannot stay

[1:08:47] out of work. I also stand in

[1:08:49] the gap for the teacher who

[1:08:51] prays night and day so that

[1:08:52] their spouse does. Nothing

[1:08:53] happens to their spouses

[1:08:55] because they know they're one

[1:08:57] paycheck away, one paycheck

[1:08:59] away from poverty. We've got to

[1:09:01] do better. Don't wait for the

[1:09:03] referendum. That's what you all

[1:09:04] seem to be doing, waiting for

[1:09:05] the referendum to give teachers

[1:09:08] a pay increase. That's not fair.

[1:09:11] But let me tell you, I totally

[1:09:12] agree with our superintendent.

[1:09:14] When he said everything is

[1:09:16] increasing. But I would like to

[1:09:20] add. Except teacher salary,

[1:09:24] have yourself a good one.

[1:09:25] >> Thank you. And just please

[1:09:26] maintain decorum in the

[1:09:27] audience. There is no clapping.

[1:09:29] You guys have been really great

[1:09:31] about doing the hand jazz hands,

[1:09:33] but please make sure that we

[1:09:36] don't clap. Next speaker please.

[1:09:43] >> Hi, Shafi. Okay, so. I

[1:09:44] really think we need to do a

[1:09:46] better job with putting a more

[1:09:47] positive spin on this

[1:09:50] referendum. Because although we

[1:09:53] are very upset with you that

[1:09:55] you're not doing anything about

[1:09:58] a race, and although I truly

[1:09:59] believe that you should not

[1:10:01] depend on a referendum for race,

[1:10:04] you should have some innovative

[1:10:07] ways of fixing your bget in a

[1:10:10] way that's positive for

[1:10:12] educators. You have this big

[1:10:14] old sign here that says a-rated

[1:10:17] School District. Were any of

[1:10:18] you in a classroom teaching

[1:10:21] children? Because the grades of

[1:10:24] the students, the hard work of

[1:10:26] the students, the hard work of

[1:10:29] the teachers and the classroom

[1:10:31] is the reason why we are an a

[1:10:35] rated school district. Let me

[1:10:38] say that again. The hard work

[1:10:40] of the teachers and the

[1:10:43] classroom is the reason why we

[1:10:46] are an a rated schooll distrtrt.

[1:10:47] I wantt e eveone in the pububc

[1:10:51] tohororoughl u understdhahat,

[1:10:52] cacause we morehahan deserve

[1:10:55] the referendum to pass, to help

[1:10:58] our educators stay in those

[1:11:01] classrooms, to help the

[1:11:04] students in the school district,

[1:11:06] and everyone up there that's

[1:11:09] sitting in the chairs, you need

[1:11:11] to do a better job with paying

[1:11:13] attention to your educators

[1:11:15] needs. You MAY think you're

[1:11:18] doing a great job. You really

[1:11:22] MAY think you are, but you know,

[1:11:24] as an educator myself, I like

[1:11:27] to reflect on how I teach my

[1:11:29] classes. In fact, I pride

[1:11:31] myself on looking at every

[1:11:33] survey after I give a class to

[1:11:35] see. Did anyone say anything

[1:11:38] negative? How can I improve

[1:11:42] myself of being an educator? So

[1:11:44] for years we've been coming

[1:11:46] here, the btu educators from

[1:11:49] all over have been coming and

[1:11:51] telling you exactly what you

[1:11:53] need to do to improve the

[1:11:56] school district. I don't know

[1:11:58] what's going on with everyone's

[1:11:59] listening skills up there

[1:12:00] because no one's listening. I

[1:12:02] really I'm very concerned about

[1:12:04] this, I really am. I'm not

[1:12:06] trying to make a joke out of it,

[1:12:09] but it is a, it is a real true

[1:12:15] concern. Because again, the

[1:12:16] educators in the school

[1:12:19] district, their hard work,

[1:12:22] their sacrifices taking away

[1:12:24] from their families, staying

[1:12:25] after school to help the

[1:12:27] student who needs extra help,

[1:12:29] coming in early to help the

[1:12:32] student who needs extra help.

[1:12:34] They are the reason why this

[1:12:36] school district is an a rated

[1:12:37] school district and they need

[1:12:39] to have more respect, give them

[1:12:40] the respect that they deserve.

[1:12:43] >> Thank you. Next speaker. I

[1:12:44] called quite a few names

[1:12:46] earlier, and I also have David

[1:12:48] Gomes on the list now. So if I

[1:12:49] called your name, please

[1:12:51] approach the podium so we can

[1:12:58] hear your public comment. You

[1:13:04] can line up behind each speaker.

[1:13:06] >> Hi. I did not hear you call

[1:13:07] my name. My name is Monique

[1:13:08] Boucherie. Did you call it?

[1:13:10] >> I don't have you on the list.

[1:13:12] >> Okay, then I would still

[1:13:13] like the opportunity to speak.

[1:13:15] I'm standing here asking for a

[1:13:17] raise, which is demeaning for a

[1:13:19] 57 year old woman who has

[1:13:22] worked so hard and given so

[1:13:23] much to this district. I work

[1:13:26] with special needs. I'm so

[1:13:27] tired of hearing about the

[1:13:28] enrollment. The enrollment has

[1:13:30] gone down. Can I ask why a

[1:13:31] classroom was just collapsed

[1:13:33] and I have taken over half of

[1:13:35] the collapsed classroom, as

[1:13:37] well as the other special needs

[1:13:38] teachers I work with. It

[1:13:41] doesn't make sense when you

[1:13:42] keep filling the classrooms

[1:13:44] like this. The overpopulated

[1:13:46] classrooms are not going to get.

[1:13:48] They're not going to get the.

[1:13:51] The people students back.

[1:13:53] Parents are disgusted by it.

[1:13:55] They're bothered that that's

[1:13:58] not how you have people come

[1:14:00] back. It just doesn't work. I

[1:14:04] mean, you should know that also.

[1:14:05] I'm also tired of hearing that

[1:14:07] you can't afford anything. I

[1:14:09] see this budget. I do not see

[1:14:12] raises for the teachers. What i

[1:14:14] also don't see is anyone

[1:14:15] getting cut anywhere. I'm not

[1:14:17] even asking you to cut people

[1:14:19] and take away their salary.

[1:14:20] Let's move them. I don't need

[1:14:22] someone walking through my

[1:14:23] classroom telling me that my

[1:14:25] standards on up. We are an a

[1:14:26] district. We don't need that.

[1:14:29] >> So if we please maintain. We

[1:14:30] pause for time. Please pause

[1:14:32] our time so she can get her

[1:14:32] time back.

[1:14:33] >> That's okay.

[1:14:35] >> No, I'm going to ask the

[1:14:36] audience to please maintain

[1:14:37] decorum so that each speaker

[1:14:40] can be heard. Thank you.

[1:14:42] >> So I do not need someone to

[1:14:43] walk through my classroom and

[1:14:45] ask if my standards are up or

[1:14:47] you know what I do need help

[1:14:48] with? Can you walk through my

[1:14:50] classroom and say, can I change

[1:14:52] that diaper for you so you can

[1:14:53] address this student here? How

[1:14:55] about we have that? But I don't

[1:14:56] subs anyone an extra body. If

[1:14:57] you're going to keep shoving

[1:14:59] kids into classes, you need to

[1:15:00] put more bodies in there. It's

[1:15:03] it becomes unsafe. I am hearing

[1:15:04] these horror stories. My

[1:15:06] classrooms are hard enough.

[1:15:09] Also. Please stop. Stop

[1:15:10] thinking that the referendum is

[1:15:12] our raise. As we can see

[1:15:14] earlier, the gentleman and I

[1:15:16] get where what he's saying. But

[1:15:18] that is your constituents. That

[1:15:20] is the people who are voting on

[1:15:22] the referendum. They're

[1:15:23] confused and you are not

[1:15:25] helping them see it any

[1:15:26] brighter, any clearer. And

[1:15:27] those are the people that are

[1:15:29] going to vote already.

[1:15:30] Everything's gone up,

[1:15:32] everything. Now their taxes are

[1:15:33] going up. They're not going to

[1:15:35] ask to give more for a

[1:15:36] referendum unless we clearly

[1:15:38] explain it. And we have not

[1:15:39] been transparent. We all know

[1:15:41] what happened last year where

[1:15:42] some people got paid, they

[1:15:44] shouldn't get paid. I got it,

[1:15:46] that was a mistake. I

[1:15:48] understand, but so legally you

[1:15:49] don't have to pay it back. But

[1:15:51] morally you should have that

[1:15:53] again, not even the issue. I'm

[1:15:55] just asking. Please, please

[1:15:56] stop filling these classrooms

[1:15:58] like this. The last thing I

[1:16:02] want to say is you want us to

[1:16:05] go with no more money again

[1:16:06] this year, but everything has

[1:16:09] gone up. Everything. So I can

[1:16:11] no longer afford to match what

[1:16:14] I spend. I can't afford to work

[1:16:15] for you anymore. And it's a

[1:16:18] shame because I love working

[1:16:20] with special needs. Thank you.

[1:16:31] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:16:33] >> Greetings. My name is Janiya

[1:16:35] Harden. I've been teaching.

[1:16:37] This is my 20th year, but not

[1:16:41] with this district. Thank you.

[1:16:43] Five years with this district.

[1:16:47] I wanted to basically state

[1:16:48] everything that they've said. I

[1:16:50] don't need to repeat what they

[1:16:53] said. You know, we all want a

[1:16:57] raise. We need a raise because

[1:16:58] everything has gone up. And you

[1:17:01] know this already. I don't want

[1:17:04] to I'm I'm not going to make it

[1:17:06] seem like you don't know this.

[1:17:09] My question is, what is it that

[1:17:14] we can do to help you get there,

[1:17:17] to make the decision to put us

[1:17:20] first? What is it that we can

[1:17:22] do? Because I think we've

[1:17:23] proven that we're great

[1:17:25] teachers and educators because

[1:17:28] you're in a district. Correct?

[1:17:31] I think I think that we are the

[1:17:34] only profession that in the

[1:17:36] entire, I will say, the United

[1:17:38] States, where we are taking

[1:17:41] advantage of of kindness,

[1:17:45] because if we only worked our

[1:17:47] contracted hours, I want to

[1:17:50] know if things would get done.

[1:17:52] It wouldn't get done. I'm

[1:17:55] telling you now, if we decided

[1:17:58] right now to only work our

[1:18:03] contracted hours 730 to 3 P.M.

[1:18:04] That means nothing. Not an

[1:18:07] email, not a not a phone call

[1:18:10] from a parent. Hey, you know,

[1:18:12] can you help me with Bobby or

[1:18:14] Susie? Can you help me with

[1:18:17] Devonte or Shavonte, whoever it

[1:18:21] is that you teach, can you come

[1:18:23] in early so I can go to work?

[1:18:24] Because there are teachers who

[1:18:27] show up before their contracted

[1:18:28] hours. There are teachers. In

[1:18:30] fact, I was late to this

[1:18:32] meeting today because I stayed

[1:18:35] until 430 at my school because

[1:18:38] things need to get done. And

[1:18:39] people like to say, because I'm

[1:18:41] just a music teacher. But guess

[1:18:44] what? I push in for reading. I

[1:18:48] was in the media center today.

[1:18:52] Covering. And you're putting

[1:18:54] pressure also on our

[1:18:56] administrative staff, on our

[1:18:58] principals. They're becoming

[1:19:01] bullies. I'm letting you know.

[1:19:04] They're becoming bullies

[1:19:05] because they're under pressure

[1:19:07] with the budget in which you've

[1:19:10] given them to work through,

[1:19:12] they're adding in all of these

[1:19:14] new departments. Now we have

[1:19:15] early Head Start and Head Start,

[1:19:17] and how can I get this? How can

[1:19:20] I increase my special needs

[1:19:21] budget? Because they get a

[1:19:24] little bit more. That's

[1:19:26] ridiculous. You guys, come on.

[1:19:29] I want you to do better. Thank

[1:19:30] you.

[1:19:32] >> Thank you so much. Next

[1:19:37] speaker.

[1:19:45] >> Good evening. Good evening.

[1:19:46] i came with a couple of ideas

[1:19:48] short of time because I missed

[1:19:52] my introduction. The first one.

[1:19:55] However, I believe that one and

[1:19:57] the two are combined together.

[1:19:58] You said that you have a budget

[1:20:00] deficit of $90 million and have

[1:20:05] empty seats near 70,000, and

[1:20:07] you continue to pay maintenance

[1:20:09] and upkeep costs for the empty

[1:20:12] schools. And that's why you

[1:20:13] have to put all the students

[1:20:17] together with the other.

[1:20:18] Students in other schools. And

[1:20:21] that creates a problem for the

[1:20:22] teachers and for the other

[1:20:26] students. I believe that in

[1:20:28] order to avoid the students, to

[1:20:29] get all together, you should

[1:20:34] create two shifts and to start

[1:20:36] thinking about selling the

[1:20:38] buildings and stop paying

[1:20:39] maintenance for something that

[1:20:43] you're not using. Or either

[1:20:45] renting buildings and get rid

[1:20:48] of those contracts that you're

[1:20:49] saying that you cannot do

[1:20:51] anything because they are under

[1:20:52] filled buildings or something

[1:20:53] like that, which I don't

[1:20:55] understand the term, but you

[1:20:56] should do something like that

[1:20:59] and create a, you know, some

[1:21:02] money for the budget. Also, you

[1:21:06] know, stop, stop creating

[1:21:09] budget for back end rates. You

[1:21:12] created last year, 700 vacant

[1:21:14] roles. You never activated them.

[1:21:18] However, you did create. A

[1:21:22] budget for it and there was no

[1:21:23] need for that. You are now

[1:21:25] federal budget. Federal budget

[1:21:27] does that. You do not. Your

[1:21:30] county. You should be more

[1:21:33] straight on the budget. You

[1:21:34] don't need to spend or create

[1:21:35] budget for something that you

[1:21:38] do not spend. The federal does

[1:21:41] that. You don't. That's

[1:21:43] basically it. You need to work

[1:21:45] on the 70,000 empty seat, sell

[1:21:47] the school, sell those

[1:21:50] buildings. Those are empty

[1:21:52] buildings. Sell it. You can get

[1:21:55] money out of it and have love

[1:21:56] for the teachers and respect

[1:21:59] for them. The people that have

[1:22:00] more love in their hearts are

[1:22:05] the teachers. You are kids.

[1:22:07] Once. They love you when you

[1:22:09] were kids and you are there and

[1:22:11] sitting there because your

[1:22:13] teachers love you and they

[1:22:16] teach you how to be good people,

[1:22:20] you're not in jail. You're not

[1:22:22] incarcerated. You are sitting

[1:22:25] there making good money because

[1:22:28] you have good teachers. Respect

[1:22:29] the teachers that are sitting

[1:22:31] here and try to make the best

[1:22:37] out of it. That's my time.

[1:22:43] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:22:45] >> Good evening, school board

[1:22:47] members. My name is Roosevelt

[1:22:49] McCleary. I am the sp vice

[1:22:50] PRESIDENT, and I'm coming to

[1:22:52] speak on all the education

[1:22:54] support professional who right

[1:22:57] now is working their second job.

[1:22:59] So our ESPs are the backbone of

[1:23:01] our school. They support our

[1:23:03] students, assist our teachers,

[1:23:05] and often take on the

[1:23:06] responsibility far beyond their

[1:23:10] job description. And many go

[1:23:11] throughout the employees or go

[1:23:13] throughout the district

[1:23:14] struggling financially while

[1:23:16] they continue to serve the

[1:23:18] district faithfully. If we

[1:23:19] truly believe that every

[1:23:21] student deserves a safe,

[1:23:22] supportive, and successful

[1:23:25] school experience, then we must

[1:23:26] prioritize the people who help

[1:23:29] make that possible every single

[1:23:33] day. Our ESPs are classroom and

[1:23:35] teacher, assistant, brace

[1:23:36] advisor, parent educators,

[1:23:38] behavior techs, our

[1:23:40] instructional assistant, job

[1:23:41] coach, child development

[1:23:42] associate, and our community

[1:23:45] liaison. When they when. When

[1:23:47] experienced ESPs leave because

[1:23:49] they cannot afford to stay. Our

[1:23:51] school. Lose knowledge,

[1:23:53] stability and our trusted

[1:23:55] relationship with students.

[1:23:56] Prioritizing raises is not

[1:23:58] simply an employee issue, it's

[1:24:00] a student issue. It's a

[1:24:03] staffing issue. It's a school

[1:24:06] stability issue. Every dollar

[1:24:08] invested in the esp

[1:24:09] compensation helped the Broward

[1:24:11] County School to retain

[1:24:13] experienced employees, reduce

[1:24:15] turnovers, strengthen morale,

[1:24:17] and provide students with the

[1:24:18] consistent support that they

[1:24:21] deserve. We cannot continue

[1:24:22] calling these employees

[1:24:25] essential while treating their

[1:24:28] compensation as optional. I'm

[1:24:29] asking this school board to

[1:24:32] make meaningful raises for our

[1:24:35] ESPs a priority in this budget.

[1:24:36] Show these employees that their

[1:24:38] work is valued, and not only

[1:24:39] with words, but with your

[1:24:43] action. I continually show up

[1:24:44] for the Broward County Public

[1:24:47] School. Now it's time for this

[1:24:52] district to show up for us.

[1:24:58] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:25:00] >> Greetings.

[1:25:01] >> Hello everyone. My name is

[1:25:04] Carolyn Harvey. I am a proud

[1:25:06] btu steward. I'm the resident

[1:25:10] of Lauderhill. I am a proud

[1:25:15] mother of two wonderful, great

[1:25:16] adults. That is a product of

[1:25:20] this wonderful county school

[1:25:23] board. And I appear with a

[1:25:28] problem. I can't, I can't just

[1:25:29] imagine that you don't

[1:25:31] understand what's going on with

[1:25:34] us. I stand before you not only

[1:25:36] as a teacher or a speech

[1:25:39] therapist, but also I am an

[1:25:41] advocate for special needs

[1:25:42] students, and our children

[1:25:46] deserve top tier education and

[1:25:48] we need stability. And we also

[1:25:49] need you to understand, in

[1:25:51] order for us to do that, we

[1:25:55] need we need it. We need a

[1:25:58] raise. We need you to

[1:26:00] understand that going into

[1:26:02] Walmart and going at great

[1:26:04] value and just grabbing that as

[1:26:05] our situation, we can't afford

[1:26:09] this. We cannot afford this. We

[1:26:13] need you to please allow us to

[1:26:15] have the dignity to be the

[1:26:17] teachers and educators that we

[1:26:20] are. I was mentored by my

[1:26:22] sheriff from a small rural town

[1:26:24] in Louisiana, and I wanted to

[1:26:26] be a police officer, but he

[1:26:27] told me, no, you go be a

[1:26:29] teacher because a teacher can

[1:26:31] change lives in a year. And he

[1:26:33] taught me passion, and I have a

[1:26:35] passion within me to make a

[1:26:36] difference. And I've been

[1:26:37] making a difference in this

[1:26:38] county for 34 years. I've given

[1:26:42] it all and I am concerned why

[1:26:46] y'all can't give me my all. I

[1:26:48] mean, I went from a step, then

[1:26:51] from the step to a letter. Now

[1:26:53] we're doing integers where you

[1:26:56] have a negative and a negative

[1:26:57] equals a negative. It's not a

[1:26:59] negative and a negative equal a

[1:27:01] positive. I'm needing you to

[1:27:05] get get on it. I'm excited that

[1:27:07] you will. I'm very proud of you

[1:27:08] because I'm already looking

[1:27:11] into my future. And I know I

[1:27:15] will have that 4%.

[1:27:20] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:27:21] >> Hello. My name.

[1:27:22] >> Is Lorraine Maurice Vachon.

[1:27:27] I'm a proud btu steward. Good

[1:27:29] evening. I'm also a proud

[1:27:31] product of Broward County

[1:27:34] Schools. My elementary school

[1:27:36] principal, MR. Benjamin

[1:27:38] Williams, taught me an example

[1:27:40] that education is more than a

[1:27:43] profession. It is a lifelong

[1:27:45] commitment to serve our

[1:27:47] community. That commitment

[1:27:48] became personal when I received

[1:27:51] a call from MR. Vanover, and he

[1:27:53] asked me to come directly from

[1:27:54] Bethune-Cookman University

[1:27:57] right off of I-95 for an

[1:27:59] interview at Sailboat Bend. I

[1:28:02] told him, my age now. Moments

[1:28:04] like that remind me how deeply

[1:28:06] Broward County has shaped my

[1:28:08] life and how many educators

[1:28:11] invested in and in the

[1:28:14] education. The educator I have

[1:28:17] become over the past 34 years.

[1:28:19] So tonight I'm here simply to

[1:28:20] ask for a favor.

[1:28:23] I am here to

[1:28:25] address a promise. Broward

[1:28:27] educators were promised a

[1:28:29] minimum 4% raise. And while we

[1:28:31] waited, we continue to do what

[1:28:33] we have always done. We showed

[1:28:37] up. We taught our students. We

[1:28:39] work beyond our contracted

[1:28:41] hours. We spent our own money.

[1:28:43] We serve as educators,

[1:28:45] counselors, mentors, advocates,

[1:28:46] and sometimes the emotional

[1:28:48] support system for students who

[1:28:49] simply need someone to believe

[1:28:52] in them. Broward educators have

[1:28:54] kept our commitment to our

[1:28:56] students, our school, and this

[1:28:57] community. Now, we expect

[1:28:59] leadership to keep its

[1:29:01] commitment to us. This is not

[1:29:03] an unreasonable request. This

[1:29:06] is not about asking for special

[1:29:08] treatment. This is not about

[1:29:10] accountability, respect, or

[1:29:11] keeping. This is about

[1:29:12] accountability, respect and

[1:29:15] keeping your word. Education is

[1:29:16] calling, but our calling should

[1:29:19] never be used as an excuse to

[1:29:22] underpay the people who answer

[1:29:24] it. The 4% raise represents

[1:29:26] more than a number. It

[1:29:27] represents recognition. It

[1:29:29] represents respect. It

[1:29:30] represents the value we place

[1:29:33] on our professions,

[1:29:34] professionals responsible for

[1:29:36] educating the next generation.

[1:29:38] We should not have to fight to

[1:29:40] be valued. Teachers should not

[1:29:42] have to choose between paying

[1:29:43] their bills and purchasing

[1:29:45] supplies for their classrooms.

[1:29:46] School employees should not

[1:29:48] have to wonder whether their

[1:29:50] dedication will ever be matched

[1:29:51] with meaningful composition. So

[1:29:53] tonight, the question is not

[1:29:55] whether Broward education

[1:29:56] educators have earned the raise.

[1:29:58] We have. The question is

[1:30:00] whether leadership will honor

[1:30:03] its commitment. I stand here as

[1:30:05] a proud product of Broward

[1:30:08] County, a 34 year educator and

[1:30:10] someone who knows firsthand the

[1:30:12] investment this community has

[1:30:14] made in its children. Now it's

[1:30:15] time to invest in the people

[1:30:17] who continue to make the

[1:30:19] difference every single day

[1:30:21] under the commitment, respect

[1:30:24] the work value. Educators.

[1:30:25] Thank you.

[1:30:29] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:30:31] >> What I've heard tonight is

[1:30:34] passion. I heard individuals

[1:30:39] speak on what they need. And I

[1:30:41] hope that the board is

[1:30:44] listening carefully. Passion.

[1:30:47] So here's a few things of

[1:30:48] possibilities, because I heard

[1:30:51] the word how can I help? What

[1:30:53] do you need from us? So here's

[1:30:55] some suggestions you MAY look

[1:30:58] to what to do. Reducing

[1:30:59] unnecessary administrative

[1:31:02] expense. Administrators have

[1:31:05] some high salaries. Continuing

[1:31:12] going up. Re patronizing.

[1:31:14] Patronizing the existing school

[1:31:16] budget. Let's find a way that

[1:31:18] we can pay these teachchs.

[1:31:20] There's always a w w to makeke

[1:31:23] ings work.K. A I Ihahank the

[1:31:25] ntntmaman tonight said using

[1:31:26] available resources

[1:31:28] appropriately. We do have some

[1:31:31] buildings that are not occupied

[1:31:32] reviewing contracts and

[1:31:35] operational expense. You know,

[1:31:37] another thing I heard tonight

[1:31:40] was action, not just words. And

[1:31:42] again, I sit behind the same

[1:31:44] seats that you sit behind. And

[1:31:46] I understand the frustration

[1:31:48] from our community when they

[1:31:49] feel that they're not being

[1:31:51] heard. So I hope for the spirit

[1:31:53] of this that you are hearing

[1:31:55] from these teachers, not only

[1:31:58] teachers, but our custodians,

[1:32:00] those that work to make sure

[1:32:02] the schools are clean.

[1:32:03] Sometimes you don't think

[1:32:04] they're as important as

[1:32:06] teachers, but if you don't have

[1:32:10] a school that is clean, kids

[1:32:14] don't learn. So custodians,

[1:32:15] guidance counselors, teachers,

[1:32:16] all of them work for the

[1:32:18] betterment of our community and

[1:32:20] our kids. So if you hear

[1:32:24] tonight, hear the passion and

[1:32:26] don't get mad because they're

[1:32:27] speaking what they need to

[1:32:31] speak, the reality is it's

[1:32:33] costly in Broward County. And

[1:32:35] you know that you go to grocery

[1:32:40] store, you talk about eggs, buy

[1:32:44] some lamb chops, pack of lamb

[1:32:47] chops, $30. And my kids love

[1:32:49] them. Just a little levity into

[1:32:50] our meeting. But I'm just

[1:32:53] saying things are expensive. So

[1:32:55] consider that. And when you

[1:32:58] look at our teachers, I think a

[1:32:59] raise is appropriate for them.

[1:33:01] I'm not an educator, but I tell

[1:33:04] you what, after 38 years of

[1:33:06] working for a major corporation,

[1:33:07] my wife talked me into going to

[1:33:09] the school to teach. I did it

[1:33:12] for five years, and I commend

[1:33:13] any teacher that walks in the

[1:33:15] school and to deal with some of

[1:33:17] the students that become

[1:33:19] psychologists for them,

[1:33:20] psychiatrists for them, and

[1:33:21] just a mother and a father when

[1:33:23] they don't have. So they do a

[1:33:24] lot more than just teaching

[1:33:26] kids. They do a lot more

[1:33:27] mentoring. Thank you for your

[1:33:28] time.

[1:33:35] >> Thank you. Next speaker.

[1:33:36] >> Anna Fusco Brower, teachers

[1:33:39] union PRESIDENT. I'm glad that

[1:33:40] a good group of people came out.

[1:33:43] I know it's not, you know, the

[1:33:44] hundreds that you think that or

[1:33:46] maybe thousands that would make

[1:33:48] you change your mind, that it

[1:33:51] affects people because as

[1:33:53] Roosevelt said, people didn't

[1:33:55] show because they're at their

[1:33:58] second jobs or attending to

[1:34:02] their family. So I know that we

[1:34:03] had a couple school board

[1:34:06] members up there. Give

[1:34:07] direction to the superintendent

[1:34:10] to look for a 4% increase for

[1:34:12] employees. We had one

[1:34:14] particular school board member

[1:34:16] who asked to see what it would

[1:34:19] look like at a 7%, and I'm not

[1:34:22] sure what happened because. The

[1:34:25] the majority said, look for the

[1:34:27] four, which still would not be

[1:34:29] enough to increase salaries.

[1:34:31] That would help with the cost

[1:34:33] of living. But when I looked at

[1:34:36] the budget, it doesn't show

[1:34:39] anywhere near the 4%. It MAY be

[1:34:45] in the 1.7 to 2.2%. And that's

[1:34:49] a MAY. So I'm not sure where it

[1:34:54] got lost or how. And again, you

[1:34:57] rather cut personnel to make up

[1:34:58] for the problems that are in

[1:34:59] the Broward schools. And I'm

[1:35:01] going to keep saying it. If you

[1:35:03] all don't remember what I said.

[1:35:05] MAY 11th, how many times I

[1:35:06] stood at this podium and said,

[1:35:08] the schools are going to see

[1:35:11] the impact, and you all have

[1:35:13] your scripted scripts over

[1:35:14] there to make it like that.

[1:35:17] It's not. And when we do win

[1:35:19] that referendum in NOVEMBER and

[1:35:22] we will because the community

[1:35:23] loves the teachers and they

[1:35:24] want them to be paid and they

[1:35:26] don't want a mass exodus. After

[1:35:28] that, I will gladly start

[1:35:31] showing you the videos because

[1:35:32] I was told to play nice right

[1:35:37] now until we win the referendum.

[1:35:38] And I don't think this is a

[1:35:40] game. I think that you need to

[1:35:41] hear what's really going on,

[1:35:43] and I think you need to care

[1:35:45] what's really going on. And I

[1:35:46] think you need to listen to the

[1:35:48] messaging and not who it's

[1:35:49] coming from, because I know

[1:35:50] majority of you are upset with

[1:35:52] me. I don't care. This isn't

[1:35:53] about Anna Fusco, the Broward

[1:35:54] Teachers Union PRESIDENT. This

[1:35:55] is what's actually happening in

[1:35:56] schools. You've heard from

[1:35:58] people here the wide variety of

[1:36:00] problems and concerns, but

[1:36:01] they're still showing up and

[1:36:02] they're still making the school

[1:36:04] district great a rated. And

[1:36:06] that is because of everybody

[1:36:07] that are in the schools getting

[1:36:09] it done. And that's from the

[1:36:10] start of the bus driver getting

[1:36:12] them there, the clerical and

[1:36:13] the instruction and

[1:36:14] non-instructional greeting them,

[1:36:16] the cafeteria, feeding them.

[1:36:17] The custodians have made sure

[1:36:19] the schools are clean. The, the,

[1:36:21] the support staff that are

[1:36:22] getting it done. Everyone

[1:36:24] that's not a classroom teacher

[1:36:26] that our governor felt that

[1:36:27] didn't reap the rewards of

[1:36:28] getting the money. This is the

[1:36:31] group that have made our

[1:36:33] district great, and you cannot

[1:36:35] give a strong direction to give

[1:36:36] a healthy increase so they

[1:36:37] don't have to work two and

[1:36:38] three jobs.

[1:36:39] >> Thank you. Any other

[1:36:46] speakers? Any other speakers?

[1:36:50] All right, MISS Hixon.

[1:36:52] >> Thank you. I have a couple

[1:36:54] of questions. So on page 11 of

[1:36:57] the presentation that we had,

[1:36:59] it talked about opportunities.

[1:37:01] So I wanted to ask a couple

[1:37:03] questions just so that the

[1:37:05] answer's out there. Hiring

[1:37:07] freeze. It says Central office.

[1:37:08] So I just want to be clear to

[1:37:11] the public that this is not

[1:37:13] classroom teachers,

[1:37:14] paraprofessionals, teachers,

[1:37:16] assistants, anybody working in

[1:37:18] the school. Is that accurate?

[1:37:19] >> That's accurate, MISS Hixon.

[1:37:21] >> Thank you. Also, on the

[1:37:23] health care part, there was MR.

[1:37:25] Shim made a comment about

[1:37:26] people one. But I just want to

[1:37:29] be clear. We're not going to

[1:37:30] see any savings from people.

[1:37:31] One in this fiscal year. Is

[1:37:33] that correct? That's correct.

[1:37:35] Okay. So I just want to be

[1:37:36] clear to that because when they

[1:37:38] came, we had that whole

[1:37:40] discussion about it. Also,

[1:37:43] somebody one of the speakers

[1:37:45] talked about new taxes in terms

[1:37:47] of the referendum. So I just

[1:37:48] want to be really clear that

[1:37:51] the referendum is not a new tax.

[1:37:52] Nobody's taxes would go up for

[1:37:54] the referendum. It is a tax

[1:37:56] that a millage that's already

[1:37:58] in there. So there would be no

[1:38:00] increases. It would just be a

[1:38:01] continuation. I think it's

[1:38:03] really, really important to

[1:38:04] share that with people. And

[1:38:07] there was also a comment about

[1:38:10] closing schools. If we're short

[1:38:11] students. So I just want to

[1:38:13] remind the public that so far

[1:38:15] we've closed seven schools and

[1:38:18] this year we are in discussions

[1:38:19] of looking at closures for up

[1:38:23] to ten. So we appreciate that

[1:38:24] input. But I just want to make

[1:38:26] sure that everyone is aware

[1:38:28] that we are those are things

[1:38:31] that we're already doing. So

[1:38:33] I'd also like to say that I

[1:38:34] have been an educator for 38

[1:38:36] years. 32 of those years have

[1:38:39] been spent in our schools and

[1:38:40] our classrooms here in Broward

[1:38:42] County. I know firsthand the

[1:38:44] dedication, sacrifice, and

[1:38:45] commitment our teachers and

[1:38:47] employees bring to our schools

[1:38:49] every single day. I value every

[1:38:51] one of our employees and the

[1:38:53] essential role they play in the

[1:38:55] success of our students in our

[1:38:56] district. And I want to thank

[1:38:58] everybody who came out today to

[1:39:00] share your story. It's

[1:39:03] important for us to be able to

[1:39:05] to hear that. And the passion

[1:39:08] that you have. A budget is more

[1:39:10] than numbers on a page. It's a

[1:39:11] reflection of our priorities

[1:39:13] and what we value. And as a

[1:39:15] board, we gave the

[1:39:16] superintendent a clear

[1:39:17] directive regarding salary

[1:39:19] increases for our employees. I

[1:39:21] do not see that directive

[1:39:22] reflected in this proposed

[1:39:24] budget, and I cannot support a

[1:39:26] budget that does not include

[1:39:28] the salary increases we

[1:39:30] directed. We say that we value

[1:39:31] our teachers and employees, and

[1:39:33] our budget must demonstrate

[1:39:35] that commitment. I firmly

[1:39:36] believe that when we take care

[1:39:38] of our teachers and staff, they

[1:39:40] are better able to take care of

[1:39:42] our students, investing in the

[1:39:43] people who work directly with

[1:39:45] our children is an investment

[1:39:47] in student achievement and the

[1:39:50] future of this district. I

[1:39:51] sincerely appreciate the

[1:39:52] tremendous amount of time and

[1:39:54] work that went into developing

[1:39:55] this budget and the proposal

[1:39:58] before us, and I recognize that

[1:39:59] there are difficult decisions

[1:40:01] to make and significant

[1:40:02] financial challenges that are

[1:40:05] facing our district. However,

[1:40:07] this budget does not meet the

[1:40:09] expectation I have for honoring

[1:40:11] the direction of this board and

[1:40:13] prioritizing our employees.

[1:40:14] Thank you.

[1:40:15] >> Thank you. And I just want

[1:40:16] to remind the audience, please

[1:40:18] do not clap. Everyone up here

[1:40:20] sat and listened to the entire

[1:40:25] public comment. Excuse me. So

[1:40:27] please maintain decorum while

[1:40:29] we can listen to board

[1:40:32] discussion. Now, MR. Cervera.

[1:40:39] >> Thank you chair. I had a

[1:40:42] chance to review this a lot,

[1:40:44] actually over the weekend and

[1:40:46] make some notes and some

[1:40:48] comparisons to the budget for

[1:40:50] last year. And doctor

[1:40:51] superintendent, before I get

[1:40:53] into the substance of my

[1:40:54] position, just want to make

[1:40:56] sure that my numbers are

[1:40:58] accurate. So I'm going to start

[1:40:59] with a couple inquiries. If

[1:41:02] it's okay with you, sir, on my

[1:41:03] calculations, sir, the budget

[1:41:05] that's being proposed to this

[1:41:10] board for the 2026 2027 year is

[1:41:13] approximately $5.5 billion with

[1:41:15] a b. Is that accurate, sir?

[1:41:16] >> That's accurate.

[1:41:18] >> Okay. And the budget that we

[1:41:21] had last year, 25, 26, was

[1:41:24] approximately $5.4 billion.

[1:41:26] Would it be is that accurate,

[1:41:26] sir?

[1:41:28] >> Yes. That's accurate.

[1:41:31] >> Excellent. So not a math

[1:41:33] scholar, but on my simple

[1:41:34] calculations, it would appear

[1:41:38] that we've gone up $100 million

[1:41:41] in one year since last year's

[1:41:44] budget. And we've gone up $100

[1:41:45] million despite the fact that

[1:41:48] we've lost. Excuse me.

[1:41:50] Approximately 11,000 students

[1:41:52] to low enrollment issues in the

[1:41:54] county, along with

[1:41:57] approximately another 1000

[1:41:58] employees that we're losing

[1:41:59] under the plan that we talked

[1:42:04] about earlier, that being said,

[1:42:08] somehow, some way our budget

[1:42:13] has increased $100 million. Is

[1:42:14] my math accurate? I'm not

[1:42:15] looking for an explanation,

[1:42:17] Doctor Hepburn, just want to

[1:42:19] know if my math is accurate.

[1:42:21] >> Yeah, your math is accurate,

[1:42:23] but fantastic. We're also a

[1:42:27] pass through for charter and

[1:42:27] vouchers.

[1:42:28] >> And I certainly understand

[1:42:30] that. I just wanted to make

[1:42:31] sure that my math was accurate

[1:42:34] on that, because I think you

[1:42:35] and I can both agree that $100

[1:42:37] million is a lot of scratch,

[1:42:38] right? I mean, we're not

[1:42:39] talking about a couple thousand

[1:42:41] bucks here, $100 million, a lot

[1:42:41] of money.

[1:42:43] >> Yeah, not for us, though.

[1:42:43] >> So.

[1:42:45] >> Well, we didn't receive that

[1:42:45] 100.

[1:42:47] >> Listen, I think in the maybe

[1:42:48] not for you, but $100 million

[1:42:50] to me is a lot.

[1:42:51] >> Of money. No, not saying

[1:42:53] that. It's a lot of money. I'm

[1:42:54] saying that we did not. Our

[1:42:56] budget actually is totally for

[1:42:57] district operated is totally

[1:42:58] different than the dollar

[1:42:59] figures that you're reflecting.

[1:43:00] >> Okay, well, I'm just I'm

[1:43:02] just looking at this. I'm just

[1:43:03] looking at the documentation

[1:43:04] that that data that's been

[1:43:06] provided to me. And it was $5.5

[1:43:08] billion this year compared to

[1:43:10] $5.4 billion last year. But now

[1:43:11] that we've cleared that up, I

[1:43:13] want to get into what's really

[1:43:15] important to teacher raise

[1:43:19] issues. Depending on how the

[1:43:21] money is distributed between

[1:43:22] classroom teachers and other

[1:43:25] instructional personnel, the

[1:43:26] practical range in this year's

[1:43:30] budget. I calculated, comes out

[1:43:35] to between 1.7 and a 2% raise.

[1:43:36] I know we heard that from one

[1:43:40] of the speakers. Is that your

[1:43:41] ballpark understanding as well,

[1:43:43] sir?

[1:43:45] >> Can you repeat that.

[1:43:46] >> 1.7 to 2?

[1:43:48] >> The statement I lost you.

[1:43:49] >> I apologize, and I apologize

[1:43:51] for being raspy a bit today.

[1:43:53] For those of you who don't know,

[1:43:55] I came off a vocal cord surgery

[1:43:56] last week and I've been cleared

[1:43:58] to speak again. So it's going

[1:43:59] to take me a little bit to get

[1:44:01] my my oomph back. But my

[1:44:02] doctors have assured me it's

[1:44:04] coming. But let me repeat,

[1:44:05] because I want to make sure you

[1:44:07] fully heard, depending on how

[1:44:09] the money is, is distributed

[1:44:11] between classroom teachers and

[1:44:13] other instructional personnel.

[1:44:15] The practical range in this

[1:44:16] year's budget, as far as a

[1:44:18] teacher raise is concerned,

[1:44:21] comes out to about or roughly

[1:44:23] 1.7 to 2% of a raise. Is that

[1:44:24] accurate? Ballpark?

[1:44:26] >> If we're talking about tsia

[1:44:28] funds doctor Lozano, if you can

[1:44:31] give the specific dollar amount

[1:44:33] that averages out for Tse funds

[1:44:34] from the state.

[1:44:36] >> So for this year, when you

[1:44:39] take out the fringe benefits,

[1:44:42] there was approximately $9.5

[1:44:45] million to distribute to full

[1:44:49] time classroom teachers and

[1:44:51] certified prekindergarten

[1:44:53] teachers who have been teaching

[1:44:55] in a Florida public school for

[1:44:59] ten years or more.

[1:45:01] >> Let me let me see if I can

[1:45:02] simplify this. When you take

[1:45:04] last year's figures and you

[1:45:05] compare them to this year's

[1:45:06] figures, what's the percentage

[1:45:08] of raises that are great

[1:45:09] teachers will receive someone

[1:45:11] give me a percentage. Maybe my

[1:45:14] math was off.

[1:45:15] >> For tsi. That's the only

[1:45:17] thing we could speak to. Go

[1:45:19] ahead. I don't know if you have

[1:45:20] last year's tsi numbers. If not,

[1:45:22] we will have to follow up on

[1:45:22] that.

[1:45:24] >> So it is half the allocation

[1:45:26] we received this year was

[1:45:28] double what we received last

[1:45:29] year.

[1:45:30] >> Okay, so I think it's safe

[1:45:33] to say that teachers are not

[1:45:35] getting a 4% raise this year.

[1:45:36] Is that an accurate statement?

[1:45:37] >> That's not accurate.

[1:45:39] >> Okay. So please, there's a

[1:45:40] lot of great people in the

[1:45:42] audience, okay. And a lot of

[1:45:44] great people listening at home.

[1:45:45] We've been very clear. This

[1:45:48] board has been very clear that

[1:45:50] to most of us, not me, because

[1:45:52] I wanted 7%. But to most of us,

[1:45:55] the instruction was find 4% to

[1:45:57] give our teachers a raise.

[1:45:58] You're telling me that still

[1:46:00] within the realm of possibility?

[1:46:02] >> Yes. So what I would say is,

[1:46:03] within the realm of

[1:46:04] possibilities, there's a cost

[1:46:06] savings that equates to what?

[1:46:08] To what the board asks for. And

[1:46:11] we will discuss in detail what

[1:46:12] direction the board wants to

[1:46:13] take in closed door.

[1:46:15] >> I'm going to tell you the

[1:46:17] detail right now about what I

[1:46:18] want to do. I want our teachers

[1:46:20] to have a 7% raise. That's what

[1:46:22] I want. I don't need to tell

[1:46:24] you that in closed door. I can

[1:46:25] tell you that right now. I've

[1:46:26] been saying that for months,

[1:46:28] and I can tell you what MISS

[1:46:30] Hixon said, and I can tell you

[1:46:31] what a lot of my colleagues

[1:46:33] said, that the minimum that

[1:46:34] they will take is 4% at a

[1:46:36] minimum, which I still think is

[1:46:37] way too low. But that being

[1:46:40] said, I am tired of the broken

[1:46:42] promises from this district. I

[1:46:44] am tired of having to listen to

[1:46:45] teachers tell me about their

[1:46:46] second and third jobs, that

[1:46:48] they have to work because they

[1:46:49] can't pay rent, or they can't

[1:46:51] pay their car note, or they

[1:46:52] can't pay their doctor bills,

[1:46:54] or they can't go out to eat, or

[1:46:57] they can't buy groceries. I'm

[1:47:00] tired of that. These people

[1:47:02] don't deserve it. They've

[1:47:05] earned the right to be paid a

[1:47:07] decent living wage. And this

[1:47:09] business model that we've heard

[1:47:12] about do more, expressed less.

[1:47:13] This is not a sustainable

[1:47:16] business model in the private

[1:47:18] sector. You know what we'd be

[1:47:21] doing? We'd probably be filing

[1:47:23] for bankruptcy because all our

[1:47:24] employees would be leaving us

[1:47:25] and nobody would be there to

[1:47:30] work. Now, you we cannot

[1:47:32] continue to treat our teachers

[1:47:34] and employees like this. It's

[1:47:37] not fair. It's not just it's

[1:47:40] not right. And, MR.

[1:47:41] Superintendent, I didn't vote

[1:47:43] in favor of the budget last

[1:47:45] year. And I think you know why.

[1:47:47] But if you forgot, I will

[1:47:50] remind you there was not enough

[1:47:52] money for our teachers. And

[1:47:54] guess what, MR. Superintendent?

[1:47:55] This MAY shock you, but I am

[1:47:57] not going to vote for the

[1:47:59] budget this year in what's been

[1:48:00] proposed to me, because there

[1:48:03] is not enough money for our

[1:48:06] teachers. Now, to my colleagues

[1:48:09] on this dais, I want you to

[1:48:12] think about and remember what

[1:48:14] you said over the coming months

[1:48:16] about the 4%, because a lot of

[1:48:18] you I'm not going to call you

[1:48:20] out by name, but a lot of you

[1:48:22] said that you would not accept

[1:48:24] anything less than 4%. You are

[1:48:27] on record saying that here we

[1:48:30] are. Unless you saw something

[1:48:31] differently than me, I don't

[1:48:34] think there's a 4% there. So

[1:48:37] what are you going to do? Are

[1:48:39] you going to honor your word?

[1:48:40] Are you going to cave to the

[1:48:42] district's financial failures?

[1:48:44] Are you going to have a spine?

[1:48:46] Are you going to have a

[1:48:47] backbone? Are you going to

[1:48:48] reject this nonsense? Are you

[1:48:51] going to send this back for a

[1:48:54] rewrite? We can send a message

[1:48:55] that what these folks are going

[1:48:58] through is no longer acceptable.

[1:49:00] In Broward County. We don't

[1:49:01] have to pass this budget.

[1:49:03] >> So please, no clapping in

[1:49:04] the audience. I will have to

[1:49:06] recess the meeting if we can't

[1:49:08] maintain decorum. MR. Cervera.

[1:49:10] >> Thank you. For the record. I

[1:49:11] don't mind if you clap, but

[1:49:14] listen to the chair. We don't

[1:49:17] have to accept this. We don't.

[1:49:19] You're under no obligation to

[1:49:21] vote for this. And to those of

[1:49:22] you who have said on record in

[1:49:24] the past that you will not

[1:49:28] support anything less than 4%,

[1:49:32] don't go back on your word. Now.

[1:49:34] I want to switch topics very,

[1:49:38] very briefly and talk about the

[1:49:44] referendum. Yeah, I don't I'm

[1:49:45] not concerned about the time.

[1:49:46] I'm not. And unless you're

[1:49:48] going to tell me that I can't

[1:49:49] speak anymore and you're going

[1:49:51] to cut my mic off, I'm going to

[1:49:52] continue speaking.

[1:49:53] >> So I just want to clarify,

[1:49:55] per our board policy, that we

[1:49:56] all voted on, each member gets

[1:49:58] five minutes for round one, and

[1:50:00] then we can do round two and

[1:50:01] round three and round four and

[1:50:03] round five. I would expect all

[1:50:04] board members to respect those

[1:50:06] time limits, and if you don't,

[1:50:08] then that's, you know your

[1:50:08] choice.

[1:50:09] >> Thank you. I'm going to

[1:50:11] finish what I have to say. And

[1:50:12] then I'm going to talk again to

[1:50:14] and possibly again in round

[1:50:19] three. Listen, listen.

[1:50:20] >> MISS Hixon, do you have a

[1:50:21] point of order?

[1:50:22] >> I have a point of order.

[1:50:23] >> MISS Bulman.

[1:50:25] >> We have we have a policy. We

[1:50:27] voted on it. And I think it's

[1:50:28] disrespectful to the rest of

[1:50:30] the people sitting up here to

[1:50:32] not follow the policy. Everyone

[1:50:33] else has something to say as

[1:50:36] well.

[1:50:37] >> Yeah. What's the point of

[1:50:39] having a policy if we don't.

[1:50:40] >> Follow MADAM General Council?

[1:50:42] Are you going to tell me that I

[1:50:43] can't speak?

[1:50:44] >> So there's two things. One,

[1:50:45] there is a policy that's

[1:50:46] currently in effect with

[1:50:47] regards to these public

[1:50:48] meetings, where board members

[1:50:51] have five minutes to speak, and

[1:50:52] then you have another round

[1:50:53] that you can have as well. And

[1:50:55] then most recently, I don't

[1:50:56] know if you were here, MR.

[1:50:58] Cervera, but the board had a

[1:50:59] very detailed. Conversation.

[1:51:02] And when it was reviewing its

[1:51:03] policies that are coming before

[1:51:05] it on the 15th and

[1:51:06] re-emphasized again the

[1:51:07] expectation that it would like

[1:51:10] board members to adhere to the

[1:51:11] policy. With regards to the

[1:51:12] five minutes.

[1:51:13] >> Don't think the irony is not

[1:51:15] lost on me that this board

[1:51:16] meeting in which that decision

[1:51:18] was made. I couldn't be there

[1:51:19] because I couldn't speak under

[1:51:21] doctor's orders. And now you're

[1:51:22] telling me that I can't speak

[1:51:24] when I get my voice back? So

[1:51:25] I'll ask the question again.

[1:51:27] MADAM General Counsel, are you

[1:51:29] going to instruct me not to

[1:51:30] speak?

[1:51:32] >> The only thing I can share

[1:51:34] with you, MR. Cervera, is that

[1:51:35] there is a board policy that is

[1:51:37] in effect that does limit the

[1:51:40] speaking to five minutes. My

[1:51:41] recommendation would always be

[1:51:43] to follow the policy. I do

[1:51:45] believe that your colleagues

[1:51:47] have stated that as well. But

[1:51:48] again, you will have another

[1:51:50] round that you will be able to

[1:51:50] speak.

[1:51:52] >> Is that a directive or a

[1:51:52] suggestion?

[1:51:54] >> I can't direct you, MR.

[1:51:55] Cervrva. I'm just general

[1:51:55] counsesel.

[1:51:56] >> Okay. T TnkououSo I'm

[1:51:58] gogogo o k k q qstioion.

[1:51:59] >> si I wouldike e a actually

[1:52:01] toto take the will of the board.

[1:52:03] Is it the will of the board to

[1:52:04] follow board policy?

[1:52:05] >> Yes, yes.

[1:52:06] >> Is there any objection to

[1:52:07] following board policy? I'll

[1:52:09] add your name to a round two.

[1:52:10] MR. Cervera DR. Zeman.

[1:52:12] >> Thank you very much, chair.

[1:52:16] I want to make sure that. This

[1:52:19] conversation is based in fact

[1:52:25] and honesty. Doctor Hepburn,

[1:52:27] you were asked about revenue to

[1:52:30] the district and the

[1:52:31] insinuation was, is that there

[1:52:33] was more money available to

[1:52:34] Broward County Public Schools,

[1:52:35] when in fact, that's clearly

[1:52:39] not the case. We were provided

[1:52:41] less money this year for

[1:52:42] traditional public run schools.

[1:52:44] Is that correct?

[1:52:45] >> That's correct.

[1:52:46] >> Thank you. Any other

[1:52:49] insinuation against that is

[1:52:51] fiction. And this discussion

[1:52:54] must be based in facts or this

[1:52:56] board will fail. A basic test

[1:52:59] of integrity. And that's a test.

[1:53:02] I will not sit still for. Now,

[1:53:04] let me be clear with the people

[1:53:06] who are here today. This board

[1:53:08] has been very clear about

[1:53:10] wanting to find money to

[1:53:11] compensate people. Three years

[1:53:13] ago, I wrote an op ed in the

[1:53:15] newspaper that I still stand by,

[1:53:17] which is I will not sleep until

[1:53:19] teachers make $100,000 each. It

[1:53:22] is the right goal, and it's one

[1:53:24] that I'm dedicated to. This

[1:53:26] presentation. However.

[1:53:27] >> Excuse me, this is your

[1:53:29] first warning.

[1:53:30] >> I would ask for some respect

[1:53:32] while I talk. Please. In

[1:53:33] addition to just following what

[1:53:38] you've been instructed to do.

[1:53:41] This issue deserves that. In

[1:53:44] this presentation on slide 11,

[1:53:46] MR. Shim pointed out $52

[1:53:47] million worth of cost savings

[1:53:50] that MAY be realized this year.

[1:53:52] If you looked into these

[1:53:53] estimates on slide 11, they're

[1:53:55] very conservative. We're going

[1:53:56] to save more money on several

[1:53:58] of these things than is

[1:54:00] outlined here. But until we

[1:54:01] know we can save that money, it

[1:54:03] would be a misuse of public

[1:54:06] dollars to allocate those funds.

[1:54:09] And again, chair, the 800 pound

[1:54:11] gorilla. While I can't speak to

[1:54:13] it as an advocate, I can speak

[1:54:15] to it in a factual matter. It's

[1:54:18] going to generate $358 million.

[1:54:19] Is that correct, Doctor Hepburn?

[1:54:20] >> That's correct.

[1:54:23] >> Is $358 million bigger than

[1:54:25] $64 million? Doctor Hepburn?

[1:54:25] >> Significantly.

[1:54:28] >> Yeah, by about $300 million.

[1:54:31] So this year this board is

[1:54:32] going to work toward doing

[1:54:34] everything we can and to make

[1:54:36] hard decisions about finding

[1:54:38] pay raises. It MAY be 4%, it

[1:54:41] MAY be 2%, it MAY be 7.35%. Who

[1:54:42] knows? But this board is very

[1:54:44] committed to finding money to

[1:54:46] pay people better for doing the

[1:54:48] hard work that they do. And I

[1:54:50] agree with the speaker today

[1:54:52] that said, we would not be in a

[1:54:53] district were it not for the

[1:54:54] efforts of educators in Broward

[1:54:56] County public schools, but

[1:54:59] let's be ethical and honest

[1:55:01] with each other. This is not

[1:55:05] the time to negotiate on issues

[1:55:07] that have to go before a

[1:55:07] collective bargaining agreement.

[1:55:09] This is not the time before we

[1:55:10] realize those savings and MR.

[1:55:13] Shim projects to determine a

[1:55:14] right number. Nor is it the

[1:55:16] time to reject this budget. A

[1:55:19] budget is a plan for the year,

[1:55:21] and we've got to know about the

[1:55:23] referendum. And so on NOVEMBER

[1:55:24] 4th, we'll be able to take

[1:55:26] stock on what the potential

[1:55:27] savings are. By the way, Doctor

[1:55:29] Hepburn will we know more on

[1:55:31] NOVEMBER 4th about the slide 11

[1:55:32] projected savings that MR. Shim

[1:55:33] is showing here.

[1:55:34] >> Yes.

[1:55:36] >> Terrific. So right now, just

[1:55:37] to be clear to Defuze the

[1:55:39] tension here, there's $52

[1:55:41] million in projected savings on

[1:55:42] Doctor Shim. MR. Shim, I always

[1:55:44] want to promote you. Promote

[1:55:46] you. MR. Shim, you act like a

[1:55:47] doctor. Shim, you're so dang

[1:55:49] smart. $52 million of projected

[1:55:51] savings, as the high estimate,

[1:55:52] $11 million of carryover above

[1:55:55] the 3% fund balance is $63

[1:55:56] million. Doctor Hepburn is 63,

[1:55:59] close to 64. Yes. It's close.

[1:56:00] Right. So we're actually not

[1:56:02] far away from our projected

[1:56:03] savings. Plus, using up the

[1:56:06] fund balance $11 million. But

[1:56:07] budgets are just plans. And we

[1:56:09] got a lot to learn between now

[1:56:10] and NOVEMBER 4th. We have a lot

[1:56:12] to learn between NOVEMBER 4th.

[1:56:13] And when we sit down and

[1:56:15] negotiate, I'm 100% committed

[1:56:17] to do everything we can, not

[1:56:19] just for the 4%, not for the 7%,

[1:56:20] not for some made up number,

[1:56:22] made up, made on facts and

[1:56:25] twisted logic. I'm committed to

[1:56:26] getting teachers to $100,000 as

[1:56:28] soon as we can. It's really

[1:56:30] important to get us there, and

[1:56:32] I'll continue to work on it by

[1:56:34] cutting where we can cut, by

[1:56:36] realizing savings, where we can,

[1:56:38] by allocating referendum

[1:56:39] dollars. Should we have

[1:56:40] additional referendum dollars

[1:56:43] in 2728 until we get to that

[1:56:45] level? To me, that is a sacred

[1:56:47] obligation because it is what

[1:56:48] teachers contribute at a

[1:56:51] minimum to Broward County, and

[1:56:53] it's the right thing to do. S

[1:56:55] let's base these things on the

[1:56:56] facts. Here's a fact for you.

[1:56:58] This slide shows this deck

[1:57:00] shows $63 million of potential

[1:57:03] savings in cash on hand. That's

[1:57:04] $1 million away from a $4

[1:57:06] million raise on NOVEMBER 3rd.

[1:57:07] The voters of Broward County,

[1:57:09] if they follow past precedent,

[1:57:11] will approve a referendum. That

[1:57:13] referendum will generate $358

[1:57:16] million for the 2728 years.

[1:57:17] That's a significant amount of

[1:57:19] money. And this board has been

[1:57:21] very clear about an interest in

[1:57:23] allocating funds to

[1:57:24] compensation for our educators.

[1:57:26] So there is no real debate

[1:57:28] tonight. This budget is just a

[1:57:31] plan. It's got to be passed

[1:57:32] because we owe it to the state

[1:57:33] doctor. Hepburn, when do we

[1:57:35] have to submit a budget to the

[1:57:35] state?

[1:57:38] >> I want to say SEPTEMBER 19th.

[1:57:41] MR. Shim. So.

[1:57:42] >> Yes, that's correct.

[1:57:44] >> Did you say SEPTEMBER 19th?

[1:57:46] 19th? So we're we're out of

[1:57:47] time and we're not going to

[1:57:48] know anything more before

[1:57:50] NOVEMBER 4th. We need to pass

[1:57:51] this budget tonight. Thank you

[1:57:51] chair.

[1:57:56] >> Thank you, MISS Bulman.

[1:58:00] >> Thank you. Thank you for the

[1:58:06] points. So. Based on the amount

[1:58:07] of money that we have in the

[1:58:09] budget that we have before us

[1:58:12] that we're proposing, is there

[1:58:14] potential for a 4% raise for

[1:58:16] our teachers?

[1:58:17] >> What I would say there's

[1:58:20] enough cost savings identified.

[1:58:21] That's equivalent to the amount

[1:58:24] of a 4% raise. But we would

[1:58:26] need to discuss in closed door.

[1:58:27] >> Right. And I'm not getting

[1:58:28] into the details, but there,

[1:58:30] you know, there's the potential

[1:58:31] for amending the budget. That's

[1:58:32] correct. And that we could also

[1:58:34] make cuts in other areas.

[1:58:38] Correct. And so and I think

[1:58:40] that collectively this board

[1:58:42] has said that they want 4% or

[1:58:45] minimum of 4% raise. And I it

[1:58:47] seems like everyone is standing

[1:58:50] by that. So I just want the

[1:58:51] public to know that that's the

[1:58:53] position we're taking. But that

[1:58:54] also means that we will have to

[1:58:56] make cuts in other areas. So if

[1:59:00] we make a cut to provide the

[1:59:02] very, very well earned and

[1:59:05] needed raises for our employees,

[1:59:07] then we then something else is

[1:59:09] going to have to suffer. And I

[1:59:11] just hope, I just want everyone

[1:59:12] to understand that we can't

[1:59:13] we're not bringing money out of

[1:59:16] the sky. We are in a very tight

[1:59:18] budget, losing students, losing

[1:59:20] money. We're looking at. All of

[1:59:22] us are going to be at meetings,

[1:59:23] all for the next two weeks,

[1:59:26] talking about school

[1:59:27] consolidation, making people

[1:59:29] very unhappy because we're

[1:59:31] trying to save money that way,

[1:59:33] to get to the point where we

[1:59:35] can pay our employees properly

[1:59:37] so they can continue to work

[1:59:38] and do the great work here,

[1:59:40] because the cost of living is

[1:59:42] so high in Broward County right

[1:59:43] now. But there's no way that

[1:59:47] we're going to be able to. Not

[1:59:49] make cuts somewhere. And so

[1:59:51] that is just the reality of the

[1:59:53] budget that we're facing, being

[1:59:57] in a state that pays our

[1:59:59] teachers 49th or 50th, whatever

[2:00:01] the state is 50th in the nation.

[2:00:05] And when you look at how our

[2:00:06] schools are funded and what

[2:00:08] we're paid per student, we are

[2:00:10] at the absolute bottom of the

[2:00:11] barrel. So we are working with

[2:00:13] the money that we have right

[2:00:16] now. And so I just just for all

[2:00:18] of us, we will have to make

[2:00:20] really tough decisions when we

[2:00:24] present potential solutions to

[2:00:27] cut costs, then I hope that

[2:00:29] people will really take that

[2:00:30] under consideration. It's not

[2:00:32] we can't keep doing the same

[2:00:33] thing that we've done before,

[2:00:35] because we have to figure out a

[2:00:37] way to cut costs so that we can

[2:00:39] pay people more. So that is,

[2:00:40] I'll have to say about that

[2:00:41] right now. Thanks.

[2:00:44] >> Thank you, MISS Thompson.

[2:00:45] >> Thank you, chair. So I first

[2:00:49] want to clear up some things

[2:00:51] that we heard. So one is that

[2:00:52] we have a bunch of empty

[2:00:54] buildings just sitting around.

[2:00:56] Can we get some status on what

[2:00:58] empty buildings we have sitting

[2:01:02] around and what the plan is.

[2:01:06] >> So for the current. Lets you

[2:01:08] will get a detailed memo

[2:01:10] probably tomorrow that

[2:01:11] discusses all the school

[2:01:13] closures and the movements. As

[2:01:14] far as timeline for employees

[2:01:16] to move into certain spaces. I

[2:01:17] don't know if the speaker was

[2:01:19] talking about what we were

[2:01:20] about to go through right now

[2:01:22] as options for the board to

[2:01:23] consider as far as selling

[2:01:26] those school buildings, but all

[2:01:27] the facilities that we closed

[2:01:29] last year, lack of a better

[2:01:31] term, they're kind of spoken

[2:01:32] for as far.

[2:01:33] >> As there is. There is a plan

[2:01:35] to use this space. We're not

[2:01:36] just wasting maintenance.

[2:01:38] >> And we're not wasting

[2:01:38] maintenance. We're actually

[2:01:40] it's a strategy to get people

[2:01:41] out of buildings that we're

[2:01:42] going to lease or sell.

[2:01:46] >> Okay. And then this probably

[2:01:47] is going to be answered again.

[2:01:49] But are you planning to lease?

[2:01:51] Are we planning to lease this

[2:01:51] building?

[2:01:53] >> Yes, absolutely. We've

[2:01:54] already given our commercial

[2:01:56] realtor direction on getting

[2:01:57] all that information out so we

[2:02:00] can get some potential leases.

[2:02:01] >> And then leasing as opposed

[2:02:02] to selling means that we can

[2:02:04] use that money we make correct.

[2:02:05] >> If we lease, it goes

[2:02:07] straight to our general. If we

[2:02:10] sell, it goes into capital

[2:02:11] funds, which is very

[2:02:12] restrictive and can't be used

[2:02:15] for compensation purposes for

[2:02:16] employees.

[2:02:18] >> And for the the schools that

[2:02:20] we are considering

[2:02:21] consolidating. Is there an

[2:02:24] option to sell or to make

[2:02:25] something so that we can put

[2:02:27] that money towards. Yes.

[2:02:29] Selling would be the same thing,

[2:02:30] right? If we sell a building,

[2:02:32] it goes to capital. So capital.

[2:02:33] Are there some options that are

[2:02:35] going to come before this board

[2:02:37] to make sure that we can add

[2:02:38] more to the general fund?

[2:02:40] >> Yes. The the best use of

[2:02:41] each facility will be presented

[2:02:43] to the board. Okay.

[2:02:46] >> And then I asked the last

[2:02:48] time we discussed this, our

[2:02:49] general counsel, to prepare a

[2:02:52] memo about what our

[2:02:56] responsibilities as a board is.

[2:02:59] I would like MR. Bruno to go

[2:03:00] over what the board's

[2:03:02] responsibility, legal

[2:03:03] responsibilities for passing a

[2:03:05] budget is.

[2:03:07] >> So the board has a statutory

[2:03:08] responsibility. To pass a

[2:03:10] budget in the time frame is

[2:03:14] very, very specific. 1011.03,

[2:03:15] subsection three. Note to the

[2:03:17] board has to have the public

[2:03:18] hearing to adopt its tentative

[2:03:20] and final budget pursuant to

[2:03:25] Florida Statute 200.065 and

[2:03:26] subsection two f three gives us

[2:03:28] the timeline. It requires the

[2:03:30] final public hearing to

[2:03:31] finalize the budget and adopt

[2:03:33] the millage rate within 80 days

[2:03:34] after certification of the

[2:03:36] taxable value. My understanding

[2:03:38] that was JULY 1st, but no

[2:03:41] earlier than 65 days after

[2:03:42] certification. So we have a 15

[2:03:45] day window. And our close of

[2:03:48] that window will be SEPTEMBER

[2:03:50] 19th. And it opened, I want to

[2:03:52] say SEPTEMBER 4th through

[2:03:54] SEPTEMBER 19th. So that is our

[2:03:55] statutory that is your as board

[2:03:57] statutory obligation.

[2:04:00] >> So just before any of my

[2:04:02] colleagues comment, does that

[2:04:04] mean we're not allowed to make

[2:04:05] suggestions or comments or

[2:04:07] direct the superintendent on a

[2:04:09] budget prior to this final

[2:04:10] adoption.

[2:04:12] >> You can make any

[2:04:12] recommendations that you want.

[2:04:14] In addition, after the budget

[2:04:16] is passed, you can always amend

[2:04:17] the budget.

[2:04:19] >> Yes. So it is our legal

[2:04:20] requirement as people sitting

[2:04:22] on this board to adopt this

[2:04:26] budget. Correct?

[2:04:27] >> Yes.

[2:04:28] >> And what are the

[2:04:30] consequences either immediate

[2:04:34] or long term, of us not having

[2:04:38] an budget from the state?

[2:04:40] >> So clearly you would get the

[2:04:41] attention of the Florida

[2:04:43] Department of Education. And so

[2:04:46] that would be problematic. So

[2:04:52] that is. That is something that

[2:04:53] we want to be very, very

[2:04:56] careful with, especially given

[2:04:58] the issue with regards to the

[2:04:59] fund balance and making sure

[2:05:01] that we are fiscally

[2:05:02] responsible and good stewards

[2:05:04] of taxpayer dollars. So I would

[2:05:06] caution the board of anything

[2:05:07] that would deviate from your

[2:05:10] statutory responsibilities.

[2:05:12] >> And it could also impact our

[2:05:14] ability to have trim and

[2:05:16] mileage and funding from the

[2:05:17] state millage.

[2:05:19] >> It can it can impact that.

[2:05:20] It can also impact your cops

[2:05:22] with the people that you MAY

[2:05:24] want to. I mean, there's a very

[2:05:28] large group of individuals and

[2:05:29] organizations and entities that

[2:05:31] can look at this and, and be

[2:05:32] very concerned with Broward

[2:05:34] County Public Schools with

[2:05:36] regards to your financial

[2:05:37] stewardship.

[2:05:39] >> So we can all make political

[2:05:41] posturing about this. However,

[2:05:43] it is our fiduciary

[2:05:45] responsibility is really one of

[2:05:47] our only financial

[2:05:48] responsibilities that dictated

[2:05:50] by law to pass this budget.

[2:05:52] Does that mean that we're not

[2:05:53] going to go into negotiations?

[2:05:56] Does that mean that our

[2:05:57] superintendent hasn't found

[2:05:59] possibilities to find that race?

[2:06:00] No. It means for right now, we

[2:06:01] have to pass this budget and

[2:06:04] then we enter into negotiations.

[2:06:05] And I just want to echo MISS

[2:06:07] Bowman's comments that we have

[2:06:09] very limited funds, just like

[2:06:12] when you are managing your home

[2:06:13] budget, if you want to take a

[2:06:16] trip to see grandparents, you

[2:06:18] might have to cut in other ways

[2:06:20] to make that affordable. It is

[2:06:22] the same thing here. What we

[2:06:23] prioritize means we might have

[2:06:26] to cut things, and that is

[2:06:27] something that I hope my

[2:06:29] colleagues stick to when these

[2:06:33] hard conversations happen. And

[2:06:36] then just really quick, just on

[2:06:38] the referendum, I think we all

[2:06:40] know how important it is to

[2:06:41] educate the public. Our staff

[2:06:43] has been going out. If there

[2:06:45] are any community groups that

[2:06:48] would like to invite staff,

[2:06:50] they will come and talk to your

[2:06:52] hoa and kind of explain and

[2:06:57] educate, not advocate. But this

[2:06:59] is something that we are

[2:07:03] actively working on to. Not

[2:07:06] promote, to educate. So I

[2:07:07] appreciate our staff's work and

[2:07:08] going into this budget. I urge

[2:07:11] my colleagues to follow the law

[2:07:13] and pass this budget with the

[2:07:14] understanding that we are going

[2:07:17] to go into negotiations and

[2:07:18] give our teachers what they

[2:07:20] deserve. Thank you.

[2:07:23] >> Thank you, MRS. Alhadeff.

[2:07:24] >> Yes.

[2:07:26] >> So my first point is on the

[2:07:29] five year projected enrollment.

[2:07:31] So over the next five years,

[2:07:33] our enrollment continues to

[2:07:38] decline. So we need to figure

[2:07:40] out have a more robust plan on

[2:07:42] how we're going to stop the

[2:07:44] decline. There should be

[2:07:47] multiple workshops to to really

[2:07:49] dig into the details and what

[2:07:52] that looks like, and come up

[2:07:54] with a, a creative, outside the

[2:07:57] box type of thinking to figure

[2:07:59] out how we're preventing,

[2:08:00] preventing that decline.

[2:08:02] Because that ultimately is our

[2:08:05] problem. We're just losing the

[2:08:12] enrollment. Second point is our

[2:08:15] per pupil expenditure in.

[2:08:17] >> I'm sorry, MR. Alhadeff, if

[2:08:19] I could just ask, please pause.

[2:08:21] MISS Alhadeff time. If you are

[2:08:22] in the audience and you need to

[2:08:23] have a conversation, please

[2:08:25] step out so that board members

[2:08:27] can hear each other and speak

[2:08:28] uninterrupted. As the public

[2:08:31] speakers got to speak on

[2:08:31] uninterrupted.

[2:08:33] >> Thank you. So my second

[2:08:36] point is, so the per pupil

[2:08:39] expenditure. So Palm Beach is

[2:08:42] the highest, then Miami Dade

[2:08:43] and then Broward. Well, I don't

[2:08:45] know about like the highest in

[2:08:47] the whole state of Florida, but

[2:08:49] the districts around us, and I

[2:08:50] know it's always on our

[2:08:51] legislative platform that we

[2:08:55] are trying to get to be at the

[2:08:57] same level as Palm Beach and

[2:08:59] Miami Dade. But we never seem

[2:09:01] to to fix that part. So that

[2:09:03] needs to be a priority within

[2:09:05] our legislative platform. And

[2:09:08] we're speaking with our elected

[2:09:10] officials and, and making sure

[2:09:12] that trying to get us because I

[2:09:14] do not see the reason why we

[2:09:16] are at a different level than

[2:09:18] Palm Beach and Miami-Dade. I, I

[2:09:21] can't process that. And, and,

[2:09:23] and we need to fight harder to,

[2:09:25] to change that because we're

[2:09:27] losing a lot of dollars in the

[2:09:30] per pupil expenditure. It's,

[2:09:31] it's throughout everything from

[2:09:34] the basic to the Esol, the Esq

[2:09:37] career. And so ultimately that

[2:09:38] that needs to be a priority of

[2:09:43] the board. And then thirdly,

[2:09:45] one of the things that got put

[2:09:47] forward to the board this year,

[2:09:49] and it was voted down, but I

[2:09:52] don't think there was enough

[2:09:53] conversations and education was

[2:09:55] around block scheduling. From

[2:09:57] my understanding. And Doctor

[2:09:58] Hepburn, if you can let me know,

[2:10:01] would we save $40 million?

[2:10:04] >> Yes, approximately. Yes.

[2:10:05] >> And can that money go to

[2:10:06] salaries?

[2:10:07] >> Yes. That money can go

[2:10:09] directly to compensation.

[2:10:14] >> Okay, so I, I know it's. Not

[2:10:16] going to be fun and it's a

[2:10:17] difficult conversation, but I

[2:10:19] would encourage the board to

[2:10:21] start having that conversation

[2:10:22] and talking about it and what

[2:10:24] it looks like. And because

[2:10:25] that's a lot of dollars there

[2:10:28] that we can be saving. And then

[2:10:31] my next question is the 4% or

[2:10:34] whatever percent potential

[2:10:36] raises. And we're going to

[2:10:37] negotiations. What is the time

[2:10:39] frame that we would have that

[2:10:41] money potentially going into

[2:10:43] people's paychecks?

[2:10:45] >> I don't know, specific time

[2:10:47] frame, but I know we can come

[2:10:49] to the board in a pretty quick

[2:10:52] closed door to start discussing

[2:10:53] next steps and what

[2:10:54] opportunities the board wants

[2:10:57] to take moving forward with the

[2:10:58] potential amount of cost

[2:10:59] savings.

[2:11:02] >> MADAM General Council.

[2:11:04] >> Thank you. Board. I really

[2:11:06] just want to caution pursuant

[2:11:09] to Florida Statute 447.605 with

[2:11:11] regards to negotiations with

[2:11:13] the Union, it is not advisable

[2:11:16] to negotiate from the dais in

[2:11:18] public. It's not advisable to

[2:11:20] confirm. This is what my hand

[2:11:21] has. When you're going to be

[2:11:24] negotiating with an entity, I

[2:11:27] would request that.

[2:11:29] Conversations related to what

[2:11:30] will be offered.

[2:11:32] >> MISS Fusco, this is your

[2:11:33] second warning. Please let

[2:11:36] MADAM General Counsel speak.

[2:11:37] All right. I'll recess the

[2:11:55] meeting. Thank you.

[2:13:22] >> Thank you. This public

[2:13:24] hearing is now reconvened.

[2:13:25] Missus Alhadeff, you had the

[2:13:27] floor.

[2:13:29] >> Thank you. So, just to go

[2:13:31] over my points again, since I

[2:13:37] was disruptive. One is we need

[2:13:39] to figure out and really have a

[2:13:41] serious conversation on how we

[2:13:45] are going to keep the

[2:13:48] enrollment of our students in,

[2:13:50] really get into the details and

[2:13:53] how we're going to bring people

[2:13:54] back to Broward County Public

[2:13:56] Schools. And, you know, more

[2:13:58] than just a catch phrase, it

[2:14:00] has to have the tough

[2:14:01] conversations and figure out

[2:14:05] the why. Second is on our

[2:14:08] legislative platform. You know,

[2:14:10] maybe we just have a couple

[2:14:12] things on that legislative

[2:14:14] platform because if we can get

[2:14:17] the same per pupil expenditure

[2:14:19] as Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, I

[2:14:21] mean, that is a will be a huge

[2:14:23] win for us, actually. Doctor

[2:14:25] Hepburn, do you know how much

[2:14:27] if we were the same as Miami

[2:14:30] Dade or Palm Beach, how much

[2:14:31] more millions of dollars we

[2:14:32] would be receiving?

[2:14:37] >> Team. Do we have that? Okay,

[2:14:38] okay.

[2:14:43] >> And and then. Thirdly, we we

[2:14:47] really need to start having a

[2:14:48] conversation about the block

[2:14:53] scheduling and talking with the

[2:14:55] community with, with students

[2:14:56] and, and what that would look

[2:14:59] like because $40 million is a

[2:15:01] lot of money for savings. Thank

[2:15:02] you.

[2:15:04] >> Thank you, MR. Hill. Do we

[2:15:07] have anyone online?

[2:15:09] >> DR. Holness is online.

[2:15:10] >> DR. Holness. Do you have any

[2:15:12] comments before I finish round

[2:15:17] one?

[2:15:19] >> No comments for me.

[2:15:24] >> Okay. I had just two kind of

[2:15:26] brief points, but to MRS.

[2:15:28] Alhadeff point about declining

[2:15:29] enrollment and trying to do

[2:15:30] something to address that, and

[2:15:32] I heard that from our speakers

[2:15:34] as well. And I just want to

[2:15:35] kind of sum up the last six

[2:15:37] years, we've done a lot to

[2:15:39] implement new magnet programs.

[2:15:41] We've done a lot of outreach to

[2:15:42] the community, different ways

[2:15:44] to reaching out to, to bring

[2:15:46] students back into our public

[2:15:51] schools. And we recently got a

[2:15:54] follow up, I think it was. MISS

[2:15:55] Rupert asked for this

[2:15:57] information about birth rate

[2:15:57] declines and things like that.

[2:15:59] And I just want to highlight

[2:16:00] some information that's in that

[2:16:08] follow up. So it says live

[2:16:09] births recorded by City in

[2:16:12] Broward County from 2016 to

[2:16:14] 2025 are in this table. That's

[2:16:16] in the follow up. In general,

[2:16:18] births trended downward from

[2:16:21] 2016 to 2020, increased in 2021

[2:16:23] and 22, and then have been

[2:16:25] decreasing during the three

[2:16:26] years since then. The total

[2:16:28] number of births recorded in

[2:16:31] 2025, which was 19,270, was the

[2:16:33] lowest in the past two decades

[2:16:35] and more than 3000 fewer births

[2:16:38] than were recorded in 2016. So

[2:16:40] I agree with you that, like, of

[2:16:42] course, we should be doing

[2:16:43] everything in our power to make

[2:16:44] our public schools as

[2:16:45] competitive as possible. And

[2:16:47] that means, you know, paying

[2:16:49] our teachers more so that we

[2:16:51] can have the best educators in

[2:16:54] the entire state, which I

[2:16:55] firmly believe that we do right

[2:16:58] now, making sure that we have

[2:16:59] programing that is attractive

[2:17:01] to students, all of that

[2:17:03] reaching communities where they

[2:17:06] are, whether that's a place of

[2:17:08] faith or at the park or

[2:17:09] wherever, at pediatrician

[2:17:11] offices. But we also still have

[2:17:13] to grapple with the reality

[2:17:15] that birth rates are declining

[2:17:17] and have been declining for

[2:17:19] quite some time. And then the

[2:17:21] other piece I wanted to touch

[2:17:22] on, because I think we've kind

[2:17:24] of been dancing around this,

[2:17:27] and I remember as a teacher

[2:17:30] wondering like, why we have to

[2:17:33] be so weird about negotiations

[2:17:35] to put it in in very plain

[2:17:38] language. So, MADAM General

[2:17:38] Counsel, can you walk me

[2:17:40] through like, why can't we just

[2:17:42] say, why can't I say, I want to

[2:17:45] allocate $150 million to

[2:17:47] deliver x amount of x percent

[2:17:49] raise? Why can't I put that in

[2:17:50] the budget right now? Why is

[2:17:53] that not advisable for me to,

[2:17:55] to say that on the dais in a

[2:17:55] public meeting.

[2:17:57] >> It's never advisable to

[2:17:58] negotiate against yourself. So

[2:18:01] you will be entering into

[2:18:02] negotiation with the unions.

[2:18:04] And there's multiple of them.

[2:18:05] You have a certain pot that

[2:18:06] you're going to have to

[2:18:08] allocate and negotiate and make

[2:18:09] sure that it works for the

[2:18:11] district and works for the

[2:18:12] union. So these are not things

[2:18:14] that we can throw out. And you

[2:18:15] also have to be very careful

[2:18:17] that you're not making promises

[2:18:19] at the dais that somebody can

[2:18:21] hold you accountable. And then

[2:18:23] next thing we know, we MAY have

[2:18:24] an unfair labor practice

[2:18:25] because we made some type of

[2:18:27] announcement, some type of

[2:18:29] offering to the union that is

[2:18:33] not accepted or that we cannot

[2:18:34] fulfill. So it's always better

[2:18:36] to not negotiate from the dais

[2:18:38] you don't want to violate. And

[2:18:39] that's exactly why Florida

[2:18:42] Statute 447.605 says that

[2:18:44] internal strategy discussions

[2:18:46] between the public employer and

[2:18:48] the governing body is to be in

[2:18:50] a closed session. Specifically

[2:18:52] for those reasons.

[2:18:53] >> So help me understand in

[2:18:55] like the simplest language as

[2:18:56] possible, why do we even have

[2:18:58] to negotiate? Like, if I was

[2:19:01] able to find, you know, and I,

[2:19:03] I really don't like the way we

[2:19:04] are saying like, we asked the

[2:19:05] superintendent to find money.

[2:19:07] There's not money to be found

[2:19:09] there. You know, there is stuff

[2:19:11] that needs to be cut and

[2:19:14] savings have to be realized.

[2:19:16] And then we can deliver that,

[2:19:19] that money. But we cannot find

[2:19:21] money. There's not money hiding

[2:19:24] anywhere. So but to my before I

[2:19:27] just went on this tangent, why

[2:19:30] can't we just say we want to

[2:19:32] allocate $100 million for this

[2:19:34] percentage of raise? And why do

[2:19:37] we have to even bother with

[2:19:37] negotiations?

[2:19:39] >> Well, the law requires you

[2:19:40] to negotiate with the union.

[2:19:42] But going to your point of

[2:19:44] finding money, it's not that

[2:19:45] easy, right? You have a budget

[2:19:47] and you need to look at all of

[2:19:50] the resources. There MAY be a

[2:19:51] plan to save some funds, but

[2:19:53] you need to see if that's

[2:19:54] something that can be

[2:19:55] actualized before you put it on

[2:19:58] the offer, and you put it on

[2:19:59] the table for somebody to

[2:20:01] accept. So it's not that easy.

[2:20:03] Just saying that I have $100

[2:20:04] million, here I go. When you

[2:20:07] MAY not have that $100 million,

[2:20:09] you need to do your due

[2:20:10] diligence, and you need to make

[2:20:12] sure that you are a good

[2:20:13] stewards of taxpayer dollars.

[2:20:14] And you also need to make sure

[2:20:16] that you are in compliance with

[2:20:17] the other law with regards to a

[2:20:19] 3% fund balance. So there's a

[2:20:21] lot of things that the board

[2:20:22] needs to juggle and to keep

[2:20:24] into consideration when it

[2:20:26] actually enters into

[2:20:28] negotiations, which is what is

[2:20:29] required when you're dealing

[2:20:30] with your union.

[2:20:32] >> And so just to be very clear,

[2:20:37] we, we. Work with different

[2:20:40] bargaining groups, right to

[2:20:42] establish salaries and raises

[2:20:47] and things like lunch and in

[2:20:48] all sorts of working conditions

[2:20:50] and what the expectations are

[2:20:53] for someone completing the

[2:20:54] responsibilities of their job.

[2:20:57] Correct.

[2:20:58] >> Correct.

[2:20:59] >> And a lot of that is

[2:21:01] dictated by state law, correct?

[2:21:03] >> Yes.

[2:21:06] >> Okay. So and I asked these

[2:21:07] questions because I don't know

[2:21:09] that we've sat through a budget

[2:21:10] hearing like this where there's

[2:21:11] been so much participation. And

[2:21:12] I think the participation is

[2:21:13] really incredible. And it's a

[2:21:15] great opportunity for us to

[2:21:18] have a dialog with the people

[2:21:20] that we serve. And so I

[2:21:20] appreciate everyone who has

[2:21:23] come out today. But I, I think

[2:21:25] it's unusual this year because

[2:21:26] most of the time our budget

[2:21:28] hearings are empty, which is

[2:21:30] not great, right? It's great to

[2:21:32] have public participation in

[2:21:33] these meetings. And I think

[2:21:35] it's a really good opportunity

[2:21:36] for us to talk about like, the

[2:21:39] weird bureaucratic stuff that

[2:21:41] that dictates all of this. So

[2:21:43] why we can't just say we want

[2:21:46] to give a 20% raise today? We

[2:21:48] can't we can't say that because

[2:21:51] of state statute and all of the

[2:21:54] bureaucracy and, and different

[2:21:55] legislation that governs the

[2:21:57] way we have to negotiate salary

[2:22:00] raises with bargaining groups.

[2:22:02] So I appreciate I don't know

[2:22:03] that I did a lot to clarify

[2:22:05] that, but I really appreciate

[2:22:06] the opportunity to have that

[2:22:09] conversation and try to work

[2:22:10] with the public and work with

[2:22:13] the people that we serve to, to

[2:22:15] find a path forward, to deliver

[2:22:17] a living wage for the people

[2:22:18] who work with our kids every

[2:22:20] day. And I know that many of us

[2:22:23] up here hold, you know,

[2:22:25] teachers and the employees dear

[2:22:26] to our hearts. Many of us call

[2:22:28] them some of our best friends.

[2:22:30] We send our children into their

[2:22:32] hands every single day. We

[2:22:35] understand that it is tough

[2:22:37] right now. And we it's easy for

[2:22:39] us to say, but we mean it. We

[2:22:40] really, really, really want to

[2:22:42] make Broward County Public

[2:22:43] Schools a satisfying place for

[2:22:47] you to work. MR. Bruno.

[2:22:49] >> I'm going to give you, I

[2:22:51] think, a much simpler

[2:22:52] explanation that I think

[2:22:54] everybody will understand.

[2:22:56] Let's say that you are you want

[2:22:59] to buy a bicycle for $200, but

[2:23:02] you only have $150 to buy that

[2:23:04] bicycle. But then with all your

[2:23:05] friends and the audience and a

[2:23:06] bunch of other people, you're

[2:23:08] like, well, I'm going to pay

[2:23:10] $190 for that bicycle. Then you

[2:23:11] don't have the opportunity

[2:23:12] because at this point, the

[2:23:14] person that you're going to buy

[2:23:15] the bicycle from already has,

[2:23:17] has in their head that you're

[2:23:20] going to pay $190. So that's

[2:23:22] why you try not to negotiate in

[2:23:23] public.

[2:23:26] >> Thank you. Round two MISS

[2:23:28] Hixon.

[2:23:30] >> Thank you. Just a couple of

[2:23:31] things. First, I think we've

[2:23:33] said it a number of times, but

[2:23:35] I also just want to remind the

[2:23:38] public, and I echo what MRS.

[2:23:40] Leonardi said. We really do

[2:23:41] appreciate that you're here. We

[2:23:43] say often budget is the biggest

[2:23:45] thing that we do, and it's

[2:23:46] usually empty in this room. So

[2:23:48] it was really nice to see so

[2:23:51] many people come out today to

[2:23:53] have the the discussion with us,

[2:23:55] but also just want to remind

[2:23:57] you that Florida is actually

[2:23:59] 50th in the state for funding

[2:24:02] for students. And to piggyback

[2:24:05] off of what MRS. Alhadeff said,

[2:24:07] so Broward County Public

[2:24:11] Schools receives $9,400 for fte

[2:24:12] for students based. I'm just

[2:24:14] dealing with basic. And if you

[2:24:15] want to follow along the book

[2:24:17] for budget, it's on page 40.

[2:24:19] It's listed out there, Palm

[2:24:23] Beach County receives 10,000

[2:24:24] 10,781. So that's a difference

[2:24:28] of $1,777. So if you multiply

[2:24:31] that by 170,000 students that

[2:24:33] we have in Broward County, that

[2:24:36] would be $302 million more.

[2:24:42] Miami Dade gets 939,311, which

[2:24:44] is $307 more than we do. And if

[2:24:47] you multiply that by 170,000

[2:24:49] students, that's $52 million.

[2:24:51] So I know that people like to

[2:24:52] compare what's happening in

[2:24:54] Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, but

[2:24:56] it's not apples to apples. So I

[2:24:57] think it was really important.

[2:24:59] Thank you, MRS. Alhadeff, for

[2:25:01] for bringing that out. But I

[2:25:03] just want to put that out there

[2:25:05] in the the public that we

[2:25:08] actually don't all get funded

[2:25:11] equally. And so it obviously

[2:25:15] impacts what we can do. I again

[2:25:17] want to say thank you so much

[2:25:19] to to the superintendent and

[2:25:22] the staff for doing the budget,

[2:25:24] but I'm just going to say you

[2:25:26] can't keep doing the same thing

[2:25:28] over and over and expecting

[2:25:30] different results. And over and

[2:25:32] over. We have just passed the

[2:25:34] budget and been told, we're

[2:25:36] going to figure this out. It's

[2:25:37] in there. But and then

[2:25:39] something comes up and it's

[2:25:41] it's not figured out. So I have

[2:25:42] to do something different if I

[2:25:44] want to see a different outcome.

[2:25:47] And so I also would just say

[2:25:49] when we were here in the

[2:25:52] tentative budget, we had this

[2:25:54] discussion and we almost didn't

[2:25:56] pass the budget that time. And

[2:25:59] it was because we wanted to

[2:26:01] make sure in this budget that

[2:26:03] came to us, it was very clear

[2:26:05] with colleagues on this board

[2:26:06] that when the final budget came,

[2:26:09] we wanted to make sure that it

[2:26:10] was clear in there that it was

[2:26:12] a priority and it wasn't going

[2:26:13] to be. When we went to the

[2:26:15] bargaining table, that we'll

[2:26:17] just have to wait and see.

[2:26:18] That's my concern here. I don't

[2:26:20] want to. We'll have to wait and

[2:26:22] see. I want it prioritized in

[2:26:23] the budget. I'm not going to

[2:26:25] say a percentage or a dollar

[2:26:26] amount. I don't want to

[2:26:29] negotiate from the the dais. We

[2:26:31] had this discussion before, so

[2:26:32] that's why I'll be voting the

[2:26:34] way I am. Thank you.

[2:26:44] >> Thank you, MR. Cervera.

[2:26:47] >> a ai w w saying. Auauay,

[2:26:49] yoyou owow wt,, dohihink it

[2:26:51] is a bit shameful that not only

[2:26:53] is this board pitching policies

[2:26:55] that will substantially limit

[2:26:56] the public's ability to comment

[2:26:58] and address to us, which

[2:27:00] thankfully we voted to kick

[2:27:02] down the road till the end of

[2:27:03] the year. But now, apparently

[2:27:05] there's a policy that's

[2:27:07] limiting elected officials on

[2:27:10] this dais whose sole job is to

[2:27:11] advocate for those people. And

[2:27:13] now you want to take away their

[2:27:15] voice as well. So I hope all of

[2:27:17] you who voted in favor of that

[2:27:18] nonsense are happy. But I do

[2:27:21] think it's shameful. I do want

[2:27:22] to also point out some

[2:27:24] statutory stuff. MR. Bruno, if

[2:27:27] I MAY, I took a look at the

[2:27:28] Florida statutes on this wall

[2:27:31] while we were going through

[2:27:32] this. And my interpretation

[2:27:34] under ten, 11.01, subsection

[2:27:36] three. A the Florida Statute

[2:27:39] says that we must, as a board,

[2:27:40] prepare, adopt and submit an

[2:27:43] annual budget. So collectively,

[2:27:45] we must ultimately pass a

[2:27:47] budget. So I do agree with you.

[2:27:48] However, this is where I think

[2:27:50] there's a little bit of a of a

[2:27:51] disconnect. I don't believe

[2:27:53] that the board is actually

[2:27:55] required to rubber stamp what

[2:27:56] the superintendent's proposed

[2:27:59] budget is. If you look at 1011

[2:28:01] .02, subsection one, this

[2:28:03] specifically provides that a

[2:28:05] school board must receive and

[2:28:06] examine the tentative budget.

[2:28:08] And this is where it's

[2:28:10] important shall require each

[2:28:13] change to be made, as MAY be to

[2:28:14] the best interest of the school

[2:28:16] program in the district. That

[2:28:17] language, I think, is important

[2:28:19] because it means that the

[2:28:21] legislator expressly

[2:28:22] contemplated that school board

[2:28:23] members can scrutinize the

[2:28:24] superintendent's proposed

[2:28:27] budget and demand changes when

[2:28:29] actually appropriate. That's

[2:28:32] 1011.02, subsection one. So

[2:28:34] while a Florida school board

[2:28:35] member is obligated to

[2:28:36] participate in the budget

[2:28:37] process, which is obviously

[2:28:40] what we're doing, the school

[2:28:42] board collectively as a body,

[2:28:44] is obligated only to ultimately

[2:28:47] adopt a legally compliant

[2:28:48] budget. But that doesn't mean

[2:28:51] I'm obligated to vote for a

[2:28:54] budget that I believe is bad

[2:28:56] policy, fiscally irresponsible,

[2:28:57] improperly prioritizes spending

[2:29:00] or otherwise has to be changed.

[2:29:02] So we need to be very clear,

[2:29:03] because I don't want to hear

[2:29:05] from any of my colleagues later

[2:29:06] on, or when the news picks up

[2:29:08] the story that I didn't have a

[2:29:10] choice. I had to vote for this

[2:29:11] because my general counsel said

[2:29:14] I didn't have a choice. We need

[2:29:15] to be very clear. Every one up

[2:29:17] here, including me and MISS

[2:29:18] Hixon, who I believe are on the

[2:29:20] same page on this, thankfully

[2:29:22] have the emphatic right to say

[2:29:25] no and reject this budget

[2:29:27] tonight. Is that accurate, MR.

[2:29:30] Bruno?

[2:29:31] >> Generally speaking, the

[2:29:34] board is ultimately responsible

[2:29:35] for the budget. Superintendent

[2:29:36] makes the recommendation. But

[2:29:37] there's another thing that you

[2:29:39] need to take into consideration,

[2:29:41] which is the timing. I don't

[2:29:42] disagree with what you have

[2:29:45] said and shared, MR. Cervera.

[2:29:46] However, we also have to look

[2:29:49] at Florida Statute 200.065,

[2:29:50] subsection two, f three, which

[2:29:53] talks about the timing. And

[2:29:54] that's where the concern is at

[2:29:57] this point, is that we have a

[2:29:58] window to approve SEPTEMBER 8th

[2:30:01] through SEPTEMBER 15th. And

[2:30:03] again, you can always amend the

[2:30:04] budget. You can always amend it.

[2:30:07] But this timing is where we are

[2:30:08] having the constriction. The

[2:30:09] budget has come to the board.

[2:30:11] Before you've made some

[2:30:12] recommendations, you made some

[2:30:14] changes. That's that's part of

[2:30:16] the process. But now you're at

[2:30:20] that other part under 200.065.

[2:30:20] >> So you're going to

[2:30:22] appreciate this. My 11th grade

[2:30:24] social studies teacher used to

[2:30:27] say the following your delay

[2:30:31] does not create my emergency.

[2:30:32] The fact that you gave me this

[2:30:34] today to vote on this, that's

[2:30:37] not my problem. I'm not going

[2:30:39] to vote on this. I don't have a

[2:30:40] legal obligation to vote on

[2:30:41] this. And I want to make sure

[2:30:43] very clearly that none of my

[2:30:44] colleagues believe that they

[2:30:46] have an obligation, because you

[2:30:50] can vote no. And you should.

[2:30:51] >> Thank you.

[2:30:56] >> DR. Zeman thank you, chair.

[2:30:59] On the other hand. I think this

[2:31:00] board knows that it's our

[2:31:02] obligation to pass budgets. I

[2:31:05] think we said that 47000 times

[2:31:10] in the past few years. We rely

[2:31:12] on guidance and technical

[2:31:13] support from our staff, which I

[2:31:15] think has just gotten better

[2:31:16] and better every year that I've

[2:31:19] served on this board. And the

[2:31:21] new story that we're going to

[2:31:22] hear about tomorrow is that

[2:31:24] this staff who works for the

[2:31:26] superintendent offered us some

[2:31:27] opportunities to reduce our

[2:31:31] budget by $63 million, and we

[2:31:34] have a referendum coming up in

[2:31:36] just just under 60 days. That

[2:31:39] is going to tilt a lot of money

[2:31:42] one way or the other. We don't

[2:31:44] know if slide 11 is going to be

[2:31:45] realized yet. These are

[2:31:46] projected savings. We don't

[2:31:48] know if the referendum is going

[2:31:50] to pass, although if history is

[2:31:54] a guide, it's likely to, and it

[2:31:55] would be fiscally irresponsible

[2:31:57] for us to make decisions and

[2:31:58] lock our budget in until we

[2:32:01] know what realization realized

[2:32:03] savings there are and whether

[2:32:04] or not the referendum passes.

[2:32:06] This year's budget is a plan

[2:32:08] only. Not only can it be

[2:32:09] amended, it can be changed. It

[2:32:11] could be accelerated. We can do

[2:32:13] a bunch of stuff, and we do.

[2:32:15] And by the way, Doctor Hepburn,

[2:32:17] you did not foist this on us

[2:32:19] today. We've been looking at

[2:32:21] this budget for four months in

[2:32:22] preparation for this day. The

[2:32:26] tentative budget. So this lays

[2:32:27] a framework. MR. Shim, thank

[2:32:29] you very much for us to make

[2:32:31] some hard decisions. And to one

[2:32:33] of my colleagues point this is

[2:32:35] our budget. We have to make

[2:32:37] some decisions about what we

[2:32:37] prioritize. We've been very

[2:32:39] clear how much we prioritize

[2:32:40] teacher compensation and

[2:32:42] educator compensation. But the

[2:32:43] timing of this is very

[2:32:44] important as well. And tonight

[2:32:46] is not the time to make that

[2:32:48] decision. Nor is this the place

[2:32:49] because on the dais, we don't

[2:32:51] want to set aside funding and

[2:32:53] get ahead of ourselves

[2:32:54] negotiating. I do believe,

[2:32:55] though, that there's been a lot

[2:32:57] of great work here, and I

[2:32:58] appreciate the work. And chair.

[2:33:00] With that, I'm going to call

[2:33:00] the question.

[2:33:02] >> All in favor of calling the

[2:33:04] question, say aye. All opposed?

[2:33:04] Say no.

[2:33:05] >> No.

[2:33:07] >> Roll call.

[2:33:09] >> Roll call to call the

[2:33:10] question Alhadeff.

[2:33:12] >> No.

[2:33:12] >> Bulman.

[2:33:13] >> Yes.

[2:33:14] >> Cervera.

[2:33:15] >> No way.

[2:33:15] >> Hixon.

[2:33:16] >> Yes.

[2:33:17] >> Holiness.

[2:33:19] >> Yes.

[2:33:20] >> Leonardi.

[2:33:21] >> Yes.

[2:33:22] >> Rupert. Not on the line.

[2:33:24] Thompson.

[2:33:25] >> Yes.

[2:33:31] >> Ziemann. Roll call. Six two.

[2:33:34] >> All right. All in favor of

[2:33:38] item two. But before I. Yeah.

[2:33:40] Thank you. Steph, could you

[2:33:41] please read the resolution into

[2:33:45] the record?

[2:33:47] >> Again? Jeff Whitney,

[2:33:47] Assistant director, Budget

[2:33:50] Department, The school Board of

[2:33:51] Broward County, Florida,

[2:33:54] resolution number 27-115.

[2:33:56] Resolution by the School Board

[2:33:57] of Broward County, Florida.

[2:33:58] Adopting the final budget for

[2:34:01] fiscal year 2020 627. Whereas,

[2:34:02] the School Board of Broward

[2:34:04] County, Florida, did. Pursuant

[2:34:08] to chapters 201 011 Florida

[2:34:10] statutes approved final millage

[2:34:12] rates and final budget for the

[2:34:15] fiscal year JULY 1st, 2026 to

[2:34:18] JUNE 30th, 2027. And whereas,

[2:34:19] the School Board of Broward

[2:34:21] County, Florida, set forth the

[2:34:22] appropriations and revenue

[2:34:24] estimates for the budget for

[2:34:28] fiscal year 2026 2027. Whereas,

[2:34:29] at the public hearing and in

[2:34:31] full compliance with chapter

[2:34:33] 200 Florida Statutes, the

[2:34:34] School Board of Broward County,

[2:34:35] Florida, adopted the final

[2:34:37] millage rates and the budget in

[2:34:44] the amount of $4,663,820,338

[2:34:48] for fiscal year 2026 2027. Now

[2:34:50] therefore, be it resolved that

[2:34:51] the attached budget of the

[2:34:52] Broward County School Board,

[2:34:54] including the millage rates as

[2:34:56] set forth therein, is hereby

[2:34:58] adopted by the School Board of

[2:35:00] Broward County, Florida, as a

[2:35:02] final budget for the categories

[2:35:04] indicated for the fiscal year

[2:35:07] JULY 1st, 2026 to JUNE 30th,

[2:35:09] 2027. Given at Fort Lauderdale,

[2:35:13] Florida this eighth day of

[2:35:14] SEPTEMBER 2026.

[2:35:16] >> Thank you. All in favor of

[2:35:18] item two, say aye. Aye. All

[2:35:18] opposed?

[2:35:19] >> Say no. No.

[2:35:21] >> Roll call please.

[2:35:23] >> Roll call. Bulman.

[2:35:23] >> Yes.

[2:35:25] >> Cervera. Absolutely not.

[2:35:26] Hixon.

[2:35:27] >> No.

[2:35:28] >> Wholeness.

[2:35:29] >> Yes.

[2:35:30] >> Leonardi.

[2:35:31] >> Yes.

[2:35:34] >> Rupert. Not on the line.

[2:35:35] Thompson.

[2:35:36] >> Yes.

[2:35:36] >> Seaman.

[2:35:38] >> Yes.

[2:35:38] >> Alhadeff.

[2:35:41] >> Yes.

[2:35:44] >> Motion passed six two.

[2:35:46] >> Thank you. So the ayes have

[2:35:48] it. The item two is approved.

[2:35:49] The scheduled order of business

[2:35:51] for the public hearing of the

[2:35:52] School Board of Broward County,

[2:35:53] Florida, has been completed.

[2:35:54] Seeing no other obligations, I

[2:36:11] now adjourn the public hearing.

Second Public Hearing - Budget

Agenda

Transcript