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

The Personnel Student and School and Community Support Committee meeting. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes of August 6th?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. Dr. Baglos, D20 and D21.

Through the Chair, D20, request approval of Personnel Action Listing 1195. Through the Chair, D21, request approval of Administrative Appointments for 2526. Any questions?

Okay, D65, Ms. Pauline.

Through the Chair, D65 requests school board approval of one charter school contract amendment.

Any questions on D65? Question? Okay, Board Member Santos.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Pauline, can you tell us why this extension request is three months? And they've requested, I saw previously, three months as well. Why not the five-year usual extension?

Through the chair, simply put, as the charter school office, we're tasked with going through contract negotiations to negotiate any charter contract. This specific one has taken a little longer than normal. So in an effort to continue negotiations, it's just that administrative amendment to extend that time to fully negotiate the contract.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Do we get a report of what charter school companies have elected to go through Miami Dade College for their charter approval versus us?

Through the chair, I'm not aware of a report, but I think the policy, the school board rule or the state board rule requires if they apply to another authorizer that we have to be notified and given the opportunity to opine or review an application. I don't know if there's a report per se. Okay, that's all.

Thank you. Thank you.

Dr. Lewis, D67. Through the chair, D67, Dr. Gallin, is the request for the school board to support a renewal application for the Florida Post-Secondary Comprehensive Transition Program at Robert Morgan Technical College.

No questions? Motion to approve the Ds?

Move it. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Mr. Harvey, G1 through G6.

Yes, through the chair, G1 and G2 are for final reading. These policies are for school health services and wellness and physical education. For G1, this addresses emergency responses for providing EpiPen training for employees, as well as providing adequate supplies of EpiPens, as well as AEDs. G2 is the policies related to the use of wireless communication devices or cell phones. This is to prohibit their use, which is part of our policy for students K through eight. And then there's G5, which is for initial reading. These are amendments to policies 5200 and also 8462, human trafficking and domestic violence, as well as the attendance policies. Basically, this policy addresses truancy. It allows for written notices to go to parents. It requires quarterly reports to the board. It requires parents who refuse to cooperate with truancy child study teams to be referred to law enforcement. and it refers students who will not comply with truancy study teams to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice for Voluntary Family Services. There's also a policy on human trafficking and domestic violence, which is something that the board has considered as an initiative and has been proactive on. If you recall, uh, previously in 2019, Dr. Bendros-Mendingal had an item on domestic violence, um, and, um, human trafficking. That's a big issue for her as well as, uh, board member Alonso had an item, uh, in January of 2023 and there are others as well. So that's G5. And then, uh, G6 is also for initial reading emergency management preparedness. and response as well as automatic external defibrillators and policy 8330, student information and records. This policy starts out with various amendments pursuant to House Bill 1607 as well as several state board rules. It defines school facilities as any public K-12 school that includes a charter school with a master ID number, with an MSID number. It specifies substitute teachers must be provided protocols and policies on safety prior to their first day of teaching. It specifies that the school risk assessment must be performed for every school facility opening after October 1st. It adds that the school safety specialist must provide the Florida Safe School Assessment Tool reports to school principals and charter school administrators, and if there are any issues, indicate that there must be a remedy for noncompliance or to develop a remedial plan with a set time period. It also adds provisions regarding the coordination with local emergency providers to integrate the school's plan for urgent life-saving emergencies and it clarifies that employees who do not comply with the policy can be progressively disciplined. It requires the district to provide training for four to five Florida available to parents and also such trainings will include the consequences for making threats or false reports. It has... amendments to policy 8410 which basically requires the schools to conduct drills related to its emergency plan 8452 the use of automatic external defibrillators it requires all schools to have a an emergency plan and maintain at least one operational AED device at the school. It requires that you incorporate a new requirement for appropriate school staff to be trained on those devices and that there also be training on cardiac emergencies. And policy 8330 is being amended also pursuant to state board rule that revise to recategorize the threat of management records are now permanent category A records, student record, and it also clarifies that basically the district practice regarding the use of, or the indication with regard to name changes. So if there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Okay, for board members, Vice Chair Colucci, and then Board Member Alonzo.

Thank you, Dr. Gallin. Through the chair, I just want to discuss something that came up this past week or this past month with a constituent with a father that had equal custody rights, 50-50 in education, in medical, and he had a big issue at the school trying to get on the emergency contact card and to have someone, his new wife, be added to it. Therefore, it was a big issue. We assisted him. Long story short, he was told in legal that he would have to contact his attorney. And unfortunately, you know, a lot of people don't have the resources to be contacting an attorney for something that they are within their rights to have. So I want to ensure The issue was resolved. The parent was able to put the wife on there. It said in the policy, we were quoted, that it was the registering parent that had the authority to do this, to fill out the emergency contact card. However, and I know Dr. Gallin brought forth an item about this very issue. I don't have it in front of me right now. I thought I did. Okay, and I had it in my hands. I know that you brought forth an item on this, and I want to ensure that this does not happen again because a parent has the right, if they have 50-50 custody, unless it's otherwise delineated in the custody case, that they should have the opportunity to pick up their child and add whomever they would like to the custody. emergency contact card without having to go through this huge ordeal. Luckily, this parent was able to reach out to my office and we were able to assist. I don't want this to happen to another parent because of a miscommunication or something in our policy that doesn't allow for the parent to easily change their emergency contact card if they're within their legal rights. So through the chair, I don't know if legal wants to address this, but I do know that this was an issue and we did resolve it. The school was contacted and told that the parent could add the wife and while the mother was able to add the boyfriend and a whole bunch of other people, this parent did not have the opportunity to do that. So I want to make sure that this doesn't happen again, that we address it if it's not already done so in policy. I know Dr. Gallin did bring this up, and I did have the item. I don't know where I can't find it right now. You have it? Okay, so I'm sure you will follow up with that. But anyway, I just wanted to put that on the record and rectify the situation so that this does not occur again because unfortunately sometimes parents don't know who to call. They don't have anyone to advocate for them. or they don't have the resources to get that attorney at $300 an hour to review something. That's inexpensive. That's a bargain, right? Luckily, I haven't had to go through a custody battle. But yes, I'm sure Board Member Geller can tell us. just to review something that's already within their rights, they should be able to do that. So I wanted to put that on the record. I wanna make sure that that is something that we rectify as a district. So thank you and turn it back over to the chair.

Yes. Thank you, Vice Chair Colucci. Just for the record, I know you want to put it on the record, but I would like not just the record to be reflected, but the practices to be clear. Not just a record to reflect it, but the practices to be clear. The board took a unanimous policy position at the school board meeting of April 13, 2022. outpouring of community support, fathers and education, the whole nine yards. And the process appeared to be somewhat antiquated at the onset. So if Mr. Harvey, through the chair, Mr. Harvey registers my child because I'm busy, he may have rights that supersede me as a parent because he was the registering child. individual. That item sought to clarify that, the ambiguity of it, and to afford every duly parent the right to be involved in their child's education, notwithstanding emergency conduct information. From a practical standpoint, you do too. You do too. Whoever checks the book bag first usually gets first dibs at an emergency contact card. But if both parents are not under the same roof, then that precludes that from happening. So I'm kind of miffed that this has come up and to the parent that grateful to your office to respond to that constituent. But I'm always thinking about those who don't have their voices activated in this particular process and take no for an answer at the school site level. Secondly, it was to uh abate and mitigate the schools having to navigate through that particular process we went through a whole item looking at a task force you know clarifying the legal implications and ramifications of that and the language really was continuous to not necessarily a custody provision but a parenting plan and that's what the language in the state of florida stipulates a parenting plan shared time etc so i'm kind of miffed as it relates to this being an issue um that a parent had to navigate through, whether it's, it shouldn't be zero dollars an hour. So I just want to know where are we with that? Were we aware of that? I would like to hear, not just for the record, but I want to be on the record with our attorney's office and with school operations to deal with that. And if I need to go through the recommends, I will. But it was board item revised 8.6, unanimously supported and unanimously co-sponsored. and it sought to clarify that and ameliorate it in policy where needed, but equally important in practice. Who's gonna go first?

So through the chair, would you like for me to?

Yeah, I want you to first respond and I'll come back to Mr. Wilmer.

Right, so just to go back to that time, so after the item was passed, there was a task force that was set up. It included school administrators, three judges, and the fathers task force which included not only the local executive director but also the state executive director and through that discussion over a period of a couple of months they came back with a set of recommendations which then made it into the policy so the idea and by the way school administrators were also involved including assistant superintendent the idea was to number one basically keep administrators out of basically being the custody judge at the school, which I'm sure those of you who've been at a school know how that goes. So part of the amendments that came out of that was that both parents are entered into the SIS system and they are indicated as being parents. Now, as we all know, and those who've worked at schools and been part of schools, they know that not all parents necessarily are the same in the sense that sometimes there's limitations on what one parent can do versus the other. And so the problem is that you can't, we don't want the administrators trying to determine who has rights in that instance. So it is true that the enrolling parent does have rights. They have rights. It's something that I think the committee generally thought was the appropriate thing. And that is that they could fill out the card and indicate who has a right to pick them up. Now, both parents do have a right to pick up the kid, and there is a presumption of that. And with regard to the parenting plan and what was determined there is that what would happen is in the parenting plan, they would indicate what rights they would have in a parenting plan. And in this case, that document was eventually provided to the school, and then the school was able to address this particular issue. But at the time, you know, because what happens is you have both parents, and one parent may indicate a number of people that could pick up the kid, and that's the enrolling parent, and the other parent may say, I'd like, you know, my new partner to pick him up and this other person. And with regard to that, we just, you know, the administrator sometimes find themselves in the middle of a dispute between two parents. Sometimes it's not a very nice or calm conversation that's taking place. So typically, if there's an issue about whether the other parent who's listed in SIS that can include that other person, we usually just ask that parent to provide a copy of the parenting plan and then they can call our office and we can interpret that and determine whether that issue can be addressed. But it is a common issue and I'm sure most of the administrators here can verify that that's a common issue that takes place at school almost every day, especially at the beginning of the school year and I can testify that it does happen all over the state as well. It's a common conversation, it's a common issue And, you know, but again, that's the policy of the board. After the task force came back with recommendations, if that's not satisfactory to the board, the board can certainly, you know, revisit it. But I think the fathers in action, I think it's Ms. Swerling's committee, and they were all very... complementary of the policy and its outcome.

Just for the record, utilizing the terminology parenting plan, I don't want to assume everybody knows what that is, but a parenting plan ultimately is something that's subjected to the execution by a judge. So it has the force and effect of a court order. Notwithstanding a parent who has one, you have legions of parents who do not have one. And I think the intent and the spirit of the item was not only for issues of provision, but issues of preclusion. So to the extent that a parent on either side could be precluded from having access that would also necessitate some court document to say that a parent cannot be engaged, et cetera. The intent was not to leave it to the devices of the administration, but I do think it needs to be clarified. And as you indicated, if it needs to have some amended language, But at the end of the day, I think it was intended to provide not only a policy position, but a set of protocols, because to Vice Chair Colucci's point, every parent would not have the resources to go back to their lawyer and get all of these kinds of things when something is pretty much explicit in our policy and our procedural frameworks. Board Member Geller.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I wanted to hear since you were here when the previous thing was done, as the Vice Chair referenced, what you had to say about it. But I'm left with a couple of questions still. If you want to finish your colloquy, I'll wait. But I do have a couple of questions that I want to answer. No, I'm finished. In that case, through the Chair, our motto. So let me ask, because I'm a little confused, Mr. Harvey, about how this I understand that we have a new policy as of 22, I guess that's still pretty new, that says both parents should be listed and that there's apparently from what the committee chair says, there's some reference to a parenting plan. But as board member Gowen says, Dr. Gowen says, there, are people who don't have a parenting plan. And I was a little concerned, Vice Chair Colucci, when in the example you give, obviously we want both parents to be treated equally. That's not the problematic part. What I'm curious about and what was a little concern to me is Is it our policy, and I was trying to, that's why I wanted to hear what Dr. Gowan had to say. Is it our policy that any parent can at any time designate anybody they want to to act in their stead? You talked about this father whose rights we have to respect, but he wants to designate his new wife. Well, his... previous wife may have feelings about that now they may be just not feelings of consequence but we don't know that so if are we putting it on our administrators to determine if any parent at any time can designate somebody even if their co-parent is has some strong objection and says, I don't want my child in the car with that man, that woman, whatever. He's been convicted of DUI twice, and he's got 16 traffic tickets, and I don't want my child picked up by that person, and I object to that. So what is our policy regarding... someone other than the parent, it would seem to me from a language standpoint, Dr. Gowen, as you're our wordsmith typically, that if it said parent or other authorized person, then at least the policy allows someone other than the parent, but then the question, that begs the question, Authorized by who? Authorized how? How is that objected to? I'm not trying to make this a bigger problem than it is, but it sounds like it is a problem, and there seems to be some ambiguity, and my thought would be we should have something that says this is who can designate, this is how they can designate, but perhaps there has to be some kind of notice to the co-parent of who you're designating, and yet, at the same time, I don't want to leave some kids standing alone with no one able to pick them up at school because the situation came up at the last moment and there wasn't time to do that check. So it's a conundrum.

Yeah, so let me just clarify. I know you came in at a certain point on it. So the policy... stood as it was. The recommend was very specific. If determined necessary and appropriate, initiate rulemaking to develop and or amend school board policy key point and related practices in requisite forms to help clarify certain matters of parental involvement and decision making about educational issues. Or if no rule making is determined necessary and appropriate, provide a report to the board. So you have to distinguish between those who are authorized to pick up a child versus those who have authority to get engaged in educational decisions. Those are two distinct issues. So this is more of a father's legally authorized parent, mother or father, having the authority to engage in their child's education even if they did not fill out the initial forms, which the policy at the time, and I'm hearing that it still stands, gives that parent deference. So I don't want to, I think this is something we will revisit in listening to this, but I want to go back to Vice Chair Colucci. If I need to come back to you, Board Member Gell, I will, but I know she raised the issue because she had a firsthand account of it. And then Board Member Alonzo wanted to say something.

Thank you, Dr. Gow. And just, I don't want to get into, I think this is something that we really need to look at as a board, especially the point of this whole case was the parent went to the school with the parenting plan. had the parenting plan present. The mother had put other individuals there as well, so we could flip that around and say, maybe he doesn't want, so if there needs to be more clarity in the policy, or we need to revisit it and adjust it, but that's something that we need to discuss. I just wanna ensure that parents, both parents, have the same opportunities unless a judge sees otherwise. That's the point of this conversation. So that's, I just wanted to end it there. Thank you, Dr. Gallin. On my note.

So I won't add to this. I'll switch it up. My question through the chair was to Dr. Don Baglos. On the human trafficking side, both Dr. Dorothy Bendos-Mendigo and myself have brought in items, and I know we've been discussing trainings. This does talk a little bit about some additional or modifications to our existing trainings. And I know that we've worked with the state attorney's office together with other groups on developing some of these trainings, even beyond just teachers and to our custodians and security guards. How is this going to be shifting the work that our district has already been doing and how are we going to augment it? Because I always want to see augmentation and making more awareness rather than bringing it back to the chair.

Through the chair, the new statute requires human trafficking training for any employee who comes into contact with students. So it's support, administrative, instructional, all who come in contact with students. But it outlines that the state will actually be the creators or the owners of the content. So we are presently waiting for the state to provide the content that we will now use to provide training for our employees. The employees also must certify that they've watched or attended the training. Our team in professional development is continuing to use the training that we've worked on with the state attorney's office in the meantime through voluntary sessions for employees while we're waiting for the new mandatory requirements to kick in. In fact, our first session will be September 17th for our employees who wish to attend at this point. But we're continuing to do what we've been doing in terms of augmenting human trafficking and supporting schools who also have asked us to go out and work with their entire faculty on human trafficking. while we wait for the state's curriculum.

Through the chair follow-up, what reporting mechanism do we offer to our employees and to all these individuals that are being trained so that when they see something that doesn't look right, it gets reported and followed up with correctly through either our police department or the school administration or someone from our mental health department or whichever department would kind of own that suspicious of human trafficking occurring with one of our students through the chair?

Through the chair, frequently it's a school site issue, and we commonly speak with our employees, our teachers, our support staff about a couple things. One, we're blessed that every school has an SRO, and they can report directly to their SRO, or they can report directly to a school administrator who will handle it from there. But that's how we've provided guidance to employees.

Through the chair, just to follow up, I mean... I understand we have the best police department. We have great SROs, but sometimes when we kind of leave it, I feel like it's a little bit of gray area here, whether it's administrator, SRO, it opens up to kind of confusion at our schools as to who and what and what's the process and document. And this is something that to me is of high importance. I mean, if you see a student or you have a concern and you've been trained on this and it's, well maybe tell this administrator or maybe I told the school psychologist or maybe I told the SRO and the SRO was in the middle of something and didn't properly document it and now we missed an opportunity. Could we explore and is there a process that could be looked at that is more consistent across all schools? Because I know sometimes we have SROs that are filling in for a vacancy or an administrator that might be new to a school that might not be involved in the day-to-day so that that way it's properly documented. And maybe it's not even through your department, it's through another department, but I think there should be some sort of documentation through the chair.

Through the chair, happy to do that. It's actually... All of our efforts around human trafficking are coordinated through Maria Hernandez, actually through district operations. But we're happy to partner with Maria to make sure that we have a unified voice in terms of a reporting line.

Thank you. And then my last one, speaking of having consistency, it came up during my briefing. And thank you, Mr. Harvey, for always going over all the board items and informing us on everything. But I had a question to him that was out of his wheelhouse. It's probably more towards operations, and it's the EKG machines. I see them at our schools. I know we have them, but they're also in different places sometimes. What is the district's plan or vision or training that goes into these EKGs, and specifically with an officer that might come to the school that wasn't there always? It doesn't seem as if we have our EKGs in the same spot in every single school, meaning the front office or the cafeteria or the media center. And I know that because of the logistics of buildings, sometimes they might be placed in a specific place because it's better suited there, but not everybody knows where it's at. And in case of an emergency, getting to that EKG machine, not an EKG machine, sorry, the defibrillator, sorry, It could be life-saving, and sometimes you can't find them. So where are those devices being placed, and not EKGs, sorry, the defibrillators within our schools? Through the chair.

Through the chair, Mr. Alonzo. So yeah, that's a great question and a complex question, right? So when it comes to the defibrillators and the AED machines, obviously this district took a bold initiative starting in 2022 with the Project Adam Heart Safe School initiative, making sure that there was a team at every school. Doesn't mean every person individually in the building, and that's something I'll take back with me, knows exactly where these AEDs are, but that team 100% does. And just to remind everyone, there's an annual review of that process every year to make sure that that team is reminded of exactly how to respond if a cardiac arrest situation unfortunately takes place. Number two, based off our CRG mapping initiative that took place with the grant that took place, part of the mapping identifies where the AED machines are as well. So we have shared those maps with the municipalities and the law enforcement agencies, first responding agencies during the mapping process. Number three, through school police, I'm pretty sure the board is aware there are site visits that are taking place all year long, starting last year, I want to say, Chief, and it's continuing this year where the local municipalities are actually doing walkthroughs at every single school with certain individuals. I believe fire rescue, and Chief could elaborate a little bit more, fire rescue as well as local law enforcement in that area. And part of that walkthrough is identifying where the AED machines are in the schools. I think you also asked why do we place them in certain places? Buildings have changed, buildings have expanded. We normally try to put them in high, Put them in areas where we know that staff that can get to the machines are in close proximity. For instance, physical education is a leader when it comes to response. So it's normally in the gym areas. Cafeteria is a large area where students populate during the day, during cafeteria time. So we want to have there as well as another choice option. And then usually main office, right? Because individuals in the main office are those that can respond because they're not tied down to a classroom. So hopefully that answered the majority of your questions. Thank you.

It definitely answers. And I think, I hope when we revisit and go to these schools, we make sure that they're in the right places. I was at a school recently where it was in a media center that nobody even goes into anymore because it's not heavily used. There's not a lot of traffic there. And I would be shocked if the majority of the teachers in that school knew where it was at because it was in a pretty hidden location within the media center. So It just made me think as I saw this board item and kind of like, where are they? I know that our district has been bold in making sure that we have them and that we have the trainings and we've saved lives. I mean, we just heard that last year when we saved a life at a school. But I think it's important that it's always something that we're looking at and making sure that these are placed in the right places and that everybody who needs to be aware of it, which really should be every adult in the building, knows because I know that we have trained staff, but these devices are designed in a way that even an untrained student individual could use it in the event of an emergency. So thank you so much, and that concludes my questions.

Thank you. And this is going to go back to the human trafficking. And while not necessarily specific to the G5 item, I noticed in the policy there is something that says that we will also raise awareness with our students. Last school year, I had an opportunity to meet with the founder of Taking Back the Girls and she was an excellent speaker with students. I met with Sally Allion, and we had her go to a couple high schools where she was presenting to the students and got great feedback. And I know that department's not here right now, but if they're listening or if someone can get me some information on are we continuing to have this person go out to the school. She provides an account. Oh, I think, Ms. Stewart, you are here. If maybe you could provide an update, if you know, if we have her scheduled to continue going on to more schools. She herself was a victim. And so young people, when they hear from someone directly, it has a greater impact. And I think she'd be great also with staff. So if I could get some update on that, I would appreciate it. Will it be sent later? OK. Thank you.

All right. Madam Chair, then we'll vote on the Gs.

Mr. Chair, and this has nothing to do with any other topics that have been addressed here now. Mine has to do with an EpiPen. I understand that there is a nasal spray now in lieu of the EpiPen that we've used in the past that is now much more effective and not as problematic. Is the school district prepared for that? Have we trained anybody on how to administer that? Is it acceptable for us to do so or not? I don't know, this just recently came out, which is again, in lieu of having to have the shot with the EpiPen, it's a nasal spray. Is anyone aware of anything related to that through the chair? No? Okay.

Through the chair, Ms. Rojas, no, but I'll get back to you on that. That's the first I've heard of that, but I will definitely get back to you on that, definitely.

I appreciate it because it's been on ads on TV and everything else, so please let me know. Thank you. All right, that's all, sir. Motion to approve the Gs.

Move it.

Second. All in favor? Aye.

Aye.

We're going to move this along on H2. And H2. Yes, thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. H2 is the effective data-driven decision-making to develop a comprehensive and effective enrollment plan to bring students back to Miami-Dade County Public Schools. I have been contemplating on bringing to the board for months now an item related to this. The issue of declining enrollment is an issue to all of us here in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, but it's not just in our district. It's locally and throughout the nation as well. And it is a decline that is just happening all over the country at this point. I anticipate that this decline is gonna continue to occur as I know many of you do as well. So I'm gonna go over just a few points with you that I think are important before we have to make a lot of very tough decisions here as a board. I want to start by giving you some data from a recent report called the Brookins Institute, and this came out in August of 2025. It provides the following information. Number one, public school enrollment edged up only 2% between 2012 and 2019, while the US fertility rate has slipped to 1.71 births per women. So obviously it's very clear that there are less children being born at this time. The pandemic turned that slow decline into what I believe we all call a sudden shock. It was huge. And studies document that steep post 2020 losses occurred, not just here in Florida and Miami, but in many states. Trends in urban and high poverty districts and a surge in both homeschooling and private schooling left millions of children missing from any formal role. There was a lot more information that came out on this report. I'm not going to go over all of it. It's very lengthy, but I just wanted to share with you a few of the areas that I read that were very important. The board has been addressing issues on how to enhance our enrollment for quite some time. And this started since the pandemic. Truly, that is when it started. In fact, at one point, it was a while back ago when we were dealing with the pandemic, when the first time I asked the question as to what was the root cause, the why. The why and the why. Why are we losing the enrollment? And it was very, very interesting to hear input from different people as to why we feel that this has occurred. And we can make many assumptions as to the why. But if we don't have the real bottom line the root cause, how are we going to be able to develop any type of action plan? We cannot. We need to have the data to be able to truly, truly come up with an action plan that is going to be effective and address the areas of concern. So the board has to make these decisions. And without the data and without the facts, in lieu of just hearsay or assumptions or some reports that have come out, but we don't have all of the information that we really need, it's impossible to come up with a plan of action that is truly gonna make an impact. So I wanted to share with you some information that I got straight from our district's statistical highlights. In 2018-2019, we had 350,040 students enrolled in our traditional and also our charter schools. Then in 2019-2020, we had 347,069. And again, these were the ones enrolled in the traditional public schools and charter schools. The pandemic schools in February 2020,

had a massive impact.

In 2020, 2021, still dealing with a pandemic, enrollment went down from 334,400 students and a difference from the previous year of 12,666 students less. were enrolled, 12,669 students. Then in 2021, 2022, the year after the pandemic enrollment was 329,337 students, again, enrolled in the traditional public and charter schools. MDCPS lost 17,773 students from 2019-2020 to 2021-2022. In 2022-23 and 23-24, as well as 24-25, something else happened. We picked up the numbers and it went to about approximately 335,000 students. Based on the report from our superintendent, we are now at 313,220. Although, again, as we've heard, the numbers keep on fluctuating every day and students are still enrolling. So, basically, we have No choice but to take an extremely proactive approach so that we can make the best decisions that we possibly can to ensure that our children, which is the main reason why we're all here, that is our main mission is to educate our children and give them the best possible education that we possibly can come up with. is ensured by the actions that we take. And it's gonna be tough, and we're gonna make some difficult decisions in the months coming forward and in the years coming forward. Our superintendent submitted to us a report that I thought was very, very good, and I commend the superintendent and his team. where he addressed myths against realities. And on that one, the data did not support the belief that families are leaving in large numbers for charter or private schools. As a matter of fact, charter school enrollment increased only slightly by 379 students. And that was from the years 2024, 25, and 25 to 26, it's again projected similarly. The same with the private school withdrawals in August of 2025. Those totaled to 2,899, an increase of 647 from the prior year. That was it, 647. Likewise, families contacted are not citing fear as a factor in their decisions, and this was stated by the superintendent when he had his roundtable. Another factor impacting our families was the fact that some families were leaving Miami-Dade County because of affordability. And as a matter of fact, many of the ones that I know, I personally checked up on some of the schools that I represent, and we had families that were going to either the West Coast in Florida, others were going to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and other states where the affordability was much higher. better for them. So we read in an article that came out not too long ago, it was reported that the Archdiocese of Miami, which covers the areas of Monroe, Miami-Dade, they covered Broward counties as well, they saw an increase of about 800 students and that they have waiting lists in many of their schools. But again, this is not a humongous number and the waiting lists in those schools have been going on for years. So we are now faced with again the fact that we have to look at innovative and creative ways to try to come up with solutions to the situation we've all been talking about. The school climate survey that is mentioned in the agenda item which I have before you can help us to better understand what is working, what do we need to enhance, what areas do we have to really zero in on assessing the data from the past five years. How are our parents' feelings? How are teachers' feelings? How are students' feelings? What do we have to do again? to attract more children back into our district. Conducting exit interviews as well with our families. I think speaking to a parent that I spoke to recently, having a conversation about this, and this parent said to me, Ms. Rojas, if you have exit interviews, please make sure that they're anonymous, because that way we can truly be honest and open and tell you the real reason why we are leaving, whatever that reason may be. And there's a plethora of different reasons. So, again, there might be data that's going to come from responses to these types of questions. I used to be a region director for several years, and I was in charge of curriculum. But I was also the line director for two specific feeder patterns. And we monitored very closely the enrollment issues. I do have a concern when a school that some time back ago, all right, in approximately the year 2002, had about 3,000 students and currently is down to about 500. That's our concern. So if feasible, it may be necessary to look at an independent research-based firm that could come back and give us some information regarding the root cause of what the decline in enrollment is, what is happening. Do we have AI tools that can be used to help us to get this information? Yes, we might. But again, at the same time, we really need hard data. And I look at where we are right now, and I look at the birth rate.

And that's another problem that we have.

Or it appears that we have. Why? Because the number of students that entered kindergarten has been reduced drastically from years before. And as the superintendent has also stated, newcomers into Miami, but not just Miami, again, this is a nationwide issue, also have had an impact. So the why, to me, is critically important so that we can have a comprehensive plan that is truly effective and comprehensive and one that can help us to make some of the very, very difficult decisions that we have to make. My item here is simply to have the school board of Miami-Dade County, Florida direct the superintendent of schools to present the board with options and possible cause if associated with contracting a research firm to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the reasons parents are choosing alternative educational options and provide this report to the board by November 6th of 2025. to assess the data from MDCPS school climate surveys for the past five years and provide a report to the board by December 5th, 2025 and schedule a workshop presentation number three at the December 10th, 2025 Personnel Student School Community Support Committee meeting for the board to discuss the results of these directives and provide possible and feasible actions to be considered for implementation. That is my item and I wanna thank all of my colleagues on the board because I know that all of you, this is something that's so important to each and every one of you sitting here next to me and I know that we all have the best interests of our children, of our teachers, our administrators, of our families and our communities at heart. And we're going to be confronting very tough scenarios in the very near future. And so I hope that this item is something that might prove to be helpful as we go through all of the processes that are waiting for us. Thank you.

Yes, Board Member Geller. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you, Madam Chair. This is a great item. I love this item. course at the appropriate time I'd also like to co-sponsor it. I like this item so much I actually introduced a different item that was very closely related but lacked some of the very good specifics of yours and I withdrew that item in favor of yours because this is a very good item. We need to do this and in particular while at one point in the backup you said that these were different options, I think that doing them the way they're listed in the action, doing both of those things is a good idea. We should both engage a research firm. Of course, cost is a factor, especially right now. So we do want to get that report and make sure that it's something we can afford to do. Although, frankly, I don't know how we can afford not to. And then assessing the school climate certainly works as well. I do want to suggest some language that was in the action item for the item that I withdrew and see if there's any sentiment that this might be a worthy addition, amendment to what you've done. Although, again, I like the specificity of what you've said. Mine was a little more general, but I would just summarize it with like one kind of run-on sentence here, which was just to review and evaluate, this is a directive to the administration of course, review and evaluate district-wide student retention and recruitment practices across all departments to identify the effectiveness of current initiatives and recommend any opportunities to build upon existing efforts. And I would say basically what that is is that we should have our administration conduct a general internal review. What are we doing? Can we determine what is working? And can we add to the programs and practices that are being successful and maybe discontinue those that aren't working. I want to be clear that I like the data-driven element of yours. I stopped half a step short in my thought of saying that we should actually be conducting an internal audit of the programs and practices and their effectiveness. I'm not sure that's really within the purview of our auditor because it's not financial. And so I stopped short of using that word, but it's kind of what was in my head is look at everything we have across all departments, see what we're doing, And I certainly, I absolutely don't view that in the slightest as inconsistent with your wise data-driven approach. So if there's interest in the board, if people think that would be a helpful addition, we can amend it on. If it's not viewed as necessary, then I've said what I had to say about it.

Okay, Board Member Lando.

I don't know if Board Chair Rojas wanted to respond on the recommendation first.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Everything that has been said is so critically important to the issue of what we're discussing here right now. So I will certainly take that into consideration. Absolutely. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Great item. I think it's something we need to look at all our options and really put them on the table to see. The only thing I would add to there that could be something we could explore, because research institutions and programs sometimes have large dollar signs behind them on what it will cost. And I don't know of any specific companies, but I've read reports of companies that are out there that only get paid with recruitment. And what they actually come to do is they work with districts to help recruit students, and they receive some sort of compensation based on it. I don't know. I read an article about it. I think it was happening somewhere in central Florida. Might be something for us to explore because I think right now, as we've all discussed, we're going through some budgetary times. So as we think about spending, there has to be an R.O.I., And the ROI has to be that we're going to spend this in exchange to make this. And sometimes those research studies don't necessarily have an ROI on it. Yes, they are eye-opening. They'll help us. They'll guide us. But there's no real dollars following it. Where if we looked for one of these companies or researchers that are more research and recruitment-based in bringing the students, that might be an option that can save us money. So maybe it's something the superintendent and his team can research and also bring back as a recommendation when the time comes for your workshop that you're requesting.

Yes. Thank you. Board Member Alonso, great point, and certainly I concur with that. Anything that is a return on our investment is critically important, and we are dealing with budgetary issues, so this would be fantastic if this were something that could be looked at. Thank you very much.

Board Member Blanco.

Just very quick, in addition to what Board Member Alonso was saying, and I think it was Board Member Santos that brought it up earlier, when we look at this, because that's my only fear with this item, is looking at the cost of what it, and if the data is declining birth rates, where are we left with, right? but partnering with universities that might be willing to help out and do some of this research, and maybe we don't have to go to a firm and we can get some assistance there. So just kind of to bring that point up, and I've read that same article that you read and found that interesting too. So any avenue we can pursue to get the data we want and need while keeping the cost as low as possible. Absolutely. Great item.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um, thank you. Thank you. I have a couple of questions. I want to first of all, thank our chair for the item. I support the item. But I think board member Alonzo is looking at people's notes across the aisle because I heard another one of my colleagues said the same thing. I do echo the sentiments and I want to try to provide some clarity to the item and my thoughts. I am concerned regarding directions that explicitly have cost associated with it at this time. So to the extent that we can look internally what we have done, so I would probably frame or recommend, you know, continue to review our own internal actions, analyses, programs, partnerships, and strategies that are geared toward improving our understanding of enrollment and related issues. I say that to say, because if I'm not mistaken, to Board Member Alonzo's point, I think we have, or I've had a conversation with someone, a firm that actually does that. And they do it, Madam Chair, at a cost neutral Position So you don't produce You don't get paid And I don't want us to get overly paralyzed by analyses. I would say that Tiffany Pauline and those and Verena Carrera, they have done a tremendous job. And I believe we know what we know. I really do. I think we do. Can we know more? Absolutely. We can always know more. But I don't want to lose the reality of what we now know. The elephant across the country that is having a negative impact on enrollment is the nation's immigration policies, full stop. You can't get blood from a turnip. we have this notion and the data does not necessarily support that, at least the data that the superintendent presented at his round table. I wasn't there, but I did see the data. And one statement he made through the chair, maybe Mr. Bueno and Dr. Lewis can reaffirm that, is that when you look at the numbers who are actually leaving, versus those that are not coming in, I think that contrast is very, very explicit. When you look at the number of foreign born students that we no longer get coming in versus those who are in our district and they're leaving, they're leaving our district, I'm not convinced, based on what I've seen from the superintendent's representation, that it's not a significant people leaving us in droves. There's no mass exodus of students leaving Dade County Public Schools. I think we can embark upon a strategy to go and reclaim those students. We talk about competition. I think one of you said it, let's compete. I don't want to say what we say in the Liberty City, but let's stand down. I can't say that. Let's do it. Let's compete. But to your point and to the beauty of this item, We may not know all that we need to know internally to compete and to employ certain strategies and programs and resources that can go out and do some of the things that we may need to do. I can't date myself because it was before my time, but there was a position that you watch on the Little Rascals. Anybody remember Little Rascals? I loved the Little Rascals even though it was before my time. I just loved it. I watched it. I didn't say I lived it, but I watched it. So you never watched it? If you know what it is, then we're in the same space. I'm talking about the original, original Little Rascals. And alfalfa and buckwheat, let's call it what it is, and spanky and stymie. So I'm going somewhere with that. You're saying somebody's sitting there saying, let's see how he connects to Little Rascals. There was always a scene with the Little Rascals, Madam Chair, running during the school day. Who were they running from? Anybody remember? The Truant officer. We had social workers during our earlier stages, but our social workers, would you agree, were somewhat limited in terms of going out in the community, getting kids to bring them back in, because we have so many issues internally in our school. The firm that I spoke with, and I need the staff, they're familiar with it, that was working with our district, that actually reclaims students and gives us a sense of those students who are not enrolled and bringing them back. I would just like that to be included as if we do some research, fine, but I want someone to do some practical reclamation. I want somebody to, as Board Member Lowndes will say, not just tell me, here's the problem, but here's the problem and here's our solution and this is what we're able to do with you. This solution is not gonna require you to hire additional staff. We know that's off limits. This solution is not going to require you to pay additional money because we know right now we're in a very fragile position where the superintendent has made some declarations about cutting contracts and things of that nature that are non-essential. But I think we can get there with the spirit of intentionality around what the staff has in place through their own programs, partnerships, protocols, and analyses, through some relationships that they currently have or have explored, I don't know the status of it, that actually does some of this work, and to continue to, in a cost neutral way, some additional data around some things that that we can do that's the only concern that i have relative to the item is the cost neutrality of it to looking at the partnerships that we currently have and to have an entity that will not only say here's the problem but this is what we can do about it and don't pay us until we deliver and they do exist um those are my only recommendations madam chair but other than that i would support the item i want to co-sponsor at the appropriate time But I'm sensitive to some of the conversations that we're going to have and courageous and rough conversations around expenditures to kind of deal with that when there are some options that may be available that are cost neutral. Thank you.

Thank you, Board Member Gallin, and I understand perfectly, and in this item, it doesn't say that we're gonna spend X amount on anything. Right now, all it says, you're gonna come back, you're gonna submit a report to us, administration is listening to all the great points that have been made, I agree with every single point that has been made, right? With reference to the fact that we all know the circumstances that we're in right now, You're coming back. When you come back with that report, and there should be a return on investment, absolutely, 100%. I was thrilled to hear that from several of you because that's something we're all interested in, not only in this item, but in items that I heard earlier today. We had items that came through this morning that had a very similar scenario. So I think it should apply to all of our items from now on, not just this one. All of them that we need to see if there is a return on the investment, if we have to spend any dollars. But right now, there's nothing to spend on this item. It is administration listening carefully to all the areas of concern. and coming back and then letting us know at that point, this is where we are, this is what we have been able to gather and the information that you need so that then you can make decisions whether yes or no or whatever the case may be. So I thank you for that comment, but I just wanted to make sure that was clear.

The other thing is we have- I just want to clarify, I'll wait till you finish. I want to clarify something you said in the item. Go ahead.

What I was saying here had to deal with present the board with options and possible costs associated with contracting a research firm, okay? Possible costs. It doesn't mean anywhere here do I see that we're approving that we're gonna be spending money on this, not one cent. That is gonna happen when you go to number three where it states schedule a workshop presentation at the December 10th, 2025 personnel student school community support committee meeting for the board to discuss the results of these directives and provide possible and feasible actions to be considered for implementation. And that's when it would take place. So, but with that said, I'd like to also state, I have a lot of questions that haven't been answered in the document we received. Yes, it was a very nice document, but I have a whole heck of a lot more that needs to be answered. I asked one simple question, actually. I said, we're the third largest school district in the country and in the state of Florida. Can you tell me, how are we doing in comparison with a percentage? of those, which one is the number one district, even in the state of Florida, the number one that has lost the greatest number of students as of today? There were several questions that I had. That's just one that I'm throwing out that I did not have responses for because it takes time, it takes energy, it takes a detailed you know, investigation as to where we stand as opposed to where do the other 67 counties, especially looking just at those that are the largest counties, not only in the state of Florida, but in the country, and so on and so forth. This is what, when you have a research-based study submitted, you can get further information. Now I can tell you and Dr. Gallin and all of you sitting here now, we have a really good department here in our school district that did a lot of research in the past, but it's a lot. So I haven't even seen recently some of the capsules the research-based capsules that were submitted to us. I always make comments on the capsules that were submitted. They were great. It's just a lot of things happening in the district, and I know that there's just so much that a given group can do. So again, this is just to get information, share with us at that meeting, and then at that point we will make decisions based on whatever information is brought back from administration. But I fully, totally concur with you, Dr. Gowen, that we have to be, and that was my number one issue, when i submitted this item was to make sure that i kept in my mind the fact that we're dealing with a budget crisis right now so that's a priority that's something i have to maintain in my in my head uh and we need to see if it is feasible or not at the end of the day but i think it's imperative that the status quo is not what we continue to do we've got to make some some there has to be a massive paradigm shift in some areas. And that's a direction that I'm looking in. But I thank everyone for the input. I will go back and review everything, and I will be bringing a revised, because anything to make this item stronger, this is from all of us. It's not just from me, it's from all of us. So the stronger we make it, the better it is for everyone that we represent. And absolutely, return on investment has got to be something that, you know, we look at very closely before any further decisions are made. So thank you very much at this time.

I want to just follow up on, Board Member Gallo, I'm calling it. You clarified, thanks, Madam Chair, you did clarify that and recommend one, just a friendly amendment for consideration, which you could still get to where we're trying to get is, and I haven't written it all out, but present the board with information regarding options which information regarding, information including an analysis. I'm just trying to eliminate the word costs in contracting. Now, if they come back with recommendations that include that, understanding that we prefer something that's cost neutral, that's fine, but for me, if it comes back with a cost, It may be a non-starter for me, just for me. If something comes back with a cost, it could be the nicely written report, but if it has a cost associated with it, when we may or may not have some internal protocols, partnerships, and programs that are cost neutral or be explicit about the cost neutrality of it, that's the only thing that I'm concerned about. So as you think about that, that would be something as a point.

Board Member Geller? Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think your suggestion is well taken, and I do want to also voice my support for the idea that Board Member Alonso and others said that, you know, if there is one of the things we would hope the administration would look for would be if there is someone that is willing to do it on the basis that they'll be compensated based on results on return on investment, that'd be great. We don't want to limit the administration to looking only for that, but I think certainly they're monitoring this. Based on what I've heard, I want to just offer what I hope will be a friendly amendment to just add the language that I read earlier because it sounds like there's support for it. The idea being that we will do all of the things that the chair has recommended, the board chair, not the committee chair, has recommended. Those are good action items and you say there's not right now there's no cost this is just to investigate see what our options are and for instance if it turns out that there's an ROI or something that it's clear that the cost is low and justified we don't want to tie our own hands but based on what I've heard it does make sense to be sure that that the staff does conduct a thorough internal review of what we're doing and see what's working and what's not so we can put more behind what's working. So I'll offer the following language, which is kind of extracted from the item I had withdrawn, to as an additional action item, I guess it would be in the nature of what already was, in looking at the chairs, I guess it would be probably number three and move number three to four when we get to the workshop. Do those two, investigate, review existing data, and add the following. Review and evaluate district-wide student retention and recruitment practices across all departments. Identify effectiveness of current initiatives and recommend any opportunities to build upon existing efforts. I'd offer that as what I hope is a friendly amendment to be one more thing that we're going to ask to do in addition to the items enumerated.

Thank you. Our chair has received the communication and thoughts and she'll review them as she takes copious notes and I'm sure we all support the item and any adjustments will be made. Just have a quick question. We have a firm, I say a firm, KESA, K-12. Can you describe what they're doing? Have we engaged them? Are they involved in That's the company I was trying to research it that does reclamation for student recruitment. I know they do it here in other districts.

Through the chair, Dr. Gallin, I'll take a stab at it and I'll obviously allow my colleagues to... To interject as well, if memory serves me correct, we used them during COVID. Okay. I know we used it. And I don't remember the outcome. That would probably be more of the enrollment officer under Ms. Tiffany Pauline when she had the enrollment officer, but I'm pretty sure that Dr. Cabrera could further explain explain how we used them and everything else associated with them, unless one of my other colleagues may have a little bit more information.

That's fine. If you could have something transmitted as it relates to they were cost neutral from what I recall, cost neutral. And they, so it was during COVID and they provided something. So if that could be, you know, a cost neutral program that we may not be familiar with. And as you said, we don't know what the impact was, but if it has some successful impacts, that could be something that, you know, we could always look at and.

Through the chair, I'm sure that we know what the impact was. I personally don't know. Yes.

Thank you. Madam Chair, you can continue. I'm going to step away for a moment. Board Member Blanco, you're the vice chair of this committee. Thank you.

Motion for co-sponsorships? All in favor? Aye.

Motion for the item as amended.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye. H3.

Jess, I'm gonna step away, but I wanna co-sponsor H3 and H4 too, but I have to come back before y'all, if y'all get to it, thank you.

All right, thank you. H3 is Miami-Dade County School Board endorsement of the celebration of Wednesday, October 2nd, 2025, as National Custodial Workers Recognition Day. I bring this item forth every single year, and I just love it. When I go out to the schools, I remember my days when I was a teacher, an assistant principal, a principal, a director, where everything that happened had to do with that person at your school, those custodians in your school that went over and beyond the line and call of duty to make those schools pleasant, beautiful, attractive, so that our children would be in a place where they would feel happy, comfortable. And ultimately, the parents, the teachers, the administrators, everyone and anyone who had to do with our schools felt that they were in a clean, beautiful environment where education, is going to thrive, and that is because of those custodians that are out there. When we had, I dealt with a Hurricane Andrew. Who was next to me? My custodian, my head and lead custodians that were there day in and day out, preparing while everyone else was at home. They were at school with me, getting that school, Bel Air Elementary School, ready together with the military so we could open up again. Those were the custodians. And boy, anyone that remembers Hurricane Andrew, those of you that were too young, why not remember? But those of us that are just a little bit older do recall vividly, and it was like the atomic bomb exploded. It was horrible. Yet we did everything that we could to make our schools as attractive as possible for our children and our workforce. What happened during COVID? Who was there day in and day out? Our custodial crew. Right there with administrators. And what they did was nowhere written in any document when they signed up for this job. They truly went over and beyond the call of duty in every sense of the word. So we don't say enough how much we appreciate the job that they do and how much we realize that without them, our schools would not be the successful, beautiful schools that we have today. And this is a day to recognize from every board member district, this is very important to me, that each board member district be recognized. And I will call their name as I have in the past. It's not a B item, this is an H item, so they will be asked to stand up. and be recognized just from their seats. They're not coming down. It's going to be done just the same way that I did it last year. But this is just a day that truly belongs to them, and I am so looking forward to being able to do it again because it brings tremendous joy to our custodial crew that works so hard each and every day. That's the item.

I'd like to co-sponsor the appropriate... Thank you. Okay. Okay.

Any comments? Are we moving right into co-sponsorships?

Okay, can I have a motion? Second. A second?

Okay, can I get a motion to move the item to the board meeting as amended?

Second. Thank you very much. Thank you. All in favor, aye.

Okay, so we'll go on to the next H item. I believe it's also yours, Madam Chair. H4, yes.

H4 is the school board endorsement of the celebration of the 13th anniversary of Fathers in Education Day, Thursday, September 18, 2025. and Fathers in Action and Advocacy Week, September 15th through September 19th, 2025. Again, this is a very important item, one that I proudly bring every year. I know how all of my colleagues feel in this arena, the same way that I do. It's imperative that fathers get involved in their children's education. When they do, their discipline improves, their academic Outcomes are much, much better. These are happier children, and it makes a tremendous difference in the lives of all of our kids to have as many dads as possible involved in their lives. So I do want to say thank you, especially to Holly Swirling for her commitment and her dedication throughout all these past 13 years. This is 12 years. This is our 13th now because the program is as successful as it is today because of her tenacity and her vision. related to fathers in education being involved in our children's lives, not only during that day and not only during that week, but throughout their lives. So this is my item and thank you very much for bringing it forth, allowing me to bring it forth. And I believe also that this information with reference to the fathers in action has been posted in our website. since July 15, 2025. I just wanna get verification of that. Can someone respond to that through the chair? Someone from staff?

Madam Chair, would you like to add?

Yeah, I believe she's gone.

Okay.

Oh, you're not.

Thank you, Ms. Roberts.

Good afternoon. Through the chair, yes. The briefing went out in July, and we wanted it to go out earlier so we can start the activities a little earlier this year. So I don't have the briefing in front of me, but I can get that information, but it did go out.

Thank you. So through the chair, but it's posted on our website since July 15th, correct? Yes. All right. I just want the families that are listening to know that it is and has been posted since the 15th of July and will be out there throughout this whole period. Yes. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

That's it. All right. And thank you, Madam Chair, for bringing this forward. and it came up in conversation earlier today with one of our G items, so very important to have our dads involved. Can I get any comments, discussion? Okay, motion for co-sponsorships? All in favor? Motion also for Dr. Gallin, who had said he wanted to be a co-sponsorship inclusive of Dr. Gallin, and then motion to move the item as amended to the board meeting. We move the item. I have a motion, a second? Thank you, all in favor? Aye.

next item madam chair thank you very much next item is succession management the school board has always had an interest in succession management and this goes way back even two years where our former board chair, Ms. Perla Tavares-Hammond, I recalled, brought an item to the board in 2000 and another one in 2001 and one in 2021. And it dealt with pretty similar arenas as to the one that I am bringing forth today. But I proffered one in 2017 and I also proffered another one in 2018 with reference to succession management. In addition, through the last item that I brought, it promulgated a succession management board policy that we currently have in place today, which is policy 1130.02. We've seen a plethora of retirements of people in key positions take place throughout the school district and through all the years. And we've seen people that have had to leave for many different reasons. Some have moved to other states, some even to other countries. Some have had situations where they just simply could not continue to work. Again, leaving certain positions unfilled and these are critical positions. succession management is something that was part of actually the Sterling concept when I was involved with the Sterling and we were one of the schools one of the very few schools that got the Sterling and one of the reasons why we were awarded the Sterling was because without me at the helm that school ran like clockwork and that's what this is all about. When someone in a key position is no longer there, there is someone that can step right in and the rest of the team as well to continue to bring tremendous success to the school and everything runs the same way as if you were still at the helm. So item H5 directs the superintendent of schools to update or develop a succession management plan annually for identified managerial exempt employees, pay grade 24, 25, and 26. And second, it directs the general counsel to update or develop a succession management plan annually for identified legal employees. And third, it directs the chief auditor to update or develop a succession management plan. again annually under the leadership of the chief auditor. And fourth, it provides a 2025-2026 succession management report to the school board by October 4th, 2025. Fifth, effective September 1st, 2026, and annually thereafter submit to the school board a revised or an updated plan or even a memorandum indicating that no updates or changes have been made to the previous annual plan. So I just want to reiterate for the sake of clarity that I have included in this agenda item that after the succession management plan is implemented, it is essential to establish a very clear understanding that all final decisions are made solely by the school board. The recommendations are there, but those rest with the school board. The superintendent and the general counsel and the chief auditor will submit whatever information they have, but as we always do, all final decisions are finalized in our D items at all of our board meetings. The purpose is to build very clearly leadership capacity and readiness to step into a position at a given moment and start preparing people throughout throughout all the months prior to something like that occurring so that they are given the opportunity to learn, to grow professionally and personally so that someday, if interested, they might be ending up in key positions here at the district or even elsewhere. That's the item. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Mr. Chair, would you like to take over or you want me to wrap up? Okay. Any comments or questions on Board Chair's item? Okay. Motion to cosponsor? All in favor? Motion to move it as amended to the school board meeting? Can I get a second? Yes. All in favor? Thank you very much.

Madam Chair, we did put Dr. Gallant, but we did not put Board Member Geller on some of the items. I believe it was only on H4. We put you on one, sir, but not on the others.

I did want to also do H4. Okay. Thank you very much.

So we could have a motion to add Board Member Geller to H4 as a co-sponsor?

Yeah, there you go. Second.

Thank you. So noted. Thank you. All right. I believe our next item is H7. Yes.

Through the chair, this item is being presented on behalf of Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mendingall. The item is H7 authorization for the development and implementation of sanitary pantries across all Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Moving to the recommend, this item asks to explore the feasibility of developing and implementing sanitary pantries. across all Miami-Dade County public schools to address student hygiene needs in a manner consistent with Florida law. If deemed feasible, initiate a pilot program and select schools. Number three, as appropriate, establish partnerships with community organizations, nonprofits, and local stakeholders. to support implementation and sustainability, displaying any such partnerships in a manner consistent with Florida law. If the program is deemed feasible and is implemented, provide a detailed fiscal and implementation report to the board at the December 10th, 2025 Personnel, Student, School, and Community Meeting. That's the item. Any questions?

For co-sponsorship?

Move it?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Motion for the item is amended.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. The next item is, I wasn't sure, H-12, recognized in October as Domestic Violence Month across all Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This item is self-explanatory. I want to commend Dr. Bendros-Mendingall for her continued leadership in this space. I think No More Broken Hearts is upcoming very soon, entering into decades-long service and commitment to this initiative. So co-sponsorships on this item.

Move it. Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Item is amended.

Move it. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Any new business? There's no new business. Motion to adjourn. Move it. Second. All in favor?

Aye.

I'll give you guys a minute to shuffle.