[1:59] Good evening everyone. For those of you
[2:02] joining us, I would like to welcome you
[2:03] to the school board business meeting at
[2:05] the Joan Eid Jr. TEC. Today is Monday,
[2:09] August 24th, 2026. I'd like to call this
[2:12] meeting to order. The time is 6 o'clock.
[2:15] I ask that out of respect to everyone,
[2:17] please silence all electronic devices at
[2:19] this time. Also, if you have any
[2:20] materials you wish to share with any
[2:22] board members, please give that to
[2:24] Dorian Mor. She's seated right here at
[2:26] the end, who is uh the executive
[2:28] assistant to the school board. All
[2:30] right. At this time, I'd like to have um
[2:33] the presentation of colors by Sebastian
[2:36] River High School Navy Junior ROC under
[2:39] the direction of Commander Peter
[2:41] Besonette, United States Navy retired
[2:43] and Senior Chief John Silva, United
[2:45] States Navy retired for the pledge of
[2:47] allegiance.
[3:11] left right
[3:13] left.
[3:27] Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in
[3:29] the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to
[3:32] the flag of the United States of America
[3:35] and to the republic for which it stands.
[3:38] One nation under God, indivisible, with
[3:41] liberty and justice for all.
[3:52] » Ready.
[3:54] Post
[3:57] colors
[3:59] march. Left, left, left, right, left, left
[4:07] to pose,
[4:11] colors,
[4:13] and salute.
[4:16] Ready to
[4:21] colors.
[4:24] Left right
[4:34] color guard forward march. Left, left, right, left, left, left. Guard
[4:54] forward
[4:56] left.
[4:58] [applause]
[5:09] They get more and more impressive, don't
[5:10] they?
[5:11] >> Very good.
[5:12] >> All right, board members. Um, are there
[5:14] any items anyone wishes to move from
[5:16] consent to action or add to discussion?
[5:18] >> Yes.
[5:19] >> I'd like to Is this on?
[5:22] I'd like to move um consent
[5:26] 5C, which is the tentative budget and
[5:29] millet rate millage rates from consent
[5:31] to action. There it is.
[5:34] I'd like to move 7 C, which is the
[5:37] resolution of the tax anticipation note
[5:40] from consent to action, and 7J, approval
[5:44] of authorization for the superintendent
[5:46] to enter into negotiations for the sale
[5:48] of surplus real property
[5:51] from consent to action.
[5:55] >> Anyone else? Secretary, if we could
[5:57] please move item 9 A and B, those are
[6:00] the collective bargaining agreements to
[6:02] just prior to the public hearing so we
[6:04] can um sign and acknowledge those two
[6:07] agreements um with our associated
[6:10] unions.
[6:14] Um,
[6:16] >> okay. I'm not sure that we can move them
[6:18] before public hearing if we're going to
[6:20] vote on them until we take the vote
[6:21] after that
[6:23] >> because they have to be able to speak
[6:25] about those items that we're voting on.
[6:29] We can present them, but we can't um
[6:31] vote on them till after citizen input.
[6:35] >> Speak first. Okay.
[6:37] >> All right. Whatever. Do
[6:38] >> you want to move them to after citizen
[6:40] input?
[6:40] >> Yeah, that's fine.
[6:41] >> Okay.
[6:45] Anyone else?
[6:47] >> All right. I'm going to call for a
[6:48] motion to accept the adoption of the
[6:50] orders of the day as amended.
[6:52] >> So move.
[6:52] >> Second.
[6:56] » All those in favor say I.
[6:57] >> I.
[6:58] Anyone opposed?
[6:59] >> This is 5.
[7:01] >> Okay. We are to the superintendent
[7:03] report. Dr. Moore.
[7:04] >> Oh, mute my mic. Um, one of the items on
[7:07] consent is the contract with the
[7:10] sheriff's office. office and the sheriff
[7:12] is here. So, if I can just have a little
[7:14] point of privilege and allow him the
[7:15] opportunity to to speak so he can get
[7:17] back out and make sure we're protected.
[7:23] » Hey, good evening everybody. Thank you
[7:25] so much for uh making time for me
[7:26] tonight. Uh I just want to say thank you
[7:28] so much to you and the entire team.
[7:30] You've put uh some great folks in
[7:32] contact with us. They're on either side
[7:34] here as well as the teams that work with
[7:36] our school resource deputies every day.
[7:38] You know, I have a lot of relationships
[7:39] in the county and uh some of them get
[7:41] rocky, sometimes I rock the boat, but
[7:43] this relationship is one that is uh
[7:45] smooth sailing every single day. You
[7:47] know, you guys have put together an
[7:49] amazing team and um we're so thankful
[7:51] for that and it's really been our
[7:53] privilege to be able to be in every one
[7:54] of the schools to be there for our kids
[7:56] every single day and uh doing our best
[7:58] to protect them every single day. And
[8:00] that's that's the end goal. That's the
[8:01] mission is making sure that we have safe
[8:03] school days and that uh our kids go home
[8:05] to their parents every single day. Okay.
[8:06] So, I just want to say thanks. We
[8:08] appreciate you guys and uh I hope that
[8:10] we continue down this path for a long time that we can continue to have a
[8:14] great relationship. Any questions for
[8:16] me?
[8:17] >> I'd just like to say thank you for all
[8:18] you do and for your deputies and what
[8:20] they do to keep our kids safe.
[8:21] >> We have 44 school resource deputies now.
[8:23] It's one of the largest units uh at the
[8:25] entire sheriff's office every day. We've
[8:27] got so many folks on campuses. It's uh
[8:30] new challenges every day, but we we
[8:32] enjoy it.
[8:33] >> Thank you.
[8:33] Have a great night. Thank
[8:34] you.
[8:35] >> Thank you, Sheriff. Thank you, Sheriff.
[8:38] Even though he called me a short-termer
[8:39] the other day. Um, all right. So,
[8:42] superintendence re report uh will be
[8:44] relatively quick. As you can see here,
[8:47] summer we as we're closing and this is
[8:49] actually at the bus depot. It's not at
[8:51] night. That's at like 5:45 in the
[8:54] morning where we are greeting our bus
[8:56] drivers as they pulled out for the very first day. Uh, and you can tell how
[9:00] energized and awake we all look. Uh,
[9:03] this is the summer moonshot institute.
[9:05] That was the opportunity to go to VBE, a
[9:07] very specific professional development,
[9:09] uh, in their brand new media center.
[9:11] That's very interesting. Uh, those are
[9:14] fish that are in the space, but they or
[9:16] no, they're leaves. I'm sorry.
[9:19] >> So, it's like a tree, but it absorbs the
[9:21] sound. So, it's it's very very cool uh
[9:24] to be in that space. Uh, our week of
[9:26] blessing turned into weeks of blessing.
[9:29] So the first three weeks every Sunday me
[9:31] and my team had the opportunity to
[9:33] attend a different church whether it was
[9:35] Rosland Pathway Church uh Central
[9:37] Assembly uh just to ask our community to
[9:40] pray us into the school year and not to
[9:42] let that be a singular prayer but to be
[9:44] a daily prayer. As the sheriff was
[9:46] saying this work is hard and complex. Uh
[9:48] people always say like what how could
[9:50] you do that? you're the public school
[9:51] superintendent and the truth of the
[9:53] reality is um you know you can't
[9:57] separate a child from his or her faith
[9:59] and the reality is that they're sitting
[10:00] in those pews on Sunday they're sitting
[10:02] in our classrooms uh Monday through
[10:04] Friday so it is a partnership uh Dr.
[10:07] Began is here. She has done a
[10:09] outstanding job in building uh an army
[10:13] of pastors and rabbis uh in the
[10:15] faith-based community really to rally uh
[10:18] and make sure that we're all connecting
[10:20] and engaging as we move throughout our
[10:22] community. Uh this was Thrive. This was
[10:24] absolutely outstanding. Um Miss Baron
[10:28] Boore every year that she happens to be
[10:30] the chair throws a a little wrinkle into
[10:32] this and this year we did a danceoff.
[10:34] Um, but it was a it was a lot of fun.
[10:37] Uh, and it was a great just a great
[10:39] absolute uh vibe during that time. Uh,
[10:43] this is our opportunity for us to engage
[10:46] and connect with the folks here at the
[10:47] district office. These are our hidden
[10:49] heroes who do so much each and every
[10:52] single day uh to make sure our schools
[10:54] are up and operating. Uh, so to have the
[10:56] opportunity to celebrate them was
[10:58] wonderful. Uh, and this is the
[11:00] orientations. A lot of a lot of
[11:02] pictures, a lot of orientations. Uh
[11:04] orientations here are amazing. Uh
[11:07] attendance is in the 90s, meaning about
[11:10] 90% of the families attend orientation,
[11:13] which just makes that first day go so
[11:15] much smoother. Uh the first day of of
[11:18] school uh was an extremely busy day. Uh
[11:22] and it was a lot of it was a culminating
[11:25] of about 10 to 12 10 to 12 months of
[11:28] work as we did our innovation ed project
[11:30] shifting schools. We had two schools in
[11:32] which almost everybody in that campus
[11:34] was there for the first time. Uh we had
[11:37] Vero Beach Senior High School where 50%
[11:40] of the faculty and the students were
[11:41] there for the very very first time. Uh
[11:44] so we're so proud of of all of the work,
[11:46] all of the effort that went into pulling
[11:48] that off. Um this is the unveiling
[11:51] should the sheriff was here. Now
[11:53] Sebastian has its own wrapped uh police
[11:55] car. I think Mr. Cummings is on the
[11:57] other side of it, right, Mr. Cummings?
[11:59] Did you make it under the wrapper or no?
[12:01] Yeah, he missed a cut for summer. He
[12:02] missed a cut. Um, and then the Vero
[12:05] Beach High School Classic, and that was
[12:07] right there in the middle. That is Mr.
[12:08] Green. Uh, you're not seeing double.
[12:11] Those are his twin boys. Uh, and Julie,
[12:13] his wife, where he had the opportunity,
[12:15] uh, to flip the coin at that game and he
[12:17] called it right. Uh, so congratulations
[12:20] to Vero Beach as they kicked off their
[12:22] season uh, and a big win. And that is
[12:25] our presentation, Madam Chair.
[12:27] >> All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate
[12:29] that. All right. Um,
[12:32] sorry, just trying to keep track of all
[12:34] the movement of the meetings here. So,
[12:38] it's time for our public input. Um,
[12:40] these are the procedures for public
[12:41] input. According to our schoolboard
[12:43] policy 0169.1
[12:45] during the regular business meetings of
[12:48] the board, the board offers the
[12:49] following two opportunities for public
[12:51] to speak, provide input. one on agenda
[12:54] item consent agenda or action agenda
[12:56] prior to the board taking official
[12:58] action on that proposition and two or
[13:02] two during the public input section for
[13:04] items not on the agenda. For those who
[13:07] are watching, please understand that
[13:08] though we have established proper
[13:09] decorum and expectations of
[13:12] professionalism when it comes to
[13:13] individuals who wish to provide public
[13:15] input, this is a live broadcast. Each
[13:18] individual speaker shall be allotted up
[13:20] to three minutes during public input and
[13:23] up to three minutes on any item on the
[13:24] consent agenda and or action agenda item
[13:27] as indicated on the order of business as
[13:29] it exists at the time of the meeting
[13:31] start. The time period may be adjusted
[13:34] by the presiding officer and individuals
[13:36] may only speak once about a given item.
[13:39] Individuals who have filled out the
[13:40] speaker's form are allowed to address
[13:42] the board. Individuals may not delegate
[13:44] their aotted time to speak to other
[13:46] individuals.
[13:47] If an item is moved from either the
[13:49] consent agenda or discussion agenda to
[13:52] the action agenda, individuals will have
[13:54] the opportunity to speak to the item
[13:56] prior to the vote of the board. During
[13:58] the meeting, please refrain from
[13:59] clapping or outbursts of any sort so
[14:01] that we can proceed with dignity and
[14:03] with the quorum by not infringing on any
[14:05] individual's first amendment rights in
[14:08] this limited public forum setting. As
[14:10] board members listen to individuals
[14:12] without interruption, individuals are
[14:14] asked to give board members the same
[14:16] respect.
[14:18] Board members may or may not address any
[14:20] individual statements at the end of all
[14:21] the public input comments. I'll be
[14:23] recognizing calling up individuals two
[14:25] at a time in the order in which the
[14:28] speaker forms were received. The first
[14:30] individual will be called to the podium
[14:32] to speak and the second individual will
[14:34] be in line to speak. The executive
[14:36] assistant to the school board will be
[14:37] the official timekeeper and the time
[14:39] shall start when the speaker is at the
[14:40] podium. As you will see the top the time
[14:43] clock is visible on the dis right here
[14:45] to the left. You will hear a beep at the
[14:48] end of your three minutes. If you have
[14:50] anything to give to board members or the
[14:51] superintendent, please do do that
[14:53] through our executive assistant, Mrs.
[14:55] Mo, who is seated on the end.
[14:58] All right, we have seven speakers. The
[15:01] first speaker is Brandon Taylor speaking
[15:04] to agenda item 5e. And second speaker is
[15:07] Jennifer Freeland.
[15:10] Mr. Taylor,
[15:14] » he's not here.
[15:16] Okay.
[15:19] Jennifer Freeland. John Crappy is on
[15:21] deck.
[15:26] Guess that means I had to walk faster.
[15:29] I said I guess that meant I had to walk
[15:30] faster.
[15:32] Good evening to the board. Dr. Min,
[15:33] cabinet. On tonight's agenda is the
[15:35] approval and signing of the 2026 27
[15:38] collaborative bargaining agreement,
[15:39] otherwise known as the teachers
[15:40] contract.
[15:42] [snorts]
[15:43] The proposed CBA was ratified last
[15:45] Friday 585 to 17 majority of classroom
[15:48] and non-classroom instructional. I
[15:50] wanted to thank everyone for their very
[15:52] hard work and the incredible amount of
[15:53] personal time they put into creating a
[15:55] solid and fair contract that will guide
[15:57] administrators to come. This document
[15:59] was crafted to ensure that as the team
[16:02] grows, changes, and moves on, the vision
[16:04] and path forward will always be clear.
[16:07] Over the past six years, teachers have
[16:09] received a gross pay increase every
[16:11] year. The district has increased
[16:12] contributions to health insurance
[16:14] premiums every year, except this one.
[16:17] um which has helped to recruit and
[16:20] retain professionals. This has
[16:21] strengthened the continuity of students
[16:23] academic progress.
[16:25] Together we have created dedicated time
[16:28] for administrators to meet with staff.
[16:29] We have increased our teachers time to
[16:30] plan with significantly less
[16:32] interruptions to the space needed to
[16:34] create structured and well- definfined
[16:36] student learning lessons leading to more
[16:39] classroom focused achievements. This has
[16:41] improved not only the lessons but the
[16:43] delivery and our students have thrived.
[16:45] These changes have created, in our
[16:46] opinion, better working conditions time
[16:48] and time again, which in turn goes back
[16:51] to the one and overreaching concern
[16:53] during negotiations. How is what we want
[16:55] implemented going to affect students
[16:57] learning environment? While the
[16:59] increasing cost of health insurance does
[17:00] continue to be a huge concern, I want to
[17:03] be very clear that it was with was
[17:05] solely with the hard work done by the
[17:06] health insurance advisory task force,
[17:09] IRCA, CWA, and SDIRC that the cost
[17:12] premiums were mitigated and not passed
[17:14] on to employees in April. Contrary to
[17:17] some beliefs that these fixes were not
[17:19] imagined, gleaned or constructed by any
[17:21] one individual, we will all continue to
[17:23] do this work despite the clear absence
[17:25] some beliefs have tried to make the
[17:26] narrative. I am truly proud of the work
[17:30] both IRCA and SDRC have done in
[17:32] negotiating as well as a great many
[17:34] cabinet members who continue whose
[17:36] continued input and assistance has made
[17:38] things better for all of us. I am also
[17:41] very thankful that six years ago myself
[17:43] and Dr. more decided that we here in
[17:45] Indian River County would do things
[17:47] radically, transformatively, and most
[17:49] assuredly different. We changed not just
[17:52] the way a union and a district work
[17:54] together, but we changed the culture
[17:56] completely. It is no longer us against
[17:58] them. While nothing is perfect, and
[18:00] there's still much work to be done, I
[18:02] believe that IRCA and SDRC will continue
[18:05] to make great improvements with a
[18:07] continued spirit of partnership. Thank
[18:09] you.
[18:10] >> Thank you. John Crappie is next. Johnny
[18:13] Hernandez is on deck.
[18:18] » All right. Good e good evening. I
[18:21] haven't done this in a while. I'm a
[18:22] little nervous.
[18:24] [laughter]
[18:25] Um I just wanted to come out. I had a
[18:28] some memories pop up in uh you know,
[18:31] social media and how those memories pop
[18:32] up and you know, it was like five years
[18:33] ago that we uh we went through a lot,
[18:35] you know, and so I wanted to come in and
[18:37] first of all congratulate Jackie for her
[18:40] re-election. You know, great job.
[18:42] you're, you know, a warrior and a
[18:44] warrior for the kids and we really
[18:45] appreciate you and that the community
[18:47] does as well. And then Dr. Pusca as
[18:50] well. Thank you for stepping in and
[18:51] doing what you've done this past four
[18:53] years. We appreciate you, you know,
[18:55] looking out for the kids as well. One
[18:57] thing I wanted to talk about, and I've
[18:58] always talked about it when I come here
[19:00] is about the mental health crisis that
[19:02] we're in. We're in a mental health
[19:03] crisis now. All because of what we
[19:06] endured over the last five years. I went
[19:08] through it personally myself with my own
[19:10] son, which wouldn't have thought that
[19:12] would have happened since I was kind of
[19:13] warning him about social isolation and
[19:15] wearing the mask and things of that
[19:17] nature. And I never thought I would have
[19:19] that happen. But eventually what happens
[19:21] is is we've had kids in our community
[19:23] that have a hard time coping. Coping
[19:25] skills are what's the problem. And
[19:26] that's what I learned with my son is he
[19:28] had a hard time coping with with
[19:30] adversity, you know, and social isolate
[19:32] and not wanting to talk to anybody
[19:33] because of the isolation that he went
[19:35] through. So it taught me a lesson. And
[19:37] so I just want to just remind you guys
[19:38] of that to keep that in mind moving
[19:40] forward that we are you know I'm sure
[19:41] you see it in the schools and and what
[19:44] the kids are going through. I mean I see
[19:45] it all the time the phones you know
[19:47] thank goodness the phone thing has got c
[19:49] cured a little bit but it's not you know
[19:51] it's not a complete cure. So we got to keep that in mind. You know Dr. Mark who inspired me to
[19:57] come out here and God rest his soul that
[19:59] you know he did say that he wasn't
[20:00] treating kids for CO he was treating
[20:02] them for a mental health crisis and
[20:04] things of that nature and he was and he and he and he warned people of
[20:06] that you know and I think that was his
[20:08] message and he told me about it as well
[20:10] but just keep that in mind you know I
[20:12] mean that's that's really the biggest
[20:13] thing that I've seen that we've had over
[20:15] the last five years is that and and it's
[20:18] part of my mission as well I mean I was
[20:19] forced into early retirement because of
[20:22] some of the things that we went through
[20:23] in this room and the things that that I
[20:24] went through personally
[20:26] But in all of that, it was a it was a
[20:28] light at the in the end of the tunnel. I
[20:30] started a company called IRC Media. I'm
[20:31] a founder and partner in IRC Media. So,
[20:33] we do podcast now. I'm a full-time
[20:35] podcaster. So, I do podcast. We do
[20:38] podcast called the board report. So, we
[20:40] do talk about all the other boards in
[20:41] the community. We inform people on what
[20:43] the meetings are about since I've been
[20:45] to a lot of them and we've been through
[20:47] that. So, we've done those things as
[20:48] well. So, just wanted to put that out
[20:50] there that IRC Media is available to any
[20:52] outlets. Anybody wants to come on any of
[20:54] the podcasts that we do, we are
[20:55] available to do that. And that's the
[20:56] reason why it started because of the
[20:58] communication that we need to develop in
[21:00] our community because, you know,
[21:02] community is important right right
[21:03] there, David. Yes,
[21:05] >> sir.
[21:05] >> Congratulations on your uh your future
[21:07] retirements. It's wonderful. You know, I
[21:09] didn't expect it to happen to me as
[21:11] quick as it did, but these last five
[21:12] years have been fantastic to be honest
[21:14] with you. So, so I appreciate everybody
[21:16] up here and and uh and and good luck to
[21:18] you.
[21:18] >> Thank you.
[21:19] >> Yep.
[21:19] >> Thank you.
[21:21] >> Johnny Hernandez is next and Jennifer
[21:23] Pippen is on deck.
[21:26] >> Good evening. Um so I just want to take
[21:28] this time since tonight's the day that
[21:29] we're going to sign our tenant of
[21:31] agreement for our CWA contract for our
[21:33] support staff. Just wanted to come thank
[21:35] everybody for, you know, the great team
[21:36] that we had. I want to thank Dr. Moore
[21:39] for his leadership that came in at the
[21:40] end of the contract to, you know, to get
[21:42] this done. uh Bruce Green, Beth
[21:44] Christopholei, and the team. I think
[21:45] they did a great job of representing the
[21:48] district and looking out for their
[21:50] employees. I also want to thank my team,
[21:52] Barry Deem, who's here with us, um Lori
[21:56] Taylor and Marcus Washington and our CWA
[21:58] staff, Manny Hartman. And I look forward
[22:01] to working with Dr. Dods and Mr.
[22:03] Cummings, you know, going forward to
[22:05] keep pushing, you know, the the vision
[22:08] that Dr. Moore has put out there that
[22:09] we're looking to get us into the future,
[22:11] elevate some of these titles,
[22:13] consolidate some of these titles so we
[22:15] could provide a better future for our,
[22:17] you know, our children and our students
[22:19] and the community. So, I look forward to
[22:21] working with them. And we got some work
[22:22] with healthcare obviously and I look
[22:24] forward to it. So, thank you all. Thank
[22:27] you. Jennifer Pippen is next. Thomas
[22:29] Kenny is on deck.
[22:34] » Good evening. I just wanted to give some
[22:37] congratulations out this evening. Um the
[22:39] beginning of school has started. Um this
[22:41] is my first time ever not having
[22:43] children in public school. My son
[22:45] graduated a year early. Um he's 17 years
[22:48] old from Sebastian River High School. My
[22:50] daughter's graduated. So I'm here as a
[22:52] taxpayer and not as a parent for the
[22:55] first time ever in this district. So
[22:57] again, um the feedback that I'm hearing
[22:58] from parents, grandparents, community
[23:00] members, everything's been absolutely
[23:01] wonderful. So kudos to everybody up
[23:03] there. um this gentleman here. Um thank
[23:06] you for graduating both of my children
[23:08] and I am so proud of you and um just
[23:12] blessed to have you be able to move up
[23:14] to the district office. So
[23:15] congratulations and thank you for
[23:16] everything. I know a lot of the kids and
[23:18] families are sad to not hear him um with
[23:21] the morning announcements and the calls
[23:23] home and um seeing that big beautiful
[23:25] smile over all over the campus, but um
[23:28] you're doing the great work here. So
[23:29] thank you very much to uh Chris
[23:30] Cummings. Um Jackie, congratulations on
[23:33] your election um third and final term.
[23:36] You have been a blessing to not only my
[23:39] family but everybody in the school
[23:40] district for the past u million years it
[23:43] seems like. I know John Croppy said you
[23:45] know co it was six years ago to me it
[23:47] seems like it was 20 years ago. Um but I
[23:50] just want to say thank you for
[23:51] everything again for from the bottom of
[23:53] my heart for my family and the
[23:55] community. Even if they opposed you or
[23:57] didn't agree with you, you still stood
[23:59] strong and thank you for all that. Dr.
[24:01] Pusca, same thing. Donating your salary,
[24:03] doing this for free. I know it's not
[24:05] easy. My first time running for
[24:06] election, I couldn't imagine doing it
[24:08] for free. So, you know, all the
[24:10] sacrifices that you do through your
[24:12] work, you know, for, you know, being
[24:14] away from your family. So, thank you
[24:15] very much. So, again, to everybody, I
[24:18] hope that this year continues well. I
[24:20] know that some people up on um the dis
[24:23] now um do not agree with every school
[24:25] board member and campaigned against some
[24:27] school board members but I hope that now
[24:29] that the u majority of the community has
[24:31] made their decision that you guys can
[24:33] work well together and do what's best by
[24:36] children because that's what we elected
[24:38] you to do. Thank you very much and have
[24:40] a wonderful evening. I hope everybody
[24:41] has a great school year. Thank you. Hey,
[24:43] thank you. Thomas Kenny is next and
[24:45] Zachary Wiggers is on deck. I'll get it one of
[24:52] these days.
[24:54] How you all doing?
[24:58] Dr. Moore, congratulations.
[25:02] When I heard today that three years is
[25:04] the average for your job and you did it
[25:06] seven, I was like, what did he sign up
[25:09] for? [laughter]
[25:11] and how did he endure for so long? But
[25:14] seriously, I think one of the things
[25:15] that you did is you set out to transform
[25:18] a school system and make it best by
[25:19] kids.
[25:20] >> And you did that. You did it with uh
[25:24] innovative ways. Um I want to say what
[25:28] Dr. Dyer uh David Dyer said earlier. you
[25:31] know, the next superintendent must
[25:33] understand the way of work around here
[25:35] because the way of work around here
[25:36] obviously has transformed this school
[25:39] system and it took a lot to do. It took
[25:42] a lot to get done. I've always known
[25:44] you, no matter what, to be someone who
[25:47] wants to teach kids first.
[25:49] I've seen you get emotional about it
[25:52] here publicly, privately, wherever. And
[25:55] for that's the way that's the staff you
[25:58] have, I believe, on a lot of levels. And
[26:00] that's the way it should be. The
[26:02] intentional the intentionality that you
[26:04] brought to this school system is
[26:06] something that may not be able to be
[26:08] replaced. So I just want to thank you.
[26:11] >> Okay.
[26:13] >> All right. And uh you want me to really
[26:15] make you blush now?
[26:16] >> No. [laughter]
[26:17] >> You always have other topics go to your
[26:19] >> Yeah. And you know, one of the things
[26:21] you did is you best as you could
[26:24] obviously you're a superintendent. You
[26:25] kept the politics out of it and so did
[26:28] your uh staff. That's not what I could
[26:30] say about the rest of some of the people
[26:31] I see up here
[26:33] because you know I want to say thank you
[26:37] to Dr. Rosario
[26:40] and congratulations for winning. It's a
[26:42] great race and um you are definitely a
[26:46] sign and um someone who understands
[26:51] the heartbeat of Indian River County
[26:55] and it translates all through this
[26:57] school system. We have a classical
[26:59] school system at your at your uh
[27:02] encouragement. We have a better bullying
[27:05] policy at your encouragement. We have
[27:06] cell phone policy at your encouragement.
[27:08] And I say that because of the parents
[27:10] that you represented.
[27:12] We have better clean libraries because
[27:15] of your encouragement.
[27:17] And that is very important. All this
[27:20] makes his job easier.
[27:22] And Jean, you're leaving. I wish you
[27:24] weren't. I understand why. But it's your
[27:27] type of vote that helps this job
[27:30] continue to be easier for a
[27:31] superintendent. Maybe that's why he's
[27:33] been here seven years.
[27:35] So with that, I'm really blessed to to
[27:38] help encourage that along the way. And I
[27:41] hope for sure, like Mr. Dyer said before
[27:45] this morning, that you find that person
[27:47] who can do this rate way of work with
[27:51] the spirit and intentionality that was
[27:53] brought by this man. Thank you.
[27:56] Okay, Zachary Wiggers.
[28:00] » Did I say it correctly that time?
[28:01] >> It's Wiggers, but it's okay. No worries.
[28:03] My kids don't get it right either, so
[28:04] it's I've only been doing this for a
[28:07] little bit. Um, my name is Zachary
[28:08] Wiggers. I am a teacher at Sebastian
[28:10] River High School, and I wanted to say
[28:11] that we only have 169 more days left.
[28:15] >> Exciting, right? Um, my kids are
[28:17] counting, too. Um, but I would like to
[28:19] say that this year has um has had its
[28:21] bumps. There's been a lot of changes.
[28:23] There's been some there's been some
[28:25] bright spots, some unforced errors. I
[28:26] think we've working it out as we go. Uh
[28:29] it is not, as I tell my friends, we're
[28:31] not putting together an airplane while
[28:33] in the air. So, that's a plus. Um, and I
[28:35] think the major thing to take out of
[28:37] that is that with the new collective
[28:39] bargaining agreement that we're about to
[28:40] sign, it is something that is worth
[28:42] noting that it gives us the ability to
[28:45] not only have stability, but it offers a
[28:48] way to make sure that there are no
[28:50] obstructions or roadblocks along the way
[28:53] as we all move in and out of these
[28:54] positions because none of us are here
[28:56] forever. And um, the good thing is is
[28:58] that our words can be. So, I hope that
[29:01] we take a moment to if you haven't read
[29:03] the collective baring agreement as a
[29:04] teacher, if you're watching this, please
[29:06] do. It is very important to know what we contribute to your workday and
[29:11] how your workday is shaped by that
[29:14] collective bargaining agreement and the
[29:15] personal time outside of negotiations
[29:18] that we put into this. Um, I would like
[29:22] to remind everybody that the the the
[29:25] union has only two paid positions and
[29:28] one of them is a secretary. [laughter]
[29:30] So, all of your executive board members
[29:32] and the people your your representatives
[29:34] at your schools, your sight, your site
[29:37] um reps, they do this because we like
[29:40] better working conditions and we want to
[29:42] contribute positively to those around
[29:44] us. Even if you are not a member, we
[29:46] still actively work to make your life
[29:48] better and we hope that you do become a
[29:50] member one day. So with that, thank you
[29:53] and uh 168 more days tomorrow.
[29:57] >> All right, thank you all. Is Brandon
[29:58] Taylor here? Want to give him an
[30:01] opportunity? No. All right, we are um
[30:05] all through our public input. Um doc Dr.
[30:08] Moore, go ahead.
[30:08] >> So we um just as a reminder, Madam
[30:10] Chair, we will present the the
[30:12] contracts. So we will begin.
[30:16] This is item just for the action item 9A
[30:21] and we're starting with the IRCA
[30:23] contract. I'll ask Mr. Cummings to if
[30:27] it's okay present each contract. We'll
[30:29] sign one at a time. Um an overview and
[30:32] just to set up the conversation as as it
[30:34] was referenced. Uh we do impact
[30:36] bargaining in Indian River County which
[30:38] is not an us for them us versus them
[30:41] mentality. And to be honest with you, it
[30:43] takes uh a significantly longer amount
[30:46] of time.
[30:48] >> Um the discourse, the conversations are
[30:50] extremely passionate. Um
[30:54] it it's kind of sitting around the
[30:55] family table talking about where we need
[30:57] to shift and modify and make changes. Um
[31:01] but as Miss Freedom was saying, um this
[31:05] will be in my mind one of the legacy
[31:07] things. Um, and I hope not that I'm
[31:10] going anywhere and it's and I hope I
[31:11] don't have to have these kinds of like
[31:13] feedback for the next 10 months or 11
[31:15] months. Um,
[31:18] it is so powerful to put people in into
[31:20] one room uh and put titles aside and say
[31:23] what's just absolutely best and let's
[31:25] spend a found the foundational times
[31:27] when we're talking about finances, we're
[31:29] talking about health insurance. Um, it is absolute
[31:34] um trust. And I say it's trust. It's
[31:37] because of the questioning. It's because
[31:39] of just come to my office. The amount of
[31:41] time that Zach spends in what will be
[31:44] Dr. Dods. I hope you like him. Uh you're
[31:46] kind of stuck with him. Um
[31:49] it's just the way work should be done.
[31:51] Uh and I do think we have a lot that we
[31:53] should be proud of. Yes, there's
[31:55] opportunities to improve on a number of
[31:57] things. Um but that relationship uh that
[32:00] style of negotiation is is just
[32:03] something I'm very very proud of. So
[32:04] with that, Mr. Cummings, if you would
[32:05] set it up and Jen, if you can come up as
[32:07] he's talking and madam chair, if you can
[32:09] go down, we'll sign.
[32:12] >> So through the chair, good evening to
[32:14] everyone. Uh before uh signing these
[32:17] collective bargaining agreements, I do
[32:19] want to acknowledge again, and I think
[32:21] it's been said very well by Dr. more and
[32:23] by both union presidents, the uh
[32:25] collective work that's been done um by
[32:28] all bargaining members uh and their
[32:31] teams, even the district's team uh
[32:33] putting in the countless hours. As you
[32:35] can imagine, when you look through the
[32:36] contracts and and understand that some
[32:38] of the conversation is centered around
[32:40] salary and health insurance. Um these
[32:44] were not easy topics to h have a
[32:46] discussion about. They really impact the
[32:48] day-to-day lives of all of our all of
[32:50] our staff members. Um but even with that
[32:53] being able to uh come out with some real
[32:57] uh change. I see IRCA is here first. Um
[33:01] but strengthening language around
[33:02] planning and really honoring that time
[33:04] that our teachers need to ensure that
[33:06] they're putting together the the proper
[33:08] lessons for our students um is is
[33:11] beneficial around preps and workday
[33:13] travel, things that a lot of people may
[33:15] not even uh think about that really
[33:18] impact our teachers. So, um, again,
[33:20] kudos to the the bargaining team, um,
[33:23] and to IRCA. So, we're very grateful to
[33:26] continue to partner with them, and I am
[33:30] honored to be able to sign this contract
[33:32] along with them.
[33:34] >> You are now on the negotiating team as
[33:36] well.
[33:38] >> My name is
[33:51] 26.
[33:52] >> Oh, I did not been doing that all day.
[33:57] >> There you go.
[34:31] Well, let's be consistent because that's
[34:32] probably drags better.
[34:40] » Hurricane Andrew reunion.
[34:46] the board to stand up.
[35:01] » Smile.
[35:04] >> Can I center you the four of you in the
[35:06] front? Will you come in front of
[35:11] [laughter]
[35:12] >> together?
[35:19] Thank you. Thank you.
[35:27] Also uh with our CWA, we were able again
[35:32] through all of the salary and and
[35:33] insurance uh conversations still able to
[35:37] come to uh collective agreements around
[35:40] seniority, how we um you know manage
[35:42] through our employees um giving them
[35:45] overtime pay, making sure that it's fair
[35:47] and equitable for for all employees.
[35:50] uh throughout the entire
[35:52] system. So uh we we're very grateful
[35:54] from Mr. Hernandez and his team and I'm
[35:57] honored again to sign
[36:09] August.
[36:46] Okay, that's not my name.
[36:55] » All right, let's go.
[37:07] You guys in the front [clears throat]
[37:09] tow that way. [laughter]
[37:15] » Thank you. Thank you. [snorts]
[37:19] [applause]
[37:38] Okay. And that was ceremonial. We still
[37:40] have to vote on it. Um, consent agenda
[37:43] time. I would like to call for a motion
[37:44] to approve the consent agenda items as
[37:46] amended.
[37:47] >> So move.
[37:48] >> Second.
[37:49] >> Dr. Jones, Mr. Dyer. Any discussion?
[37:53] All those in favor say I.
[37:55] >> I. Anyone opposed? Passes 5. Okay. We
[37:59] have a few items that were pulled from
[38:01] consent to action. Uh Dr. Moore 9A.
[38:04] >> Can we just approve the those two action
[38:06] items real quick?
[38:07] >> Yep. So, I'm going to ask for approval
[38:10] of item
[38:12] Hold on.
[38:13] >> Make sure I'm calling these right
[38:14] because I have to say them.
[38:18] Read them into the record. Hold on.
[38:22] Okay. 9A is approval of the 2026 20227
[38:26] collective bargaining agreement between
[38:28] the school board and Indian River County
[38:30] Education Association IRCA.
[38:34] School district and representatives from
[38:35] the bargaining teams reached an
[38:37] agreement on a one-year contract for the
[38:39] 2026 2027 school year pending
[38:42] ratification and board approval. Uh Dr.
[38:45] Moore, um are there any speakers on
[38:48] this?
[38:49] >> Not at this time.
[38:50] >> Okay.
[38:51] Any discussion board members?
[38:54] >> Mboard. Yes. Just a a shout out. Thank
[38:57] you also to Miss Chris Foley and Mr.
[38:59] Bruce Green. I attended a couple of the
[39:01] high-tech meetings. Obviously, health
[39:02] insurance was an issue this year, but I
[39:05] know they're not here, but thanking them
[39:06] for their work.
[39:07] >> Thank you for the whole team.
[39:09] >> All right. Call for a motion.
[39:11] >> So, move.
[39:13] >> Okay.
[39:17] All those in favor say I.
[39:19] >> I. Anyone opposed? Okay. 9B, the
[39:23] approval of 2026 2022 collective
[39:26] bargaining agreement between the school
[39:28] board and the Communication Workers of
[39:29] America, CWA School District and
[39:32] representatives from the CWA local 31000
[39:36] bargaining teams reached an agreement on
[39:38] a one-year contract for the 2026 2022
[39:42] school year pending ratification and
[39:44] board approval. Uh Dr. Moore, any
[39:47] speakers?
[39:47] >> Not at this time.
[39:48] >> Okay. Any discussion board members?
[39:52] >> Like to just say thank you for everyone
[39:53] negotiating. I know that is a lot of
[39:55] time. Um call for a motion.
[39:57] >> So move second
[39:59] >> and a second by Dr. Pusca. Thank you.
[40:02] All those in favor say I.
[40:03] >> I.
[40:03] Anyone opposed that passes 5. All
[40:07] right. Back to item.
[40:10] >> If we can do 7 C. I first we just have a group of individuals here for the tan
[40:15] who actually live in Hillsboro.
[40:17] >> Okay. Um, Dr. Rosario pulled 7C.
[40:22] >> So, I'll turn it over to Dr. Dons if
[40:23] you'd like to present the item.
[40:25] >> Yes,
[40:26] >> sure.
[40:30] » Yes. The the TAN is an annual um event
[40:35] uh of late and it's something that
[40:37] happens throughout uh the state. Uh the
[40:40] TAN is a tax anticipation note to make
[40:43] sure that we have the cash flow in order
[40:44] to um continue running the district um
[40:47] until November. Um this year we will be
[40:51] asking for $19 million.
[40:55] Um and we the plan currently is to
[40:58] return that by December the 18th once
[41:00] the cash flow picks back up when tax
[41:03] money continues to flow again.
[41:08] Okay.
[41:10] Would you like to speak on the item?
[41:11] >> Um, I only pull the item because I know
[41:13] that it is not a routine item and it's
[41:16] something that we should vote on
[41:18] separately.
[41:21] >> Okay. So, we have item 7C. Hold on one
[41:25] second. Let me pull it up here. Uh,
[41:28] consent agenda item 7 C under financial
[41:31] and business services. It's a request
[41:34] for approval of the issuance of a tax
[41:36] anticipation note, which is a TAN
[41:40] series 2026 in an amount not to exceed
[41:43] $19 million to provide interim financing
[41:47] for the payment of operating expenses.
[41:51] Hold on, I lost my place because this is
[41:53] on here.
[41:57] It's going up and down. One second.
[42:00] Okay, got it.
[42:03] Um, approval of the relating financing
[42:05] documents, ratification of the
[42:07] superintendent's acceptance in the most
[42:08] favorable bid for the notes, subject to
[42:11] applicable restrictions, and the
[42:13] authorization for the superintendent and
[42:15] appropriate staff to take all necessary
[42:17] actions in connection with the issuance
[42:18] of the note.
[42:20] The issuance of the TAN is necessary to
[42:23] provide short-term financing to ensure
[42:25] the district can meet uh projected
[42:28] general fund cash flow deficits. Based
[42:30] on staff analysis, the district is
[42:32] projected to experience cash receipt def
[42:35] deficits of approximately 12 million
[42:37] during October of 2026. These temporary
[42:41] cash flow deficits are primary primarily
[42:44] attributed to the annual slowdown in
[42:47] cash receipts from the tax collector's
[42:48] office that typically occurs from July
[42:51] through mid November. The TAN proceeds
[42:54] with pro will provide the um ne
[42:57] necessary operating obligations during
[43:00] this period.
[43:02] >> Dr. Moore, anything else?
[43:03] >> That is it, ma'am.
[43:04] >> Okay.
[43:06] At this time, I'd like to call for a
[43:08] motion.
[43:09] >> So move.
[43:12] >> Okay. Dr. Jones,
[43:15] Mr. Dyer. Although any discussion, board
[43:17] members, all those in favor say I. I.
[43:20] >> I. Anyone opposed? It passes. 5-0. Thank
[43:23] you. All right, we're going back to item
[43:26] 5C.
[43:30] Dr. Rosario, you pulled this one.
[43:32] >> Same thing. Um, I pulled this item
[43:34] because it is not routine. Um, it is the
[43:37] tentative budget and mil millage rates
[43:40] public hearing. Oh, I'm sorry. I pulled
[43:42] the wrong one. I I didn't mean to pull
[43:44] the minutes.
[43:47] I don't know why I pulled that. So, I
[43:49] apologize for that one. Um 7J, the
[43:52] approval of authorization for the
[43:55] superintendent to enter into
[43:57] negotiations.
[43:58] >> Okay, we still have to vote on 5C
[44:00] because you pulled it.
[44:00] >> I didn't mean to pull the minutes.
[44:02] >> So, I apologize.
[44:04] >> Anyone have any discussion on 5C?
[44:07] >> Okay. It's the um approval of the 2026
[44:14] 2027 tenative budget and mill rates
[44:16] public hearing minutes.
[44:18] >> All right.
[44:18] >> Pulled the wrong one. Sorry. Anyone um
[44:21] any discussion?
[44:23] >> Could I have a motion to approve?
[44:24] >> So move.
[44:25] >> Okay, we'll give it to Dr. Pasca this
[44:28] time. Dr. Jones. All those in favor say
[44:31] I.
[44:32] >> I.
[44:32] Anyone opposed to the minutes? Okay.
[44:35] Thank you. On to 7J.
[44:39] >> Same thing. Um that's um not routine.
[44:43] And so I I believe that we um ought to
[44:46] discuss if anything and then vote during
[44:49] action for the superintendent to enter
[44:51] into negotiations of a sale of the
[44:52] surplus real property.
[44:54] >> Okay. Dr. Moore, turn this over to you.
[44:56] >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Dr. Dons will
[44:58] present the item as you did this
[44:59] morning.
[45:00] >> Yes. To the chair. Uh the district is
[45:02] requesting authorization of the
[45:03] superintendent to enter in negotiations
[45:05] for the sale of surplus real property
[45:07] located at 14261 19th Street. um to
[45:11] approve the attached resol resolution
[45:13] declaring the property located at 142619
[45:16] street uh Bureau Beach and identified by
[45:19] the following parcel identification.
[45:21] There are four parcels there but is
[45:23] being sold as one property um and this
[45:26] is simply for the um opportunity of the
[45:29] superintendent to enter into
[45:30] negotiations with prospective buyers.
[45:34] Um, in order for the sale of the
[45:36] property to be completed, it would
[45:39] require him returning to the board with
[45:41] recommendation for sale.
[45:44] Okay. So, we have an approval for
[45:45] authorization for the superintendent to
[45:47] enter into negotiations for the sale of
[45:49] surplus real property located at
[45:51] 142619th
[45:53] Street, Vero Beach, Florida. Any
[45:54] discussion, board members?
[45:57] >> All those in uh can I get a motion?
[46:00] >> So, move second.
[46:02] >> Okay. Jones and Rosario.
[46:05] All those in favor say I.
[46:07] >> I.
[46:07] Anyone opposed? Passes 5-0.
[46:11] All right.
[46:14] Now we are to our action agenda items
[46:17] that haven't already been voted on. Oh,
[46:21] we're good. All right. We're to the
[46:23] discussion and we have no discussion
[46:25] item, I believe. So, we're on to school
[46:28] board member matters. Does anybody like
[46:30] to do a report first?
[46:34] Okay.
[46:36] Thank you to all who spoke tonight. I
[46:38] appreciate you taking the time to come
[46:39] out and speak with us. Um, a very
[46:42] special welcome to Dr. Dods on your
[46:44] first official meeting by yourself. Very
[46:46] grat glad that you are here. Um, as we
[46:49] looked and talked about succession
[46:51] management with our superintendent, we
[46:53] did that with Dr. Dods and Bruce Green
[46:55] and it was a wonderful way to do things
[46:57] and uh hope that we could continue to
[46:59] model that because it helps the person.
[47:02] Um part of back to school supplies from
[47:05] many organizations. I want to thank the
[47:07] community. The ones that I took part in
[47:09] were uh with GYAC Felsmere and then the
[47:11] sheriff department were giving donations
[47:14] and um there were so many supplies that
[47:16] went to schools to parents and students
[47:19] who needed these extra supplies. So, I
[47:21] thank you and I always always want to
[47:23] thank all of our teachers as we begin
[47:25] this school year. You know, the teaching
[47:27] and learning is happening. I've been to
[47:29] all schools and just thank you for all
[47:31] the dedication that you do and I'm I'm
[47:33] so very proud of both of these contracts
[47:36] being ratified. I know that's a lot of
[47:38] work um from both members, all sides,
[47:41] and um it just shows that we do have a
[47:43] school district that will work together.
[47:46] Um as far as by um meetings during the
[47:49] summer executive roundt um discussion on
[47:51] property tax and how it would affect our
[47:53] community economic development council
[47:55] tomorrow we're looking at um building
[47:57] permits um the thrive get together at
[48:02] Vero Beach High School. I always believe
[48:04] they are great but Dr. Moore that was
[48:06] your best speech ever and uh very proud
[48:08] of you. Um,
[48:11] please parents
[48:12] >> the first person actually gave one I
[48:14] think.
[48:15] >> I [laughter] don't know. Maybe that's
[48:16] it. Uh, look at please parents please
[48:20] continue to look at your school sites. A
[48:22] lot of open house dates coming up. Look
[48:24] at our social media. I look at it every
[48:26] day. I love the changes that we have so
[48:27] the parents can keep up with everything.
[48:29] If you have a concern, call the school.
[48:31] You know, the principal may be the one
[48:33] to answer or they can give it to
[48:34] somebody else who may know the answer.
[48:36] So, we always want to try to help. If
[48:37] there's a problem, create a solution.
[48:40] Um,
[48:42] very happy to announce that Paty's house
[48:44] at Citrus is finished. Um, and I'm going
[48:49] to give the pictures to Dr. Shafty to
[48:51] share. My husband built the new pig
[48:52] house for Paty in the new egg department
[48:55] at Citrus. and we talked about that
[48:58] today. But this program, especially when
[49:01] I asked the teacher about the standards
[49:03] and so forth, and she said the one that
[49:04] she thought was the most important was
[49:06] the empathy with the animals and they
[49:07] have pigs, ducks, and um
[49:10] >> chickens.
[49:11] And it was really I was at a
[49:13] meeting once with two of the county
[49:14] commissioners and they were talking to
[49:16] me and said, "Okay, now doc, make sure
[49:17] that those fences are really good at the
[49:20] end so nobody can get in those fences at
[49:22] night." So I said, "Okay, we got it.
[49:23] We're working on that." But thank you.
[49:26] And I guess the last thing I want to
[49:27] say, I did hit every school the first
[49:28] week of school. Every school. And I want
[49:32] to say thank you because there was
[49:33] teaching and learning learning going on
[49:35] the first week and I know the second
[49:36] week was dedicated to testing. But I
[49:38] want to do a really big thank you to the
[49:40] following schools. The transition that
[49:43] we had this year, and I've said it, I've
[49:45] been here over 45 years. What is was the
[49:47] hardest one as far as combining. We had
[49:50] a ninth and tth grade class had never
[49:52] been on Bureau Beach High School campus
[49:53] before. big big change. As as you know,
[49:57] Rosewood moved to Storm Grove. As you
[49:59] know, Oyola moved to Oslo. Oslo moved to
[50:03] Vero Beach Middle, but from day one, I
[50:06] saw the White Glove and the Mr. Small
[50:08] move at these schools so we could get it
[50:10] finished. And thank you to all the
[50:12] teachers. Um, my husband and I helped
[50:14] with locker painting and moving band
[50:16] instruments. It was a hard summer for
[50:18] those schools. I'm just going to tell
[50:20] you right now, these teachers and
[50:21] administrators, support staff, parents,
[50:23] PTAs, they really really supported us in
[50:26] this change. So, um, any kind of change
[50:29] is is, uh, challenging at first, but
[50:31] again, thank you to all of our schools,
[50:33] especially those who made a good change.
[50:35] And thank you to all of us, all of the
[50:37] people in the community who are involved
[50:40] on a regular basis. We appreciate your
[50:42] support.
[50:43] >> Okay.
[50:45] Dr. Rosario. Um so I I attended my
[50:50] um uh value adjustment board meeting and
[50:53] it was the last one of the year. So that
[50:55] was um uh pretty interesting. Um Mr. Joe
[51:00] Fletcher is was the chair and of course
[51:03] that was his last meeting um of the
[51:05] year. So uh it was nice to give him a
[51:08] sendoff for that meeting. Um, school
[51:11] visits were incredible. Of course, you
[51:14] know, again, there were some hiccups
[51:15] along the way, but um I'm sure that we
[51:19] um have already uh fixed all of those
[51:22] hiccups. And so, moving forward, um we
[51:25] are looking for uh really an exciting
[51:28] school year for all of our students and
[51:31] our teachers and staff and everyone
[51:33] else. Um so, I'm excited about that. Um
[51:36] Dr. Moore's retirement this afternoon.
[51:39] For those who did not pay attention or
[51:41] didn't have a chance to listen, I
[51:43] encourage you all to uh watch our
[51:46] workshop. It will give you a little bit
[51:48] of an idea of how the board is going to
[51:50] move forward. Um at our next workshop,
[51:52] we'll start having those discussions.
[51:54] So, Dr. Moore, thank you so much for
[51:56] giving us
[51:58] pretty much an entire school year to
[52:00] begin that process. And I know that many
[52:02] of us are going to be sad that you uh
[52:04] will not be here anymore. uh that you
[52:07] are planning to retire. So, we thank you
[52:09] for that. Um thank you to the voters of
[52:13] course for their vote of confidence in
[52:15] my work and my role as a school board
[52:18] member. Um, so I am uh extremely proud
[52:22] of um the work that we have been able to
[52:24] accomplish here um as a board and I'm
[52:27] just excited that we get that I get
[52:30] another four years in this role and I'm
[52:33] grateful to the residents and the voters
[52:35] who voted me in. So I just wanted to say
[52:37] thank you to all of you who are
[52:39] listening, who are watching and um I'm
[52:42] grateful.
[52:44] Mr.
[52:44] >> Yeah, I was just going to add a little
[52:46] bit of what I said at the workshop today
[52:48] that uh most of you didn't didn't hear.
[52:51] And that is first is to thank Dr. Moore
[52:55] for what he has done for this district.
[52:56] A real change agent that came in at a
[52:59] very tough time
[53:01] and did a terrific job and and I think
[53:04] that uh you know as we look forward we
[53:08] can thank him for what he's brought to
[53:10] us. I mean, he's brought from 38th to
[53:13] fifth in terms of school districts in
[53:16] the state of Florida. Should have been a
[53:17] little higher. Somebody small district
[53:20] slipped in in front of us.
[53:21] >> Glades.
[53:21] >> But, uh, next, next year or this year,
[53:23] we'll get them.
[53:25] >> Uh, we've brought, you know, one of the
[53:27] biggest things I got involved in
[53:28] education over the literacy issue. As
[53:31] you know, in our country right now, the
[53:33] last NAPE score is where only 31%
[53:36] of kids in the United States can read at
[53:38] grade level in third grade. That's down
[53:40] from 35% precoid. So you can see the
[53:43] toll that that's taken. We do better
[53:45] than that in Florida. We're in the what
[53:48] was it? 53 or 57 this last year in the
[53:51] state of Florida. 5 53%
[53:55] >> literacy in third third grade literacy
[53:57] read reading at grade level in third
[53:58] grade either 53.
[54:00] >> Fourth grade test, isn't it?
[54:01] >> What's that?
[54:01] >> It's a fourth grade test, isn't it?
[54:03] Nate. Nate. He's talking.
[54:04] >> Oh, Nate. Oh.
[54:05] >> Oh, Nate. Yeah. Well, the the NA the
[54:07] NAPE Florida was was ranked in the in
[54:10] the 50s. Indian River District School
[54:12] District was at 71 765%
[54:17] last year, up from 52% four or five
[54:21] years ago. And we had four schools that
[54:24] achieved 90% literacy, which has been
[54:27] the ENCAM uh school goal for many, many
[54:30] years. And we have four other schools
[54:31] that were on the bubble that next year
[54:34] we're going to have perhaps eight
[54:35] elementary schools or maybe a few more
[54:37] that are going to achieve 90% literacy,
[54:40] which is just a fantastic fantastic job.
[54:44] And I think he did it in a lot of
[54:46] different ways through through
[54:47] leadership. But I think the leadership
[54:49] that really mattered was he brought
[54:51] datadriven accountability to everyone
[54:54] and to the district to himself
[54:57] to the leadership that we're we're
[54:59] seeing uh here tonight to the teachers
[55:03] to the principles and the discipline and
[55:06] holding people accountable for results.
[55:08] And I think that people embrace the way
[55:10] of work and it has really been as as as
[55:14] Dr. Moore has said it's always to be
[55:16] best by kids and I think that we have
[55:18] done that and and that is one of the
[55:23] things that I think is most difficult in
[55:25] a transition. It is very important that
[55:28] we find someone that is that respects
[55:31] the culture and the way of work that has
[55:33] been developed here in Indian River
[55:35] County. It is unique. It is it has
[55:40] produced results and I think it's very
[55:43] important as we go forward to keep that
[55:45] way of work going. It's easy to slip by.
[55:48] He said in the meeting today I thought
[55:49] he was the second highest tenure of any
[55:52] superintendent in the state of Florida.
[55:54] If you can imagine after seven years of
[55:56] service
[55:57] having more tenure than everybody. He
[55:59] said at the end of the year he will be
[56:01] number one the most tenured
[56:02] superintendent in the state of Florida
[56:05] >> for seven years.
[56:06] >> They only work one more day. the
[56:07] superintendent at Lake to make that a
[56:09] reality. But
[56:10] >> right, [laughter]
[56:11] >> at the most tenure superintendent, the
[56:14] average is three, three and a half
[56:15] years. So what happens is you're always
[56:18] starting over again in a full in a
[56:20] school system. We've had the continuity
[56:22] and that's one, I think, one of the
[56:23] reasons of our success. So we need to
[56:26] pick wisely and we need to pick pick
[56:28] somebody that embraces the way of work
[56:31] and the culture that's been developed
[56:32] here be to be best by kids in Indian
[56:35] River County. But again, thank you for
[56:37] what you've done. Thank you for the your
[56:39] notice. It it's uh always very difficult
[56:43] when you react at the last minute and
[56:45] have to scramble. And now we can be
[56:47] seamless in our uh in our superintendent
[56:51] through the search and through uh what
[56:53] we're doing. And that will develop over
[56:55] the next few months. And thank you very
[56:57] much and thank you for the leadership of
[56:59] it. Uh Mr. Bernborg. So, um I didn't
[57:02] know we were giving him accolades eight
[57:04] months before he's leaving, [laughter]
[57:06] but um I just wanted to say thank you
[57:08] for giving us a lot of notice. I'll say
[57:10] that now and later on we'll get to the
[57:11] accolades when you know your day after
[57:14] the super. Oh, okay.
[57:16] >> Um so, first day um went as smooth as
[57:20] possible um with all the switches and
[57:22] changes. Um I spent a lot of time I was
[57:25] at every campus also before school
[57:27] started and then during the first week
[57:29] of school um Vera Beach High School and
[57:32] Citrus um I was directing traffic and
[57:35] the um and watching it. I think doing it
[57:38] and getting in there and doing it with
[57:41] the staff you learn kind of what works
[57:43] and what doesn't and where the hiccups
[57:45] are and what to avoid next year.
[57:48] >> Well, [laughter] we switched the entire
[57:50] thing on day two. Yeah.
[57:52] That's why I was out there going, "No,
[57:54] this way instead of that way." Um,
[57:56] Thrive was awesome. Um, I get to rile
[57:58] them up and you get to tell them all the
[58:00] facts. So, it was fun. Um,
[58:03] zoning and planning, I I sit on zoning
[58:05] and planning and we really haven't had
[58:07] much going on as far as building, which
[58:10] is nice. Um, and our meeting this week
[58:13] got cancelled, so it's even, uh, kind of
[58:16] slowed down a little bit. It looks like
[58:18] orientations were great. and um a lot of
[58:21] parents out there. I I attended Vero
[58:23] Beach Middle School's orientation, Oyas,
[58:26] and it was hot that day, but um there
[58:30] were so many people there and I think
[58:33] they went relatively well for all the
[58:35] different new campuses that we had. And
[58:37] I say new campuses as in they were new
[58:39] to a lot of people. Um I went to the
[58:42] Indian River Chamber of Commerce
[58:44] breakfast the other day and uh it's
[58:46] enlightening. there's uh different
[58:48] people that are members of the chamber
[58:50] representing their companies or schools
[58:52] and it would be nice if we had um
[58:54] membership. I know we have membership
[58:55] there if we had um somebody there to
[58:58] represent us at um that chamber. I
[59:00] believe we're are members of all the
[59:02] chambers except for Sebastian, right?
[59:04] >> Oh, good. Okay. So, Sebastian as well.
[59:07] Um, football kickoff was great and um, I
[59:10] didn't get to go to this last Friday
[59:12] because I had a birthday in the family,
[59:13] but I heard we got poured on. Um, and
[59:17] yeah, there was a little because of the
[59:19] delay, there was some confusion about
[59:21] opening the gates or whatever. So, we're
[59:23] going to do a better job with that. So,
[59:25] rough to rough start to smooth
[59:27] immediately, which is nice. Usually, it
[59:29] takes two to three weeks to train all
[59:31] the parents the right direction to go.
[59:33] Um, but they seem to get it after day
[59:35] three or four, even after we switched
[59:38] around on them. So, that was great. Um,
[59:42] it was nice over the summer to see so
[59:44] many not only faculty and staff, and I I
[59:46] know I went too and painted lockers and
[59:49] all that stuff, but it was nice to see
[59:50] the families out there beautifying their
[59:52] new campuses. I saw that at Oyola. I saw
[59:55] that at Citrus. Um, I saw that even um
[59:59] at Pelican. There were some people out
[1:00:00] there. So, it's nice to see that the
[1:00:03] families are involved in caring about
[1:00:05] their schools. So, we're very lucky in
[1:00:06] that concern. All right. Anything else
[1:00:10] for our superintendent matters?
[1:00:12] >> Uh, yes, madam. Just um I want to keep
[1:00:15] the main thing the main thing. Hearing
[1:00:16] the the acknowledgements and and and the
[1:00:18] praise is that comes to me is a
[1:00:22] reflection of the team that that stands
[1:00:23] in and well, they're sitting right
[1:00:25] there. Um,
[1:00:29] this is my home. This is where I I live.
[1:00:31] We're not going anywhere. Um I want to
[1:00:34] thank all of the board members who are
[1:00:35] sitting here. Your individual responses
[1:00:38] uh so warm and so just caring for me as a person. Um
[1:00:45] it is it is absolutely nerve-wracking to
[1:00:46] wake up and go to school or work for 32
[1:00:49] straight years. Um,
[1:00:52] but when you have that that burden
[1:00:54] that's been placed on your heart to go
[1:00:56] in and and chase impact and help uh
[1:00:59] other people, what that looks like, I
[1:01:01] have no clue. That's a little
[1:01:02] nerve-wracking thing. Um, but so many
[1:01:05] folks have come here uh to to learn what
[1:01:08] we were doing. So to have an opportunity
[1:01:10] to figure out h how to go and help
[1:01:12] others to be like us um is exciting. And
[1:01:16] let me be clear, I have no intentions of
[1:01:18] figuring that out until this job is
[1:01:21] done. Um, and I say that um because the
[1:01:25] job isn't done. There is work yet yet to
[1:01:29] be done. So, we will not ease into
[1:01:32] retirement. Uh, matter of fact, it'll be
[1:01:35] exactly the opposite. Uh, where we're
[1:01:37] going to run hard and fast. the the most
[1:01:39] important paragraphs in that thing is um
[1:01:44] let's go and get all A's. Yes, they've
[1:01:46] all the schools have been A's. Uh just
[1:01:49] not in the same year. Let's do it in the
[1:01:50] same year. Uh had the opportunity to go
[1:01:53] and and meet the new commissioner. um
[1:01:56] the executive board of FADS and so
[1:01:59] reassured by the way in which he
[1:02:01] presents himself and how receptive he is
[1:02:04] uh to working with with superintendants
[1:02:06] and and supporting all families uh
[1:02:09] regardless of their choice for for
[1:02:10] educating um their their children. But
[1:02:13] there's a lot of conversation, oh the cut scores went up and it's going to
[1:02:17] be so hard. There's going to be half the
[1:02:18] number of A's. Like, yeah, deal with it.
[1:02:21] That's that's that's what it is. So,
[1:02:23] let's go. So I want to end by just
[1:02:25] simply sharing uh Dr. Mann just sent
[1:02:28] this information out and I'll send it to
[1:02:29] the board. PM1 results are are in um and
[1:02:33] that helps us drive and define the plan
[1:02:36] moving forward. So uh now that we have
[1:02:38] this work and you look at ELA language
[1:02:41] arts 3 through 10, we have gone um in
[1:02:44] the elementary we're sitting two
[1:02:46] percentage points higher than we were
[1:02:47] the same time last year. And then you
[1:02:49] look at the state, they actually went
[1:02:51] down two percentage points. So a 4%
[1:02:54] swing for our elementary schools. In our
[1:02:56] middle schools, we actually have gone
[1:02:58] from 38 to 45 to 49 PM1. So we're
[1:03:02] starting with 49% of our uh students
[1:03:05] proficient where last year it was 45,
[1:03:06] the year before 38. Uh a 4 percentage
[1:03:10] improvement where the state is only 2
[1:03:11] percentage uh improvement. You're
[1:03:13] looking at our high schools. Uh our high
[1:03:15] schools um gone from 33 to 35 to 38.
[1:03:21] Uh so once again another drastic in
[1:03:23] improvement and as a system as a whole
[1:03:26] uh 37 um to to 41 um once again drastic improvement when you look at
[1:03:33] third grade which uh we all know is
[1:03:36] extremely important to us. The goal is
[1:03:38] to have just not four schools at 90. Uh
[1:03:41] I'm thinking eight. Uh and now I may
[1:03:44] make it nine. Um because last two years
[1:03:47] ago we were 22% in third grade at
[1:03:50] proficient on the third day of school.
[1:03:53] Uh last year we actually started 2%
[1:03:55] below that. We started at 20 and still
[1:03:58] got to 76 and this year we're starting
[1:04:01] three percentage points higher than that
[1:04:03] uh at 23 percentage points. Um so the I
[1:04:08] say that to put pressure on us. We're
[1:04:10] starting at a better place. Uh and if we
[1:04:12] continue to grow at the same rate that
[1:04:14] we grew last year, uh we'll be able to
[1:04:17] accomplish the goal. And when you look
[1:04:19] at third grade from a state's
[1:04:20] perspective, they're down four
[1:04:21] percentage points. Uh so what's
[1:04:23] happening in Indian River County is
[1:04:25] significantly different. Uh the system
[1:04:28] is different. Uh what makes it different
[1:04:30] are is the commitment, the belief uh
[1:04:33] that the people who run this system
[1:04:35] actually have or are part of the system.
[1:04:37] Um I won't share math because I
[1:04:39] absolutely haven't even looked at it. Um
[1:04:41] so um a lot of work to to be done. Um
[1:04:45] just thankful that I get to do this work
[1:04:46] with with these people uh for this board
[1:04:48] and for this community. Thank you madam
[1:04:50] chair.
[1:04:51] >> Thank you sir. I'd like to thank
[1:04:52] everyone for viewing or coming out this
[1:04:54] evening to our meeting. And before we
[1:04:56] adjourn, please refrain from approaching
[1:04:57] the dis and begin making your way
[1:04:59] towards the exits. We appreciate your
[1:05:01] cooperation with this so that our SRO's
[1:05:03] can go home. Thank you all. It is 7:03.