Personnel, Student, School, and Community Support Committee - Regular Meeting

School and Community Support Committee meeting. Very, very ambitious agenda items here. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes?

Move it. Second.

All in favor? Hi. Dr. Baglos, Madam Chair, I think you wanted to make an inquiry regarding the Ds, one that wasn't reflected. Yes. So I'll defer to you to do that at this time, please.

Yes. Thank you very much, sir. And I just wanted to state that I was happy to see that we did not have the D21 this time around because we are going through a... financial situation which is something that is very worrisome and if we're going to make changes and address issues related to cost savings, then I'm going to ask the superintendent to please share with us what we are doing because a freeze is something that I think a lot of people would like to hear about and must know about. So Mr. Superintendent, sir, if you could address the issue of the D21 at this point.

Mr. Chair?

Through the Chair, sir?

Yes. The D21, that's not here. Yes. All right. Okay, thank you. Yes, speak to the issue of where we are with respect to personnel matters that may incur some additional cost. Yes, thank you, Mr.

Chair. And I just wanted to respond to, because Ms. Rojas, in looking at D21 very carefully, wanted some data, wanted some data about D21. And I was very pleased when we got this, to reflect the following. We did a three year study of how many names or how many individuals would appear on D21. In 2023, 2024, we have from grant funded positions 23, yet on the general fund we had 632 positions. Then we go to 24, 25, grant funded 22, general fund 441. This year, Grant funded, 101, because we've been deliberate in trying to unload the general fund. And this is the number I'm sure that will, I mean, at least shows a definitive action from 441 general fund positions on D21 last year. Right now we're only sitting at 184. So it's a way to demonstrate, I know Ms. Ross had asked for these numbers, and this is where we're at, and right now, there's no D21, and we're going to have to be really, really careful of future D21s. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Ross. Through the Chair, sir. Obviously, that's a significant improvement in taking out from the general fund into the grant-funded positions, which helps us tremendously. And I know that you're going to be looking very, very... at any essential position that comes up. For example, if there's a principalship opening, obviously we cannot leave a school without a principal, but yet we can reduce costs in a plethora of different areas that we have discussed. So I know that you're probably going to be sharing a plan with us in the near future showing us all of the areas that you have already addressed and that way the board will know and I think we'll all appreciate having a document showing us where the cost savings has taken place up to this point in time, where you project There will be more and hopefully with all of that and the other areas that will be addressed with the state, hopefully we will be in a better position because I'm very concerned about about the statements that Mr. Steiger made with reference to our reserves and where we need to be. So the 3% and 2% are critical, and I know that we have to do everything in our power so that we can make that happen. So thank you, Mr. Superintendent. I am looking forward to that list. Do you have a time limit? as to when we would be able to see where the cost savings have already taken place up to now through the chair? The areas that you have cut?

Through the chair? Yes, Madam Chair, we'll show you a partial, but we continue to explore other areas as well. We're actually looking at shifting individuals that may be in one role and placing them in another role, and therefore deleting that position that they were in. It's almost like, I don't want to call it a reorganization, but in a way it is. In a way it is in order to make sure that folks have to update and reskill themselves. And we have opportunities for them in other positions, and our hope is that they will take it, because if not, then the position will not exist. I am not in the position here of describing reduction in force. I do not think we need to do that at this point, at this point, at this point, but we can definitely retrofit, for lack of another word, some positions and therefore save as we move individuals into other slots. This was something that we discussed literally two days ago, two days ago. Also, the concept of replacing vacancies with actual vacancies members that are part of the district versus hiring from the outside. So this is like every day we figure out an additional plug that will help us. And we will get that to you. We will.

So through the chair, thank you. And yes, attrition and also the grant funded positions. Several years ago, I asked that we put on there if they were grant funded, that they sign a document knowing that when that grant ended, they would be going back to whatever their original position was. So I'm sure that you will have several that fall into that category as well. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

All right, thank you. Dr. Gallin.

Yes, Board Member Lonzo. Thank you so much, Board Chair Rojas, for bringing that up. And when the data is shared with her, if it could be shared with all board members, I assume it would. Because I had the same conversation with Mr. Steiger earlier this week when we met about budgets. And, you know, we've made a lot of reductions. And I know it's not an exciting thing to talk about, right? But it's an important thing to talk about, especially when we're talking about funding and we're going up to Tallahassee and to our legislators and asking to help us and support us. We have to show that we're also making those tough decisions as a district because it's a time to tighten our belt, right? So it's important that you share that all as we all go up and advocate. I know all the board members here do go and advocate. And it's important that we share with not just our legislators, but with our community, because everybody understands that things are tighter, and I think our community needs to also see that we're making those decisions as well here internally to be fiscally conservative in everything that we do. Thank you, Dr. Allen.

All right. Thank you, Dr. Dotris. Dr. Gallin, I know I'm taking a lot of time. So to Ms. Rojas' point and Mr. Alonzo, what I want to say is that it's almost like a tiered approach to how we are deleting positions and streamlining our operation. The first thing is absolutely attrition. And then we're going to look at retrofitting and reorganizing some positions. And so we will do that as much as possible before we even consider, I don't even like to say it, but a reduction in force. We're not doing that now. And hopefully if there's a need, it'll be in small areas. But attrition, reorganization, retrofit, I believe is going to help us a lot. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. I know that this is going to be a significantly important conversation that we have, and I want to thank the Chair for raising the issue and clarifying that, and I think we'll highlight it and illuminate it in a much more comprehensive manner as we make sure that we comply with our constitutional obligations as fiduciaries to make sure that we manage a budget and do the things that are necessary to comply with the provisions of state law for board members and for school districts. D20, D23, Dr. Baglos, please.

Through the chair, D20 requests approval of personnel action listing 1200.

Questions, no questions? Continue.

Through the chair, D23 requests compensation adjustments for managerial exempt personnel.

All right, no questions. D23?

Through the chair, D23, I'm sorry, I must have said D22. D23 requests compensation adjustments for confidential exempt personnel. Okay.

All right, no questions on these. Great briefings, obviously. D60, Mr. Diaz.

Through the Chair, D60s request authorization for students to travel out of the country.

Okay, questions? Board Member Santos.

Quickest comment, more of this, please.

Great. D67, Dr. Lewis.

Through the Chair, Dr. Gallin, D68 is the ratification of the School Board 2526 Certified Class Size Compliance Plan submitted to the state of Florida Department of Education.

Okay. That's D67. No questions?

Yes. Thank you for bringing this item. As we talked about, Dr. Lewis, when you brought it, I'm glad we're in compliance. I just want to say for the record that I was friends with the people who brought us that constitutional amendment for class size. This district cannot do more without funding from Tallahassee to make it possible. But I do want to say that the dreams and goals of that class size amendment have not been realized. I do not point a finger at this administration. You're doing everything you can with the resources available to us. And when we're sitting here talking about what we can do to tighten our belt is not maybe the right time. But like I said, friends of mine brought that class size amendment to us. And I'm one who still hopes that the day will come when we can realize what it was meant to be instead of what we've been able to do with it. And I just wanted to put that on the record. Thank you. Yes, Dr. Bendross-Mendinger.

Thank you, Dr. Geller. I just want to ask Member Geller, am I your friend?

One of the ones who brought it about, Dr. Bendross-Mendinger.

I just thought we should share that.

Yes, ma'am.

Great, great. Motion to approve the Ds. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Mr. Harvey, G1.

Final reading for the amendments to policy 8462, student abuse, abandonment, and neglect. These are due to changes in statute of state board rule, as well as recommendations from the state attorney's human trafficking task force. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Questions? No questions. Motion for G1.

Move it.

Second. All in favor? Aye. All right. H1, H2, and H3, and H4. We'll start with H1. Madam Chair, these are your items.

Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As we gather today, I present agenda item H1 with very heavy hearts and a deep gratitude as we honor the life and the service of Dr. Rosa Castro Feinberg, a former Miami-Dade County Public School Board member whose legacy will remain woven into the fabric of this entire school district for many, many years to come. Dr. Feinberg believed that every child matters, not just in principle, but rather in practice. Throughout her time on the board, Rosie, as she was most commonly known to everyone who served on the board with her at that time, was a consistent and a very courageous advocate for students whose voices were too often overlooked. In particular, Rosie was a champion for English language learners. She recognized that language should never be a barrier to opportunity for our children. It should never be a barrier to their dignity or to their success. She pushed for equitable access to instruction, meaningful family engagement, and culturally responsive practices, not because it was easy, but because it was right, it was the right thing to do. She reminded us that multilingual students bring strength, they bring resilience and richness to our schools and that is our responsibility to meet them where they are and then to help them all thrive. While we mourn her passing, we also celebrate a life dedicated to absolute service. We honor Dr. Feinberg not only with remembrance, but with a commitment, a commitment to continue the work that she began, a commitment to equity, to equal access, opportunity, and justice in education, and a commitment to ensure that every student, especially those who need us most, is seen, supported, and valued.

so may we carry forward her legacy in our words in our decisions and in our actions thank you very much mr chair that is my item yes uh board member geller um well first of all i want to co-sponsor that but way beyond that madam chair i can't thank you enough if you hadn't uh beat me to the punch i was gonna be sponsoring that i've been in touch with Some of her colleagues that worked with her at FIU were working and I know that you and others on this board will be involved in a celebration of life. Rosie was my friend for many years. She was my friend when she was on the board. She was my friend and was in touch long after she was off the board. She was special. We've had a lot of great board. I walk up that hallway sometimes and look at old friends of mine and people I I knew for so long people like Phyllis Miller, for example. But just Rosie was a special one. And I'm grateful to you that you're bringing this item. But I just want to say that she was so special. I'd like to see what we can do beyond the proclamation honoring her life. She deserves some more permanent legacy memorial time. for the changes that she brought to this district to lift everyone up because when people denied access are lifted up, we're all lifted up and so thank you and I'm gonna be thinking about and talking to the superintendent and staff to see if there's something more than this well-deserved proclamation that we can do to honor her in a more permanent legacy kind of way. Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

Through the Chair, thank you. And yes, she was very involved also with the LULAC consent decree, which played a critical role for our children who were ESOL students.

Absolutely. Thank you. Co-sponsor? Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Benderos-Mendingall? Yes, thank you, Mr.

Chair. And I, too, knew her well. And no one said. more proper on the school board and upright than Rosie. I can see her sitting there and ready to talk about the children of our school system. I want to just thank you for bringing this item because again, as my colleague, Representative Geller said, we've gotta find a proper place for her. one of our best friends who looks at us when we walk into the lobby, and we understand that this thing that we do as constitutional officers, it's no joke. And we looked very closely at... our dear friend, Perla, and Rosie, and just a whole lot of good people who served on the school board, which said, in essence, when we got through doing other things, paying homage to them is what we need to do for permanency. And I thank you very much for the item, and I thank you, my colleagues, for your comments. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Motion for co-sponsors? Move it. All in favor? Aye. All right. H2? Okay.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And it's a great honor for me to bring this agenda item to the board to honor our Miami-Dade County Public Schools 2027 Teacher of the Year, Mr. Roberto Ravelo, a civics teacher at South Miami Middle School in District 6. The agenda item that you have in front of you pretty much describes this outstanding, absolutely remarkable teacher who has dedicated his life to education and to helping students reach their utmost potential. It was a wonderful event last week that many of us were able and fortunate to attend and to witness a teacher who truly, truly taught from his heart. And I was delighted that we could honor this man, again, who made a difference for so many years in the lives of the children at South Miami Middle Community School. So I obviously did not have time because of the timing process. We already had done our B items, so therefore I'm bringing forth an H item, and I will be giving him later something else individually at his school. But this is the board item. I am so, so very proud of this gentleman. And if you ever have a chance to meet him, you're going to be, I mean, you're going to truly be impressed because the passion and the compassion and the love for the profession that he has chosen is evident in every single word that he said. Furthermore, he thanked God first, his family, his in the school as well and truly said that he was a winner because he was accepting it not just for him but for every other teacher, every principal, every single employee in that school that as a team made a difference in the lives of children. So I'm just thrilled to bring this item forth.

Thank you very much, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Motion for co-sponsors?

Move it. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Okay, H3.

Yes, sir. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And for years, our school board has been very actively involved in supporting our state attorney's office, the challenges that she's had to confront in combating human trafficking in Miami-Dade County. Agenda items have been proffered by board members, Dr. Bendrose-Mendengal, she's proffered several of them, and board member Alonzo, as well as board member, former board member, Dr. Larry Feldman, regarding this agenda. very important issue. This year, the state attorney is concerned about a number of extremely high profile events that are related to ancillary activities that are gonna take place in Miami-Dade County in 2026. I attended the meeting that she conducted with chiefs of police from different municipalities, from the county, counselors, teachers, investigators, you name it, she had everyone at that event. And there, she shared with us the concern that she has for this upcoming year.

Some of the events that are going to be taking place in Miami.

are the World Baseball Classic, which is going to take place from March 16th through the 17th. We have the 2026 World Cup FIFA. This is the big one. And the matches will be held at Hard Rock Stadium in June and in July. And Formula One, which is the Miami Grand Prix, that one's going to take place from May 1st through the 3rd, just to name a few. These are the places where these children are lured into a horrible life that many times they can't escape from. And as I sat there listening to the report that she gave, I said, we have to do something else in our school district. So I decided to bring an item, and this is in addition to what has already been brought forth by the board members that I alluded to at the beginning of my presentation. This item seeks for Miami-Dade County Public Schools to implement a parental, and I repeat, parental, extremely important, and student human trafficking awareness campaign in collaboration with Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, Kathy Fernandez-Rundle at the helm, aligned with Miami-Dade County's national as well as our international scheduled events and ancillary activities in 2026. Again, these will be not just what I mentioned to you, but they're gonna be concert, they're gonna be all kinds of street activities that are gonna be taking place, and so much more. So it's imperative that our families, our parents are cognizant of what their children might be walking into innocently because a lot of these kids don't realize the danger zone that is there and this is where they will get them in scenarios such as the ones that I have just described. So whatever we as this district can do for the parents and also for the students so that they're cognizant of possible situations that may come their way, I think is critically important and something that I feel is imperative that we follow up on accordingly. So that's my item, sir. And I do want to thank Kathy Fernandez-Rundle from the State Attorney's Office. Her work there has been endless, as well as the board members here that have made this a priority, and especially Dr. Bendels-Mendingel, because I've been with her for many years, and this is a topic that she has always continued to bring up. board member alonzo you brought it up as well and and and i hope i didn't leave anybody out but if i did i apologize but i know that everyone here cares so much about the serious issue in miami-dade county regarding human trafficking thank you very much sir that's the item thank you any um questions um motion motion co-sponsors all in favor

Thank you, Madam Chair. Now you're H4.

Thank you very much, sir. This is a foundational factor in building proficiency in reading and mathematics, regular student school attendance. This board has expressed concerns regarding those students who are not proficient in reading and mathematics many, many times over. A number of agenda items have been proffered by many of my colleagues, including myself. I know recently we had Ms. Colucci, Dr. Gallin, Dr. Bendrels-Mendingall, and others who have addressed this topic of concern. We need to continue trying to find all possible solutions to ensure that our students learn and are proficient. But how can they do that if they're not in attendance at schools? This item regarding attendance is really quite simple. If students are not in school, they cannot learn, period. Simple as that. This is what this agenda item is trying to do. We're trying to find solutions and actions to ensure that our children attend school on a daily basis. It's also my understanding that there are right now two bills that have been filed in Tallahassee regarding student attendance, both in the House and also in the Senate. HB-1181, Enforcement of Student Attendance, and there's a companion bill, SB-1190. So I do have one question that I would like to ask staff. During my days as principal, we used to have what we called at that time visiting teachers. Those visiting teachers would actually go out to the schools when children were not present, knock on those doors, and make sure that they assisted families if they didn't have transportation or if they had other issues of concern so that those children would not miss viable days at school. Do we have, I know we have right now social workers, but I don't know if the social workers are doing the same job that our former visiting teachers I witnessed, and I even went with some to homes to try to find children at certain points. Do the social workers through the chair still go and visit the homes and address the issue, keep accountability, and do whatever it takes to get those children back in our schools or not? Or do we have someone else that does that at this point through the chair?

Through the chair, Board Member Rojas, let me just say that the item itself speaks volumes. And I'm a strong believer that attendance matters. because it impacts everything else. But to your specific question, not only do we have the social workers that still perform that function, beyond that we have what is known as hero interventionists. We have approximately 38 of them right now, and their main function is really to work with the school site leadership team to go, and whenever you have a child that's truant, to be able to go and make those home visits. But even beyond that, Dr. Bendros-Mendigal continued to say and used this particular word that When she was a principal, she thought that it was right that when a child, when a Michael Lewis didn't show up to school, she went and actually knocked on Michael Lewis' door to find out what's going on with Michael. I bring that up to say that it is all of our responsibility, especially from a school leadership standpoint, to ensure that kids are attending school on a regular basis. So it really starts from the very top, talking about the school principal, but there are support and resources within our schools to be able to assist with that as well.

So thank you through the chair, if I may follow up, sir. The heroes interventionists that you're talking about, I thought I heard a low number. We have a lot of schools. So if we don't have one at every school, then those that don't have one are missing out on this opportunity to have someone like the visiting teachers that we had when I was at the sites.

Through the chair, Ms. Rojas, you're 100% correct. Yes, I did quote at the number of 38, but even beyond that, I can tell you what is done through my office. Through my office, on a weekly basis, I have ongoing meetings with the region superintendent. Let me also say that every region has a director whose primary responsibility is attendance. And those directors work directly with schools within the regions. What we try to do, as you all know, that on a daily basis we have an attendance bulletin that comes out. But even beyond that, on Power BI, there is an attendance tracking piece that we utilize as well. And we have several different buckets that we look at. The most important piece is early interventions. Let me just quickly say that. But even beyond that, we have the community involvement specialists at many of our schools that also serve those roles as far as going out in the neighborhood and checking on our students as well.

Through the chair, and I don't want to interrupt you, but those are for the Title I schools only.

That is correct. Thank you.

Okay, so thank you for your answer, I appreciate that, and I'm just gonna go very quickly through the proposed actions for this particular item. Conduct, number one, conduct a thorough needs assessment of current student school attendance data, implementation procedures, and current district and school actions to ensure that students attend school on a regular basis. Number two, assess school sites daily student attendance and further assess if there's a correlation between attendance and the reading and math proficiency levels of the schools. This is very important. Number two, Is there a correlation with those children that are not attending school? And if I'm a betting person, I'm gonna say absolutely yes. I'm not a betting person, but if I were, I would do that. So is the correlation there between the reading and the math and kids that are not present in school on a regular basis? Number three, review school board policy 5200 attendance and make recommendations for amendments specifically in the areas of parent, and student responsibilities as well as another area that's important and that's the enforcement of attendance loss because we have loss that we have to abide by. So the question is, are we enforcing them? Number four, consider developing a clear, actionable district-wide attendance improvement plan to be implemented during the beginning of the 26-27 school year. Consider five, consider including measurable student attendance goals and benchmarks to increase daily attendance within a defined timeline in the next MDCPS strategic plan. And the last one, number six, provide a report to the board on the June 10th, 2026 Personnel, Student, School and Community Support Committee. That's the item, Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Superintendent, sorry, Mr. Chair. You were a former superintendent at one time. Yes, yes. That's it. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Any questions? I want to thank you for this item. Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Lewis.

That is fine. Through the chair, thank you again, Dr. Gallin. Ms. Rojas, I just want to make sure that I finish off my thought when it comes down to the Power BI attendance dashboard that we have. Whatever and anything that we do, if you are intentional behind it, you tend to have success. And what I mean by that, that is something that I find and I use very intentionally because, once again, I truly understand the importance of daily attendance. And as a result of that, we have several different bands that I really and honestly monitor on a weekly basis. You know, the very first band has more so to do with the amount of kids that we have currently in our district that haven't missed any days. To me, those kids are to be celebrated. They are to be rewarded. That's number one. But even beyond that, we have another band, those that have missed between one and four days. And that's that early warning sign that I referenced, right? We try to identify those kids early. and try to intervene even earlier, right? Because trying to figure out the why, you're able to bring about a change when it comes down to that. But even beyond that, we have another category, which are those that miss between five and nine days. And of course, the big bucket is those that have missed between 10 and more. And those that have missed between 10 and more, the one thing that I look for is to see what type of interventions that have taken place by the school as it relates to that individual child. And for the most part, I think you'll be very pleased to know that school sites as well understand the important value of student attendance school on a daily basis. Because going back to your item, I think we can all agree that there's a strong correlation between daily attendance and proficiency in reading and, of course, math as well. Thank you.

Thank you.

Through the chair, thank you very much. Dr. Lewis, we're lucky to have you at the helm in this arena, but working very collaboratively also with the regents is very important and the principals, assistant principals and teachers at our schools. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for the item. Co-sponsors?

All in favor? Mr. Chair, for just one moment, I was out for a moment for H3. I just want to add myself as a co-sponsor on H3 as well, if that can be noted by the staff. Thank you.

Move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Okay, so I want to move H1 through H4. I have a motion on H1 through H4 as amended.

Move it.

Second. All in favor? Aye.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman and colleagues. As we begin this discussion, I really thought it was important to acknowledge where we're at as a district. I mean, we've talked a lot about this, but we are in a very strong position. Even though there's a lot of increasing complexities and a rapidly evolving educational landscape, this district is truly a leader and has been a leader throughout our country and here in Miami-Dade County. Over the last several years, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has realized meaningful progress under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Jose Oldortris, with most recently the Florida Department of Education reporting that all public schools combined in Miami-Dade County achieved a record high graduation rate of 93.1% for the 2024-2025 school year. That's an increase from 91.8% from the prior year and the highest on record for our community. The district's traditional schools again exceeded 95% on that fourth consecutive year, reflecting sustained improvement across student groups. In addition, the district assessment results reported by the district show gains in the percentage of students scoring at grade level or above, including growth in our fast ELA reading performance across grade levels and a stronger performance than the state in key elementary grades, including third grade. It's because of that success that thoughtful planning for the future really matters for this board. One of the most important responsibilities of any school board is success in planning, and we talk about that quite frequently here in this board. Selecting the next superintendent will be the most consequential decision this board makes. It will shape the direction of our district for years to come and directly impact our students, our employees, and the community. Because of this importance, This work is work that should not be rushed or left to the end or to the last moment. So it really deserves the work of this board to have intention, clarity, and foresight. This board item that I'm presenting today, I want to be clear, is not about initiating any searches, it's not naming any candidates, and it's not setting any timelines for a transition because I think we all know our transitions and dates that we have already contractually with our superintendent. But as we follow as a board, Sunshine, these are conversations that we can only have in these types of settings. As a board, I think it's very important that we use the mechanism of these committees to have these types of discussions and opportunities to really see what is the foresight of this board and how are we gonna properly plan for the future. So what this item asks of us to do is to be very measured and responsible. As we near the completion of our strategic plan, which really triggered my thought on this, as I thought about the portrait of a graduate, I thought to myself, what is the portrait of a superintendent as we look into the future? So this board item asked that the board begin the work of defining the leadership profile needed to carry that plan out, the plan that we've all been working on in a strategic plan of the next five years of the school district. It asked that we articulate together what type of qualities what type of experience and what type of vision will be required for the future superintendent who can build on our success that we've seen and that will meet the challenges ahead of this district that we were talking about earlier today when we talk about financial constraints and resizing specifically this item request that the board chair who is the leader of the board as we selected, in coordination with our legal counsel, guide this board through a structured and transparent process to develop this leadership profile. This process would include appropriate stakeholder input, which I think is very important, and align it with the strategic priorities this board has already reviewed and put forward through our strategic plan. This approach will ensure that the work remains board-led It avoids any conflicts, especially when it comes to sunshine and discussions, and it keeps the focus on governance rather than operations. It also allows the full board to shape the outcome deliberately rather than reacting later under compressed timelines. Importantly, the timing of any future search remains entirely within this board's control. Developing a profile does not force any decision and is not my intention. It prepares us to make one well when the time comes. So board members, the actions that I'm requesting here in this item are focused and intentional. First, we're asking that the board come together to formally recognize the succession planning as a core governance responsibility and affirm the importance of developing a superintendent leadership profile aligned with our strategic plan. Secondly, it's asking that our board chair, working with our legal counsel, guide this board through a clear and transparent process to develop that profile, including stakeholder engagement and define guardrails to ensure neutrality and consistency with board policy. Thirdly, it requests that the board receive a report outlining a proposed framework, what type of process are we going to do, and any anticipated timeline for this work. allowing the full board to provide direction and ensure alignment before any future steps are taken. As you all saw on my board item and it was done intentionally, there is no actual timeline or requirement on when it is to be reported back because I'll leave that completely up to the board chair to work together with our legal counsel. These actions do not commit the board to any searches, to any particular candidate, or a specific timeline. They simply ensure that when the time comes, this board is prepared, It's aligned and acting with intention rather than urgency. Succession planning is not a signal of instability. To me, it actually shows a signal of strong governance. This item allows us to build on the success of our district, respect the current leadership in place today, and plan responsibly for the future. It protects continuity, stability, and thoughtful decision-making. By taking this step now, We're doing exactly what our students, our employees, and our community expects of us. We're planning, we're leading responsibly, and we're putting the long-term success of Miami-Dade County Public Schools first. That's the purpose of my item. And that is why I'm asking for your support today. And I'm open, of course, to questions from our board members and really hope that this can be an open discussion on how others on this board feel about this process, and many of whom have already been through this process in the past, as this would be my first time going through this process as a school board member. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Board Member Alonzo. Madam Chair? Yes, please.

Yes, thank you so very much, Mr. Chair, for allowing me the opportunity. The agenda item before us, H6, in my humble opinion, is both concerning and unnecessary at this time. I was perplexed, I was disheartened, I was disappointed to see this item placed on the agenda, particularly given my longstanding total respect and support for board member Alonso, who brought it forward. And that has not changed. My respect for you will continue just the same way I respect all of my colleagues on the board. As board chair, I am very cognizant of the fact that the superintendent's employment agreement terminates on February 14th, 2027, Valentine's Day. And it's always been my intent to bring forth a comprehensive agenda item. I'm gonna repeat that for the sake of the listening public. A comprehensive agenda item at the March 11th, 2026 board meeting that would fully inform the board of all, all viable options and necessary actions that need to take place. It will provide guidance regarding the parameters and the critical elements that will indeed govern the identification of qualified candidates for the position of superintendent of schools. I'm very well aware of my responsibilities as the board chair to what I am supposed to do to ensure that this process takes place The board will always be involved and the actions that will move forward are those actions that are approved by the majority of the board. The process of selecting a superintendent is amongst the most consequential responsibilities that are entrusted to board members. This decision shapes the educational direction of the school district, it impacts our students and our staffs, and it reflects the board's commitment to responsible stewardship of public resources. It must be conducted with full transparency. I will repeat that. It must be conducted with full transparency and integrity, and it must always, always, always prioritize the best interests of our teachers, of our administrators, of the entire workforce, of our parents and families, our community and business stakeholders, and most importantly, again, our students. Having worked under at least 10 superintendents and observed numerous superintendent selection processes, and in fact, participated in the last selection of our superintendent, which by the way, was an outstanding choice. Thank you, Dr. Doudris, for the job that you have done for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, your passion, and your love for this profession that you have spent a lifetime dedicated to is truly admirable and commendable. Thank you. So I will go back to where I was. Along with three other colleagues on the board who were also together with me when the selection of Dr. Dodris took place. We bring both experience and perspective to this very important responsibility. This is not my first rodeo, I assure you of that, or something that is new to me. And I know it's not the first rodeo to several that are sitting on this board right now on this dais. As board chair, I am committed to ensuring that this process remains respectful, transparent, orderly, deliberate, focused, and absolutely inclusive, and does not devolve into speculation or spectacle. When this election is complete, the public should have full confidence, and I will repeat that, we have worked tirelessly on this board to earn the respect of our community and of all those we represent. So when this election is completed, the public should have full confidence that the process was conducted transparently, ethically, and in accordance with our obligations as board members. The next superintendent must be a transformational leader, providing all students with the opportunity to thrive. Again, this is one of the most consequential decisions that this board will make. Now, I'm going to address the elephant in the room. Something I rarely do. In all the years I have been sitting on this dais, rarely have to say, I'm going to address the elephant in the room, but I'm going to do that now. Because I can only be brutally honest with myself and with those that I represent. I want to be absolutely clear, crystal clear for that matter, and make sure that the listening public in our workforce understand that to my knowledge, there is no short list and there has never been a short list of individuals identified for this position. I found out about this from a newspaper article in response to an agenda item holder at that time, not even a full agenda, a holder, which was, again, not even a published agenda, and this is not a legislative item. Since this article was printed, I have been asked by a number of people If we had already decided about the next superintendent, and my answer has been unequivocally no, that is erroneous, that is not accurate, and I will not sit quietly allowing anyone to think that that has taken place on this board. We haven't even started the process for the selection of our superintendent. So how in the world can there possibly be a short list with names attached to it? Needless to say, I was very disturbed to hear such erroneous comments. And also to know how disappointed our employees, our internal employees who believe in succession management. And I, for one, have brought items related to succession management more than once throughout my career. And I know how they felt. And I felt very badly because I know that many of them thought that they weren't even included. all interested candidates, both internal and external, will be considered. Whether it's an external candidate that has the qualities, they can apply. Whether it's an internal candidate, they can apply. And they will all be given the same opportunity to go for the position of superintendent of schools in the third largest A-rated school district in the country. If there is a shortlist, I sure would like to know. I don't think anybody on this day has seen the shortlist that I'm aware of, but I don't know. I can talk for myself right now. I can speak for myself. I have never seen any such shortlist. The board has not selected any candidates and the board has not held any discussions regarding specific individuals to be considered for the position of superintendent of schools after Dr. Dutris has retired. We will always welcome input from our constituents, members of the public, our workforce, our business and industry partners, and all district stakeholders regarding those qualities, the experience, the professional judgment, the educational philosophy, and demonstrated ability to effectively administer the third largest school district in the nation, and also in compliance with board policy and always in compliance with state law. That input will be thoughtfully considered and will be an appropriate and meaningful part of the selection process. As a united board, we will lead, keeping in mind our moral and our constitutional responsibility for the selection and appointment of the next superintendent. It is also important to state that pursuant to Article 9, Section 5 of the Florida State Constitution, State Statute 1001.50 and School Board Policy 0132, the school board and after our stakeholders have been heard, holds the executive power and responsibility for selecting superintendent of schools. Your nine member board. No other entity or individual plays a role in that decision. That solely belongs to the nine members that are sitting on this board. This agenda item is about developing a leadership profile for the next superintendent. The selection process for the new superintendent will involve a lot more than just a leadership profile, including those areas that represent the legal aspects of the selection, hiring, and contractual agreement, again, As your chair, I will be presenting a comprehensive board item next month, the same way I brought the superintendent's extension for his employment agreement, and the superintendent's annual evaluation process. This was always my intent, and that is why I was very perplexed when I saw this item. If this agenda item moves forward, and that's fine, if it does, I am going to state for the record, I cannot and will not be supporting it.

As I always say,

We can all agree to disagree respectfully. I respect you fully as a maker of the item. However, I respectfully disagree with the item brought forth today. Thank you very much.

Dr. Gallant, being that my name was referenced, I'd like to speak. Please.

Thank you. Yeah, Board Member Lanzaro, as the maker of the item, I'm definitely going to let you respond. I just request that you respond because I know this is something that other board members, Vice Chair Colucci would be next, but you please feel free.

Thank you. And Chair Rojas, I'm honestly taken back by your reaction because my intent was never to offend anybody on this board, especially you, who you know I have the utmost respect for and I've worked collegiately with since I came onto this board. First, for the listening public, I have no idea whether you're bringing something in March, April, June, July. The only way we can talk about this is in this setting, because we follow sunshine. Secondly, the accusatory facts of a possible newspaper article or short list out there, you've been to Tallahassee the same way I have and other board members. There were rumors all over Tallahassee for the last three to four months on different names floating around for this district. So for any of us on this board to come back and say that we hadn't heard of rumors would be a blatant lie. But that's not what my board item was about. And it actually came about when I was sitting down with Tiffany Paulette and doing our strategic planning, and we were talking about the portrait of a graduate. And I said, wouldn't it be amazing as we come to the conclusion of this to have a portrait of a superintendent? This was weeks ago, months ago. It had nothing to do with newspaper articles. And when I actually received the call, and I wasn't the only board member that received the call from the newspaper on an article that they were planning to write, The reporter didn't even know about my item. I was the one that told him because as you just mentioned, there was a holder and it wasn't even public. And I said, I'm glad that you're bringing this up because this board is a thoughtful board and there is no short list, but there are a ton of Tallahassee people that are interested in the position that I've heard their names floating around. And those are the names that I stated. It wasn't that I had a short list. It was who in Tallahassee is interested or has floated their name around for this position. It wasn't who within your district is interested in this position, because honestly, I'm not sure about you, but nobody on this administration has ever come up to me and told me they want to be the next superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, because that hasn't even come up. This is simply an exercise to understand what this board thought would be a profile of our next superintendent. It wasn't a selection process. It says it very clearly on here. It wasn't a process to identify names. It says it very clearly on here. This was to develop a profile. And I specifically say it every year in the board item that this is led by the board chair. But the only way that I can ask this question for clarification, Madam Chair, is through this process. I'm sorry if you feel offended. In no way was I trying to be somebody trying to offend you. You know that very well in the years that we've been working together over these last three years, that I have the utmost respect to you and every other board member here. I try to work together with every single person here as much as I can, irregardless of our political stands, our personal stands. All I do is work every day in and out for this district. Superintendent knows it. I visit every single school. I visit every department. So I am offended by the reaction.

Madam Chair, I'll allow you to respond and then I'll go to Vice Chair Colucci.

I'm not going to respond extensively. My only response is I could go by what is written on the article. It is here. It is quoted. It has nothing to do with rumors. It has to do with a short list. This is the article that I read. And yes, I was very concerned about what I read on this article. I'm not going to read it here publicly again, but it certainly talks about a short list on this article. That's all I'm going to say at this time related to this part.

Thank you, Vice Chair Colucci, and then Board Member Espino, and then Board Member Geller.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for recognizing me. And I, too, have several concerns with this item. The first one is procedural. Historically, and by longstanding board practice, the initiation of a superintendent search is brought forward by the board chair. For that reason, I believe this item is out of order as presented. I raise this concern having served on this board going on four years and with a clear understanding of our established governance practices. I welcome fellow members serving here prior to November of 2022 to correct me if I'm wrong. Second, I too am very concerned about the false impression conveyed to the public through quotes within recent media reporting suggesting the existence of a quote unquote shortlist of future superintendent candidates. I want to state clearly for the record that no such list exists to my knowledge, and I have not authorized anyone to speak on my behalf in that regard. I would never presume speaking for another board member nor would I consent to anyone here doing so on my behalf. It is important that the public receive accurate information and that individual board members positions not be misrepresented. It is a simple matter of respect of our colleagues. Third, I have concerns with the actions brought forth in the recommend of this item. As duly elected constitutional officers, one of the core responsibilities of this board is the selection of the superintendent. I fully welcome input from all stakeholders, including parents, students, teachers, administrators, members of this entire community. But any action that shifts decision-making away from this board to a third party is not acceptable to me. Public participation is always, always highly encouraged and protected through our open meetings, public hearings, and agenda item comment process. And I value and welcome that engagement. My door is always open. transparency is imperative. While it is my hope that this process can move forward in a timely manner, I would welcome the board chair initiating appropriate action as early as next month for all these reasons. I do not present this, I do not support this item as presented. And I will conclude by stating this item in conclusion is brought forth by an improper sponsor. It has contributed to a false public perception regarding a superintendent quote unquote shortlist and it raises serious concerns about preserving the board's collective duty and authority in the superintendent selection process. In closing, I do not and will not support this item. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Board Member Espino and then Board Member Geller.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Look, I would like to echo my colleague's sentiments on this item. I too was confused when it was issued. I'll tell you primarily because when the board chair brought the extension in June, and I attempted to have a conversation about the merit, and I remember, Board Member Gallin, you contributed to that, about the merit of when we select and when we don't select, and specifically mentioned the commencement of our strategic planning session. Board Member Alonso was all too quick to say, this is the process, and stability, stability, stability, and that conversation was foreclosed. And so I do think this is out of order. I do think it does usurp the authority and the province of the chair. What's more is I don't really believe it accomplishes much. So we brought down the ire of the public in a particular way. And all this item does is reinforce what we were going to do anyway. So there's a lot of things in me in public office that are spectacles. I think that we as a board do as much as humanly possible to limit that spectacle. and we don't feed it. There's always a lot of noise going on, and considering how closely we vote together on most items, we avoid that spectacle. We can't feed the beast, if you will, because the beast is gonna have plenty of food otherwise. And I thought this fed the beast. I don't think it's actually accomplished anything. I think it created a spectacle, and we sort of tripped out of the starting gate before even having the opportunity to get in stride. So I will not be supporting this item. I do look forward to the chair bringing her item and this developing the open transparent process that Miami-Dade County Public Schools deserve irrespective of what some of our friends in Tallahassee may want. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Board Member Geller. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And Board Member Santos.

I comment this a little different from a different little perspective than some of what's been said, but I end up in the same place because when I saw the item not aware of any of the drama that has developed and frankly unaware of our precedent not even knowing that this would typically come from the board chair although i i hear that but i was not inclined to support the item when i became aware of it and still feel that way for basically two reasons number one that I thought it was still a little premature. We have a superintendent and I don't want to do something to undermine his authority or turn him into a lame duck superintendent. We know he is in drop. I surely am not of a mind to try to cost the man money that he's entitled to, although personally I wish he could be with us a lot longer than the drop program permits. But secondly, because I didn't understand the idea of developing a leadership profile, because that struck me as not sufficiently flexible to allow the board to consider every possible applicant on their own merits instead of by some pre-established set of criteria that might exclude a very good candidate who didn't fit the profile but was, you know, outside the box. So I decided I wasn't going to be for this, completely without regard to this other stuff. Now, since people have spoken kind of plainly and personally, I'm going to do the same. Along with, I think, every member of this dais, Board Member Alonso, I have been the recipient of, frankly, from my point of view, extraordinary courtesy and consideration from you individually, and I would be hard-pressed to point to one member of this dais that I don't feel that way about. notwithstanding, you know, a heated political campaign and a lot of things that were said about me, I've hoped to dispel some of those notions on the part of my colleagues. I come as, you know, with a long background in politics as my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Bendros-Mendigal, Representative Bendros-Mendigal, talks about all the time, but not somebody from within the education establishment, not somebody who's served for many, many years with all of you. And I've been moved by the personal warmth and consideration that I've received from every member of this board, and very much yourself, board member Alonso, and I appreciate that. And so... I'm going to ask you to think about perhaps rewording something you just said, because I'm not the kind to... I've been around a long time, and I'm not a thin-skinned guy, and I'm pretty thick-skinned. A lot of people don't like me, and that's their privilege. But I have to ask you to think that, in a way, although I'm not huffy about it, you just... kind of said that I'm a liar because you said anybody who doesn't know or says they don't know what's been going around up in Tallahassee for months would be lying. And I look at you, look you in the eye as somebody who views you as a colleague and friend and tell you, I have not heard word one about that. I have made it my business after eight long years in Tallahassee that ended in November of 2022. I've been up there a grand total of once since my service in the House expired, and that was for the wedding of my very dear friend Bill Helmick. And other than that, I haven't been there, have no great desire to rush back up there. I can tell you, no, I haven't heard anything about the shortlist or anything like that. Every once in a while, maybe somebody around here says, well, who do you think? And I say, well, we're not there yet. But I'm not lying when I say that. That's a fact. I want you to think about that turn of phrase. But more than that, and not just what you've said, I just, I don't understand. Look, I'm not naive to politics. I've been at it a long time. But I don't understand why this decision goes through Tallahassee. This is a decision to be made not just by this board. We are not in isolation, but we're part of a community here, a wonderful community that's Aventura and Hialeah and Miami Gardens and Homestead and a lot of places that aren't incorporated at all. And a lot of stakeholders are our parents. our teachers, our employees, our stakeholders, all these people down here in Dade County, and why should Tallahassee be the route that this travels? This is a Miami-Dade County decision, all of us together hopefully seeing things eye to eye, hopefully arm in arm, hopefully looking for that transformative leader the way Dr. Jose Dotris has been a transformative leader for this district. And I'll say again, I don't want to cost you all that money that you get from DROP, but boy, I wish you could be with us longer than 2027. I'll just say that. So I don't get it. I haven't heard about it. I guess Maybe I'm not in the right loop somewhere there, and that's OK with me. Some loops I want to be in, and there's some loops I don't necessarily need to be looped in by. But I don't take it personally. My colleague, my friend, I don't. I understand you're trying to do something, and I accept your motivations like I accept everybody up here as having good motivations and caring about our kids. I mentioned all the people who had something to say, and I didn't mention the students, the ones who were the most affected by it. I'll take you at face value. I believe you're trying to do the right thing. I accept when you say you weren't trying to offend anybody. Don't you be offended. Don't anybody be offended. Let's just all try to work together, make the best decision. But I promise you, I'm not privy to whatever they were talking about in Tallahassee. That's no lie. But I think that we can all just move past this. Madam Chair says she's going to bring an item. And Madam Chair, if you don't bring it in March, then bring it in April. Bring it when you're ready, when it's right. But I'll look to your leadership to bring it. But I mean, I didn't know that that's how it worked. If I didn't know, maybe board member Alonso didn't know either. So let's all give each other The benefit of the doubt, let's work together to try and deal with a transition that's forced upon us. Somebody said this is one of the most important decisions we have to make. I don't even agree with that. It is the single most important decision that we have to make. And I'd like to say, you know, we don't all agree on everything all the time. But I don't think there's a member here that I've seen, like I said, hadn't treated me with courtesy and respect, and one that I don't think has the best interests of our kids at heart. And so I'm going to continue to look at all of you that way. I'm going to continue to believe that's what's in your heart. And I'm going to work with each and every one of you to move forward so we make the best decision we can. And I think in the end, I'm very hopeful and optimistic that we will.

Thank you. Thank you, Board Member Geller, and let the church say amen. I think you wanted to respond very quickly, and then I'm going to come to Board Member Blanco and then Board Member Santos, and we're going to kind of try to bring this in for some kind of a landing.

First of all, I want to say thank you, Mr. Geller. And I'm sorry, on the record. I'm going to make this easy for everybody. As I said, I had no idea what the Board Chair's plan was. because we don't talk about those things. We're not allowed to by law. I now come to understand that there is a plan for something coming in March or April, irregardless, There's something coming. I was not aware because Board Chair Rojas, you and I don't sit down and talk about what your next board item's gonna be, right? So in no way did I want this item to be one to create tension amongst this board. Quite the opposite. I wanted it to bring us together in a collaborative exercise. I'm gonna withdraw this item and I'm gonna pull it back. And everybody can still talk through it, but I just wanted everybody to understand that That wasn't my intent.

I was going to let you have it after everybody has spoken for the record. Yeah, absolutely. Well, some things, once the barn doors are up and the horse is already out, the horse is going to ride. So the next rider on this issue is Board Member Blanco.

I think that's quite the best introduction I've ever had. You know, board member Alonso, we've gone back a couple years and we've worked together on other boards, so I truly can't see you sitting thinking about the portrait of a graduate, and this thought coming to mind. I can. And as I sat here and listened, I was reflecting, and I will say, the very first time an item was brought up regarding an extension to Superintendent Dutras' contract, I found myself ill-prepared. And I'll take that in all honesty. And I remember saying, I just got here. and later saying that was not an excuse. And I never ever will allow that to be an excuse for anything that I do. I learned a valuable lesson at that meeting. in hearing you, and I do believe that, I was reflecting, it is difficult at times to have conversations with other board members, and we're wondering, but I think that when we have these committee meetings, and we have the ability to bring something up as new business, that could have been maybe perhaps an opportunity. And again, and I only thought of that as I was listening to discussion, right? So it's not an indictment on the way you handled or thought about or what moved you to do the item, but we do have opportunities to bring up a discussion that we feel other board members need to have without necessarily bringing an item. Just earlier today, board member Colucci brought up new business and it allowed us to have a conversation in the sunshine for something that we felt was important. And many times we've had conversations in new business where somebody says, you know, I've been thinking about an item and so you'll be seeing it soon, right? And that allowed for that impetus to go ahead and do that. And so to not belabor it, I too found, I was taken aback when I saw the holder because in the time that I've been here, we've had two items that have to do with the superintendent and both times they've been brought by the chair and not only that item but many other times the more I've been here the more you see that you know there are certain things that are priorities for certain board members and and most of us you know try to respect and be professional that that's kind of like their thing right or or they've been the one to bring that item in the past and so we let that person bring that item um so that was one of the reasons that I found it I was a little perplexed um I have some, I'm not gonna get into really some of the things that I had concerns with because you've said that you're going to pull the item. But there were some things in the body that I felt very uncomfortable with, an implication of bias. It just fed into, again, that elephant in the room, right, the article that we talked about. And like Board Member Geller, I will tell you, I don't travel much to Tallahassee. I have a full-time job that prevents me from doing that. I do it when I need to very strategically at the appropriate times when I need to meet with someone. I'm not there often. I had not heard any rumors because as far as I know, we have a superintendent and he still has a year on his contract. And so I'm glad Board Member Geller brought that up. But to make blanket statements about us as board members, I think that's what struck many of us. And so I do appreciate you withdrawing the item.

Thank you. Board Member Santos.

Thank you so much, and I really appreciate the robust discussion. And obviously I respect the will of the board and understand where we're heading here. And I want to echo what's been said about genuinely believing that every person's heart up here is in the right place and I really believe that and and thank you board member Geller for bringing that to to our discussion and I take your comments on you know really centering the benefit of the doubt it's very important for for us to have a great working relationship as a board and I believe we do and we will continue to have In our previous search board member, Colucci, you mentioned, if you were here before November 2022, I was one of those board members. And from then, I very much supported acknowledging the importance of planning ahead, being thoughtful about leadership. Because as we all know, succession planning, when done correctly, is an incredibly important part of responsible governance. And that being said, I want to be really clear about one foundational principle that is in the mix in this conversation. Every single board member here, all of us, is elected the same way, we carry the same authority, responsibility, and an equal weight when it comes to selecting, agreeing again that this is our most important responsibility, a superintendent. And we have roles, leadership roles, which I think our chair and vice chair do a fantastic job in to create organization, to keep us on track. And I know she's the first to keep me on time, because sometimes I go too deep. And that's very important. And when it comes to selecting our superintendent, that authority rests with the board collectively, equally. And I want to make sure we all remember that because it's going to be really important in our discussions over the next year. I want to reiterate because I too am not aware of a short list. There is no decision being made. There is no search underway. Any suggestion that has been made is just simply inaccurate and I think we are all in agreeance and I want to make sure our community understands that really thoroughly. But I do want us to respect each other's intentions while understanding that We equally own the process. The process to be thorough, professional, and everyone can track the record, and my colleagues who were with me remember my comments then. They're the same comments now. I think... while we got very lucky and landed in an amazing place with Dr. Dotris. And I want to just take a second to say thank you, historic heights, historic graduation rates, historic A-rated district, just so much that you've done for us. And I'm so grateful we landed here. Before we had chosen you, I had serious concerns with the process. I really disagreed, and it's on the record, with a seven-day search, an internal sort of member of our MDCPS staff having to run the process. I really do believe that professionalism... and thoroughness will be so important as we take this next step as a board together because we all know it. We have a $7 billion enterprise educational responsibility for the third largest school district in the nation. The generations are shaped in this district and we have to have like Dr. Dotris, incredible leadership that can steer us with the new challenges we're facing. And I know that's a different conversation. That's the conversation we're going to begin to have. But that conversation does take time. And I do really believe that it is going to take all of us working together to thoroughly deliver on our compromise to our community as the nine people who get to make that very consequential decision. And so while, thank you Board Member Alonso for listening and collegiately taking I think a right next step for us to be able to move together moving forward, I am very invested And I thank you, Madam Chair, for bringing up your plans in this public body where we can understand and share so that we have that comprehensive conversation process and that it is improved upon every time we get a chance to do it. And I'm hopeful we will do that, and I'm grateful for everyone's leadership here and our chair's leadership in making sure that we each get to do that equally, together, and do right by that responsibility.

Thank you. All board members have spoken except the Honorable Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mendingard. Would you like to speak?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And no, Joe, I don't like to fly. No, Madam Blanco, I don't like to fly. I flew for eight years because no one put a gun to my head other than the now deceased Congresswoman and her son, Kendrick Meek they told me you will run for office Joe they told me I did nine people in the race and I won so I just wanted you to know that so you would understand that some things you don't volunteer for but you find that you love your people and you run and you win thank you all for all of you and you my seatmate I am indeed proud of you because you sit by me and you know that I speak my mind. And I probably would have just let it go down in the, no, I wouldn't have. I might not have pulled it, telling you, because I can count. But we were moving on when Member Espino started talking. I said, oh God, that's four. So we got to move on. But I just want to just say, when I look in the dictionary, and I look up the words transparency and integrity, I see our superintendent. And I tell you, Mr. Superintendent, because you know I'm very honest, I tell you that I appreciate you. You already know that. But I want everybody who's listening to know that I do. And sitting here and listening to what everyone is saying about you and your opportunity to continue to serve, it's no joke. Your life has been embedded in what we do. But they put that stuff in there called drop. And, you know, it's the law and real legal-minded people. So just know that. Also, Madam Chair, I'm I'm proud of you too. We've worked together for a long time, and we have just stood our ground. We have done it. And so, right now, I say some duties and responsibilities land with the chair, notwithstanding the fact that we all have one vote. We know that. but I observe her working and moving around rapidly and probably having some of the best people that I know, well, one in particular, Dr. Nelson Diaz. Is he here? There you go. Many of us have worked together for years and we know when he's around, he's bringing the fire. He protects us Many of us on this day, it's maybe three or four, and he's good at it. Madam Chair, again, I'm very proud of you that we're going to move on because we have to. So let's, as my seatmate said, let's just look at the fact that I brought up out a robust discussion. And we know now what we're gonna do. Again, we all have the one vote, but we know how many it would take for us to pass anything. So I feel good. I wanted to hear from everyone, Dr. Gallin. As I said, for eight years, I sat there in that chamber, Joe, and many things were not going our way. Many times we had to hold our noses and vote but we were doing it for the people that we represented. So I'm just happy that you're down there on that end. I'm not gonna speak on this end, that's for member Santos. Thank you. She's good at it. So please understand Madam Chair, we're here to, as I say to the superintendent, we're on the same team and we only win when we play together. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you very much to my seatmate. God bless you, and I'll see you on the journey.

All right, thank you. I want to first and foremost thank and commend my colleagues for their respectful, compassionate, and candid discourse regarding this particular issue. And secondly, I want to thank and commend the maker of the item. The challenge in life sometimes for many of us that are in leadership roles is to be able to balance strength with humility. And I want to say to you that the life I've led and the life I believe all of us live is one that does not result in losses, it results in lessons. And I think we've learned a lot today regarding this particular matter. And I had some thoughts. I want to thank Board Member Blanco. She saw me just scratching all over my folder, and she handed me a piece of paper. But I just want to kind of, for the record, I have to echo the sentiments that were expressed. I tried to as somebody often say, called balls and strikes, but I'll more often than not try to deal with facts versus feelings. And there are some material facts that have been stated that are relevant to this particular process. I do recall that when the previous item came, there was an intimation that there will be some subsequent action. There actually is some subsequent action that may be necessary as it relates to the superintendent's existing contract. There are some provisions that we never got to because we were moving forward based on the particular timeline. I know my colleague mentioned that this is a $7 billion business, and absolutely it is, but I can't put a price on the preciousness that I have in your district at Miami Lakes Middle School. That is my child. I'm sure Board Member Ospino cannot put a price on the children he has that are in our schools, as well as the nearly 300,000 parents that trust us each and every day to send their children to our schools and provide stability, continuity, and a proper education undergirded with love, compassionate, and commitment. I was too somewhat taken aback relative to some of the innuendos that were referenced. I know Our auditor, Mr. Goodman, has really been not feeling loved. And when the shortlist came out and my name wasn't on it, I didn't feel loved. But I say that in jest because I have been a superintendent. But I can think of at least four people that are in this room right now that could be on my shortlist because leadership requires people to have those around him or her. to support them, to guide them, to do the work. And to the extent that that messaging caused some potential friction, that is a reality. And I said that in Just About Me, but I haven't been to Tallahassee in a while, and I don't go up there very often. I went to Homecoming, and I hadn't gone to Homecoming in 20 years. So I have not gone to the legislature for any issues over the past several years. And I want to thank Board Member Geller for quite frankly saying it, what many feel, but he said it, I feel the same way. I'm not elected in Tallahassee. I'm elected in District 1 by the voters of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. I have great relationships with people in Tallahassee. I have friends and colleagues and people I respect and people I disagree with respectfully. But I also want to share that I'm not privy to any gossip or innuendos or rumors relative to a short list. I just am not. And so that did create some fizzers throughout the community. For me, in the nail shop, at the barber shop, at Hong Kong House and Wingstop, You know, Dr. Gallin, you need to run for superintendent. You don't run for superintendent. But people recognize that, you know, a superintendent can come from Tallahassee. They can come from Arkansas. They can come from California. They can come from Alabama. They can come, Dr. Bendross-Mendingall, from Liberty City, because there was one that came from Liberty City that sits on these dyes. And I use that as a pathway to reinforce what the Chair stipulated. It is not about simply position, and I understand what Board Member Santos was saying, but it is something to be said about experience. And I think we are collectively stronger based on our individual experiences. If there's something about mental health, Board Member Blanco, I'm looking your way. If there is someone to give me a recollection of the fundamentals of pedagogy, Vice Chair Colucci, I'm depending on you. If somebody, I need to make the connections and the nexus between what we do here at the local level and how it connects to the state level for education, Dr. Bendross-Mendingall, don't ignore my call. If we're talking about issues relative to technology and real estate and innovation and AI, Board Member Alonso, I'm gonna text you or call you, hey, I have a question. If we're talking about thoughtful thinking and strategic planning and innovation and efficiencies, Board Member Santos, I'm going to holler at you. Board Member Espino, if it's an issue relative to land development, I know you got us. Board Member Geller, if it's issues of legislation, municipalities, and things of that nature, you bring decades of experience. If it's something dealing with curriculum, educational leadership, Office of Professional Standards and the like, and just the overall operations and mechanics of the district from a teacher, a principal, a region director, an assistant superintendent. Madam Chair, your resume speaks for itself. So that collective wisdom and experience is what makes us who we are. And that process that we must go through must value that. It must lean into that. It must, most importantly, respect that. And I think we've done that. over the course of the years that we've been together and 99%, we often say 98% and I'm the one that say no, 99% of the issues we agree on. So, you know, having it been somewhat of an unforced error, I think we don't lose, we learn. And I think it's an opportunity for us to move forward. And again, send the message to this community to our children, to our parents, and equally important to our employees, that we are together. And most importantly, to our superintendent, who can go anywhere. He can go anywhere. Many of us can go anywhere. There is a dearth of superintendents around this country. And I'm not telling you what I think. I'm telling you what I know. And if there's something about superintendent search, I'm sure the chair may elbow me during a committee and say, hey, you were a part of a national search. You were selected through a national search. You had offers around the country through one of the largest search firms. You became a superintendent. You currently facilitate searches as we speak. I work on searches right now as we speak. I know the process, but I respect the position and I respect the protocols that we have as a district. So I think we're at a good place. And I think this was a healthy conversation. Simply put, united we stand, divided we fall. And I don't go up and try to regulate what happens in Tallahassee or anybody. I respectfully say to people, let us at least have some semblance and some substance of what local control and being constitutionally elected reflects. And I'm proud to say that on this board right now. Every board member has been elected, full stop. I don't care who supported in the beginning, but every board member has been elected on this board. And I think that's kind of where we are in I think this process was healthy, and through the appropriate channels, Board Member Alonzo, you indicated that you're going to withdraw the item, and so I'll just leave it at that, and I'll give you the final word, sir, please. Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much, Dr. Gallin, and thank you to all my colleagues. I think these are healthy conversations, and we wouldn't have known of the plan for March if this discussion didn't happen. But I do want to reflect back On an article that keeps on being mentioned that i'm not going to read the article because i'm not going to give anybody the credit because reporters can write as they watch, but I actually went back to now and just read it. Because I think it's important because there's been I wouldn't say accusations but comments kind of signaling that. I made a had a shortlist or I insinuated that this board had a shortlist and I I welcome everybody to go back and please read the article i'm not going to read it out loud. It doesn't talk about me saying this board has a short list. Doesn't even talk about me saying I have a short list because I don't. It talks about possible names floating around in Tallahassee. So that's why it said that of Tallahassee. So I just want to make it clear because there is a listening public and most importantly our staff that listens to this. And I want them to be clear in the fact that I do not have a short list. It does not state that I have a short list. It states that there's lists of names and people that are floating around that they would be interested. But it does not say that I have a short list or that anybody in this board has a short list. So I just wanted to make that clear. But once again, I want to thank everybody for their input. I think, as you said, this makes us stronger. It gives us a path forward, which is what I wanted to learn about. What was our path forward in making this very important decision as a board? And it wasn't a decision of selecting a superintendent because I know board member Spino had said in the past, you know, I paused and said we needed to move forward for stability. And I still continue with stability. I'm not changing that. I think we need to stay stable. But as we stay stable through this process, we have to start planning. And that's what this was, was to start planning and thinking about that profile. But I'm not gonna dwell on it anymore. I appreciate everybody's feedback. I look forward to the board item in March and supporting it, Board Chair. and offering input as we do all of us, because as we said, I mean, we're each one vote in this process, and together we will find the best future leader, but we still have plenty of time for that, Dr. Dortris. But we will begin to plan for that in doing what is right for this district. Thank you.

Madam Chair wants to say a final comment. I thought you were going to have the last word, Board Member Alonso. Go ahead, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, sir. And again, as I always say, teamwork is what makes the dream work. And I've been very proud of this board because, as you alluded to, and I have said it many, many times, 98, 99% of the time, This board is together, united, because together everyone achieves more. And that's how it has been. And when we don't agree, we agree to disagree respectfully. And that's what makes this board so special. Because I cannot say that for other boards right here in Miami-Dade County. And that is why from the state all the way down, people talk about the board in Miami-Dade County and how many want to emulate what is going on here. As a matter of fact, I had a phone call, a phone conversation with someone who worked for a newspaper here, wanted to let me know that they were going to use our board and the way we function as an example. of how boards should behave and should act. And so I did want to make sure that everybody knows when I say teamwork makes a dream work, and together everyone is achieving more. Those are not just words. That is the reality of what I believe and have always believed, whether I was a teacher, a principal, an assistant principal, a region director, assistant superintendent, or a board member. But I do want to make sure that I end with this. Board Member Alonso, sir, as I said, I respect you highly. And we have a great relationship, and I know we will continue to do so. But for the sake of the listening public, so that there are no misinterpretations of any kind, I'm not going to read it. But I would recommend that if anybody has a question about what was written on the article, then read it. and you can make a determination as to why some assumptions were made about a short list. You'll have to read the article. I won't read it here, as I said, but it's important that people read because that is the reason, one of the reasons why, again, the issue of the short list was brought up. It's because it was in the article written. It doesn't say that a particular person said that or didn't say that. You're going to have to read it yourselves and then you'll make your own determination. Thank you very much, sir.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to... Lastly, safe for the record, I know that there was a reference to a potential date, and I think Board Member Geller wisely framed the issue as it relates to the Bible that I read says in due time. So I'm not wedded to next month or whenever the time is appropriate because there are a few things. Maybe I could bring in the new business at another time. that due to our extension, there were some things that were unsettled. And as Board Member Geller mentioned, and I'm talking specifically about the superintendent's contract, there were some things that were potentially unsettled, and I think some of those things we could have an opportunity to remedy at the appropriate time. um to make sure that he in in the decades of service that he has invested into this uh district are honored and respected moving forward so i'm i i defer to you as i would defer to any other board member whatever time you believe is appropriate to kind of let the dust settle but i'm not looking like where's the item next week because i know um all things come together for good all things come together for good All right, thank you. You're here. In the church, say amen. All right, board member Alonzo, you're back up again, please. All right, on a much lighter item.

He's going to give us a love fest, right? This is all about love. It's about the heart.

Love fest, come on.

As we all know, this coming month is American Heart Month, expanding preventative care to district employees. is where this item is focused on. So as February is recognized as a National Health American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness around heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Preventative care, early detection, and healthy lifestyle habits remain among the most effective tools to reduce risk and improve long-term outcomes. Over the years, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has demonstrated strong leadership in prioritizing student health and safety, including cardiac awareness, emergency preparedness, and access to preventative screenings. These efforts supported by community and healthcare partners have helped position our schools at safe environments for students, staff, and families. As we continue to invest in our students, this moment also presents an opportunity to focus intentionally on the health and wellbeing of our workforce. We've been talking about this as a board through our healthcare insurance and other priorities that we've had. So our employees are the backbone of this district. and supporting their long-term health directly impacts morale, retention, and overall district performance. The district health data underscores the importance of proactive health efforts for our workforce. The district's health plan covers approximately 41,000 members with an average age of 42. Nearly 59% of covered members have been diagnosed with at least one chronic condition, and chronic conditions account for approximately 67% of total healthcare costs. Cardiovascular risk factors remain prevalent with more than 10,000 covered members diagnosed with high prevention or high blood pressure. These trends highlight both a health and operational opportunity to expand early detection and preventative care for employees. This district has already demonstrated the value of proactive cardiac initiatives through partnerships such as Project Adam and prior board actions recognizing the importance of EKG screenings as a preventative tool. These same strategies that have benefited our students can and should be extended to the adults who serve them every day. This item seeks to build on that foundation by exploring additional employee-focused community health fairs centered on heart health and prevention. These events would prioritize access to pre-preventative care services, including EKG screenings, blood pressure checks, cholesterol testing, and heart health education. By partnering with trusted local healthcare systems, higher educational institutions, and community organizations, the district can deliver meaningful support directly to employees in an accessible and impactful way. Expanding preventative care for employees reinforces a culture of wellness, supports early detection, and demonstrates our commitment to those who dedicate their careers to serving our students and their families. I want to thank Rosa Noble and the incredible team here in our health team that work together with me and really try to think how can we help our employees and continue to expand on the work that we've done already through so many community health fairs that we run and how could we grow partnerships in a way to expand those access points to our employees into the actual communities in which they're working. So when we think about our region offices, when we think about larger high schools, how can we bring community health fairs to those locations so that we can bring healthcare right to our employees, specifically when it comes to preventative care? So that is my board item, and I look forward to any further comments from our board members, and look forward to your support as we continue to create a healthy workforce here at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Okay. Co-sponsors, any questions? This is a love. Co-sponsors? All in favor? Aye. Item is amended. All in favor?

Aye.

Okay. Board Member Espino, let's give us H-10 and H-11.

Thank you, sir. I'll try to be brief. Coincidentally, on the day that we talked about signing day throughout the district and also pathways, my item essentially works to underscore the fact that there is a significant pathway available to our students, whether it's to military service or to careers and beyond through military service. We were actually approached by a gentleman, Edward M. Lopez, second lieutenant, United States Air Force, who's a Miami-Dade County Public Schools graduate of MOS, Miami Art Studio 612, and approached us and said, listen, you know, There's an annual, the Congressman does events, and we do all right in terms of recruiting, but really showing our families, our students primarily in a school setting, what options they have through the military. We go a long way in giving them pathways so they can select, but also helping us with recruitment. I will tell you, and we had a town hall about this just last month, that more and more parents are asking for those pathways as early as they possibly can, whether it's in school settings, career pathways, They want to try and get some of the guessing game out of it. And increasingly, we have families that are looking at the military, but they just have a lot of unanswered questions. And this item essentially works to bridge the gap and requests that we conduct a feasibility into developing opportunities for school-side presentations by the branches of the military throughout their districts and to come back and present a plan for that process no later than April 15th. Simple item. I welcome your support.

I want to thank you for the item. Co-sponsors? All in favor? Aye. Okay. Board Member Spino?

Colleagues, this second item is also a partnership. This one is with HISPA, and we do an amazing job on an annual basis through career and technical and post-secondary to establish mentorships, apprenticeships, and other opportunities. Like other organizations that we've supported in the past, this organization specifically looks to establish mentorships and apprenticeship opportunities and exposure of students into a wide variety of career opportunities, whether it's the boardroom to technical offerings. The idea is to expose our kids, inspire them to learn, particularly in an area that they want to explore as a future career, and then motivate them to do more in that space. So this simply requests to initiate a discussion with representatives of HSPAA to explore the feasibility of a partnership including, not limited to, educational programming, college and career exposure, and student engagement initiatives with aligned curriculum standards. That's all.

Thank you. Great item. Motion for co-sponsors?

Second.

All in favor? Aye. OK. This is my item. I want to hand it over to my co-chair. Board Member Blanco. I'm going to try to make this item, H-13, a five-page item, obviously very, very comprehensive what I sought to do. is provide the historical context as it relates to something that is critically important to all of us, and that is our commitment to compensating our teachers and making salary and related security enhancements to our law enforcement officials at our schools. This pertains to the referendum, as each of you know. In 2018, the referendum was passed by the voters in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The required vote is 51%. In 2018, the voters spoke loudly at 71%. In 2022, based on their continued trust and our continued success, the goal was 51%. The voters voted at 65%. I'm going through the item relatively quick because it's very, very comprehensive and I can spend another hour if I need to, but I know you all don't need me to. But this item really speaks to the budget implications as it relates to funding in Miami-Dade County Public Schools in the state of Florida. I would be remiss if I did not say that over the past several years, the legislature and the governor have made improvements in educational funding, but it still keeps Florida at the bottom nationwide. So with the challenges across the state of Florida, with the issues of affordability here in Miami-Dade, our problems of recruiting, retaining, and compensating teachers is thereby exacerbated even more. So we have some significant funding challenges that our local voters for two consecutive election cycles, 2018 in 2022, based on the threshold that's required, provided overwhelming support to demonstrate their commitment to our teachers and to ensuring that our schools remain safe. We exercise the democratic process, again, allowing the voters to decide, but I felt that what we needed to do at this particular point when we talk about something being very comprehensive, that's why the item is quite comprehensive, because it gives you the historical context It talks about the Secure Our Futures Task Force, their related oversight, the accountability that we have put in place as it relates to the appropriate utilization of the funds. Each of you knows that subsequent to 2018, the legislature amended language that, and there were several court cases that require us to then share with charter schools, so this is not about simply Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This is something to serve all children in the public schools in Miami-Dade County, including charters. So that is something that's significant. The document in the item seeks to make the case as it relates to the history, the oversight, the accountability, but equally important, the performance outcomes. This obviously is an investment. So when you talk about investment, what was the return? You have some highlights relative to the return that we provided to this community, to our teachers, to our law enforcement officials, to our employees, but most importantly to our students, from graduation rates to six-time A-rated school district, and we can go on and on and on regarding the metrics that demonstrated that our investment has paid continuous dividends. So what I'm asking for us to do, and I do want to make one modification, the deadline I asked for this was June 17th, but I want to move that to May so the board has an opportunity to review that report because we may have to take a subsequent action in June or sometime soon thereafter. So the recommendations are here to review the report that will come by and look at and analyze the funding challenges and issues that we have before us, consult with bargaining units, parent groups, and community groups regarding the funding challenges, review the expenditure of funds from 2022 referendum assessment, of one mil levy of ad valerian taxes for the purpose of continuing to improve compensation for teachers, continuing to improve student safety and security for the public, including charter schools, and determining if the funds have been utilized for the purpose approved by the voters. Analyze whether the levels of funding provided by the 2022 referendum are sufficient to maintain competitive teacher salaries and levels of support for law enforcement at schools, which is something that's prescribed in law post-Parkland. We know we have the requirements for safe school officers and we having our own police force want to be as competitive as we can. Make recommendations regarding whether a new referendum should be presented to the electors during the November 3rd, 2026 general election in order to maintain appropriate levels of funding and support for instructional and law enforcement personnel beyond June 30th, 2027 and present this report and findings at the school board meeting in May. I'm gonna move it from June to May, and again, we'll have to take some subsequent action as a board as it relates to the next steps regarding this. So this is really the foundation of what has happened historically, the foundation relative to the investment, the foundation as it relates to the research about the need, recognizing, yes, that Florida has made some progress, but the continued challenges we have here to support our teachers, notwithstanding, notwithstanding some of the challenges that we've been made aware of most recently. So again, this is the item before us, and if there are any questions, please feel free to respond. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you, Board Member Geller. Galen, oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. It is way too late. Exactly. It is way too late. I am so sorry. And I kept thinking I'm going to apologize before I open it up to comments and questions, and I did it again. Comments and questions from the board?

Thank you very much. I want to thank Dr. Gallin for bringing this forth again. It's not the first time, and this is truly, in my opinion, a return on investment that There is nothing that can compare to it because you're investing in the children and you're investing in the teachers and you're investing in our safety and security personnel, our police department, our law enforcement, because part of the referendum funding goes to them as well. But it's imperative for the listening public to know this is their decision. It is not ours. We are not raising taxes. and that's very important because people ask that they will decide if this is what they want to do as a matter of fact this board has made sure that the millage is as low as possible year in and year out the decision belongs to the community but the community needs to know what has occurred in previous years because of this funding that has been made available our teachers need to be able to live work and play where they can afford to do that so that then they can not only live, work, and play, but they can also teach. If not, we will lose them. And this additional funding from the referendum has helped us tremendously. Additionally, we have law enforcement. That has to be, it's statutory, it's a requirement. We have to have them at every single one of our schools. They need to have the equipment that they need on a daily basis so that they can protect our children and they can protect the entire family at each one of the schools, and part of the funding goes to them as well. So I know we're going to be out there like we were in the past. I was out at the Coral Gables one, and I know that our friends from the unions have also participated, and many teachers took time off just to go and try to get this passed in previous years. So I know that the superintendent, based on the item that my colleague has brought forth, the superintendent and his team will make sure that the messaging goes out via town hall meetings or whatever it is that he wants to do to show how much we have been able to gain from the previous ones that have passed and hopefully, God willing, will pass again this year. So thank you very much. I'd like to cosponsor that one when the time is correct.

Yes, yes. Thank you, Madam Chair, for those kind words. I do want to just clarify the actions reflected in the item for the listening public. This item is not to make a determination as it relates to the required action for the referendum at this time. This is to give deference to our colleagues who The majority were not on the board in 2018. They were not on the board in 2022. And even those of us who were here, this gives us an opportunity to look at what has been the impact, what has been the return on the investment, and give us sufficient time with the Secure Our Future oversight framework to review that report and those findings and to have subsequent recommendations. So for the record, This item is not to make that decision at this particular point. So this item is not to move it to the electors as of now. We will get that report in May. We will have an opportunity from May to June. And subsequent to June, we'll make that determination as it relates to how we move this to the county. for the appropriate decision to place it on the ballot. So there is no action relative to taxes or the referendum. It is really a reflective exercise based on data, based on continued input, and based on a comprehensive timeline as it relates to what happened and a request from the superintendent to give us that report for the public to dissect what has occurred and what are the recommendations that will be made. So we will have a subsequent opportunity for a final decision as a board to make that recommendation to send this to the county for the voters to decide But this, at this point, is not it. So if anyone asks, you all just passed an item, the answer is no. There has been no item to pass the referendum at this particular point. This is not what this is. This is part of the foundation for the work that has been done in our analyses and the understanding moving forward. So I just want to clarify that for the record.

Through the chair, if I may just ask, when is the deadline for the county to be able to decide, yes, it's going to go or it's not? Through our board attorney?

I know the date. I'm sorry. I know the date. Through the chair. Yeah, we have ample time. The deadline is somewhere around August, no later than September, really, to have time. So that's why we get the report in May. We have June and July to dissect it. But We want to potentially take the required action in June, no later than July, just to be safe if there are any hiccups. So we have sufficient time, and we don't want to be under a compressed timeline.

Vice Chair Colucci?

Thank you, Dr. Gallin, and I appreciate your item, and I am in support of the item. I wasn't part of the decision to put the referendum on the ballot in 2022, as I was not yet sworn in, I wasn't yet elected, and I do believe that at this point, it is imperative that we review everything, all of the data that we have. I just wanna offer one friendly amendment. It's to audit the expenditure of funds from the 2022 referendum just for the utilized for the purposes approved by the voters in transparency to our voters so that they know that this money has been well spent and properly spent. So that is for your consideration, Dr. Gallin.

Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. Board Member Alonso.

Thank you so much, I just wanted to be brief. And thank you, Dr. Gallin. This is the types of forward thinking we need to do, right, and planning. So I appreciate you bringing this in and something for us to discuss before we make a decision. So thank you, I look forward to supporting and seeing the data. I too was not here in the board and did have some questions about it and hoping to learn more about it so that we can decide on where this board wants to take direction at that point.

Madam Chair?

May I just quickly respond since through the chair Mr. Goodman is here. There was a request of which I'm open to as well but I want to speak to the extent of which the audit you want to speak to through the chair Mr. Goodman of what the role has the audit your department has played in reviewing the expenditure of funds I know that when the state does their overall audit and when our audit firm does an audit of the district this is some element of that but a prescriptive audit just for the referendum funds you want to speak to that because I know if that is something I add to the item I have to contemplate the timeline and the potential expenditures or is this something that is already being done on an ongoing basis so I just want you to speak to that and thanks for being here

Through the Chair, the program hasn't been audited directly. It has been audited indirectly through our regular annual financial statement audits. There's been some coverage of the referendum funds through the annual financial statement audit. As far as doing a new audit going forward, that would need to be incorporated in our audit plan. so i would we can do that uh the timing of it may not align with the election of or the election uh but i'll wait to see what the board uh directs as to whether you want to have an audit of that a direct audit in the future okay thank you mr goodman i just want to kind of come back to vice chair koluchi

There are elements that are part of our overall district audit that touches upon the referendum. but an explicit audit, for example, of a particular department or a particular category of funds, Mr. Goodman has indicated that had not been done. We have the Secure Our Future oversight, and they can provide some clarity around how those funds were expended, but they're pretty explicit, and we have to give some assurances and things of that nature. So I don't want to commit to an audit that cannot be done, number one. And number two, the timeline may not be feasible to get that done within the time frame that's required.

Vice Chair Colucci? Thank you, Dr. Gallen, and for your consideration and Mr. Goodman for answering that question. And just a concern that I have moving forward, before we ask taxpayers for dollars, we need to be as transparent as possible. So that's something that we need to seriously consider as a board moving forward, that all of these tax dollars are accounted for. And I know that we are doing our due diligence, but in full transparency to our voters. especially since we are going back to them to ask for more money, which is a return on investment, I agree. And I want to clarify and reiterate what Board Chair Rojas said about that this is up to the public, the voters, whether they want to do this. This is not the board. raising taxes. So this is something that I want to just state for the record as well. Thank you, Dr. Fallon.

Just a second. I have Board Member Santos wanting to speak.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and I appreciate the the planning here and the thoroughness and transparency every step of the way. I know that we have, of course, the Secure Our Future Task Force, which was mentioned in the item, and certainly my appointee happens to be very involved, very brilliant on that task force, and so I do get very thorough updates. And all those meetings are publicly noticed, and so I hope that we can all reference their, I'm looking through one of the presentations from one of the committees, because he sends them often, but they're really great at showing exactly where this money is going, and I encourage our public to get involved, see that, and I think we can always improve on that transparency and how we make it accessible to everyone. I do want to clarify, I heard a couple of times raising taxes, and I want to be clear, we are not at the step where we are even signaling to the county, but we, if the referendum gets put on the ballot and voters will go have their say, there would be no change in a millage. So really, if someone votes in favor of it, their taxes are not changing. Their taxes are remaining the same, and it's very important to constantly use clear language, because they've been taxed at the one millage rate, thanks to all the voters who support our teachers and our law enforcement and our schools, and the board would get to decide if we want to go out for a greater millage, but that is not something that is contemplated or addressed, and so I just want to be very careful when we use the language. increase taxes, no one is trying to increase your taxes. Please let's make sure we don't use that language. It is a referendum that voters can vote for to maintain the level that they've been taxed at and continue supporting our teachers and our law enforcement. Thank you.

Board Member Geller.

Thank you. Much as I am loath to extend this meeting by even another minute, I am compelled to comment on what Board Member Santos just said as well. Let everyone be assured, in a time when Tallahassee's talking about even eliminating property taxes, though, thankfully not for school boards. Not one person that I know of on this dais is talking about a tax increase. We have a referendum. Voters decided to do that, and it's had great results, and that's the point of Dr. Gowen's item. whether we keep doing it will be up to the voters. And Board Member Santos hit it when she said maintain. Nobody's going to raise taxes. We are maybe going to ask people just to keep doing what they're doing now, to maintain. And let's all be clear, nobody's raising your taxes.

Do you have any other, would you like to comment?

Yes, yes, through the chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank my colleagues for the comments and absolutely the language. If you look in Recommend 3, it says continuing. If you look in Recommend 4, it talks about maintain. And again, in Recommend 5, maintain. And that particular level that will be contemplated for the referendum will be subsequent to the report that's received in an amended date of May. And Vice Chair Colucci, I think moving forward, if we have an opportunity, we should prescribe that as a part of the audit plan and maybe the subsequent actions following the voter's decision, following the voter's decision, shall the voters approve it, this should be part of the audit plan and we can fund it accordingly and give Mr. Goodman and his team, Mr. Goodman and his team, right? an opportunity to plan for a thorough audit of the referendum funds. But just also for the record, the reports are actually published that are done through the SOFAC, so that is a published document, but we're going to have that done in a comprehensive way when this report comes back. So again, thank you for your input, and again, we want to be comprehensive and have ample time to go through this process. Thank you, colleagues, and thank you, Madam Chair.

I did have, oh, did you want to speak? Oh, wait a second. I'm the chair right now of this committee. We're not there yet. I wanted to add a few words. I just wanted to echo the sentiments of Board Member Colucci because I wrote down the word audit, but I'm speaking last again, and so now it's second news. And it's because of the way number three read. Number three read in such a way that sounded like an audit. So I do understand that the timely, in order to get the information that we need, and I do appreciate this item because I do think that, especially since I wasn't here, to make a decision, we need to know the facts. We need to know the data and we need to make an informed decision. So I do like that. I would like to say that when I look at four and five, when staff comes back with a recommendation, let's take into account projected enrollment because I think that does play a role, right? as to what we may need to ask or not ask to meet, to have good competitive pay for our teachers. So if we could just make sure that when staff brings that back, they take that into account and not just go with the numbers we have now, right? So that if that's gonna be a referendum, that's for whatever it is, four years or whatever it is, that we take that into account, the projected enrollments. So, okay?

Yeah, if I share, if I may, just for the record, absolutely. And, again, when the staff does come back, they'll be making a recommendation for the appropriate meals with data to support it one way or the other. But, ultimately, the board has the final say on what the millage we approve. So we have the final say on that.

Understood. I just wanted to express that I do want that to be very clear when it comes back to us. Okay. So now, co-sponsors. A motion for co-sponsors. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. All right. Motion to move it as amended to the board meeting.

So moved.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Thank you. With that.

Point of order. Do we move H7-1011?

Okay. Would you like to take over? Second. Mr. Chair, you want to take?

I'm sorry, did we have votes on H7, 10, 11? Can I have a vote? Move it. All in favor? Aye.

Mr. Chair, I had to walk out and I was not here, I believe, for 10 and 11. If I could make a motion to go back, if I could get a second, thank you. All in favor? Aye. I like, yes, co-sponsorship.

I know we don't have any new business. I just know we don't have any new business.

The vice chair also has the same issue.

Yes, through the chair. I apologize, but I don't even know which one I didn't co-sponsor. Check to see if the vice chair.

My recollection is that every item has been co-sponsored. Is that accurate?

Okay. No, not everyone. No, but that one.

8-6 is going to be withdrawn.

Withdrawn.

Okay, but every item that is going forward has been co-sponsored. Okay, can we just have a motion just to make sure?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. And I know we don't have any new business, right? No. But can we have a motion to adjourn?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye.

Ladies and gentlemen, please bring your tray tables and your back seats up to the upright position so we can bring this in for a landing.

Oh, that's good.