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

All right, good afternoon and welcome to the Personnel, Student, School and Community Support Committee meeting for September 2nd, 2026. And I'll call to order this meeting. The time is now 2.48. Before we get started, I'll state committee membership. I am your committee chair. Members, Dr. Dorothy Bendros-Mindego and Mr. Danny Espino. Alternate members, Mr. Robert Alonzo and Mr. Joseph Geller. Non-voting member, Ms. Luisa Santos. And our ex-officio members, Madam Chair Rojas and Vice Chair Colucci. our first order of today's business is to approve the committee meeting minutes of august 5th 2026 any questions or concerns thank you all in favor all right our next order of business will be to move the d items to the floor may i have a motion move it a second thank you our first d item on the floor is d19 from mr silva chief good afternoon everyone Good afternoon.

D-19 is a presentation of the annual school safety compliance report to the school board of Miami-Dade County. A link was sent to your offices to have access to a copy of reports. More than happy to speak freely offline if you have any questions.

Okay, thank you so much. Our next D item on the floor is D-20 from Dr. Baglos.

Through the chair, D-20 requests approval of personnel action listing 1207 and the instructional personnel assigned to teach out of field.

Thank you. D-21.

Through the Chair, D-21 requests approval of administrative appointments for 26-27.

Thank you. D-68.

Through the Chair, D-68 is the expulsion and the assignment of students to alternative school programs.

Yes. D-60. No, I apologize. I missed that, and I saw Mr. Diaz. I know we skipped ahead D68, but he's given the introduction. Any questions or comments?

Okay.

Mr. Diaz, I'm sorry, D60?

Due to chair, no problem. Request authorization for students to travel out of country.

Questions or comments? No. No? Okay. Can I get a motion to move the D items to the board meeting? Second. Thank you. Our next order of business will be to move the G items to the floor. All in favor? Aye. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have several items. The first item is G1, which was mentioned earlier in a prior committee meeting. I think the superintendent made an announcement that he I wanted to put things on pause. So pursuant to that request, I was thinking it would be best to defer this item and bring it back next month after the superintendent has had an opportunity to review the item and we've had an opportunity to vet it with staff. I've discussed it with some of you. offline and that would be my recommendation I know that it went to the board it was voted on through an agenda item agenda item h10 that was introduced by board member Santos I also know that in addition to that there was some discussion at committee and then it was voted on in initial reading but I think in light of some of the discussion I think it would be

prudent to just withdraw the item and bring it back next month okay and i know um i know we had some preliminary conversations at the start of committee meeting today when the superintendent asked um for that point of personal privilege is anybody that maybe wasn't available to make comments earlier or would like to make comments now about the item no board member santos

Thank you so much Madam Chair and thank you colleagues for supporting the original H-10. I think we all agreed that we needed to revise this process somewhat from how it's done over the last 40 years. So I really appreciated the input and I'm glad that Mr. Harvey was able to include a lot of things. For example, aligning those timelines so that families can, one of the biggest pain points we heard last year was families didn't have the information they needed to be able to make decisions about where to apply for next year, where to enroll, and as board member Espino contributed to the item, how to even pre-enroll if they wanted to show that they wanted to go somewhere else So really making this user-friendly, meeting families where they are, and ensuring that we would do it on a different timeline to be able to meet all those goals. I, as I said earlier, support the superintendent and Mr. Harvey's intention to make sure that this year goes smoothly in that sort of transition year. There were a couple of items on G1, that are more administrative and they relate to, at those meetings when they happen in October now, that families are, that we've thought through how to make those friendly meetings. So when we went to some of those meetings last year, there were lots of challenges around, for example, they happen in the evening and there were families brought their kids, right? And at some point it became a little hard to hear. And so Mr. Villalobos, who happened to be the region superintendent at some of my meetings, made sure with Dr. Lewis that there were going to be rooms where our teachers could just watch the family's kids while they went to that meeting. And that was really helpful. And families really appreciated that. Similarly, providing translation services. I'm sorry, is there an issue? Because I see you guys.

I just wanted to clarify, and thank you for pausing. I wanted to clarify with Mr. Harvey, because he's commented on withdrawing the item. When I opened it for comments, not everybody that's here now was here at the beginning, so I was more intended for that opportunity. I don't know if appropriate to continue with conversations now if you're withdrawing, and it would be more appropriate to have later, or is it appropriate to have these conversations now?

Through the chair, I intend to withdraw the item. It was on the agenda. I'm certainly interested in hearing what board members have to say about the item. We can do it here or we can do it separately. I'd prefer the board not vote on this item and just vote on the other items that I have in committee.

Through the chair, point of order. Can I clarify something with Mr. Harvey? Mr. Harvey, what is the procedure if we want to withdraw it right now through the chair?

Yes, through the chair. I'd have to submit a memo through the superintendent and formally withdraw the item. But I'm stating here today that I would like to withdraw the item and if the committee... supports that, then that's what I'd like to do.

Through the chair, I think it's disrespectful to not allow discussion. I would never do that for any colleague, and the points that I'm bringing, I can't bring up to my colleagues outside of this meeting. We can do it in new business if you prefer, but it is totally appropriate to discuss any item here, even if it is going to be withdrawn, and especially since it's going to be withdrawn, because any additional edits or changes, we should be able to give input into so that we don't find ourselves here again since this discussion was had in July.

And Board Member Santos, my intention was not to quiet you. I was waiting to see. I just wanted to get some clarification. Through the chair, and I want to clarify as well. Before we allow her to continue.

Yes, through the chair, I want to clarify as well. I was just asking for clarification what the procedure was. I never said to stop the discussion. I just said what was the procedure to... withdraw the item for my own intents and purposes because I was not aware of the procedure. So now that I've asked that question, it's been clarified. I turn it back over to you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I think we should allow her to continue. And then, Madam Chair, if you.

Well, all I have is a question, Madam Chair.

We've already gotten clarification that Board Member Santos can continue. So let's let Board Member Santos continue. We've gotten that clarification that we can discuss an item. And if a board member would like to discuss the item now, then it's her purview since it is on the agenda. And then we'll come back.

Madam Chair, though, however, I am not going to interrupt what she has to say, but I do need an answer to a question that I thought I heard the general counsel state. I believe when you said you wanted to withdraw the item, you also said that you could meet individually with all of the board members. Is that correct, sir? And bringing the item back again at another point in time?

No, yes, through the chair. So the item is on the agenda for this committee.

Right.

I have not submitted the formal paperwork to withdraw the item.

Right. Madam Chair, I think we always have the ability to speak individually with the maker of the item, any questions we have. But if there's a topic that a board member wants to bring up at committee so that we can speak in the sunshine, it is absolutely the right of that board member. So please, Board Member Santos, please continue.

Thank you so much. And so as I was saying, because it's actually part of the potential adoption unless anyone wants to have a discussion about removing it, two things that were very helpful were the childcare that was provided so that families could come and really participate, more numbers, can come if that's possible. And then two, really a 21st century way to provide live translation, they had headsets and families could listen in real time to participate fully and really understand instead of having sort of misinformation, understand from, so let's say the horse's mouth, right? What was going on? They felt, I think, well, I saw in real time, they felt a lot more included and sure that they were gonna get a better outcome because of the changes that were being explained. So I appreciate that and I'm grateful that it's included. I know part of this is the discussion around a very transparent public dashboard so that families can directly access that information. And frankly, as board members, we have better information. It's presented in more user-friendly ways. I'm excited to see that. And then on the terminology, I know that was a point that it's not in policy, but I know it was brought up in some of the memos. And so I did want to just ask, because I've been racking my brain about what's a better... word, what's a better terminology to use because in the past we've used targeted and advised. And many parents, what I saw and the reason we said can you consider different wording is they were so, those words kind of trigger you into like oh my gosh, something bad is happening. And so I'm not sure that where we landed is the best place. I certainly didn't come up with the terms but we thought one word, which I wanted to run by the board, could be impacted, right? If you're impacted, is that a better way, is that a more clear way to communicate what's actually happening to your school, right? You could be under review or you're impacted if it's already, like it's sure that this year there's going to be a change. So I just wanted to make sure that the board, because you guys have wonderful ideas, maybe you have a better term that we should all discuss or consider, but certainly the previous terms I think were very alarming to families and that was the goal of considering what could be different and more clear. So I think everyone who's worked tremendously hard on this, I know Dr. Lewis and Tracy Abner have been hard at figuring out how to get through this transition year. I think we all care deeply and the biggest sort of issue we had was that because we were working with that aggressive calendar this year, it led to some discomfort, miscommunication, and we got our superintendent's commitment that we will not be there again. So thank you, colleagues, and if you have the term, please give us the golden word.

All right, any other comments?

Thank you, and you do bring some very good points up, and perhaps, I know there's a history to the words that were used. Mr. Harvey, are you familiar with that? Because I know that it was referred to by Chair Hobart.

Yes, through the chair, the terminology isn't, part of the policy, but it's part of the administrative process. So I'm sure that that could be worked on between now and the time it comes back to the board for final reading.

And I do agree. I think that the language, it's not, you know, it's how you say it. You know, you could have the same effect, but, you know, it's semantics. I agree with you. I think targeted could be a word that we could work on. Reassessed, in my opinion, means you're going to assess again, so the assessment's already been perhaps maybe done. So that's my opinion. So maybe under assessment or something like that. But those are just my thoughts. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Board Member Alonzo, you've been waiting.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. And I was not here earlier this morning when the discussions were had, but I did receive a call from the superintendent and agreed with him on the fact that he should have an opportunity to review the process as well as the schools are there. But I just wanted to go on the record and being clear on this, and I shared this with the superintendent, we have to make these tough decisions. These are things that we have to do. And we really cannot delay this very much more. So I'm hoping that this will come back to this board in the near future, maybe like next month, so that we can continue this conversation because families need to know and we need to make these tough decisions on what could possibly happen with the school that their child might be at. And we have way too many schools that are way under enrollment that are impacting educational outcomes and the services that students receive. So we need to make, as a board, these very difficult decisions and the superintendent himself needs to make these difficult decisions himself. was one of the first things I spoke with him when he applied to be a superintendent and we had our meetings is, sir, are you ready for this job? It's gonna be one that is difficult, but as long as we do it with the right intentions and always putting the students first and making sure that they have the services that they need, then we're doing the right thing. So I agree and I just wanted to put on the record that I'm okay with delaying this to give the new superintendent an opportunity. Today is his first day at work This is now bombarding him, but I do hope and expect that this comes back to us in the very near future so that we can keep families informed and this district can also make the right fiscal decisions that need to be made in order to continue providing our students the level of education that they deserve with the funding that we have available to us due to the number of students that are enrolled in our schools. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Board Member Espino.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

You know, when we did our strategic plan, we talked about shifting perspectives and how we analyze things. And in our conversations, not just with the superintendent, but Central Region and Dr. Lewis, you know, this process was developed initially for the development of new schools, new schools. And we really have to look at it from the contraction lens that we now have to look at it. And our points are incredibly important in terms of communication with the public, but and also the basis upon which we wanted to make the changes last year of getting kids enrolled. Some of the language is important, because when you talk about targeting, are you targeting a community? That's what our schools are, they're communities. But then when you get into a smaller level, we're impacting families, and all of a sudden now a family that's got a pre-established routine of how they pick up and drop off is gonna be different, and that might be a significant paradigm shift for our communities. at least from my perspective, because all our communities are so different, and boundaries from a map to the average person might not look like it separates two different segments of our, or two neighborhoods, we'll say, maybe actually separated by a traffic light that is very dangerous, like in Okeechobee, separating Hialeah from Miami Springs. And a lot of these factors play into some of these decisions that are beyond the dashboard that we've established. So I think that, to your point, Board Member Santos, it's not just the language, which I think is a part of it, but also just our perspective, like, How does this policy work considering the disruption that it's going to cause from timeline all the way down to impact? And I think that that's going to be a critical part. Even to the point, I was talking to Mr. Harvey yesterday in our analysis of potentially closing schools. I told him, and I said to Central Region 2, that I know definitively we are not doing zoning analysis around our schools. For example, do we know what Miami-Dade County has in the pipeline for that area? If the answer is no, then we may be closing a school that in the near future may see a surge in redevelopment because of infill development or transit-oriented development. Conversely, we may be looking at schools or not looking at schools that don't have that kind of growth potential. And so these are things that we have to kind of like the levers that we have to play around. but we have to do it from the lens of, unlike, I think, Board Member Santos, your district's the only one that is experiencing growth, you know, maybe some in the urban core, but the growth that you're seeing in urban core growth may not necessarily be the same reflective in our schools. So it's just a lot of different variables that go into it, but always with the idea of how is this disrupting our families? Thank you.

Board Member, Vice Chair Colucci, I'm sorry.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And in response to what Board Member Alonso said, you know, we have to make tough decisions, absolutely. But we cannot make rushed decisions. They have to be thoughtful, they have to be well thought out, and they have to involve the input of the community because they are the ones that are going to ultimately be impacted by this. So we have to be very cautious. And I plan on bringing an item forth next month to study this very topic of things that you've talked about, enrollment trends. projections, what are we gonna do with these facilities? Do we have a plan? All of those components, we have to have a plan before we just rush to a decision because then we can put ourself in a predicament. And I think it's prudent at this time to table this, like we had to withdraw it so that the superintendent and his team can really analyze this and bring it back. I'm not saying, you know, next year, but next month is certainly a reasonable amount of time and still keep us within our timeline. But it's a big topic. It's one that's very impactful and it's one that really has to be addressed. as the board, as board members, as the superintendent has to address it, and our community has to be heard. And that's very, very important. So I just wanted to put that on the record. I wanted to just say that we have to be thoughtful, we have to be strategic, and we can't make decisions just off the cuff and say we gotta do this right now. We have to act, that's not in question. but we have to act thoughtfully and with strategic long-term vision of where our district is going. And the enrollment trends, this is not specific to Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This is across all of South Florida. Miami-Dade County alone has lost over 72,000 in population. I was reading that in the paper. this year alone. So these are things, these are shifts in demographics that we have to really take into account. So those are all things that have to be on the table that we consider as we move forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to give everybody an opportunity that hasn't been able to speak, so Madam Chair.

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. First and foremost, I'm prepared to speak as much as I had to because I have a lot of areas of concern. I fully, fully back the item that was submitted earlier by Board Member Santos, I do have some Areas that I wanted to address with that but today I don't want to do it based on the request made by the superintendent I have plenty of of concerns the fact that yes, we have to make some tough decisions Everybody's cognizant of that but there is a process in place And by the way this process called the ABC we go back to the 70s. I have a whole history. I Was here with a bytri and why this all was initiated. We were under review. We had a court, we had a judge overseeing everything that was being done in Miami-Dade County Public Schools with the ABC process. The ABC process then became such a great process that it was recommended to be emulated by others within the country. There's a whole history. I'm not going to get into that today. But I just want you to know there's a history related to this. What was upsetting, at least to me, is that I am the voice for those I represent. I was never apprised, and I wasn't gonna get into this, and I'm not gonna get heavily into any of it, but I was not apprised. That's why the first memo came from me. Because I had no idea that this was happening to schools that I represent. There is a process in place. We've done the ABC for years. We even did it last year. without getting into the situations that we have been dealing with. That process has to be honored and it has to be followed up accordingly. which I don't believe is what has transpired. So I fully concur with tabling the item, bringing it back, and expeditiously, I may say, I agree with you, Board Member Alonso, it shouldn't be taking months to bring this item back. But when it comes back, it has to address all of the areas that are critically important. There's an ABC group. that represents us. I have three people that I have assigned. They're part of this process as well. Those people are doing this voluntarily. They go to the meetings. They take it very seriously. And they are part of the process that should be taking place. And so if our general counsel is going to withdraw the item, and if it's the majority of the board that agrees with that, I can tell you I do, to give the new superintendent, as he requested, the opportunity to be able to review, to study, to put a pause right now on something that has a lot of people from this community upset right now. And I'm not just talking about Parents, I'm talking about parents, I am talking about teachers, I'm talking about administrators, and most importantly, the children are the ones that ultimately are affected by whatever decisions we make. So we cannot be rushed into this decision, especially when there are a lot of variables that are still pending without resolution right now. And so I hope that if we do approve that by the majority of the board, that Mr. General Counsel, sir, you bring it back expeditiously, but done in a thorough and comprehensive manner based on what you're hearing, the concerns have been, because a lot of this is new to you as well. So thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. And I know a few others would like to speak, and I'm definitely going to circle back, but I'd like to give some input as well. I gave a little bit at the beginning, and I'm on board with withdrawing, giving us some time, I think this is a useful conversation, though, because as we've said, this needs to kind of come back to us soon, so I think it's helpful for the feedback to be heard now rather than wait another month and then there be concerns that we need to keep postponing. In my memo, I made it very clear. I understand that we need to do certain things that we don't want to do, right, but that need to be done fiscally and to make sure that we have the correct educational programming. And I was in full support of item H10 that prompted this, and we're looking at it, so it's not about that. But sometimes hindsight is 20-20, right? And we can look back. And seeing how this has played out this school year, and I do think a big part of it was board members not being informed. But I do think we need to look very carefully at the timing. And I'll bring up two reasons, right? So for me, and I'm sure I speak for a lot of the other board members, one of my schools that was on the, or my only school on the reassessed had never been mentioned in ABC at all. Right. This was the first time. And the letter that was received is pretty much implying that the school will close at the end of the year. And when we talk about the importance of getting community input and we're talking about making decisions in November from September, from August, end of August to November, I don't think is meaningful community input to make a decision on what you're going to do. If there's alternatives that come about, let's think outside the box, what about this, what about that? Where have you allowed yourself time to really show that you value that community input? I mentioned this earlier, I have an issue with the timing that's going to put this information out a week into a school year. you know, that first week of school, everybody's still excited. Your kids, their crayons are still brand new. The pencil points are also brand new. Erasers are new. Teachers go in with a fresh new, you know, board in their class. And to hear... that, to be under the impression, because I know that that's not necessarily the case for all the schools that are on that, but to go into that year with the impression that the school's closing at the end of that year is so disheartening to start a school year like that. And so I think we might need to either revisit the timeline, revisit the process, but we've got to make sure that when we say we're receiving community input and we're taking it into account, three months to me doesn't seem like enough time. It seems as if you've already gone in with a decision and we're just letting you speak about it, right? One of the other alternatives that I think DIDN'T BECOME PART OF THIS INITIAL OR ACTUALLY, YEAH, THIS INITIAL READING IS LOOKING AT IF WE WANT TO GIVE FAMILIES THAT OPPORTUNITY, CAN WE OPEN UP A SPECIAL MAGNET WINDOW FOR THOSE SCHOOLS SO THAT WE'RE NOT MAKING THESE DECISIONS IN NOVEMBER, RIGHT? OPEN UP A NEW WINDOW FOR THOSE SCHOOLS THAT MAYBE WE DID DECIDE WE HAD TO DO SOME FORM OF CONSOLIDATION. I DON'T KNOW. I JUST THINK THAT A LOT OF THOUGHT NEEDS TO BE GIVEN INTO THIS. Like I said, I fully supported the board item that came through that has prompted this, but the way that it's playing out, the world we're living in, the way that the media is immediately all over this is just creating so much tension Uncertainty, hysteria, and that's not the way we want to go through this process, right? We want to go through this process showing that we care, showing that we understand. We do need to make hard decisions. I'm not questioning that. But I think the way in which we do it needs to reflect that we care. And the way its head has played out, it doesn't seem that way. I'm the first one that has said, we need to do this, we need to do this quick. But when I look at 20 some odd schools, I have concerns that what's gonna happen to those properties? Are we really gonna lease all of that? Are we going to leave abandoned buildings? I mean, these are all things we need to think through. I think before we do it, we are in uncharted waters, right? So we just need to be very thoughtful, think through every scenario. before we finalize a policy is my input. Okay, I know we'll circle back because I think just about everybody wanted to have a few more comments and then if we want to get some feedback from the superintendent or Mr. Harvey and then we can perhaps move on. I'm going to start, just go on down because everybody has been raising their hands.

Sounds good. And colleagues, I just wanted to say that for my item H-12, I'm okay with you moving with or without recommendation. I won't be able to present it later today. For G1, I wanted to highlight two things. One constituent concern we've been hearing a lot in my district this year because District 9 did have a lot of changes last year. We were very aggressive in bringing many schools through the ABC process. even though as was mentioned we are the district where there's growth but we it was sort of at least in my conversations it was more about we have to rip off the band-aid in an empathetic way in a way that guides families through the process so that they end up with what we always promise a better educational option at the end of this process and and we were able to do that working closely sometimes in disagreement but eventually aligned and so the thing that we didn't see enough of, and I don't think it's a policy, maybe it is for consideration for Mr. Harvey, transportation. Many families who were affected, we didn't think enough about the transportation question, and there were certainly lots of hiccups in the beginning of the year for those families that were affected, so we have to think about how we, one, inform clearly families up front if there are gonna be, if they're no longer gonna be eligible or will be eligible for transportation, and how we make sure we do our best to provide obviously as much as we can. That was one. And then I appreciate board members Blanco sentiment that we can workshop this right now so that we do get enough information out so when it comes back we feel good about it. I do think I'm okay with it coming back next month. However, there's enough discussion and there's a whole week for the superintendent to discuss with us. I just want to put on the record that we could potentially, if the superintendent, IT WANTS TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH EACH BOARD MEMBER TO REALLY CAPTURE EVERYTHING, WHICH I THINK IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, CAPTURE EVERYTHING THAT WE ALL ARE FEELING AS PAIN POINTS IN OUR DISTRICTS. THERE'S STILL THE POSSIBILITY FOR THEM TO BRING A REVISED ITEM TO US NEXT WEEK. IS THAT CORRECT, MR. HARVEY, THROUGH THE CHAIR?

Through the chair, well, this is final reading, so it would have to go back to initial reading.

Understood. Through the chair, could you bring initial reading? Only if all the conversations are had and the superintendent has a chance to align with everyone? Is that allowed under Robert's Rules of Order and our agenda items?

Through the chair under the Administrative Procedures Act, it's not allowed, but let me say this. If we were to begin initial reading in October, we should final in November, and that's before the December date that the superintendent referenced in his opening comments.

Thank you so much for clarifying. So through the chair, that's fine. We can bring the initial reading October, which we had done in July, and now bring it. The last point I'll make is, to Board Member Blanco's point, I agree, it's just so hard to find the right time in the year to start this. There's just not a good option. I know when I was drafting the item and getting input, one of the things we discussed was, could we do it at the end of the school year? We really know at the end of the school year what enrollment's looking like, more or less, and all the other factors that I think I'm excited for you all to contribute that we should consider as we make these decisions. Is it more kind, helpful, transparent to do it at the end of the year? I heard very good points from different members of staff that said, well, that could actually... that has a lot of unintended consequences. And I agreed at the end of the day, and that's why it became, well, how do we do it at the beginning of the year? Maybe first week is not helpful, but sometimes, you know, we have two sets of schools. One is under review, which means no action this year, but we wanna give the heads up to the families and schools. I understand, Board Member Blanco, that that may not happen. That's how it's supposed to happen. And then the second category, which right now is reassessed, maybe it should be impacted, is that we've done a year's worth of input, discussion, back and forth, thinking of different ideas. And now we have a solution we're presenting that we have to be honest. This is what I told Dr. Lewis. If we've been through the year of community input and feedback and we do have a better solution, it's also not fair to misguide a community to say, yeah, you have another chance to come and give more ideas. We did that for a year. And if we really have landed, if we do it well, we'll land at a place where the community will not be surprised by it. Even though many of us won't like it, we will be in a good place. And so I just wanted to give a little more color to the timeline discussion and Certainly at my most contentious ABC school process last year, the biggest thing the parents were asking us for was, please do this earlier so that by January 15th when we're applying to Magnet, one, we know where we're applying, and two, definitely by March 15th, we want to know what's going on so that we can secure our seat where we want to go next year. Thank you so much.

Go ahead. We'll just go on down.

All right. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. And I just wanted to go back and clarify, because Vice Chair Colucci mentioned my remarks, but in no way did my remarks ever mean that parents would not be included. What I meant by expediting is that we need to move the process on so that parents can be included. In no way am I insinuating that we should rush this and not involve parents or families in these conversations. With that being said, we need to set... definitive timelines because we will have to consolidate schools this year if we want our district to stay financially you know stable and solvent I mean otherwise we we won't be able to do this and we've had this conversation numerous times as a board so it's going to be an uncomfortable conversation I had it in my community I shut down and not shut down and consolidated but we did shut down one of our middle schools country club And look, at the end of the day, the families are extremely happy with the product they're receiving now. We've also looked at other areas in which we're consolidating administrative duties and putting one principal over two schools. So we need to do these things. And I think one of the biggest things we need to all agree on is what these timelines look like. Because if we're going to have some schools that are going to consolidate this year, whether it be 5, 10, 15, or 20, What is the timeline going to look like that we can provide staff as what we feel is adequate for our communities to let them know? And honestly, right now in these type of committee meetings, as Board Member Santos was saying, is when we can discuss this and kind of come up to a consensus right amongst ourselves on, hey, do we need three months? Do we need six months to be able to properly notify our communities and host meetings? But at the end of the day, the numbers are the numbers. and when enrollment is at a level that we cannot provide services to families, we have to be honest to them and just say, these are the numbers, these are what we can offer, and if we do this, and when we do this, because we have no other choice, we've all been elected to make these difficult decisions, your child is going to receive a better education because they're going to be in a better facility with improvements that we're going to put into there, and you're also going to have a full-time art teacher, a full-time music teacher, you're going to have a full-time nurse in the school. So there's a lot of great benefits that come to consolidation. And I know we've talked about it. But where I want to kind of, just so that we can send Mr. Harvey and our superintendent and give them clarity as a whole, is what do we see as a timeline that the board would feel united on in saying, this is adequate time for my community? I don't have one to say. I mean, I'm open to hearing to the rest of the board, but I think it's important that we give some guidance as a whole to the superintendent so it doesn't come back to us again and then somebody say, oh no, that's not enough time or that's too little time. So I just wanted to kind of put that on the table and I know there's other comments from other board members.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Superintendent Villalobos, what a discussion on your first day, but it's one that we have to have. And again, as I said at the beginning of committee, I commend you. I commend you for the swift decision-making, for the swift action you have taken in putting a pause and looking at this. And I need to state this for the record. We are in this predicament because of decisions made by the prior administration. Full stop, as my colleague would say. Full stop. So in no way is this discussion at least on my part, directed toward you, because this is your first day on the job. And you have already come in very swiftly and said, I've listened, I've seen what's happening with the community response, we're going to take action, we're going to listen. And as far as saying that I really use to, I quote quite often is, timing in life is everything. The timing of this was horrendous. Horrendous. Again, not on this administration, but the prior administration. Because what all of my hearing from my colleagues is true. So that being said, I am in full support of Yes, making tough decisions, but we have to give this current administration, this new administration, the time to analyze and come up with a strategy. And I don't think from here to next week is sufficient time. I think a month is. But I don't think that meeting and dealing with everything in a week on such an important topic that impacts so many communities is viable. That's just my professional opinion. And I just had to put that on the record. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I'll preface my statements by saying I would have preferred not to have addressed this issue here today. I would have preferred to have given our superintendent, who made us a request early this morning, to give him the time to take a pause, to revisit everything, to ensure that the timing was looked at very carefully because I do concur with Vice Chair Colucci that timing is not good in any way, shape, or form, especially when we have a referendum that we're also dealing with simultaneously. and putting out a message that 21 schools are being looked at, whether they're being looked at in the way that we've always used in the past called advice status, or whether it's targeted status, whether it's called under review or reassess. And by the way, if you're reassessing something, it means you already assessed it. When did that happen? Why was this board not informed? Why were we not apprised of certain things? I don't want to get into a lot, but I'm left with no choice now. which I was not going to do today, but I cannot stay quiet, especially since the first memo came from me. And that came because of the concerns that I was addressing, and I didn't even know that there were issues taking place. And I share this with everyone in administration. So let me just state, the board item, proffered by my colleague, Board Member Luisa Santos, I co-sponsored. But that board item did not state, in my opinion, based on what I've reviewed and I looked it over and over and over, what counts as the recommend. It said let's align, let's find a way to align these dates. It never said change the ABC process. You could have looked at the magnet timeline. You could have changed the magnet timeline. I don't think that was ever addressed. And it also addressed school choice. Three areas, ladies and gentlemen. ABC, magnet, and school choice. Only school choice, I'm sorry, only the ABC process was targeted. That was it. So I had concerns about that. I had a lot of concerns about that. Again, I will take a much deeper dive when I hopefully get to meet individually with our superintendent because I will go, every specific area I will address. The other part that was concerning to me is we were taking action on an initial reading That has never been the place. Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues on the board, I know some may not agree with what I'm going to say, but we have never in all the years that I have sat here ever taken any kind of action until it goes through final reading. Final reading, not initial reading. Final reading hasn't taken place. It's in front of us right now. And yet there were actions that were being taken. That concerned me. That also was an area of major concern. Because if we're going to do something, we have to do it in a manner that is transparent, that the community is involved, that the schools, the principals, the teachers, everyone who's affected needs to be involved. But the board members need to be apprised. And that did not happen. At least I can speak for myself. That did not happen with me. I did find out. I found out through the media. I found out through social media. And I found out through people calling me frantically. That's how I found out. And I believe that I heard Vice Chair Calucci and also Board Member Blanco say that that's how they will also find out. So let's do this correctly. We've done this in the past. This is not our first time dealing with the ABC process, but let's do it correctly. Let's follow the process that is in place. And if we have to make some changes, by the way, to terminology, I never knew about that either. I had no idea what people were talking about when you talk about reassessed. or under review, because I had never heard those terms. So yeah, maybe they need to be changed, maybe not, I don't know, but there has to be a process in place that is transparent and that we're all part of and that we're cognizant of so that we're not there and someone comes up to us and we don't know what they're talking about. So I'm hoping that we are able to move this in a manner that is absolutely efficient but a manner that is completely transparent, and it's a manner that involves the board, because at the end of the day, and I appreciate so much what the members of the ABC do, they work tirelessly. These people are committed, but at the end of the day, they're advisory. We, the nine members on the board, will be the ones to either approve it or not. And we need to be apprised every single step of the way. Because if we're not, then we cannot make decisions that are going to be in the best interest of all those we serve. And that is unfair to all of the stakeholders that we represent, but especially unfair to our children. because at the end of the day, they will suffer the consequences. And to Board Member Espino, you brought something up that I've been concerned about as well. Transportation issues, after school. A lot of the children in a lot of these families have their children in after school programs because the parents have to work till six o'clock in the afternoon. It's gonna affect a lot of people in different ways. And yes, we have to make some tough decisions, we know that. But let's look at all of the different areas that do affect our families. And one last final word. I've always said we are victims of our own success. I'm happy about the success we've made. But you know what? Some of these schools that don't have high numbers right now, They had high numbers. But a lot of those children went to magnet programs. So we did not lose the FTEs. They simply went to other sites. And that was, again, because choice options were being offered elsewhere that families preferred to put their children there. So all of these Different areas need to be addressed, looked at fairly, and then thoroughly comprehensive. We have to have a comprehensive document to come back to us, but with time. Right now, there's been so many questions, so many issues, so many concerns, so much anxiety based on this situation that it would not be, in my opinion, a wise decision. to make a determination at this point in time. So I look forward to hopefully having the board, you know, make a final decision based on Mr. Harvey's recommendation. Thank you.

Member Spino, did you have any comments?

Pass. I'm kidding. A lot has been said today. I just don't think we need to continue to pile up on it. I think we are all committed to a delivery process. I look forward to the superintendent's work.

Thank you Board Member Espino for wrapping it up in that way. Obviously there's more and more that could be said. I think I've said what I wanted to say. One thing that I do think is important and maybe it'll come of this is for a school to be under reassessed in this short timeframe as the first time they appear at ABC. That's something that I think has to be considered. And one of my biggest issues as well is exactly what you mentioned, Madam Chair. How are we changing a process when we don't have a policy in place and it still hasn't been approved as a final reading? So that was one of my main points. Okay, let's move on. Item G3. No, G2, sorry, that was still G1.

Mr. Harvey.

Yes, Madam Chair. G2 presents for final reading amendments to school board policy 2431, interscholastic activities and athletics. These amendments are being proposed pursuant to Florida Senate bills 178 and 538. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Any questions or comments from the board? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Harvey. G3?

G3 presents for initial reading, amendments to school board policy 7540.02, digital applications and services, and 7540.04, staff responsible use of technology, social media, and district network systems. This policy is being proposed pursuant to item H4 that was approved at the June 2026 school board meeting by board member Santos. The title was 21st Century Social Media Account Policy. This policy is directed to establish standards regarding account naming conventions, credential management, account ownership, continuity planning, administrative oversight for district-affiliated district media accounts, and it also includes district leadership, which is the cabinet and the superintendent. This does not apply to school board members. It also applies to central bureaus, departments, and primary school site accounts. If there are any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Any questions, comments? No? Okay. I believe G6 would be the next item. Mr. Harvey? You're still in the hot seat.

Hello? G6 presents for initial reading, amendments to school board policy 8660, alternate transportation methods. This item is being presented as a follow-up to an April 2026 item that was introduced by Dr. Bendros-Mendingal. e-bikes and micromobility safety initiative for students within Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This provides guidance and also certain rules regarding the use of e-bikes on campus by students. If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Thank you.

Okay. Board Member Svino, you have some questions?

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mentioned this to Walter yesterday. There have been a couple incidents in my district where, whether it's a vehicle or an e-bike, the battery has been punctured and resulted in an uncontrollable fire. Actually, two children passed away tragically because they weren't able to get out of the car in time. And so it's beginning to have a conversation around the safety of our facilities when you have these electronic batteries, these components that are incendiary devices. The reason why they tell us not to keep them on your person on an airplane, not to store it on a... In an airport, because it's our airplane, the belly, it could catch fire and the whole plane goes down. So what I mentioned to Walter that, and I don't know if this needs to be in policy or this is just an operational issue, is that to the extent that we're going to have an area on campus to secure these, to be wary of the fact that these kids are using these e-bikes. Some of these e-bikes are like little dirt bikes. Some of them are just, what do they call those, the ones that you kick on? Scooter, thank you. The name escaped me. But they're doing tricks on them. They're grinding them on the parking stalls. And all it takes is one right hit for it to be cracked. And all of a sudden, while the kids are in class, the thing starts fuming. And all of a sudden, you have a fire hand. So if you put it too close to the building, it could be a danger to the facility. So again, I don't have to be in policy, but I just put that on the administration's radar. Because it's going to be, I think, a critical importance to not prejudice our buildings just for the storage. That's all I got.

Okay, Board Member Alonso, you're recognized.

Thank you, thank you Board Member Espinoza for bringing that up. That's a very valid point. I've been into several of my high schools, and I know that they're now parking them indoors so that the weather doesn't affect them. But that does pose a danger to the school, right, and a fire safety that we really need to look. I also agree with you, I don't think it needs to be in the actual policy, but I think from an administrative standpoint, I think it's something we need to revisit with all of our principals on where to safely store these bikes and electronic vehicles that they're driving to schools because they do pose a risk especially a fire risk to our students. The other one through the chair question to Mr. Harvey, if we're now allowing them to bring these on the campus and store them safely, we're pretty much allowing them to use them, right? So to board members Espino's point, if they're out riding it in our parking lot and they do get injured, is the district in any way liable now that we've allowed students to bring them to school, we've allowed them to store it, and now they've fallen injured on our property with one of their devices or bikes or whatever they may be called inside of our property through the chair. Yes, through the chair.

So if a student is underaged, the student is not allowed to possess one of these scooters or bikes. In addition to that, if they take the e-bike or the scooter to school, they're not allowed to ride the scooter on campus. They have to carry it on campus. They're not allowed to ride it on the sidewalks or on the parking lot or any place like that. They must carry it. I don't know if that helps.

That's a follow-up? Yeah, absolutely. So I guess I'll now pose the question to administration through the chair, either Mr. Villalobos or Dr. Lewis. I know that there's students under the age of 18 driving scooters and e-bikes to schools. I've seen them riding in the schools on the sidewalks. What are our principals instructed to do on campus when students arrive with these? How are we doing age verification? Are we giving parking permits per se. And if not, it's okay. We might not have a rule on this yet. It's something that we can look into as we implement this. So in no way am I saying shame on us, but I think we need to think through those things. So through the chair, do our principals have guidance on this?

And if so, are they following it? So through the chair, I think it's important. Dr. Lewis and I were just having a conversation. Our first scaled meeting is coming up. The scaled meetings are coming up this week. And those will be conversations that we're going to be having with many of our principals. There are different principals that do different things. There's a high school principal that actually created a whole caged area outside of the school to protect those motorized vehicles. It used to be that either A, you rode a skateboard like I did to school, or a bike, depending on what you had or you walked. But today, that's the new thing. You know, the scooters get them to places a lot faster, you know, and that's just the new modern thing that they're using. Now, we do have to have some things in place that are going to protect the child, number one, right, from physical harm because we know that we've seen accidents with the children in these scooters with vehicles and even other individuals that they run into at high rates of speed. So there has to be a campaign in place to educate the student, and then we have to actually make the principals aware of what this policy is going to ask for them to do to make sure that we're protecting not only the students, but the district as well from any liability in the future. So that'll be forthcoming.

Okay, thank you. Any other? Yes, Mr. Lewis. Dr. Lewis, I'm sorry.

Through the chair, if I can add on to... Basically, the commentary for Mr. Villalobos, I also want to say we definitely need to make sure that our school police is on the same page as well, because it may require some enforcement on their end as well. And so, you know, I'll definitely get with Mr. Harvey, make sure that we have all the rules. And once again, it comes through training and educating our principals as well. So therefore, we can make sure before we start enforcing, we can make sure that students understand what the rules are. So therefore, they can actually act accordingly as well.

Thank you so much for your clarification. And just in closing, let's make sure helmets are also included there. You know, being a TPO, representative for the school district, we talk about fatalities and all the issues that occur with bike riding. We encourage bike riding and walking, but it's important that they wear helmets and that our police officers as well as our school administrators are educating the students, and then also having some level of accountability in that. But thank you so much, Madam Chair, for allowing me to speak on that.

Of course. Any other comments on G6? Okay, just for point of order, I know we need to move the G items to the board meeting. Best way to handle the G1 at this time?

Through the chair, you could just vote with no recommendation. I'll withdraw it after the meeting.

Okay, so motion to move G1 with no recommendation. Second? All in favor? Aye. Okay, and then motion to move items G2, G3, and G6 to the board meeting?

Move it.

A second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Our next order of business will be to move the H items to the floor. Can I get a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Item H1, Madam Chair, this is your item. You have the floor.

Thank you very much. And this item is Miami-Dade County School Board recognizes and supports September 2026 as National Parent Teacher Association PTA Membership Month. And it's an absolute honor to be able to bring this item forth again. to support our families who are making such a difference in the lives of our children, in the lives of our teachers, of our workforce, of our administrators, and everyone that they serve. The PTA membership is extremely important. We're trying to get as many parents as possible to be part of the PTA PTSAs. They truly provide an invaluable contribution to all of our schools. And so through this item, we hope to be able to support them in this very important endeavor and that we are able to promote the membership to the highest level that we've ever had in the past. And administration through the regional offices, I hope that we're able to get the word out to try to encourage as many principals as possible to, again, communicate with their parents and their communities and encourage them to join the PTA, PTSAs, because, again, the work they do is absolutely invaluable to all and especially to our children. So that's the item, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Any questions or comments? Thank you, as always, for bringing this forward. Motion for co-sponsorships? Second. All in favor? Motion to move it as amended to the board meeting. All in favor? Thank you. Our next item is H5, Madam Chair. Oh, sorry, H3.

Thank you. H3 is Miami-Dade County School Board endorsement of celebration of Friday, October 2nd, 2026 as National Custodial Workers Recognition Day. And again, an honor to bring forth this item as I do every single year. Having been at a school site for so many years, whether I was a teacher or an administrator, the custodial crew at every one of those schools truly made an amazing difference for all of the members of the faculties and staffs that they represented. They have always been there, 100%. Whether we're going through a crisis, such as we did with Hurricane Andrew, such as we did with COVID recently, such as we do whenever there's a hurricane that comes around and everyone is still home and there they are. Whether it's an alarm that goes off at three o'clock in the morning, there they are. Regardless of what the situation is, we can always count on our custodial crew to truly make a difference for our children and for the entire workforce. And so it's important to have a curriculum that is second to none, but it's also very important to have a facility that welcomes everyone to those sites just simply by the way they look. The grass is cut. floors are clean. I mean, it is something that aesthetically is very important to ensure that our families feel that their children are in buildings that are healthy, that are clean, and that they are proud of. So once again, thank you to all of the custodians that serve us very humbly so in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. That's the item, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Any comments or questions? Thank you, as always, for recognizing the amazing work our custodial staff do. Co-sponsorships? All in favor? Thank you. We move on to H5. Madam Chair, the floor is yours again.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you. H5 is a school board endorsement of the celebration of the 14th anniversary of Fathers in Education Day, Thursday, September 17, 2026. And we also have Fathers in Action and Advocacy Week. And this is September 14 through September 18, 2026. I have seen this program grow to a level that is truly significant. Children usually have moms involved and their dads involved, but there are a limited number of fathers that are involved in their daily routines. Through these programs, our students have their dads participate on those days that I have alluded to, reading books, being part of the activities that are set forth by the administrators on that particular day, and just simply by being part of the educational journey for their children. It has been proven that when fathers are involved in their children's lives, the discipline issues, the disciplinary issues have been reduced, their academic striving to get to the goal of an A grade or a B grade is much higher. The attendance of those children in the schools has improved. And the entire child, honestly, is very, very, very happy when dads are with them. So I encourage, actually, not only the fathers that we represent in the community, but also the fathers that are here. Board Member Espino, you've got four little ones that I know you've been involved with, reading to the children and partaking in the activities, and so many other fathers and dads By the way, not just fathers. We also have grandfathers, and the kids just love having the grandfathers or uncles or any male who is the role model for some children that may not have a dad or grandfather. Very successful every single year. I want to thank all of the schools that participate. It truly does make a difference. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We support you always in bringing this item forward, so can I get a motion for co-sponsorships? All in favor? Thank you. Motion to move as amended to the board meeting. All in favor? Thank you. The next item is H8. Dr. Dorothy Vandross-Mindegall cannot be here, but asked me to present. Her item is school board endorsement recognizing October 2026 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools. October is recognized nationally as domestic violence awareness, an important observance dedicated to raising awareness of domestic abuse, honoring survivors, and reaffirming our collective commitment to ending the cycle of violence. Despite decades of advocacy and progress, domestic violence remains a significant public health and community concern, affecting individuals and families across every socioeconomic, racial, cultural, religious, and demographic group. This observance provides an important opportunity to educate our communities, promote prevention, and highlight the strength and resilience of those impacted by domestic violence. Board support of this item will reaffirm Miami-Dade County Public Schools' commitment to creating safe, supportive environments and to standing with survivors, educating our students, and helping to break the cycle of domestic violence. I know this is something that is very true and dear to Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mendingel's heart. Can I get a motion for co-sponsorships? Second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Motion to move as amended? Move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. H9. Also, Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindigal, she left me some talking points. The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida endorsed October as National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month throughout Miami-Dade County public schools. This recognition provides an important opportunity to raise awareness about bullying and cyberbullying and reaffirm our shared responsibility to ensure that every student feels safe, respected, and valued at school. This item seeks to endorse October as National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, while encouraging year-round prevention, education, and reporting efforts throughout the district. Supporting this item will reaffirm our collective commitment to creating a safe and welcoming schools where every student can learn, thrive, and know that they have a voice and that their concerns will be heard and addressed. As we know, as she loves to say, we are here to serve those with the short legs, which is what this kind of captures. So can I get a motion for co-sponsorships?

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Let's see. Motion to approve. Oh, yeah, motion to approve as amended. Second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. All right, we now go to H11. Mr. Espino, this is your item. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Colleagues, I brought this up a couple of times. This is the commemoration of the anniversary of the October 7th, 2023 attacks on the state of Israel and remembrance of the victims. In my adult life, I don't know that I've seen the level of anti-Semitism that I'm seeing recently, especially on social media. It's almost become fashionable. It's disgusting. And so, you know, whatever we can do to make everyone feel safe, let alone victims of a state where this occurred, and their families and members of that community, then we should do so. So this essentially commemorates that attack, authorizing the superintendent administration to give it all due attention and encourage appropriate educational opportunities to promote remembrance, tolerance, and mutual respect, always with the intention of making our schools safe and supporting tolerance. That's all.

Cosponsor.

Yes. Motion for the sponsorships? Move it. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. Thank you for bringing this item forward. We move on to item H-12. Ms. Santos had to leave. Motion to move without recommendation. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, motion to move H-11 as amended to the meeting. Second. All in favor? Aye. Thank you. All right, for item H-12, Board Member Santos had to leave. Motion to move without recommendation to the board meeting. Can I get a second? All in favor? Aye. Thank you. And thank you for coming on in. All right. I believe we have exhausted the items, the H items. All right. Motion for any members have new business from the board. I do have something. A few PTAs have brought to my attention the concern with the school lunches. It seems, I just wanted to see if we can get an update and get some clarification. It seems that students, and correct me if I'm wrong, please, in what I'm stating, because this is what I'm hearing from the community. Families were informed that their students would be able to get free lunch until September 25th. But as we know and as we encourage, we're encouraging families to apply. for the application, right, to get school lunch. But if they applied before September 25th and were not approved, then that student did not continue getting free lunch until September 25th and had to then pay, which I think created some confusion. That's one point. The other thing that I'd like to get some clarification is what are we looking to do for those students that are required to pay and do not have money? And I know we've said we won't let any child go hungry, but I've gotten some concerns from a couple different PTA groups saying, saying that they are under the impression that they are expected to cover that and I don't know that we can expect or demand a PTA to cover that and if we are my other concern is what about some schools which we do have without a PTA or that simply don't have the funds to do that so there just seems to be a lot of confusion as to and you know sometimes this happens when there's a change that takes place. But I wanted to raise that concern. And Mr. Villalobos, this is your first day and you're just coming on board. But it seems like our principals may need a little bit more direction and guidance on how to go through this process and how to handle this adjustment.

Yes, through the chair, a PTA should not be covering any of students' breakfasts or lunches. I mean, the CEP and that process that eliminated the entire district, well, with the exception of 121 schools, we understand that it's $4.20 to eat lunch and half of that for breakfast. And we know that it is an issue for a lot of our families. And yes, we did, and Louis, I'll turn it over for you now. And yes, we need to inform our principals a little bit more. just to make sure that they are aware of where we stand and what they should be doing moving forward. But I'll let Mr. Diaz explain that further.

Thank you, Mr. Diaz. Yes, Mr. Villalobos. So, Ms. Blanco, so a couple things you asked. Yes, the first question or inquiry that you received was related to the deadline date of September 25th. So the process is that all students have until September 25th to complete the application process before the state automatically determines what status you're going to be. But if you did do the application prior to that, depending upon what your application was completed on, is the status in which you receive. And that's the status that will kick off once the application is completed. So if there was some confusion on that, the application deadline was September 25th before the state takes over. If they do prior to that, depending upon what the status of the application is outside of the CEP schools. The CEP schools, they do not have to do application. or any direct certified student never has to do an application. This would only be for students that were not direct certified outside of a CEP-identified school. So that's clarity to question inquiry number one.

Right. And I think it just, you know, created, I don't know if confusion is the right word, right? But when they heard your child will get lunch through September 25th, but we need you to fill out this application. And then they fill out the application, don't qualify, but now they lost it on August 25th because they were good and completed it a month before, you know, at our encouragement, right? they thought they were going to continue getting that until at least September 25th. So I think that started some confusion. And then please go ahead and answer the second part.

So the second part is, so this is a tough one, right? We have students that come inside the line. They do not have, you know, for whatever reason, even maybe they have completed an application at this current time that says that now they are reduced or they have to pay again. These are students that are not at one of the 121 or are direct certified. It's a small population of kids. If they do have to pay and they come to the line and they did not have funding at that current time, we're not gonna turn them away. We're gonna give them breakfast, we're gonna give them lunch, it's a done deal, okay? On the back end, there is a cost that comes with that later on. Options have always been, there's not mandates. Options have always been, number one, for volunteer, we're working with, so you know on the back end, we're working with, and I spoke to the principals about this last Friday on Educast, we're working with volunteer entities that are trying to provide financial support to support this type of system. Obviously, the schools, being a former principal, obviously the schools need to engage those students, engage the parents, and say, listen, Luis Diaz does owe money. We get it. We understand this time he did not have. This is the way you put money on the account. And we continuously remind them of that financial obligation. It's the reality, OK? created a process right now where we're actually trying to receive donations from other entities that are actually trying to support the process because it is a transition four years of not having to now we have okay so we're dealing with that right now the reference of ptas there's never ever been a requirement but it's always been an option if they want they've always been an option if they want to some schools have that relationship where a ptsa can provide funding and they're allowed to do that but it's never ever been a requirement for them to do so

So thank you for that clarification because I know that that's the policy, but it seems like that's not the communication that's going out. And I think that may not even be the communication that's going out to principals. So I think there needs to be just take a look. Let's make sure that everything is being communicated properly from district to school and school to PTA because somewhere along the line, the message does not seem to be accurate as it's being received to the PTA. I've had a few schools inquire about that. But I feel like we're walking into this perfect storm, right? We have all of these things that are happening in addition to having some budget issues because of enrollment. But because this is new and parents aren't used to having to put money into an account, if we don't get some of that community support that you said you're hoping to build, and we're not going to deny children food, and I'm not saying we should, you know, who is going to pick up this because the schools are not going to be able to given what they're already dealing with, right? So it's something that we definitely need to get in front of before it gets too out of control or out of hand.

Through the chair, we will definitely inform the principals. We will make sure that they understand what the processes and procedures are. And we will look at that aspect financially to see what that impact would look like.

Right. Okay. Thank you. Any other new business? Yes.

Thank you, Madam Chair. On the same point, and again, I don't know how much of this was even on your radar, Mr. Superintendent, because we talked about this at a previous meeting, but you weren't here. So I don't know how much of this, and if it's through Mr. Diaz, whatever. People need to understand what this is about. And that this is not, for one thing, we need the public to know, this is not a result of a policy change by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This is not something that we've decided to do differently. This is a result of what the federal government has done and what their availability is. And that needs to be understood. And secondly, We need to, I mean, I think it's great that we're soliciting private donations. I'm happy to hear that. I think it's great that some PTAs are going to be stepping up voluntarily. And we've been told, well, no child's going to go hungry. They're going to get some nutritious meal. But some nutritious meal is not the same as what all of the other students are receiving, is my understanding. And there's another issue with that. Part of that issue is making sure that they really are equivalent. And then part of that is also that there's a stigma that may be going with that. And that's another concern about our kids. And the most important thing is that To me, because the policy has changed, and I've heard all the pressure we're under financially. It's not imaginary. We struggled with it during the last fiscal year, and we got through. But it's a real problem, but hungry kids don't learn. And some of these kids are ready may have been getting most of their nutritional needs met by the schools, by the breakfast and lunch. And this is fundamental. So I know that you're working very hard on budgetary matters. I know you've got a lot of pressures. You know, we all feel it, but you're the one on the front line of it. I get that. But not feeding these kids is not okay. And, you know, again, I'm just an old skeptic. Oh, it's not the same, but it's a nutritious meal. Well, I don't know what that means. This is something that is as bottom line as we get. You know, we have to make sure that the kids can read, but we have to make sure that they've got something in their belly so they can learn to read and understand what they read. But find a way, you know, and if it does rely more on private contributions, and if it leaves a gap that we need to step up ourselves, I'll tell you, I'm gonna vote for whatever you bring us that says there's a gap and we need to fill it and we're gonna do that. I'm for that. Please find a way. This is as awful as it gets. Thank you.

Any other new business? Okay, we have two staff follow-ups. One from item H8 from June 2026, review of under-enrolled secondary schools, attendance boundaries, and the feasibility of expanding 612 school configurations, including North Dade Middle School. Any comments or questions? Yes, Board Member Espino.

This is the one on the 612s, right? Yep. Okay, so colleagues, I would just like to say that first and foremost, THE COMMUNITY IN MIAMI SPRINGS HAS RESPONDED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL TO THE CONVERSION OF MIAMI SPRINGS SENIOR HIGH TO THE MIAMI SPRINGS PREPARATORY ACADEMY. AND SOME OF THAT HAS BEEN THE NUMBERS WE'VE SEEN ENROLLED. SECOND HAS BEEN ANECDOTAL, WHERE, FOR EXAMPLE, Miami Springs families diverted from their priors education plans because they wanted to put their child on a path where they're academically and baseball could be successful. And the idea is, you know, it's a very successful baseball team having won states year before last. And now they want to give these middle school kids the opportunity to play potentially JV as early as seventh or eighth grade, I believe it's eighth grade. And so those are working. The school has responded. I want to say facilities responded exceptionally well over the summer. to make improvements for securing as well as for strengthening the school, and it's been so far a tremendous, tremendous success. I would welcome any of you to come visit the school so you guys can see what that was like, see the difference in uniforms, the difference in facilities, because I can't say it's a viable option everywhere. I don't know your districts like I know mine, but at least in this particular one, and potentially even others in District 5, it's certainly a viable opportunity, and I really appreciate poor Amber Gallen bringing this up as an analysis of what could be replicated throughout. Because at the end of the day, our districts are little incubators of ideas that may foment something that can be replicated across the county. So I really appreciate his item.

Thank you, Mr. Espino. Any other comments? All right, one more staff follow-up on the board meeting from June 17th. Item H9, exploration of district teacher and employee infill housing program. Any questions or comments for staff? Okay.