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

Good afternoon, I'd like to call to order the meeting of the personnel, student, school, and committee support. And I have a motion to approve the minutes of February 4th.

Move it. Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Okay. Dr. Bagelow's D20 and D22.

Through the chair, D20 requests approval of personnel action listing 1201. Through the chair, D-22, request by the inspector general to contract personnel for open budgeted position.

Okay. Any questions? Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Not about those two, but just a comment with reference to D21. I'm very happy to see that for the past two months now, we have not put anyone on D21, which shows that we are taking very seriously the budget issue that we have discussed ad nauseum today. So thank you so very much for that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to echo those sentiments as well. D65, is Miss Pauline here?

And Dr. Gallin, I have a question on that one.

On D65? Yes, sir. Miss Pauline. D65, Ms. Pauline, board approval of seven charter school contract renewals and seven charter school contract amendments. Board Member Santos, you have a question?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate Ms. Pauline walking me through all of the statutes that we follow and explaining. Obviously, a lot of these schools are in my district, so I appreciated the overview. However, there's one question I have remaining. There is a school here that is being presented for a 15-year renewal. And as I read the statute, which is quoted in the item, it says that, and I'll just read the whole thing, bear with me, because it's important to just put verbatim. Pursuant to statute 1002.33, a charter school that has demonstrated successful accomplishments of the criteria outlined in statute has received a school grade of A or B pursuant to statute 1008.34 in the most recent graded school year and is not in a state of financial emergency or deficit position as defined by statute is eligible for charter renewal term up to 15 years. Obviously, majority of these schools fit that criteria. Some of them have 15-year renewals. That's great. There is a school, however, in here that from our January audit items is in a deficit position and is still being recommended for a 15-year contract here. So Ms. Pauline, can you please square that for me? Because as I read the statute verbatim, that should not be possible through the chair.

Ms. Pauline.

Through the chair, Ms. Santos. So just to be clear for the whole body. So there's a such thing, there's a thing such as a deficit net position and then a deficit fund balance. So I think we've taken the position because the deficit fund balance and the statute is not really clear as to what it's referring to. We've in the past taken the position of deficit fund balance because that speaks directly to the ongoing operations, the day-to-day operations, whether or not there's enough revenues or assets to cover the liabilities. I do agree with your point, and I just got off the phone with Mr. Goodman down in the audit department, and I will definitely go and discuss this with him a little deeper as he has been reviewing this. this particular school closely every year.

Thank you, through the chair, and the reason this concerns me is because it's not the first time the school has been in a deficit net position. It's been years and years where we've had the same issue. They've been in an improving financial position, but still landing in a deficit net position year after year. It's not a one-time thing, and so as the statute reads, that technically, It says deficit as defined in statute, which I would like you to please follow up with how that's defined in statute. I couldn't find it myself. But that's a serious issue to me because clearly there's a financial position situation that needs to be addressed. Statute clearly says it. And yet they're here with a 15-year renewal. That's concerning to me. Thank you.

Through the chair, absolutely. We're definitely going to have a conversation with Mr. Goodman. And also just to be clear that their deficit net position is primarily due to a lease, which is why I was just trying to specify between the operating expenditures and the lack of going concern as evidence that the school's not going to close anytime soon, which I think was the spirit of the law. But I do want to abide by the law. So I will consult with Mr. Goodman and also our attorneys just to make sure we're on level footing.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Pauline. Dr. Lewis, D68.

D68 through the chair, Dr. Gallant. D68 is the expulsion and the assignment of students to alternative school programs.

Any questions? No questions? Just a comment. Dr. Lewis, I think as we continue to move throughout this process, I've gotten a few situations that have come to me relative to disputes that occur in schools. I know when Board Member Alonzo was describing the responsibilities and duties of a principal, one of the things I was going to interject was in the position of referee, okay? Principals often have to referee physical altercations and the like. And what I've seen in a few cases recently, of which you may be aware as well, where you have what I would describe when I was in the school site as mutual combatants, and that is not being consistently apply with respect to the Code of Student Conduct. Obviously, suspension, whatever the case may be, mediation, but where mutual combatants between two students, albeit unacceptable, has been contemplated for expulsion. And normally, that's not the case. And I didn't want to start to... assess the entire district from Florida City to County Line Road, but if I find matters of mutual combatants where in one school, in one area, in one zip code, students are suspended and mediation is applied and those students are allowed to return, and then in another school, in another zip code, with certain scenarios, those students are recommended for expulsion for a similar infraction, that's where we get these disparities as it relates to how things are applied. I just want to put that on the record, and you're very familiar with a few things that have just happened over the last, I would say, 72 hours. They've come to me. Staff has been outstanding, Mr. Superintendent, in terms of addressing those and doing it fairly, but I just think we need to kind of... take a look at that and make sure that we're consistent, number one, with the board's policy outline of the code of student conduct, but also that we don't have these disparities that can manifest themselves with a deeper dive from one school to the next. Just want to make that as a comment and we can follow up later on. Can I have a motion to approve the Ds?

Second.

All in favor? All right. I'm going to take some of these out of order. I'm going to have some. Madam Chair, could you start with H3, please?

H3. Hold on.

And then I'm going to go to Board Member Espino.

Unless you want me to go to him first? Are you ready? Yes.

Whatever you want. I'm going to go H3 and then H4, and then we'll come to H1.

Perfect. Yes. Okay. We'll do.

Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. We got more. Okay. Yeah. We'll go with H3, H4.

H5.

I'll go around. I see what I'm going to do. Okay. All right. So we're going to start with you. Yes.

All right. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. The school board endorsement of the celebration of April 19th through the 25th of 2026 as Administrative Professionals Week and Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 as Administrators Professional Day in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This is an agenda item which I proudly bring to the board on an annual basis. And this is to recognize the dates that I have just alluded to as administrative professionals, week and date. This special observance honors the dedicated administrative professionals that work for our Miami-Dade County public school family. We could not do it without them. Their expertise, their professionalism, their dedication, and their patience, their tenacity. I mean, I can go on and on describing the hard work of our administrative professionals, who are the ones that keep us all in line and make sure we get to our meetings correctly and just are the ones that dot the I's and cross the T's. Their contributions on a daily basis are absolutely essential to the effective operation of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. So I would like to take this opportunity once again to say thank you to all of them for their hard work and their dedication and by endorsing this celebration the school board is affirming its deep appreciation for these invaluable team members that we recognize here today and that we will recognize again next Wednesday as a point of expressing our sincerest gratitude for their hard work, their commitment, their professionalism, and their dedication to the Miami-Dade County Public School family. That's the item, sir.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Great item. We fully support this segment of our employee population. They are the front lines of defense and service and professionalism. So again, I would anticipate co-sponsorships. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. MOTION ON THE ITEM IS AMENDED. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY. BOARD MEMBER ESPINO.

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. WE ARE ON H4. COLLEAGUES, I'M PROUD TO BRING THIS ANNUAL ITEM, AS BOARD CHAIR JUST SAID ABOUT HER ITEM, TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER. IT'S BEEN SUCCESSFULLY HELD NOW IN OUR DISTRICT FOR, THIS WILL BE YEAR 4. THIS WILL BE YEAR 4. So it's my privilege to have brought it for the last three years. It's simply a direct superintendent to inform all schools and direct staff to respect students and staff's recognition of National Day of Prayer and to allow assemblies for prayer pursuant to board policy. It has been widely successful. I've actually had the occasion to have schools, of course, before school starts and after school ends, people have wanted to come together, whether it's student-led groups, parent-led groups, to participate. So I welcome your support to do this one more time. in the hopes that it continues to build and brings faith to the extent that it can into the conversation of our schools, even though it's not being done in our school classroom time.

Thank you. Madam Chair and Board Member Santos.

Yes, thank you very much, sir. I just wanted to thank Board Member Espino. This is a fabulous item. I'm fully supportive of this item every single year that it has been brought to us and deeply needed, especially during the tumultuous times that we're living in today. So thank you so much, and at the appropriate time, I would like to be a co-sponsor.

Board Member Santos.

Thank you so much.

As usual, I'll support the item. I think it's a great item and I want for the listening public to continue to clarify that we are obviously an inclusive district who respects all faiths, all religions, even people who are agnostic. And it is beautiful actually to get to celebrate the different religions that exist within our community. and be able to have every student be able to fully demonstrate, you know, bring their full selves to school is a great addition to our district. So thank you, Board Member Espino.

Thank you. Co-sponsors?

Move it. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Item is amended.

Move it.

All in favor?

Aye.

Okay. I want to move to H-9, Mr. Espino.

Oh, sure.

I'm going to come back to H5.

I'm trying to get the easy ones out.

Trying to get the Kumbaya's out.

Colleagues, I'm not sure if you're aware, but in the last month or so, the President of the United States directed our Secretary of State to pursue the United States as the host for the 2035 World Expo, specifically with the city of Miami to be the host city. Obviously, countries around the world position themselves for Olympic Games and World Expos to emphasize what's happening in their country. I think it's particularly important that it's being done in Miami to highlight what's, you know, the global city that we have been and we continue to emerge, whether that's in trade, increasingly finance, culture, tourism, technology, and education. And when When I first looked at this, to be honest with you, what it reminded me of is those old videos that Walt Disney used to do when he talked about what Epcot was going to be, a showcase of what the world is trying to do to advance in a number of areas, right? And that's ultimately what Epcot was intended to be, like an ongoing world expo and showcase. And I think that it's an opportunity. Mind you, I recognize that it's in 2035. It's quite a bit of a ways away, but these things have to be done in advance. And, you know, like other times I've tried to, All of us have tried to put our thumb on the scale of some of these things. Miami-Dade County Public Schools should be at the, maybe perhaps not at the table of other countries, but certainly pressing on the effort to bring that in and certainly support our Secretary of State's efforts to bring it in. So to the extent, this is really an endorsement of supporting of our country's effort to bring the Expo to Miami. And to showcase, and hopefully at that point in time, our successors in these seats could have fashioned themselves a role in what that means. But hopefully we have more to showcase at that time. That's the item.

Thank you, Board Member Spino. Great item. Always making sure that we connect to the issues, not only at the local, but also the state and the international level. Co-sponsorships?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. Motion on the item is amended. Move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. All right. I want to go back to H5, Board Member Alonzo.

Thank you so much, Chairman. And once again, I come with an interesting topic for us as a board to talk about. I think it's important that we continue these conversations, especially after our budget workshop this morning. Before I get started, I want to thank our HR department, Dr. Baglos as well as the superintendent for their feedback and input in this because I think that this is something very important that the district is already working on and putting a lot of effort into and this just continues to show support from the board of the importance that it is to continue to re-look at the way in which the district is functioning. So as we know, a lot of our strategic planning and what we've been seeing is reflecting on the right sizing of the district. And that work is being led a lot by our enterprise office as well as through our human resource department as well as our regions. And I know there are a lot of moving pieces as we continue to evaluate how the district evolves to meet the needs of our students and the community that we serve. So the intent of this board item that I'm presenting today and really wanted to bring up to the board is meant to support the overall review of our staffing structure as the district continues to evolve as we work to right-sizing the organization, but really also looking at the positions that we have. As we look at many of the roles that we have and the positions, these have been around for many, many years and have not been reviewed. So when we sometimes talk to HR about certain job requirements and descriptions that we even talked about this morning with our principals. Those haven't been updated in so many years, and no exercise has been done to do that. So as we discussed in the workshop this morning, our district today is operating in a different environment than it was a few years ago. Enrollment patterns continue to change as well as the operational demands have evolved and areas such as like technology and data governance are becoming increasingly important in how large organizations operate. So given these changes, it's important that as a board and more importantly as an administration, we take the time to really look at our organizational structure and make sure that it's aligned with the district in today's world and the direction in which we're heading. So this item, just to be clear to everybody and to the listening public, is not intended to direct specific staffing reductions or to second guess any of the work that's already being done by staff that's underway. This is rather to provide the superintendent and staff with the board support to take comprehensive looks into our staffing structure to ensure that it aligns with the enrollment trends as well as the operational needs of our schools and the long-term priorities as a district. Ultimately, our goal should always be to ensure that we put as many resources, and Board Chair Rojas was saying it earlier today, in front of our students, in the classrooms. That's our number one priority. So when we look at these roles, where are we putting the most of our effort into and how are we looking at them? So this board item that I'm presenting today requests that the superintendent conduct a district-wide staffing analysis together with our HR department reviewing the districts and the regional administrative positions, evaluating job titles and potential duplications or readjustments that need to be done in some of those, benchmarking staffing ratios against comparable large urban school districts, so maybe take an analysis at what other districts are doing around the country, Identifying positions that are tied to enrollment-based funding versus just cost structures. So we talked about our custodians. We talked about hallway monitors. As we look at our schools, how do we look at that? How do we put those numbers together? As I've talked to some principals, there's always been kind of the question, right, on what's the right ratio based on the number of students that you have, but also then the size of the school. These schools are still big. And sometimes we might be at a 30, 40% enrollment, but you still have to maintain the property. You still have to be able to address those areas. So really looking at those areas and then exploring opportunities for organizational alignment and reinvestment. How do we reinvest in individuals and retooling them and providing them the support that they need in order to fill roles that are newly evolving and being created within our districts? So these findings would then be presented to the board as part of our ongoing implementation of our district-wide planning efforts and our strategic planning. So it kind of goes in line with that. But once again, I want to thank staff because I think many of these things are already happening. I think this just continues to offer support to staff and to the administration on our view on knowing that this is something that is being worked on and needs to continue working on and that we as a board stand behind it and want to be involved in supporting as we invest and kind of reflect on where it is that the district should be going. So that is my item today, Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to having further feedback from the board, as we did with my previous item, and really finding a way to work together to support staff on a lot of these efforts that they're undertaking in this new world that we're navigating through. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Chair, did I see you? Yes. Yes, Madam Chair. Yes. And Board Member Garland, after the Chair.

Thank you very much. So thank you so much, Board Member Alonso, again, for bringing this topic, which is critically important for us, especially during this period of time. I looked at the entire item carefully, and I think that, again, it was very comprehensive. And I feel that it's something that would be very productive. But I would have just a few little recommendations to maybe enhance it a little better. And if you would like, I would recommend that you look at, for example, action number two. On that one, it states review all job titles. But this is gonna imply the job titles and also the job descriptions. So I believe you're interested in non-school site positions, right? If I'm interpreting it correctly. So if that's what you're interested in, you may want to clarify this, this portion, okay? The second area that I would recommend you might want to consider is the fact that I'm not sure if we even have staffing ratios for the non-school site positions. Perhaps someone from staff can clarify this part for me through the chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ms. Rojas, so at the school site, the ratios are very well defined, not at the district level, so I mean, I see this as a generality, right? Staffing ratios can represent pretty much depending on how we view it, let's say a supervisor, let's say a level 21 versus the 20s or the 19s that they have. So we can probably look at something like that, but it's not defined, like you're saying, as specific as it is at the school site.

through the chair, thank you for that clarity. That's exactly where I was going. So that's another area for possible consideration. The other one would be that you include an action, and this is very important. I look at this every single year when it comes out, and those are the statistical highlights. They tell the story. The statistical highlights are very interesting to look at on an annual basis and compare to the previous year. So you can see where we stand. And so this report would give you the number of the administrative positions that you have. It also includes the MEP and it includes your DCSAA positions, which are also very important. Those are your principals and assistant principals. Not all of them are in MEP. Some of them are in DCSAA. So I think that this would be something that would show you if there's been an increase or a decrease during the last five or 10 years. Regardless, again, of whether those positions are grant funded or not, it doesn't matter. And then lastly, The only other recommendation I have is that our budget process is in the summer, it starts more so, and you have down here to wait until September 2nd, you may want to look at maybe moving it up so that we can have that information for us during the summer time when we're gonna be dealing with the budget. I don't know why you two are laughing, but there's something happening here. So through the chair, these are my friendly amendments for your possible consideration. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes. Board Member Geller.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you, Board Member Alonso, for this very, another very thought-provoking item. We've had a few of them today that are very interesting. I have a couple of questions as well as comments there's a little I mean in general this is a good idea I mean we we need to take a look I I want to be clear that I don't personally usually favor cutting things that we might need and that are good ideas because of temporary financial distress when I expect us to survive that. We have people working on that. We're making adjustments. If there's something that is being done because the Board or the administration or both thought it was a good idea, we have to be careful that we're not too reactive to what are temporary conditions. Having said that, that's a decision that you can only make when you have adequate information, and that's what I see here is the purpose is to get that information, and by aligning that with the work that the superintendent and staff and the district are undertaking and saying that we want to see that and be able to weigh in, that certainly seems like a good idea to me. I have a couple of very also kind of technical points in looking at the action part of it. One of them is the degree to which we can base this. I mean, it's one thing if we talk about the current enrollment. We know that's a problem. I think we're working to address that with, you know, your best choice and a lot of other things and things we've talked about. I hope we would give those opportunities, you know, those initiatives an opportunity to have some effect. We also know and we've heard and I think we all encounter there are external factors that have nothing to do with how this school district is being run. That just are not about charters, and they're not about vouchers. They're about parents who are afraid to send their kids out the front door. And maybe rightly so in a lot of cases. That's just not something that we're able much to control. I mean, we're a voice. We're a voice on the front line, and we should use our voice. but not with over expectations that that's gonna set national policy. But on the other hand, at least from where I sit, some of the issues about how that national policy is playing out have proven not to be necessarily sustainable. And I think that we're already seeing evolution at some levels and in some degree in the national policy. So when I see that we're talking about projected enrollment trends, I think of where we're going to set up the crystal ball. That's just, to me, I mean, I don't want to stop anybody from speculating, but I think we have to look at it and say, That's speculation and to say that the environment, particularly that national environment, is gonna continue unchanged and it's gonna have this particular effect on our district, I find that aspirational at best. So I'm cautious about how we can really go about accurately projecting future enrollment trends. And then there's one that I gotta say, number five. Now, I know I'm far from a professional educator, and I know all you doctors up here with your backgrounds in this, this may be a stupid question, but I was taught the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. What on earth is a lean capital E education, capital E enterprise model. I never heard of that, and I'm not voting for something when I don't know what it is I'm calling out and recommending. What is that? If through the chair, I really would like to see if I could get some kind of response, because I don't know.

Through the chair?

Please. I'm sorry.

Thank you so much, Dr. Gallin. So I'll answer two of the questions that you had, Mr. Goodwin. I appreciate, as well as Chairwoman Rojas, for your comments. And I will definitely look into that and make sure that we clarify that. With regards to... enrollment so when we've gone through our strategic planning i've had meetings with our strategic planning team there are some enrollment trends that we're seeing that just by sheer demographics and the number of children that we have in our community we kind of can forecast what we're going to be seeing and trending over the next couple years and maybe So it's not coming from me because I'm not the one doing the research and the work. Maybe our team can explain how do we analyze enrollment trends because I think the district has done that through years. So through the chairman, I don't know if you would allow for staff to maybe explain how we monitor trends on enrollment and how as a district we plan for that.

Through the chair, it's kind of a collaborative effort between the analyst in my office and the analyst in Dr. Caprera's office. But for the most part, we use, and I'm not a data person, but regression analysis and trend reporting to kind of forecast out working with the CFO to incorporate all of the things that we do know and try to create assumptions on the things that we don't know.

Yeah, and I'll echo that. And the foundation for that forecasting is predicated on what is described in educational planning as the cohort survival method. So you all operate under the assumption that the future is going to be like the past. So our previous conversation was predicated on that because the recent past that we have has been an abatement a foreign born student. So we have to operate under that assumption. So that's usually how you do it. If you want to simplify it, you take your kindergarten, your incoming, you add, you replicate that, and you subtract your outgoing. And that's usually how you start. as a foundational strategy to deal with that. Just my three cents.

Thank you so much, Dr. Gallin. If I continue and follow up, I appreciate that because I know that Dr. Gallin has studied this and that's, you know, he teaches it and not just studies it. So I definitely leave it to the experts to explain that. When it comes to the educational enterprise, that is actually our educational enterprise which is run under Dr. Cabrera that's looking at our entire ecosystem of the education. So that's why I referenced to it. And I don't know if staff wants to explain a little bit more around how that term comes around. But we do look at it from that standpoint. But I think Dr. Lewis wants to. Kamala, if it's okay, chairman.

Yes, yes, through the chair. Dr. Lewis.

Through the chair. Dr. Gallant, as a matter of fact, your explanation was spot on as far as how we project. But let me also add on to the fact that this year what we're doing that's different is the matter of fact that we hired a demographer. And this is the first that day County Public Schools has actually hired someone to actually do the work. And that person really looks at the trends that's taking place and also use that data to help project and predict as well. Thank you. Ms. Pauline?

Yes, and through the chair, if I can just add on to that. So just through my experience, the demographer also utilizes census data and all kinds of other resources we've not had access to. The demographer has also been able to create contacts in municipalities to understand housing starts, So a lot of information that we've not had in the past that has now, when I said things that we do know and things that we don't know, so those are some of the variables that we have added to the equation this year to help us project what enrollment is going to look like.

Thank you. And Board Member Geller, one of the things that in educational planning has to be contemplated is that school systems, although we want to be strategic in our five-year outlook on certain things, the budget propositions are usually predicated on a year-to-year basis. And so it's kind of outside of a demographer. Internally, you look at what you do know. A demographer can anticipate you know, an influx of buildings, and that's why we get the impact fees and things of that nature. That's the nexus between the impact fees. Where a new site is built, apartments go up, we anticipate based on that that that's going to require additional seats, except for those developments that serve senior citizens. We don't anticipate them having an influx of children. So that's where that process usually occurs, and the district usually implements their internal process around three times a year, usually.

Well, through the chair, though, board member Alonso had also just asked staff if they could explain to me what the education enterprise model is. I'm just really anxious to find out what that is.

The educational enterprise model, that's the language you use or you're using language that staff gave you? Yeah.

I mean, it's language that I pulled from our strategic planning exercise that we were doing, and that's where I developed it from, and this is a model that we've put into our strategic planning as we look at our district as an educational enterprise. So if staff wants to further explain how the strategic planning has gone forward with that sort of view and how we're building upon that, I'll let it come from staff through the chair.

Yes, please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the concept of educational enterprise is for us to think of us not only a service provider for our own students but we as an enterprise with the expertise that we have we're able to also provide services to outside entities that will hopefully right result in monetizing some of the skills that we have in addition to that everything that we're doing with workforce housing, look at our facilities differently. It's basically a new way of conceptualizing what a school district is versus the past. Our use of our facilities and welcoming early childhood providers to rent and lease space. It kind of provides a different view of what you typically think of a school district. I think we've used that name That pretty much is how to capture a more broader view of what we can be as a school district. Through the chair.

Board Member Alonso. Sounds like it's out there and it's new and I haven't run across it, but now I'm educated, so sounds like it's pretty good stuff to have there. So I don't see a problem with it now that I understand what we're talking about. Sounds like an out-of-the-box way to look at reinventing who we are, what we do, and how we can equip ourselves for the new environment you're talking about. So to be clear, I'm still going to be a little skeptical, with all deference to Dr. Gowen's explanation, as to the projections for the future, because a lot of variables we can't know, but... I'm good with a lean education enterprise model. That sounds pretty good to me. Mr. Chair, thank you.

Board Member Alonso.

No, thank you. First of all, I want to really applaud staff for the work you're doing with the demographers and everything. I've seen presentations at Florida School Board Association. We had a demographer come in and talk about it. And as we've said, we're not losing students because they're leaving. The landscape of childbirth has just changed dramatically. drastically um so that together with the immigration influx which to your point board member Geller could change we could have another my real boat lift we could have another you know there's so many different factors and this district has always done an incredible job to be able to support those immigration influxes that come our way I remember when I first got elected is when we were receiving about 30,000 new arrivals right and and it was incredible but as we continue to adjust. We need to look at how can we manage through that and the staff is already doing that. I mean, and I want to give them credit for that. This item is not proposing them to change anything that they're doing because they're already doing incredible restructuring. This is looking overall at the structure of the district as we look into the future. How do we support these different departments like the educational enterprise, that we became a real estate, not developer, but property owner, In the last two years, where now we're negotiating and having our attorneys work together with developers on how to properly appraise property values. I mean, this is a lot that we've asked of our superintendent and his entire team that was outside of the realm of the work that they've ever done. So as we look at that, what roles do we really need in our district and really analyzing around that? That's kind of where it's at. And then finally, Dr. Gallin, on the day... Ms. Rojas, I was trying to work with staff and knowing some of the workload that they have. You know me, I would have loved it tomorrow. But I always try to work with staff to be as accommodating as possible, especially since they're already taking things into account right now to make adjustments, that this was more of a planning exercise for the future.

Through the chair, let me just add, if I could pick up on one.

One second. The date, I know the chair raised the issue of the date. Board Member Alonzo has spoken to staff, and I always try to defer to staff who is on the other side of these particular issues. So I know the issues that the chair raised will be addressed as we continue through this budget and personnel-related conversation. So the date of September is something that was more manageable for staff. Is that what I understand? Through the chair, yes. Okay.

Okay, all right, thank you.

Board Member Geller, and then I'm gonna come to chair.

My last, I thought I was done, but. I did too. I did too. I think we all did, but then Board Member Alonso said something that just triggered me, and it's an item I think that we'll get to at some point. I think it's on the agenda for today, but when you talk about what could happen, we have a very real possibility that after Over 60 years, we have an item on this agenda, and maybe we're at the point where there might actually be freedom and liberty for the long-suffering people of our neighbor Cuba, where that horrible, illegitimate, awful regime may be on its last legs, and let's all pray for that. How that would affect us, what would happen? Would there be people who have spent years and want to return to Cuba? Or would instability, depending on what happens, have a sudden influx of people here? I mean, we can't fear that. We still have to fight for freedom and liberty for those those poor people, it's so long overdue, but the effects are very difficult to predict. So I just was struck when you brought up the topic of, in general, it could be from other places too, but certainly Cuba's in the forefront of all of our minds and thoughts and prayers right now, and there's no predicting what that effect would be. I just wanted to echo, that's a very good point, Board Member Alonso, thank you.

Thank you, Board Member Geller, and I think we all agree, and as we look at our neighbors, the hemisphere that's in close proximity to us you know we contemplate what could potentially happen in cuba we also we also are fully aware of what happens in haiti with the horrific conditions there and how that affects us that's why as relates to as board member alonzo mentioned there are just some things we can't anticipate but we're a nimble organization we're a nimble uh body of humanity and as things evolve we we adjust And the budget cycle is usually planned on an annual basis. Madam Chair, you want to speak, please?

Just very quickly to the same point. The pendulum moves from one end to the other. It goes back and forth. We've been through so much of that throughout the years. I know in the past five decades I've seen it go one way and I've seen it go the exact opposite. And I've been monitoring very closely the numbers. that we had for our foreign-born students for quite some time now. I just wanted to share with you, because this shows you an example of what happens when that pendulum moves back and forth, right? So for the 21-22 year, the total number of foreign-born students entering our schools from another country was 14,643. For the 22-23 the total number of foreign born students entering our schools from another country was 22,282 in that year. For 23-24 the total number was 20,890. For 24-25 the total number was 13,919. For the year 25-26, as of December 1st, 2025, the number now has gone to 2,880. So we see that paradigm, you know, that shift that has taken place drastically. And the same way it's going this way, it can come right back the other way in a blink of an eye. So to the point that we've all been discussing, this is something that we have to live with. This is the reality of what can happen, and it can go from one end to another. And these numbers are very clear to address the issues that we discussed earlier today and that we are discussing now. So thank you, Board Member Alonso, again, for bringing it forth. Board Member Spino?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm not sure who to ask in the administration, but given our financial constraint, especially going into this, finishing up this year and going into this next budget year, aren't we doing this kind of analysis on a regular basis anyway?

Yes, Mr. Chair. Yes, Mr. Espino, we've been working on it. We have. There's no other way to... plan or develop a budget for next year. So we have. You know, what you've done, as Ms. Rojas mentioned, the fact that we haven't had a D21 in two months. But since the beginning of the year, we've had many positions completely frozen and on hold. So it's a constant analysis. of the positions, and we've been doing that, but we need to do more. I mean, it's part of the process, and we're going to escalate it as we get closer to the school year, because of course, you know, we're waiting for attrition, we're waiting for resignations, we wait for retirements, and then what positions may we not, no longer need, or no longer are planning to use, because even the skill sets are different, right? So that's all part of the process that we do. Can you follow, Mr.

Chair? So the reality is that we'll be getting periodic versions of this from now until after the budget's completed.

Yes, sir, and the reason why we were asking for the September, because Ms. Rojas has a point, is the elaboration or the completion of the job descriptions. That's probably the most tedious aspect of all, but you will be getting updates on what we plan to do. That's what Ron was referring to, the workload. on the administration side that will create savings.

Any other questions? Thank you, Board Member Alonso. Just have a quick question and a comment on Recommend 3. Just want us to contemplate the reality of doing an analysis and a comparison of large urban school districts. I can just tell you in 2008 when I left to become a superintendent, the per pupil funding that I experienced at the time was between $17,000 and $20,000. That was in 2008. In 2011, it went to $21,000 to $27,000, and my final year was $30,000 to $40,000 in the state of New Jersey. Currently, New York expends around $42,000 per student, LA at around $27,000 and Chicago Public Schools, CPS, around $19,000. So we're hoping and we're wishing for $9,800. And so when we start talking about the issue of affordability, In the past, the argument used to be it costs more to live in New York. It costs more to live in California. It costs more to live in Chicago. But guess what? Miami is now outpacing them in terms of affordability. So we just want to make sure that as we look at that information, we don't draw any conclusions, because data can be interpreted a certain way when you look at the ratios of those large urban school districts. And secondly, before I go to the superintendent, this district in the state of Florida has actually been proud of the fact that from an administrative standpoint, we are probably, when you mentioned Lane, Board Member Geller, we're one of the most efficient from an administrative ratio standpoint, correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Superintendent, Dr. Baglos, from our administrative ratios, comparatively speaking, we're probably in the top in the state of Florida. Board Member, Dr. Adoltris, please, you want to say something?

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, Dr. Gallin, you opened the door for something that I have to just add. So it's interesting, they were having a presentation today at a local chamber of commerce, and they were precisely delineating exactly the numbers that you were doing in terms of the investment for students in Chicago, New York, and LA. But the comment was, we get much less, we get better results, what are they doing? And you know, that's part of the story here. That is part of the story. So thank you for mentioning that, and you know, it's important to repeat. I don't like to compare ourselves to other school districts, but if we talk about financial investments, right, the one that continues to be highlighted strongly is Mississippi. And they spend more on students than we do, but I'll tell you, in comparison to the top four, we're doing well, we need to do more, especially with great level of proficiency, But in terms of investments for students, I believe financially we're doing what we need to do.

Yes. And last but not least, on that point, when we do make them comparisons over time, people would try to assert the fact that we are a diverse school district. But when you look at the three that I cited, their diversity levels are pretty continuous to where we are. My last question is on recommend four, what do you mean by positions tied directly to enrollment-based funding structures versus fixed cost structures? I kind of know enrollment-based funding, that usually is what's allocated at a school, but I can't make the distinction between the fixed cost structures because your enrollment structures, yeah, so if you want to clarify what you mean by that particular.

Definitely, Dr. Gallin. First of all, I just wanted to go back on your discussion on the urban school district. I completely agree with you. I mean, we don't have to go farther than even going to those. Just look across the state of Florida. I was recently talking to staff during my briefing, and we were just talking about the level of responsibility that our administrators have, right, at the region and even the superintendent. compared to other districts in our state and the amount of schools that some of these administrators are responsible for and the amount of schools that our superintendent is responsible for compared to other likewise districts right here in our very own state. So right on with it, I do it more as an analysis to allow staff to be able to have that opportunity, but yes, numbers are completely different and we cannot compare apples to apples when it comes to that. Now, on your question regarding fixed cost structures, it's more of, honestly, me better understanding when we talk about custodial needs, when we talk about maintenance and some of the fixed costs that we allocate to certain properties as we look at this as an enterprise, how do we manage that and how do we properly budget for that and how do we staff for it? So whether it be maintenance or it be even landscaping, how do we look at that from a standpoint of custodians and the ratio of the field and the size of it. We know we're going to have to cut that field no matter what. How are we really analyzing that cost around there? So that's really where it went around, just to kind of give staff flexibility to really look at it holistically, not just on an enrollment standpoint, but knowing that we have the physicality of some very large buildings, some very large properties with a lot of landscaping to maintain and areas that the district is still responsible for, even though students might not be there. So an enrollment number really wouldn't justify adding staff for it, but the size and magnitude of the property would. So that's kind of where I was going through with that, if it properly explains it.

Yeah, it does. So when you look at your Recommend 4, and I looked at the stem of Recommend 1, your Recommend 4 expands the assessment to school-based. Is that what I'm asking? When I look at the stem of Recommend 1, I was contemplating it being restricted to administrative region, et cetera, but if you get into Recommend 4 based on what you indicated, you're now extending the assessment to schools, and that's obviously a whole different ball of wax. Is that your expectation in Recommend 4?

I'll see I'll leave it for discussion for the board if that's something that we want to analyze or not I'm I'm open to it. You want to limit down or if we want to agree with you it's not stated up there, that is a school site, but then also from a sometimes I understand that the grass is being cut by maintenance, not by. the actual staff. So that's kind of where that came around. But if we want to add, you know, school-based sort of non-teacher roles, you know, more of what's there to maintain the properties and assist our principals, I'm happy to add to there. That's kind of why we're here in committee, right? Okay.

Yeah, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to, I just want to have staff to clarify what they're looking at. Because when you get into the minutiae of a school, it's not just the facility maintenance. It could be the clerical It could be the cafeteria staff. It could be a number of those, and those are really non-instructional positions, but they're required in some cases based on space. I did an item about seven, eight years ago looking at the change in how we allocated custodians to your point where the building didn't shrink. Although the enrollment shrank, the building didn't shrink, so we still had a responsibility to maintain it. So they could just take a look at what that is so that they're clear on it or recommend for the fixed cost for a school versus the fixed cost for a district that is not serving students is really a different conversation that the board will want to weigh in on. Because as the chair mentioned previously, our schools do represent somewhat of a sacred cow. But for non-instructional positions, then that may be a conversation that can be had. And that would take teachers off the table anyway, because your teacher allocation is usually predicated on enrollment at the onset. So I just wanted to kind of clarify what that was. And with no further questions, that's it. Any co-sponsorships?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. Item is amended.

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. Board Member Santos?

H-10.

Yes. Yes, ma'am.

I stepped out for H, I believe it was H-3. So if I could be added as a co-sponsor for that item, please, Mr. Chair.

I'll come back after Santos' will do that. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Item H10 is an item that presents an opportunity for us to prioritize student health, sustainability, and potentially realize long-term savings. Similar to the staff follow-up we got earlier, it is just another component of reevaluating some of our district reliance on different materials throughout the past or practices. In this case, our reliance on single-use plastics in our cafeterias. As you all know, MDCPS every day serves over 225,000 meals, and they are accompanied by plastic sporks. Last year, we purchased over 30 million plastic sporks, and I wanted to try to understand visually what that looks like. Well, 30 million sporks end-to-end would stretch coast-to-coast from New York to to LA. That is what we use annually in this district. An even more jarring visualization is those 30 million sporks would cover the height of Mount Everest 474 times. So that is what we are purchasing on an annual basis. Fact check me, Mr. Bueno, I see your eyebrows. And at large, as we know, Miami-Dade County is having a serious trash problem. Our two landfills in South Dade and North Dade are both expected to reach capacity by 2030. So we have a solid waste crisis and we have an opportunity to be a part of that solution. The state is also taking steps to reduce schools' reliance on single-use plastics. Our own senator, Ana Maria Rodriguez, championed Senate Bill 1464, which specifically would help schools reduce plastic and food waste in Florida. And, of course, there's tons of research that shows that plastic breaks down when exposed to heat, sunlight, or moisture, which, of course, are common conditions here in Florida. And when that plastic breaks down, our students are vulnerable to ingesting those harmful chemicals. Those chemicals, as we know from a lot of the Maha reports that have been released recently, disrupt endocrine systems, which regulate hormones. And obviously, that's an even bigger issue for our students because their bodies and brains are very much still developing. So it's our responsibility here to ensure the health and wellness of every student. This item is another way that we can fulfill that commitment so that when parents drop off their children at our doors, they know that their students are in good hands, that they have made the best choice, and we continue to find efficiencies that do right by Earth and by our bottom line. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions, comments? Okay. Co-sponsorship?

Motion?

All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Can I have a motion to reconsider H3? All in favor? Aye. A motion to add Vice Chair Colucci on A3? All in favor? Aye. Motion the item as amended? Second. All in favor?

Aye.

Okay. All right. Now this brings us to H1. Thank you. Madam Chair.

Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This item, H1, is matters related to the comprehensive selection and appointment process for the next superintendent of schools. As the chair of the school board, I'm absolutely honored to be able to present to my colleagues agenda item H1, which is regarding the comprehensive process for the selection and appointment of our next superintendent of schools. I would like to state before I say anything else, there are nine board members. This item from takeoff to landing is going to engage all nine board members. As constitutional officers and board members, this is probably gonna be the most consequential decision that we will ever make as board members. And we only have one opportunity to get it right. But I am confident that together as one team, we will achieve outstanding results such as we have with our current superintendent of schools, Dr. Jose L. Dodris. Dr. Dodris, under your leadership, truly, I have to say, our district has navigated both challenges and opportunities with integrity, with tremendous focus, and also with an unwavering commitment to the students, to the parents, to the teachers, to the administrators, and to the entire workforce, as well as the members of our community. I cannot tell you how grateful we are for the job that you have done and you will continue to do for your period of tenure in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. You do it from the heart, you are humble, And you are someone that is truly passionate and dedicated and most importantly, compassionate. And all the years that you have invested into education and especially in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, we will forever be grateful for. You will leave a legacy that will be longstanding for many, many, many years to come. And many students have proffered and will continue to shine because of your leadership and what you have done in this district. So thank you so very much, Dr. Doudris, for your dedicated service, and again, for the strong foundation embedded in Miami-Dade County Public Schools because of you. I also wanna take a moment to acknowledge the remarkable work of this amazing school board. It is an absolute privilege and an honor to serve alongside colleagues who approach their responsibilities with thoughtfulness, with tremendous respect, and with a shared commitment to doing what is best for our students, for our teachers, for our administrators, for our parents, and again, for the entire community that we serve. the collegial atmosphere we have cultivated, marked by an open dialogue, our mutual respect for each other, and the professionalism exhibited by all of you has enabled us to govern effectively and collaboratively. And for that, I am deeply grateful. From the outset, it has always been my intention as your chair to bring an item to you, my colleagues, so that we can begin in a very timely and thoughtful manner the process of selecting our next superintendent of schools. The projected timeline on this agenda reflects our commitment to being proactive, organized, and deliberate in carrying out one of the board's most important responsibilities. It is critical to clearly state again that the nine of us, the board members that are sitting on this dais, the constitutional officers, will be making, again, one of the most consequential decisions. that we will make during our tenure. Today, I am presenting my colleagues a structured and comprehensive framework for the process to be considered, which is open to modifications and input from all of the board members here. I welcome I welcome any modifications that you would like to suggest for us to consider throughout the entire process. This is only the beginning of a process that is going to take some time. All the proposed recommendations presented in the five stages delineated in H1 are subject revisions based on recommendations given by my colleagues on the board. The final document to be implemented is going to be based on input from all of us. The will of the majority of this board is what will be honored. The development of this agenda item has provided me an opportunity to reflect on previous searches, considering both that the board executed effectively recently with our last superintendent, and where improvements could be made, and also to identify ways to further strengthen the process. In doing so, I have been guided by our principles that are important to me, and I believe to the board as well. These are the following. Number one, to ensure that the board is not only fully engaged in this process, but that it leads and directs the work throughout the entire process. Number two, to ensure that the process is conducted in a fair, inclusive, transparent, disciplined, and ethical manner. with the best interest of our students as our central priority. Number three, to ensure that stakeholders clearly understand the process and are provided with meaningful opportunities to offer input. And number four, to ensure that the final outcome presents the board with an exceptional pool of candidates from which to select the individual who will lead this school district into the future. The third largest A-rated school district in the country. When Dr. Doltris was elected, the board operated under a significantly compressed timeline, with approximately, at that time, we had two months to identify and appoint our superintendent. During that period, there were several board members who were present, Dr. Dorothy Bendros-Meningo, Dr. Steve Gallon III, Board Member Luisa Santos, and myself. We were directly involved in carrying out that responsibility with diligence and tremendous focus despite the time constraints that we had to deal with. Fortunately, we are now positioned to undertake a much more deliberate, timely, and comprehensive approach, one that adheres to the highest standards of governance, practice, and ensuring clarity and transparency, I will repeat, clarity and full transparency of the process, accountability, inclusive stakeholder engagement. I will repeat again, inclusive stakeholder engagement and strategic alignment with the district's long-term priorities. This thoughtful and structured process will not only strengthen the public confidence, but also ensure that we select a superintendent fully prepared to be able to address the complex challenges ahead and to guide our district with vision, with stability and resolve. I have already stated that we are all aware that the selection of the next superintendent of schools is one of the most significant and most consequential decisions that we are entrusted to do as board members. I know that our board is committed to conducting a thorough, transparent, and inclusive process that reflects the values and priorities of our community. Our goal is to identify a leader who will build upon our successes, the strengths, and inspire excellence, as well as guide our district confidently into the future. Agenda item H1 reflects a comprehensive five-stage approach to the selection process. one that is grounded on the board's commitment to anticipatory leadership. Each stage has been thoughtfully designed to ensure clear communication, careful evaluation, and also stakeholder engagement, as well as deliberate decision making. By approaching this process in a structured and forward-looking manner, we are demonstrating our responsibility not only to respond to the present moment, but to thoughtfully prepare for the future of our school district. This agenda itself is self-explanatory and clearly delineates the five distinct stages of the process. It provides structured and comprehensive framework that outlines each phase in a logical sequence, ensuring clarity regarding the board's responsibilities, anticipated actions, projected timelines, and overall progression of the superintendent search. I will briefly summarize the five stages of this comprehensive selection process, but I want everyone to know that nothing here that I am saying today is edged in stone. Input from all of the nine board members, well, let me exclude myself at this point, the eight board members that are sitting here next to me today is critically important to the success of the outcome of this selection process. So it is welcome, and I am ready to listen very carefully to every one of my colleagues when the time comes. I want to go through the stages to explain it. Stage one, that focuses on the foundational decisions the board must make to initiate the search process. This is going to include determining the structure and the methodology of the search, establishing a projected timeline. Projected timeline. Again, nothing that is etched in stone. scheduling workshops and special board meetings, and launching a process to gather stakeholder input. I cannot tell you how important the gathering of the stakeholder input is to this process. Stage two. That reflects the board's commitment to meaningful stakeholder engagement. This phase incorporates the collection and the review of stakeholder comments, input, and feedback, including the development and the maintenance of a dedicated website to ensure full transparency and ongoing communication throughout this entire process with our community. Stage three. centers on the board's review, selection, and evaluation of finalist candidates. This stage includes the development of evaluation criteria, structured deliberations, and the formal identification of the finalists. State four encompasses the interview process for finalist candidates, the board selection, an appointment of the superintendent, and the negotiation of the employment agreement. Stage five addresses considerations related to the superintendent's start date. This includes provisions for an appropriate transition period, coordination with the outgoing superintendent, and the establishment of an anticipated commencement date for the upcoming superintendent to ensure continuity of leadership and organizational stability. It is important for me to read this so that the listening public is aware of the following language that is included in this agenda item. And it states, quote, scheduled board workshops, regular board meetings, special board meetings, and other specific scheduled board sessions will remain open to the public in accordance with our state statutes. While the school board is committed to transparency throughout the superintendent selection process, estimated timelines, the process, and projected budget may require modifications as circumstances evolve to ensure a thorough and responsible process. Finally, the two actions that are proposed in agenda item H1 are for the board to receive the proposed five stages for the selection of the next superintendent of schools and to approve the first workshop of the comprehensive selection process which is scheduled for April 15th, 2026 from 9 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. Again, At this workshop, the board will have the opportunity to fully discuss the different stages to provide input on what they would like to change, make recommendations for, and just simply provide input. As I've already said, the will of the majority of this board will determine how we proceed. Timelines are only projected subject to change again if deemed necessary or in line with the actions presented throughout the different stages. The final plan for the selection of the next superintendent will be the board's plan. The nine board members that are on this dais. I want everyone to know that I sincerely appreciate the input from each and every single member here. And that is why this process is not meant to be scripted and it's not meant to be directed as something that has to be done the manner that it is stated on this item. It is not. It is open, it is the beginning of a discussion, it is initiating the process so that our conversations moving forward are comprehensive and everyone's input is considered into whatever the final document will look like and it is very important for me to make sure that each and every one of you understands clearly as well as our listening public that the voices of not just the nine board members here but the voices of everyone in our community the business leaders The educators, the parents, the students tried to think of everyone that could be included in this process so that no one would feel left out and that we gave everybody an opportunity to express how they feel and what characteristics would they like to see in the next superintendent of schools. Again, at the workshop is when the discussions with reference to recommendations, specific recommendations would take place. Today is only the two areas of the recommend that I address. So that is the item, Mr. Chair, and certainly open and welcome all input at this time.

All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank you for this item. Obviously, as the chair of this committee, I'll share some of the concerns and recommendations I have toward the end after I hear from my colleagues, obviously. I will say that we are at this particular point. I would not have preferred for us to be here at this point, but we're here. I just have to say that up front, and I don't mean that we don't have a finite timeline with respect to the superintendent, but there are some things that obviously have happened that have brought us here regretfully for me, and I've said this on other topics as well, but you have provided the item. You've provided great detail, which at the appropriate time I'll speak further about some possibilities for us to refine it. I think you were very explicit that this is predicated on nine board members. I think that was very, very clear. But no further ado, what hand did I see first? Board Member Geller and then, I don't know. Yeah, Board Member Geller, go ahead. And Board Member Santos.

And I'd like to begin by thanking the Chair. This is quite a piece of work. I appreciate the level of detail that's here, as well as your comments about including all of us as the still kind of new kid on the block. I particularly appreciate that. But what's important is that it is extremely detailed. And while I think some refinements are gonna be in order, and without commenting on what Dr. Gallin just referenced, I have some thoughts on that when we get there as well, but I think kind of agree with him on that from what I've heard. But the point is that it's always much easier to edit than it is to create. So I thank you for creating and whatever editing may or may not happen will be because we have a framework, a structure that we can comment on. Now, I think we could be shockingly and uncharacteristically quick today by looking at the two action items. And the receiving, I think, has just happened. Whether we vote for it or not, we've received. And I have no problem with the workshop or even with the special meeting that's proposed and and it's just next month but notwithstanding that i know that's really all we're here to vote on today but i do just want to kind of cut to the chase on something we'll be talking about very quickly now i did a little bit of homework and found out some things about the last two selection processes and then i have a little bit of experience over a long career in municipal government at similar searches for chief executives in various cities. I've been in eight of them as the principal person sitting in the chair. I know my colleague, board member Espino has very similar hands-on experience. So I just wanna take the opportunity since we're gonna be getting into this the workshop and I guess finalizing it also next month at this contemplated special meeting I don't know if we're approving that date I didn't see that as a recommend maybe that should be just approved now as well so we know that I guess we'll have other opportunity to approve the special board meeting at the April meeting and maybe we can just leave it at that but I Two times, the last two times in a row, my understanding is there was not what they euphemistically refer to as a headhunter employed. And I've seen multiple cities that have made the choice, and some have used that mechanism and some have not. I just want to say just for everybody's consideration going into that workshop, don't like that idea I don't find it adds value in fact I find that it's expensive I mean for this board for this undertaking it could be very expensive and we know where we are in this budget year now we have to do this process for sure there's no getting around it even if we could you know, talk about the timing of it a little as the chair of the committee does, but spending that money is not going to get us anything. I am continually impressed with the quality of the people I serve with collegially on this board. There's a lot of smart people up here and they have a lot of collective experience and, uh, even though board members Spino and I are not long-time educators like you, we've had this process in a very similar capacity. I have great confidence in this board doing the right thing. I think we need to manage this process closely ourselves, and outsourcing it to somebody is not gonna get us bang for the buck. This is one of the prizes in the whole country. Anybody who's anybody would want to come here, even though we have our challenges, but who doesn't? This is going to be a hot national ticket. We don't need somebody to go out and say, hey, you know, Miami's looking. Uh-uh. They're all going to know. Anybody that wants to be on the map is going to be looking at us, and plus we have this nice weather. So I don't think we need anybody to do any recruiting. I don't think we need anybody other than the staff we have to help guide us. I think there's a lot of collective wisdom here, years of it. And I just want to say, just for the record, And I, listen, I want to say again how much I appreciate having this detailed framework that I can comment on. But I think that's, it's like one of the first choices we make. It's coming upon us. We need to be thinking about it now. I don't want to waste that money. I don't want to drag it out and waste that time. They all have these minimum time frames and they have, Boxes they want to check, and I don't see it adds much. It never does. Always a bad idea. So I'm going to be on the record as saying, let's not do that. Let's just get to it and save our money and save our time. That's true. I bring it up because it's imminent. It's just about the first choice we make. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Madam Chair, again, for the item.

Thank you. Mr. Chair, if I could just make a quick comment.

Yes, please.

Yes, thank you so much, sir, for your comments. And all of that and so much more is what will take place when we have the workshop. And on every single area, whatever recommendations the board members have, we can anticipate

extensively address them at that particular point but thank you for your comments appreciate all right thank you thank you madam chair i just want to say to my good friend board member geller uh thank god you're not on some situations i'm involved in you'll be taking food off my table i'm not i don't consider myself a headhunter but i'm actually involved in different uh superintendent searches and but you are correct they can be uh cost prohibitive but um you know, obviously it's for the board to decide. I just had to say that. I'm not totally averse because somebody may say, well, hey, why would you want to do it if you don't agree with it? But it has its value in certain places around the country that's been very, very beneficial to me. Board Member Santos.

Thank you so much and thank you board member Geller for your comments and board chair Rojas for bringing this item as you committed to doing. I really appreciate it. I certainly look forward to the process and ensuring as you very clearly stated that each board member, you know, this is not each board member bringing their input to some decision maker. This is an equal, you know, it's actually our most important responsibility that each of us have have committed to our voters to doing right by. Currently, and this is interesting, Board Member Geller, that you went first, because my framing is actually that having this level of detail in a narrative in the body of this item anchors us in a way that I don't feel comfortable with. I think a board workshop is the appropriate place, as the board chair has put here in the action proposed, to be able to, at length, discuss each of our opinions. I mean, I could go, there's a lot of things I agree with in here. There's a lot of things I strongly disagree with in here. And I don't, even though the action recommend is very clear that it says we would be receiving the five stages, I don't, at this moment, feel comfortable with an item that has this level of detail, even as an anchor. I understand we're just receiving. And I appreciate the effort and thought that was put into it. But currently, that anchors a conversation in, again, I don't want to spend time on the details, because I think that's what the workshop is the appropriate channel to do that. And so I won't even go into which parts make sense to me or don't. But really, I'll just leave it at my initial response to this is I would definitely be in favor of approving Recommend 2, which is our first workshop, to be able to build this together. But I currently can't support an item that in the narrative includes such detailed anchors that then we would be working off of, even if we're not adopting, as is clearly stated in the Recommends. Thank you.

Thank you, Board Member Espino. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And Madam Chair, I want to echo Board Member Geller's sentiments and thank you for the obvious time that you put into this item, the deliberation. Really, it shows, as Board Member Geller mentioned, he and I, through our roles as city attorneys, have been part of city manager selections, some of which were national selections. All of them had varying degrees of input, obviously all designed by a commission or council, but this is certainly a lengthy process that shows the tremendous amount of effort behind it. I want to thank you for couching in terms of open to modifications, but I also would like to agree in part with Board Member Santos that as the body of the item, it presupposes that we're doing these things. If we weren't discussing them, it's almost like a tacit endorsement that we're moving forward with them. And I know that's not what you intended, but I have to agree with Board Member Santos that it's almost like, well, they didn't really talk about it too much, so they must intend to use this as sort of like a menu from which to draw from. The way I took it is that you essentially created a framework, a roadmap. Actually, the example I used, I was talking about it with my wife, I go, this is a road trip, a family road trip, and the question is how many stops are we going to make along the way? And oftentimes I've got to tell my kids, we just stopped, we're not stopping again. And to that point, I don't mean to joke about it, but it's just what I was thinking about when I was reviewing it. To that point, I want to echo a comment that I myself made in June. Unlike other governments, we have different inflection points than simply just the end of the fiscal year. We have, obviously, our fiscal year, We have our school year and this happens to be a year that we're doing strategic planning and I said this in June and it's not a comment on our current superintendent because we have to make a decision that really goes beyond this gentleman that stands before us and the work that he's done and what's in the best interest of the organization going forward and I still have trouble and I want to talk about this. We don't have to discuss it. I'm just going to put it on the record insofar as the time element of this. I still have a challenge a very significant challenge with the idea that we're placing a superintendent in the middle of a school year. You know, I think that there's an opportunity to change, to make a transition at an appropriate inflection time, which I said last year was sometime this summer, so that, mind you, still fulfilling everything you said, Madam Chair, the transparency, the level of engagement, maximize the level of engagement, because one of the things is that within You can still take the same road trip, but depending on how many times you stop, it's gonna dictate how long you get there. I've taken some long road trips with my kids. It's a thing. So I think there's an opportunity here to find some tremendous efficiencies in here, doubling up workshops and special meetings the same day so that we hear the input and make a deliberation on it that same day. We could potentially, and I hear Board Member Geller, It's going to cost a significant amount of money to do a search with a search firm. It's going to add a tremendous amount of complexity and length to this, and there are school district associations and superintendent associations, manager associations that could facilitate and disseminate this information such that it doesn't cost us a bunch of money and waste an inordinate amount of time. Part of the process is, in fact, just the selection and the vetting and the hiring and all that stuff, putting us well, well into the summer. So I agree with Board Member Santos and your initial action item, Madam Chair, that this is intended to be a workshop. But from my perspective, I just want the Board to know that I am going to try and push and compress this time frame only because I think we do serve all our constituents, whether they're the ones with short legs, as Dorothy Meadows-Mindegal says, the one with longer legs, our principals and teachers, or our parents, by, at an inflection point, giving them a new captain at the helm at the beginning of a school year. I think that the idea that we would replace a superintendent essentially presupposes that the next person that comes in either starts making changes in the middle of a school year or facilitates a transitory government with what's there, I just think that if there's an inflection, let's take advantage of it. And I think the appropriate time would be to do this by the summer. So invariably, if there is consensus for that at some point, then there's gonna be a compression of this calendar even if we don't stop doing, I hate to use the word, don't do it, but even if we do all the things that we intended to do, which I agree, we facilitate a full morning of all the stakeholders and decide in the afternoon the quals and the scope that we're going to have for these positions. But again, I do agree with Board Member Santos that says, yeah, let's schedule a workshop. Again, I'm happy to have it this month. But receive the five stages selection and not make a comment on it makes it seem as it's a tacit endorsement, and I'd love to hear how we can reconcile that.

Board Member Alonzo.

Thank you so much, Dr. Gallin. And thank you to the chairwoman for bringing this very detailed board item. I really appreciate it and appreciate the fact that in our last meeting you said you were coming with it and that's why I respected it and really wanted to honor you as the chair to bring this item. And I couldn't be more in agreement with Board Member Espino's comments and it was actually a discussion that I have had with the superintendent going back to the last time we had this discussion and it was around placement of administration and leaders within our own schools. When we do changes in principals, it happens over the summer, unless something were to happen. So in a lot of those discussions that I've been having myself and just kind of reflecting on when would be the right point in time, I've always come back to summertime being that, right? Because that's the time that you have it. You're kicking off the school year. You're doing your welcome back to school. But also having the ability to have a good transition throughout that time, right? And I think that because of the contractual agreements that the superintendent has already with our district, it allows us that opportunity where we could have somebody coming in and really be that national example. And I think that's something that a lot of times we don't see. And Dr. Gallen may correct me on this because he does a lot of these across the country, but you almost hear like, you know, a superintendent comes in and the previous superintendent picked up their bags with their folders, walked out and say, good luck. And you know, it feels so wrong to me, right, when I see that happen because the natural way of this should be a transition period, right, where you have that thought knowledge of this is where we got into and as Board Chair Rojas said it, Dr. Dortrus, you are at the high point of your career. Look at what we've been able to do with all the obstacles that this district has had to face. You have taken us to heights. I mean, look at our graduation rates. increases in proficiency, reestablishing the way the district even works from an enterprise, you know, it's just been transformational in so many ways. What I've seen in the last three years has really been inspiring to me. And then your love and passion that you have towards our students. I don't think any other superintendent, and I'll have to be biased on that one, has it in this country. And I hear it from our principals, from our teachers, from our parents, from our families. When you go out there, people say, Dortres cares about our kids. And I want to make sure that you understand that. But going back to board member Espino's point, I mean, I think we can bring this in, right? And we can bring this in to a point where We're not gonna rush through it because it's important that we have the feedback from our community. But I think this really presents us an opportunity with it being March to be able to get something done by the summer so that we can have that transition, have a superintendent that begins with Dr. Dortress at the beginning of school year and has a transition throughout that beginning first couple months of the school year to be able to do what's right for our students. Because at the end of the day, that's what we all want, right? We wanna be able to truly have a great experience for our students and that they have that continuum. In healthcare, they call it the continuum of care, right? But here it's the continuum of education and making sure that we don't disrupt anything that's occurring. So I welcome those conversations in our workshop that we will have. And I'm also open to having this workshop maybe sooner if we wanted to, if we felt we had to, but I'm also open to doing it in April 15th. And even though I have some questions or would, want to be able to discuss some of the framework. I know that these stages are just kind of like initial discussion. We'll discuss it through our actual workshop. So I don't want to go into details on the areas. We'll have time to do that. But once again, I thank you, Board Chair Rojas, for bringing this item and for having the conversation. And I thank Dr. Dorches for also being a partner through this. And I think you will be a major partner through this as we prepare for that next stage in our district. I'm looking forward to supporting this board item and really having that conversation at the workshop of how we structure it out, because whether it's a firm, whether it's ourselves, it has to be inclusive of the entire board. And I know you've made that very clear where each member is gonna be there, but more importantly, the community that we represent, because we each represent a very unique community, even though we're all Miami Dade, right? We all have been elected and placed here to be the voice of the constituents that we serve. And each one of those constituents should and needs to have a voice in this process. And I know that they will. So thank you so much. And I look forward to working together with this board on this very important stage of our path that we have here in this district. So thank you.

Thank you. I'm Vice Chair Colucci and then Board Member Blanco.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I want to thank the maker of the item because I can see how much work and thought went into this. This had to have been an arduous task, and you really put a lot of thought in its shows. And I want to thank you for that. I really am very appreciative that you opened up by saying that you're very receptive to modification, that this is a decision, a collaborative decision by the whole board. But I do have to agree with my colleagues thus far on If we receive these five stages, we're sending a message to the public that this is what we're sticking to. And that's what I have an issue with. I personally agree with Board Member Espino about moving this to the summer. And the one thing that I would recommend is for consideration, and I just want to be on the record saying this as well. I saw some of these things in here that mentioned the vice chair being part of a selection committee, and I'm very flattered, I'm very honored that you have that trust in me, but I really believe to be collegial, we all need to be part of that process.

Okay.

So and I understand and I appreciate that and I see that what you're trying to get at and it's but I personally would like for all of us as a board to be involved with this process in every step of the way because it's something very important that we're all deciding on so that's something that i just wanted to put on the record the other thing that i would like to suggest is i'm if i'm not mistaken april 15th is a board uh is a committee meeting correct yes I know myself, I know a lot of my colleagues, in an hour and 45 minutes, it's just not going to happen to have this discussion. It's just not. So then it's kind of like we're delaying and delaying, and I just don't think it's necessary to wait. until April 15th to begin discussions when we know that we're not going to be able to, at least I don't think that as a board, and I'll let you chime in, that we will have the time to discuss such an important process in an hour and 45 minutes. That's just my two cents. So we can discuss this, but those are my two cents on this. And again, I thank you. I'm very flattered. I do agree with all of my colleagues that have spoken thus far. Thank you.

Board Member Blanco.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Before I start in getting into my thoughts, I'm very much a believer that a person's word is their word. And I strongly feel that the most valuable thing that I have as an individual is my word and my character. And so before I get into my thoughts, I do wanna speak very clearly to the superintendent. After just maybe two or three months on the board, we had an item that was for your first extension, and we had a conversation. And then I quickly realized that I had a lot of questions, and what my conversation with him was initially maybe appeared as if it wasn't what I had said to him, right? And I remember asking to speak with you afterwards. And I told you, I said, I very much appreciate you as an individual, as a superintendent, as an educator. Because as I think most of us have already been saying, it is not just about the work you have done, but it is the heart behind the work that you do. And it is very clear and evident to everyone. And so having said that, I also remember telling you, I'm quickly learning what it takes to be a board member. And when I make decisions, it can't be a personal decision. It needs to be a decision about what I feel is best for this district and for our community, okay? And I want it to be, as I said that to you behind closed doors, but I think it's important for everybody to know, and so you know I'm publicly saying that anything that I talk about as far as decision and timeline, has absolutely nothing to do with your competency and with your heart, okay? Now to the maker of the item, thank you, because as everybody has said, labor of love is so much detail, but I have the same concerns, right? If we are agreeing in the recommend to accept these stages, and I'm not in agreement right now with all of those stages and why are we getting to that point already? So I want to echo some of the sentiments as far as the national search and I believe that that whole part takes up a good four or five months almost, right? One of the things that I was most impressed about when coming onto this district as a board member as I visited schools is that as large as we are, we are small. Everybody knows each other. They've all at some point in their lives have crossed paths at a school. And I think it speaks to the heart of this district. As a third largest district in the country, I don't think that we need to go out and do a search. The moment it's known that we're looking for a superintendent, anyone that's interested will apply, right? So even if we wanted to look beyond, Although I don't think that we necessarily do. I think we are an extremely unique city, an extremely unique district that not everyone understands if they have not been a part of it. And again, speaking to how big we are, yet how tiny we are, right? But again, even if we don't do that national search, I don't think we'd even be limiting ourselves to attracting national candidates. Strictly by the size of our district and honestly, because of how well we do, right? Anyone that would be interested, I think, would jump at applying. And so I know you're saying those are all topics for the workshop, but when that topic, and it seems that we all seem to be in agreement, impacts the timeline by several months, I think it's important that we do talk about it right now, okay? So that was one of the main things. And then in addition, we talk about the timing and board members, thank you for bringing it up. Madam Chair, when you gave a lot of your rationale for doing this, one of the things that you said was, we need a superintendent who's gonna be ready to deal with challenges. And I know I came in late today, so I wasn't here for the board workshop, but that is a very real challenge we face right now. And many of those challenges are part of or at least can be resolved at the state level. And so if we're looking at challenges that we need to address at that level, then I think it's critically important that we have a leader in place, not just before session, but when committees happen. We're in an election year, we have potentially new people that are going to be going into the state, and so having everything with a united voice from the beginning of that whole process in Tallahassee I think is critically important as well. So those are some of my reasons for When we look at the different stages, anything that has to do with a national search, I'm not going to really be in favor of. And I want to put that on the record. And then once we remove that, the timeline can just be shortened so much that I think it's something that we truly do need to consider. And then again, because of the recommend, it's implying that we're accepting the five stages as is. Amendment to clarify, this is just proposed, we'll discuss at length or however you want to do it. I think that it would put many of us at greater ease.

Thank you. want to thank our colleagues for their feedback and my colleague by madam chair we've had a tremendous journey even before we got on this board together I think there's been a lot of discourse regarding not only the head of the superintendent but his heart and and I equally share that sentiment as relates to you and your decades of service and love for this district and this community and for education. So you're always receptive to feedback. I know that this item is very, very comprehensive. And let me just say it. I opened up by saying I regret that we have to deal with this particular issue because I stand 10 toes down on my initial position last month that there were people SITUATIONS THAT SOMEWHAT COMPELLED US TO NOW HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND THE WAY IT OCCURRED WAS PROBABLY UNNATURAL BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT TOOK A LIFE OF ITS OWN. I THINK EACH OF US EXPRESSED THOSE SENTIMENTS AND I DO WANT TO THANK BOARD MEMBER ALONZO AT THE TIME FOR WITHDRAWING THE ITEM AT THE TIME AND GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESPECT THE INSTITUTION, RESPECT THE PROCESS AND ACTUALLY RESPECT SOMEWHAT THE PREROGATIVE OF THE CHAIR. that really speaks to the culture of this organization and I respect that and I'm glad that that occurred. That being said, the whole notion of respect, I'm just gonna throw out a couple of concepts and constructs to be considered. One would be a question not to be answered. I've heard phrases such as a, the, or this, and that matters. So when we talk about a summer, this summer, or the summer, those things have to be squared with one salient word that's a fact. That's a contract. our superintendent's contract ends February of 2027 with the opportunity to satiate some of these issues to go through June 30th, if that's the board's will. So I want to kind of put that on the record. And again, I'm often told that I have the unique experience. I have the unique experience of having been a superintendent and know what this conversation can be like. And I will say parenthetically to Board Member Alonzo, he mentioned about the transition process with superintendents. They're far and few between because the transition is not usually amicable. It's not. I was just in Nashville at a conference and I had the unique pleasure of meeting with a former superintendent, whose deputy is now the superintendent. And that transition, succession planning, was able to take place in that district. So those kind of relationships do exist, but in large urban school districts, they're far and few between. Either somebody say, hey, I'm out, or the board says, hey, you're out. And nobody's going to sit down and try to make sure that their successor is successful. No pun intended. They're gone. Just cut me my check. What's to buy out? I'm out. So those things are hoped for, but very often they're not realistic. I mentioned that we do have a contract. We do have a contract, and we have to respect that, and we do have some options. I share the sentiment, Madam Chair, as it relates to the comprehensive nature of this document and that it can be implied that we are in full support of the language that's enumerated here. And I want to quote someone. You tell me who I'm quoting. If you're not with me on the takeoff, that would be you. And so this could be inferred by people who read it that the takeoff has already begun. We know your intent. I know your intent because I know your heart and I know your professionalism. But I've even had some people to inquire about the September date and they're kind of, wait a minute. So when people read, because you and I come from an era where Dr. Stinson told us the action is based on what's where in the recommend. Most public people don't read that. They're looking at hard timelines and deadlines and things that they're going to make us own. And so when this is in the universe that way, I think that creates some problems. When we talk about the contract, my personal and professional sentiments, the reason I would not want to have the conversation, but we're having it now and I have to have it, it's called a courageous conversation. We're potentially 11 months out. Now, some people may say that's a lot of time, but if you want to get some historical context, the last process we went through was less than four months. Prior superintendent, accepted in November, resigned in December, board agenda of action, search and everything, January, naming the person in January, they started in February. That's just a fact. myself, I was named in February of 2008. I started July 1st of 2008. And to your point, Board Member Alonzo, I did have the benefit at the time of the acting superintendent who was going to stay on board as the assistant superintendent. So she was able to facilitate the transition to the extent, I'm saying it publicly because it's true and I published it anyway. She even helped find where I was going to live. Like she was accommodating. Now that relationship didn't last long, but you know. You could read about it in books or court documents, whatever you want to look at. I mean, you know, it's public record. It's public record. Hey, you know, I'm transparent. We talk about transparency. If you open up a book, this is what transparency looks like, if transparency was a person. So those were the timelines that we dealt with. And there's this notion of, You are here through the chair. We were dealing with the covid situation. Remember, I said, if it feels rushed, it doesn't feel right. And that was a big quote that was on the top of the Miami Herald because there was some kind of haste about us either reopening of the schools. And I work with the board and I actually spoke. in the back room with Richard Corcoran at the time, and we kind of negotiated a time that the state would be comfortable with without withholding our funds because there was a threat that if we didn't do certain things, they were going to close our... And that's what kind of came about. I'm personally concerned about the perceived... pressure that is out there because obviously it's out there now. I don't want to even be remotely perceived as capitulating to some of the perceived impositions or the perceived manipulation of this process that belongs to nine board members by external people or persons or organizations. And I'm going to just say that because at the end of the day, we are in charge of that. We've gone through that. This last time, trust me, it was a push and it made news where people were trying to pressure and say, this is what you need to do. Some of the people we know and respect, but we had to make a decision. And I don't think that's something that will be very, very comfortable. The process in the item, I know it's not etched in stone, but when you look at the narrative, Madam Chair, on the second page, and I'm a layman person, the second paragraph, it is proposed, if you go down to one, two, three, four districts vision, the proposed activities and timeline are presented for planning purposes and shall, the word shall in and of itself would make someone say that's what it is. If I were writing it, I would say may, but it says shall. So I think there's an opportunity for us to a sewage, some of the concerns that I do have as well that if I were offering some consideration, and I have to say this because it was in my notes, this is about a position, not about a person. And it did give me some degree of consternation that we're leading with the discussion about the person in the item because historically, That's, you know, what we may not want to do. So I would start, you know, the third paragraph, the selection of a new superintendent is among, or if you wanted to go to the second paragraph, we are approaching the time for the school board to begin. But it almost sounds like a... an obituary in the first paragraph because dr doltris is alive and well i'm looking at him smiling and he has a lot of work to do i got a couple things i need to talk to you about too so you know we want to keep him hot and heavy in the work we don't want him to check out we don't want him to be perceived i'm just talking straight i'm talking straight i'm sorry i love you guys did i tell y'all i love y'all today okay okay i love so what i'm about to say i love y'all guys but i'm talking straight you know um we we have to be respectful of what has to happen in in running this organization and if you create a a perception, a paradigm, a mindset that it's time for him to check out and people start getting dates, organizations are going to do what organizations are going to do. They're going to either wait people out, become complacent, and that's just not fair to him. If it's not fair to him, it's not fair to the district. If it's not fair to the district, it's not fair to the region. If it's not fair to the region, it's not fair to the schools. If it's not fair to the schools, it's not fair to the classrooms. If it's not fair to the classrooms, it's not fair to my daughter. So the fairness of the stability and the consistency and the strength of this district has to be communicated. And anything that opens up a Pandora's box, I did write Pandora's box here, opens up a Pandora's box that we're kind of already checked out, I think is a risky proposition. And I'm just going to put that out there as I have to. So one of the things, Madam Chair, I totally appreciate this framework. And I may be putting some of it in my other folder because I can use it in other states and other situations, if you don't mind. So don't do me like our colleague does and make me copyright it. It's public information, sorry. But I would like us to potentially think about eliminating that framework, say, you know, paragraph three, four, five, six, potentially seven, modifying eight. and then talk about the workshops and taking all of these stages out and maybe having some language to talk about a framework may be considered available and have it as a supplement. Have it as a supplement that can be maybe used as a guide for the discussion in the workshop. So it's not wedded to this, but it's such good information for those of us who have not done it. It's very good information, but I think if it's wedded to the actual document, As Board Member Blanco mentioned, as other people mentioned, people may perceive this is the Bible, this is the gospel, because they've not been taught that the action is in the recommend. So those are just my thoughts. I support where we are. I support you and your leadership in moving us through this process. But if I were to look at some of the recommend, receive, I took that out, approves the first workshop of the comprehensive selection process of the superintendent for April 15th, and receives the supplemental information reflecting proposed activities and timelines to be available for discussion purposes only. Something like that. That will be there and that could be in a separate document so that this doesn't go into the record as the blueprint. Because trust me, this will be in the, you know, the moment we don't do something on July and August. They're going to hold us to it because somebody's going to interpret that this is what it is. So those are my thoughts. Those are my recommendations. And again, outside of that, you know, I support where we are and you've always been collegial and receptive and take copious notes about where the colleagues are. Madam Chair, you have the floor.

Thank you very much, sir. And as I stated at the very beginning, this is a process that is going to take place with the most consequential decision that we as board members and constitutional officers based on statute are ever going to make. And we only have one shot at getting it right. And like all of you have said, priority one, first and foremost, the children that we serve and the communities that we serve. I thank all of you for your input. As I said, I wanted all the input in the world. Why? Because as I alluded to from the get-go, this is not my item. This is our item. This is our process that we are going to abide by. And I will be looking at all the different recommendations that have been made and obviously I requested as much input as possible because it's ours. But I do want to make some statements for the sake of clarity and for the listening public. And I thank all my colleagues. Every one of you made wonderful comments. And I just wanted to let everyone know, number one, when you look at the item in reference to timelines, the word projected is on there. There is nothing there that says this is a timeline that we are going to have to follow. word projected is on there and it can change and it can vary depending on the different circumstances that we are addressing there is nothing anywhere on this item that states when the superintendent's contract will end and whether he gets an extension or he doesn't get an extension if you go to the last comment that was made on here, and I'm just saying this for the sake of clarity, because I want people to understand clearly Stage five says the official start date for new superintendent will be determined upon the successful completion of negotiations and execution of the employment agreement. To support a seamless transition, the board may wish to explore the possibility of arranging a dedicated period during which the incoming superintendent, if available, is legally and legally can transition with the current superintendent. Such an overlap would then facilitate continuity, knowledge transfer, and effective succession planning. A lot of this was supposed to be addressed at the workshop. I have a lot to say at the workshop, even myself. I have a lot to share at the workshop on every single one of the areas, but we needed to have a framework of some sort so that when we went to the workshop, we would have something to follow and I have no problem whatsoever putting it as a supplement. No problem. I'll put it in there as a supplement and that is still going to be on there to be addressed at different areas because they have to be addressed. These are important areas plus a whole lot more or a lot less depending on what this board chooses to do. Nothing says that there's a search firm. it gives you the different options of what you can do and what this board decides we wanna do. Whether we wanna do an internal process like we did the last time that we were involved with this process, or whether we want to have the search firm, or whatever decision we make, it's up for discussion. Every single thing here is up for discussion. There is nothing edged in stone in any way, shape, or form. I also wanted to make sure the issue of the 45 minutes to discuss all this came up. No, that's just a number that had to be put out there, but it's going to be addressed at the workshop. We can spend a whole day. We can spend half of a day. We can spend whatever time this board feels is needed in order to follow up with a process that is going to be the best one for the purpose of making sure that the outcome is is the most uh important one that we're going to be making and it has to be given the time that is necessary to have it the issue of the vice chair uh every single board member because it on that one it said vice chair and two people two different people every single board member would be involved in in every part of the process two two two two but all board members would be present at every single one of those. Why? For the sake of the The board sometimes can make it to meetings, others cannot make it to meetings. So in order for us to have two committed people that would definitely be at the meeting, and then the others would all be able to be present, but two that definitely, we have sometimes meetings here where there's only four of us, three of us. I'm here all the time, but everybody is not always here, so that was the purpose. I just want you to understand the purpose, and this was going to be addressed at the workshop, but since it was brought up now, I feel it's imperative that it's addressed so that everyone understands the reasoning behind that. And let's see. No, I think most of the, oh, the areas of the changing of the shall and may completely concur. May is always a better way to put it than shall because shall is a definitive, we have to do so, I have no problem. And it should be not a person but a position, right? And this is something that we have, that was the intent all along. And the modifications on paragraphs three, four, five, and six, and then the supplement being included, that's no problem. As I said, this is something that comes from this entire board.

And that's how the whole process is gonna be.

But I want the members of our community to understand that their voices are also critically important into this process. And we want to hear from all of them, whether you're a parent, whether you're a teacher, whether you're a principal, whether you're a business person, whether you're, you know, someone from the churches, everybody, to involve as many people as possible. And the students, their voices are important too. So all of this is what is going to take place at the workshop. But I will happily take all of the input that was given. and I will include it and I will make the revisions accordingly. Again, this is about all of us. And yes, we are all going to be in the takeoff. So when we land, We're all going to either have the joyous occasion of celebrating, or we're all going to have to take the heat together. But we're going to be together in the process. So I want to thank everybody for their comments, their time, the energy that you have put into it. I can tell you this was very deliberate, and it took a lot of time and a lot of hours. Trust me, ask my husband. So we will continue to work arduously together as a team. And so therefore, you know, I always say teamwork is what makes the dream work. Well, so today we have the strength of the team is each individual member. And the strength of each individual member is the team. So with that, I give it back to you, Mr.

Chair. Board Member Spino.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Chair. One follow-up question, and this is in line with what Vice Chair Colucci mentioned. I do agree that right before our committees, I think, is insufficient time. So I would pose the question to the board is March 18th, March 25th, and while it's no laughing matter, April 1st.

Oh, April Fool's, okay.

If any of those date with that, that would permit us to have a longer period of time. to have a conversation about it without it spilling over into committee time.

Mr. Chair, may I follow up? Yes. I will look at the calendar. Let me look at the dates, and I will put one in. Now, how many hours do you want? You want four hours, five hours, six hours, 10, 12? I'll take whatever it is. That is the will of the board, because it's always about the will of the majority of this board, right? Thank you.

For me, as long as it's a day that doesn't have a committee, a stop time, I'm open to it. Because what happens in other... workshops, other meetings that we have, we have to stop because of the time constraint because we have our next meeting. So that's what I don't want to happen. I don't want to be in the middle of a discussion about something so important and then we have to stop because we have to go to committee. So as far as I'm concerned, as long as it's not on a day where we have something else scheduled directly after, I'm here as long as it takes. or as little as it takes. But basically, I think I just have a feeling this is going to be a very lengthy discussion and something that's gonna take our time, because it's such an important thing that we're discussing. So thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, again, for this item, for the time that you put into it, the deliberate thought, and it does not go unnoticed. Thank you.

Thank you. I just want to say again, Madam Chair, thank you so much for this item and our colleagues for their feedback. I want to say to the public, there's always this gaslight statement about transparency and discussion and public discourse. I often say to the public, we meet every month. We have agenda items. We have public hearing. So the notion that some people would even try to create a narrative about a lack of transparency, a lack of community voice, a lack of input, that's not and has never been the case. What we are aware of in our respective places is that there are pockets in this community that want to be the voices from Florida City to County Line Roads. And sometimes input can be conflated with control. And that's where, that's the hard line for me. I will take anybody's input, but I can't accept control. I accept support, but support cannot equivocate to control. And I said that before. Got a lot of stories around that. Madam Chair knows some of them personally, where people who we love, I've been around, their advice, their suggestion was not adhered to. You support me, but I'm gonna make a decision based on what I believe. is representative of my convictions, and quite frankly, what's professionally, ethically, and in the case of how I treat people, is morally right. So I just want us to be able to square that, because I'm not saying a lot, but it's a lot being said.

That's a good thing, right?

I'm not saying a lot, but there's a lot being said, whether it's in the media, it's in the papers, in the meetings, but there are sectors in this community, both groups and organizations and individuals, that want to represent this whole idea of input and transparency, we're obligated, pursuant to state statute, for transparency. You know, meet us every month. You have the microphone is open. This meeting right here. Look at the galley right now. The only person there is this beautiful Nelson Diaz, Dr. Diaz. You know, but if the public wants to know about this item, so for those who may want to whisper in the gallows that, you know, there's no input, unless they're watching, they could be. It could be thanks to the board's action because before Madam Chair and Board Member Santos, they couldn't watch on simulcast. Now they can. So I just want to dispel some of that and put it out there and call a thing a thing because some of us may get caught flat-footed with having to defend a narrative that's really a misrepresentation of truth and fact. So with that being said, our chair has received some feedback. I don't know if, Mr. Superintendent, you're just looking, okay. Thank you so much. Can I have a motion?

We want to move it with- Transmitted without a recommendation? Move it to transmitted.

All in favor? Aye. Okay. We don't have any new business. Motion to adjourn?

Move it.

All in favor? Aye. Okay. Board Member Spino, how long?

Five minutes. Let's get right into it.